No More Learning

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. " He told him, " that there

" were letters arrived that night from Bergen, with

" news that the Dutch East India ships were all

" arrived in that port with orders to remain there

" till they received new orders from Holland, which

" they should have as soon as their fleet should be

" ready to join with them. This had disposed the

" king to resolve to give the king of England op-

" portunity to possess himself of all that treasure,

" out of which he presumed he would allow him ,



416 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. " such a share, as might enable him to declare, and
~~" assist his majesty vigorously in his war, against
" the Dutch. That if he gave speedy notice to the
"king's fleet, which every body knew was then at
" sea, it might easily go to Bergen, where they might
" as easily surprise all those ships in the port, since
" they should receive no opposition from the castles
" under whose protection they lay. "

And when he had done his relation, he offered
him to go with him to the king, that he might re-
ceive the obligation from himself; which sir Gilbert
Talbot presently did, and found his majesty as cheer-
ful in the resolution as Gabell had been. He re-
peated all that the other had said, and more parti-
cularly " that he thought it reasonable that he might
" expect half of the value that the whole would
" amount to ; which he would rely upon the king's
" honour and justice for, after the ships should be
" in England, that r he might not be suspected by
" the Hollander, for he would protest against 8 the
" act as a violence that he could not resist : and
" that l he would expect so many of his majesty's
" ships u to arrive in Denmark, and to assist him,
" before he positively declared against the Dutch. "
He wished sir Gilbert Talbot " to send an express
" forthwith to the king with all these particulars ;"
which he did the next day.

This express arrived within few days after the
king came to Salisbury, and was despatched pre-
sently back again with letters to the king of Den-
mark of his majesty's consent and ratification of all
that he had proposed, and with letters likewise to

r that] and that i that] so

* against] Omitted in MS. " ships] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 417

the earl of Sandwich, who according to his former 1665.
orders had sailed northward in hope to meet with '
that fleet, which was before got into Norway. The
king's letters to him came in a very good season,
and he immediately continued his course for Nor-
way : and when he came to that length, and near
enough to that land of rocks which are terrible to
all seamen, he thought it best to remain at sea with
his fleet, lest De Ruyter might by this time be come
out with his fleet, (since his being come northward
could not be concealed, nor the arrival of the East
India fleet at Bergen ; which would hasten the other,)
and sent in a squadron of fifteen or sixteen good ships
(of strength sufficient for the business) into the har-
bour of Bergen with a letter to the governor. And
with it he sent in x a gentleman that was a volun-
teer on board him, who hath been often mentioned
before, Mr. Clifford, the confident of the lord Ar-
lington, who was well instructed in all the trans-
actions which had been at Copenhagen. Before
they went into the harbour, Mr. Clifford and another
gentleman or two went by boat to the town, where
he found all the Dutch ships (about a dozen in num-
ber) riding very near the shore, and all under the
protection of the castle, into which they had put
much of their richest lading from the time of their
first coming thither, as to a place of unquestionable
security.

The governor was not surprised with the mes-
sengers or the letter, as appeared by the reception
of both, but seemed troubled that they were come
so soon, before the manner of performing the action

* in] Not in MS.
VOL. II. E 6



418 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. was enough adjusted : he could not deny but " that
" he had received orders from Copenhagen ; but that
" he expected more perfect directions within four
" and twenty hours, and expected likewise the pre-
" sence of the vice-king of Norway, who was his
" superior officer, and would infallibly be there the
" next day. " The behaviour of the man was such
as made them believe it sincere, as in truth it was,
for he meant well, and was content that the ships,
which though they were not come into the port did
not ride safe amongst the rocks, should come into
the port, upon assurance that they would not at-
tempt any hostile act without his consent, which
was till all things should be agreed between them :
and so the fleet entered ; which the Dutch perceived
with great consternation, yet changed the posture
of some of their ships, and new-moored the rest, and
put themselves upon their defence.

It is a port like no other that the world knows, a
very great number of formidable rocks, between
each of which the sea runs deep enough for the
greatest ships to ride securely ; so that the ships
were as in so many chambers apart between the
rocks : and the Dutch, which came thither first, had
possessed themselves of that line of the sea that lay
next to the shore, to which they lay so near that
they could descend from their vessels on land ; which
had been much the better for the enterprise, if the
Dane had concurred in it.

It was so late before the English ships had taken
their places, which was as near the Dutch as the
rocks would permit, that they remained quiet all
night, which was spent in consultation between the
commander in chief of the English ships (who was



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 419

a stout and a good officer, but a rough man, who
knew better how to follow his instructions than to
debate the ground of them ; but he was advised by
Mr. Clifford, and conformed to his judgment) and
the governor of the town and castle, who seemed
still inclined not only to suffer the English to do
what they would, but to be willing to act a part in
it himself from the shore, and to expect hourly or-
ders to that purpose, as likewise the arrival of the
vice-king, whose authority was more equal to that
attempt, and who was a man well known to have a
particular reverence for the king, and as particular
a prejudice and animosity against the Dutch. The
night being over, the governor continued all the
next day as desirous and importunate that the
enterprise might be longer deferred ; upon which
there were some choleric words between the go-
vernor and a gentleman of quality who was a volun-
teer on board the ships, which many thought in
some degree irreconciled the governor to the affair.

In conclusion, the commander of the squadron
was willing to think that the governor had rather it
should be done without his declared consent than by
it, and so told him, " that the next morning he was
'* resolved to weigh his anchors and to fall upon the
" Dutch ;" to which the other made such a reply-as
confirmed him in his former imagination. And in
the morning the ships were brought out of their
several channels, and placed as near the sides of the
Dutch as they could be, from whence they resolved
to board them as soon as they had sent their broad-
sides upon them. But they found that the Dutch
had spent their time well ; for in the two days and
two nights that the English had been in the harbour,

E e 2



420 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. besides the unlading the richest of their commodities
~ that were left into the castle, they had drawn all
their ordnance, which lay on that side of the ships
which was to the shore, on land, and planted them
upon a rising ground, that they could shoot over
their own ships upon the English : and a breastwork
was cast up, behind which all the inhabitants of the
town were in arms.

The in sue- ft was a fair warning, and might very well have
persuaded our men to be glad to retire out of the
harbour, which yet they might have done : but their
courage or their anger disposed them to make fur-
ther trial of the governor, for they feared not the
ordnance from the land which the Dutch had plant-
ed, nor the muskets from the breastworks, if the
castle did them no harm, under the power of which
they all were. And so they fell upon their work :
and in some time, and with y the loss of many men
from the ships and from the land, they had dis-
mounted many of the ordnance upon the shore, and
were even ready to board the ships ; when out of
absurd rage or accident a ship or two of the English
discharged some guns both upon the breastworks,
from whence they had received no prejudice, and
upon the town, which beat down some houses. But
then all the muskets from the breastworks were
poured out, and guns from the castle, which killed,
very many common men, and five or six officers of
very good account, and some gentlemen volunteers,
amongst which was Edward Mountague, eldest son
to the lord Mountague of Boughton, and cousin
german to the earl of Sandwich, a proper man and

y with] Not in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 421

well-bred, but not easy to be pleased, and who was ] 665.
then withdrawn from the court, where he was mas-~
ter of the horse to the queen, and in some discon-
tent had put himself on board the fleet with a cap-
tain, without the privity of the earl of Sandwich,
and was now slain. There was now no further ex-
periment to be made, but how they could get to sea,
which might easily have been prevented from the
shore and from the rocks : but from the minute
that they prepared to be gone and gave over shoot-
ing, there was no more done against them, and they
had pilots from the country that carried them safe
out.

The noise of the guns had called the earl of Sand-
wich as near the mouth of the harbour as could
safely be, to discover what became of his squadron ;
so that they came shortly to him with the whole ac-
count of their ill success, and within a short time
after a shallop from the governor 7 , with a letter
to the officer who had commanded the squadron,
complaining as much as he could do of the misbe-
haviour of the English in shooting upon the town,
and desiring "that Mr. Clifford would give him a
" meeting at a place he appointed, to which the
" shallop should convey him. " Mr. Clifford was more
willing to go than the earl was to permit him ; yet
at last upon his earnest desire he consented, and he
put himself into the shallop. It happened that when
the action was over and the English under sail, the
vice-king arrived at Bergen, with two or three regi-
ments of the country ; and the orders were likewise
come from Copenhagen, whereby, at least as they

z from the governor] Not in MS.

E e 3



422 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. pretended, they were required to permit all that the
~" English desired : and the vice-king had caused the
shallop to be sent, and was himself with the gover-
nor at the place whither Mr. Clifford was to come,
and there he spake with them together.

The governor with many protestations excused
himself for shooting from the castle, after the town
was assaulted, and many of the burghers killed, who
had stood in arms only to defend the town, without
being concerned for the Dutch or their ships ; and
made it an argument of his integrity and respect,
" that he had permitted them to depart when it
" was in his power to have sunk them. " He com-
plained, " that the commander would not have the
" patience to defer the assault one day longer,
" which if he had done, the orders from Copenhagen
" had been come, and the vice-king had been pre-
" sent with his forces, which would have secured
** the enterprise. " The vice-king seemed very much
troubled for what had been done, and earnestly de-
sired " that the same or another squadron might be
" again sent in, when they should be at liberty to do
" what they would upon the Dutch ; and if they
*' stood in need of assistance, they should have as
" much as was necessary. "

Mr. Clifford replied to many of the excuses which
were made, and urged " the suffering the Dutch to
** bring their ordnance on shore, and the townsmen
** being in arms to assist them ;" and proposed,
" that they would first begin by seizing upon some
" of their ships, and then that their fleet should an-
" swer :" but this the vice-king did absolutely refuse,
and made another proposition, that startled more,
and was directly new, " that when the English had



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 423

" seized upon all the Dutch ships, they should not 1665.
" have carried any of them away till a perfect divi- ~
" sion of the goods was made, that the king of
" Denmark might have his just proportion. " Mr.
Clifford made no answer but " that he would pre-
" sent all that they proposed to the earl of Sand-
" wich, in whom the power of concluding and ex-
" ecuting remained solely :" and so he returned to
the fleet, and they to the town, and expected an
answer.

The earl of Sandwich thought not fit to run any The eari of
more hazards, and was not satisfied that they
proceeded sincerely. But that which most
vailed with him was, that he had received i
gence "that De Ruyter was come out with the
" fleet," and he would not he should find him en-
tangled in those rocks, or obliged to fight with him
upon that coast; and the season of the year now
made that station very unsecure, for it was already
the beginning of October, when those seas run very
high and boisterous : and therefore he resolved to
be master of more sea-room, that he might fight De
Ruyter, if he came ; and if he did not, he might then
meet those East India ships more securely in their
way to Holland, than by making another attempt
in the harbour. And so, after some letters had
passed and repassed between the vice-king and
him, and both the vice-king and governor had
undertaken to keep the Dutch ships there for the
space of six weeks, for they desired to see the suc-
cess of another engagement between the two fleets ;
the earl steered that way with his fleet that most
probably might bring him and De Ruyter together,
which above all things he desired.

E e 4



424 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. This whole affair of Bergen and the managery
Tbe au _ thereof was so perplexed and intricate, that it was
thor-s re. never clearly understood. That which seemed to

flections J

upon this have most probability was, that as soon as the
Dutch fleet came to Bergen, they had unladen
many of their richest commodities and put them
into the castle, before the governor had received his
orders from Copenhagen : and so both his own and
his master's faith and honour were engaged to dis-
charge the trust, of which he made haste to send an
account to the king, and thereupon expected new
directions, which were not arrived when the English
fleet came thither. And when they did come,
whether that court, according to its custom, did
change its mind, and believe they should make a
better bargain by keeping what was already depo-
sited in their hands in the castle, than by making
an uncertain division with the king; or whether
they did in truth continue firm to the first agree-
ment, and that the messenger was stopped by ex-
traordinary accidents in his journey, (which was po-
sitively alleged,) so that he did not arrive in time ;
or whether the governor was not able to master the
town that was much inclined to the Hollanders,
before the vice-king came with his troops, who did
make all possible haste as soon as he heard that the
English were arrived ; or whether the English did
proceed more unadvisedly and rashly than they
ought to have done ; remains still in the dark :
and both parties reproached each other afterwards,
as they found most necessary for their several
defences and pretences ; of which more hereafter.
The king The king stayed not altogether so long at Salis-
eourt re- bury as he had intended to have done : for besides



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 425

a little accidental indisposition which made him dis- 1 665.
like the air, some inferior servants and their wives more to
came from London or the villages adjacent, and xford '
brought the plague with them ; so that the court
removed to Oxford before the end of September,
the parliament being to assemble there on the tenth
of the next month. And before he left Salisbury,
his majesty sent an express to York to his brother,
" that he would meet him as soon as he could. "
The duke had lived in great lustre in York all that
summer, with the very great respect and continual
attendance of all the persons of quality of that large
county : and the duke no sooner received his ma-
jesty's summons than he took post, and left his wife
and family to follow by ordinary journeys, and him-
self came to Oxford the next day after the king,
where there were indeed matters of the highest im-
portance to be consulted and resolved.

The king had sent Mr. Clifford to Denmark to be
satisfied, upon conference with sir Gilbert Talbot,
concerning the miscarriage at Bergen, and if the
ships remained still there according to the promise
the vice-king had made, and if that king were
ready to perform what he had undertaken, that all
particulars might be so adjusted that there might
be no further mistake ; and if he found that the jea-
lousy of Sweden was a real obstruction to that
alliance, that he should make a journey to Sweden,
and upon conference with Mr. Coventry, who by
his dexterity and very good parts had reconciled the
affections of that court to a very great esteem of
him, endeavour a to remove all those obstructions :
and as soon as his majesty should receive full infor-
a endeavour] to endeavour



426 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. mation of that whole affair, he must consider what
~he was to do to vindicate himself in that business
of Bergen ; for he knew well that he must suffer
with all the world, for violating the peace of a port
that was under the government of a neighbour
prince with whom he was allied, if he did not make
it appear that he had the consent of that prince,
which he was not willing to do till he first knew
what that king would do.



A further j n fa e next place his majesty was to resolve what

negotiation > J

with the answer to make to the French ambassadors, who

French am- -i i / i- -,

bassadors. now desired trequcnt audiences, and positively de-
clared, " that their master was engaged by his
*' treaty with the Dutch, that in case they were in-
" vaded or assaulted by any prince, he would assist
" them with men, money, and ships, which he had
** hitherto deferred to do out of respect to the king,
" and in hope that he would accept his mediation,
** and make such propositions towards peace as he
" might press the others to consent to. " The Dutch
ambassador was likewise come to town, rather to
treat concerning the prisoners and to observe what
the French ambassadors did, than that he had any
thing to propose in order to peace, there appearing
now since their fleet was at sea more insolence in
the Dutch, and a greater aversion from the peace,
than had been formerly.

The king complained to the ambassadors of the
French king's proceedings, " that the entering into
** that treaty was expressly against his word given to
" the king : that the Dutch had first began the war,
' and ought to make the first approach towards
" peace, but that their b ambassador had no instruc-
b their] Not in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 427

" tion to make any such instance; and therefore it 1665.
" seemed very strange to his majesty, that the ~
" French king should press for that which they had
" no desire to have. "

The ambassadors confessed " that the Dutch did
" not desire a peace ; that they thought they were
" too much behindhand, and that they had at pre-
" sent great advantages ; that they looked upon the
" great plague in London" (which continued in its
full rage and vigour, insomuch as at that time in the
end of September there died not so few as six thou-
sand in the week, amongst which some were of the
best quality in the city) " as of such insupportable
" damage to the king, that he would not be able to
" set out another fleet the year following : and
" therefore that, when they had been pressed by the
" French king to make some propositions towards
" peace, he could get no other answer from them,
" than that they expected that the island of Pole-
" roone should be released to them, and that the
" fort at Cabo Corso in Guinea should be thrown
" down and slighted ; which they confessed was an
" insolent proposition. That they complained that
" the king their master, instead of giving them the
" assistance he was obliged to do, spent the time in
" procuring a peace, which they cared not for : so
" that," they said, " their master continued the same
" Christian office principally to do his majesty of
" Great Britain a service, who he in truth believed
" would be reduced to great straits by the terrible
" effect of the plague ; and in the next place to de-
" fend himself from entering into the war, which he
" could no longer defer to do, if his majesty did not,
" by consenting to some reasonable overture, give



428 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. " him a just occasion to press them to yield to it;
~~ " and in that case he would behave himself in that
" manner that the king should have no cause to
" complain of his partiality. " The king's indigna-
tion was so provoked by the pride and impudence of
the Dutch demands, that he gave the ambassadors
no other answer, than " that he hoped God Al-
v mighty had not sent that heavy judgment of the
" plague upon him and his people on the behalf of
" the Hollanders, and to expose him to their inso-
" lerice. "

Tlie parliament convened at Oxford in greater



""oxford. * numbers than could reasonably have been expected,
the sickness still continuing to rage and spread itself
in several counties ; so that between the danger that
was in the towns infected, and the necessary severity
hi other towns to keep themselves from being in-
fected, it was a very inconvenient season for all per-
sons of quality to travel from their own habitations.
Upon the tenth of October the king commanded
both houses to attend him in Christ Church hall,

The ting's and told them, " that he was confident they did all
. " believe, that if it had not been absolutely neces-
" sary to consult with them, he would not have
" called them together at that time, when the con-
" tagion had spread itself over so many parts of the
" kingdom : and he thanked them for their compli-
" ance so far with his desires.