No More Learning

And Tii



so it was adjourned for a month or six weeks ; i
which time, and even in the middle of the disband-
ing, there happened a very strange accident, that
was evidence enough of the temper or distemper of
the time.

The trial of those infamous persons who were in
prison for the murder of the king (and who were



474 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

166). appointed by the act of indemnity to be proceeded
"against with rigour, and who could not be tried till
that vote was passed) was no sooner over, and the
persons executed, with some of the same crew, who
being in Holland and Flanders were, by the permis-
sion and connivance of the e magistrates, taken by
the king's ministers there, and brought into Eng-
land, and put to death with their companions ; but
the people of that classis who were called Fanatics,
discovered a wonderful malignity in their discourses,
and vows of revenge for their innocent friends.
They caused the speeches they had made at their
deaths to be printed, in which there was nothing of
repentance or sorrow for their wickedness, but a
justification of what they had f done for the cause of
God ; and had several meetings to consult of the
best way to attempt their revenge, and of bringing
themselves into the same posture of authority and
power which they formerly had. The disbanding
the army seemed a good expedient to contribute to
their ends : and they doubted not, but as fast as
they disbanded they would repair to them, which
they could not so well do till then, because of the
many new officers who had been lately put over
them ; and to that purpose they had their agents in
several regiments to appoint rendezvouses. They
had conference of assassinating the general, " who,"
they said, " had betrayed them, and was the only
" person who kept the army together. "
Venner Matters being in this state, and some of their

insurrection companions every day taken and imprisoned upon
tics hi Lon discovery of their purposes, the king being gone to

don.

c the] those ' had] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 475

Portsmouth, and the parliament adjourned, they ap- 1661.
pointed a rendezvous in several places of London at~
twelve of the clock in the night ; the same being
assigned to their friends in the country. They had
not patience to make use of the silence of the night,
till they could draw their several bodies together.
But their several rendezvouses no sooner met, than
they fell into noise and exclamations, " that all men
" should take arms to assist the Lord Jesus Christ ;"
and when the watch came towards them, they re-
solutely defended themselves, and killed many of
those who came to assault them : so that the ala-
rum was in a short time spread over the city, and
from thence was carried to Whitehall, where the
duke of York was and the general, with a regiment
of guards and some horse, which were quickly drawn
together.

Sir Richard Browne was then lord mayor of Lon-
don, a very stout and vigilant magistrate, who was
equally feared and hated by all the seditious party,
for his extraordinary zeal and resolution in the
king's service. Nor was there any man in Eng-
land, who did raze out the memory of what he had
formerly done amiss, with a more signal acknow-
ledgment, or a more frank and generous engage-
ment against all manner of factions, which opposed
or obstructed his majesty's service; which made
him terrible and odious to all ; and to none more
than to the presbyterians, who had formerly seduced
him. Upon the alarum, which of itself had scat-
tered many of the conspirators as they were going
to or were upon the places to which they were
assigned, he was quickly upon his horse, accom-
panied with as many soldiers, officers, and friends,



476 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. as he could speedily draw together; and with those
~ marched towards that place where the most noise
was made ; and in his way met many who ran from
the fury of those, "who," they said, "were in
" arms ;" and reported " their numbers to be very
" great ; and that they killed all who opposed them. "
And true it was they had killed some, and charged
a body of the trainbands with so much courage, that
it retired with disorder. Yet when the mayor came,
he found the number so small, not above thirty men,
that he commanded them to lay down their arms ;
which when they refused to do, he charged them
briskly. And they defended themselves with that
courage and despair, that they killed and wounded
many of his men ; and very few of them yielded or
would receive quarter, till they were overborne with
numbers or fainted with wounds, and so were taken
and laid hands on.

Their captain, who was to command the whole
party in London, and had for his device in his en-
sign these words, THE LORD GOD AND GIDEON,
was a wine-cooper, of a competent estate, a very
strong man, who defended himself with his sword,
and killed some of those who assaulted him, till he
fell with his wounds, as some others about him did ;
all whom he had persuaded, that they should be able
to do as much upon their enemies, as Jonathan and
his armour-bearer did upon the Philistines, or any
others in the Old Testament had upon those whom
the Lord delivered into their hands. Nor could it
be founds, upon all his examinations, that there
was any other formed design, than what must pro-

s it be found] they find



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 477

bably attend the declaration of the army, of which 1661.
he was assured. He and the other hurt men were"
committed to the gaol, and to the special charge
of the surgeons, that they might be preserved for a
trial.

The next morning the council met early, and
having received an account of all that had passed,
they could not but conclude, that this so extrava-
gant an attempt could not be founded upon the
rashness of one man, who had been always looked
upon as a man of sense and reason. And thereupon
they thought it necessary to suspend the disbanding
the general's regiment of foot, which had the guard
of Whitehall, and was by the order of parliament to
have been disbanded the next day ; and writ to the
king " to approve of what they had done, and to
" appoint it to be continued till further order ;"
which his majesty consented to. And this was the
true ground and occasion of the continuing and in-
creasing the guard for his majesty's person ; which
no man at that time thought to be more than was
necessary. Order was given for the speedy trial of
Venner and his accomplices ; many whereof, with
himself, would have died of their wounds, if their
trial had been deferred for many days : but the sur-
geons' skill preserved them h till then ; where they
made no other defence for themselves than what is
before mentioned; nor did then, or at their deaths For which
(there being ten or a dozen executed) make the least ^erai of
show of sorrow for what they had attempted. dat^are

There is no occasion for i mentioning more of the exe cted.
particular proceedings of this parliament ; which
though it met afterwards at the time appointed,

11 them] Omitted in MS. j for] of



478 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

iGfil. and proceeded with all duty to the king, in raising
"~ great sums of money for the army and the navy, and
for the payment of other great debts, which they
thought themselves concerned to discharge, and
which had never been incurred by the king; and
likewise passed many good acts for the settling a
future revenue for the crown, and a vote that they
would raise that revenue to twelve hundred thou-
sand pounds yearly : yet they gave not any thing to
the king himself (all the rest was received and paid
by those who were deputed by them to that pur-
pose) but seventy thousand pounds towards the dis-
charge of his coronation, which he had appointed
to be in the beginning of May following. And this
seventy thousand pounds was all the money the king
received, or could dispose of, in a full year after his
coming to London ; so that there could not but be
a very great debt contracted in that time ; for the
payment whereof he must afterwards provide as
well as he could. I say, I shall not mention more
of the particulars of that parliament, because it was
foreseen by all, that though their meeting had pro-
duced all those good effects, in the restoring the
king, disbanding the army, and many other things,
which could be wished ; yet that the lasting validity
of all they had done would depend upon another
parliament, to be legally summoned by the king,
with all those formalities which this wanted; and
the confirmation of that parliament would be neces-
sary for the people's security, that they should en-
joy all that this had granted : so that when I shall
speak again of the proceedings of parliament, it will
be of that parliament which will be called by his
majesty's writ.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 479

Only before we dissolve this, and because there 1661,
hath been so little said of the license and distemper ~
in religion, which his majesty exceedingly appre-
hended would have received some countenance from
the parliament, we shall remember, that the king
having by his declaration from Breda referred the
composing and settling all that related to the go-
vernment of the church to the parliament, he could k
do nothing towards it himself: but by his gracious
reception of the old bishops who were still alive, and
his own practice in his devotions and the govern-
ment of his royal chapel, he ] declared sufficiently
what should be done in other places. The party of
the presbyterians was very numerous in the house .
of commons ; and had before the king's return made
a committee to devise such a government for the
church, as might either totally exclude bishops, or
make them little superior to the rest of the clergy.
But the spirit of the time had of itself elected many
members, notwithstanding the injunctions sent out
with the writs, and expressly contrary to such in-
junctions m , of a very different allay ; who, together
with such as were chosen after his majesty's return,
were numerous enough to obstruct and check any
prevalence of that party, though not of power
enough to compel them to consent to sober counsels.
And so the business was kept still at the committee,
now and then getting ground, and then cast back
again, as the sober members attended ; so that no
report was brought to the house from thence, which
might have given the king some trouble. And by
degrees the heads of that party grew weary of the

k he could] so that he could '" injunctions] elections

1 he] Not in MS.



480 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. warmth of their prosecution, which they saw not
"like to produce any notable fruit that they cared
for. The king desired no more, than that they
should do nothing ; being sure that in a little time
he should himself do the work best. And so in Sep-
tember, when he adjourned them, he took notice,
" that they had offered him no advice towards the
" composing the dissensions in religion ; and there-
" fore he would try, in that short adjournment of
" the parliament, what he could do towards it him-
" self. "

And thereupon he was himself present many
days, and for many hours each day, at a conference
between many of the London ministers, who were
the heads of the presbyterian party, with an equal
number of the orthodox clergy, who had been for so
many years deprived of all that they had : which
conference was held at Worcester house in the chan-
cellor's lodgings, to consider what ceremonies should
be retained in the church, and what alterations
should be made in the liturgy that had been for-
merly used; and the substance of this' conference
Tbekiug was afterwards published in print. The king upon
declaration this published a declaration concerning ecclesiastical
eccinlutu affairs* wherein he took notice " of the conference
cai affa. rs. na fo^ been in his own presence, and that he had
" commanded the clergy of both sides to meet to-
" gether at the Savoy, in the master's lodgings, and,
" if it were possible, to agree upon such an act of
" uniformity, that might be confirmed in parlia-
" ment. " And in the mean time he signified his
pleasure, " that nobody should be punished for not
" using The Book of Common Prayer which had
" been formerly established, or for discontinuing



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 481

" the surplice, and the sign of the cross; and that 1(161.
" all who desired to conform to the old practice in"~
" the using them all, should be at the same liberty :"
which declaration was read to, and put into the
hands of the divines of both sides for some days ;
and then they were again heard before his majesty
at Worcester house 11 . And though it cannot be de-
nied, that either party did desire that somewhat
might be put in, and somewhat left out, in neither
of which they were gratified ; yet it is most true,
they were both well content with it, or seemed so.
And the declaration was published in his majesty's
name before the return of the parliament.

Here I cannot but instance two acts of the pres-Twoin-

. . . f> . . ' stances of

bytenans, by which, if their humour and spmt were the disin-
not enough discovered and known, their want of in- fhe p'
genuity and integrity would be manifest ; and how j
impossible it is for men who would not be deceived
to depend on either. When the declaration had
been delivered to the ministers, there was a clause
in it, in which the king declared " his own constant
" practice of The Common Prayer; and that he
" would take it well from those who used it in their
" churches, that the common people might be again
" acquainted with the piety, gravity, and devotion
" of it ; and which he thought would facilitate
" their living in a good neighbourhood together;"
or words to that effect. When they had considered
the whole some days, Mr. Calamy and some other
ministers, deputed by the rest, came to the chancel-
lor to redeliver it to his hands. They acknowledged
" the king had been very gracious to them in his
" concessions ; though he had not granted all that

n house] Omitted in MS. not] Omitted in MS.

VOL. I. I i



terian min-
isters.



482 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. " some of their brethren wished, yet they were con-

" tented :" only desired him, " that he would prevail

" with the king, that the clause mentioned before
" might be left out ; which," they protested, " was
" moved by them for the king's own end, and that
" they might shew their obedience to him, and re-
" solution to do him service. For they were re-
" solved themselves to do what the king wished ;
" and first to reconcile the people, who for near
" twenty years had not been acquainted with that
" form, by informing them that it contained much
" piety and devotion, and might be lawfully used ;
" and then that they would begin to use it them-
" selves, and by degrees accustom the people to it :
" which," they said, " would have a better effect,
" than if the clause were in the declaration ; for
" they should be thought in their persuasions to
" comply only with the king's recommendation, and
" to merit from his majesty, and not to be moved
" from the conscience of the duty ; and so they
" should take P that occasion to manifest their zeal
" to please the king. And they feared there would
" be other ill consequences from it, by the wayward-
" ness of the common people, who were to be treated
" with skill, and would not be prevailed upon all at
" once. " The king was to be present the next
morning, to hear the declaration read the last time
before both parties; and then the chancellor told
him, in the presence of all the rest, what the min-
isters had desired ; which they again enlarged upon
with the same protestations of their resolutions,
in such a manner, that his majesty believed they

v take] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 483

meant honestly; and the clause was left out. But icci.
the declaration was no sooner published, than, ob-
serving that the people were generally satisfied with
it, they sent their emissaries abroad : and many of
their letters were intercepted ; and particularly a
letter from Mr. Calamy to a leading minister in So-
mersetshire ; whereby he advised and entreated him,
" that he and his friends would continue and persist
" in the use of The Directory ; and by no means
" admit The Common Prayer in their churches ;
" for that he made no question but that they should
" prevail further with the king, than he had yet
" consented to in his declaration. "

The other instance was, that as soon as the decla-
ration was printed, the king received a petition in
the name of the ministers of London, and many
others of the same opinion with them, who had sub-
scribed that petition ; amongst whom none of those
who had attended the king in those conferences had
their names. They gave his majesty humble thanks
" for the grace he had vouchsafed to shew in his
" declaration, which they received as an earnest of
'* his future goodness and condescension in granting
" all those other concessions, which were absolutely
" necessary for the liberty of their conscience ;" and
desired, with much importunity and ill manners,
" that the wearing the surplice, and the using the
" cross in baptism, might be absolutely abolished
" out of the church, as being scandalous to all men
" of tender consciences. " From those two instances,
all men may conclude, that nothing but a severe
execution of the law can ever prevail upon that
classis of men to conform to government.

When the parliament came together again after .
i i 2



484 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. their adjournment, they gave the king public thanks
The pariia- f r his declaration, and never proceeded further in
agrin ""[* * ne ma tter of religion ; of which the king was very
is dissolved. gi a d : only some of the leaders brought a bill into
the house " for the making that, declaration a law ;"
which was suitable to their other acts of ingenuity,
to keep the church for ever under the same indul-
gence, and without any settlement; which being
quickly perceived, there was no further progress in
it. And the king, upon the nine and twentieth of
December, after having given them an ample testi-
mony of their kindness towards him, which he mag-
nified with many gracious expressions, and his royal
thanks for the settling his revenue, and payment of
the public debts, promised " to send out writs for
" the calling another parliament, which he doubted
" not would confirm all that they had done ; and in
" which he hoped many of them would be elected
" again to serve : " and so dissolved the present par-
liament with as general an applause as hath been
known ; though it was quickly known, that the re-
venue they had settled was not in value equal to
what they had computed. Nor did the monies they
granted in any degree arise to enough to pay either
the arrears to the army or the debts to the navy ;
both which must be the work of the ensuing parlia-
ment ; which was directed to meet upon the eighth
A new par- of May following : before which time, the king made

liament

summoned choice of worthy and learned men to supply the va-
cant sees of bishops, which had been void so many
years, and who were consecrated accordingly before
the parliament met. And before we come to that
tune, some particular occurrences of moment must
be first inserted.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 485

When the king arrived in England, monsieur 1661
Bordeaux was there ambassador from the king of ~
France, and had resided ambassador there about
three years in Cromwell's time, and lived in marvel-
lous lustre, very acceptable and dear to Cromwell,
having treated all the secret alliance between the
cardinal and him ; and was even trusted by the pro-
tector in many of his counsels, especially to discover
any conspiracy against him ; for he lived jovially,
made great entertainments to lords and ladies with-
out distinction, and amongst them would frequently
let fall i some expressions of compassion and respect
towards the king. After Cromwell's death, his cre-
dentials were quickly renewed to Richard his suc-
cessor, with whom all the former treaties were again
established. And when he was put down, he was
not long without fresh credit to the commonwealth
that succeeded : and so upon all vicissitudes was
supplied with authority to endear his master's affec-
tion to the present powers, and to let them know,
" how well the cardinal was disposed to join the
" power of France to their interest. " And his dex-
terity had been such towards all, that the cardinal
thought fit to send him new credentials against the
time of the king's coming to London. And within
few days after, when he had provided a new equi-
page to appear in more glory than he had ever yet
done, he sent to desire an audience from the king.

The earl of St. Alban's was newly come from
France ; and to him Bordeaux had applied himself,
who was always very ready to promote any thing
that might be grateful to that crown. But the king

fall] Not in MS.



s 486 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

166 1 . would not resolve any thing in the point, till he had

~~ conferred upon it with the council : where it being

debated, there was an unanimous consent, (the earl

of St. Alban's only excepted, who exceedingly la-

boured the contrary,) " that it could not stand with

" his majesty's honour to receive him as ambassador,

" who had transacted so many things to his disad-

" vantage, and shifted his face so often, always in

" conjunction with his greatest enemies ; and that

" it was a great disrespect in the crown of France

" towards his majesty in sending such a person, who

" they could not believe (without great undervaluing

The ambas- " the king) could be acceptable to him. " The king

France to himself was of that opinion ; and instead of assigning



a day for his audience, as was desired, he sent
mm an ex P ress command to depart the kingdom.
kingdom. And when he afterwards, with much importunity,
desired only to be admitted as a stranger to see his
majesty, and to speak to him, his majesty as posi-
tively refused to admit him to his presence. All
which was imputed principally to the chancellor,
who had with some warmth opposed his being re-
ceived as ambassador ; and when he sent by a per-
son well enough esteemed by the chancellor, "that
" he would receive a visit from him," he expressly
refused to see him. Whoever gave the advice, the
king had great honour by it in France itself, which
declared no kind of resentment of it ; and gave poor
Bordeaux such a reception, after having served them
five years with notable success, and spent his whole
estate in the service, that in a short time he died
heart-broken in misery, and uninquired after. And
forthwith that king sent the count of Soissons, the
most illustrious person in France, very nobly ac-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 487

companied and bravely attended, as his ambassador, 1661.
to congratulate his majesty's happy restoration, with ~~
all the compliments of friendship and esteem that
can be imagined.



There was another ambassador at the same time The a
in London, who might be thought to stand in the p^ru.
same predicament with Bordeaux, though in truth JlJrJjJ*
their cases were very different, and who received a ki " d 'y re

J ceived.

very different treatment. That was the ambassador
of Portugal, who had been sent by that crown to
finish a treaty that had been begun by another am-
bassador with Cromwell, who had been so ill used,
that they had put his brother publicly to death for
a rash action in which a gentleman had been killed ;
upon which he had got leave from his master to quit
the kingdom. And this other ambassador had been
sent in his room r ; and was forced to consent and
submit to very hard conditions, as a ransom for
that king's generosity in assisting the king in his
lowest condition, by receiving prince Rupert with
his majesty's fleet in Lisbon, and so preserving them
from a fleet much superior in number and goodness
of the ships, that pursued him by commission from
Cromwell : who took that action so to heart, that he
made war upon that kingdom, took their ships, ob-
structed their trade, and blocked up all their ports ;
whilst the Spanish army invaded them at land, and
took their towns in the very heart of the kingdom.
And to redeem that poor king from that terrible
persecution, that treaty had been submitted to ; in
which, besides the yearly payment of a great sum of
money from Portugal, which was to continue for

r room] Omitted in MS.

I i 4



488 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. many years, other great advantages in trade had
been" granted to England. The king made no scru-
ple of receiving this ambassador with a very good
countenance ; and as soon as he got his credentials,
gave him a public audience, with all the formality
and ceremony that in those cases are usual and
necessary.

An account And because in some time after a negociation was
treaty and set on foot of the highest importance, and had 8 its
witiTpor- effect in the king's marriage with the queen ; and
because, how acceptable soever both that treaty and
conclusion of it was then to the whole kingdom, that
affair was afterwards imputed to the chancellor, and
in the opinion of many proved to be the cause and
ground of all his misfortunes ; I shall here set down
all the particulars that introduced and attended that
negociation and treaty, with all the circumstances,
some whereof may appear too light, and yet are not
without weight, to make it appear to all the world,
how far the chancellor was from being the author
of that counsel, (and if he had been, there was no
reason to be ashamed of'it,) and that he did nothing
before, in, or after that treaty, but what was neces-
sary for a man in his condition, and what very well
became a person of that trust and confidence he was
in with his master.

It hath been remembered before, that upon the
publication of the duke's marriage, and the recon-
ciliation upon that affair, the chancellor was very
solicitous that the king himself would marry ; that
he desired the marquis of Ormond very earnestly to
advise him to it : and himself often put his majesty

* had] Not in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 489

in mind of what he had said to him in France,
when the duke was persuaded to treat about a mar-
riage with mademoiselle de Longueville, " that his
" majesty was by no means to consent, that his heir
" apparent should marry before himself were mar-
" ried," for which he had given some reasons ; for
which at that time he underwent great displeasures.
And this discourse he had held often with the king :
and sure no man in England more impatiently de-
sired to see him married than he did. Indeed it was
no easy matter to find a person in all respects so fit,
that a man would take upon him to propose in par-
ticular ; nor did he think himself in many respects,
and with reference to the accidents which might
probably or possibly fall out, fit, if he could have
thought of one, to be the author of the proposition.

One day the king came to the chancellor's house The Por-
in the afternoon; and being alone with him,
majesty told him, " that he was come to confer
" with him upon an argument that he would well mgt: *
" like, which was about his own marriage ;" he said,
" the lord chamberlain" (who was then earl of
Manchester) " had held a discourse with him some
" days past, that seemed to have somewhat in it
" that was worth the thinking of. That he had
" told him, the Portugal ambassador had made him
" a visit, and having some conference with him con-
" cerning the king, towards whose person he pro-
" fessed a profound respect, he said it was time for
" his majesty to think of marriage ; which nothing
" could keep him from, but the difficulty of finding
" a fit consort for him. That there was in Portugal
" a princess, in her beauty, person, and age, very fit
" for him, and who would have a portion suitable



490 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. "to her birth and quality. That it is true she was
~~ " a catholic, and would never depart from her reli-
" gion ; but was totally without that meddling and
" activity in her nature, which many times made
" those of that religion troublesome and restless,
" when they came into a country where another re-
" ligion was practised. That she had been bred
" under a wise mother, who was still regent in that
" kingdom, who had carefully infused another spirit
" into her, and kept her from affecting to have any
" hand in business, and which she had never been
" acquainted with ; so that she would look only to
" enjoy her own religion, and not at all concern
" herself in what others professed. That he had
" authority to make the proposition to the king,
" with such particularities as included many ad-
" vantages above any, he thought, which could ac-
" company any overture of that kind from another
" prince. To which the chamberlain had added,
" that there could be no question, but that a pro-
" testant queen would in all respects be looked upon
" as the greatest blessing to the kingdom : but if
" such a one could not be found, he did really be-
" lieve, that a princess of this temper and spirit
" would be the best of all catholics. That the trade
" of Portugal was great here, and that England had
" a more beneficial commerce with that crown than
" with any other : which had induced Cromwell to
" make that peace, when he had upon the matter
" forsworn it ; and the making it had been the most
" popular action he had ever performed. "

His majesty said, " that he had only answered
" the chamberlain, that he would think of it. But
" that the very morning of this day, the ambassador



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 491

" of Portugal had been with him, and without any 1661.
" formality had entered into the same discourse, and ~~
" said all that the lord chamberlain had mentioned :
" to which he added, that he had authority to offer
" to his majesty five hundred thousand pounds ster-
" ling in ready money, as a portion with the infanta;
" and likewise to assign over, and for ever to annex
" to the crown of England, the possession of Tangier
" upon the African shore in the Mediterranean sea,
" a place of that strength and importance, as would
" be of infinite benefit and security to the trade of
" England ; and likewise to grant to the English
" nation a free trade in Brasil and in the East Indies,
" which they had hitherto denied to all nations but
" themselves. And for their security to enjoy that
" privilege, they would put into his majesty's hands
" and possession, and for ever annex to the crown of
" England, the island of Bombay ne, (with the towns
" and castles therein, which are within a very little
" distance from Bombayne' ;) which" hath within it-
" self a very good and spacious harbour, and would
" be a vast improvement to the East India trade.
" And those two places," he said, " of Tangier and
" Bombayne, might reasonably be valued above the
" portion in money. " The king mentioned all the The king
discourse as a matter that pleased him, and might the^pro-
prove of notable advantage to the kingdom ; and |losah
said, " that he had wished the ambassador to confer
" with him (the chancellor) upon it ;" and then
asked him " what he thought of it :" to which he
answered, " that he had not heard of it enough to
" think of it," (for he had never heard or thought

' Bombayne] Brasil ll which] and



492 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. of it before that moment ;) " and therefore he should
" not be able to do more when the ambassador came
" to him, than to hear what he said, and report it
" to his majesty for the present. " He only asked u ,
" whether his majesty had given over all thoughts
" of a protestant wife :" to which he answered, " he
" could find none such, except amongst his own sub-
" jects ; and amongst them he had seen none that
" pleased him enough to that end. " And observing
the chancellor to look fixedly upon him, he said,
" that he would never think more of the princess
" of Orange's daughter, her mother having used him
" so ill when he proposed it ; and if he should now
" think of it, he knew his mother would never con-
" sent to it, and that it would break his sister's
*' heart : therefore he had resolved never to enter-
" tain that thought again. And that he saw no
" objection against this overture from Portugal, that
" would not occur in x any other, where the advan-
" tages would not be so many or so great. "

What could the chancellor say ? What objection
could he make, why this overture should not be
hearkened to? And what would the king have
thought, or what might he not have thought, if he
had advised him to reject this motion ? He gave him
no other answer for the present, than " that he de-
" sired nothing more in this world, than to see his
" majesty well married ; and he was very confident
" that all his good subjects were of the same mind :
" and therefore there must be some very visible in-
" convenience irt it ? , when he should dissuade him

11 report it to his majesty for the present he only asked
the present. He only asked] x inj Omitted in MS.
report it to his majesty. For - v it] Not in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 493

"not to embrace such an opportunity. That he 1661
" would be ready to confer with the Portugal am-~~
" bassador when he came, and then he should enter-
" tain his majesty further upon that subject. " The
ambassador came to him, repeated what he said and
proposed to the king, with little other enlargement,
than concerning the benefit England would receive
by the two places of Tangier and Bombayne, and
the description of their situation and strength ; of
all which the chancellor gave his majesty a faithful
account, without presuming to mingle with it a word
of his own advice. The king appeared abundantly
pleased, and willing to proceed further ; and asked
" what was next to be z done :" to which he answered,
" that it a was a matter of too great importance for
" him to deliver any opinion upon; indeed too great
(t for his majesty himself to resolve, upon the pri-
" vate advice of any one man, how agreeable soever
" it should be to his own inclination and judgment. "
And therefore he desired him " that he would call
" to him four or five persons, whom he thought to
" be the most competent considerers of such an af-
" fair, and consult it very maturely with them, be-
" fore he entertained any more conference with the
" ambassador. For whatsoever he should resolve b
" upon it, it ought yet to be kept in all possible
" secrecy : if it should be thought fit to be rejected,
" it ought to be without the least noise, and the
" least reflection upon the overture, which had been
" made with all the possible demonstration of esteem:
" if it should appear worthy of entertainment and
" acceptation, it would still require the same secrecy;

1 to be] Not in MS. a it] he b resolve] Omitted in MS.



494 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. till the value and consequence of all the particu-
" lars proposed by the ambassador might be fully
" examined and weighed, and a more particular and
" substantial assurance iven for the accomplish-
" ment, than the bare word of the ambassador. "
He ap- The king appointed that the lord treasurer, the

committee marquis of Ormond, the lord chamberlain, and se-
intoT r cretary Nicholas, should be together at the chan-
h ce U r ' s house, where his majesty would likewise be
an( j propose the business to them. And accordingly
he did relate to them the whole series of what had
passed, and required them " with all possible free-
" dom to deliver their c opinions, and to consider
" whether there was any other princess or lady in
" their view, with whom he might marry more ad-
" vantageously. " He added, " that he had spoken
" both with the earl of Sandwich and sir John Law-
" son occasionally and merely as loose discourse, what
" place Tangier was, which he pointed to in the
" map, and whether it was 'well known to them :
" and they both said, they knew it well from sea.
" But that sir John Lawson had been in it, and said,
" it was a place of that importance, that if it were in
" the hands of the Hollanders, they would quickly
" make a mole, which they might easily do ; that
" now ships could not ride there in such a wind,"
which his majesty named ; " but if there were a
" mole, they would ride securely in . all weather ;
" and they would keep the place against all the
" world, and give the law to all the trade of the
" Mediterranean :" with which discourse his majesty
seemed very much affected. After many questions

c their] Not in -MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 495

and much debate, and some of the lords wishing 1661.
that it were possible to get a queen that was a pro-~
testant, and one of them naming the daughter of
Harry prince of Orange, of whom they had heard
some mention when his majesty was beyond the seas,
and of whose elder sister (then married to the elector
of Brandenburgh) there had been some discourse in
the life of the late king ; (but his majesty quickly
declared, " that he had very unanswerable reasons
" why he could not entertain that alliance :") all the
lords unanimously agreed, " that there was no ca-
" tholic princess in Europe, whom his majesty could
" with so much reason and advantage marry, as
" the infanta of Portugal. That the portion pro-
" posed in money, setting aside the places, was much
" greater, almost double to what any king had ever
" received in money by any marriage. And the
" places seemed to be situated very usefully for
" trade, the increase whereof his majesty was to
" endeavour with all possible solicitude ; which could
" only make this nation flourish, and recover the in-
" terest they had lost, especially in the Indies and
" in the Mediterranean, by the late troubles and
" distractions, and the advantage the Dutch had
" thereby gotten over the English in those trades,
" as well as in other. " The king approved all that
had been said, and thereupon appointed all those
lords with the same secrecy to enter into a treaty
with the ambassador; which was begun between
them accordingly.

The treaty neither was nor could be a secret ; nor
was there any thing more generally desired, than
that a treaty of alliance and commerce should be
made with Portugal, that the trade might continue



496 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

16G1. with security: and it was very grateful to every
~ body to know, that there was a committee appointed
to that purpose. But the proposition towards a mar-
riage was still a secret, not communicated to any,
nor so much as suspected by the Spanish ambas-
sador, who did all he could to obstruct the very
treaty of alliance ; of whose proceedings there will
be occasion to make mention anon by itself. The
ambassador offered " to renew the treaty (if that of
" the marriage was consented to * in terminis,') that
" had been made with d Cromwell, without being so
" much as exempted from that yearly payment,
" which had been imposed upon them for assisting
" prince Rupert," and had been assigned to the
merchants to satisfy the damages they had sustained
by prince Rupert ; and the release whereof must
have obliged the king to pay it himself: and there-
fore that offer was looked upon as a generous thing.
And the whole treaty, which they had not yet per-
used, was generally looked upon and believed to be
the most advantageous to England, that had been
ever entered into with any crown.

It had been foreseen from the first motion towards
this marriage, that it would be a very hard matter e
with such alliance, to avoid such a conjunction with
Portugal, as would produce a war with Spain ; which
the king had no mind to be engaged in. For be-
sides that he had received some civilities from that
king, after a world of disobligations, his resident at
Madrid, sir Harry Bennet, had consented in his
majesty's name, that the old treaty which had been
made between the two crowns in the year 1630,

d with] without e matter] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 497

should be again observed; of which more anon. But 1661
his majesty's firm resolution at that time was, wholly "~
to intend the composing or subduing the distempers
and ill humours in his three kingdoms and all his
other dominions ; and till that should be fully done,
he would have no difference with any of his neigh-
bours, nor be engaged in any war which he could
avoid : a resolution very prudently made ; and if it
had been adhered to, much evil which succeeded
the departure 1 from it, might have been prevented.

But the lords found, upon perusal of the treaty,
one article (which was indeed the only article that
made any show of benefit and advantage to Portugal)
by which Cromwell was obliged to assist Portugal
when they should require it, with six thousand foot,
to be levied in England at their charge. And now
the ambassador urged, " that in consideration of the
" marriage, the portion, the delivery of those places, .
" and his majesty's own interest by that marriage ,
" in Portugal, which upon the death of the king
" and his brother must devolve to his majesty ; he
" would take upon him the protection of that king-
" dom, and denounce war with Spain :" to which his
majesty warmly and positively answered, " that he
" would admit no such engagement ; that he was
" not in a condition to make a war, till he could not
" avoid it. He would do what was lawful for him
" to do ; he could choose a wife for himself, and he
" could help a brother and ally with a levy of men
** at their charge, without entering into a war with
" any other prince. And if Spain should, either
" upon his marriage or such supply, declare a war
" against him, he would defend himself as well as he
"could, and do as much damage as he could to

VOL. I. K k



498 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1C61. " Spain ; and then that he would apply such assist-



~" ance to Portugal, as should be most advantageous
" to it : and that he should not be willing to see it
" reduced under the obedience of Spain for many
" reasons. That in the mean time he would assist
" them with the same number as Cromwell had pro-
" mised, and transport them at his own charge thi-
" ther ; provided that as soon as they were landed,
" they should be received in the king of Portugal's
" pay :" which offer the king made upon a reason
not then communicated, and which will be men-
tioned hereafter ; besides that he had such a body
of men ready for such a service, and which could
with much more security and little more charge be
transported to Portugal, than be disbanded in the
place where they were.

When the ambassador found that the king would
not be persuaded to enter directly into a war with
Spain, though he offered " to put Barcelona into his
" hands, of which don Joseph Margarita," (a person
who had conducted the revolt of that city, and all
the rebellion which had been lately in Catalonia,)
" then in Paris, should come over and give un-
" questionable assurance," (all which, with many
other propositions of the same nature, his majesty
totally rejected;) he concluded, that the alliance
and marriage would give a present reputation to
Portugal, and make impression upon the spirits of
Spain, and that a war would hereafter fall out un-
The treaty avoidably i and so accepted what the king had of-
mercrwiti. fered. Arid then there remained nothing to be
ittlel. al done, but to give unquestionable security to the
king, for the performance of all the particulars
which had been promised ; and for which there ap-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 499

peared yet no other warrant, than letters and in- 1661.
structions to the ambassador from the queen re-~"
gent. And for further satisfaction therein, the am-
bassador offered " presently to pass into Portugal,
" and doubted not, in as short a time as could
" be expected, to return with such power and au-
" thority, and such a full concession of what had
" been proposed, as should be very satisfactory :"
which his majesty well liked ; and writ himself to
the queen regent and to the king such letters, as
signified " his full resolution for the marriage, if all
" the particulars promised by the ambassador in
" writing should be made good ;" and writ likewise
a letter with his own hand to the infanta, as to a
lady whom he looked upon as his wife ; and as-
signed two ships to attend the ambassador, who im-
mediately, and with some appearance or pretence of
discontent or dissatisfaction, (that the secret might The ambas-
be the less discovered,) embarked with all his family f
for the river of Lisbon.
And to this time the chan-
cellor had never mentioned any particular advice of
his own to the king, more than his concurrence with
the rest of the lords ; nor in truth had any of them
shewed more inclination towards it, than the king
himself had done, who seemed marvellously pleased,
and had spoken much more in private with the am-
bassador upon it, than any of the lords had done,
and of some particulars which they were never ac-
quainted with.

That I may not break off the thread of this dis- An account

. 11T . , . . of the earl

course till I bring it to a conclusion, nor leave out O f Bristol's



any important particular that related to that sub- ^|! ^j"
ject, I shall in this place make mention of a little
cloud or eclipse, raised by the activity and restlessness

K k 2



500 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. of the earl of Bristol, that seemed to interpose and
darken the splendour of this treaty, and to threaten
the life thereof, by extinguishing it in the bud:
upon which occasion the chancellor thought himself
obliged to appear more for it, than he had hitherto
done ; and which afterwards (how unjustly soever)
was turned to his reproach. This earl, (who through-
out the whole course of his life frequently admin-
istered variety of discourse, that could not be ap-
plied to any other man,) upon, the defeat of sir
George Booth, when all the king's hopes in Eng-
land seemed desperate, had not the patience to ex-
pect another change that presently succeeded ; but
presently changed his religion, and declared himself
a Roman catholic, that he might with undoubted
success apply himself to the service of Spain, to
which the present good acceptation he had with don
Juan was the greater encouragement. He gave ac-
count by a particular letter to the pope of this his
conversion, which was delivered by the general of
the Jesuits ; in return of which he received a cus-
tomary brief from his sanctity, with the old piece of
scripture never left out in those occasions, " Tu con-
" versus converte fratres tuos. "

The noise and scandal of this defection and apo-
stasy in a sworn counsellor of the king, and one of
his secretaries of state, made it necessary for the
king to remove him from both those trusts, which
he had made himself incapable to execute by the
laws of England, and which he proposed to himself
to enjoy with the more advantage by his change ;
and believed that the king, who seemed to have no
other hopes towards his restoration than in catholic
princes, would not think this a season in ordinary



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 501

policy to disgrace a servant of his eminency and re- J661.
lation, for no other reason than his becoming catho-
lie, by which he should have so many opportunities
to serve his master. And this he had the confidence
to urge to the king, before he was obliged to deliver
the signet, and to forbear the being present any
more in council. And this displacing and remove
he imputed entirely to his old friend the chancellor,
(with whom till that minute he had for many years
held a very firm friendship,) and the more, because
he received from his majesty the same countenance
he had before, without any reprehension for what
he had done; the king not being at all surprised
with his declaration, because he had long known
that he was very indifferent in all matters of reli-
gion, and looked upon the outward profession of
any, as depending wholly upon the convenience or
discommodity that might be enjoyed by it. And
with such discourses he had too much entertained
the king, who never would speak seriously with him
upon that subject. And truly his own relation of
the manner of his conversion, with all the circum-
stances, and the discourse of an ignorant old Jesuit,
whom he perfectly contemned, and of a simple good
woman, the abbess of a convent, which contributed
to it, was so ridiculous, and administered such occa-
sion of mirth, that his majesty thought laughing at
him to be the best reproof. And the earl bore that
so well and gratefully from the king, and from his
other familiar friends too, (for he dissembled his
taking any thing ill of the chancellor,) and contri-
buted so much himself to the mirth, that he was
never better company than upon that argument:
and any man would have believed, that he had not

K k3



502 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. a worse opinion of the religion he had forsaken, or
~~ of any other, by his becoming Roman catholic.

When the king made his journey to Fuentarabia,
to the treaty between the two crowns, the earl of
Bristol's irresistible importunity prevailed with him
to permit him to go likewise, though his majesty
had received advertisement from sir Harry Bennet,
that don Lewis de Haro desired that he might not
come with his majesty thither. The least part of
the mischief he did in that journey was, that he
prevailed with the king to make so many diversions
and delays in it, that the treaty was concluded be-
fore he came thither, and he was very near being
disappointed of all the fruit he had proposed to him-
self to receive from it. However it was finished so
much the better, that he left the earl behind him ;
who, in the short time of his stay there, had so far
insinuated himself into the grace and good opinion
of don Lewis de Haro, who came with all the pre-
judice and detestation imaginable towards him, (as
he had to his extraordinary parts a marvellous fa-
culty of getting himself believed,) that he was well
content that he should go with him to Madrid,
where the king, upon the memory of his father,
(who had deserved well from that crown, or rather
had suffered much for not having deserved ill,) re-
ceived him graciously. And there he resided in the
resident's house, who had been his servant, in such
a repose as was agreeable to his fancy, that he might
project his own fortune ; which was the only thing
his heart was set upon, and of which he despaired
in his own country.

The news of the king's miraculous restoration
quickly arrived at Madrid, and put an end to the



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 503

earl's further designs, believing he could not do bet- 1661.
ter abroad than he might do in his own country ; ~~
and so he undertook his journey through France,
laden with many obligations from that court, and
arrived at London about the time that the ambassa-
dor was embarked for Portugal. The king of Spain An account
had, soon after the king's arrival in England, sent n
the prince of Lygnes with a very splendid ambas- SRdor-
sage to congratulate with his majesty, about the
time that the count of Soissons came from France
on the same errand. And after his return, the
baron of Batteville was sent from Spain as ordinary
ambassador, a man born in Burgundy in the Spanish
quarters, and bred a soldier ; in which profession he
was an officer of note, and at that time was go-
vernor of St. Sebastian's and of that province. He
seemed a rough man, and to have more of the camp,
but in truth knew the intrigues of a court better
than most Spaniards ; and, except when his passion
surprised him, wary and cunning in his negotiation.
He lived with less reservation and more jollity than
the ministers of that crown used to do ; and drew
such of the court to his table and conversation, who
he observed were loud talkers, and confident enough
in the king's presence.

In the first private audience he had, he delivered
a memorial to his majesty; in which he required
" the delivery of the island of Jamaica to his master,
"it having been taken by his rebel subjects contrary
" to the treaty of peace between the two crowns;
" and likewise that his majesty would cause Dun-
" kirk and Mardike to be restored to his catholic
" majesty, they having not only been taken contrary
" to that treaty, but when his majesty was enter-

K k 4



504 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. " tained in that king's dominions with all courtesy
~~" and respect. " And he likewise required, in the
king his master's name, " that the king would not
" give any assistance, nor enter into any treaty of
" alliance with Portugal : for that the same, as the
" rest, was directly contrary to the last treaty,
" which was now again revived and stood in force
" by the declaration of his majesty's resident at Ma-
" drid ;" which was the first notice any of his ma-
jesty's ministers had of any such declaration. But
when he had delivered those memorials to the king,
he never called for an answer, nor willingly entered
upon the discourse of either of the subjects ; but
put it off merely as a thing he was to do of form
once, that his master's just title might be remem-
bered, but not to be pressed till a fitter conjuncture.
For he easily discovered what answer he should re-
ceive : and so took the advantage of the license of the
court, where no rules or formalities were yet esta-
blished, (and to which the king himself was not
enough inclined,) but all doors open to all persons.
Which the ambassador finding, he made Jiimself a
domestic, came to the king at all hours, and spake
to him when and as long as he would, without any
ceremony, or desiring an audience according to the
old custom ; but came into the bedchamber whilst
the king was dressing himself, and mingled in all
discourses with the same freedom he would use in
his 'own. And from this never heard of license, in-
troduced by the French and the Spaniard at this
time without any dislike in the king, though not
permitted in any other court in Christendom, many
inconveniences and mischiefs broke in, which could
never after be shut out.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 505

As soon as the earl of Bristol came to the court, 1661.
he was very willing to be looked upon as wholly de- ~
voted to the Spanish interest ; and so made a par-
ticular friendship with the Spanish ambassador, with
whom he had a former acquaintance whilst the king
had been at Fuentarabia, that he might give a testi-
mony of his gratitude for the favours he had re-
ceived so lately at Madrid. The king received him
with his accustomed good countenance ; and he had
an excellent talent in spreading that leaf-gold very
thin, that it might look much more than it was :
and took pains by being always in his presence, and
often whispering in his ear, and talking upon some
subjects with a liberty not ingrateful, to have it be-
lieved that he was more than ordinarily acceptable
to his majesty. And the king, not wary enough
against those invasions, did communicate more to
him of the treaty with Portugal, than he had done
to any other person, except those who f were imme-
diately trusted in it.

The earl had always promised himself (though he
knew he could not be of the council, nor in any
ministry of state, by reason of his religion) that he
was in so good esteem with his majesty and with
most of those who were trusted by him, that he
should have a great share in all foreign affairs, and
should be consulted with in all matters of that kind,
in regard of the long experience he had in foreign
parts ; which indeed amounted to no more, than a
great exactness in the languages of those parts.
And therefore he was surprised with the notice of
this affair, and presently expressed his dislike of it,
and told his majesty, " that he would be exceedingly
f who] Omitted in MS.



506 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. "deceived in it; that Portugal was poor, and not
The eari of " a ^ e to P av tne portion they had promised. That
Bristol and now ft was forsaken by France. Spain would over-

the Spanish t J

ambassador run and reduce it in one year ;" enlarging upon

obstruct the . *

marriage, the great preparations which were made for that
expedition, " of which don Lewis de Haro himself
" would be general, and was sure of a great party
" in Portugal itself, that was weary of that govern-
" ment : so that that miserable family had no hope,
" but by transporting themselves and their poor
" party in their ships to Brasil, and their other large
" territories in the East Indies, which were pos-
" sessed only by Portugueses, who might possibly be
" willing to be subject to them. And that this was
" so much in the view of all men, that it was all
" the care Spain had to prevent it. " The king did
not inform him, that he had concluded any thing,
and that the ambassador was gone for more ample
powers to satisfy his majesty, that all that was pro-
mised should be performed.

The earl, who valued himself upon his great fa-
culty in obstructing and puzzling any thing that
was agreed upon, and in contriving whereof he had
no hand, repaired to the Spanish ambassador, and
informed him, under obligation of secrecy, of what
treaty the king was entered upon with Portugal by
the advice of the chancellor ; which he hoped " that
" they two should find some means to break. " But
the ambassador's breast was not large enough to
contain that secret z. He talked of it in all places
with great passion, and then took it up as from com-
mon report, and spake to the king of it, and said, " the

s secret] MS, adds: that burned his entrance



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 507

" Portugal ambassador had in his vanity bragged of 1661,
" it to some catholics, and promised them great""
" things upon it ; none of which he was confident
" could be true, and that his majesty could never be
" prevailed with to consent to such a treaty, which
" would prove ruinous to himself and his kingdom ;
" for the king of Spain could not but resent it to
" such a degree, as would bring great inconvenience
" to his affairs. " And his majesty forbearing to
give him any answer, at least not such a one as
pleased him, his rage transported him to undervalue
the person of the infanta. He said, " she was de-
" formed, and had many diseases ; and that it was
" very well known in Portugal and in Spain, that
" she was incapable to bear children ;" and many
particulars of that nature.

When he had said the same things several days
to the king, the earl of Bristol took his turn again,
and told the king other things which the ambassador
had communicated to him in trust, and which he
durst not presume to say to his majesty, and which
in truth he had said himself, being concerning the
person of the infanta, and her incapacity to have
children ; upon which he enlarged very pathetically,
and said, " he would speak freely with the chancel-
" lor of it, upon whom the ill consequences of this
" counsel would fall. " He told him, " there were
" many beautiful ladies in Italy, of the greatest
" houses ; and that his majesty might take his
" choice of them, and the king of Spain would give
" a portion with her, as if she were a daughter of
" Spain ; and the king should marry her as such. "
And the ambassador shortly after proposed the same
thing, and enlarged much upon it. And both the



508 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1(561. earl and the ambassador conferred with the chancel-



lor (concealing the propositions they had made con-
cerning the Italian ladies) " as of a matter the town
" talked of and exceedingly disliked, the more be-
" cause it was generally known, that that princess
" could not have any children. " 'The king himself
had informed the chancellor of all that passed from
the ambassador, and of his rudeness towards the
infanta, and his declaring that she could have no
children ; and told him, " that the earl of Bristol
" resolved to confer with him, and doubted not to
" convert him ;" without seeming himself to have
been moved with any thing that the ambassador or
the earl had said to him : so that when they both
came afterwards to him, not together but severally,
and he perceived that his majesty had not to either
of them imparted how far he had proceeded, (but
had heard them talk as of somewhat they had
taken up from public rumour, and h had himself dis-
coursed of it as sprung from such a fountain,) the
chancellor did not take himself to be at liberty to
enter into a serious debate of the matter with them ;
but permitted them to enjoy the pleasure of their
own opinion, and to believe that either there had
been no inclination to such a treaty, or that the
weight of their reasons would quickly enervate it.
The king Whether the king grew less inclined to marry,
much" and liked the liberty he enjoyed too well to be will-
wu&tbe S to k e restrained; or whether what had been
treaty. g^ { o n j m o f ^he m f an ta's person, and her unapt-
ness for children, had made some impression in him ;
or whether the earl of Bristol's describing the per-
sons of the Italian ladies, and magnifying their con-
h and] he



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 509

versations (in which arguments he had naturally a 1661.
very luxurious style, unlimited by any rules of truth ~
or modesty ;) it is not to be denied, that his majesty
appeared much colder, and less delighted to speak
of Portugal, than he had been, and would sometimes
wish l " that the ambassador had not gone, and that
" he would quickly return without commission to
" give his majesty satisfaction. " He seemed to re-
flect upon a war with Spain, "which," he said,
" could not possibly be avoided in that alliance," with
more apprehension than he had formerly done, when
that contingency had been debated. All which dis-
courses troubled the lords who had been trusted,
very much, not conceiving that the ambassador's
frantic discourse could have any weight in it, or that
the earl of Bristol (whose levity and vanity was
enough known to the king) could make that impres-
sion in him. However, it appeared, that the earl
was much more in private with him than he had used
to be, many hours shut up together ; and when the
king came from him, that he seemed to be perplexed
and full of thoughts.

One morning the earl came to the chancellor, and
after some compliments and many protestations of
his inviolable friendship, he told him, " he was come
" to take his leave of him for some months, being
" to begin a long journey as soon as he should part
" with him ; for he had already kissed the king's
" hand : and his friendship would not permit him
" to be reserved towards him, and to keep a se-
" cret of that vast importance from his knowledge. "

He said, " that the king had heard such unanswer-

\

' wish] Omitted in MS.



510 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. " able reasons against this marriage with Portugal,
~~ " that he was firmly resolved never more to entertain
" a thought of it ; that the Spanish ambassador had
" recommended two princesses to him, whereof he
" might take his choice, of incomparable beauty and
" all excellent parts of mind, who should be en-
" dowed as a daughter of Spain by that king, to
" whom they were allied ;" and so named the ladies.
He said, " this discourse had prevailed very far upon
" the king, as a thing that could raise no jealousies
" in France, with whom he desired so to live, that
" he might be sure to have peace in his own domin-
" ions. There was only one thing in which he
" desired to be better satisfied, which was thfe per-
" sons, beauties, and good humours of the princesses;
" and that he had so good an opinion of his judg-
" ment, that he was confident if he saw them, he
" would easily know whether either of them were
" like to please his majesty ; and would so far trust
" him, that if he did believe, knowing his majesty
" so well as he did, that one of them would be grate-
" ful, he should carry power with him to propound
" and conclude a treaty ; which," he said, " he car-
" ried with him, and likewise other letters, upon
" which he should first find such access and admis-
" sion, as would enable him to judge of their nature
" and humour as well as of their beauty. " He
seemed much transported with the great trust re-
posed in him, and with the assurance that he should
make the king and kingdom happy. And he said,
" one -reason, besides his friendship, that had made
" him impart this great secret, was a presumption,
" that now he knew how far his majesty was dis-
" posed and in truth engaged in this particular, he



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 511

" would not do any thing to cross or interrupt the 1 6C 1
" design. " The chancellor, enough amazed, by some
questions found he was utterly uninformed, how far
the king stood engaged in Portugal ; and knowing
the incredible power the earl had over himself, to
make him believe any thing he had a mind should
be true, he used little more discourse with him than
" to wish him a good journey. "

Upon the first opportunity he told the king all
that the earl had said to him ; with which his ma-
jesty seemed not pleased, as expecting that the se-
cret should have been kept better. He did not dis-
semble his not wishing that the treaty with Portugal
might succeed ; and confessed " that he had sent the
" earl of Bristol to see some ladies in Italy, who
" were highly extolled by the Spanish ambassador,"
but denied that he had given him such powers as
he bragged of. The chancellor thereupon asked
him, " whether he well remembered his engagement,
" which he had voluntarily made, and without any
" body's persuasion, to the king and queen regent ;"
and desired him " to impart his new resolution to
" the lords who were formerly trusted by him.
" That probably he might find good reason and
" just arguments to break off the treaty with Por-
" tugal ; which ought to be first done, before he
" embarked himself in another : otherwise that he
" would so far expose his honour to reproach, that
" all princes would be afraid of entering into any
" treaty with him. " This was every word of per-
suasion, that he then or ever after used to him upon
this affair; nor did it at that time seem to make
any impression in him. However, he sent for the
lord treasurer, and conferred at large with him and



512 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1GG1. the lord marquis of Ormond. And finding them
""exceedingly surprised with what he had done, and
that they gave the same and other stronger argu-
ments against it than the other had done, his ma-
jesty seemed to recollect himself, and to think, that
whatever resolution he should think fit to take in
the end, that he had not chosen the best way and
method of proceeding towards it ; and resolved to
call the earl back, " which," he said, " he could infal-
" libly do by sir Kenelm Digby, who knew how to
" send a letter to him, before he had proceeded fur-
" ther in his journey, it having been before agreed,
" that he should make a halt in such and such places,
" to the end that he might be advertised of any new
" occurrences. " And his majesty did write the same
night to him " to return, because it was necessary
" to have some mere conference with him. " And
the letter was sent by sir Kenelm Digby, and pro-
bably received by the earl in time. But he conti-
nued his journey into Italy ; and after his return
pretended not to have received that letter, or any
other order to return, till it was too late, being at
that time entered upon the borders or confines of
Italy ; in which he had not the good fortune to be
believed.

The Portu- The ambassador of Portugal despatched his voy-
ba-wador 1 age with more expedition than could have been ex-
[ 8 et c u r 1 d5y and pected, and returned, as he believed, with at least
received. ^ f u jj satisfaction to all particulars as could be ex-
pected; but found his reception with such a cold-
ness, that struck the poor gentleman (who was na-
turally hypochondriac) to the heart ; nor could he be
informed from whence this distemper proceeded.
And therefore he forbore to deliver his letters, which



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 513

he thought might more expose the honour of his 1661,
master and mistress to contempt, and remained qui- ~
etly in his house, without demanding a second audi-
ence ; until he could by some way or other be in-
formed what had fallen out since his departure, that
could raise those clouds which appeared in every
man's looks. He saw the Spanish ambassador ex-
ceedingly exalted with the pride of having put an
insolent affront upon the ambassador from France,
which cost his master dear, and heard that he had
bragged loudly of his having broken the treaty of
Portugal. And it is very true, that he did every
day somewhat either vainly or insolently, that gave
the king offence k , or lessened the opinion he had of
his discretion, and made him withdraw much of that
countenance from him, which he had formerly given
him. This, and the return of the Portugal ambas-
sador with a new title of marquis de Sande, (an
evidence according to the custom of that court, that
he had well served his master in his employment,)
put him into new fury ; so that he came to the
king with new expostulations, and gave him a me-
morial, in which he said, " that he had order from
" his master to let his majesty know, that if his ma-
" jesty should proceed towards a marriage with the
" daughter of the duke of Braganza, his master's
" rebel, he had order to take his leave presently, and
" to declare war against him. " The king returned
some sharp answer presently to him, and told him
" he might be gone as soon as he would, and that
" he would not receive orders from the catholic
" king, how to dispose himself in marriage. " Upon

k offence] Omitted in MS.
VOL. I. L 1



166). which the ambassador seemed to think he had gone
~~ too far ; and the next day desired another audience,
wherein he said, " he had received new orders : and
" that his catholic majesty had so great an affection
" for his majesty and the good of his affairs, that
" having understood that, in respect of the present
" distempers in religion, nothing could be more mis-
" chievous to him than to marry a catholic ; there-
" fore," he declared, " that if there were any pro-
" testant lady, who would be acceptable to his ma-
" jesty," (and named the daughter of the princess
dowager of Orange,) " the king of Spain would give
" a portion with her, as with a daughter of Spain ;
" by which his majesty's affairs and occasions would
" be supplied. "

The multiplying these and many bther extrava-
gancies made the king reflect upon all the ambas-
sador's proceedings and behaviour, and revolve the
discourses he had held with him ; and to reconsider,
whether they had not made greater impressions
upon him, than the weight of them would bear. He
had himself spoken with some who had seen the
infanta, and described her to be a person very dif-
ferent from what the ambassador had delivered. He
had seen a picture that was reported to be very like
her ; and upon the view of it his majesty said, " that
" person could not be unhandsome. " And by de-
grees considering the many things alleged by the
ambassador, which could not be known by him, and
could result from nothing but his own malice, his
majesty returned to his old resolution ; and spake at
large with the Portugal 1 ambassador with his usual

' Portugal] Not in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 515

freedom, and received both the letters and informa- 1661.
tion he brought with him, and declared " that he"
" was fully satisfied in all the particulars. "

Nor did the carriage of the Spanish ambassador Extrava-

. . . 1*1 11* i i;:mt beba-

contribute a little towards his majesty s resolution : v . our of the



for he, without any other ground than from his own
fancy, (for the king had not declared his purpose to
any, nor was the thing spoken of abroad,) and from
what he collected from his majesty's sharp replies to
his insolent expressions, took upon him to do an
act of the highest extravagancy, that hath been
done in Europe by the minister of any state in this
age. He caused to be printed in English the copies
of the memorials which he had presented to the
king, and of the discourses he had made against
the match with Portugal, with the offers the king
of Spain had made to prevent so great a mischief to
the kingdom, and other seditious papers to the same
purpose ; and caused those papers to be spread abroad
in the army and amongst the populace m ; some
whereof were cast out of his own windows amongst
the soldiers, as they passed to and from the guard.
Upon which unheard of misdemeanour, the king was For winch
so much incensed, that he sent the secretary of state qSiiedto
" to require him forthwith to depart the kingdom, I^JJ,*
" without seeing his majesty's face," which he would
not admit him to do ; and to let him know, " that
" he would send a complaint of his misbehaviour to
" the king his master, from whom he would expect
" that justice should be done upon him. " The am-
bassador received this message with exceeding trou-
ble and grief, even to tears, and desired, " to be ad-

m the populace] Omitted in MS.
L 12



516 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. " mitted to see the king, and to make his humble

~~" submission, and to beg his pardon ; which he was

" ready to do :" but that being denied, within few

days he departed the kingdom, carrying with him

the character of a very bold rash man.

AH incident There was an accident about this time, that it is

that pro-
motes the probable did confirm the king in his resolution con-

. cerning Portugal. At this time cardinal Mazarine
was dead, and had never been observed to be merry
and to enjoy his natural pleasant humour, from the
time of the king's restoration, which had deceived
all his calculations, and broken all his measures.
Upon his death the ministry was committed to three
persons, (the king himself being still present at all
their consultations,) monsieur de Tellier and mon-
sieur de Lionne, the two secretaries of state, and
monsieur Fouquet, surintendant of the finances and
procureur general du roy, who was a man of extra-
ordinary parts, and being not forty years of age,
enjoyed his full vigour of body and mind, and in
respect of his sole power over the finances was looked
upon as the premier ministre. This man, as soon
. as he was in the business, sent an express into
' England with a letter to the chancellor. The mes-
senger was La Basteede, who, having been secretary
during the time of his being in England to Bor-
deaux whilst he was ambassador, spake English
very well. He, as soon as he arrived, went to the
chancellor's house, and desired one of his servants
to let his lord know, " that he was newly come from
J* France, and that he desired to be admitted to a
" private audience with him, where nobody else
" might be present :" and so he was brought into a
back room, whither the chancellor came to him ; to



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 517

whom he presented a letter directed to him from J<]61.
monsieur Fouquet. The letter after general com-""
pliments took notice " of the great trust he had
" with his master ; and that he being now admitted
" to a part of his master's most secret affairs, and
" knowing well the affection that was between the
" two kings, much desired to hold a close and se-
" cret correspondence together, which he presumed
" would be for the benefit of both their masters. "
The rest contained only a credential, " that he
" should give credit to all that the bearer should say,
'* who was a person entirely trusted by him. " And
then he entered upon his discourse, consisting of
these parts :

1. " That the king of France was troubled to Some, part u
" hear, that there was some obstruction fallen out tures from
" in the treaty with Portugal ; and that it would be * '
" a very generous thing in his majesty to undertake
" the protection of that crown, which if it should
" fall into the possession of Spain, would be a great
" damage and a great shame to all the kings in
" Europe. That himself had heretofore thought of
" marrying the infanta of that kingdom, who is a
" lady of great beauty and admirable endowments ;
" but that his mother and his then minister, and
" indeed all other princes, so much desired the peace
" between the crowns, that he was diverted from
" that design. And that for the perfecting that
" peace and his marriage with Spain, he had been
" compelled to desert Portugal for the present ; and
" was obliged to send no kind of assistance thither,
" nor to receive any ambassador from thence, nor to
'' have any there : all which he could not but ob-
" serve for some time. But that Portugal was well

L 1 3



518 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. " assured of the continuance of his affection, and
~" that he would find some opportunity by one way
" or other to preserve it. That he foresaw that his
" majesty might not be provided so soon after his
" return, in regard of his other great expenses, to
" disburse such a sum of money, as the sending a
" vigorous assistance, which was necessary, would
" require. But for that he would take care ; and for
" the present cause to be paid to his majesty three
" hundred thousand pistoles, which would defray
" the charge of that summer's expedition ; and for
" the future, provision should be made proportionable
" to the charge :" and concluded, " that he believed
" the king could not bestow himself better in mar-
" riage, than with the infanta of Portugal. "

2. A second part was, " that there were now in
" France ambassadors from the States of the United
" Provinces, and the like in England, to renew the
" alliance with both crowns ; which they hoped to
" do upon the disadvantageous terms they had used
" to obtain it. That those people were grown too
" proud and insolent towards ail their neighbours,
" and treated all kings as if they were at least their
" equals : that France had been ill used by them,
" and was sensible of it ; and that the king had not
" been much beholden to them. " And therefore he
proposed, " that both kings upon this occasion would
" so communicate their counsels, that they might
" reduce that people to live like good neighbours,
" and with more good manners ; and that they would
" treat solely and advance together, and that the one
" should promise not to conclude any thing without
" communicating it to the other : so that both trea-
" ties might be concluded together. "



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 519

3. " That those particulars, and whatsoever passed 1 66 1
" between M. Fouquet and the chancellor, might be~~
" retained with wonderful secrecy ; which it would
" not be, if it were communicated to the queen or
" the earl of St. Alban's," (who were at that time in
France :) " and therefore his Christian majesty de-
" sired, that neither of them should know of this eor-
" respondence, or any particular that passed by it. "

When the gentleman had finished his discourse,
the chancellor told him, " that he knew M. Fouquet
" to be so wise a man, that he would not invite or
" enter into such a correspondence, without the pri-
" vity and approbation of his master : and he pre-
" sumed that he had likewise so good an opinion of
" him, as to believe, that he would first inform his
" majesty of all that he received from him, before
" he would return any answer himself. That he
" would take the first opportunity to acquaint the
" king his master ; and if he would come the next
" day at the same hour" (which was about four in
the afternoon) " to the same place, he would return
" his answer. "

The king came the next day before the hour as-
signed to the chancellor's house. And when he
heard the gentleman was come, his majesty vouch-
safed himself to go into that back room ; and (the
chancellor telling the other, " that he should be wit-
*' ness to his majesty's approbation of his correspond-
" ence") took n notice of the letter he had brought,
and asked many kind questions concerning M. Fou-
quet, who was known to him, and told him, " that
" he was very well pleased with the correspondence

11 look] and took
L 1 4



1661. " proposed ; and that the chancellor should perform
~ " his part very punctually, and with the secrecy
" that was desired ; and that he would give his own
" word, that the queen and the earl of St. Alban's
" should know nothing that should pass in this cor-
" respondence :" which the chancellor observing with
the fidelity he ought to do, and this P coming after
to be known, it * kindled a new jealousy and dis-
pleasure in the queen, that was never afterwards
Which the extinguished. The king told him, " he would upon
the encouragement and promise of the French
" king, of the performance whereof he could make
" no doubt, proceed in the treaty with Portugal ;
" and give that kingdom the best assistance he could,
" without beginning a war with Spain. That for
" the treaty with Holland, which was but newly be-
" gun," (for the States who had made choice of and
nominated their ambassadors before the king left the
Hague, did not send them in near six months after ;
which his majesty looked upon as a great disrespect,)
" he would comply with what the king desired ;
" and that his Christian majesty should from time
" to time receive an account how it should advance,
" and that he would not conclude any thing with-
" out his privity. " How ill both these engagements
which related to Portugal and Holland were after-
wards observed by France, is fit for another discourse
by itself. The gentleman, much satisfied with what
the king had said, proposed " that he would make
" a cipher against the next day to be left in the
" chancellor's hand ; because M. Fouquet desired, for
" preservation of the secret* that the chancellor

and] nor P and this] Not in MS. 1 it] Not in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 521

" would always write with his own hand in English, 1G61.
" directed in such a manner as he should propose ; ~~
" which would always bring the letters safe to the
" hands of him, La Basteede, who was appointed by
" the king to keep that cipher, and to maintain that
" correspondence. "

There was another circumstance that attended An instancc

. . . ofthechan-

this private negotiation, that may not be unfitly in- ceiior's un-
serted here, and is a sufficient manifestation of the tegrity. '"
integrity of the chancellor, and how far he was from
being r that corrupt person, which his most corrupt
enemies would have him thought to be. The next
morning after he had seen the king, La Basteede
came again, and desired an audience with the chan-
cellor. He said, " he had somewhat else in his in-
" structions to say, which he had not yet thought
" fit to offer. " And from thence he entered in a
confused manner to enlarge " upon the great power,
" credit, and generosity of M. Fouquet, the extent
" of his power and office, that he could disburse and
" issue great sums of money without any account so
" much as to the king himself; without which li-
" berty, the king knew many secret services of the
" highest importance could not be performed. " He
said, " he knew the straits and necessities, in which
" the chancellor and others about the king had lived
" for many years : and though he was now returned
" with much honour, and in great trust with his
" master, yet he did suppose he might be some time
" without those furnitures of householdstuff and
" plate, which the grandeur of his office and place
" required. And therefore that he had sent him a

r being] Not in MS.



522 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. " present, which in itself was but small, and was only
~ " the earnest of as much every year, which should
" be constantly paid, and more, if he had occasion
" to use it ; for M. Fouquet did not look upon it as
" of moment to himself. But he knew well the
" faction in all courts, and that he must have many
" enemies ; and if he did not make himself friends
" by acts of generosity and bounty, he must be op-
" pressed; and that he had designed this supply
" only to that purpose. " He shewed him then bills
of exchange and credit for the sum of ten thousand
pounds 'sterling, to be paid at sight : and said, " that
" he had been with the merchant, who would be
" ready to pay it that afternoon ; so that whoever
" he would please to appoint should receive it. " The
chancellor had heard him with much indignation,
and answered him warmly, " that if this correspond-
" ence must expose him to such a reproach, he
" should unwillingly enter into it ; and wished him to
" tell M. Fouquet, that he would only receive wages
" from his own master. " The gentleman so little
looked for a refusal, that he would not understand
it ; but persisted to know " who should receive the
" money, which," he said, " should be paid in such
" a manner, that the person who paid it should
" never know to whom it was paid; and that it
" should always remain a secret ;" still pressing it
with importunity, till the other went with manifest
anger out of the room.

That afternoon the king and duke (who was
likewise informed of the correspondence) came to
the chancellor, and found him out of humour. He
told him, " that Fouquet could not be an honest
" man, and that he had no mind to hold that cor-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 523

" respondence with him;" and thereupon repeated JG61
what had passed in the morning, with much choler : ~
which made them both laugh at him, saying, " the
" French did all their business that way :" and the
king told him " he was a fool," implying, " that
" he should take his money. " Whereupon the chan-
cellor besought him " not to appear to his servants
" so unconcerned in matters of that nature, which
" might produce ill effects ;" and desired him to
consider, " what the consequence of his receiving
" that money, with what secrecy soever, must be.
" That the French king must either believe that he
" had received it without his majesty's privity, and
" so look upon him as a knave fit to be depended
,'* upon in any treachery against his master ; or that
" it was with his majesty's approbation, which must
" needs lessen his esteem of him, that he should per-
" mit his servants of the nearest trust to grow rich
" at the charge of another prince, who might the
" next day become his enemy. " To which the king
smiling made no other reply, " than that few men
" were so scrupulous ;" and commanded him " to
" return a civil answer to M. Fouquet's letter, and
" to cherish that correspondence, which," he said,
" might be useful to him, and could produce no in-
" conveniency s . " And so, when La Basteede (who
could not forbear to use new importunity with him
to receive the money, till he found he was much
offended) brought him the cipher, he delivered him
his letter for M. Fouquet. And the next week after
his return, the king of France writ to him in his
own hand, " that the correspondence M. Fouquet

* inconveniency] inconvenience



524 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. " had invited him to was with his majesty's privity;
~ " and that he was well pleased with it. " And so
the correspondence continued till that great man's
fall: and then the king sent all the letters which
had passed, and the cipher, to the chancellor ; and
writ to him, " from that time to communicate with
" all freedom with his ambassador ;" which he was
before restrained from.

After the king had himself conferred at large
with the Portugal ambassador, he referred him
again to give the lords, with whom he had formerly
treated, an account how all particulars were ad-
justed in Portugal ; " which were," he said, " in this
The mea- " manner.