No More Learning

About the first Christmas after the
king's happy return into England, the chancellor,
treasurer, privy seal, and the two chief justices
(being the persons appointed by the statute for that



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 363

purpose) met together to set the prices upon the 1665.
several sorts of wines ; and were attended, according
to custom, by the company of vintners, and the
chief merchants in the city who traded in that com-
modity. And being first to limit the merchants to
a reasonable rate, before they could prescribe any
price to the vintners upon the retail, they found, by
the best inquiry they could make, that the first
prices beyond the seas which the merchants paid for
their wines were so excessive, that the retail could
not be brought within any compass ; and that since
the beginning of the troubles the price of wines in
general was exceedingly increased, and particularly
that of the Canaries was almost double to what it
had been in the year 1640.

The chancellor knew very well, by the corre-
spondence he had held in the Canaries, (during the
time that he had served his majesty as his ambas-
sador in Spain,) that the whole trade for the Canary
wine was driven solely by the English, and the com-
modity entirely vended in the king's dominions, all
Christendom beside not spending any quantity of
that wine : and thereupon he asked the merchants
" whether what he had reported was not true, and
" what would be the way to remedy that mis-
chief. "

They all confessed it to be very true, and " that
" it was a great reproach to the nation to be so
" much imposed upon in a trade that they might
" govern themselves : and that the unreasonable
" prices of the wine were not the greatest prejudice
" that was befallen that trade. That before the
" troubles they had been so far from employing any
" stock of money for the support of that traffick, that



364 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. " they used to send their ships fully laden with all
~" " commodities thither, which yielded very good
" markets, being sent from thence into the West
" Indies with their Plate fleets ; and that the very
" pipe-staves which they carried did very near sup-
" ply the value of their wine, so that they brought
" home the proceed of their commodities either in
" pieces of eight, or such other merchandizes as had
" been brought thither from the Indies, and upon
" which they received great profit. OQ the con-
" trary, that the trade was now wholly driven by
" ready money ; that the commodities they send thi-
" ther are not taken off, except at their own prices,
" so that they have for the late years sent their ves-
" sels empty thither, except only with some few
" pipe-staves, which by the destruction in Ireland
" they could not send in any great proportion ; and
" that their ships return from thence with no other
" lading but those wines, which they trade for in
" ready money, either by pieces of eight sent in
" their ships from hence, or by bills of exchange
" charged upon some known merchants in Spain.
" That over and above these disadvantages, the
" Spaniards in those islands had of late imposed
" new duties upon the wine, and laid other imposi-
" tions upon the merchants than the English nation
" had been ever accustomed to. " They said, " all
" these inconveniences proceeded from the immo-
" derate appetite this nation hath for that sort of
" wine, and therefore they take from them as much
" as they can make ; and from our own disorder
" and irregularity in buying them, and contending
" who shall get the most, and so raising the price
" upon one another, and making the Spaniards



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 365
themselves the judges what the merchants shall 1G65.



" pay.

The lords, upon consultation between themselves,
found the matter too hard for them, and that the
reformation of so much evil must be made by de-
grees, and upon a representation of the whole, with
the difficulties which attended it, to the king and
his privy-council, whose wisdoms only could provide
a remedy proportionable to the mischiefs. For the
present, as they resolved not to raise the prices at
which wine was at that time bought and sold, (which
they believed, how reasonably soever it might be
done, would yet be very unpopular,) so they thought
it not just to draw down and abate those prices,
since it appeared to them that the wines cost more
in proportion upon the places of their growth. They
declared therefore to the merchants and to the vint-
ners, " that though for the present they would per-
" mit the same prices to continue for the next year,
" which they had been sold for the present year,"
and which indeed were confirmed by the late act of
parliament, " they should hereafter take care what
" markets they made ; for that they were resolved
" the next year to make the prices much lower botli
" to the merchant and to the vintner :" and so, upon
the report made by the lords of the whole matter to
the king in council, and of what they thought fit to
be done for the present, a proclamation was pub-
lished accordingly.

The next year both the merchants and vintners
were very earnest suitors to the lords at their ac-
customed meeting, that greater prices might be al-
lowed, or at least that the same might be continued ;
making it very evident, that their wines cost them



366 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. more than they had done the year before. Upon the
"debate the Canary merchants were much divided.
Some of them insisted very importunately to have
the price raised, " because it was notorious that
" they had paid much more than formerly, by rea-
" son," as they alleged, " that the vintage had not
" yielded near the proportion that it used to do. "
Others, though confessing the increase of price, yet
pretended a more public spirit and the necessity of a
reformation : and therefore they pressed as earn-
estly, " that the price might not be raised, but that
" they might be permitted to take what they had
" done already for this year. " It was quickly dis-
covered whence this moderation proceeded ; and
that the last proposers had a great quantity of wine
upon their hands, which had been provided the year
before, and so might well be sold at the same price ,
but that the former had no old wine left, but were
supplied with a full provision of new, which had
cost them so much dearer. Both the one and the
other desired the lords, " that whatever resolution
" they took for the present, a clause might be in-
" serted in the proclamation, that, the next year
" which followed, Canary wine should not be sold
" for above four and twenty pounds the pipe, and
" that every year after it should be drawn lower,"
as it might well be, it having been sold in the year
1640 for twenty pounds the pipe; though, in the
year when his majesty returned, it had been per-
mitted to be sold at six and thirty pounds the pipe.
" Such a clause," they said, " would give notice to
" the islanders, and oblige them to sell their wines
. " at more reasonable rates, and would render the
" merchants unexcusable if they should give greater. "



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 367

Notwithstanding all their allegations, the lords re-
membered what they had declared to them the last
year, which was as fair a warning as any thing they
could now say would be. And accordingly they set
lower prices upon all wines for the year to come
than had been allowed the last, as the most effec-
tual warning for the future : which was thought a
very rigorous proceeding ; but being reported to the
king and council, what they had done was allowed
and confirmed, and his majesty was well contented
that such a clause -as they had proposed should be
inserted in the proclamation ; which was accordingly
done.

The year following, when the lords met again
according to custom, which is, as hath been said,
about Christmas, they found not the least reforma-
tion ; on the contrary, that the Canary merchants
had paid dearer than ever, which made them all
more solicitous to have the price raised, and the
vintners as importunate for their retail. And in-
deed the vintners seemed to be in a much worse
condition than the merchants. And they made it
appear, " that they were often compelled to pay
" higher prices to the merchant than were l imposed
" by their lordships ; without which they could get
" no good wine, and so must give over their keep-
" ing house : that the penalty upon the merchant
" was very small, being not above forty shillings a
" pipe, and the crime not easy to be discovered, as
" was evident by there not having been one mer-
" chant questioned in many years for that common
" transgression ; whereas on the vintner's part the

1 were] was



368 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. " penalty was very severe, and easily discovered by
~ " any man who went to a tavern and would be an
" informer, and that most of the vintners in Lon-
" don were at that very time sued in the exchequer
" upon those very penalties, which, if exacted, must
" produce their ruin. "

The merchants excused themselves for their pre-
sent pretence, and for their having given more for
their wines than was lawful for them to have done
by their own desire : " that they had done their
" best, and that the greatest traders amongst them
" had consented between themselves not to suffer
" the prices to be raised upon them ; but that they
" found it ineffectual, and that though they should
" give over their trades, it would produce no refor-
" mation. That the trade was open to all adven-
" turers, and that there had been many ships sent
" from England in that very year by Jews, and
" people of several trades, who had never been be-
" fore known to trade to the Canaries : insomuch
" as when they who had been long bred up to the
" trade, and had been long factors in those islands,
" sent their ships thither, they found other English
" ships there, and the wines bought at a greater
" price than they had allowed their factors to give ;
" so that they must either have their ships return
" empty and unladen, or take the wines at the prices
" other men gave. That they had chosen the latter, as
" well to continue their trade, as to draw home some
" part of the stock they had in that country. That
" they could imagine but two ways to reform that
" excess : the one, by putting the trade into such a
" method and m under such rules, as might restrain
ra and"! as in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 369

" that license, and not leave it in the power of per- 1(565.
" sons who never had been in the trade to give the ~~
" law to it ; and by this means the islanders would
" find it necessary to set reasonable prices . upon
" their commodities, and to yield such other advan-
" tages and privileges to the merchants as they had
" heretofore enjoyed. The other, that the king
" would by his proclamation prohibit the importa-
" tion of any Canary wines into his dominions : and
" hereby he would quickly receive such propositions
" from Spain, as would put it into his own power to
" make the reformation ; otherwise the islanders had
" been persuaded that England could not live with-
" out their wines. "

The lords were resolved, notwithstanding all that
had been said, that they would execute the former
proclamation, and reduce the prices of wines to
what had been then determined : and after they
had given a full account of the whole business to
the king in council, the resolution was approved,
and a proclamation was issued out to that purpose.
The merchants and vintners applied themselves to
his majesty, and to many of the lords of the council,
and thought they had encouragement enough to
hope for a relief in an appeal to the king and coun-
cil by petition ; and they had thereupon a day as-
signed to be heard. Many of the lords thought it
very hard, if not unjust, to compel men to sell
cheaper than they bought, which was the truth of
the case, and which must oblige both merchants and
vintners to sophisticate and corrupt their wines to
preserve their estates ; which might probably turn
to the great damage of the whole kingdom, in pro-
ducing sickness and diseases : and this charitable

VOL. II. B b



370 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. and generous consideration prevailed with the major
~ part of the lords to be well contented, and to wish
that some indulgence might be exercised towards
them. On the contrary, when the king had well
weighed the whole proceedings, and with trouble
and indignation considered the obstinate vice of the
nation, which made it ridiculous to all the world, he
expressed a positive resolution to vindicate himself
and his government from this reproach. He thought
the adhering firmly to the prices which had been re-
solved upon by the lords would be the best preface
to this reformation, though it might be attended
with particular damage to particular persons, who
had yet less cause to complain, because their own
advice had been followed. And thereupon his ma-
jesty declared, " that he would make no alteration ;"
but withal told them, " that if they could make any
" proposition to him for the better regulation of the
" trade," (for they had themselves mentioned a char-
ter,) " he would graciously receive any propositions
" they would make, and gratify them in what was
" just :" and so, notwithstanding all attempts which
were often repeated, the price set by the lords was
ratified for the year following.
The pnnci- Shortly after, many of the merchants who had al-

pal Canary . . . . . . . . . i

merchants ways traded to the Cananes did petition the king,
^ " that they might be incorporated ; and that none
" might be permitted to trade thither but such who
" would be of that corporation, and observe the con-
" stitutions which should be made by them :" which
petition was presented to the king at the council-
board ; and being read, his majesty (according to
his custom in matters of difficulty and public con-
cernment) directed it to be read again on that



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 371

day month, at which time his majesty presumed 1665.
that all who would oppose it would present their"
reasons and objections against it, which he desired
to hear. At the day appointed, though there was
no petition against it, yet it was observed that there
were many of the most eminent merchants of that
trade, whose names were not to the petition, nor who"
otherwise appeared desirous to have a charter grant-
ed : which his majesty considering, he put off the de-
bate for another week, and directed " that the other
" merchants by name should be desired to be present,
" and to give their advice freely upon the point. "

And there was at that day a very full appearance ;
when his majesty directed, " that a relation should
" be made to them of the whole progress that had
" been in the business, and the damage and disho-
" nour the nation underwent in the carrying on
" that trade : that many merchants had presented a
" petition to him, containing an expedient to bring
" it into better order ; but finding them not to ap-
" pear in it, and being informed that they were best
" acquainted with and most engaged in that trade,
" he had sent for them to know their opinion, whe-
" ther they thought what was proposed to be rea-
" sonable and fit to be granted, and if so, why they
" did not concern themselves in it. " They an-
swered, "that the reason why they had not ap-
" peared in it was, because they thought they
" should be losers by it, and therefore were not soli-
" citous to procure a grant from his majesty to their
" own damage ;" and so enlarged " upon the nature
" of the trade, their long experience in it, and the
" greatness of their stock, which they should not be

" who] Not in MS.

B b2



372 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665 - " allowed to continue under any regulation. But
" as they did not think themselves in a situation
" to be solicitous for a change, so they could not
" deny, being required by his majesty to speak the
" truth, but that the proposition that was made was
" for the public good and benefit of the kingdom,
" and that they conceived no other way to redeem
" that trade, and the nation from the insolence
" which the Spaniard exercised upon them;" imply-
ing, " that if his majesty would command them,
" they would likewise, concur and join in the carry-
ing " ing on the service. " To which his majesty giving
thepetu them gracious encouragement, they all seemed to
depart of one mind ; and his majesty remained con-
firmed in the former opinion he had of it.

But there remained yet an objection, which was
principally insisted on by the ministers of the re-
venue, who alleged very reasonably, "that this new-
" modelling the trade must produce some alteration,
" and would meet some opposition from the Spa-
" niard, which for the time would lessen the customs
" and entitle the farmers to a defalcation. " The
petition was therefore referred to the farmers of the
customs, who were to attend the next council-day :
and being then called, they did acknowledge, " that
" the design proposed would prove very profitable
" to the kingdom in many respects," upon which
they enlarged, " and that in the end it would not be
" attended with any diminutions of the customs ;
" but for the present," they said, " they could not
" but expect, that the obstinacy and contradiction of
" the Spaniard would give such a stop to trade, at

in a situation] Not in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 373

" least for one year, that if his majesty did not reim- 1665.
" burse them for what should fall short in the re-~
" ceipt of custom, they must look to be very great
" losers. " The merchants on the other hand offered
" to be bound, that if they did not the first year
" bring in as much as had been usually entered,
" they would make good what should be wanting to
" the farmers upon a medium. " Whereupon his
majesty himself declared, " that he would not, for a
" small damage to himself, hinder the kingdom
" from enjoying so great a benefit:" and he com-
manded his solicitor general, who then attended the
board, " to prepare such a charter as might provide
" for all those good ends which were desired in the
" petition," and which had been so largely debated ;
and it was notorious, that there had never been
a greater concurrence of the board in any direc-
tion.

Many months passed before the charter was pre-
pared ; in which time there was never the least new
objection made against it, nor was it known that
any man was unsatisfied with it. After it was en-
grossed and had passed the king's hand, it was
brought to the great seal ; and there the lord mayor The city of
of London and the court of aldermen had entered
caveat to stop the passing of it. The chancellor, ac-
cording to course, appointed a time when he would
hear all parties. The city alleged an order made a
year or two before by the king in council, upon a
complaint then exhibited by the court of aldermen
against the Turkey company and other corporations,
" in which," they said, " there were very many mer-
" chants of the best trade and of the greatest estates
" in the city, who would never take out their free-

BbS



374 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. " dom, and so refused to bear any charge or office
"" " in it, to the very great prejudice and dishonour of
" the city and of the government thereof; since
" they were thereby compelled to call inferior ci-
" tizens to be aldermen, before they had estates to
. " bear the charge of it, whilst the gravest and
" the richest men, who were most fit, could not be
" obliged to accept of it, because they were not free-
" men. " The persons concerned, which were indeed
a great number of very valuable and substantial
men and of great estates, answered, " that they had
" traded very many years without finding any rea-
" son to take out their freedom, which they might
" do or not do as they thought best for themselves ;
" that they had always paid scot and lot in the se-
" veral parishes where they lived with the highest of
" the inhabitants, and were taxed the more because
" they had not taken out their freedom, they who
" taxed them being always freemen ; that they
" were grown old now, and had no mind to become
" young freemen, but would rather give over their
" trade, and retire into the country where they had
" estates. "

Besides the rules which the king gave upon the
difference then in question, he was pleased to de-
clare, and appointed it to be entered as an order in
the council-book, "that care should be taken, that
" in all charters which he should hereafter renew or
" grant to any companies or corporations in the city
" of London, they should first make themselves free-
" men of the city ; by which they might be liable
" to the charges of it, as other citizens are. " They
said, " that there were many of this company that
" was now to be incorporated who were not free-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 375

" men :" and therefore the lord mayor and court of J66. 0.
aldermen desired the benefit of the king's order,"
which was read.

The merchants confessed, "that many of them
" were not freemen, and resolved not to be :" they
said, " they had never heard of this order, and were
" sorry that they had spent so much money to no



" purpose. " The chancellor declared to them, " that The
" he could not seal their charter till they had com- fuses to
" plied with the king's determination, and given 86



" court of aldermen satisfaction :" and they .

had satisfied

seemed as positive that they would rather be with- thecit y-
out their charter, than they would submit to the
other inconveniences : and so they departed. But
after some days' deliberation and consultation be-
tween themselves, and when they found that there
was no possibility to procure a dispensation from
that order, they treated with the city, and agreed
with them in the preparing a clause to be inserted
in their charter, by which they were obliged in so
many years to become freemen ; which clause,
being approved by all parties, was in the king's pre-
sence entered in the bill that his majesty had
signed, and being afterwards added to the engross-
ment, it was again thus reformed and sent to the
great seal, and presented to the chancellor to be
sealed.

There were by this time several new caveats en-
tered against it at the seal ; all which the chancellor
heard, and settled every one of them to the joint sa-
tisfaction of all parties, and all caveats were with-
drawn. There was then a rumour, that there
would be some motions made against it in the house
of commons : and some parliament-men, who serv-

B b 4



376 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1 665. ed for the western boroughs, came to the chancellor,
~ and desired him " that he would defer the sealing it
" for some days till they might be heard, since it
" would undo their western trade ; and," they said,
" they resolved to move the house of commons to
" put a stop to it. " The chancellor informed them
of the whole progress it had passed, and told them,
" he believed that they would hardly be able to
"offer any good reasons against it:" however,
since it was then well known that the parliament
would be prorogued within ten or twelve days, he
said " he would suspend the sealing it till then, to
" the elid that they might offer any objections
" against it there or any where else. " But though
the parliament sat longer than it was then con-
ceived it would have done, there was no mention or
notice taken of it : and after the prorogation no ap-
plication was further made for the stopping it, and
the merchants pressed very importunately that it
might be sealed, alleging with reason " that the de-
" ferring it so long had been very much to their
" prejudice. " Whereupon the chancellor conceived
that it would not consist with his duty to delay it
longer, and so affixed the great seal to it.

The company then chose a governor and other
officers according to their charter, and made such
orders and by-laws as they thought fit for the carry-
ing on and advancement of their trade, which they
might alter when they thought convenient ; and for
the present they resolved upon a joint stock, and
assigned so many shares to each particular man.

Somediffe- _ 5 . . / ,. . , .

In this composition and distribution there fell out
some difference between themselves, which could
e taken n otice of abroad : and even some of



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 377

them, who first petitioned and were most solicitous 1655.

to procure the charter, did what they could to hin-

der the effect of it ; sent privately to their factors
at the Canaries, " to oppose any orders that should
" be sent from the governor and the company, and
" that they should do all they could to incense the
" Spaniards against the charter," and bade them
promise " that all their wine should be taken off in
"spite of the corporation. " Whereupon great dis-
orders did arise in the Canaries between the English
themselves ; and by the conjunction of the Spaniards
with those few English who opposed the charter,
they proceeded so far as to send the principal factors
for the company out of the island into Spain, and to
make a public act by the governor and council
there, " that no ship belonging to the company
" should be suffered to come into the harbour, or to
"take in any lading from the island:" all which
was transacted there many months before it was
known in England, and probably would have been
prevented or easily reformed, if it had not pleased
God that the plague at this time spread very much
in London, and if the war with the Dutch had not
restrained all English ships from going to the Cana-
ries for the space of a year ; which intermission,
not to be prevented nor in truth foreseen, gave
some advantage to the merchants at home who op-
posed their charter, who complained for the not-
return of their several stocks within the time that
the company had promised they should be re-
turned.

I am not willing to resume this discourse in
another place, which I should be compelled to do if
I discontinued the relation in this place, as in point



378 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. of time I should do; but I choose rather to insert

~~here what fell out afterwards, and to finish the ac-

count of that affair, that there may be no occasion

in the current of this narration to mention any par-

ticulars that related to it.

When the king was at Oxford, and was informed
of what had passed at the Canaries, some mer-
chants appeared there to petition against the char-
ter, whereof there were some who were the first pe-



are titioners for it. His majesty appointed a day for the

referred to J J J

the king; solemn hearing it in the presence of his privy-coun-
cil, the governor being likewise summoned and pre-
sent there. Upon opening all their grievances the
petitioners themselves confessed, " that they could
" not complain of the charter ; that it was a just and
" necessary charter, and for the great benefit of the
" kingdom, though some private men might for
" the present be losers by it : that their complaint
" was only against their constitutions and by-laws,
" and the severe prosecution thereupon contraiy to
" the intention of the charter itself;" instancing,
amongst other things, " the very short day limited
" by the charter, after which they could not continue
" their . trade without being members of the corpo^
" ration ; and that day was so soon after the sealing
" the charter, that it was not possible for them to
" draw their stocks from thence in so short a time. "
When they had finished all their objections, the
king observed to them, " that they complained only
" of what themselves had done, and not at all of the
" charter, which gave them only authority to choose
" a governor, and to make constitutions and by-
" laws, but directed not what the constitutions and
" by-laws should be, which were the result of their



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 379

" own consultations P, in which the major part must 1665.
" have concurred; and of that kind the resolution ~~
" for a joint stock was one, which and all the rest
" they might alter again at the next court, if the
" major part were grieved with it. " But because
they had complained of some particulars, in which
they might have reason on their side, his majesty
expressed a willingness to mediate and to make an
agreement between them : and thereupon he re-
quired the governor to answer such and such parti-
culars which seemed to have most of justice ; but
the governor answered all at large, and made it
clearly appear, that they had in truth no cause of
complaint. As to the short day that was assigned
for the drawing away their stocks, which had the
greatest semblance of reason in all they complained
of, he said, " they had no reason to mention their
" want of warning, for that the day was well enough
" known to them long before the sealing the char-
" ter, and might very well have been complied
" with," (the reasons why the sealing the charter
was so long deferred are set down before,) " and
" could be no reason to them to neglect the giving
" direction in their own concernments ; but that
" they knew likewise, that the day was enlarged to
" a day desired by themselves, that there might be
" no pretence for discontent :" and thereupon the
order of the court to that purpose was read to his
majesty, and they could not deny it to be true.

In conclusion, since it did appear that their stock
did in truth still remain in the Canaries, and in jus-
tice belonged to them, whether it was their fault or

P consultations] erroneously in MS. constitutions



380 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. their misfortune that it had not been drawn over in
who time ; the king persuaded the governor and his as-
fiesaii sistants'to give them such satisfaction in that and
other particulars, that before they retired from his
majesty's presence they were unanimously agreed
upon all their pretences : and though some of the
lords, upon some insinuations and discourses which
they had heard, had believed the company to have
been in the wrong, they were now fully convinced
of the contrary, and believed the charter to be
founded upon great reason of state, and that the
execution of it had been very justifiable and with
great moderation. And it is to be observed, that
the parliament being then assembled at Oxford,
there was not the least complaint against that char-
ter or corporation.
Avmdica- And this was the whole progress of that affair,

tion of the . .

chancellor until it served some men's turns to make it after-
fair. 1S wards matter of reproach to the chancellor, in a time
when he had too great a weight of the king's dis-
pleasure upon him to defend himself from that and
other calumnies, which few men thought him guilty
of. And if the motives of state were not of weight
enough to support the patent, more ought not to be
objected to him than to every other counsellor, there
having never * been a more unanimous concurrence
at that board in any advice they have given : and
the delays he used in the passing the charter after
it came to his hand, his giving so long time for
the making objections against it, and his so posi-
tively opposing the company with reference to their
being freemen of the city, are no signs that he had

') never] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 381

such a mind to please them, as a man would have 1665.
who had been corrupted by them, or who was to
have a share in the profit of the patent, as was after-
wards suggested, but never believed by any to whom
he was in any degree known, who knew well that he
frequently refused to receive money that he might
very lawfully have done, and never took a penny
which he was obliged to refuse. He was indeed, as
often at that affair came to be debated, very clear in
his judgment for the king's granting it, and always
continued of the same opinion : nor did he ever deny,
that some months after the patent was sealed the
governor made him a present in the name of the
corporation, as it is presumed he did to many other
officers through whose hands it passed, and which
was never refused by any of his predecessors when
it came from a community upon the passing a char-
ter ; which he never concealed from the king, who
thought he might well do it. In the last place it is
to be remembered, that after all the clamour against
this charter in parliament, and upon the arguing
against the legality of it by eminent lawyers before
the house of peers, it was so well supported by the
king's attorney general and other learned lawyers,
that the lords would not give judgment against it :
but the governor and the corporation durst not
dispute it further with the house of commons, but
chose to surrender their charter into the king's
hands.

The French had their ambassador, monsieur Oom-
minge, remaining still in England, who pretended
to be ready to finish still the treaty of commerce,
but formalized so much upon every article, though



382 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 665. nothing was demanded but what had been granted



to Cromwell, that it was concluded that he wanted
power, though somewhat was imputed to the capri-
ciousness of his nature, which made him hard to
treat with, and not always vacant at the hours him-
self assigned, being hypochondriac and seldom sleep-

The French [ n cr without OplUHl. As SOOn as the War Was de-
send am-
bassador^ clared, the king of France sent two other ambassa*-

land under dors, whereof, for the countenance and splendour of
mediation . ** the duke of Vcrnucil was one, who being uncle
to both the kings was received rather under that re-
lation than in the other capacity, and was lodged
and treated by the king during the whole time of
his stay. With him came likewise monsieur Cour-
tine, a master of requests, and much the quickest r
man of the three, and upon whose parts and address
most of the business depended. The former ambas-
sador was joined in commission with the other two :
and their declared business was to mediate a peace
between the king and the Dutch, when there had
been yet little harm done, only great preparations
made on both sides for the war ; which they did not
seem very solicitous to interrupt, but contented
themselves with declaring at their first audience,
" that the king their master out of Christianity,
" and to prevent the effusion of Christian blood, de-
" sired to mediate a peace, which the States of the
" United Provinces were very willing 8 he should do,
" and professed to have a very great desire of peace ;
" which made his Christian majesty hope that he
" should find the same good inclinations here, and
" if he might be informed what his majesty did re-

r quickest], quicker R willing] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 383

" quire, or what would be grateful to him, he did
" not doubt but that he should persuade the States to
" submit to it. "

And with this general discourse, and without de-
livering any memorial in writing, the ambassadors
acquiesced for many months, as if their business was
only that the Dutch ambassador, who remained still
in London, might know and send word to his mas-
ters that they had begun their mediation. Other-
wise they seemed in all their discourses to make some
kind of apology for being sent, implying, " as if the
" extraordinary importunity of the Dutch had pre-
" vailed with the king to undertake this mediation,
" and which he did the rather, upon their promise
" that they would yield to any thing he should
" advise them ; and he was very far from desiring
" that his majesty might not receive ample satisfac-
" tion in whatsoever he required :" so that the king
did not imagine, whatever information he had re-
ceived before, and whatever jealousy he had enter-
tained, that this embassy would be concluded in the
denunciation of a war against him. Nor is it pro-
bable that the ambassadors themselves at that time
knew that they were to perform that office, though
it was afterwards evident that the matter had been
long before resolved in France. They lived between
the two courts, for the queen mother was likewise
at that time at her palace of Somerset-house, in
much jollity, and as vacant from any affairs till they
might receive new orders from court, but spending
much time with the Dutch ambassador, whom they
persuaded " that they were very intent upon and
" had much advanced the treaty," as appeared by
the ambassador's letters to the Hague.



384 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. The plague increased so fast, that the queen mo-
The ueen ther, who had all the winter complained of her in-
mother disposition of health, and declared that she would in

leaves Eng-
land, the summer go again into France, took that occa-
sion x albeit she was recovered to a very good state ;
and about the end of July removed and embarked
for France, and took so many things with her, that
it was thought by many that she did not intend ever
to return into England. Whatever her intentions at
that time were, she never did see England again,,
though she lived many years after.

The duke It was in April that the duke went to sea : and
y from the day of his going thither with the fleet, let-
* ers an ^ OI> ders came from him to the day of the
battle for an addition of more ships, upon intelli-
gence of an increase of strength added to the enemy,
though they yet lay still in the harbours, whilst the
duke was upon their coasts. But Mr. Coventry still
made new demands, and wrote to the chancellor,
" that whilst the king's brother was at sea and ven-
" tured his own person, nobody who wished him
" well 1 would, for saving money, hinder any thing
" from being sent that his highness thought neces-
" sary for his defence :" and all things were sent,
though procured with wonderful difficulty.

The treasurer had believed, when all the provi-
sions were delivered which had been demanded, and
all computations satisfied which had been made, and
the fleet at sea, that there would have been no more
expense till its return ; whereas every day added
new expense which had not been thought of: and
the requiring of more ships was then believed, and

1 well] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 385

more afterwards, to proceed from the restless spirit 1665.
of Mr. Coventry, who cared not how much he in-""
creased u the expense, and 'was willing to put the
treasurer and all the king's ministers to contend
with all difficulties, that he might reproach their
laziness or want of ability. But they did not gratify
him in that, but all the ships, and whatever else was
sent for, were sent ; insomuch as the fleet amounted
to no less than one hundred sail, and was now re- He retires
tired, for want of somewhat to do, to our own coast, iuh coastf"
where they resolved to attend the motion of the
enemy: and in this time most of the volunteers,
having endured the unpleasantness of the sea above
a month, begun to think that the war was not so
necessary as they had thought it to be.

The duke's family, that was numerous in his own
ship, were not at ease, and found less respect from
the seamen than they had x looked for : they grew
into factions between themselves, and the earl of
Falmouth and Mr. Coventry were rivals who should
have most interest in the duke, who loved the earl
best, but thought the other the wiser man, who sup-
ported Pen (who disobliged all the courtiers) even
against the earl, who contemned Pen as a fellow of
no sense, and not worthy of the charge and trust
that was reposed in him. In this discomposure and
having nothing to do, every body grew angry at the
occasion that brought them thither, and wished for
peace.

The earl of Falmouth, as in a time of leisure, was
sent by the duke with compliments to the king, and
to vgive him an account of the good state of the



how much he increased] to increase x had] Not in MS.
VOL. II. C C



386 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. fleet : he visited the chancellor, to whom he had al-
~~ ways paid great respect and made many professions ;
and he told him, " that they were all mad who had
" wished this war, and that himself had been made
" a fool to contribute to it, but that his eyes were
" open, and a month's experience at sea had enough
" informed him of the great hazards the king ran in
" it. " He reproached Pen " as a sot, and a fellow
" that? he thought would be found without courage. "
He told him, " that the king and the duke too were
" both inclined to peace, and discerned that the
" charge and expense of the war would be insup-
" portable ;" and concluded, " that as soon as this
" action should be over, which could not be avoided
" many days if the Dutch fleet put to sea, as it could
" not be doubted it would, it would be good time to
" make a peace, which he desired him to think of,
" and to speak with the king, whom he would find
" disposed to it :" and so he returned to the fleet.
The Dutch And by that time the Dutch were come out, and
the next day were in view. They were near of
equal number, and well manned, under the com-
mand of Opdam, the admiral of the whole fleet, upon
whom the States had conferred that charge, that
the prince of Orange's party might conclude, that
they never intended that he should have the charges
of his father and grandfather, and likewise to gratify
the nobility of Holland, that had a very small share
in the government. And this gentleman, who had
never been at sea before, and had but a small for-
tune, was of that number, and had joined with that
faction which was averse from the family of Orange.

> that] Not in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 387

The fleets came within sight of each other on the 1665.
first of June, and had some skirmishes, which conti- ~~
nued on the second, the wind favouring neither party,
as willing to keep them asunder : but upon the third
it served both their turns, and brought them as near
each other as they could desire to be.



Nor di the Dutch seem to advance with less cou-The first
rage and resolution. Opdam the Dutch admiral g^ement!
with his squadron bore directly upon the duke, with
a resolution to board him : but before he came near
enough, and very little before, whether by an acci-
dent within his own ship, or from a grenado or other
shot out of the duke's ship, his gunroom took fire,
and in a moment the ship sunk without any man
being saved. The vice-admiral of the same squa-
dron, being a Zealander, pursued the same resolution,
and had boarded the duke if captain Jeremy Smith,
a captain of the duke's squadron, had not put him-
self between and boarded the vice-admiral, who was
equally attacked by the duke : and so that ship was
taken after most of the men were killed ; and the
captain himself was so wounded, that he only lived
to be brought on board the duke's ship, and to com-
plain of his companions " for not having seconded him
" according to an oath they had taken on board their
" admiral the day before," and died within half an
hour, to the great trouble of the duke, who gave
him a great testimony for a very gallant man, and
much desired to preserve him.

The fight continued all the day with very great The Dutch

J n 2T are worsted.

loss of men on all sides, though after the first two
hours the Dutch, seeing many of their best ships
burned and more taken, did all that the wind would
give them leave to separate themselves from the

cc 2



388 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

. 1665. English fleet, which pursued them so close, that
~~ they found they lost more by flying than by fighting,
and did lessen their sails to give some stop to the
pursuit till the night might favour them : and the
evening no sooner came, but they hoisted up all
their sails, and intended nothing but their escape.

When there was no more to be done by the ap-
proach of the night, the duke, who was infinitely
tired with the labour of the day, having lost above
two hundred men aboard his own ship, whereof some
were z persons of quality, who stood next his own
person, and shall be named anon, was prevailed with
to repose himself after he had taken some suste-
nance ; which he did, after he had given the master
of the ship, an honest and a skilful seaman, direct
and positive charge " to bear up in that manner
" upon the Dutch fleet that he might lose no ground,
" but find himself as near, when the day should
" appear, as he was then when he went to sleep. "
The fleet had no guide but the lanthorn of the ad-
miral, and were not to outsail him of course, and
The re- behaved themselves accordingly. But when the
their fleet duke arose and the day appeared, the Dutch fleet
night? 8 by was ou t of view ; and before he could reach them,
they were got into their ports, or under the shelter
of their flats, that it was not counsellable for the
great ships to pursue them further : yet some of
those ships which made not so much way, or had not
steered so directly, were taken by the lesser ships
that followed them. And the duke had received so
many blows on his own and the other ships, that it
was necessary to retire into a port, where they might
be repaired.

z were] Omitted in MS. & into] in



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 389

It was a day of signal triumph, the action of it 1665.
having much surpassed all that was done in Crom- The great
well's time, whose navals were much greater thanj^ 8 tc h fthe
had ever been in any age : but the Dutch had never
then fought with so much courage and resolution ;
nor were their ships then in strength to be com-
pared to the English, as Van Trump assured them,
" and that except they built better ships, they would
" be as often beaten as they fought with the Eng-
" lish. " And from that time they new-built all their
navy, and brought now with them as good ships as
any the king had : and the men for some hours
behaved themselves well. In that day the duke
sunk, burned, and took eighteen good ships of war,
whereof half were of the best they had, with the
loss of one single small ship, for there was no more
missing of his whole fleet. It is true the number of
the killed and wounded men was very great, and
was thought the greater, because in the great mas-
sacre that was on the other side there was no man,
except Opdam their admiral, who had a name.
There were many excellent officers killed and taken,
men of courage and of great experience in naval
affairs, and therefore an irreparable damage to them ;
but they had grown up from common seamen, and
so were of no other quality than every mariner of
the fleet.

On the part of the English, besides above two Persons .
hundred men that were killed on board the duke's th a e"side of
own ship, there fell the earl of Falmouth, who hath theEnglish:

* The earl of

been lately spoken of, and the lord Muskerry, eldest^' mouth;
son to the earl of Clancarty, a young man of extra- 1 '
ordinary courage and expectation, who had been
colonel of a regiment of foot in Flanders under the

c c 3



390 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. duke, and had the general estimation of an excel-

*~ lent officer : he was of the duke's bedchamber, and

the earl and he were at that time so near the duke,

that his highness was all covered with their blood.

Mr.
Richard There fell likewise in the same ship Mr. Richard
Boyle, a younger son of the earl of Burlington, a
youth of great hope, who came newly home from
travel, where he had spent his time with singular
advantage, and took the first opportunity to lose his
life in the king's service. There were many other
gentlemen volunteers in the same ship, who had the
,same fate.

In prince Rupert's ship, who did wonders that
day, and in that of the earl of Sandwich, who be-
haved him with notable courage and conduct, there
were very many men slain, and some gentlemen vo-
lunteers, of the best families, whose memories should

The eari be preserved. The earl of Marlborough, who had

borough ; the command of one of the best ships, and had great
experience at sea, having made many long voyages
at sea, and being now newly returned from the East
Indies, whither the king had sent him with a squa-
dron of ships to receive r the island of Bombayne from
Portugal, was in this battle likewise slain. He was
a man of wonderful parts in all kinds of learning,
which he took more delight in than his title ; and
having no great estate descended to him, he brought
down his mind to his fortune, and lived very retired,
but with more reputation than any fortune could

The eari of have given him. The earl of Portland was a vo-
lunteer on board his ship, and lost his life by his
side, being a young man of very good parts, newly
come of age, and the son of a very wise and worthy
father, who died few months before : and he having



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 391

a long and entire friendship with the earl of Marl- 1665.
borough, his son, though of a melancholic nature,"
intended to lead an active life, and to apply himself
to it under the conduct of his father's friend, with
whom he died very bravely.

There was another almost irreparable loss this An <* ' r
day in sir John Lawson, who was admiral of a squa- son ;
dron, and of so eminent skill and conduct in all ma-
ritime occasions, that his counsel was most consi-
dered in all debates, and the greatest seamen were
ready to receive advice from him. In the middle of
the battle he received a shot with a musket-bullet
upon the knee, with which he /ell : and finding that
he could no more stand, and was in great torment,
he sent to the duke to desire him to send another
man to command his ship ; which he presently did.
The wound was not conceived to be mortal ; and
they made haste to send him on shore, as far as
Deptford or Green wich, where for some days there
was hope of his recovery; but shortly his wound
gangrened, and so he died with very great courage,
and profession of an entire duty and fidelity to the
king.

He was indeed of all the men of that time, and of His ch -

. . racter.

that extraction and education, incomparably the
modestest and the wisest man, and most worthy to
be confided in. He was of Yorkshire near Scar-
borough, of that rank of people who are bred to
the sea from their cradle. And a young man of
that profession he was, when the parliament first
possessed themselves of the royal navy ; and Hull
being in their hands, all the northern seamen easily
betook themselves to their service : and his in-
dustry and sobriety made him quickly taken notice

c c 4



392 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1C65. of, and to be preferred from one degree to another,
till from a common sailor he was promoted to be a
captain of a small vessel, and from thence to the
command of the best ships.

He had been in all the actions performed by
Blake, some of which were very stupendous, and in
all the battles which Cromwell had fought with the
Dutch, in which he was a signal officer and very
much valued by him. He was of that classis of reli-
gion which were called independents, most of which
were anabaptists, who were generally believed to
have most aversion to the king, and therefore em-
ployed in most offices of trust. He was commander
in chief of the fleet when Richard was thrown out :
and when the contest grew between the rump and
Lambert, he brought the whole fleet into the river,
and declared for that which was called the parlia-
ment; which brake the neck of all other designs,
though he intended only the better settlement of the
commonwealth.

When the council of state was settled between
the dissolution of the rump and the calling the par-
liament, they did not like the temper of the fleet,
nor especially of Lawson, who, under the title of
vice-admiral, had the whole command of the fleet,
which was very strong, and in which there were
many captains they liked well : yet they durst not
remove the vice-admiral, lest his interest in the sea-
men, which was very great, should give them new
trouble. The expedient they resolved upon was to
send colonel Mountague as admiral to command the
fleet, without removing Lawson, who continued still
in his command, and could not refuse to be com-
manded by Mountague, who had always been his



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 393

superior officer, and who had likewise a great in- 1665.
terest in very many of the officers and seamen. ""
Yet Mountague, who brought with him a firm reso-
lution to serve the king, which was well known to
his majesty, had no confidence in Lawson till the
parliament had proclaimed the king : and when he
brought the fleet to Scheveling to receive the king,
all men looked upon the vice-admiral as a great ana-
baptist, and not fit to be trusted. But when the
king and the duke had conferred with him, they liked
him very well : and he was from time to time in
the command of vice-admiral in all the fleets which
were sent into the Mediterranean. Nor did any
man perform his duty better : he caused all persons,
how well qualified soever, who he knew were affect-
ed to a republic, to be dismissed from the service,
and brought very good order into his own ship, and
frequented the church-prayers himself, and made
all the seamen do so. He was very remarkable in
his affection and countenance towards all those who
had faithfully served the king, and never commend-
ed any body to the duke to be preferred but such ;
and performed to his death all that could be ex-
pected from a brave and an honest man.

It looked like some presage that he had of his
own death, that before he went to sea he came to
the treasurer and the chancellor, to whom he had al-
ways borne much respect, and spake to them in a
dialect he had never before used, for he was a very
generous man, and lived in his house decently and
plentifully, and had never made any the least suit
or pretence for money. Now he told them, " that
" he was going upon an expedition in which many
" honest men must lose their lives : and though he



394 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665^ " had no apprehension of himself, but that God

" would protect him as he had often done in the

" same occasions, yet he thought it became him
" against the worst to make his condition known to
" them, and the rather, because he knew he was es-
" teemed generally to be rich. " He said, " in truth
" he thought himself so some few months since,
" when he was worth eight or nine thousand
" pounds : but the marriage of his daughter to a
" ytmng gentleman in quality and fortune much
" above him, (Mr. Richard Norton of Southwick in
" Hampshire, who had fallen in love with her, and
" his father, out of tenderness to his son, had con-
" sen ted to it,) had obliged him to give her such a
" portion as might in some degree make her worthy
" of so great a fortune ; and that he had not re-
" served so much to himself and wife, and all his
" other children, which were four or five, as he had
" given to that daughter. " He desired them there-
fore, " that if he should miscarry in this enterprise,
" the king would give his wife two hundred pounds
** a year for her life ; if he lived, he desired no-
" thing. He hoped he should make some provision
" for them by his own industry : nor did he desire
" any other grant or security for this two hundred
" pounds yearly, than the king's word and promise,
" and that they would see it effectual. " The suit
was so modest, and the ground of making it so just
and reasonable, that they willingly informed his ma-
jesty of it, who as graciously granted it, and spake
himself to him of it with very obliging circum-
stances ; so that the poor man went very contentedly
to his work, and perished as gallantly in it with an
universal lamentation. And it is to be presumed



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 395

that the promise was as well performed to his wife : 1665.
sure it is, it was exactly complied with whilst either ~
of those two persons had any power.

The victory and triumph of that day was surely
very great, and a just argument of public joy : how
it came to be no greater shall be said anon. And
the trouble and grief in many noble families, for the
loss of so many worthy and gallant persons, could
not but be very lamentable in wives, in fathers and
mothers, and the other nearest relations : but no The king
sorrow was equal, at least none so remarkable, as froubied at



the king's was for the earl of Falmouth. They
who knew his majesty best, and had seen how un- Falmouth -
shaken he had stood in other very terrible assaults,
were amazed at the flood of tears he shed upon this
occasion The immenseness of the victory, and the
consequences that might have attended it ; the
safety and preservation of his brother with so much
glory, on whose behalf he had had so terrible appre-
hensions during the three days' fight, having by the
benefit of the wind heard the thunder of the ordnance
from the beginning, even after by the lessening of
the noise, as from a greater distance, he concluded
that the enemy was upon flight : yet all this, and
the universal joy that he saw in the countenance of
all men for the victory and the safety of the duke,
made no impression in him towards the mitigation
of his passion for the loss of this young favourite, in
whom few other men had ever observed any virtue
or quality which they did not wish their best friends
without ; and very many did believe that his death
was a great ingredient and considerable part of the
victory. He was young and of insatiable ambition ;
and a little more experience might have taught him



396 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. all things which his weak parts were capable of.
~~ But they who observed the strange degree of favour
he had on the sudden arrived to, even from a detes-
tation the king had towards him, and concluded
from thence, and more from the deep sorrow the
king was possessed with for his death, to what a
prodigious height he might have reached in a little
time more, were not at all troubled that he was
taken out of the way.

The duke, after he had given directions for the
speedy repairing of the fleet, and for the present
sending out such ships as could quickly be made
ready to ride b before the coast of Holland, made
haste to present himself to the king, and to the
queen his mother, who was ready to begin her
journey to France, and had stayed some days to see
the success of the naval fight, and afterwards to see
the duke ; and within few days after his arrival her
majesty left the kingdom.

The rea- And now the whisper began in the duke's family
f tne reason, why the victory, after so great advan-
* a g es > na ^ n t been pursued with that vigour that
might have made it more destructive to the enemy
than it proved to be. The master of the duke's
ship (captain ) pursued his orders very punc-
tually after the duke was gone to sleep, and kept
within a just distance of the Dutch fleet that re-
mained in order together, for many fled in confusion
and singly to that part of the coast that they
thought they knew best ; and many of them were
taken. But the duke was no sooner in sleep, but
Mr. Brounker of his bedchamber, who with wonder-

b ride] rise



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 397

ful confusion had sustained the terror of the day, 1665.
resolved to prevent the like on the day succeeding. ~
He first went to sir William Pen, who commanded
the ship, and told him, " that he knew well how
" miraculously the duke was preserved that day, and
" that they ought not further to tempt God ;" wished
him to remember, " that the duke was not only the
" king's brother, but the heir apparent of the crown,
" and what the consequence would be if he should
" be lost. And therefore it would concern him not
" to suffer the duke's known and notorious courage
" to engage him in a new danger, which he would
" infallibly be exposed to c the next morning, if they
" continued to make so much sail as they did, and
" to keep so near the Dutch, who fled, but if they
" were pressed and in despair would fight as stoutly
" as they had done in the beginning. And there-
" fore he desired and advised him to give the master
" order to slacken the sails, that the Dutch might
" get what ground they could, to avoid a further
" encounter. " Pen answered him honestly, and told
him, " he durst give no such orders, except he had
" a mind to be hanged, for the duke had himself
" given positive charge to the contrary. '*

Mr. Brounker, when he could not prevail there,
confidently went to the master of the ship, who was
an honest and a stout man, and carefully kept the
steerage himself,, that he might be sure to observe
the order he had received from his highness, and
told him, " that it was the duke's pleasure that he
" should slack the sails, without taking notice of it
" to any man. " Whereupon the master did as he

1 exposed to] Omitted in MS.



398 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. was commanded, making no doubt that a servant so
~near the person of his highness, and in so much
favour with him, would not d have brought such an
order without due authority.

And by this means the remainder of the fleet
escaped, which otherwise would probably have been
all taken : for it was afterwards known, that there
was such a confusion amongst the officers, that no-
body would obey ; for though in truth the right of
commanding, according to the course observed
amongst them, after the death of Opdam, was in
the vice-admiral of Zealand, yet, he being likewise
killed, the other could not agree. But young
Trump, the son of the old famous admiral, who had
behaved himself very bravely all the day, challenged
the command in the right of Holland; but John
Evertson of Zealand, brother to him that was killed,
required it as his right : which begat so great an
animosity as well as confusion amongst them, that
the morning, if they had been pursued, would in all
probability have proved 6 as dismal to them as the
day before had done.

But the duke never suspected this, nor did any
presume to tell him of it, which made many men
presume that it was done with privity f of Mr. Co-
ventry, not only for the great friendship between
him and Brounker, but because both Pen and the
master were so silent when the duke was so much
troubled the next morning : nor did the duke come
to hear of it till some years after, when Mr. Broun-
ker's ill course of life and his abominable nature had
rendered him so odious, that it was taken notice of

a not] Omitted in MS. ' privity] the privity

e proved] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 399

in parliament, and upon examination found to be 1665.
true, as is here related ; upon which he was expelled ~~
the house of commons, whereof he was a member,
as an infamous person, though his friend Coventry
adhered to him, and used many indirect arts to have
protected him, and afterwards procured him to have
more countenance from the king than most men
thought he deserved, being a person throughout his
whole life never notorious for any thing but the
highest degree of impudence, and stooping to the
most infamous offices, and playing very well at chess,
which preferred him more than the most virtuous
qualities could have done.

With this victory a new vast charge and expense
(beside the repairing the hurt ships, masts, and rig-
ging, and fitting out new ships of war, and buying
more fireships) appeared, that was never foreseen or
brought into any computation ; which was a provi-
sion for sick and wounded men, which amounted to
so great a number upon all the coast, that the charge
amounted in all places, notwithstanding the general
charity of the people, and the convenience that many
hospitals yielded, to above two thousand pounds the
week for some weeks, and though less afterwards
by the death and recovery of many, yet continued
very great ; besides the charge of keeping the Dutch
prisoners, which were above two thousand, and every
day increased.

The duke was very impatient to repair and set The queen
out the fleet again to sea, and resolved nothing more "ents th e r



than to go in person again to command it, his fa- f"^
mily remaining still on board, and preparing such again -
things as were wanting for his accommodation : but
the queen mother had prevailed with the king at



400 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. parting to promise her, " that the duke should not
~~ " go again in person in that expedition ;" which
was concealed from the duke, his majesty believing
that the confidence of his royal highness's going
contributed very much to the setting out the fleet,
as it did so much, that but for that, it had been
impossible to have procured so much money as was
with infinite difficulty procured, to satisfy the ex-
penses of so many kinds, whereof many had been
unthought of. And towards this there was a benefit
that flowed from a fountain of extreme misery,
which was the increase of the plague, which spread
so fast that the king's staying so long in town was
very dangerous. Yet the approach of this great ca-
lamity, that in other respects produced great mis-
chiefs, advanced the present enterprise : for all peo-
ple who had money knew not what to do with it,
not daring to leave it in their houses where they
durst not stay themselves ; so that * they willingly
put it into the bankers' hands, who supplied the
king upon such assignations as the late act of par-
liament and other branches of the king's revenue
would yet bear.
The French And if at this time the French ambassadors had

ambassadors . . . .

neglect an pursued their office ot mediation, it is very probable
that it might have been with success. For besides
the great loss the Dutch had received in the battle
and in their being deprived of so many of the mer-
chants' ships, the factions were irreconcileable in the
fleet : there were many officers who had behaved
themselves very basely and cowardly in the action,
but they knew not how to punish them ; Evertson

s that] Not in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 401

and Trump, who were their best seamen, would not 1665.
submit to be commanded by each other ; the people ~
were ready to rise upon De Wit, upon whom they
looked as the occasion of the war, and cried aloud
for peace. And the faction amongst the States
themselves was very visible : all the other complained
bitterly against the province of Holland, " which,"
they said, " had engaged them in a war against their
" will and without their privity, which was directly
" contrary to the form and constitution of their go-
" vernment. " In a word, peace was universally de-
sired and prayed for ; and, in the opinion of all men,
any reasonable conditions would at that time have
been yielded to. And as the people of England ge-
nerally had not been h pleased with the beginning
the war, so the court was weary of it ; and the king
would have been willing to have received any good
overtures for the composing it ; and the duke, since
he was kept from bearing a part in it, would not
have opposed it. But the ambassadors pressed no
such matter, but congratulated the victory with the
same joy they found in the court, and seemed to
think that any misfortune that could befall the
Dutch would be but a just punishment for their
pride and insolence towards all their neighbour
princes : the two nations had not yet worried them-
selves enough, entirely to submit to the arbitration
of France ; which it resolved they should do.

Within less than a month the fleet was again pre-The fleet
pared and ready for the sea, as strong and in as good pa
a condition as it had been before the battle ; and the
king and the duke went thither, the duke making

h been] Omitted inMS.
VOL. II. D d



402 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. no doubt of putting his person on board. And the
""king at that time resolved that prince Rupert and
the earl of Sandwich should have the joint command
of it : in order to which prince Rupert was pre-
pared, of whose easy concurrence only there was
some doubt, his majesty promising himself all con-
formity and resignation from the earl of Sandwich ;
which he met with in both, for the prince very
cheerfully submitted to his majesty's pleasure. In
the journey the king acquainted his brother with
his resolution, and the promise he had made to the
queen their mother; with which the duke was
much troubled, and offered many reasons to divert
his majesty from laying his command upon him :
but when he found there was no remedy, he submit-
ted, and gave orders for disembarking his family and
goods.

But when this was communicated to Mr. Coven-
try, who was to prepare such commissions and war-
rants as upon this alteration of counsels were neces-
sary, he persuaded the duke, and prevailed with
him to believe, " that it would be much better to
" commit the sole command of the fleet to the earl
"of Sandwich, than to join prince Rupert in it with
" him," who, for no other reason but for not es-
teeming him at the rate he valued himself, had been
long in his disfavour. He suggested some defects in
the prince, which nobody could absolve him from,
and which the gentle temper of the earl of Sand-
wich, who knew him as well as the other, could
have complied with : and many thought it would
have in the conjunction produced a very good mix-
ture, the danger from the prince being too sudden
resolutions from too much heat and passion, and



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 403
the earl having enough of phlegm and wariness in 1665.



deliberating, and much vigour in the executing
what was concluded ; and they were both well pre-
pared and inclined to perform the function.

But Mr. Coventry's advice prevailed both with
the duke and king : and so in the instant that the
king and duke were to return from the fleet that
was ready to set sail with the first fair wind *, and
not till then, the king told prince Rupert, without
enlarging upon the reasons, " that he would have
" him to return with him to London, and accompany
"him this summer, and that the earl of Sandwich
" should have the sole command of the fleet ;" with
which the prince was wonderfully surprised and
perplexed, and even heart-broken ; but there was
no contending. He stayed behind the king only till
he could get his goods and family disembarked, and
then returned with very much trouble to the court :
and the earl of Sandwich set sail with the fleet, The fleet
with direction first to visit the coast of Holland,
and if he found that the Dutch fleet was not rea
to come out, that he should go to the northward to
watch the East India fleet, which had orders from
their superiors to come by the north, that they
might avoid the English fleet, that was master of
the sea.

It was in the end of June or beginning of July

that the king and duke returned from the fleet ;

and within few days after, it set sail: when the

plague increased so fast, that there died about two

thousand in a week ; so that all men cried out

against the king's staying so long at Whitehall, the

sickness being already in Westminster. Where-

' first fair wind] first wind

Dd 2



404 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. upon the king, after he had taken the best care he
The king could with the lord mayor for the good ordering the
n? c * tv ' an( * published such orders as were thought ne-



court on cessary for the relief and regulation of infected per-

account of

the plague, sons, and prevailed with some justices of the peace
in the Strand and in Westminster to promise to re-
side there, (which they were the more easily per-
suaded to do by the general's declaring that he
would stay in his lodgings at Whitehall, which he
did during the whole time of the pestilence ; and
the lord Craven, out of friendship to him, stayed
likewise in his Chouse in Drury-lane : and it cannot
be denied that the presence of those two great per-
sons prevented many mischiefs which would have
fallen out by the disorder of the people, and was of
great convenience and benefit to that end of the
town :) I say, when the king -had settled all this,
he removed to Hampton, resolving there to consider
how to dispose of himself for the remainder of the
summer. And because there were many particulars
still unresolved concerning the business of Ireland,
his majesty for some days appointed that numerous
people, that they might have no pretence to come
to Hampton-Court, to attend at Sion ; where for
many days together his majesty spent many hours,
till he had composed that affair as well as it was for
the present capable of.

The plague still increased at London, and spread
about the country ; so that it was not thought safe
for the court to remain longer where it then was,
the sickness being already in some of the adjacent
villages. Whereupon the king resolved that his
own family and his brother's should remove to Salis-
bury, and spend the summer there. And because

I. '; :



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 405

it was already in view, that it would not be fit for 1665.
the parliament to assemble again at Westminster in~
September, to which lime it was prorogued, nor
could it be computed at what time it could be safe
to meet in that place ; and it was as notorious that
if the parliament met not somewhere, whereby the
king might have another supply before the winter,
there would be very great confusion for want of
money : he caused therefore a proclamation to issue
out, "that he intended to adjourn the parliament to The pariia-
" meet at Oxford upon the tenth of October next,jrnedto
" and that the members need not to attend at Oxford<
" Westminster in September. " And then he di-
rected the speaker of the house of commons, who
lived within half a day of London, and the general
and the lord Craven, to give notice to the members
of both houses, who lived within that distance, to
be present in both houses at the day to which they
were prorogued, and then to adjourn- to Oxford ac-
cording to the proclamation. And this being settled,
his majesty appointed a day for beginning his pro-
gress from Hampton-Court to -Salisbury; against
which time all carriages and whatsoever was neces-
sary for the journey were prepared k .

In the morning, when every body believed that Mr. w. Co.
the king and queen and duke and duchess, with suades the
both their families, were to go together one way, s



Mr. Coventry found a way to break that resolution, *
having no mind to be in so great a court that his
greatness would not appear. He told the duke
"that there were general discontents throughout
" the kingdom," which was true, " and a probability
** of insurrections," which were much spoken of and
k were prepared] Omitted in MS.



406 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. apprehended; "and therefore it might be better
~" " that the king and the duke might not be together,
" but in several places, that they might draw what
" forces were necessary to them, which the presence
" of their own persons would easily do : that the
" fleet would probably be all the summer upon the
" northern coast in expectation of the Dutch East
" India fleet ;" for it was not then thought that the
Hollanders would have been able to have set out an-
other fleet able to have encountered ours. Upon
the whole matter he proposed to him, "that since
" the king meant to spend the summer in the west,
" with which there could very hardly be any cor-
" respondence from the fleet, his highness should go
" into the north, and reside at York ; by which he
" would have an influence upon all those parts
" where the most disaffected persons were l most in-
** habitant, and from Hull and those maritime parts
" he could not be long without receiving some m in-
" telligence from the fleet. "

The truth is; the constitution of the court at
this time was such, the prevalence of the lady so
great, and the queen's humour thereupon so incon-
stant, and all together so discomposed the king, that
there was no pleasure in being a part of it : and
therefore the advice was as soon embraced as given,
by the duke and his wife, who were well content to
enjoy themselves in their own family apart. And
the duke presently proposed it to the king, and Mr.
Coventry discoursed all the motives to him so fully,
that his majesty approved it. And then, if it were
to be done at all, the first attending the king to Salis-

1 were] Omitted in MS. m some] Not in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 407

bury, which was so much out of the way, 'would be 16(15.
to no purpose: and therefore it was resolved (all the Theking
coaches and carriages being then at the doors to go o e a ^* to
to Farnham, which was the first day's journey to-
wards Salisbury) that the king and his brother
would part upon the place, and that the king and
queen should continue their purpose for Farnham,
and the duke and his wife should go that night to St.
Alban's, and so prosecute his journey for York; and all
orders were in the instant given out to this purpose.

Whether the reasons of this counsel were of im-
portance or not, the alteration on such a sudden from
what had been before determined was thought very
strange, and wondered at, and made many believe
that some accident was fallen out that must not be
discovered : for on the sudden it was, there having
been no such thought overnight, when the chancel-
lor left the court to go to his own house at Twicken-
ham. And when he returned the next morning, the
resolution was taken, and every body well pleased
with the change, and both the king and the duke
told him wijth satisfaction of it ; nor did he under-
stand it enough to make objections against it, which
would have been ingrateful ; nor was it convenient
to spend longer time in deliberation at that place,
where some of the inferior servants had died the
night before of the plague : and so they all entered
upon their journey by nine of the clock the same
morning.

It is necessary in this place to remember, that the The bishop
express, that had been sent by the bishop of Mun- engages to
ster's agent with the conditions which were offered unT
by the king, returned with great expedition, and v
brought the bishop's acceptation and engagement,

D d 4



408 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. " that, upon the payment of the first sum that was
~~ " agreed upon, he would draw his army together,
" and march with an army of twenty thousand horse
" and foot into the States' dominions. " And the
king before he left London had signed the treaty,
and made the first payment, and provided for the
second : so that he now expected that the bishop
should be shortly upon his march, and fix his winter-
quarters in those provinces ; which he did resolve
and intend with courage and sincerity, and which in
that conjuncture must have put the counsels of Hol-
land into great confusion, when they began to be
again reduced into some order.
oe wit per- The indefatigable industry and dexterity of the

u. ult's the

Dutch to pensionary De Wit prevailed with the States to be-

prepare an- _. 1111 i n

other fleet, neve, " that he thought a peace to be necessary tor
" their affairs, and desired nothing but that it might
" be upon honourable and safe conditions, and that
" France was very real in the endeavouring it : but
" that the enemy was so insolent upon their late
" success, that they neglected all overtures, and be-
" lieved that the factions and divisions amongst
" themselves would hinder them from being able to
" set out another fleet ; and therefore that ought to
" be the first design. And if their fleet were ready
" to go out, he doubted not but a peace would quickly
" follow : for that France was engaged, if the king
" should not consent to what is just and reasonable,
" to declare a war against England, and to assist
" them with men and money, and all his own naval
" power, which the duke of Beaufort was then pre-
" paring and making ready in all the ports of France.
" But that it was not to be expected that they would
" send out their fleet, which was much inferior to



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 409

" the English, except they first saw a Dutch fleet at 1665.
" sea ready to join with them. " He wished them to
consider " how much they were all concerned in their
" India ships, which were in their voyage, and could
" not be far from their coasts in a short time ; all
" which would inevitably fall into the hands of the
" English, if they had no fleet at sea to relieve
" them. "

These reasons, of weight in themselves, and the
concernment of most of them in the preservation of
the Indian ships, prevailed with them to do all that
could be done to set out a new fleet : and to that
purpose they sent very strict and severe orders to their
several admiralties, for the proceeding against all,
without distinction of persons, who had misbehaved
themselves in the late battle, and to provide new
ships and all necessary provisions, to the end that
their fleet might be at sea by a time. And this
grew the more easy to them, by the seasonable re-
turn of De Ruyter with his fleet from Guinea, which
brought a present addition of good strength ; and he
had began the war upon the English, and was the
best sea-officer they had, and had exercised those
commands that no other officer could refuse to obey
him.

For the speedy carrying on these present pre- The Dutch

. , , . . . make a re-

parations, they made, according to their usual cus- formation
torn in extraordinary occurrences, committees of the H^y. 1 ' 11
States to assist in the admiralties of Zealand, Am-
sterdam, and Rotterdam ; and to that purpose De
Wit, and such other as he thought fittest at this
time to join with him, were appointed. They went
first to the fleet to reform the disorders there : and
though they durst not proceed with that severity as



410 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. had been fit, yet they cashiered many captains and
""other officers, and put some other marks of disgrace

upon others, and caused one or two to die.
De wit's But that which De Wit's heart was most set upon

malice

against van was to take revenge upon Van Trump, and to re-
move him from ever having any command at sea:
for though he was an excellent officer, and upon the
stock of his father's credit of great estimation with
the seamen, and inferior to no man but De Ruyter,
and had behaved himself in the battle with signal
courage ; yet his dispute with Evertson upon com-
mand had brought much prejudice to them. But
that which was worst of all and incensed De Wit
implacably was, that he was of entire ' devotion to
the prince of Orange, as his father had always been,
and all his children continued to be, and he knew
well had an especial part, how covertly soever, in
fomenting the murmurs of the people against n him
and the war : and he resolved to take this opportu-
nity of the good temper the States were in in their
concurrence for the setting out the fleet, not only to
provide for the better government of their ships and
marine conduct, but to punish and prevent the mur-
murs at land, by removing all those out of any power
whom he suspected to have secretly contributed to
them. He did all he could to make Van Trump's
offence capital, as if the right of command had been
so clear in Evertson that the other could not dis-
pute it : but Van Trump defended himself so well ,
and had so many friends, that he was absolved from
thajt guilt. Yet for some passionate and indiscreet
words, in which he did naturally abound, he was

n against] Omitted in MS. " so well] Not in MS.



" s f e ~



EDWARD EA11L OF CLARENDON. 411

deprived of his command, with a declaration, " that ] 665.
** he should no more be employed in the service of
" the States ;" which whilst the government was in
those hands he cared not for, and had a good estate
to subsist without it. And so for the present all
differences were composed so far, as to have a gene-
ral concurrence in whatsoever was necessary, and in
order to the making ready and setting out their fleet
to sea.

The king had been few days at Salisbury before The French
the French and Spanish ambassadors arrived there
and then they made some instance with the king, j" a s ti f
that there might be a treaty for peace ; and the P eac
French ambassadors P declared, " that the king their
" master was so far engaged by treaty with the
" Dutch, that if the king would not accept of a just
" and an honourable peace, his majesty must declare
** himself on their behalf, which he was unwilling to
" do. " The king answered, " that if there were any
" such engagement he had not been well dealt with ;
** for that the French 'king had given his word to
" him, that he would not enter into any treaty with
" the Dutch but * pari passu ' with his majesty,"
(and when his majesty had been informed that
there was some treaty concluded with them, he was
assured from France " that it was only a treaty of
" commerce, which he had been obliged to enter
" into to prevent an edict in Holland, by which
" strong waters and other French commodities would
" have been inhibited to be brought into those pro-
" virices, but that there was nothing in that treaty
" that could be to his majesty's prejudice :") " that

v the French ambassadors] Not in MS.



412 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. " his majesty had been always ready to embrace
" peace, which had been never yet offered by the
" Dutch, nor did he know what conditions they ex-
" pected. "

The ambassadors seemed to be much offended
with the insolent behaviour of the Dutch ; and con-
fessed " that they were not solicitous for peace, but
"'only desired to engage the king their master in
" the war : but that if his majesty would make his
" demands, which they presumed would be reason-
" able, the other should be brought to consent to
" them. " To which the king replied, " that they had
" begun the war upon him, and not he upon them ;
" and that God had hitherto given him the advan-
" tage, which he hoped he should improve ; and till
" they were as desirous of a peace as he, it would not
" become him to make any propositions. " And in
this manner that affair stood whilst the court re-
mained at Salisbury.

And there now fell out an unexpected accident,
which looked as if Providence had been inclined to
repair the mischief and the damage that the plague
had produced to the affairs of the king. It hath
been mentioned before, that upon the first thoughts
of a war with the Dutch, the king had sent Mr.
Henry Coventry to Sweden, and sir Gilbert Talbot
to Denmark, to engage those crowns as far as might
be on his majesty's behalf, both of them being enough
disobliged and provoked by the Dutch.
success of Mr. Coventry in Sweden found a frank and open
reception, avowing a hearty affection to the king,
an d an inclination to join in any thing that might
not be destructive to their own affairs : nor did they
dissemble the injuries they had received from the



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 413

Hollander even to the Dutch ambassador himself, 1665.
who was at the same time sent thither to unite that ~
crown to their interest, to which purpose he had
made several specious overtures. Nor did they con-
ceal the jealousy they had of the French, who had
not complied with the payment of the yearly sum of
money which they were obliged to make to them for
the support of their army, of which they were in
a great arrear, that discomposed their affairs very
much. And though M. Pompone, who had been
long resident in that court as an envoy, was now
come thither as ambassador from France, and brought
with him a good sum of money to retain them fast
to their dependance upon them ; yet the money was
not half that was due to them, and they well knew
what dark ends it was for : and they did exceed-
ingly fear the omnipotence of France.

There were two things which kept them from a
full declaration on the king's behalf, and engaging
presently in his interest. The first was the appre-
hension that they had of Denmark, that it would
take this opportunity to unite themselves more
firmly to the Hollander, and so attempt to deprive
Sweden of all their late conquest, which was con-
firmed to them by their own treaty of Copenhagen,
which they were resolved never to part from : and
in this particular they were to expect some satisfac-
tion and security from the negociation of sir Gilbert
Talbot. The other was, that they might see the bi-
shop of Munster fully engaged, upon whose expedi-
tion they had much expectation. And Mr. Coven-
try had informed them of that whole agreement,
which would have given them opportunity to have



1665. prosecuted their own design upon Bremen, to which

"their hearts were most devoted.

And of sir Sir Gilbert Talbot had been as well received in
bot-s to Denmark, with all the professions imaginable of af-
irk> fection to the king, and of their detestation of the
Dutch, who in truth had exercised a strange ty-
ranny over them by the advantage of their necessi-
ties ; nor is the injustice, oppression, and indignities
which they had sustained from them to be expressed
and described, without entering into a large dis-
course of particulars which are foreign to this rela-
tion : let it suffice, that there needed few arguments
to persuade that king to any thing that was within
his power, and which would have done signal mis-
chief to the Dutch. But the truth is, the kingdom
was very poor, the people unwarlike, the king him-
self very good and very weak, jealous of all the
great men, and not yet recovered of the fright that
Wolfelt had put him into. His chief minister, one
Gabell, had gotten his credit by having been his
barber, an illiterate and unbred man, yet his sole
confident in his business of greatest trust; which
made all the persons of quality in the kingdom, who
are as proud of their nobility as any nation, full of
indignation. And they were able to cross many re-
solutions after they were taken, though they could
not establish others in the place ; which made the
king very irresolute and unfixed : so that what was
concluded to-day was reversed or not pursued to-
morrow. They professed a great jealousy of the
Swede, as the greatest argument, but their weak-
ness, against a war with *i the Dutch ; yet were not
<i a war with] Not in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 415

willing to propose any expedients which might se-
cure them against those jealousies. And the king
absolutely denied that he had ever given Hannibal
Zested authority to declare, " that he would again
" confirm the treaty he had made ;" and seemed to
take it unkindly that his majesty should think it
reasonable, who therefore thought it so, because it
was proposed by himself, and because he still con-
fessed, " that he could make no attempt to recover
" what he had parted with. " That which he did
unreasonably design, in all the disguises which were
put on, was to engage the king to endeavour to per-
suade the Swede to give up and restore Elsineur
and the other places to Denmark, or to assist him
with force for the recovery of them when there
should be a peace concluded with Holland : so that
the king despaired of any good from that negoci-
ation, and resolved shortly to recall his minister from
thence.

But there was on a sudden a change to wonder. A
Gabell came early in a morning to sir Gilbert Talbot, O f theat-



and told him, " his master was now resolved to unite

" his interest entirely to that of the Mng of Eng- atBergeiu

" land, having now an opportunity to do it securely

" to both their benefits.