No More Learning

"

He had scarce done speaking, when the duke of
York came in ; whereupon the king spake of some
other business, and shortly after went out of the
roOm with his brother, whom (as was shortly known)
he informed of all that the chancellor had said, who,
as soon as he came to his house, sent his wife to
command his daughter to keep her chamber, and
not to admit any visits ; whereas before she had al-
ways been at dinner and supper, and had much
company resorting to her : which was all that he
thought fit to do upon the first assault, and till he
had slept upon it, (which he did very unquietly,) and
reflected upon what was like to be the effect of so
extravagant a cause. And this was quickly known
to the duke, who was exceedingly offended at it,
and complained to the king, " as of an indignity of-
" fered to him. " And the next morning the king
chid the chancellor for proceeding with so much
precipitation, and required him " to take off that re-
" straint, and to leave her to the liberty she had
" been accustomed to. " To which he replied, " that
" her having not discharged the duty of a daughter
" ought not to deprive him of the authority of a
" father ; and therefore he must humbly beg his ma-



1660. "jesty not to interpose his commands against his
~" " doing any thing that his own dignity required :
" that he only expected what his majesty would do
" upon the advice he had humbly offered to him,
" and when he saw that, he would himself proceed
" as he was sure would become him :" nor did he
take off any of the restraint he had imposed. Yet
he discovered after, that even in that time the duke
had found ways to come to her, and to stay whole
nights with her, by the administration of those
who were not suspected by him, and who had
the excuse, " that they knew that they were mar-
" ried. "

This affair This subject was quickly the matter of all men's
not those discourse, and did not produce those murmurs and
murmurs discontented reflections which were expected. The

and discon-
tents the parliament was sitting, and took not the least no-

chancellor

expected, tice of it ; nor could it be discerned that many were
scandalized, at it. The chancellor received the same
respects from all men which he had been accus-
tomed to : and the duke himself, in the house of
peers, frequently sat by him upon the woolsack,
that he might the more easily confer with him upon
the matters which were debated, and receive his ad-
vice how to behave himself; which made all men
believe that there had been a good understanding
between them. And yet it is very true, that, in all
that time, the duke never spake one word to him
of that affair. The king spake every day about it^
and told the chancellor, " that he must behave him-
" self wisely, for that the thing was remediless ; and
" that his majesty knew that they were married,
" which would quickly appear to all men, who
" knew that nothing could be done upon it. " In



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON 383

this time the chancellor had conferred with his 1660.
daughter, without any thing of indulgence, and not"
only discovered that they were unquestionably mar-
ried, but by whom, and who were present at it,
who would be ready to avow it ; which pleased him
not, though it diverted him from using some of
that rigour which he intended. And he saw no
other remedy could be applied, but that which he
had proposed to the king, who thought of nothing
like it.

At this time there was news of the princess
royal's embarkation in Holland, which obliged the
king and the duke of York to make a journey to
Dover to receive her, who came for no other reason,
but to congratulate with the king her brother, and
to have her share in the public joy. The morning
that they began their journey, the king and the
duke came to the chancellor's house ; and the king,
after he had spoken to him of some business that
was to be done in his absence, going out of the
room, the duke stayed behind, and whispered the
chancellor in the ear, because there were others at a
little distance, "that he knew that he had heard of
" the business between him and his daughter, and
" of which he confessed he ought to have spoken
" with him before ; but that when he returned
" from Dover, he would give him full satisfaction :
" in the mean time," he desired him, " not to be of-
" fended with his daughter. " To which the chan-
cellor made no other answer, than " that it was a
" matter too great for him to speak of. "

When the princess royal came to the town, there
grew to be a great silence in that affair. The duke
said nothing to the chancellor, nor came nor sent to



384 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 660. his daughter, as he had constantly used to do : and



it was industriously published about the town, that
that business was broken off, and that the duke was
resolved never to think more of it. The queen had
before written a very sharp letter to the duke, full
of indignation, that he should have so low thoughts
as to marry such a woman ; to whom he shewed
The quen the letter, as not moved by it. And now she sent
in- the king word, " that she was on the way to Eng-



censed at f( \ an ^ t o prevent, with her authority, so great a
" stain and dishonour to the crown ;" and used
many threats and passionate expressions upon the
subject. The chancellor sat unconcerned in all the
rumours which were spread, " that the queen was
" coming with a purpose to complain to the parlia-
" ment against the chancellor, and to apply the
" highest remedies to prevent so great a mischief. "

In the mean time it was reported abroad, that
the duke had discovered some disloyalty in the lady,
which he had never suspected, but had now so full
evidence of it, that he was resolved never more to
see her ; and that he was not married. And all his
family, whereof the lord Berkley and his nephew
were the chief, who had long hated the chancellor,
The king spake very loudly and scandalously of it. The king
sei7with im carried himself with extraordinary grace towards
the chancellor, and was with him more, and spake



towards the U p 0n all occasions and before all persons more gra-

chancellor. r

ciously of him, than ever. He told him with much
trouble, " that his brother was abused ; and that
" there was a wicked conspiracy set on foot by vil-
" lains, which, in the end, must prove of more dis-
" honour to the duke than to any body else. "

The queen was now ready to embark, inflamed



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 385

and hastened by this occasion ; and it was fit for 1 G60.
the king and the duke to wait on her at the shore. ~"
But before his majesty's going, he resolved of him-
self to do a grace to the chancellor, that should
publish how far he was from being shaken in his fa-
vour towards him, and to do it with such circum-
stances as gave it great lustre. From the time of
his coming into England, he had often offered the
chancellor to make him a baron, and told him, " that
" he was assured by many of the lords, that it was
" most necessary for his service in the parliament. "
But he had still refused it, and besought his ma-
jesty " not to think of it ; that it would increase
" the envy against him if he should confer that ho-
" nour upon him so soon ; but that hereafter, when
** his majesty's affairs should be settled, and he, out
" of the extraordinary perquisites of his office, should
** be able to make some addition to his small for-
" tune, he would, with that humility that became
" him, receive that honour from him. " The king,
in few days after, coming to him, and being alone
with him in his cabinet, at going away gave him a Makes inm
little billet into his hand, that contained a warrant twenty"
of his own handwriting to sir Stephen Fox, to pay to J^,;? " d
the chancellor the sum of twenty thousand pounds ;
which was part of the money which the parliament
had presented to the king at the Hague, and for
which he had been compelled to take bills of ex-
change again from Amsterdam upon London ; which
was only known to the king, the chancellor, and sir
Stephen Fox, who was intrusted to receive it, as he
had done all the king's monies for many years be-
yond the seas. This bounty flowing immediately
from the king at such a melancholic conjuncture,
VOL. I. c c



386 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1660. and of which nobody could have notice, could not
~~ but much raise the spirits of the chancellor. Nor
did the king's goodness rest here; but the night
before he began his journey towards the queen, he
sent for the attorney general, whom he knew to be
most devoted to the chancellor, and told him, " that
" he must intrust him in an affair that he must
" not impart to the chancellor :" and then gave him
a warrant signed for the creation of him a baron,
which he commanded " to be ready to pass the seal
" against the hour of his majesty's return, and he
" would then see it sealed himself; but if the chan-
" cellor came first to know it, he would use great
** importunity to stop it. " The attorney said, " it
" would be impossible to conceal it from him, be-
" cause, without his privity and direction, he knew
" not what title to give him for his barony. " The
king replied with warmth, " that he should confer
" with some of his . friends of the way ; but that he
" would take it ill of him, if there were any delay
" in it, and if it were not ready for the seal at the
" time of his return, which would be in few days. "
The attorney came to the chancellor and told him,
" he would break a trust to do him a service ; and
" therefore he presumed, that he would not be so
" unjust to let him suffer by it :" and then told
him all that had passed between the king and him.
And the chancellor confessed, " that the king's ob-
" liging manner of proceeding s , and the conjunc-
" ture in which this honour was given," though he
had before refused it with obstinacy, " made it now

6 obliging manner of proceeding] manner of proceeding was so
obliging fv



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 387

" very grateful to him :" and so without hesitation 1 6GO.
he told him what title he would assume. And all And crcMps
was ready against the king's return, and signed by [ *
him, and sealed the same night.

The queen had expressed her indignation to the
king and duke, with her natural passion, from the
time of their meeting; and the duke had asked
her pardon " for having placed his affection so un-
" equally, of which he was sure there was now an
" end ; that he was not married, and had now such
" evidence of her unworthiness, that he should no
" more think of her. " And it was now avowedly
said, that sir Charles Berkley, who was captain of
his guard, and in much more credit and favour with
the duke than his uncle, (though a young man of a
dissolute life, and prone to all wickedness in the
judgment of all sober men,) had informed the duke,
" that he was bound in conscience to preserve him sir charies

r> i >ft i it i Berkley tra-

" irom taking to wife a woman so wholly unworthy duces the



" of him; that he himself had lain with her; and

" that for his sake he would be content to many i iutation -

" her, though he knew well the familiarity the duke

" had with her. " This evidence, with so solemn

oaths presented by a person so much loved and

trusted by him, made a wonderful impression in the

duke ; and now confirmed by the commands of his

mother, as he had been before prevailed upon by his

sister, he resolved to deny that he was married, and up winch

* - the duke re-

never to see the woman again, who had been so false solves to
to him. And the queen being satisfied with this marriage.
resolution, they came all to London, with a full
hope that they should prevail to the utter overthrow
of the chancellor ; the king having, without any re-
ply or debate, heard all they said of the other af-

cc 2



388 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1660. fair, and his mother's bitterness against him. But
~ when, the very next morning after their arrival at
London, they saw the chancellor (who had not seen
the king) appear in the parliament in the robes of a
peer ; they thought it to no purpose to prosecute their
design against him, whom his majesty was resolved
to protect from any unjust persecution. But the
other resolution was pursued with noise and much
defamation.

The next day after the queen's arrival, all the
privy council in a body waited upon the queen to
congratulate her return into England; and the
chancellor was obliged to go in the head of them,
and was received with the same countenance that
the rest were, which was very cheerful, and with
many gracious expressions. And from this time he
put not himself in her majesty's presence, nor ap-
peared at all concerned at the scandalous discourses
against his daughter. The earl of St. Alban's, and
all who were near the queen in any trust, and the
lord Berkley and his faction about the duke, lived in
defiance of the chancellor ; and so imprudently, that
they did him no harm, but underwent the reproach
of most sober men. The king continued his grace
towards him without the least diminution, and not
only to him, but to many others who were trusted
by him ; which made it evident that he believed no-
thing of what sir Charles Berkley avowed, and
looked on him as a fellow of great wickedness :
which opinion the king was long known to have of
him before his coming into England, and after.

In the mean time, the season of his daughter's de-
livery was at hand. And it was the king's chance
to be at his house with the committee of council,



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 389

when she fell in labour : of -which being advertised 1 6GO.

by her father, the king directed him " to send for ~~

" the lady marchioness of Ormond, the countess of

" Sunderland, and other ladies of known honour

" and fidelity to the crown, to be present with her :"

who all came, and were present till she was deli- The duchess

i n mi i i n -r-rr' -, delivered of

vered of a son. The bishop of Winchester, in the a son.
interval of her greatest pangs, and sometimes when
they were upon her, was present, and asked her
such questions as were thought fit for the occasion ;
" whose the child was of which she was in labour,"
whom she averred, with all protestations, to be the
duke's ; " whether she had ever known any other
" man ;" which she renounced with all vehemence,
saying, " that she was confident the duke did not
"think she had;" and being asked " whether she
" were married to the duke," she answered, " she
" was, and that there were witnesses enough, who
" in due time, she was confident, would avow it. "
In a word, her behaviour was such as abundantly sa-
tisfied the ladies who were present, of her innocence
from the reproach ; and they were not reserved in
the declaration of it, even before the persons who
were least pleased with their testimony. And the
lady marchioness of Ormond took an opportunity to
declare it fully to the duke himself, and perceived in %
him such a kind of tenderness, that persuaded her
that he did not believe any thing amiss. And the
king enough published his opinion and judgment of
the scandal.

The chancellor's own carriage, that is, his doing
nothing, nor saying any thing from whence they
might take advantage, exceedingly vexed them.
Yet they undertook to know, and informed the duke

c c 3



390 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE 'OF

1660. confidently, " that the chancellor had a great party
~~ " in the parliament ;" and that " he was resolved
" within few days to complain there, and to produce
" the witnesses, who were present at the marriage,
"to be examined, that their testimony might re-
" main there ; which would be a great affront to
" him ;" with many other particulars, which might
incense his highness. Whereupon the duke, who
had been observed never to have spoken to him in
the house of peers, or any where else, since the time
of his going to meet his sister, finding the chancellor
one day in the privy lodgings, whispered him in the
ear, " that he would be glad to confer with him in
" his lodging," whither he was then going. The
other immediately followed ; and being come thi-
ther, the duke sent all his servants out of distance ;
and then told him with much warmth, " what he
" had been informed of his purpose to complain to
" the parliament against him, which he did not va-
" lue or care for : however, if he should prosecute
" any such course, it should be the worse for him ;"
implying some threats, " what he would do before he
" would bear such an affront ;" adding then, " that
" for his daughter, she had behaved herself so foully,
" (of which he had such evidence as was as con-
" vincing as his own eyes, and of which he could
" make no doubt,) that nobody could blame him for
" his behaviour towards her ;" concluding with some
other threats, " that he should repent it, if he pur-
" sued his intention of appealing to the paiiia-
" ment. "

As soon as the duke discontinued his discourse,
the chancellor told him, " that he hoped he would
" discover the untruth of other reports which had



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 391

" been made to him by the falsehood of this, which j 660.
" had been raised without the least ground or sha- ~~
" dow of truth. That though he did not pretend to
" much wisdom, yet no man took him to be such a
" fool, as he must be, if he intended to do such an
"" act as he was informed. That if his highness had
" done any thing towards or against him, which he
" ought not to have done, there was one who is as
" much above him, as his highness was above him,
" and who could both censure and punish it. For
" his own part, he knew too well whose son he was,
" and whose brother he is, to behave himself to-
" wards him with less duty and submission than was
" due to him, and should be always paid by him. " He
said, " he was not concerned to vindicate his daugh-
" ter from any the most improbable scandals and
" aspersions : she had disobliged and deceived him
" too much, for him to be over-confident that she
" might not deceive any other man : and therefore
" he would leave that likewise to God Almighty,
" upon whose blessing he would always depend,
" whilst himself remained innocent, and no longer. "
The duke replied not, nor from that time men-
tioned the chancellor with any displeasure ; and re-
lated to the king, and some other persons, the dis-
course that had passed, very exactly.

There did not after all this appear, in the dis-
courses of men, any of that humour and indigna-
tion which was expected. On the contrary, men of
the greatest name and reputation spake of the foul-
ness of the proceeding with great freedom, and with
all the detestation imaginable against sir Charles
Berkley, whose testimony nobody believed; not
without some censure of . the chancellor, for not

c c 4



392 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1 660. enough appearing and prosecuting the indignity :
~" but he was not to be moved by any instances, which
he never afterwards repented. The queen's implac-
able displeasure continued in the full height, doing
all she could to keep the duke firm to his resolution,
and to give all countenance to the calumny. As be-
fore the discovery of this engagement of the duke's
affection, the duke of Gloucester had died of the
smallpox, to the extraordinary grief of the king and
the whole kingdom ; so at this time it pleased God
to visit the princess royal with the same disease, and
of which she died within few days ; having in her
last agonies expressed a dislike of the proceedings in
that affair, to which she had contributed too much.
The duke The duke himself grew melancholic and dispirited,
faudioiTc! and cared not for company, nor those divertisements
in which he formerly delighted : which was observed
by every body, and which in the end wrought so far
upon the conscience of the lewd informer, that he,
sir Charles Berkley, came to the duke, and clearly
sir Charles declared to him, " that the general discourse of men,
&>n(esLs " of what inconvenience and mischief, if not absolute
hoo<fof e ~ " rum > such a marriage would be to his royal high-
his charge ness, had prevailed with him to use all the power

against the

duchess. " he had to dissuade him from it ; and when he found
" he could not prevail with him, he had formed that
" accusation, which he presumed could not but pro-
" duce the effect he wished ; which he now con-
" fessed to be false, and without the least ground ;
'* and that he was very confident of her virtue :"
and therefore besought his highness " to pardon a
** fault, that was committed out of pure devotion to
" him ; and that he would not suffer him to be
-" ruined by the power of those, whom he had so un-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 393

" worthily provoked ; and of which he had so much 1 660.
" shame, that he had not confidence to look upon
" them. " The duke found himself so much relieved
in that part that most afflicted him, that he em-
braced him, and made a solemn promise, " that he
" should not suffer in the least degree in his own
" affection, for what had proceeded so absolutely
" from his good-will to him ; and that he would
" take so much care of him, that in the compound-
" ing that affair he should be so comprehended,
" that he should receite no disadvantage. "

And now the duke appeared with another coun- The duke
tenance, writ to her whom he had injured, " that
" he would speedily visit her," and gave her charge con
" to have a care of his son. " He gave the king a
full account of all, without concealing his joy ; and
took most pleasure in conferring with them, who had
seemed least of his mind when he had been most
transported, and who had always argued against
the probability of the testimony which had wrought
upon him. The queen was not pleased with this
change, though the duke did not yet own to her
that he had altered his resolution. She was always
very angry at the king's coldness, who had been so
far from that aversion which she expected, that he
found excuses for the duke, and endeavoured to di-
vert her passions ; and now pressed the discovery of
the truth by sir Charles Berkley's confession, as a
thing that pleased him. They about her, and who
had most inflamed and provoked her to the sharpest
resentment, appeared more calm in their discourses,
and either kept silence, or spake to another tune
than they had done formerly, and wished that the
business was well composed ; all which mightily in-



394 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1660. creased the queen's passion. And having come to
~ know that the duke had made a visit at the place
she most abhorred, she brake into great passion,
The queen and publicly declared, " that whenever that woman
fended at " should be brought into Whitehall by one door,
e. " ner majesty would go out of it by another door,
" and never come into it again. " And for several
days her majesty would not suffer the duke to be in
her presence ; at least, if he came with the king, she
forbore to speak to him, or to take any notice of
him. Nor could they, who had used to have most
credit with her, speak to her with any acceptation ;
though they were all weary of the distances they
had kept, and discerned well enough where the
matter must end. And many desired to find some
expedient, how the work might be facilitated, by
some application and address from the chancellor to
the queen : but he absolutely refused to make the
least advance towards it, or to contribute to her in-
dignation by putting himself into her majesty's pre-
sence. He declared, " that the queen had great
" reason for the passion she expressed for the indig-
" nity that had been done to her, and which he
" would never endeavour to excuse ; and that as
" far as his low quality was capable of receiving an
" injury from so great a prince, he had himself to
" complain of a transgression that exceeded the
" limits of all justice, divine and human. "

The queen had made this journey out of France
into England much sooner than she intended, and
only, upon this occasion, to prevent a mischief she
had great reason to deprecate. And so, upon her
arrival, she had declared, " that she would stay a
" very short time, being obliged to return into



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 895

" France for her health, and to use the waters of 1660.
" Bourbon, which had already done her much good,
" that the ensuing season would with God's blessing
" make perfect. " And the time was now come,
that orders were sent for the ships to attend her
embarkation at Portsmouth ; and the day was ap-
pointed for the beginning her journey from White-
hall : so that the duke's affair, which he now took
to heart, was (as every body thought) to be left in
the state it was, at least under the renunciation and
interdiction of a mother. When on a sudden, of
which nobody then knew the reason, her majesty's
countenance and discourse was changed ; she treated
the duke with her usual kindness, and confessed to
him, "that the business that had offended her



" much, she perceived was proceeded so far, that no alters her y
" remedy could be applied to it ; and therefore that behaviour>
" she would trouble herself no further in it, but
" pray to God to bless him, and that he might be
" happy :" so that the duke had now nothing to
wish, but that the queen would be reconciled to his
wife, who remained still at her father's, where the
king had visited her often ; to which the queen was
not averse, and spake graciously of the chancellor,
and said, " she would be good friends with him. "
But both these required some formalities ; and they
who had behaved themselves the most disobligingly,
expected to be comprehended in any atonement
that should be made. And it was exceedingly la-
boured, that . the chancellor would make the first ap-
proach, by visiting the earl of St. Alban's ; which
he absolutely refused to do : and very well ac-
quainted with the arts of that court, whereof dissi-
mulation was the soul, did not believe that those



396 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1660. changes, for which he saw no reasonable motive,
~~ could be real, until abbot Mountague (who had so
far complied with the faction of that court as not to
converse with an enemy) visited him with all open-
ness, and told him, " that this change in the queen
" had proceeded from a letter she had newly re-
" ceived from the cardinal, in which he had plainly
The cause " told her, that she would not receive a good wel-
in " come in France, if she left her sons in her dis-



16 qneen> " pleasure, and professed an animosity against those
" ministers who were most trusted by the king.
" He extolled the services done by the chancellor,
" and advised her to comply with what could not
" be avoided, and to be perfectly reconciled to her
*' children, and to those who were nearly related to
" them, or were intrusted by them : and that he
" did - this in so powerful a style, and, with such
" powerful reasons, that her majesty's passions were
" totally subdued. And this," he said, " was the
" reason of the sudden change that every body had
" observed ; and therefore that he ought to believe
" the sincerity of it, and to perform that part which
" might be expected from him, in compliance with
" the queen's inclinations to have a good intelligence
" with him. "

The chancellor had never looked upon the abbot
as his enemy, and gave credit to all he said, though
he did little understand from what fountain that
good-will of the cardinal had proceeded, who had
never been propitious to him. He made all those
professions of duty to the queen that became him,
and " how happy he should think himself in her
" protection, which he had need of, and did with all
" humility implore ; and that he would gladly cast



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 397
himself at her majesty's feet, when she would 1G60.



" vouchsafe to admit it. " But for the adjusting
this, there was to be more formality ; for it was ne-
cessary that the earl of St. Alban's (between whom
and the chancellor there had never been any friend-
ship) should have some part in this composition,
and do many good offices towards it, which were to
precede the final conclusion. The duke had brought
sir Charles Berkley to the duchess, at whose feet he
had cast himself, with all the acknowledgment and
penitence he could express ; and she, according to
the command of the duke, accepted his submission,
and promised to forget the offence. He came like-
wise to the chancellor with those professions which
he could easily make ; and the other was obliged to
receive him civilly. And then his uncle, the lord
Berkley, waited upon the duchess ; and afterwards
visited her father, like a man (which he could not
avoid) who had done very much towards the bring-
ing so difficult a matter to so good an end, and ex-
pected thanks from all ; having that talent in some
perfection, that after he had crossed and puzzled
any business, as much as was in his power, he would
be thought the only man who had united 1 all knots,
and made the way smooth, and removed all obstruc-
tions.

The satisfaction the king and the duke had in The king
this disposition of the queen was visible to all men ; . greati" e
And they both thought the chancellor too reserved ^ e t j lis
in contributing his part towards, or in meeting, the chan s e n
queen's favour, which he could not but discern was
approaching towards him ; and that he did not en-

1 united] untied



398 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1G60. tertain any discourses, which had been by many
entered upon to him upon that subject, with that
cheerfulness and serenity of mind that might justly
be expected. And of this the duke made an ob-
servation, and a kino! of complaint, to the king, who
thereupon came one day to the chancellor's house ;
and being alone with him, his majesty told him
many particulars which had passed between him
and the queen, and the good humour her majesty
was in ; " that the next day the earl of St. Alban's
" would visit him, and offer him his service in ac-
" companying him to the queen ; which he conjured
" him to receive with all civility, and expressions of
" the joy he took in it ; in which," he told him, " he
" was observed to be too sullen, and that when all
" other men's minds appeared to be cheerful, his
" alone appeared to be more cloudy than it had
" been, when that affair seemed most desperate ;
" which was the more taken notice of, because it
" was not natural to him. "

The chancellor answered, " that he did not know
" that he had failed in any thing, that in good man-
" ners or decency dould be required from him : but
" he confessed, that lately his thoughts were more
** perplexed and troublesome to himself, than they
" had ever been before ; and therefore it was no
" wonder, if his looks were not the same they had
" used to be. That though he had been surprised to
" amazement, upon the first notice of that business,
" yet he had been shortly able to recollect himself;
" and, upon the testimony of his own conscience, to
" compose his mind and spirits, and without any
" reluctancy to abandon any thought of his daugh-
" ter, and to leave her to that misery she had de-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 399

" served and brought upon herself. Nor did the vi-
" cissitudes which occurred after in that transaction,
" or the displeasure and menaces of the duke, make
" any other impression upon him, than to know how
" unable he was to enter into any contest in that
" matter, (which in all respects was too difficult and
" superior to his understanding and faculties,) and
" to leave it entirely to the direction and disposal of
" God Almighty : and in this acquiescence he had
" enjoyed a repose with much tranquillity of mind,
" being prepared to undergo any misfortune that
" might befall him from thence. But that now he
" was awakened by other thoughts and reflections,
" which he could less range and govern. He saw those
" difficulties removed, which he had thought insu-
" perable ; that his own condition must be thought
" exalted above what he thought possible ; and that
" he was far less able to bear the envy, that was un-
" avoidable, than the indignation and contempt, that
" alone had threatened him. That his daughter
" was now received in the royal family, the wife of
" the king's only brother, and the heir apparent of
" the crown, whilst his majesty himself remained un-
" married. The great trust his majesty reposed in
" him, infinitely above and contrary to his desire, was
" in itself liable to envy ; and how insupportable that
" envy must be, upon this new relation, he could not
" but foresee ; together with the jealousies which
" artificial men would be able to insinuate into his
" majesty, even when they seemed to have all pos-
" sible confidence in the integrity of the chancel-
*' lor, and when they extolled him most ; and that
" how firm and constant soever his majesty's grace
" and favour^ was to him at present, (of which he



400 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

I G60. " had lately given such lively testimony,) and how
" resolved soever he was to continue it, his majesty
'* himself could not know how far some jealousies,
" cunningly suggested by some men, might by de-
" grees be entertained by him. And therefore that,
" upon all the revolvings he had with himself, he
" could not think of any thing that could contribute
" equally to his majesty's service, and his quiet, and
" to the happiness and security of himself, as for
" him to retire from the active station he was in, to
" an absolute solitude, and visible inactivity in all
" matters relating to the state : and which he
" thought could not be so well, under any retire-
" ment into the country, or any part of the king-
" dom, as by his leaving the kingdom, and fixing
" himself in some place beyond the seas remote
" from any court. " And having said all this, or
words to the same effect, he fell on his knees ; and
with all possible earnestness desired the king, " that
" he would consent to his retirement, as a thing
" most necessary for his service, and give his pass,
" to go and reside in any such place beyond the seas
" as his majesty would make choice of. "

The king heard him patiently, yet with evidence
enough that he was not pleased with what he said ;
and when he kneeled, took him up with some pas-
sion ; " He did not expect this from him, and that
" he had so little kindness for him, as to leave him
" in a time, when he could not but know that he
" was very necessary for his service. That he had
" reason to be very well assured, that it could never
" be in any man's power to lessen his kindness to-
" wards him, or confidence in him ; and if any should
" presume to attempt it, they would find cause to re-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 401

"pent their presumption. " He said, " there were JGGO.
" many reasons, why he could never have designed
" or advised his brother to this marriage ; yet since
" it was past, and all things so well reconciled, he
" would not deny that he was glad of it, and pro-
" raised himself much benefit from it. " He told
him, " his daughter was a woman of a great wit
" and excellent parts, and would have a great power
" with his brother ; and that he knew that she had
" an entire obedience for him, her father, who he
" knew would always give her good counsel ; by
" which," he said, " he was confident, that naughty
" people, which had too much credit with his bro-
" ther, and which had so often misled him, would
" be no more able to corrupt him ; but that she
" would pi-event all ill and unreasonable attempts :
" and therefore he again confessed that he was glad of
" it ;" and so concluded with many gracious expres-
sions ; and conjured the chancellor, " never more to .
" think of those unreasonable things, but to attend
" and prosecute his business with his usual alacrity,
" since his kindness could never fail him. "

The next morning, which was of the last day
that the queen was to stay, the earl of St. Alban's
visited the chancellor with all those compliments,
professions, and protestations, which were natural,
and which he did really believe every body else
thought to be very sincere ; for he had that kind-
ness for himself, that he thought every body did be-
lieve him. He expressed " a wonderful joy, that the
" queen would now leave the court united, and all
" the king's affairs in a very hopeful condition, m
" which the queen confessed that the chancellor's
" counsels had been very prosperous, and that she
VOL. i. D d



1660. " was resolved to part with great and a sincere kind-
~" ness towards him ; and that he had authority from
" her to assure him so much, which she would do
" herself when she saw him :" and so offered *' to go
" with him to her majesty, at such an hour in the
" afternoon as she should appoint. " The other made
such returns to all the particulars as were fit, and
" that he would be ready to attend the queen at the
" time she should please to assign :" and in the after-
noon the earl of St. Alban's came again to him ; and
they went together to Whitehall, where they found
the queen in her bedchamber, where many ladies
were present, who came then to take their leave of
her majesty, before she begun her journey.
The queen The duke of York had before presented his wife

reconciled -i

to the to* his mother, who received her without the least
shew of regret, or rather with the same grace as if
she had liked it from the beginning, and made her
sit down by her. When the chancellor came in, the
queen rose from her chair, and received him with a
countenance very serene. The ladies, and others
who were near, withdrawing, her majesty told him,
" that he could not wonder, much less take it ill,
" that she had been much offended with the duke,
" and had no inclination to give her consent to his
" marriage ; and if she had, in the passion that could
" not be condemned in her, spake any thing of him
" that he had taken ill, he ought to impute it to the
" provocation she had received, though not from
" him. She was now informed by the king, and well
" assured, that he had no hand in contriving that
" friendship, but was offended with that passion that
" really was worthy of him. That she could not
" but confess, that his fidelity to the king her hus-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 403

" band was very eminent, and that he had served IGGO.

" the king her son with equal fidelity and extraor-~~

" dinary success. And therefore, as she had received

" his daughter as her daughter, and heartily forgave

" the duke and her, and was resolved ever after to

" live with all the affection of a mother towards

" them ; so she resolved to make a friendship with Alld to tlie

i 11 /v. chancellor.

:< him, and hereafter to expect all the offices from
" him, which her kindness should deserve. " And
when the chancellor had made all those acknow-
ledgments which lie ought to do, and commended
her wisdom and indignation in a business, " in which
" she could not shew too much anger and aversion,
" and had too much forgotten her own honour and
" dignity, if she had been less offended ;" and mag-
nified her mercy and generosity, " in departing so
" soon from her necessary severity, and pardoning a
" crime in itself so unpardonable ;" he made those
professions of duty to her which were due to her,
and " that he should always depend upon her pro-
" tection as his most gracious mistress, and pay all
" obedience to her commands. " The queen appeared
well pleased, and said " she should remain very con-
" fident of his affection," and so discoursed of some
particulars; and then opening a paper that she had
in her hand, she recommended the despatch of some
things to him, which immediately related to her
own service and interest, and then some persons,
who had either some suits to the king, or some con-
troversies depending in chancery. And the evening
drawing on, and very many ladies and others wait-
ing without to kiss her majesty's hand, he thought
it time to take his leave ; and after having repeated
some short professions of his duty, he kissed her ma-

D d 2



404 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1660. jesty's hand: and from that time there did never
""appear any want of kindness in the queen towards
him, whilst he stood in no need of it, nor until it
might have done him good.

Thus an intrigue, that without doubt had been
entered into and industriously contrived by those
who designed to affront and bring dishonour upon
the chancellor and his family, was, by God's good
pleasure, turned to their shame and reproach, and to
the increase of the chancellor's greatness and pros-
perity. And so we return to the time from whence
this digression led us, and shall take a particular
view of all those accidents, which had an influence
upon the quiet of the kingdom, or which were the
cause of all the chancellor's misfortunes; which,
though the effect of them did not appear in many
years, were discerned by himself as coming and un-
avoidable, and foretold by him to his two bosom-
friends, the marquis of Ormond and the earl of
Southampton, who constantly adhered to him with
all the integrity of true friendship.
The chan- The greatness and power of the chancellor, by

cellor not r . . .

elated with this marriage of his daughter, with all the circum-
riagef r his stances which had accompanied and attended it,
daughter. seeme j t o a \[ men ^ o have established his fortune,
and that of his family ; I say, to all men but to him-
self, who was not in the least degree exalted with it.
He knew well upon how slippery ground he stood,
and how naturally averse the nation was from ap-
proving an exorbitant power in any subject. He
saw that the king grew every day more inclined to
his pleasures, which involved him in expense, and
company that did not desire that he should intend his
business, or be conversant with sober men. He



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 405

knew well that the servants who were about the 1660.
duke were as much his enemies as ever, and intended ~~
their own profit only, by what means soever, with-
out considering his honour; that they formed his
household, officers, and equipage, by the model of
France, and against all the rules and precedents of
England for a brother of the crown ; and every day
put into his head, " that if he were not supplied for all
" those expenses, it was the chancellor's fault, who
" could effect it if he would. " Nor was he able to
prevent those infusions, nor the effects of them, be-
cause they were so artificially administered, as if
their end was to raise a confidence in him of the
chancellor, not to weaken it ; though he knew well
that their design was to create by degrees in him a
jealousy of his power and credit with the king, as
if it eclipsed his. But this was only in their own
dark purposes, which had been all blasted, if they
had been apparent ; for the duke did not only profess
a very great affection for the chancellor, but gave
all the demonstration of it that was possible, and
desired nothing more, than that it should be mani-
fest to all men, that he had an entire trust from the
king in all his affairs, and that he would employ all
his interest to support that trust : whilst the chan-
cellor himself declined all the occasions, which were
offered for the advancement of his fortune, and de-
sired wholly to be left to the discharge of his office,
and that all other officers might diligently look to
their own provinces, and be accountable for them ;
and detested nothing more than that title and appel-
lation, which he saw he should not always be able
to avoid, of principal minister or favourite, and
which was never cast on him by any designation of



406 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

lf>60. the king, (who abhorred to be thought to be go-

verned by any single person,) but by his preferring

his pleasures before his business, and so sending all
men to the chancellor to receive advice. And here-
by the secretaries of state, not finding a present
access to him, when the occasions pressed, resorted
to the chancellor, with whom his majesty spent most
time, to be resolved by him ; which method exceed-
ingly grieved him, and to which he endeavoured to
apply a remedy, by putting all things in their pro-
per channel, and by prevailing with the king, when
he should be a little satiated with the divertisements
he affected, to be vacant to so much of his business,
as could not be managed and conducted by any body
else.
some in- And here it may be seasonable to insert at large

stances of , ' t >

hisdisin- some instances, which I promised before, and by
ness! eC which it will be manifest, how far the chancellor was
from an immoderate appetite to be rich, and to raise
his fortune, which he proposed only to do by the
perquisites of his office, which were considerable at
the first, and by such bounty of the king as might
hereafter, without noise or scandal, be conferred on
him in proper seasons and occurrences ; and that he
was y as far from affecting such an unlimited power
as he was believed afterwards to be possessed of,
(and of which no footsteps could ever be discovered
in any of his actions, or in any one particular that
was the effect of such power,) or from desiring 7 - any
other extent of power than was agreeable to the great
office he held, and which had been enjoyed by most
of those who had been his predecessors in that trust.

y that he was] Not in MS.

' or from desiring] or that he did desire



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 407

The king had not been many weeks in England, 1 660.
when the marquis of Ormond came to him with his He refused
usual friendship, and asked him, " Whether it would > n w r -

able offer

" not be now time to think of making a fortune, that of crown -
" he might be able to leave to his wife and children,
" if he should die ? " And when he found that he
was less sensible of what he proposed than he ex-
pected, and that he only answered, " that he knew
" not which way to go about it," the marquis told
him, " that he thought he could commend a proper
" suit for him to make to the king ; and if his mo-
" desty would not permit him to move the king for
" himself, he would undertake to move it for him,
" and was confident that the king would willingly
" grant it :" and thereupon shewed him a paper,
which contained the king's just title to ten thou-
sand acres of land in the Great Level of the Fens,
which would be of a good yearly value; or they,
who were unjustly possessed of it, would be glad to
purchase the king's title with a very considerable
sum of money. And, in the end, he frankly told
him, " that he made this overture to him with the
" king's approbation, who had been moved in it,
" and thought at the first sight, out of his own
" goodness, that it might be fit for him, and wished
" the marquis to propose it to him.
"

When the chancellor had extolled the king's gene-
rosity, that he could, in so great necessities of his
own, think of dispensing so great a bounty Upon a
poor servant, who was already recompensed beyond
what he could be ever able to deserve, he said,
" that he knew very well the king's title to that
" land, of which he was in possession before the re-
" bellion began, which the old and new adventurers

D d 4



408 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1660. " now claimed by a new contract, confirmed by an
~~" ordinance of parliament, which could not deprive
" the crown of its right ; which all the adventurers
" (who for the greatest part were worthy men) well
" knew, and would for their own sakes not dispute,
" since it would inevitably produce a new inunda-
" tion, which all their unity and consent in main-
" taining the banks would and could with difficulty
" enough but prevent. That he would advise his
" majesty to give all the countenance he could to
" the carrying on and perfecting that great work,
" which was of great benefit as well as honour to
" the public, at the charge of private gentlemen,
" who had paid dear for the land they had re-
" covered ; but that he would never advise him to
" begin his reign - with the alienation of such a par-
" eel of land from the crown to any one particular
" subject, who could never bear the envy of it.
" That his majesty ought to reserve that revenue to
" himself, which was great, though less than it was
" generally reputed to be ; at least till the value
" thereof should be clearly understood, (and the de-
" taining it in his own hands for some time would
" be the best expedient towards the finishing all the
" banks, when the season should be fit, which else
" would be neglected by the discord among the ad-
" venturers,) and the king knew what he gave. He
" must remember, that he had two brothers," (for
the duke of Gloucester was yet alive,) " who were
'* without any revenue, and towards whom his
" bounty was to be first extended ; and that this
" land would be a good ingredient towards an ap-
" panage for them both. And that till they were
" reasonably provided for, no private man in his



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 409

" wits would be the object of any extraordinary
" bounty from the king, which would unavoidably
" make him the object of an universal envy and ha-
" tred. That, for his own part, he held by the
" king's favour the greatest office of the kingdom
" in place ; and though it was not near the value
" it was esteemed to be, and that many other offices
" were more profitable, yet it was enough for him,
" and would be a good foundation to improve his
" fortune : so that," he said, " he had made a reso-
" lution to himself, which he thought he should not
" alter, not to make haste to be rich. That it was
" the principal part or obligation of his office, to dis-
" suade the king from making any grants of such a
" nature, (except where the necessity or conveni-
" ence was very notorious,) and even to stop those
" which should be made of that kind, and not to
" suffer them to pass the seal, till he had again
" waited upon the king, and informed him of the
" evil consequence of those grants ; which discharge
" of his duty could not but raise him many enemies,
" who should not have that advantage, to say that
" he obstructed the king's bounty towards other
" men, when he made it very profuse towards him-
" self. And therefore, that he would never receive
" any crown-lands from the king's gift, and did not
" wish to have any other honour or any advantage,
" but what his office brought him, till seven years
" should pass; in which all the distractions of the
" kingdom might be composed, and the necessities
** thereof so provided for, that the king might be
" able, without hurting himself, to exercise some li-
" berality towards his servants who had served him
" well. " How he seemed to part from this resolu-



410 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

Hif>0. tion in some particulars afterwards, and why he
~~ did so, may be collected out of what hath been truly
set down before.

When the marquis of Ormond had given the
king a large account of the conference between him
and the chancellor, and " that he absolutely refused
" to receive that grant ;" his majesty said, " he was
" a fool for his labour, and that he would be much
" better in being envied than in being pitied. " And
though the inheritance of those lands was after-
wards given to the duke, yet there were such es-
tates granted for years to many particular persons,
most whereof had never merited by any service,
that half the value thereof never came to his high-
ness.

1661. As soon as the king and duke returned from Ports-
mouth, where they had seen the queen embarked



knight of f or France, the king had appointed a chapter, for

the garter.

the electing some knights of the garter into the
places vacant. Upon which the duke desired him
" to nominate the chancellor," which his majesty
said "he would willingly do, but he knew not
" whether it would be grateful to him ; for he had
" refused so many things, that he knew not what
" he would take ;" and therefore wished him " to
" take a boat to Worcester-house, and propose it to
" him, and he would not go to the chapter till his
** highness returned. " The duke told the chancel-
lor what had passed between the king and him, and
" that he was come only to know his mind, and
" could not imagine but that such an honour would
"please him. " The chancellor, after a million of
humble acknowledgments of the duke's grace and
of "the king's condescension, said, " that the honour



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 411

" was indeed too great by much for him to sus- 1661,
" tain ; that there were very many worthy men, ~
" who well remembered him of their own condi-
" tion, when he first entered into his father's service,
" and believed that he was advanced too much be-
" fore them. " He besought his highness, " that his
<c favours and protection might not expose him to
" envy, that would break him to pieces. " He asked
" what knights the king meant to make ;" the duke
named them, all persons very eminent : the chancel-
lor said, "no man could except against the king's
" choice ; many would justly, if he were added to
" the number. " He desired his highness " to put
" the king in mind of the earl of Lindsey, lord high
,'* chamberlain of England," (with whom he was
known to have no friendship ; on the contrary, that
there had been disgusts between them in the last
king's time ;) " that his father had lost his life with
" the garter about his neck, when this gentleman,
" his son, endeavouring to relieve him, was taken
" prisoner ; that he had served the king to the end
" of the war with courage and fidelity, being an ex-
" cellent officer : for all which, the king his father
" had admitted him a gentleman of his bedchamber,
" which office he was now without : and not to
" have the garter now, upon his majesty's return,
" would in all men's eyes look like a degradation,
" and an instance of his majesty's disesteem ; espe-
" dally if the chancellor should supply the place,
" who was not thought his friend :" and, upon the
whole matter, entreated the duke " to reserve his
" favour towards him for some other occasion, and
" excuse him to the king for the declining this ho-
" nour, which he could not support. " The duke



412 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. replied, with an offended countenance, "that he
~~" saw he would not accept any honour from the
" king, that proceeded by his mediation ;" and so
left him in apparent displeasure. However, at that
chapter the earl of Lindsey was created knight
of the garter, with the rest; and coming after-
wards to hear by what chance it was, he ever lived
with great civility towards the chancellor to his
death.

And when the chancellor afterwards complained
to his majesty " of his want of care of him, in his so
" easily gratifying his brother in a particular that
" would be of so much prejudice to him," and so en-
larged upon the subject, and put his majesty in
mind of Solomon's interrogation, " Who can stand
" against envy? " the king said no more, than "that
" he did really believe, when he sent his brother,
" that he would refuse it ;" and added, " I tell you,
" chancellor, that you are too strict and apprehen-
" sive in those things ; and trust me, it is better to
" be envied than pitied. " The duke did not dis-
semble his resentment, and told his wife, " that he
" took it very ill ; that he desired that the world
" might take notice of his friendship to her father,
" and that, after former unkindness, he was heartily
" reconciled to him ; but that her father cared not
" to have that believed, nor would have it believed
" that his interest in the king was not enough, to
" have no need of good offices from the duke :"
which discourse he used likewise to the marquis of
Ormond and others, who he thought would inform
the chancellor of it. And the duchess was much
troubled at it, and took it unkindly of her father,
who thought himself obliged to wait upon his royal



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 413

highness, and to vindicate himself from that folly he icfil.
was charged with ; in which he protested to him,
" that he so absolutely and entirely depended upon
" his protection, that he would never receive any
" favour from the king, but by his mediation and
" interposition :" to which the duke answered, " that
" he should see whether he would have that defer-
" ence to him shortly. "

And it was not long before the day for the coro- He refused
nation was appointed, when the king had appointed * e a r " iad
to make some barons, and to raise some who were
barons to higher degrees of honour ; most of whom
were men not very grateful, because they had been
faulty, though they had afterwards redeemed what
was past, by having performed very signal services
to his majesty, and were able to do him more : upon
which the king had resolved to confer those honours
upon them, and in truth had promised it to them, or
to some of their friends, before he came from beyond
the seas. At this time the duke came to the chan-
cellor, and said, " he should now discover whether
" he would be as good as his word ;" and so gave
him a paper, which was a warrant under the king's
sign manual to the attorney general, to prepare a
grant, by which the chancellor should be created an
earl. To which, upon the reading, he began to
make objections ; when the duke said, " My lord, I
" have thought fit to give you this earnest of my
" friendship ; you may reject it, if you think fit ;"
and departed. And the chancellor, upon recollec-
tion, and conference with his two friends, the trea-
surer and the marquis of Ormond, found he could
not prudently refuse it. And so, the day or two
before the coronation, he was with the others created



414 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

IGOI. an earl by the king in the banqueting-house ; and,
^ in the very minute of his creation, had an earnest of



length un- ^he envy that would ensue, in the murmurs of some,

willingly J

consented, who were ancienter barons, at the precedence given
to him before them, of which he was totally igno-
rant, it being resolved by the king upon the place,
and the view of the precedents of all times, when
any officers of state were created with others. Yet
one of the lords concerned swore in the ears of two
or three of his friends, at the same time, " that he
" would be revenged for that affront ;" which re-
lated not to the chancellor's precedence, for the other
was no baron, but for the precedence given to an-
other, whom he thought his inferior, and imputed
the partiality to his power, who had not the least
hand in it, nor knew it before it was determined.
Yet the other was as good as his word, and took
the very first opportunity that was offered for his re-
venge.

I will add one instance more, sufficient, if the
other were away, to convince all men how far he
was from being transported with that ambition, of
which he was accused, and for which he was con-
demned. After the firm conjunction in the royal
family was notorious, and all the neighbour princes
had sent their splendid embassies of congratulation
to the king, and desired to renew all treaties with
this crown, and the parliament proceeded, how
slowly soever, with great duty and reverence to-
wards the king ; the marquis of Ormond (whom the
king had by this time made duke of Ormond) came
one day to him, and, being in private, said, " he
" came to speak to him of himself, and to let him
" know, not only his own opinion, but the opinion of



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 415

" his best friends, with whom he had often conferred 1G61.
" upon the argument; and that they all wondered,"
" that he so much affected the post he was in, as to
" continue in the office of chancellor, which took up
" most of his time, especially all the mornings, in
" business that many other men could discharge as
" well as he. Whereas he ought to leave that to He was

. strongly

" such a man as he thought fit for it, and to betake urged to

" himself to that province, which nobody knew so offic^of ' S

well how to discharge. That the credit he had cliancellor -

" with the king was known to all men, and that he

" did in truth remit that province to him, which he

" would not own, and could not discharge, by the

" multiplicity of the business of his office, which was

" not of that moment. That the king every day

" took less care of his affairs, and affected those

" pleasures most, which made him averse from the

" other. That he spent most of his time with confi-

" dent young men, who abhorred all discourse that

" was serious, and, in the liberty they assumed in

" drollery and raillery, preserved no reverence to-

" wards God or man, but laughed at all sober men,

" and even at religion itself; and that the custom of

" this license, that did yet only make the king merry

" for the present, by degrees a would grow accept-

" able to him ; and that these men would by degrees

" have the presumption (which yet they had not,

"nor would he in truth then suffer it) to enter into

" his business, and by administering to those ex-

" cesses, to which his nature and constitution most

" inclined him, would not only powerfully foment

" those inclinations, but intermeddle and obstruct

a by degrees] yet by degrees



416 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

iCfil. " his most weighty counsels. That, for the preven-

~ " tion of all this mischief, and the preserving the

" excellent nature and understanding of the king

" from being corrupted by such lewd instruments,

" who had only a scurrilous kind of wit to procure

" laughter, but had no sense of religion, or reverence

And to as- f OT fae \ aws there was no remedy in view, but

suine the *

character of his giving up his office, and betaking himself

prime niin- , ,7 . , , .

ister. " wholly to wait upon the person of the king, and
" to be with him in those seasons, when that loose
" people would either abstain from coming, or, if
" they were present, would not have the confidence
" to say or do those things which they had been ac-
" customed to do before the king. By this means,
" he would find frequent opportunities to inform the
" king of the true state of his affairs, and the dan-
" ger he incurred, by not throughly understanding
" them, and by being thought to be negligent in the
" duties of religion, and settling the distractions in
" the church ; at least, he would do some good in all
" these particulars, or keep the license from spread-
" ing further, which in time it would do, to the rob-
" bing him of the hearts, of his people. That the
" king, from the long knowledge of his fidelity, and
" the esteem he had of his virtue, received any ad-
" vertisements and animadversions, and even suf-
" fered reprehensions, from him, better than from
" any other man ; therefore he would be able to do
" much good, and to deserve more than ever he had
" done from the whole kingdom. And he did verily
" believe b , that this would be acceptable to the king
" himself, who knew he could not enough attend to c

b believe] Omitted in MS. c attend to] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 417

" the many things, which, being left undone, must 1661
*' much disorder the whole machine of his govern- ~~
" ment, or, being ill done, would in time dissolve it ;
** and that his majesty would assign such a liberal which
" allowance for this service, that he should find more be



" himself well rewarded, and a great gainer by ac- f,| 1(
" cepting it and putting off his office. "

He concluded, " that was the desire and advice
" of all his friends ; and that the duke was so far of
" the same judgment, that he resolved to be very
" instant with him upon it, and only wished that he
" should first break the matter to him, that he might
** not be surprised when his royal highness entered
" upon the discourse. " And he added, " that this
" province must inevitably at last be committed to
" some one man, who probably would be without
" that affection to the king's person, that experience
" in affairs, and that knowledge of the laws and
" constitution of the kingdom, as all men knew to be
" in the chancellor. "

When the marquis had ended, with the warmth
of friendship which was superior to any temptation,
and in which no man ever excelled him, nor de-
livered what he had a mind to say more clearly, or
with a greater weight of words ; the chancellor said,
*' that he did not much wonder that many of his
" friends, who had not the opportunity to know him
" enough, and who might propose to themselves
" some benefit from his unlimited greatness, might
" in truth, out of their partiality to him, and by
" their not knowing the king's nature, believe, that
" his wariness and integrity, and his knowledge of
" the constitution of the government and the nature
" of the people, would conduct the king's counsels

VOL. I. EC



418 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

I6fil. "in such a way, as would lead best to his power
~ " and greatness, and to the good and happiness of
" the nation, which would be the only secure sup-
" port of his power and authority. But that he,
" who knew both the king and him so well, that no
" man living knew either of them so well, should be
" of that opinion he had expressed, was matter of
" admiration and surprisal to him. " He appealed to
him, " how often he had heard him say to the king
" in France, Germany, and Flanders, when they two
" took all the pains they could to fix the king's
" mind to a lively sense of his condition ; that he
" must not think now to recover his three kingdoms
" by the dead title of his descent and right, which
" had been so notoriously baffled and dishonoured,
" but by the reputation of his virtue, courage, piety,
" and industry ; that all these virtues must centre in
" himself, for that his fate depended upon his per-
" son ; and that the English nation would sooner
te submit to the government of Cromwell, than to
" any other subject who should be thought to go-
" vern the king. That England would not bear a
" favourite, nor any one man, who should out of his
" ambition engross to himself the disposal of the
" public affairs. "

But this he He said, " he was more now of the same mind,
refused. ' 7 " an d was confident that no honest man, of a com-
" petent understanding, would undertake that pro-
" vince ; and that for his own part, if a gallows were
' erected, and if he had only the choice to be hanged
" or to execute that office, he would rather submit
" to the first than the last. In the one, he should
" end his life with the reputation of an honest man ;
" in the other, he should die with disgrace and in-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 419

" faray, let his innocence be what it would. " He 1661,
put the marquis in mind, " how far the king was ~~
" from observing the rules he had prescribed to him-
" self, before he came from beyond the seas ; and
" was so totally unbent from his business, and ad-
" dieted to pleasures, that the people generally be-
" gan to take notice of it ; that there was little care
" taken to regulate expenses, even when he was
" absolutely without supply ; that he would on a
" sudden be overwhelmed with such debts, as would
tf disquiet him, and dishonour his counsels ;" of
which the lord treasurer was so sensible, that he was
already weary of his staff, before it had been in his
hands three months. " That the confidence the
" king had in him, besides the assurance he had of
" his integrity and industry, proceeded more from
" his aversion to be troubled with the intricacies of
" his affairs, than from any violence of affection,
" which was not so fixed in his nature as to be like
" to transport him to any one person : and that as
" he could not, in so short a time, be acquainted
" with many men, whom in his judgment he could
" prefer before the chancellor for the managery of
" his business, who had been so long acquainted with
" it ; so he would, in a short time, be acquainted
" with many, who would, by finding fault with all
" that was done, be thought much wiser men ; it
" being one of his majesty's greatest infirmities,
" that he was apt to think too well of men at the
" first or second sight. "

He said, " whilst he kept the office he had, (which
" could better bear the envy of the bulk of the af-
" fairs, than any other qualification could,) and that
" it supported him in the execution of it, the king

E e 21



420 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661 felt not the burden of it; because little of the
" profit of it proceeded out of his own purse, and, if
** he were dead to-morrow, the place still must be
" conferred upon another. Whereas, if he gave over
" that administration, and had nothing to rely upon
" for the support of himself and family, but an ex-
" traordinary pension out of the exchequer, under no
" other title or pretence but of being first minister,
" (a title so newly translated out of French into Eng-
" lish, that it was not enough understood to b
" liked, and every man would detest it for the bur-
" den it was attended with,) the king himself who
" was not by nature immoderately inclined to give,
" would be quickly weary of so chargeable an officer,
" and be very willing to be freed from the reproach
" of being governed by any, (the very suspicion
" whereof he doth exceedingly abhor,) at the price
" and charge of the man, who had been raised by
" him to that inconvenient height above other men.
" That whilst he had that seal, he could have ad-
" mission to his majesty as often as he desired, be-
" cause it was more ease to receive an account of
" his business from him, than to be present at the
" whole debate of it ; and he well knew, the chan-
" cellor had too much business to desire audiences
" from his majesty without necessary reason. But
" if the office were in another hand, and he should
" haunt his presence with the same importunity as
" a spy upon his pleasures, and a disturber of the
" jollities of his meetings ; his majesty would quickly
" be nauseated with his company, which for the pre-
" sent he liked in some seasons ; and they, who for
"the present had submitted to some constraint by
" the gravity of his countenance, would quickly dis-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 421

" cover that their talents were more acceptable, and 1661.
" by degrees make him appear grievous to his ma-~
" jesty, and soon after ridiculous. That all his hope
" was, that the king would shortly find some lady
" fit to be his wife, which all honest men ought to
" persuade him to, and that being married, he made
" no doubt he would decline many of those delights
" to which he was yet exposed, and which exposed
" him too much ; and till that time he could not
" think that his best servants could enjoy any plea-
" sant lives. That he presumed the parliament
" would, after they had raised money enough to
" disband the armies, and to pay off the seamen,"
(towards both which somewhat was every day done,
and both which amounted to an incredible and in-
supportable charge,) " settle such a revenue upon
" the crown, as the king might conform his expense
" to; and that it should not be in any 'body's power
" to make that revenue be esteemed by him to be
" greater, than in truth it would be. That when
" these two things should be brought to pass, he did
" hope, that the king would take pleasure in making
" himself master of every part of his business, and
" not charge any one man with a greater share of it
" than he can discharge, or than will agree with his
" own dignity and honour. In the mean time," he
besought the marquis, " that he would convert the
" duke of York and all other persons from that
" opinion, which could not but appear erroneous to
" himself, by the reasons he had heard ; and that if
" he could be brought to consent to what had been
" proposed to him, (and which rather than he would
" do, he would suffer a thousand deaths,) as it would
" inevitably prove his own ruin and destruction, so

e 3



1661. " it would bring an irreparable damage to the king. "
""And therefore he conjured him " to invite the king
" by his own example, and by assuming his own
" share of the' work," which for some time he had
declined since the return into England ; and by being
" himself constantly with his majesty, to whom he
" was acceptable at all hours, he would obstruct the
" operation of that ill company, which neither knew
" how to behave themselves, nor could reasonably
" propose so much benefit to themselves, as by the
" propagation of their follies and villanies, and by
" degrees induce his majesty more proportjonably to
" mingle his business with his pleasures, which he
" could not yet totally abandon. "

The marquis could not deny, but that many of
the reasons alleged by the chancellor were of that
weight as ought to prevail with him ; and therefore
forbore ever after to press him upon the same par-
ticular. And the duke of York shortly undertook a
conference with him upon the same argument, upon
which the other durst not enlarge with the same
freedom as he had done to the marquis ; both be-
cause his eyes could not bear the prospect of so
many things at once, as likewise that he knew he
communicated with some persons, who, whatever
they pretended, had nothing like good affection for
him : so that he rather pacified his royal highness
upon that subject, and diverted him from urging it,
than satisfied him with his grounds. And others
who wished well to him, and better to the public,
acquiesced with his peremptory resolution, without
believing that he resolved well either for his own
particular, or the king's affairs ; and did always think
that he might have prevented his own fate, if he had



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 423

at that time submitted to the judgment of his best 1661.

friends ; though himself remained so positive to the ~~

contrary, that he often said, " that he would not

" have redeemed himself by that expedient ; and

" that he could never have borne that fate with that

" tranquillity of mind, which God enabled him to

" do, if he had passed to it through that province. "



Whilst the general affairs of England, by the long c
debates in parliament, remained thus unsettled, the Io Jh
king was no less troubled and perplexed how to['j a s n c j t ~
compose his two Other kingdoms of Scotland and lrelftnd -
Ireland; from both which there were several per-
sons of the best condition of either kingdom sent,
with the tender and presentation of their allegiance
to his majesty, and expected his immediate direction
to free them from the distractions they were in ; and
by taking the government upon himself, into his own
hands, to be freed from those extraordinary com-
missions, under which they had been both governed
with a rod of iron by the late powers ; the shifting
of which from one faction to another had adminis-
tered no kind of variety to them, but they had re-
mained still under the same full extent of tyranny.

The whole frame of the ancient government of*^ 6

of Scotland

Scotland had been so entirely confounded by Crom-atthat
well, and new modelled by the laws and customs of u
England, that is, those laws and customs which the
commonwealth had established ; that he had hardly
left footsteps by which the old might be traced out
again. The power of the nobility was so totally sup-
pressed and extinguished, that their persons found
no more respect or distinction from the common
people, than the acceptation they found from Crom-
well, and the credit he gave them by some particular

E e 4



424 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1 66 1 . trust, drew to them. Their beloved presbytery was
~~ become a term of reproach, and ridiculous ; the
pride and activity of their preachers subdued, and
reduced to the lowest contempt; and the standard
of their religion d remitted to the sole order and di-
rection of their commander in chief. All criminal
cases (except where the general thought it more ex-
pedient to proceed by martial law) were tried and
punished before judges sent from England, and by
the laws of England ; and matters of civil interest
before itinerant judges, who went twice a year in
circuits through the kingdom, and determined all
matters of right by the rules and customs which
were observed in England. They had liberty to
send a particular number, that was assigned to them,
to sit in the parliament of England, and to vote
there with all liberty ; which they had done. And
in recompense thereof, all such monies were levied
in Scotland, as were given by the parliament of Eng-
land, by which such contributions were raised, as
were proportionable to the expense, which the army
and garrisons which subdued them put the kingdom
of England to. Nor was there any other authority
to raise money in Scotland, but what was derived
from the parliament or general of England.

And all this prodigious mutation and transforma-
tion had been submitted to with the same resigna-
tion and obedience, as if the same had been trans-
mitted by an uninterrupted succession from king
Fergus : and it might well be a question, whether
the generality of the nation was not better contented
with it, than to return into the old road of subjec-

d religion] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 425

tion. But the king would not build according to 1661,
Cromwell's models, and had . many reasons to con-~
tinue Scotland within its own limits and bounds,
and sole dependance upon himself, rather than unite
it to England, with so many hazards and dangers as
would inevitably have accompanied it, under any
government less tyrannical than that of Cromwell.
And the resettling that kingdom was to be done
with much less difficulty, than the other of Ireland,
by reason that all who appeared concerned in it or
for it, as a committee for that kingdom, were united
between themselves, and did, or did pretend to de-
sire the same things. They all appeared under the
protection and recommendation of the general ; and
their dependance was the more upon him, because
he still commanded those garrisons and forces in
Scotland, which kept them to their obedience. And
he was the more willing to give them a testimony of
their affection to the king, and that without their
help he could not have been able to have marched
into England against Lambert, that they might
speak the more confidently, " that they gave him
" that assistance, because they were well assured
" that his intention was to serve the king :" whereas
they did indeed give him only what they could not
keep from him, nor did they know any of his inten-
tions, or himself at that time intend any thing for
the king. But it is very true, they were all either
men who had merited best from the king, or had
suffered most for him, or at least had acted least
against him, and (which they looked upon as the
most valuable qualification) they were all, or pre-
tended to be, the most implacable enemies to the
marquis of Argyle ; which was the " shibboleth" by



426 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. which the affections of that whole nation were best

distinguished.
Some ac- The chief of the commissioners was the lord Sel-

< i unit of .

the Scotch kirk, a younger son of the marquis of Douglass, who
toners! * had been- known to the king in France, where he
or the eari nac i \y eeTl faed a Roman catholic, which was the re-

of Selkirk.

ligion of his family, but had returned into Scotland
after it had been subdued by Cromwell ; and being
a very handsome young man, was easily converted
from the religion of his father, in which he had been
bred, to that of his elder brother the earl of Angus,
that he might marry the daughter and heir of James
duke Hamilton, who from the battle of Worcester,
where her uncle duke William was killed, had in-
herited the title of duchess, with the fair seat of Ha-
milton, and all the lands which belonged to her fa-
ther. And her husband now, according to the cus-
tom of Scotland, assumed the same title with her,
and appeared in the head of the commissioners un-
der the style of duke Hamilton, with the merit of
having never disserved the king, and with the ad-
vantage of whatsoever his wife could claim by the
death of her father, which deserved to wipe out the
memory of whatever had been done amiss in his
life.

of the eari The earl of Glencarne was another of the com-
missioners, a man very well born and bred, and of
very good parts. As he had rendered himself very
acceptable to the king, during his being in Scotland,
by his very good behaviour towards him, so even
after that fatal blow at Worcester he did not dis-
semble his affection to his majesty ; but withdraw-
ing himself into the Highlands, during the time that
Cromwell remained in Scotland, he sent over an ex-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 427

press to assure the king of his fidelity, and that he 1661.
would take the first opportunity to serve him. And
when upon his desire Middleton was designed to
command there, he first retired into the Highlands,
and drew a body of men together to receive him.
H[e was a man of honour, and good principles as
well with reference to the church as to the state,
which few others, even of those which now appeared
most devoted to the king, avowed to be; for the
presbytery was yet their idol. From the time that
he had received a protection and safeguard from
general Monk, after there was little hope of doing
good by force, he lived quietly at his house, and was
more favoured by the general than any of those who
spoke most loudly against the king, and was most
trusted by him when he was at Berwick upon his
march into England; and was now presented by
him to the king, as a man worthy of his trust in an
eminent post of that kingdom.

With these there were others of less name, but of
good affections and abilities, who came together from
Scotland as commissioners ; but they found others
in London as well qualified to do their country ser-
vice, and whose names were wisely inserted in their
commission by those who assumed the authority to
send the other. The earl of Lautherdale, who had f the earl

. . . . . f Lauther-

been very eminent in contriving and carrying on the dale.
king's service, when his majesty was crowned in
Scotland, and thereby had wrought himself into a
very particular esteem with the king, had marched
with him into England, and behaved himself well
at Worcester, where he was taken prisoner; had,
besides that merit, the suffering an imprisonment
from that very time with some circumstances of ex-



428 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. treme rigour, being a man against whom Cromwell
"had always professed a more than ordinary animo-
sity. And though the scene of his imprisonment
had been altered, according to the alteration of the
governments which succeeded, yet he never found
himself in complete liberty till the king was pro-
claimed by the parliament, and then he thought it
not necessary to repair into Scotland for authority
or recommendation ; but sending his advice thither
to his friends, he made haste to transport himself
with the parliament commissioners to the Hague,
where he was very well received by the king, and
left nothing undone on his part that might cul-
tivate those old inclinations, being a man of as much
address and insinuation, in which that nation excels,
as was then amongst them. He applied himself to
those who were most trusted by the king with a
marvellous importunity, and especially to the chan-
cellor, with whom, as often as they had ever been
together, he had a perpetual war. He now magni-
fied his constancy with loud elogiums, as well to his
face as behind his back ; remembered " many sharp
" expressions formerly used by the chancellor, which
** he confessed had then made him mad, though
" upon recollection afterwards he had found them
" to be very reasonable. " He was very polite in all
his discourses ; called himself and his nation, " a
" thousand traitors and rebels ;" and in his dis-
courses frequently said, " when I was a traitor," or
" when I was in rebellion ;" and seemed not equally
delighted with any argument, as when he scornfully
spake of the covenant, upon which he brake a hun-
dred jests. In sum, all his discourses were such as
pleased all the company, who commonly believed all



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 429

he said, and concurred with him. He renewed his
old acquaintance and familiarity with Middleton, by
all the protestations of friendship ; assured him " of
" the unanimous desire of Scotland to be under his
" command ;" and declared to the king, " that he
" could not send any man into Scotland, who would
" be able to do him so much service in the place of
" commissioner as Middleton ; and that it was in his
" majesty's power to unite that whole kingdom to
" his service as one man. " All which pleased the
king well: so that, by the time that the commis-
sioners appeared at London, upon some old promise
in Scotland, or new inclination upon his long suffer-
ings, which he magnified enough, the king gave him
the signet, and declared him to be secretary of state
of that kingdom ; and at the same time declared Many of
that Middleton should be his commissioner; the officeTof
earl of Glencarne his chancellor ; the earl of Rothes, ^ Jj|,
who was likewise one of the commissioners, and his ed ofi
person very agreeable to the king, president of the
council ; and conferred all other inferior offices upon
men most notable for their affection to the old go-
vernment of church and state.

And the first proposition that the commissioners
made after their meeting together, and before they
entered upon debate of the public, was, " that his
" majesty would add to the council of Scotland,
" which should reside near his person, the chancellor
" atid treasurer of England, the general, the marquis
" of Ormond, and secretary Nicholas, who should
" be always present when any thing should be de-
" bated and resolved concerning that kingdom :"
which desire, so different from any that had been in
times past, persuaded the king that their intentions



430 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

IOC I. were very sincere. Whatever appearance there was
~ of unity amongst them, for there was nothing like
contradiction, there was a general dislike by them
all of the power Lautherdale had with the king,
who they knew pressed many things without com-
munication with them, a's he had prevailed that the
or the eari earl of Crawford Lindsey should continue in the
office he formerly had of being high treasurer of that



kingdom, though he was known to be a man incor-
rigible in his zeal for the presbytery, and all the
madness of kirk, and not firm to other principles
upon which the authority of the crown must be
established ; so that they could not so much as con-
sult in his presence of many particulars of the high-
est moment and importance to the public settlement.
Yet his having behaved himself well towards the
king, whilst he was in that kingdom, and his having
undergone great persecution under Cromwell, and
professing now all obedience to his majesty, prevailed
that he should not be displaced upon his majesty's
first entrance upon his government, but that a new
occasion should be attended to, which was in view,
and when the king resolved, without communicating
his purpose to Lautherdale, to confer that office upon
Middleton, when he should have proceeded the first
stage in his commission ; and of this his resolution
he was graciously pleased to inform him.
Thema- The marquis of Argyle, (without mentioning of
gyle sent r whom there can hardly be any mention of Scotland,)
Tower. though he was not of this fraternity, yet thought he
could tell as fair a story for himself as any of the
rest, and contribute as much to the king's absolute
power in Scotland. And therefore he had no sooner
unquestionable notice of the king's being in London,



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 431

but he made haste thither with as much confidence 16GI.
as the rest. But the commissioners, who were be-~~
fore him, wrought so far with the king, that in the
very minute of his arrival he was arrested by a war-
rant under the king's hand, and carried to the
Tower, upon a charge of high treason.
He was a man like Drances in Virgil,

Largus opum, et lingua melior, sed frigida bello H|S cha -

. . . . , , f >i racter.

Dcxtera, consilus habitus non minis auctor,

Seditione potens.

Without doubt he was a person of extraordinary
cunning, well bred ; and though, by the ill-placing
of his eyes, he did not appear with any great advan-
tage at first sight, yet he reconciled even those who
had aversion to him very strangely by a little con-
versation : insomuch as after so many repeated in-
dignities (to say no worse) which he had put upon
the late king, and when he had continued the same
affronts to the present king, by hindering the Scots
from inviting him, and as long as was possible kept
him from being received by them ; when there was
no remedy, and that he was actually landed, no man
paid him so much reverence and outward respect,
and gave so good an example to all others, with
what veneration their king ought to be treated, as
the marquis of Argyle did, and in a very short time
made himself agreeable and acceptable to him. His
wit was pregnant, and his humour gay and pleasant,
except when he liked not the company or the argu-
ment. And though he never consented to any one
thing of moment, which the king asked of him ; and
even in those seasons in which he was used with
most rudeness by the clergy, and with some bar-
barity by his son the lord Lome, whom he had made



432 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1G61. captain of his majesty's guard, to guard him from
"~ his friends, and from all who he desired should have
access to him, the marquis still had that address,
that he persuaded him all was for the best. When
the other faction prevailed, in which there were
likewise crafty managers, and that his counsels were
commonly rejected, he carried himself so, that they
who hated him most were willing to compound with
him, and that his majesty should not withdraw his
countenance from him. But he continued in all his
charges, and had a very great party in that parlia-
ment that was most devoted to serve the king ; so
that his majesty was often put to desire his help to
compass what he desired. He did heartily oppose
the king's marching with his army into England ; the
ill success whereof made many men believe after-
wards, that he had more reasons for the counsels he
gave, than they had who were of another opinion.
And the king was so far from thinking him his
enemy, that when it was privately proposed to him
by those he trusted most, that he might be secured
from doing hurt when the king was marched into
England, since he was so much* against it ; his ma-
jesty would by no means consent to it, but parted
with him very graciously, as with one he expected
good service from. All which the commissioners
well remembered, and were very unwilling that he
should be again admitted into his presence, to make
his own excuses for any thing he could be charged
with. And his behaviour afterwards, and the good
correspondence he had kept with Cromwell, but
especially some confident averments of some parti-
cular words or actions which related to the murder
of his father, prevailed with his majesty not to speak



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 433

with him ; which he laboured by many addresses, in 1 GC I .
petitions to the king, and letters to some of those"
who were trusted by him, which were often presented
by his wife and his son, and in which he only desired
" to speak with the king or with some of those lords,"
pretending, " that he should inform and communi-
" cate somewhat that would highly concern his ma-
" jesty's service. " But the king not vouchsafing to
admit him to his presence, the English lords had no
mind to have any conference with a man who had
so dark a character, or to meddle in an affair that
must be examined and judged by the laws of Scot-
land : and so it was resolved, that the marquis of Sent into

* Scotland to

Argyle should be sent by sea into Scotland, to be be tried.
tried before the parliament there when the com-
missioner should arrive, who was despatched thither
with the rest of the lords, as soon as the seals and
other badges of their several offices could be pre-
pared. And what afterwards became of the mar*-
quis is known to all men ; as it grew quickly to ap-
pear, that what bitterness soever the earl of Lau-
therdale had expressed towards him in his general
discourses, he had in truth a great mind to have
preserved him, and so kept such a pillar of presby-
tery against a good occasion ; which was not then
suspected by the rest of the commissioners.

The lords of the English council, who were ap-
pointed to sit with the Scots, met with them to
consult upon the instructions which were to be given
to the king's commissioner, who was now created
earl of Middleton. ' The Scots seemed all resolute
and impatient to vindicate their country from the
infamy of delivering up the last king, (for all things
relating to the former rebellion had been put in ob-

VOL. I. F f



434 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1 66 1 . livion by his late majesty's act of indemnity, at his
"last being in Scotland,) and stricdy to examine who
of that nation had contributed to his murder, of
which they were confident Argyle would be found
The eari of Very guilty. Middleton was very earnest, " that he
Jrot^e? " " might, for the humiliation of the preachers, and
* P reven ^ anv unruly proceeding of theirs in their
assembly, begin with rescinding the act of the



Scotland. " covenant, and all other acts which had invaded
" the king's power ecclesiastical, and then proceed
" to the erecting of bishops in that kingdom, ac-

in which cording to the ancient institution :" and with him

all the

Glencarne, Rothes, and all the rest (Lautherdale



S CUT Incept' only excepted) concurred ; and averred, " that it
" wou ld be very easily brought to pass, because the
" tyrannical proceedings of the assemblies and their
" several presbyteries had so far incensed persons of
" all degrees, that not only the nobility, gentry, and
" common people, would be glad to be freed from
" them, but that the most learned and best part of
" the ministers desired the same, and to be subject
" again to the bishops ; and that there would be
" enough found of the Scots clergy, very worthy
" and very willing to supply those charges. "

Lautherdale, with a passion superior to the rest,
inveighed against the covenant ; called it " a wick-
" ed, traitorous combination of rebels against their
" lawful sovereign, and expressly against the laws
" of their own country ; protested his own hearty
" repentance for the part he had acted in the pro-
" motion thereof, and that he was confident that
" God, who was witness of his repentance, had for-
" given him that foul sin : that no man there had a
" greater reverence for the government by bishops



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 435

" than he himself had ; and that he was most confi- J661.

'* dent, that the kingdom of Scotland could never be ~

" happy in itself, nor ever be reduced to a perfect

(( submission and obedience to the king, till the

** episcopal government was again established there.

" The scruple that only remained with him, and

" which made him differ with his brethren, was, of

" the manner how it should be attempted, and of the

" time when it should be endeavoured to be brought

" to pass. " And then with his usual warmth, when

he thought it necessary to be warm, (for at other

times he could be as calm as any man, though not

so naturally,) he desired, " that the commissioner

" might have no instruction for the present to make

" any approach towards either ; on the contrary, who art-

" that he might be restrained from it by his ma- tempt* to

" jesty's special direction: for though his own pru- f^ e * d>

" dence, upon the observation he should quickly

" make when he came thither, would restrain him

" from doing any thing which might be inconvenient

" to his majesty's service ; yet without that he would

" hardly be able to restrain others, who for want of

" understanding, or out of ill-will to particular men,

" might be too forward to set such a design on

" foot"

He desired, "that in the first session of parlia^
" ment no further attempt might be made, than in
" pursuance of what had been first mentioned, the
" vindicating their country from all things which
" related to the murder of the late king, which
" would comprehend the delivery up of his person,
" the asserting the king's royal power, by which all
" future attempts towards rebellion would be pre-
" vented, and the trial of the marquis of Argyle ;

F f 2



436 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. "all which would take up more time than parlia-
~~" ments in that kingdom, till the late ill times, had
" used to continue together. That after the expi-
" ration of the first session, in which a good judg-
" ment might be made of the temper of that king-
" dom, and the commissioner's prudence might have
" an influence upon many leading men to change
" their present temper, such further advance might
" be made for the reformation of the kirk as his
" majesty should judge best ; and then he made no
" doubt, but all would by degrees be compassed in
" that particular which could be desired, and which
" was the more resolutely to be desired, because he
" still confessed that the king could not be secure, nor
" the kingdom happy, till the episcopal government
" could be restored. But he undertook to know so
" well the nature of that people," (though he had
not been in that kingdom since his majesty left it,)
" that if it were undertaken presently, or without
" due circumstances in preparing more men than
" could in a short time be done, it would not only
" miscarry, but with it his majesty be disappointed
" of many of the other particulars, which he would
" otherwise be sure to obtain. "

He named many of the nobility and leading men,
who he said " were still so infatuated with the cove-
" nant, that "they would with equal patience hear of
" the rejection of the four Evangelists, who yet, by
" conversation, and other information, and applica-
" tion, might in time be wrought upon. " He fre-
quently appealed to the king's own memory and ob-
servation, when he was in that kingdom, " how su-
" perstitious they who were most devoted to do him
" service, and were at his disposal in all things, were



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 437

" towards the covenant: that all they did for him,
" which was all that he desired them to do, was
" looked upon as the effects of those obligations
" which the covenant had laid upon them. " He
appealed to the general, (" who," he said, " knew
" Scotland better than any one man of that nation
" could pretend to do,) whether he thought this a
" proper season to attempt so great a change in
" that kingdom, before other more pressing acts
"were compassed ; and whether he did not know,
" that the very pressing the obligations in the cove-
" nant lately in England had not contributed very
** much to the restoration of the king, which the
" London ministers confidently urged at present as
" an argument for his indulgence towards them.
" And," he said, " though he well knew that his
" majesty was fully resolved to maintain the go-
" vernment of the church of England in its full lus-
" tre, (which he thanked God for, being in his
"judgment the best government ecclesiastical in
" the world,) yet he could not but observe, that the
" king's prudence had yet forborne to make any
" new bishops, and had upon the matter suspended
" the English Liturgy by not enjoining it, out of
" indulgence to dissenters, and to allow them time
" to consider, and to be well informed and in-
" structed in those forms, which had been for so
" many years rejected or discontinued, that the
" people in general and many ministers had never
" seen or heard it used : so that the presbyterians
" here remained still in hope of his majesty's favour
" and condescension, that they should be permitted
" to continue their own forms, or no forms, in their
" devotions and public worship of God. In consi-

Ff3



438 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. " deration of all which, he thought it very incongru-
"~" ous, and somewhat against his majesty's dignity,
" suddenly and with precipitation to begin and
" attempt such an alteration in Scotland, against
" a government that had more antiquity there, and
" was more generally submitted to and accepted,
" than it had been in England, before he himself
" had declared his own judgment against it in this
" kingdom ; which he presumed he would shortly
" do, and which would be the best introduction to
" the same in Scotland, where all the king's actions
" and determinations would be looked upon with
" the highest veneration. "

He concluded, "that if the other more vigorous
" course should be resolved upon, the marquis of
" Argyle would be very glad of it ; for though he
" was generally odious to all degrees of men, yet he
" was not so much hated as the covenant was be-
" loved and worshipped : a. nd that when they should
" discern that they must be deprived of that, they
" would rather desire to preserve both. And there-
" fore," he said, " his advice still was, that he
" should be first out of the way, who was looked
" upon as the upholder of the covenant and the
" chief pillar of the kirk, before any visible attempt
" should be made against the other, which would
" assuredly be done by degrees. "

Many particulars in this discourse confidently
urged, and with more advantage of elocution than
the fatness of his tongue, that ever filled his mouth,
usually was attended with, seemed reasonable to
many, and worthy to be answered; and his fre-
quent appeals to the king, in which there were
always some ridiculous instances of the use made of



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 489

the covenant, with reference to the power of the
preachers in the domestic affairs of other men, and^ 3 ^ 7 ^* 35 '
the like, (which, though it made it the more odious,
was still an argument of the reverence that was ge-
nerally paid to it, all which instances were^well re-
membered by the king, who commonly added others
of the same standard from his own memory,) madeHi*di-

,. .