No More Learning

The carl of Southampton was
not only an exact observer of justice, but so clear-
sighted a discerner of all the circumstances which
might disguise it, that no false or fraudulent colour
could impose upon him ; and of so sincere and im-
partial a judgment, that no prejudice to the person
of any man made him less awake to his cause; but



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 231

believed that there is " aliquid et in hostem nefas," 1 667.
and that a very ill man might be very unjustly"
dealt with.

This difference of faculties divided them quickly
in the progress of those businesses, in the beginning
whereof they were both of one mind. They both
thought the crown had committed great excesses in
the exercise of its power, which the one thought
could not be otherwise prevented, than by its f being
deprived of it : the consequence whereof the other
too well understood, and that the absolute taking
away that power that might do hurt, would like-
wise take away some of that which was necessary
for the doing good ; and that a monarch cannot be
deprived of a fundamental right, without such a last-
ing wound to monarchy itself, that they who have
most shelter from it and stand nearest to it, the
nobility, could nots continue long in their native
strength, if the crown received a maim. Which if
the earl of Essex had comprehended, who set as
great a price upon nobility as any man living did,
he could never have been wrought upon to have
contributed to his own undoing ; which the other
knew was unavoidable, if the king were undone.
So they were both satisfied that the earl of Strafford
had countenanced some high proceedings, which
could not be supported by any rules of justice,
though the policy of Ireland, and the constant
course observed in the government of that king-
dom h , might have excused and justified many of
the high proceedings with which he was reproached:

1 its] Not in MS. h that kingdom] Ireland .

; not] Omitted in MS.

Q 4



232 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1667. and they who had now the advantage-ground, by
"" being thought to be most solicitous for the liljerty of
the subject, and most vigilant that the same out-
rages might not be transplanted out of the other
kingdom into this, looked upon him as having the
strongest influence upon the counsels of England as
well as governor of Ireland. Then he had declared
himself so averse and irreconcileable to the sedition
and rebellion of the Scots, that the whole nation had
contracted so great an animosity against him, that
less than his life could not secure them from the
fears they had conceived of him : and this fury of
theirs met with a full concurrence from those of the
English, who could not compass their own ends
without their help. And this combination too soon
drew the earl of Essex, who had none of their ends,
into their party, to satisfy his pride and his passion,
in removing a man who seemed to have no regard
for him ; for the stories, which were then made of
disobligations from the earl of Stratford towards the
earl of Clanrickard, were without any foundation of
truth.

The earl of Southampton, who had nothing of ob-
ligation, and somewhat of prejudice to some high
acts of power which had been exercised by the earl
of Strafford, was not unwilling that they should be
so far looked into and examined, as might raise
more caution and apprehension in men of great au-
thority of the consequence of such excesses. But
when he discerned irregular ways entered into to pu-
nish those irregularities, and which might 1>e at-
tended witli as ill consequences, and that they in-
tended to compound one great crime out of seve-
ral smaller trespasses, and, to use their own style, to



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 233

complicate a treason out of misdemeanours, and so 1 667.
to take away his life for what he might be fined"
and imprisoned ; he first dissuaded and then ab-
horred that exorbitance, and more abhorred it, when
he found it passionately and maliciously resolved by
a direct combination.

From this time he and the earl of Essex were
perfectly divided and separated, and seldom after-
wards concurred in the same opinion : but as he
worthily and bravely stood in the gap in the defence
of that great man's life, so he did afterwards oppose
all those invasions, which were every day made by
the house of commons upon the rights of the crown,
or the privileges of the peers, which the lords were
willing to sacrifice to the useful humour of the
other. And by this means, whilst most of the king's
servants listed themselves with the conspirators in
promoting all things which were ingrateful to him,
this lord, who had no relation to his service, was
looked upon as a courtier ; and by the strength of
his reason gave such a check to their proceedings,
that he became little less odious to them than the
court itself; and so much the more odious, because
as he was superior to their temptations, so his un-
questionable integrity was out of their reach, and
made him contemn their power as much as their
malice.

He had all the detestation imaginable of the civil
war, and discerned the dismal effects it would pro-
duce, more than most other men, which made him
do all he could to prevent it. But when it could not
be avoided, he made no scruple how to dispose of
himself, but frankly declared for the king, who had
a just sense of the service he had done him, and



CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1667. made him then both of his privy-council and gentlc-
~ man of his bedchamber, without the least applica-
tion or desire of his, and when most of those who
were under both those relations had chosen, as the
much stronger, the rebels' side: and his receiving
those obligations at that present was known to pro-
ceed more from his duty than his ambition. He had
all the fidelity that God requires, and all the affec-
tion to the person of the king that his duty sug-
gested to him was due, without any reverence for
or compliance with his infirmities or weakness ;
which made him many times uneasy to the king,
especially in all consultations towards peace, in
which he was always desirous that his majety should
yield more than he was inclined to do.

He was in his nature melancholic, and reserved
in his conversation, except towards those with whom
he was very well acquainted; with whom he was
not only cheerful, but upon occasion light and plea-
sant. He was naturally lazy, and indulged over-
much ease to himself: yet as no man had a quicker
apprehension or solider judgment in business of all
kinds, so, when it had a hopeful prospect, no man
could keep his mind longer bent, and take more
pains in it. In the treaty at Uxbridge, which was
a continued fatigue of twenty days, he never slept
four hours in a night, who had never used to allow
himself less than ten, and at the end of the treaty
was much more vigorous than in the beginning;
which made the chancellor to tell the king when
they returned to Oxford, " that if he would have
" the earl of Southampton in good health and good
" humour, he must give him good store of business
" to do. "



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 235

His person was of a small stature ; his courage, as 1 667.
all his other faculties, very great ; having no sign of
fear or sense of danger, when he was in a place
where he ought to be found. When the king had
withdrawn himself from Oxford in order to his
escape to the Scotch army, and Fairfax had brought
his army before the town ; in some debate at the
council-board, there being some mention of prince
Rupert with reference to his dignity in a large de-
gree above all of the nobility, the earl of Southamp-
ton, who never used to speak indecently, used some
expressions, which, being unfaithfully reported to
the prince, his highness interpreted to be disrespect-
ful towards him : whereupon he sent the lord Ge-
rard to expostulate with him. To whom the earl
without any apology related the words he had used ;
which being reported by him again to the prince,
though they were not the same which he had been
informed, yet he was not so well satisfied with
them, but that he sent the same lord to him again,
to tell him, " that his highness expected other sa-
" tisfaction from him, and expected to meet him
" with his sword in his hand, and desired it might
" be as soon as he could, lest it might be pre-
" vented. "

The earl appointed the next morning, at a place
well known ; and being asked " what weapon he
" chose," he said, " that he had no horse fit for such
" a service, nor knew where suddenly to get one ;
" and that he knew himself too weak to close with
" the prince : and therefore he hoped his highness
" would excuse him, if he made choice of such wea-
" pons as he could best use ; and therefore he rc-
" solved to fight on foot with a case of pistols only ;"



236 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1667. which the prince willingly consented to. And with-

out doubt they had met the next morning, the earl

having chosen sir George Villiers for his second;
but that the lord Gerard's coming to the earl so
often, with whom he had no acquaintance, had been
so much observed, that some of the lords who had
been present at the debate at the board, and heard
some replies which had been made, and thence con-
cluded that ill offices had been done, watched them
both so narrowly, and caused the town -gates to be
shut, that they ' discovered enough, notwithstanding
the denial of both parties, to prevent their meeting ;
and afterwards interposed till a reconciliation was
made : and the prince ever afterwards had a good
respect for the earl.

After the murder of the king, the earl of South-
ampton remained in his own house, without the
least application to those powers which had made
themselves so terrible, and which seemed to resolve
to root out the whole party as well as the royal fa-
mily ; and would not receive a civility from any of
them : and when Cromwell was near his house in
the country, upon the marriage of his son in those
parts, and had a purpose to have made a visit to
him ; upon a private notice thereof, he immediately
removed to another house at a greater distance. He
sent frequently some trusty person to the king with
such presents of money, as he could receive out of
the fortune they had left to him, which was scarce
enough to support him in that retirement : and after
the battle of Worcester, when the rebels had set a
price upon the king's head, and denounced the most

that they] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON.

terrible judgment upon any person k , and his pos- 1667.
terity, that should presume to give any shelter or~
assistance to Charles Stuart towards his escape ;
he sent a faithful servant to all those persons, who
in respect of their fidelity and activity were most
like to be trusted upon such an occasion, that they
should advertise the king, " that he would most
" willingly receive him into his house, and provide
" a ship for his escape. " And his majesty received
this advertisement from him the day before he was
ready to embark in a small vessel prepared for him
in Sussex ; which his majesty always remembered
as a worthy testimony of his affection and courage
in so general a consternation. And the earl was
used to say, " that after that miraculous escape, how
" dismal soever the prospect was, he had still a con-
" fidence of his majesty's restoration. "

His own natural disposition inclined to melan-
cholic ; and his retirement from all conversation, in
which he might have given some vent to his own
thoughts, with the discontinuance of all those bodily
exercises and recreations to which he had been ac-
customed, brought many diseases upon him, which
made his life less pleasant to him ; so that from the
time of the king's return, between the gout and the
stone, he underwent great affliction. Yet upon the
happy return of his majesty he seemed to recover
great vigour of mind, and undertook the charge of
high treasurer with much alacrity and industry, as
long as he had any hope to get a revenue settled
proportionable to the expense of the crown, (towards
which his interest and authority and counsel contri-

k any person] whomsoever



238 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1067. buted very much,) or to reduce the expense of the
""court within the limits of the revenue. But when
he discerned that the last did and would still make
the former impossible, (upon which he made as fre-
quent and lively representations as he thought him-
self obliged to do,) and when he saw irregularities
and excesses to abound, and to overflow all the banks
which should restrain them ; he grew more dispirit-
ed, and weary of that province, which exposed him
to the reproaches which others ought to undergo,
and which supplied him not with authority to pre-
vent them. And he had then withdrawn from the
burden, which he infinitely desired to be eased of,
but out of conscience of his duty to the king, who
he knew would suffer in it ; and that the people who
knew his affections very well, and already opened
their mouths wide against the license of the court,
would believe it worse and incurable if he quitted
the station he was in. This, and this only, pre-
vailed with him still to undergo that burden, even
when he knew that they who enjoyed the benefit
of it were as weary that he should be disquieted
with it.

He was a man of great and exemplary virtue and
piety, and very regular in his devotions ; yet was not
generally believed by the bishops to have an affection
keen enough for the government of the church, lie-
cause he was willing and desirous, that somewhat
more might have been done to gratify the presby-
terians than they thought just. But the truth is ; he
had a perfect detestation of all the presbyterian prin-
ciples, nor had ever had any conversation with their
persons, having during all those wicked times strictly
observed the devotions prescril>ed by the church of



EDWARD EAHL OF CLARENDON. 239

England; in the performance whereof he had al- 1GG7.
ways an orthodox chaplain, one of those ] deprived
of their estates by that government, which disposed
of the church as well as of the state. But it is very
true, that upon the observation of the great power
and authority which the presbyterians usurped and
were possessed of, even when Cromwell did all lie
could to divest them of it, and applied all his interest
to oppress or suppress them, insomuch as they did
often give a check to and divert many of his designs;
he did believe that their numbers and their credit
had been much greater than in truth they were ll! .
And then some persons, who had credit with him by
being thought to have an equal aversion /rom them,
persuaded him to believe, that they would be satis-
fied with very easy concessions, w r hich would bring
no prejudice or inconvenience to the church. And
this imagination prevailed with him, and more witli
others who loved them not, to wish that there might
be some indulgence towards them. But that which
had the strongest influence upon him, and which
made him less apprehensive of the venom of any
other sect, was the extreme jealousy he had of the
power and malignity of the Roman catholics ; whose
behaviour from the time of the suppression of the
regal power, and more scandalously at and from the
time of the murder of the king, had very much irre-
conciled him towards them : and he did believe, that
the king and the duke of York had a better opinion
of their fidelity, and less jealousy of their affections,
than they deserved ; and so thought there could not
be too great an union of all other interests to con-

1 one of those] Omitted in MS. m they were] it was



240 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

IG67. trol the exorbitance of that. And upon this argu-
ment. with his private friends, he was more pas-
sionate than in any other.

He had a marvellous zeal and affection for the
royal family ; insomuch as the two sons of the duke
of York falling both into distempers, (of which they
both shortly after died,) very few days l>efore his
death, he was so marvellously affected with it, that
many l>elieved the trouble of it, or a presage what
might befall the kingdom by it, hastened his death
some hours : and in the agony of death, the very
morning he died, he sent to know how they did ;
and seemed to receive some relief, when the mes-
senger returned with the news, that they were both
alive and in some degree mended.

The king The next day after his death, which was about
put tbe the end of May, the king called the chancellor into
his closet ; and, the duke of York being only pre-



" to be treasurer, and therefore resolved, as he had
" long done, to put that office into commission ;''
and then asked, " who should be commissioners :" to
which he answered, " the business would be much
" better done by a single officer, if he could think
" of a fit one ; for commissioners never had, never
" would do, that business well. " The duke of York
said, " that he believed it would be best done by
" commission ; it had been so managed during all
" the ill times," (for from the beginning of the trou-
bles there had been no treasurer :) " and he had ob-
" served, (and the king found the benefit of it,) that
" though sir William Compton was an extraordinary
" person, and better qualified than most men for
" that charge, yet since his decease, that his majesty



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 241

" had put the office of the ordnance under the go- 1 667.
" vernment of commissioners, it was in much better ~
" order, and the king was better served there than
" he had ever been ; and he believed he would be
" so likewise in the office of the treasury, if fit per-
" sons were chosen for it, who might have nothing
" else to do. " And the king seemed to be of the
same mind.

The chancellor replied, " that he was very sorry, The chan-
" that they were both so much delighted with the vLsViiu
" function of commissioners, which were more suit- a * 8inst
" able to the modelling a commonwealth, than for
" the support of monarchy : that during the late
" troubles, whilst the parliament exercised the go-
" vernment, they reduced it as fast as they could to
" the form of a commonwealth ; and then no ques-
" tion the putting the treasury into the hands of
" commissioners was much more suitable to the rest
" of the model, than it could be under a single per-
" son. Besides, having no revenue of their own, but
" being to raise one according to their inventions
" and proportionable to their own occasions, it could
" never be well collected or ordered by old officers,
" who were obliged to forms which would not be
" agreeable to their necessary transactions : so that
" new ministers were to be made for new employ-
" merits, who might be obliged punctually to observe
" their new orders, without any superiority over
" each other, but a joint obedience to the supreme
" authority. But when Cromwell assumed the en-
" tire government into his own hands, he cancelled
" all those republican rules and forms, and appointed
" inferior persons to several functions, and reserved
" the whole disposition to himself, and was his own

VOL. III. R



242 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

Ifi67. " high treasurer: and it was well known that he

~~ " resolved, as soon as he should be able to reduce

" things to the forms he intended, to cancel all those

" commissions, and invest single persons in the go-

" vernment of those provinces. "

He said, " he would not take upon him to say
" any thing of the office of the ordnance, where the
" commissioners were his friends ; only he might
' say, that that kind of administration had not been
" yet long enough known to have a good judgment
" made of it : however, that it was of so different a
" nature from the office of the treasury, that no ob-
" servation of the one could be applied to the other.
" The ordnance was conversant only with smiths
" and carpenters, and other artificers and handi-
" craftsmen, with whom all their transactions were :
" whereas the treasury had much to do with the no-
" bility and chief gentry of the kingdom ; must have
" often recourse to the king himself for his parti-
" cular directions, to the privy-council for their as-
" sistance and advice, to the judges for their reso-
" lutions in matters of difficulty ; and if the ministers
" of it were not of that quality and degree, that
" they might have free recourse to all those, and find
" respect from them, his majesty's service would
" notoriously suffer. And that the white staff itself,
" in the hands of a person esteemed, did more to
" the bringing in several branches of the revenue,
" by the obedience and reverence all officers paid to
" it, than any orders from commissioners could do :
" and that how mean an opinion soever some men
" had of the faculties of the late excellent officer for
(t that administration, his majesty would find by ex-
" perience, that the -vast sums of money, which he



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 243

"had borrowed in these late years, had been in
" a great measure procured upon the general confi-
" dence all men had in the honour and justice of
** the treasurer ; and that the credit of commission-
" ers would never be able to supply such necessi-
" ties. "

The king said, " he was not at all of his opinion,
" and doubted not his business would be much bet-
" ter done by commissioners ; and therefore he
" should speak to the nomination of those, since he
" was sure he could propose no single person fit for
" it. " To which the chancellor answered, " that he
" thought it much harder to find a worthy man, who
" would be persuaded to accept it in the disorder in
" which his affairs were, than a man who might be
" very fit for it : and that if that subject who had
" the greatest fortune in England and the most ge-
" neral reputation would receive it, his majesty
" would be no loser in conferring it on such a one ;
" and till such a one might be found, he might put
" it into commission. But," he said, " he perceived
" well, that he would not approve the old course in
" the choice of commissioners ; who had always
" been the keeper of the great seal, and the two se-
" cretaries of state, and two other of the principal
" persons of the council, besides the chancellor of
" the exchequer, who used to be the sole person of
" the quorum. "

Neither n the king nor duke seemed to like any of
those ; and the chancellor plainly discerned from
the beginning that they were resolved upon the
persons, though his opinion was asked : and the

11 Neither] Not in MS.
R 2



244 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1667. king said, "he would choose such persons, whether
" privy counsellors or not, who might have nothing
" else to do, and were rough and ill-natured men,
" not to be moved with civilities or importunities
" in the payment of money ; but would apply it all
" to his present necessities, till some new supplies
*' might be gotten for the payment of those debts,
" which were first necessary to be paid. That he,
" the chancellor, had so much business already upon
" his hands, that he could not attend this other ;
" and the secretaries had enough to do : so he
" would have none of those. " And then he named
sir Thomas Clifford, who was newly of the council
and controller of the house, and sir William Coven-
try ; and said, " he did not think there should IK?
" many :" and the duke then named sir John Dun-
combe, as a man of whom he had heard well, and
every body knew he was intimate with sir William
Coventry. The king said, "he thought they three
" would be enough, and that a greater number
" would but make the despatch of all business the
" more slow. "

The chancellor said, " he doubted those persons
" would not have credit and authority enough to go
" through the necessary affairs of that province ;
" that for his own part, he was not desirous to med-
" die in it ; he had indeed too much business to do :
" that he had no objection P to the three persons
" named, but that he thought them not known and
" esteemed enough for that employment ; and that
" it would be very incongruous to bring sir John
" Buncombe, who was a private country gentleman,

would] Not in MS. P objection] exception



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 245

" and utterly unacquainted with business of that 16*57.

" nature, to sit in equal authority with privy coun-

" sellers, and in affairs which would be often de-

" bated at the council-table, where he could not be

" present. " And he put his majesty in mind% that

" he must put the lord Ashley out of his office of

" chancellor of the exchequer, if he did not make him

" commissioner of the treasury, and of the quorum :"

and concluded, " that if he did not name the

" general, and some other person that might give

" some lustre to the others, the work would not be

" done as it ought to be ; for many persons would

" be sometimes obliged to attend upon the treasury,

" who would not think those gentlemen enough su-

" perior to them, how qualified soever. "

The king said, " he could easily provide against
" the exception to sit John Duncombe, by making
" him a privy counsellor ; and he did not care if he
" added the general to them. " The lord Ashley
gave him some trouble, and he said enough to make
it manifest that he thought him not fit to be amongst
them : yet he knew not how to put him out of his
place ; but gave direction for preparing the commis- commis-
sion for the treasury to the persons named before, the t^asur
and made the lord Ashley only one of the commis- Rppomted<
sioners, and a major part to make a quorum ; which
would quickly bring the government of the whole
business into the hands of those three who were de-
signed for it. And Ashley rather chose to be de-
graded, than to dispute it.

The king expected, that as soon as the ambassa- Negotia-
dors should meet at the Hague, a cessation would B? " d s a at

q in mind] Omitted in MS.
11 3



CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

16<>". be the first thing that would be agreed upon: and
"the French ambassadors did in the first place pro-
pose it, and in such a manner, as made it evident
that they depended upon it as a thing resolved
upon ; and their master had with their consent dis-
missed his own fleet, and theirs was yet in their
ports. Nor did the Dutch seem to refuse it ; but
The Dutch answered, " that the adjusting all things in order
fnlr'toT"" " to a cessation would require as much time as
cessation. would serve to finish the treaty, considering all
" material points were upon the matter already
" stated and agreed upon, the king having already
'* chosen the alternative :" and notwithstanding all
the earnestness used by the French ambassadors, no
other answer could be obtained as to a cessation ;
which, together with the supercilious behaviour of
the commissioners from Holland, made it apparent,
that they had no other mind at that time to peace,
than as they were compelled to it by France, that
was impatient to have it concluded. They would
not hear any mention for the redelivery of Pole-
roone, " which," they said, " the king of France had
" promised should not be demanded ;" and as little
for any recompense in money ; nor would suffer the
merchant-deputies from the English company to go
to Amsterdam, to confer with the East India com-
pany there for any composition. It quickly appear-
ed, that they had revenge in their hearts for their
last year's affront and damage at the Flie ; and De
Wit had often said, " that before any peace they
" would leave some such mark of their having been
" upon the English coast, as the English had left
" of their having been upon that of Holland. "

After the treaty was entered into, about the be-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 247

ginning of June, De Ruyter came with the fleet 1667.
out of the Wierings, and joining with the rest from The . it
the Texel sailed for the coast of England : and hav- tem P ts of

the Dutch

ing a fair wind, stood for the river of Thames ; up
which put the county of Kent into such an alarm, and cilat-
that all near the sea left their houses and fled into ld
the country. The earl of Winchelsea, who was
lord lieutenant of that county, was at that time am-
bassador at Constantinople, and the deputy lieute-
nants had all equal authority : so that no man had
power to command in that large county in so gene-
ral a distraction. Hereupon the king sent down
lieutenant general Middleton with commission to
draw all the train bands together, and to command
all the forces that could be raised : and he immedi-
ately went thither, and was very well obeyed, and
quickly drew all the train bands of horse and foot
to Rochester ; and other troops resorted to him
from the neighbour counties, all the people ex-
pressing a great alacrity in being commanded by
him.

There had been enough discourse all that year of
erecting a fort at Sheerness for the defence of the
river : and the king had made two journeys thither
in the winter, and had given such orders to the
commissioners of the ordnance for the overseeing
and finishing the fortifications, that every body be-
lieved that work done ; it having been the principal
defence and provision directed and depended upon,
(as hath been said before,) when the resolution had
been taken for the standing only upon the defence
for this summer. But whatever had been thought
or directed, very little had been done. There were
a company or two of very good soldiers there under

n 4



248 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

JM7. excellent officers; but the fortifications were r so
weak and unfinished, and all other provisions so en-
tirely wanting, that the Dutch fleet no sooner ap-
proached within a distance, but with their cannon
they beat all the works flat, and drove all the men
from the ground : which as soon as they had done,
with their boats they landed men, and seemed re-
solved to fortify and keep it.

This put the country into a flame, and the news
of it exceedingly disturbed the king. He knew the
consequence of the place, and how easily it might
have been secured, and was the more troubled that
it had been neglected : and with what loss soever,
it must be presently recovered out of those hands.
The general was immediately ordered to march to
Chatham, for the security of the navy, with such
troops of horse and foot as could be presently drawn
together out of the guards and from the neighbour
counties; and the city appeared very forward to
send such regiments of their train bands as should
be required. When the general came to Chatham,
he found Middleton in so good a posture, and so
good a body of men, that he had no apprehension
of any attempt the Dutch could make at land ; and
he writ very cheerful and confident letters to the
king and the duke, " that if the enemy should make
" any attempt, which he believed they durst not do,
" they would repent it. That he had put a chain
" over the river, which would hinder them from
" coming up : and if they should adventure to land
" any where, he would quickly beat them to their
" ships ;" as no doubt he had been very well able to
have done.

1 were] Nut in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 249

There was indeed no danger of their landing, and
they were too wise to think of it: their business
was in an element they had more confidence in and
more power upon. They had good intelligence how
loosely all things were left in the river : and there-
fore, as soon as the tide came to help them, they
stood full up s the river, without any consideration
of the chain, which their ships immediately brake
in pieces, and passed without the least pause ; there
being either no such device to be made that can ob-
struct such an enterprise, or that which was made
was so weak, that it was of no signification, but to
raise an unseasonable confidence in unskilful men,
that being disappointed must increase the confusion,
as it did. For all men were so confounded to see
the Dutch fleet advance over the chain, which they
looked upon as a wall of brass, that they knew not
what they were to do.

The general was of a constitution and temper so
void of fear, that there could appear no signs of
distraction in him : yet it was plain enough that he
knew not what orders to give. There were two or
three ships of the royal navy negligently, if not
treacherously, left in the river, which might have
been very easily drawn into safety, and could be of
no imaginable use in the place where they then were:
into one of those the general put himself, and in-
vited the young gentlemen who were volunteers to
accompany him ; which they readily did in great
numbers, only with pikes in their hands. But some
of his friends whispered to him, " how unadvised
" that resolution was, and how desperate, without

5 up] Omitted in MS.



250 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

liif>7. " possibility of success, the whole fleet of the enemy
~ *' approaching as fast as the tide would enable them. ''
And so he was prevailed with to put himself again
on shore : which except he had done, both himself
and two or three hundred gentlemen of the nobility
and prime gentry of the kingdom had inevitably pe-
rished ; for all those ships, and some merchantmen
laden and ready to put to sea, were presently in a
flame ; the Dutch, knowing that they could not
carry them off, giving order to burn them, the ge-
neral standing upon the shore, and not knowing what
remedy to apply to all this mischief. The people
of Chatham, which is naturally an army of seamen
and officers of the navy, who might and ought to
have secured all those ships, which they had time
enough to have done, were in distraction ; their chief
officers having applied all those boats and lighter
vessels which should have towed up the ships, to
carry away their own goods and household stuff, and
given l what they left behind for lost. And without
doubt, if the Dutch had prosecuted the present ad-
vantage they had, with that circumspection and cou-
rage that was necessary, they might have fired the
royal navy at Chatham, and taken or. destroyed all
the ships which lay higher in the river, and so fully
revenged themselves for what they had suffered at
the Flie : but they thought they had done enough,
and so made use of the ebb to carry them back
again.
Great am- But the noise of this, and the flame of the ships

sternation i i M i i* i i

in the city which were burned, made it easily believed in the
city of London, that the enemy had done all that

1 given] gave



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 251

they conceived they might have done : they thought 1667,
that they were landed in many places, and that their
fleet was come up as far as Greenwich. Nor was
the confusion there greater than it was in the court
itself: where they who had most advanced the war,
and reproached all them who had been or were
thought to be against it, " as men who had no pub-
" lie spirits, and were not solicitous for the honour
" and glory of the nation ;" and who had never spoken
of the Dutch but with scorn and contempt, as a na-
tion rather worthy to be cudgelled than fought with ;
were now the most dejected men that can be ima-
gined, railed very bitterly at those who had advised
the king to enter into that war, " which had already
" consumed so many gallant men, and would pro-
" bably ruin the kingdom," and wished " that a
" peace, as the only hope, were made upon any
" terms. " In a word, the distraction and consterna-
tion was so great in court and city, as if the Dutch
had not been only masters of the river, but had really
landed an army of one hundred thousand men.

They who remember that conjuncture, and were
then present in the galleries and privy lodgings at
Whitehall, whither all the world flocked with equal
liberty, can easily call to mind many instances of
such wild despair and even ridiculous apprehensions,
that I am willing to forget, and would not that the
least mention of them should remain : and if the
king's and duke's personal composure had not re-
strained men from expressing their fears, there
wanted not some who would have advised them to
have left the city. And there was a lord, who
would be thought one of the greatest soldiers in
Europe, to whom the custody of the Tower was com-



252 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1667. mitted, who lodging there only one night, declared,
~" that it was not tenable," and desired not to be
charged with it : and thereupon many, who had car-
ried their money and goods thither, removed them
from thence that they might be further from the
river. Nor did this unreasonable distemper pass
away, when it was known that the Dutch fleet had
not only left the river, but had taken away all their
men from Sheerness, which was a manifestation
very sufficient that they had no design upon the
land : but there remained still such a chagrin in the
minds of many, as if they would return again ; in
which they were confirmed, when they heard that
they were still upon the coasts, and gave the same
alarm now to Essex and Suffolk, as they had done
to Kent, not without making a show as if they
meant to attempt Harwich and Landguard v Point ;
which drew all the train bands of those counties to
the sea-side, and the duke of York went thither to
conduct them, if there should be occasion.

The king In this perplexity the king was not at ease, and
the less that every man took upon him to discourse
* ^ m ^ * ne distemper of the people generally over

prorogation. t ne kingdom, and to give him counsel what was to
be done : and some men had advised him to call the
parliament, which at the last session had been pro-
rogued to the 20th of October ; and it was now the
middle of June. And surely most discerning men
thought such a conjuncture so unseasonable for the
council of a parliament, that if it had been then sit-
ting, the most wholesome advice that could be given
would be to separate them, till that occasion should
be over, which could be best provided for by a more
v Landguard] Lunghorn



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 253

contracted council: however, not knowing else what lGf>7.
to do disposed the king to incline to that remedy.
And it being a current opinion, or rather an un-
questioned certainty, that upon a prorogation a par-
liament cannot be convened before the day, though
upon an adjournment it may ; they had brought Mr.
Prynne privately to the king to satisfy him, " that
" upon an extraordinary occasion he might do it ;"
and his judgment, which in all other cases he did
enough undervalue, very much confirmed him in
what he had a mind to.

In the beginning of the summer, when he had
resolved to have no fleet at sea, there were many
reasons which induced him to increase his forces at
land. And that he might do it without jealousy of
the people, he gave commission to three or four per-
sons of the nobility, of great fortunes and good
names, to raise regiments of foot, and to others for
troops of horse ; which was done at their own charge,
and with wonderful expedition : and upon their first
musters they all received one month's pay. Of
these levies some were sent to repossess Sheerness,
and extraordinary care was taken for the better ad-
vancement of those fortifications ; and others were
disposed to other posts upon the coast : but it was
in view, that upon the expiration of that month,
there must be new pay provided for those regiments
and troops. Then the train bands, which had been
drawn together, had continued for one month, which
was as long as the law required : and now they re-
quired, or were said to require, to be relieved or
dismissed, or that they might receive pay. There
were discontents and emulations upon command ;
and they who had usually professed, " that they



264 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

16C7. " would willingly serve the king in the offices of cor-
~" porals or sergeants, whatever command they for-
" merly had," now disputed all the punctilios, and
would not receive orders from any who had been
formerly in inferior offices". And all these way-
wardnesses were brought to the king, as matters of
the highest consequence, who found difficulty enough
in determining points of more importance.
The privy. They who for their own private designs desired

council con-
sulted about that the parliament might meet, and cared not in

the reas- . . .

g what humour they met, urged the king very impor-
" tunately, " that he would issue out a proclamation
" to summon them, as the only expedient to give
" himself ease, and to provide for all that was to be
" done :" and his majesty was most inclined to it,
and in truth resolved it ; though knowing that it
was contrary to the sense of many, he resolved to
debate it at the council. And there he told them,
" that they all saw the straits that he was in, the in-
" solence of the enemy, and the general distemper of
" the nation, which made it manifest that it was ne-
" cessary for him to have an army, that might be
" ready against any thing that might fall out. That
" he had no money, nor knew where to get any ;
" nor could imagine any other way to provide
" against the mischiefs which were in view, than by
" calling the parliament to come together, of which
" or any other expedient he was willing to receive
" their advice;" expressing so much of his own
sense, that it was plain enough that he thought that
remedy the best that could be applied. Three or
four of those who sat at the lower end of the board,

11 offices] office



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 255

and who were well enough known to have given 1667.
the counsel, and to be industrious that it might be
followed, enlarged themselves in the debate, " that
" the soldiers could not be kept together without
" money ; and they could not advise any other way
** to get money but by the convening the parliament,
" which they were confident might justly and regu-
" larly be done :" and they desired, " that they who
" were of another opinion would propose some other
" way how the king might get money. "

The chancellor discerned that the matter was
already concluded, what advice soever should be
given ; and that the three new commissioners of the
treasury, since they could find no way to procure
money, had been very importunate with the king to
try that expedient, and the more, because they well
knew that he was against it, he having not been at
all reserved upon several occasions in private dis-
courses, when they were present, to give many rea-
sons against it : and he knew as well, that they
would gladly make any use of any expressions which
might fall from him x , when the remembrance might
be applied to his prejudice. Yet his natural unwa-
riness in such cases with reference to himself, when
he thought his majesty's service concerned, to which
he did really believe the present advice would produce
much prejudice, prevailed with him to dissuade it.

He said, " he knew well upon what disadvantage The ci. an-

5 cellor op-

" he spake, and how unpopular a thing it was to poses it.
" speak against the convening the parliament in
" those straits, which seemed to be capable of no
" other remedy : yet since he thought the remedy

* from him] from them



256 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

16G7. " neither proper to the disease, nor that it could be
~ " applied in time, he could not concur with those
" who advised it. That most men who had any
" knowledge in the law did confess, that when the
" parliament stood prorogued to a certain day, the
" convening them upon a sooner day was very
doubtful ; and to him, upon all the disquisition he
" could make, it was very clear that it could not be
" done : and therefore he desired the judges might
" be consulted in that point, before any resolution
" should be taken. That the temper of both houses
" was well known ; and that it could not but be
" presumed, that when they came together, the first
" debate they would fall upon would be of the man-
" ner of their coming together, and whether they
" were in a capacity to act : and he doubted there
" would be very few who would be forward to pass
" an act in a season, when the validity of it might
" be questioned by those who had no mind to pay
" any obedience to it. And then if their meeting
" were only to confer together upon all occurrences,
" and they might presume of liberty to say what
" they had a mind to say, without power to conclude
" any thing ; it was well worth the considering, whe-
" ther, in so general a distemper such an assembly
' might not interrupt all other consultations and
" expedients, and yet propose none, and so increase
" the confusion. If the necessities were so urgent,
" that it was absolutely necessary that a parliament
" should be convened, and that which stood pro-
" rogued could not lawfully reassemble till the 20th
" of October, as he was confident it could not ;
" there was no question to be made, but that the
" king might lawfully by his proclamation presently



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 257

" dissolve the prorogued parliament, and send out 1667.
" his writs to have a new parliament, which might
" regularly meet a month before the prorogued par-
" liament could come together. " And many of the
council were of opinion, that it would most conduce
to his majesty's service to dissolve the one, and to
call another parliament.

This was an advice they believed no man had the
courage to make, and were sorry to find so many of
the opinion, which they had rather should have ap-
peared to be single. Many very warmly opposed
this expedient, magnified the affections and inclina-
tions of both houses : " and though there appeared
" some ill humour in them at their last being to-
" gether, and aversion to give any money for the
" present ; yet in the main their affections were
" very right for church and state. And that the
" king was never to hope to see a parliament better
" constituted for his service, or so many of the mem-
" bers at his disposal : but that he must expect that
" the presbyterians would be chosen in all places,
" and that they who were most eminent now for op-
" posing all that he desired would be chosen, and all
" they who were most zealous for his service would
" be carefully excluded ;" which was a fancy that
sunk very deep in the minds of the bishops, though
their best friends thought them like to find more
friends and a stronger support in any, than they would
have in that parliament. But the king quickly de-
clared his confidence in the parliament that was
prorogued, and his resolution not to dissolve it ;
which put an end to that debate. And the other
was again resumed, " what the king was to do to-
" wards the raising money ; or how he should be

VOL. III. S



258 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1 6(? 7. " able to maintain his army, if he should defer call-

" ing the parliament till the day upon which they

" were to assemble by the prorogation :" and all men
were to restrain their discourse to that point.

The old argumerit, " that there could be no other
*' way found out," was renewed, and urged with more
earnestness and confidence ; and that they who were
against it might be obliged to offer their advice
what other course should be taken : and this was
often demanded, in a manner not usual in that
place, as a reproach to the persons. His majesty
himself with some quickness was pleased to ask the
chancellor, " what he did advise. " To which he re-
plied, " that if in truth what was proposed was in
" the nature of it not practicable, or being practised
" could not attain the effect proposed, it ought to
** be laid aside, that men might unbiassed apply
" their thoughts to find out some other expedient.
" That he thought it very clear that the parlia-
" ment could not assemble, though the proclamation
" should issue out that very hour, within less than
" twenty days ; and that if they were met, and be-
" lieved themselves lawfully qualified to grant a
" supply of money, all men knew the formality of
" that transaction would require so much time, that
" money could not be raised time enough to raise an
" army, or to maintain that part of it that was
" raised, to prevent the landing of an enemy that
" was already upon the coast, and (as many thought
" or seemed to think) ready every day to make
" their descent : and yet the sending out a procla-
" niation for reassembling the parliament would in-
" evitably put an end to all other counsels. That
" for his part he did believe, that the Dutch had al-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 259

" ready satisfied themselves in the affront they had? 1667.

" given, and could not be in any condition to pur-

" sue it, or have men enough on board to make a

" descent, without the king's having notice of it ;

" and that the Dutch, without a conjunction with

" the French, had not strength for such an under-

" taking : and that the French had no such purpose

" his majesty had all the assurance possible, and that

" their fleet was gone far from the coast of Eng-

" land. And his majesty had reason to believe, that

" the present treaty would put an end to this war in

" a short time, though the power and artifice of De

" Wit had prevented a cessation.

" However, for the present support of those
" troops which were necessary to guard the coasts,
" since money could not be found for their present
" constant pay, without which free quarter could
*' not be avoided ; the only way that appeared to
" him to be practicable, and to avoid the last evil,
" would be, to write letters to the lieutenants and
" deputy lieutenants of those counties where the
" troops were obliged to remain, that they would
" cause provisions of all kinds to be brought into
" those quarters, that so the soldiers might not be
" compelled to straggle abroad to provide their own
" victual, which would end in the worst kind of
" free quarter : and that the like letters might be
" written to the neighbour counties, wherein no
" soldiers were quartered, to raise money by way of
" contribution or loan, which should be abated out
" of the next impositions, that so the troops might
" be enabled to stay and continue in their z posts

> had] had already z their] the

S 2



260 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1 667. " where they were, for defence of the kingdom ; in

"" " which those other counties had their share in the

" benefit, and without which they must themselves

" be exposed to the disorder of the soldiers, and

" possibly to the invasion of the enemy. "

It is very probable, that in the earnestness of this
debate, and the frequent interruptions which were
given, he might use that expression, (which was
afterwards objected against him,) " of raising con-
" tribution as had been in the late civil war. *'
Whatever it was he said, it was evident at the time
that some men were well pleased with it, as somewhat
they meant to make use of hereafter, in which his
innocence made him little concerned.

Thepariia- The conclusion was, though many of the lords
moned 8 " spake against it, and much the major part thought
it not counsellable ; that a proclamation should
forthwith issue out, to require all the members of
parliament to meet upon a day appointed in the be-
ginning of August, to consult upon the great affairs
of the kingdom : and this proclamation was pre-
sently issued accordingly.

The treaty All this time the treaty proceeded at Breda, as
fast as the insolent humour of the Dutch would suf-
fer it.
The French king declared himself much of-
fended with their proceedings at sea : and his am-
bassadors spake so loud, that the States gave order
to their deputies to bring the treaty to a conclusion ;
and sent such orders to De Ruyter, that there was
no more hostility of any moment ; only the fleet re-
mained at sea, that it might appear they were mas-
ters of it. It cannot be denied that the French am-
bassadors, except in what referred to Poleroone, be-
haved themselves as candidly as could be wished:



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 261

and it is probable, that the same reason which 1667.
moved the French to use all possible diligence to~
bring the treaty to an end, prevailed likewise with
the Dutch to use all the delays they could, that it
might be prolonged.

Though there was no war- declared, it had been
long notorious that Flanders would be invaded:
and it was as notorious, that there was no provision
made there towards a resistance or defence ; the
marquis of Castelle Roderigo, who came governor
thither with a great reputation, not making good
the expectation in the sagacity he was famed for,
nor offering at any levies of men, or mending fortifi-
cations, until the French army was upon the bor-
ders. Then he sent into England to press the king
to assist him with an army of horse and foot ; and
it easily appeared the nation would gladly have en-
gaged in that war, not being willing that Flanders
should be in the possession of France : but the king
was engaged not to give any assistance to the ene-
mies of France until the treaty should be ended,
which yet it was not. However, he suffered the
earl of Castlehaven, under pretence of recruiting a
regiment in Flanders which he had formerly, to
raise a body of one thousand foot, which he quickly
transported to Ostend.

The king of France a was impatient to march,
and yet desired the treaty might be first concluded,
that both himself and the king of England might be
at liberty to enter into such an alliance as they
should think proper for their interest : and the
Dutch, who had no mind that the expedition should

a of France] Not in MS.
s 3



262 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1667. be prosecuted, and as much feared the consequence
""of such an alliance, though they were not wise
enough to consider the right means to prevent it,
desired that the treaty might not be concluded till
The French the winter drew nearer. But the French quickly
Filnder. . put an end to that their hope by marching into the
heart of Flanders, and so giving them new matter
for their present consultations ; not without intima-
tion, " that if they would not finish the treaty, that
" king would conclude for what concerned himself:"
and this put an end to it. Yet there were some al-
terations of small importance in some articles of the
former treaty, besides that of Poleroone, which the
ambassadors would not consent to without further
knowledge of the king's pleasure: and so. one of
them (Mr. Henry Coventry) came to attend his ma
jesty, to give him an account of all particulars, and
receive his own final determination.

The king in the first place sent for the East India
company, and let them know, " that the Dutch
" would not consent to the former article for the re-
" delivery of Poleroone, nor give any recompense
" for it ; and that he was resolved not to depart
" from them b , and so release their right without
" their consent : and therefore that they should con*
" sider what would be for their good. " They an-
The East swered, " that they thought a peace to be so neces-
pan'y give" " sary for the kingdom, that they would not that
"hum to PO- " anv particular interest of theirs should give any in-
teiTuption to it :" and they acknowledged, " that
" if the war continued, they should in many respects
" be greater losers, than the redelivery of Poleroone

b them] him



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 263

" would repair; and that they would gladly sacrifice 1667.
" that pretence to the public peace. "

Upon which answer the ambassador made his re-
port of all the particulars which were consented to
on both sides in the treaty, and what remained yet
in suspense ; and made answer to all questions which
any of the council thought fit to ask. And the king
requiring him to deliver his own opinion upon his
observation, and " whether he believed, that if his
" majesty should positively insist upon what they
" had hitherto refused to consent to, the Dutch
" would choose to continue the war ; and whether
" the French would join with them in it :" he an-
swered, " that it was very evident that the Dutch
" did not at present desire the peace, otherwise than
" to comply with France and for fear of it ; and
" that France was obliged not to abandon them in
" the point of Poleroone, which the other would
" never part with, nor give any recompense for,
" though the French ambassadors had used all the
" arguments to persuade them to it. But if that
" were agreed, he was confident they would be com-
" pelled to consent to whatsoever was else of mo-
" ment. And that the French had used some
" threatening expressions, upon some insolent pro-
" positions made by the Dane, which they thought
" proceeded from the instigation of Holland. And
" that at his coming away, the French ambassadors
" had used great freedom with him, and advised in
<* what particulars which were yet unagreed they
" wished his majesty would not consent, and in
' which they could not serve him, but believed a
" time would come, in which he would be repaired
*' for those condescensions: in other particulars he

s 4



264 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1667. " should positively insist, at least with some little
- *' variation of expression ; in which he expressed
" both his own and the opinion of the other ambas-
" sador. "

And the whole being in this manner clearly
stated, the king required all the lords severally to
deliver their judgment what he was to do ; and
every man did deliver his opinion in more or fewer
words. And it may be truly said, that, though one
or two adorned their passion with some expressions
of indignation against the Dutch for their presump-
tion, and as if they c did believe that the parliament
would concur with the king in all things which
might vindicate his honour from their insolent de-
mands, the advice was upon the matter unanimous,
The privy- * that the ambassadors should immediately return,

council ad-

vises the " and conclude the peace upon those conditions

cuKhe " " which were stated at the board. " And he did

treaty. presently return : and all matters were, within few

days after his arrival, adjusted, and put into proper

ministerial hands for engrossment, and all forms and

The peace circumstances agreed upon for the proclamation of

the peace, and the day appointed for the proclaiming

thereof; and such forms of passes as should be given

on all sides to merchants' ships, (which would be im-

patient for trade before the days could be expired,)

in which all ships of war should be obliged to

take notice that the peace was proclaimed.

Tbe par- All this was done before the day of the parlia-

1 iament f



. t

ment's convening upon the king's proclamation: so
diateiy pro- that there being now no use of an army, and reason
ro$ued. enou gh to disband those regiments which had been

c they] he



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 265

raised towards it, his majesty thought it not reason- 1667.
able that they should enter upon the debate of any ~~
business, but be continued under the former proro-
gation to the day appointed ; and in this there ap-
peared not one person of a different opinion. And
so, upon the day, the king went to the house, and
told them, " that since the condition of his affairs
" was not so full of difficulty as it had been when
" he sent out his proclamation, and since many
" were of opinion, that there might be doubts arise
" upon the regualrity of their meeting ; he was con-
" tent to dismiss them till the 20th of October :"
and so they separated without any debate.

The public no sooner entered into this repose, The storm
than the storm began to arise that destroyed all the ^ ns to
prosperity, ruined the fortune, and shipwrecked all a & a i i ns e t n th r e
the hopes, of the chancellor, who had been the prin-
cipal instrument in the providing that repose. The
parliament, that had been so unseasonably called to-
gether from their business and recreations, in a sea-
son of the year that they most desired to be vacant,
were not pleased to be so soon dismissed : and very
great pains were taken by those, who were thought
to be able to do him the least harm, because they
were known to be his enemies, to persuade the
members of parliament, " that it was the chancellor
" only who had hindered their continuing together,
" and that he had advised the king to dissolve
" them ;" which exceedingly inflamed them.

And sir William Coventry was so far from being sir wiiiiam
reserved in his malice, that the very day that the i n clnse7thc
parliament was dismissed, after he had incensed "J e e l " 1 b e u r s s e of
them against the chancellor, in the presence of six of commons

against

or seven of the members, who were not all of the him.



266 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1667. same mind, he declared, "that if at their next meet-
~" ing, which would be within little more than two
" months, they had a mind to remove the chancellor
" from the court, they should easily bring it to
" pass :" of all which he had quickly information,
and had several other advertisements from persons
of honour, " that there was a strong combination
" entered into against him ;" and they d mentioned
some particulars to have been told the king concern-
ing him, which had exceedingly offended his majesty.
Ail which particulars, being without any colour or
ground of truth, he believed were inventions (though
not from those who informed him) only to amuse
him.

Yet he took an opportunity to acquaint the king
with it, who, with the same openness he had always
used, conferred with him about his present business,
but only of the business. He besought his majesty
to let him know, " whether he had received any in-
" formation that he had done or said such and such
" things," which he made appear to him to be in
themselves so incredible and improbable, that it
could hardly be in his majesty's power to believe
them 6 ; to which the king answered, ** that nobody
" had told him any such thing. " To which the
other replied, "that he did really think they had
" not, though he knew that they had bragged they
" had done so, and thereby incensed his majesty
" against him ; which they desired should be gene-
" rally believed. "

The truth is ; the chancellor was guilty of that
himself which he had used to accuse the archbishop

ttwjy] Omitted in MS. them] it



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 267

Laud of, that he was too proud of a good conscience. 1 667.

He knew his own innocence, and had no kind of ap- '

prehension of being publicly charged with any
crime. He knew well he had many enemies who
had credit with the king, and that they did him all
the ill offices they could : and he knew that the
lady's power and credit increased, and that she de-
sired nothing more than to remove him from his
majesty's confidence ; in which he never thought
her to blame, since she well knew that he employed
all the credit he had to remove her from the court.
But he thought himself very secure in the king's
justice : and though his kindness was much lessened,
he was confident his majesty would protect him
from being oppressed, since he knew his integrity ;
and never suspected that he would consent to his
ruin. He was in truth weary of the condition he
was in, and had in the last year undergone much
mortification ; and desired nothing more, than to be
divested of all other trusts and employments than
what concerned the chancery only, in which he
could have no rival, and in the administration
whereof he had not heard of any complaint : and
this he thought might have satisfied all parties ;
and had sometimes desired the king, " that he
" might retire from all other business, than that of
" the judicatory," for he plainly discerned he was
not able to contend with other struggles.

I cannot avoid in this place mentioning an acci- A P ar-

i i r- 11 i ' 11 ticuiar re-

dent that fell out in this time, and enlarge upon alljatingto

the circumstances thereof, which might otherwise Bucking
be passed over, but that it had an immediate JB" ^enl'the
fluence on the fate of the person who is so near his fate of thc

chancellor.

fall. The king had been very much offended with the



268 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1667. duke of Buckingham, who had behaved himself
"much worse towards him than could be expected
from his obligations and discretion, and had been in
truth the original cause of all the ill humour which
had been in both houses of parliament in the last
session ; after the end of which he went into the
country without taking his leave of the king, and
in several places spake with greater license of the
court and government, and of the person of the
king, than any other person presumed to do ; of all
which his majesty had intelligence and information,
and was at that time without doubt more offended
with him than with any man in England, and had
really great provocation to jealousy of his fidelity,
as well as of his respect and affection. The lord
Arlington, as secretary of state, had received several
informations of dangerous words spoken by him
against the king, and of his correspondencies with
persons the most suspected for seditious inclinations,
the duke having made himself very popular amongst
the levellers, and amongst them who clamoured for
liberty of conscience, which pretence he seemed very
much to cherish.

An account The king was very much awakened to be jealous
be- ^ ^* m besides his behaviour in the parliament, by
r. some informations he received from his own servants.
There was one Braythwaite, a citizen, who had
been a great confident of Cromwell and of the coun-
cil of state, a man of parts, and looked upon as hav-
ing a greater interest with the discontented party
than any man of the city. Upon the king's return
this man fled beyond the seas, and after near a
year's stay there came again to London, but re-
mained there as incognito, came not upon the ex-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 269

change, nor was seen in public, and returned again 1667.
into Holland; and so made frequent journeys back-""
ward and forward for several months, and then
came and resided publicly in the city. This being
taken notice of by sir Richard Browne, who was
major general of the city, upon whose vigilance the
king very much and very justly depended, and the
man being well known to him, he had long endea-
voured to apprehend him f , till he understood that
he was a servant to the duke of Buckingham, and
in great trust with him, as he was ; for the duke
had committed the whole managery of his estate to
him, and upon his recommendation had received
many other inferior servants to be employed under
him, all of the same leaven with him, and all noto-
rious for their disaffection to the church and state.
The major general, being one day to give the king
an account of some business, told him likewise of
this man, " as one as worthy to be suspected for all
" disloyal purposes, and as like to bring them to
" pass, as any 'man of that condition in England;"
and seemed to wonder, " that the duke would en-
" tertain such a person in his service. "

At that time the duke had by his diligence, and
those faculties towards mirth in which he excelled,
made himself very acceptable to the king ; though
many wondered that he could be so, considering
what the king himself knew of him : insomuch that
his majesty told him what he had been informed of
his steward, and how much he suffered in his repu-
tation for entertaining such servants. The duke
received the animadversion with all possible submis-

f him] Omitted in MS,



270 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1G67. v "' n am ' acknowledgment of the obligation, and

then enlarged upon the commendation of the man,

" of his great abilities, and the benefit he received
" by his service ;" and besought his majesty, '* that
" he would vouchsafe to hear him, for he believed
" he would give an account of the state of the city,
" and of many particulars which related to his ma-
jesty's service, better than most men could do. "
And the king shortly after supping at the duke's
house, he found an opportunity to present Mr.
Braythwaite to him, who was a man of a very good
aspect, which that people used not to have, and of
notable insinuation. He made the king a narration
of the whole course of his life, in which he did not
endeavour to make himself appear a better man
than he had been reported to be ; which kind of in-
genuity, as men call it, is a wonderful approach to-
wards being believed. He related " by what degrees,
" and in what method of conviction, he had expli-
" cated himself from all those ill principles in which
" he had been entangled : and that it had been a
" principal motive to him to embrace the opportunity
" of serving the duke, that he might totally retire
" from that company and conversation to which he
" had been most accustomed. And yet he thought
" he had so much credit with the chief of them, that
" they could never enter into any active combina-
'* tion, but he should have notice of it : and assured
" his majesty that nothing should pass of moment
" amongst that people, but his majesty should have
" very seasonable information of it, and that he
" would always serve him with great fidelity. " In
fine, the king was well satisfied with his discourse,
and often afterwards upon the like opportunities



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 271

conferred with him, and believed him to be well ]G67.
disposed to do him any service.

During the last session of parliament, in which
the duke carried himself so disrespectfully to the
king, this man found an opportunity to get access
to his majesty, which he was willing to give him ;
when he said, " that he thought it his duty, and ac-
" cording to his obligation, to give his majesty an
" account of what he had lately observed, and of his
" own resolutions. " He told him, " that his lord
" was of late very much altered, and was fallen into
" the acquaintance and conversation of some men
" of very mean condition, but of very desperate in-
" tendons ; with whom he used to meet at unseason-
" able hours, and in obscure places, where persons
" of quality did not use to resort ; and that he
" frequently received letters from them : all which
" made him apprehend that there was a design on
" foot, which, how unreasonable soever, the duke
" might be engaged in. And for these and other
" reasons, and the irregular course of his life, he was
" resolved to withdraw himself from his service :
" and that he hoped, into what extravagancies so-
" ever the duke should cast himself, his majesty
" would retain a good opinion of him, who would
" never swerve from his affection and duty. "

The information and testimony, which the lord Ar-
lington brought to the king shortly after this adver-
tisement, made the greater impression ; and there
were many particulars in the informations that could
not be suspected to be forged. And it appeared that
there was a poor fellow, who had a poorer lodging
about Tower-hill, and professed skill in horoscopes,
to whom the duke often repaired in disguise in the



278 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1 667. night : and the lord Arlington had caused that fel-
low to be apprehended, and his pockets and his
chamber to be searched ; where were found several
letters to the duke of Buckingham, one or two
whereof were in his pocket sealed and not sent,
and the rest copies, and one original letter from the
duke to him, in all which there were many unusual
expressions, which were capable of a very ill inter-
pretation, and could not bear a good one. This
man and some others were sent close prisoners to
the Tower, where the lord Arlington and two other
privy counsellors, by the king's order, took their se-
veral examinations, and confronted them with those
witnesses, who accused them and justified their ac-
cusations ; all which were brought to the king.

And then his majesty was pleased to acquaint the
chancellor with all that had passed, who to that
minute had not the least imagination of any parti-
cular relating to it : nor had he any other prejudice
to the person of the duke, (for he behaved himself
towards him with more than ordinary civility,) than
what was necessary for any man to have upon ac-
count of the extravagancy of his life ; and which he
could not be without, upon what he had often re-
ceived from the duke himself upon his own know-
ledge. The king now shewed him all those examin-
ations and depositions which had been taken ; and
that letter to the fellow, " which," his majesty said,
" he knew to be every word the duke's own hand ;"
and the letters to the duke from the fellow, which
still gave him the style of prince, and mentioned
what great things his stars promised to him, and
that he was the darling of the people, who had set
their hearts and affections and all their hopes upon



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 273

his highness, with many other foolish and some fus- ice/.
tian expressions. His majesty told him in what"
places the duke had been since he left London ;
" that he stayed few days in any place ; and that he
" intended on such a day, that was to come, to be in
" Staffordshire at the house of sir Charles Wolsely,"
a gentleman who had been of great eminency in
Cromwell's council, and one of those who had been
sent by the house of commons to persuade him to
accept the crown with the title of king. Upon the
whole matter his majesty asked him, " what way
" he was to proceed against him :" to which he an-
swered, " that he was first to be apprehended ; and
" when he should be in custody and examined, his
" majesty would better judge which way he was to
" proceed against him. "

Upon further consideration with the chancellor The kins

. _ , MI issues out

and lord Arlington and others ot the council, the his warrant
king sent a sergeant at arms, with a warrant under |, e nd Wm.
his sign manual, " to apprehend the duke of Buck-
" ingham, and to bring him before one of the secre-
" taries of state, to answer to such crimes as should
" be objected against him ;" or to that purpose. The
sergeant made a journey into Northamptonshire,
where he was informed the duke was&: but still,
when he came to the house where he was said to
be, it was pretended that he was gone from thence
some hours before ; by which he found that he had
notice of his business. And therefore he concealed
himself, and appointed some men to watch and inform
themselves of his motions, it being generally reported
that he would be at the house of the earl of Exeter

K was] Omitted in MS.
VOL. III. T



274 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1667. at such a time. And notice was given him, that he
~ was then in a coach with ladies going to that house :
upon which he made so good haste, that he was in
view of the coach, and saw the duke alight out of
the coach, and lead a lady into the house ; upon
which the door of the court was shut before he
could get to it. He knocked loudly at that and
other doors that were all shut ; so that he could not
get into the house, though it were some hours be-
fore sunset in the month of May. After some hours'
attendance, one Mr. Fairfax, who waited upon the
duke of Buckingham, came to the door, and without
opening it asked him, " what he would have :" and
he answered, " that he had a message to the duke
" from the king, and that he must speak with him ;"
to which he replied, " that he was not there, and
" that he should seek for him in some other place. "
The sergeant told him, " that he saw him go into
" the house ; and that if he might not be admitted
" to speak with him, he would require the sheriff
" of the county to give him his assistance :" upon
which the gentleman went away, and about half an
hour after returned again, and threatened the ser-
geant so much, after he had opened the door, that
the poor man had not the courage to stay longer ;
but returned to the court, and gave a full relation
in writing to the secretary of the endeavours he had
used, and the affronts he had received.
He is re- Why all the particular circumstances of this af-

iimvcii from *

an hi* em- fair are so punctually related will appear anon. The

ployineuU.

king was so exceedingly offended at this carriage
and behaviour of the duke, that he made relation of
it to the council-board, and publicly declared, " that
" he was no longer of that number," and caused his



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 275

name to be left out in the list of the counsellors, and icG7.
" that he was no longer a gentleman of his bed-
" chamber," and put the earl of Rochester to wait
in his place. His majesty likewise revoked that
commission by which he was constituted lord lieu-
tenant of the east riding in Yorkshire, and granted
that commission to the earl of Burlington : so that
it was not possible for his majesty to give more
lively instances of his displeasure against any man,
than he had done against the duke. And at theAprocia-
same time, with the advice of the board, a pro- apprehend-
clamation issued out for his apprehension, and in- inghun '
hibiting all persons to entertain, receive, or conceal
him. Upon which he thought it fit to leave the
country, and that he should be less discovered in
London, whither he resorted, and had many lodg-
ings in several quarters of the city. And though
his majesty had frequent intelligence where he was,
and continued advertisements of the liberty he took in
his discourses of his own person, and of some others,
of which he was no less sensible ; yet when the ser-
geant at arms, and others employed for his appre-
hension, came where he was known to have been
but an hour before, he was gone from thence, or so
concealed there that he could not be found : and in
this manner he continued sleeping all the day, and
walking from place to place in the night, for the
space of some months.

At last, being advertised of renewed instances of
the king's displeasure, and that it every day in-
creased upon new intelligence that he received of
his behaviour, he grew weary of the posture he was
in, and employed several persons to move the king
on his behalf; for he was informed that the king

T 2



276 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1667. resolved to proceed against him for his life, and
The duke that his estate was begged and given. Upon this
r one n ight he sent his secretary, Mr. Clifford, to the



to interpose chancellor, with whom he had never entered into

in his be- .

hmif. any dispute, with some compliments and expressions
of confidence in his friendship. He professed "great
" innocence and integrity in all his actions with re-
" ference to the king, though he might have been
" passionate and indiscreet in his words ; that there
" was a conspiracy against his life, and that his es-
" tate was granted or promised to persons who had
" begged it :" and in conclusion he desired " that he
" would send him his advice what he should do, but
" rather, that he would permit him to come to him
" in the evening to his house, that he might confer
" with him. "

The chsn- '. The chancellor answered his secretary, who was
. wel1 known to him, " that he might not confer with
" him till he rendered himself to the king ; that he
" was confident, having seen testimony enough to
" convince him, that the duke was not innocent ;
" and that he had much to answer for disrespectful
" mention of the king, which would require much
" acknowledgment and submission : but that he did
" not know that his crimes were of that magnitude
" as would put his life into danger ; and that he
" was most confident that there was no conspiracy
" to take that from him, except his faults were of
" another nature than they yet appeared to be ;
" and which no conspiracy, which he need not fear,
" could deprive him of. And he did not believe
" that there had been any attempt to beg his estate :
" but he was sure there had not been, nor could
" be, any grant of it to any man, which must have



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 277

" passed by the great seal. " He did advise him, 1667.
and desired him to follow his advice, " that if he did ~~
" know himself innocent as to unlawful actions and
" designs, and that his fault consisted only in indis-
" creet words, as he seemed to confess ; he would
" no longer aggravate his offence by contemning
" his warrants, which he would not be long able to
" avoid, but deliver himself into the custody of the
" lieutenant of the Tower, which he was at liberty
" by the proclamation to do, and send then a petition
" to the king, that he might be heard: and that when
" he had done this, he would be ready and willing
" to do him all the offices which would consist with
" his duty. "

And the next day he gave his majesty a particu-
lar account of the message which he had received,
and of the answer which he had returned ; which
his majesty approved, and shewed him a letter that
he had received from the duke that morning, which
seemed to have been written after his secretary
had returned from the chancellor. The letter con-
tained a large profession of his innocence, and
complaint of the power of his enemies, and a very
earnest desire " that his majesty would give him
" leave to speak with him, and then dispose of
" him as he pleased ;" to which his majesty had
answered to the person who brought the letter,
who, as I remember, was sir Robert Howard, " that
" the duke need not fear the power of any ene-
" mies, but would be sure to have justice, if he
" would submit to it. "

But his majesty in his discourse seemed to be as The king
weary of the prosecution, as the duke was of thefy 7thc
concealing himself to avoid it, and to have much P rosecutlon -

T 3



278 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

l<>67. apprehension of his interest and power in the parlia-
~~ ment ; and to be troubled that the principal witness,
upon whose testimony he relied, was at that h time
sick of the smallpox, and in danger of death, and
that another retracted part of that evidence that he
had given. In a word, his majesty appeared less
angry than he had been, and willing that an end
should be put to the business without any public
prosecution. To which the chancellor made no
other answer, than " that no advice could be given
" with preservation of his majesty's dignity, till the
" duke rendered himself into the hand of justice :"
which he was very unwilling to do, and sent again
to the chancellor by sir Robert Howard, to press
him, " that he might be admitted first to the king's
" presence, and then sent to the Tower. " The
other told him, " that if the king were inclined to
" admit him in that manner, he would dissuade him
" from it, as a thing dishonourable to him after ^so
" long a contest ;" and repeated the same to him
that he said formerly to Mr. Clifford : nor could he
be persuaded by any others (for others did speak to
him to the same purpose) to recede a tittle from
what he had insisted upon, " that he should put
" himself in the Tower. " In 1 all which he still gave
the king a faithful account of every word that pass-
ed: for he knew well that the lord Arlington endea-
voured to persuade the king, " that the chancellor
" favoured the duke, and desired that he should be
" at liberty ;" when at the same time he used all
the ways he could to have it insinuated to the duke's
friends, " that he knew nothing of the business, but

11 that] Omitted in MS. j In] Of



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 279

" that the whole prosecution was made by the infor- 1 667.
" mation and advice of the chancellor. "



In the end, the duke was persuaded to render The duke
himself to the Tower: and from thence he sent a ? { en
petition to the king, who presently appeared very
well k inclined to give over any further prosecution ;
which alteration all men wondered at, nor could
any man imagine the ground or reason of it. For
though the principal witness was dead, as the lord
Arlington declared he was, and that so much could
not be proved as at the first discovery was reason-
ably suspected ; yet the meanness and vileness of
the persons with whom he kept so familiar corre-
spondence, the letters between them which were
ready to be produced, the disrespectful and scandal-
ous discourses which he often held concerning the
king's person, and many other particulars which had
most inflamed the king, and which might fully have
been proved, would have manifested so much vanity
and presumption in the duke, as must have lessen-
ed his credit and reputation with all serious men,
and made him worthy of severe censure. But whe-
ther the king thought not fit to proceed upon the
words and scandalous discourses, which he thought
would more disperse and publish the scandals ; or
whether he did really believe that it would disturb
and obstruct all his business in parliament ; or what
other reason soever prevailed with his majesty, as
without doubt some other there were : his majesty 1
was very impatient to be rid of the business, and
would have been easily persuaded to have given pre-

k well] Not In MS. ' liis majesty] but his majesty

T 4



280 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1667. sent order for setting the duke at liberty, and so to



silence all further discourse. But he was persuaded,
" that that would most reflect upon his own honour,
" by making it believed, that there had been in truth
" a foul conspiracy against the person of the duke,
" which would give him more credit in the parlia-
" ment and every where else ;" for the king had not
yet, with all his indulgence, a better opinion of his
affection and fidelity than he had before.
He is ex- i n conclusion ; it was resolved, " that the lieute-

amined at

the couucii- " nant of the Tower should bring the duke of Buck-
" ingham to the council chamber, his majesty being
" present ; and there the attorney and solicitor gene-
" ral should open the charge that was against him,
" and read all the examinations which had been
" taken, and the letters which had passed between
" them :" all which was done. And the duke deny-
ing " that he had ever written to that fellow, though
" he knew him well, and used to make himself merry
" with him," the letter was produced (which the
king and the lord Arlington, who both knew his
hand well, made no doubt to be his hand) and de-
livered to the duke ; who, as soon as he cast his eye
upon it, said, " it was not his hand, but he well
" knew whose it was. " And being asked whose
hand it was, he said, " it was his sister's, the duchess
" of Richmond, with whom," he said, " it was known
" that he had no correspondence. " Whereupon the
king called for the letter, and, having looked upon
it, he said, " he had been mistaken," and confessed
" that it was the duchess's hand ;" and seemed much
out of countenance upon the mistake: though the
letter gave still as much cause of suspicion, for it



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 281

was as strange that she should write to such a fel- 1667.
low in a style very obliging, and in answer 1 to a let-~
ter ; so that it seemed very reasonable still to be-
lieve, that she might have written it upon his desire
and dictating.

The duke denied most of the particulars con-
tained in the examinations : and for the other let-
ters which had been written to him by the fellow
who was in the Tower, (whereof one was found in
his pocket sealed to be sent to the duke, and the
others were copies of others which had been sent ;
and the witness who was dead had delivered one of
them into the duke's own hand, and related at large
the kindness he expressed towards the man, and the
message he sent to him by him,) he denied that he
had ever received those letters ; but acknowledged,
" that the man came often to him, and pretended
" skill in horoscopes, but more in distillations,
" in which the duke delighted and exercised him-
" self, but looked upon the fellow as cracked in his
" brain, and fit only to be laughed at. " When the The king
duke was withdrawn, the king declared, " that hej"^^
" had been deceived in being confident that the let- his defence -
" ter had been written by the duke, which he now
" discerned not to be his hand, and he knew as well
" to have been written by the duchess ;" and there-
upon seemed to think that there was nothing else
worth the examining : and so order was given to set
the duke at liberty, who immediately went to his
own house, and went not in some days afterwards to
the court.

About this time, or in a few days afterwards, a

1 in answer] being in answer



282 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1 667. great affliction befell the chancellor in his domestics,
The chan- wn ' c ^ prepared him to bear all the unexpected acci-
bis'wife *" dents * na * suddenly succeeded that more insupport-
able misfortune. His wife, the mother of all his
children, and his companion in all hjs banishment,
and who had made all his former calamities less
grievous by her company and courage, having made
a journey to Tunbridge for her health, returned
from thence without the benefit she expected, yet
without being thought by the physicians to be in
any danger ; and within less than three days died :
which was so sudden, unexpected, and irreparable a
loss, that he had not courage to support ; which no-
body wondered at who knew the mutual satisfac-
tion and comfort they had in each other. And he
might possibly have sunk under it, if his enemies
had not found out a new kind of consolation to
him, which his friends could never have thought
of.

Within few days after his wife's death, the king

vouchsafed to come to his house to condole with him,

The duke and used many gracious expressions to him : yet

bythek! ng within less than a fortnight the duke (who was sel-



a ^ay without doing him the honour to see
to resign, him) came to him, and with very much trouble told
him, " that such a day, that was past, walking with
" the king in the park, his majesty asked him how
" the chancellor did : to which his highness had
" made answer, that he was the most m disconsolate
" person he ever saw n ; and that he had lamented
" himself to him not only upon the loss of his wife,
" but out of apprehension that his majesty had of late

m most] Omitted in MS. " saw] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 283
"withdrawn his countenance from him: to which 1667.



" his majesty replied, that he wondered he should"
" think so, but that he would speak more to him of
" that subject the next day. And that that morn-
" ing his majesty had held a long discourse with
" him, in which he told him, that he had received
" very particular and certain intelligence, that when
" the parliament should meet again, they were re-
" solved to impeach the chancellor, who was grown
" very odious to them , not only for his having op-
" posed them in all those things upon which they
" had set their hearts, but that they had been in-
" formed that he had proposed and advised their dis-
" solution ; which had enraged them to that degree,
" that they had taken a resolution as soon as they
" came together again to send up an impeachment
" against him ; which would be a great dishonour
" to his majesty, and obstruct all his affairs, nor
" should he be able to protect him or divert them :
" and therefore that it would be necessary for his
" service, and likewise for the preservation of the
" chancellor, that he should deliver up the seal to
" him. All which he desired the duke" (who con-
fessed that he had likewise received the same adver-
tisement) " to inform him of : and that the chancel-
" lor himself should choose the way and the manner
" of delivering up the seal, whether he would wait
" upon the king and give it into his own hand, or
" whether the king should send a secretary or a
" privy counsellor for it. " When the duke had said
all that the king had given him in charge, he de-
clared himself "to be much unsatisfied with the

" them] linu



284 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1 667. " king's resolution ; and that : ' though he had re-

~ " ceived the same advertisement, and believed that

there was a real combination and conspiracy

" against him, yet he knew the chancellor's inno-

" cence would not be frighted with it. "

The chancellor was indeed as much surprised
with this relation, as he could have been at the
sight of a warrant for his execution. He told the
duke, " that he did not wonder that the king and
" his highness had been informed of such a resolu-
" tion ; for that they who had contrived the conspi-
" racy, and done all they could to make it prevalent,
" could best inform his majesty and his highness of
" what would probably fall out. " And thereupon
he informed the duke " of what had passed at the
" day of the last prorogation, and the discourse and
" promise sir William Coventry had made to them,
" if they had a mind to be rid of the chancellor :
" but," he said, " that which only afflicted him was,
" that the king should have no better opinion of his
", innocence and integrity, than to conclude that
such a combination must ruin him. And he was
" more troubled to find, that the king himself had so
" terrible an apprehension of their 1 power and their 1 "
u purposes, as if they might do any thing they had
" a mind to do. He did not believe that he was so
" odious to the parliament as he was reported to
" be ; if he were, it was only for his zeal to his ma-
" jesty's service, and his insisting upon what his ma-.
" jesty had resolved : but he was confident that
" when his enemies had done all that their malice
" could suggest against him, it would appear that

' that] Not in MS. 1 their] the r their] the



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 285

" the parliament was not of their mind. He wished i G67.
" that he might have the honour to speak with the"
" king, before he returned any answer to his com-
" mands. " The duke was pleased graciously to re-
ply, " that it was the advice he intended to give
" him, that he should desire it ; and that he doubted
" not but that he should easily prevail with the king
" to come to his house, whither he had used so fre-
" quently to come, and where he had been so few
" days before :" and at this time the chancellor was
not well able s to walk ; besides that it was against
the common rules of decency to go so soon out of
his house. When the duke desired the king, that
he would vouchsafe to go to Clarendon-house, his
majesty very readily consented to it ; and said, " he
" would go thither the next day. " But that and
more days passed ; and then he told the duke, " that
" since he resolved to take the seal, it would riot be
" so fit for him to go thither ; but he would send
" for the chancellor to come to his own chamber in
" Whitehall, and he would go thither to him. "

In the mean time it began to be the discourse of
the court : and the duchess, from whom the duke
had yet concealed it, came to be informed of it ;
who presently went to the king with some passion ;
and the archbishop of Canterbury and the general Man x i' er -

sonsofemi-

accompanied her, who all besought the king not to nence in-
take such a resolution. And many other of the hls'behaif.
privy-council, with none of whom the chancellor had
spoken, taking notice of the rumour, attended the
king with the same suit and advice. To all whom
his majesty answered, " that what he intended was

s not well able] not only not well able



286 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1067. " for his good, and the only way to preserve him. "
~ He held longer discourse to the general, " that he
" did believe by what his brother had told him, of
" the extreme agony the chancellor was in upon the
" death of his wife, that he had himself desired to
" be dismissed from his office ;" and bade the general
" go to him, and bid him come the next morning
" to his own chamber at Whitehall, and the king
" would come thither to him. " And the general
came to him with great professions of kindness,
which he had well deserved from him, gave him
a relation of all that had passed with the king, and
concluded, " that what had been done had been
" upon mistake ; and he doubted not, but that upon
" conference with his majesty all things would be
" well settled again to his content ;" which no doubt
he did at that time believe as well as wish.
The chan- Upon Monday, the 26th of August, about ten of
tends the the clock in the morning, the chancellor went to his
Whitehall, chamber in Whitehall, where he had not been many
minutes, before the king and duke by themselves
came into the room. His majesty looked very gra-
ciously upon him, and made him sit down ; when
conference the other acknowledged " the honour his majesty
them? " " had done him, in admitting him into his presence
" before he executed a resolution he had taken. "
He said, " that he had no suit to make to him, nor
" the least thought to dispute with him, or to divert
" him from the resolution he had taken ; but only
" to receive his determination from himself, and
" most humbly to beseech him to let him know
" what fault he had committed, that had drawn this
" severity upon him from his majesty. " The king
told him, " he had not any thing to object against



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 287

" him ; but must always acknowledge, that he had 1 667.
" always served him honestly and faithfully, and ~
" that he did believe that never king had a better
" servant, and that he had taken this resolution for
" his good and preservation, as well as for his own
" convenience and security ; and that he had verily
" believed that it had been upon his consent and
" desire. " And thereupon his majesty entered upon
a relation of all that had passed between him and
the duke, and " that he really thought his brother
" had concurred with him in his opinion, as the
" only way to preserve him. " In that discourse the
duke sometimes positively denied to have said some-
what, and explained other things as not said to the
purpose his majesty understood, or that he ever im-
plied that himself thought it fit.

The sum of what his majesty said was, " that he
" was most assured by information that could not
" deceive him, that the parliament was resolved, as
" soon as they should come together again, to im-
" peach the chancellor ; and then that his innocence
" would no more defend and secure him against
" their power, than the earl of Strafford had de-
" fended himself against them : and," he said, " he
" was as sure, that his taking the seal from him at this
" time would so well please the parliament, that his
" majesty should thereby be able to preserve him,
" and to provide for the passage of his own business,
" and the obtaining all that he desired. " He said,
" he was sorry that the business had taken so much
" air, and was so publicly spoken of, that he knew
" not how to change his purpose ;" which he seemed
to impute to the passion of the duchess, that had
divulged it.



288 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

Ifi67. The chancellor told him, " that he had not con-
""" tributed to the noise, nor had imparted it to his
" own children, till they with great trouble informed
" him, that they heard it from such and such per-
" sons," whom they named, " with some complaint
" that it was concealed from them : nor did he then
" come in hope to divert him from the resolution he
" had taken in the matter itself.