No More Learning

same predicament with Bordeaux, though in truth JlJrJjJ*
their cases were very different, and who received a ki " d 'y re

J ceived.

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

r room] Omitted in MS.

I i 4



488 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

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

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

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

* had] Not in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 489

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

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



490 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

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

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



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 491

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

' Bombayne] Brasil ll which] and



492 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

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

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

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



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 493

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

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



494 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

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

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

c their] Not in -MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 495

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

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



496 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

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

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

d with] without e matter] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 497

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

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

VOL. I. K k



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



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

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



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 499

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

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

. 11T . , . . of the earl

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



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

K k 2



500 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

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

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



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 501

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

K k3



502 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

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

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

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



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 503

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

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

K k 4



504 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

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



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 505

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

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



506 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

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

the Spanish t J

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

obstruct the . *

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

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

s secret] MS, adds: that burned his entrance



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 507

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

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



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



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



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 509

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

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

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

\

' wish] Omitted in MS.



510 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

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



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 511

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

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



512 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

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

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



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 513

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

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



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

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

' Portugal] Not in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON.
515

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

Nor did the carriage of the Spanish ambassador Extrava-

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

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



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

m the populace] Omitted in MS.
L 12



516 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

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

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

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

days he departed the kingdom, carrying with him

the character of a very bold rash man.

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

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

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



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 517

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

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

L 1 3



518 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

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

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



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 519

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

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

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

11 look] and took
L 1 4



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

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



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 521

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

There was another circumstance that attended An instancc

. . . ofthechan-

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

r being] Not in MS.



522 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

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

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



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 523

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

* inconveniency] inconvenience



524 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

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

After the king had himself conferred at large
with the Portugal ambassador, he referred him
again to give the lords, with whom he had formerly
treated, an account how all particulars were ad-
justed in Portugal ; " which were," he said, " in this
The mea- " manner. For the portion, the queen regent, having
" resolved not to dispose of any of the money that
" was provided for the war, had sold her own jewels,
of marriage. an( j mucn O f her own plate, and had borrowed
" both plate and jewels from the churches and mo-
" nasteries : by which means she had the whole
" portion ready, which was all sealed up in bags,
" and deposited where nobody could take it to ap-
" ply to any other use. For the delivery of Tangier,
" that the old governor, (who had lived there long,
" and was humorous,) on l whom the queen could
" not confidently depend, was removed ; and another
" sent, before he left Lisbon, to take that charge,
" who was a creature of the queen's, who could not
" deceive her, and was so far trusted, that he knew
" for what end he was sent thither, and cheerfully
" undertook to perform it : and that the fleet which
" should be sent for the queen should first go to
" Tangier, and take possession thereof; and till that

1 on] of



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 525

" should be delivered into his majesty's hands, the
" queen should not embark upon the fleet, nor till"
" all the money should be put on board. That for
" the delivery of Bombayne, it was resolved like-
" wise, that the vice-king and governor of Goa u ,
" under whom that island likewise is, should be
" forthwith recalled ; and that another," (whom he
named,) " of whom the queen had all assurance,
" should be sent to that high charge, and should be
" transported thither in the fleet which the king
" would send to receive the island, and would de-
" liver the same to the person designed to receive
" it. " He added, " that there would be another se-
*' curity given, greater than any of the rest, and
** such a one as had never been given before in
" such a case. That the queen should be delivered
" on board the fleet, and transported into England,
" before she was married : which was such a trust
" that had never been reposed in any prince, who,
" if he would break his word, might put an ever-
" lasting reproach upon their nation. "

The cause of this extraordinary circumstance was
truly this. The power of Spain was so great in the
court of Rome, notwithstanding the interposition
and threatening mediation of France, (whose am-
bassador declared that Portugal should choose a pa-
triarch, and have no longer dependence upon the
pope,) that neither Urban, in whose reign that king-
dom severed itself from Spain, nor Innocent, nor
Alexander, would acknowledge the duke of Bra-
ganza for king, nor receive an ambassador or other
minister from him : so that they now foresaw, that

11 Goa] Brasil



526 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. if they should, in what manner soever, demand a



dispensation at Rome, (without which the marriage
could not be celebrated in Portugal,) the interest of
Spain would cause it to be denied, or granted in
such a manner as should be worse for them ; for the
queen would have been mentioned only as the
daughter and sister of the duke of Braganza. And
before they would receive that affront, the most jea-
lous and most apprehensive nation in the world
chose rather to send the daughter of the kingdom
to be married in England, and not to be married till
she came thither.

The king Upon the whole matter, the king thought not fit
whole to to make any further exceptions, but resolved to as-
sem ble his whole privy-council, and to communicate
the matter to them ; for it did remain a secret yet,
no man knowing or speaking of it. The council
was so full, that there was only one counsellor that
was absent. The king informed them of all that
had passed in that affair, " how it was first proposed
" to him, and the objections which occurred to him
'* against it ; for the better clearing whereof the
" ambassador had made a voyage into Portugal, and
" was returned with such satisfaction to all particu-
" lars, that he thought it now time to communicate
" the whole to them, that he might receive their ad-
" vice. " He commanded then the particular propo-
sitions, which were offered by the ambassador, to be
reported. And thereupon he commanded and con-
jured all the lords severally to give him their ad-
vice ; for he said, " he had not yet so firmly re-
" solved, but that he might change his mind, if he
" heard reasons to move him : and therefore they
" would not deal faithfully with him, if they did not



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 527

" with all freedom declare their judgment to him. " 1601.
In short, every man delivered his opinion, and every ~
one agreed in the opinion, " that it was very fit for
" his majesty to embrace the propositions, which
" were of great advantage to himself and the king-
" dom ;" and that their advice was, " that he should which u
'* speedily and without more delay conclude the ^^h
" treaty. " And thereupon his majesty said, " that JJ
" he looked upon so unanimous a concurrence as a
" good omen, and that he would follow their ad-
" vice. *'



END OF VOL. I.


THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES



FROM THE LIBRARY OF
ERNEST CARROLL MOORE



THE LIFE



OF



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON,

LORD HIGH CHANCELLOR OF ENGLAND,



AND



CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD.



Ne quidfalsi dicere audeat, ne quid veri non audeat. CICKRO.



THE LIFE



OF

EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON,

LORD HIGH CHANCELLOR OF ENGLAND,

AND

CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD :

IN WHICH IS INCLUDED

A CONTINUATION

OF HIS

HISTORY OF THE GRAND REBELLION.



WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.



A NEW EDITION,

EXHIBITING A FAITHFUL COLLATION OF THE ORIGINAL MS. ,
WITH ALL THE SUPPRESSED PASSAGES.



VOL. II.



OXFORD,
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.

MDCCCXXVII.



CoBegt
Library



THE

CONTINUATION

OF



THE LIFE



OF



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON.



ALL this was done between the dissolution of the 1661.
parliament in December, and the assembling the The new
other in May following. And a upon the first day of J^ ent
its coming together, which was upon the eighth of Ma y 8 -
May, the very day b that his majesty had been pro-
claimed the year before, he told d them " that he had The kin s' s

speech.

" deferred it a week, that they might meet upon
" that day, for the memory of the former day. "
The king, after some gracious expressions of his
confidence in them, told them " that they would
" find what method he thought best for their pro-
" ceeding, by two bills which he had caused to be
" provided for them, which were for confirmation of
" all that had been enacted in the last meeting;"
and repeated what he had said to them when he

a following. And] following, twelvemonth
and c before,] before them.

b the very day] the very day ll he told] And he told

VOL. II. B



2 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. was last there: " that next to the miraculous bless-
Hc prefse$ ing of God Almighty, and indeed as an immediate
them to effect of that blessing, he did impute the good dis-

< . min m the

act of in- position and security they were all in, to the happy
" act of indemnity and oblivion : that," his majesty
said, " was the principal corner-stone that supported
" that excellent building, that created kindness in
" them to each other ; and confidence was their joint
" and common security. " He told them, " he was
" still of the same opinion, and more, if it were pos-
" sible, of that opinion than he had been, by the ex-
" perience he had of the benefit of it, and from the
" unreasonableness of what some men said against
" it. " He desired them " to provide full remedies
" for future mischiefs ; to be as severe as they would
" against new offenders, especially if they were so
" upon old principles ; and that they would pull up
" those principles by the roots. But," his majesty
said, " he should never think him a wise man, that
" would endeavour to undermine and shake that
" foundation of the public peace, by infringing that
" act in the least degree ; or that he could be his
" friend, or wish him well, who would persuade him
" ever to consent to the breach of a promise he had
" so solemnly made when he was abroad, and had
" performed with that solemnity after, and because
" he had promised it : and that he could not sus-
" pect any attempts of that kind by any men of
" merit and virtue. "

And this warmth of his majesty upon this sub-
ject was not then more than needed : for the armies
being now disbanded, there were great combinations
entered into, not to confirm the act of oblivion ;
which they knew without confirmation would sig-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 3

nify nothing. Men were well enough contented, 1661.
that the king should grant indemnity to all men""
that had rebelled against him ; that he should grant
their lives and fortunes to them, who had forfeited
them to him : hut they thought it very unreason-
able and unjust, that the king should release those
debts which were immediately due to them, and
forgive those trespasses which had been committed
to their particular damage. They could not endure
to meet the same men in the king's highway, now
it was the king's highway again, who had hereto-
fore affronted them in those ways, because they
were not the king's, and only because they knew
they could obtain no justice against them. They
could not with any patience see those men, who not
only during the war had oppressed them, plundered
their houses, and had their own adorned with the
furniture they had robbed them of, ride upon the
same horses which they had then taken from them
upon no other pretence, but because they were bet-
ter than their own; but after the war was ended,
had committed many insolent trespasses upon them
wantonly, and to shew their power of justice of
peace, or committee men, and had from the lowest
beggary raised great estates, out of which they were e
well able to satisfy, at least in some degree, the da-
mages the other had sustained. And those and other
passions of this kind, which must have invalidated
the whole act of indemnity, could not have been ex-
tinguished without the king's influence, and indeed
his immediate interposition and industry.

When his majesty had spoken all he thought fit He . ac *

c were] Not in MS.
B 2



4 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. upon that subject, he told them, "he could not
them w ;th " conclude without telling them some news, news
his intended that he thought would be very acceptable to them ;
" and therefore he should think himself unkind and
" ill-natured, if he should not impart it to them.
" That he had been often put in mind by his friends,
" that it was high time to marry ; and he had
" thought so himself, ever since he came into Eng-
" land : but there appeared difficulties enough in
" the choice, though many overtures had been made
"to him. And if he should never marry till he
" could make such a choice, against which there
" could be no foresight of any inconvenience that
" might ensue, they would live to see him an old
" bachelor, which he thought they did not desire to
" do. " He said, " he could now tell them, not only
" that he was resolved to marry, but whom he re-
" solved to marry, if it pleased God. That towards
" his resolution, he had used that deliberation, and
" taken that advice, that he ought to do in a case
" of that importance, and with a full consideration
" of the good of his subjects in general, as of him-
" self. It was with the daughter of Portugal. That
" when he had, as well as he could, weighed all that
" occurred to himself, the first resolution he took,
" was to state the whole overtures which had been
" made to him, and in truth all that had been said
" against it, to his privy council ; without hearing
" whose advice, he never did nor ever would resolve
" any thing of public importance. And," he said,
" he told them with great satisfaction and comfort
" to himself, that after many hours debate in full
" council f , (for he thought there was not above one
f in full council] in a full council



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 5

" absent,) and he believed upon weighing all that 1661.
" could be said upon that subject, for or against it ;
" the lords, without one dissenting voice, advised
" him with all imaginable cheerfulness to this mar-
" riage : which he looked upon as very wonderful,
" and even as some instance of the approbation of
" God himself. That he had thereupon taken his own
" resolution, and concluded with the ambassador of
" Portugal, who was departing with the whole treaty
" signed, which they would find to contain many
" great advantages to the kingdom ; and that he
" would make all the haste he could, to fetch them
" a queen hither, who he doubted not would bring
" great blessings with her, to him and them. "

The next day the two houses of parliament, after The two

, . . houses ex-

they had expressed all the joy imaginable amongst press their
them, sent to the king, "that he would appoint alionont.
" time when he would admit them to his presence :"
which when he had done, both houses of parliament,
in a body, presented by the speaker of the house of
peers their humble thanks to his majesty, " for that
" he had vouchsafed to acquaint them with his reso-
" lution to marry, which had exceedingly rejoiced
" their hearts, and would, they doubted not, draw
" down God's blessing upon his majesty and the
" kingdom. " Shortly after, the fleet was made ready,
and the earl of Sandwich, admiral thereof, was like-
wise made ambassador to Portugal, and appointed
to receive the queen, and to conduct her into Eng-
land.

This was the whole proceeding, from the begin-
ning to the end of that treaty about the marriage
of the king ; by the whole circumstances whereof it
is apparent enough, that no particular corruption in

B 3



6 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

166). any single person could have brought it to pass in
~~ that manner, and that the chancellor never proposed
it, nor heard of it but from the king himself, nor
advanced it afterwards more than every one of the
other lords did ; and if he had done less, he could
neither have been thought a prudent or an honest
man : * to which no more shall be added, than that
neither before or in the treaty, or after the mar-
riage, he ever received the least reward or the least
present from Portugal. &
New bi- During the interval of parliament, the king had

shops ap- ,

pointed, made choice of many very eminent and learned men,
who were consecrated to some of the sees of bishops
which were void ; that the preservation of the suc-
cession might not depend upon the lives of the few
bishops who remained, and who were all very aged :
which could not have been done sooner, nor till the
other parliament, to whom the settlement of the
church had been referred, was dissolved. Nor could
he yet give any remedy to the licence in the prac-
tice of religion, which in all places was full of scan-
dal and disorder, because the liturgy was not yet
finished ; till when, the indulgence by his declara-
tion was not to be restrained. But at the same
time that he issued out his writs for convening the

A convoca- parliament, he had likewise h sent summons to the

tion sum- n-i ni

moued. bishops, for the meeting of the clergy in convoca-
tion, which is the legal synod in England ; against
the coming together whereof the liturgy would be
finished, which his majesty intended to send thither

* to which Portugal. ] Thus riage, he never received the least

in MS. : to which no more shall reward, or the least present from

be added, that neither before, or Portugal.
in the treaty, or after the mar- h likewise] like



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 7

to be examined, debated, and confirmed. And then 1661.
he hoped to provide, with the assistance of the par-~~
liament, such a settlement in religion, as would pre-
vent any disorder in the state upon those pretences.
And it was very necessary to lose no time in the
prosecution of that cure ; for the malignity against
the church appeared to increase, and to be greater
than it was upon the coming in of the king.

The old bishops who remained alive, and such
deans and chapters as were numerous enough for
the corporation, who had been long kept fasting,
had now appetites proportionable. Most of them
were very poor, and had undergone great extremi-
ties; some of the bishops having supported them-
selves and their families 1 by teaching schools, and
submitting to the like low condescensions. And
others saw, that if they died before they were en-
abled to make some provision for them, their wives
and children must unavoidably starve : and there-
fore they made haste to enter upon their own. And
now an ordinance of parliament had not strength
enough to batter an act of parliament. They called
their old tenants to account for rent, and to renew
their estates if they had a mind to it ; for most old
leases were expired in the long continuance of the
war, and the old tenants had been compelled either
to purchase a new right and title from the state,
(when the ordinance was passed for taking away all
bishops, deans, and chapters, and for selling all the
lands which belonged to them,) or to sell their pre-
sent estates to those, who had purchased the rever-
sion and the inheritance thereof: so that lx)th the

1 families] family
B 4



8 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. one and the other, the old tenants and the new pur-
~~ chasers, repaired to the true owners as soon as the
king was restored ; the former expecting to be re-
stored again to the possession of what they had sold,
under an unreasonable pretence of a tenant right,
(as they called it,) because there remained yet (as in
many cases there did) a year or some other term of
their old leases unexpired, and because they had out
of conscience forborne to buy the inheritance of the
church, which was first offered to them. And for
the refusal thereof, and such a reasonable fine as
was usual, they hoped to have a new lease, and to
be readmitted to be tenants to the church. The
other, the purchasers, (amongst which there were
some very infamous persons,) appeared as confident,
and did not think, that according to the clemency
that was practised towards all sorts of men, it could
be thought justice, that they should lose the entire
sum they had disbursed upon the faith of that go-
vernment, which the whole kingdom submitted to ;
but that they should, instead of the inheritance they
had an ill title to, have a good lease for lives or
years granted to them by them who had now the
right ; at least, that upon the old rent and moderate
fines they should be continued tenants to the church,
without any regard to those who had sold both their
possession, and with that all the right or title that
they might pretend to, for a valuable consideration.
And they had the more hope of this, because the
king had granted a commission, under the great
seal of England, to some lords of the council and to
other eminent persons, to interpose and mediate with
the bishops and clergy in such cases, as ought not
to be prosecuted with rigour.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 9

But the bishops and clergy concerned had not the 1661.
good fortune to please their old or their new tenants. A c i aniour
They had been very barbarously used themselves ; ? J 8t the



and that had too much quenched all tenderness to- bish P s and

. . cJergy by

wards others. They did not enough distinguish be- their te-
tween persons: nor did the suffering any man had" 8
undergone for fidelity to the king, or his affection
to the church eminently expressed, often prevail for
the mitigation of his fine ; or if it did sometimes,
three or four stories of the contrary, and in which
there had been some unreasonable hardness used,
made a greater noise and spread further, than their
examples of charity and moderation. And as honest
men did not k usually fare the better for any merit,
so the purchasers who offered most money, did not
fare the worse for all the villainies they had com-
mitted. And two or three unhappy instances of this
kind brought scandal upon the whole church, as if
they had been all guilty of the same excesses, which
they were far from. And by this means the new
bishops, who did not all follow the precedents made
by the old, underwent the same reproaches : and
many of them who had most adhered to their order,
and for so doing had undergone for twenty years
together sundry persecutions and oppressions, were
not in their present passion so much pleased with
the renewing it, as they expected to have been. Yet
upon a very strict examination of the true grounds
of all those misprisions, (except some few instances
which cannot be defended,) there will be found more
passion than justice in them ; and that there was
even a necessity to raise as much money as could be

* not] Not in MS.



10 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. justly done, for the repairing the cathedrals, which
"were all miserably ruinated or defaced, and for the
entirely building up many houses of the prebends,
which had been pulled down or let fall to the
ground.