§. 1. THis Michael Nostradamus was a Physician, a French­man, and a Papist; and yet was a man of a sober conversation, and spake of many things that are utterly opposite both to the French and Popish Interest; and so by consequence of his own too, and therefore may so much the more aptly be credited, in those things at least which appear to be so.

§. 2. What is the Reputation of his Prophecies for matter of the verity of them, is so well known all over Europe, and especially among the Learned who read what is written, that it needs not my Commendations or Testimony. It is observed unto admiration by all that have read him, how strangely he has forewarned of all the great things that of late years have been acted among us.

§. 3. The Late Wars, the Treachery of the Scots in betraying the King, [...].10. [...]0,54. [...].10. [...]6. [...]4.89. [...] 49. [...].10. [...]6.46 [...]7.13. [...]6.74. [...] 84. [...].9.2. [...]53. [...].2.51. he has noted: Also how the Senate of London should put their King to death, and banish his Son; and after be Tribu­tary to one with a bald head, for fourteen years; how the King should be restored; and how there would come Plague and Fire in London, because of the Just man that was put to death: And many other such like things he hath written of, which have all proved very true; the most of which, woful experience is able to testifie: And some indeed are such as we may justly remem­ber with great joy.

§. 4. True it is indeed, that many of his Prophecies are writ­ten in mystical and close Riddles, not to be understood as a man runs and reads: But yet are they such as a man who un­derstands History, State-affairs, and something of Astrologie, and indeed a taste of all sorts of Learning, may aptly (with labour and industry) unlock the greatest scrutinies thereof; and when they are open'd, they are as plain and easie as the King's High-way.

§. 5. And whether it was Naturally or Divinely that the man came by these things, God knows; but certain it is, he has been so very lucky in all his predictions, that I could never hear of any one saying of his, that was certainly fathered by him, and allowed by his Executors, and that was rightly understood, that ever was found faulty. And now having thus far bespoken my Author, come we to his Prophecies: And first, see what he says in general of our Kingdom of England. [Page 3]

Here the only hard words are but two, whereof Pempoton shall seem to signifie a Toss-pot, or Good-fellow; and by Lusita­nians, which do properly signifie the Portugals, may seem to be meant of the Spaniards, for so is his way, by some portion thereof to speak of a whole Country. The rest is plain, accord­ing to the literal sence.

§. 6. Next see what he says of his own Country and King­dom, in relation unto us.

And again,

We see here, how plainly this man forewarns his own Country­men, that they shall be utterly conquered and over-run by the English. He names how they shall Land at Blay by Rochel, and shall possess all the Country of Guienne, and people it with Englishmen, and shall have Languedoc, and the Island called I, and all the Country as far as the great Aemathien, by which he means Germany, as he usually calls the Empire by that name. And many more sayings to the same purpose I could bring, to shew and confirm the same thing; Cent. 3 St. 49. Cent. 6. St. 43. Cent. 6.7 & 1.84. Cent. 7.1 [...] & 3.8. Cent. 8. & 2.87. & 6.12. and that it is to be done in this Age, by our present King, And I can further shew out of the same Author, that the same Prince shall conquer Spain, and be Emperour of all Europe, and dethrone the Pope, and advance the true ancient Catholick and Apostolick Faith all over Chri­stendom. But my business at present is to comfort my Country­men, against their present sorrows and amazements, and to rid them of their fears of Popery, by reason of his Royal Highness [Page 4]the Duke of York, whom they generally fear to be a Papist. Now what Religion the Duke is really of, I am not to exa­mine; only this I say, that so far as the credit of the famous Nostradamus is able to warrant, his present Majesty Charles the II. of Great Britain, France and Ireland King, Defender of the true ancient Catholick and Apostolick Faith, will have an Heir of his own Body lawfully begotten, as appears by this following Stanza.

In English thus:

§. 7. In this Prophecy we are to consider, first, who is this so great Prince born, as the Prophet calls him; and next, who shall be his Heir. As for the so great Prince born; true it is he is not called by name, but yet is he described by a character as sure as if he were so. He is to be one who was to be born when the Planet Saturn should be in the Sign called Libra, which is a Sign of the House of Venus, and Exaltation of Saturn. Next, he must be born too at such time as Saturn in Libra shall be de­creasing in strength. 3ly. He must be of the Royal Bloud of France, signified by the Round of the Lilly, or the Lilly in its Round; according to the manner of Coat-armour, where the Lillies are drawn or painted in a certain Circle, as they are with us in a Round Garter. 4ly. He must be such an one as in one sence should come late, and in another shall come soon into his Province. And lastly, He must be one of the Bloud of the House of Burbon.

§. 8. Now all these marks or characters are true of our Sove­raign Lord King Charles the II. and of no man but of him alone:

For 1st. without any thing of calculating the King's Nativi­ty, [Page 5]it is well known generally that his Majesty was born on the 29th. day of May, 1630. at what time the Planet Saturn was in the Sign Libra, which is the exaltation of Saturn, and House of Venus, wherein both of them are greatly dignified. But then, 2dly. withal, Saturn was at that time so placed there, at the ve­ry end of Libra, and Retrograde, that though he was essenti­ally dignified in Libra, yet was it under a decreasing force or strength, or an abatement to his fortitude therein. 3dly. He is rightly descended by his Mother from the round of the Lilly, which is called a round, because of his Garter about it. 4ly. He came soon or too soon to his Right to Reign, and yet late or ve­ry late in respect of his enjoyment. And lastly, He is by his Mo­ther of the Bloud of Burbon. And as this is true of our King, so is it not true of any Prince besides, of the Royal Bloud of France, and of the House of Burbon.

§. 9. Now to prove this Negative, we must note, that by the Bloud of Burbon and the Lilly, are to be understood some great Princes descended from that Branch, of the Royal House of France, which was Duke of Burbon in France. From the first Duke of Burbon of the Royal Bloud, are descended many noble Families; but of these many of them are out of capacity to be comprehended under this our Mark, which the Prophet names. And thus are all these Families which are obscure, and therefore such as cannot be called Princes born; and thus also are all that are born or descended of illegitimate Branches; and thus again are all those who though they are otherwise noble Families, yet are not born great Princes. Next we are to consider, that this great Prince must be one born since the writing of this Prophe­cy, and one who has left behind him a posthume Heir. And be sure from Nostradamus's time until this our Age, there was ne­ver yet any such posthume Heir left who became so great a Prince [...] for whereas Nostradamus wrote in the time of Henry the II. of that Name French King; at what time Anthony Duke of Burbon was a young Child then born, who afterwards became King of Navarr. And his Son was Henry the IV. French King, who was the first of the House of Burbon that became any thing of a great Prince, but was not born so, neither was he a posthume. His Son was Lewis the XIII. French King, born a great Prince, but no posthume. His Son is Lewis the XIV. the present French King, [Page 6]and born a great Prince, but no posthume, neither had he Saturn in Libra at his brith, but in the Sign Aquarius; and therefore no Child of his, though it should prove a posthume, can make him the man. Nor yet can the Dauphin his Son be that Prince, be­cause at his birth Saturn was in Scorpio. Nor can the present King of Spain, who also is of Burbon, be the man, who had Saturn in Scorpio too at his birth. Nor can the present Duke of Orleans be the person intended, at whose birth Saturn was in Aquarius. The Prince of Conde, and his Son the Duke of Enguien are of the House of Burbon, but cannot properly be said to be born great Princes, and besides neither of them had Saturn at birth in the Sign Libra. The Duke of Savoy also is of this Bloud, but no great Prince born. Lastly, To come unto the Issue of our late Queen Henrietta Maria, his Royal Highness James Duke of York was born when Saturn was in the Sign Sagittary, and the Prince of Crange when Saturn was in Cancer; so as neither of them al­so are in this capacity. And now having named all Princes of the Bloud of Burbon, that are in any capacity to be concerned in this Prophecy, and finding none of them under these Marks besides, I make account it is most clearly true, that it is our pre­sent Sovereign King Charles the II. of whom this Prophecy is ve­rily intended; for after him of any it cannot be expected, be­can se in him all the Marks and Characters are so fully agreed.

§. 10. Next come we to treat of the Heir therefore, who is to succeed this great Prince. Of whom it is said, [ A Woman or Wife afterwards with a Male under the bark or skin] which is as much as to say, with a male-Child in her womb, who shall main­tain the happy Bloud of Burbon. Intimating, that his Majesty in his elder years shall be married again to a second Queen, who being a young fruitful Woman, shall be great with Child and shall bring forth a Son, that shall make happy the Bloud of Burbon. From whence that Son shall claim, by the Fa­ther's side, our King being the eldest Son of Henrietta Maria, who was the youngest Daughter of Henry the IV. French King, who was the Son of Anthony, King of Navarr, and Duke of Burbon.

§: 11. And thus have I shewed according to Nostradamus, (whose Prophecies I have never yet heard of to have failed) that our Sovereign Lord, our present King Charles the II. shall have lawful Issue-male of his own body begotten, to succeed [Page 7]him in the Empereal Throne of this Kingdom. Which may be a good heartning at least unto all honest Englishmen, who do sincerely mean well, and intend not to raise any factions or stirs without cause, because that our dangers of Popery approaching upon us by means of his Royal Highness being a Papist, are not so great as is generally expected.

§. 12. And the truth is, it's a strange thing, this Prophecy, considering that in the life-time of this Michael Nostradamus, neither the House of Burbon, nor this Family of our Sovereign, were in any likelihood to be Kings either of England or of France; and yet see how strangely things are come to pass, on­wards of what he hath said. But let us add one Stanza more of the Fate of this posthume Prince, which is expected to be our King's next Heir.

Lo here a young Son, of an old Father, being all the Sons he shall ever have, (that is, of lawful birth) inheriting the Crown of France, which his Father shall conquer and leave unto him, and he shall enjoy it long, and with much good liking of all. The present Dauphine is an only Son, but not all the Sons his Father ever had; nor is he a Phoenix that is sprung up out of his Fa­thers Ashes, or after his death, as uses to be said of the Phoenix: nor shall he therefore reign long, if at all.

Let his Royal Highness James Duke of York live, and become as good a Protestant as any is in England; and let him enjoy greater Honours elsewhere, then the Crown of England is, at this day, worth.

But let Charles the Third, who is to be the lawful Son of Charles the Second, inherit the Empire of Europe, which his Father shall leave him; and let J. B. live to see it happily per­formed. Amen. Amen.

BEfore ever this prodigious Meteor was visible in England, we had notice of its appearing in several Parts beyond the Seas, by sun­dry Letters from Eminent Merchants, and persons of other (or some of greater) Qualities, some whereof were Printed in our Gazette, or News-Book: But it first was visible to us in this Island of Great Britain, on Friday December the 10th. about half an hour past four of the Clock, P. M. or Afternoon. It appear'd of a pale dusky Colour, with a very prodigious Stream, at the least 35 Degrees in length. Its signification cannot be good, because it is purely Saturnine; And Saturn is a Star, as the Philosophical Satyrs represent him. —

Howbeit, forasmuch as this Comet rises in the South-west, and its Bush or Tail points directly North East from England, it cannot be of any malefique signification unto us, but rather (as it shall and doth happen to menace great Prejudice, Calamity and Misfortunes to befal such People or Nations, that may envy our approaching happiness, after the passing over of our great Cloud of Troubles by the late Accur­sed PLOT, and the nefarious Projectors thereof) be of a consequential Good unto these British Islands, which God of his great Mercy grant. Amen.

Comets are sometimes the Messengers of good to some Nations, and not always the Denuntiators of Evil; according to Cabeus, Restus and other Meteorologists. And indeed there can be nothing so pernicious to one sort of People, but may be profitable to another.