No More Learning

" than it would be when it was once executed;
~~ " which would put a final end to all debates, and all
" would be forgotten. "

The chancellor desired his majesty to believe,
" that he would endeavour, by all the ways he
" could devise, to persuade the queen to submit to
" his pleasure, because it is his pleasure ; and that
" he would urge some arguments to her, which he
" could not himself answer ; and therefore he was
" not without hope that they might prevail. But
" he desired him likewise to believe, that he had
" much rather spend his pains in endeavouring to
" convert his majesty from pursuing his resolution,
" which he did in his conscience believe to be un-
" just, than in persuading her majesty to comply
" with it, which yet he would very heartily do. "
He desired him " to give him leave to put him in
" mind of a discourse his majesty had held with
" him many years ago, upon an occasion that he
" had administered by telling him what his father,
" the late king, had said to him : that he had great
" reason to acknowledge it due r to God's immediate
" blessing, and in truth to his inspiration, that he
" continued firm in his religion : for though his fa-
" ther had always taken pains himself to inform and
*' instruct him, yet he had been so much deceived
" by others that he put about him when he was
" young, a company of the arrantest knaves and pu-
" ritans" (they were his own words) " that could be
" found in the two kingdoms ; whereof he named
" two or three, who were enemies to the church,
" and used to deride all religion. That when he had

r due] Not in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 187

" related this discourse accidentally of his late ma- 1662.
" jesty, the king replied, that if it should please God ~~
" ever to give him a wife and children, he would
*' make choice of such people to be about both in
" all places of near trust, who in their natures and
" manners, and if it were possible in their very hu-
" incurs, were such as he wished his wife and chil-
" dren should be ; for he did believe that most
" young people (and it may be elder) were upon
" the matter formed by those whom they saw con-
" tinually and could not but observe. " The king
answered with some quickness, "that he remem-
" bered the discourse very well, and should think
" of it ; but that the business which he had com-
" mended to him must be done, and without de-
" lay. "

When the chancellor was admitted to the queen,
he presumed with all plainness to blame her " for
" the illimited passion with s which she had treated
" the king, and thereby provoked him to greater in-
" dignation than she could imagine, or in truth sus-
" tain :" and begged *, " that for her own sake she
" would decline and suppress such distempers, which
" could have no other effect, than in making the
" wound incurable ; which it would do, in a very
" little time more, inevitably, and reduce all her
" faithful servants to an incapacity of serving her. "
She acknowledged with tears, " that she had been in
" too much passion, and said somewhat she ought
" not to have said, and for which she would wil-
" lingly ask the king's pardon upon her knees ;

s with] in ' begged] Not in MS.



188 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1662. " though his manner of treating her had wonder-
~~" fully surprised her, and might be some excuse for
" more than ordinary commotion. That she prayed
" to God to give her patience, and hoped she should
" be no more transported with the like passion upon
" what provocation soever. "

Then he entreated, " that he might find some
" effect of that her good resolution, in permitting
" him to enlarge upon the argument he was obliged
" to discourse to her ; and that if he offered any
" humble advice, it should be such as he was most
" confident would prove for her benefit, and such as
" he would himself submit to if he were in her con-
" dition. " He told her, " he came not to justify
" and defend the proposition that had been made to
" her concerning the lady, as a just or a reasonable
" proposition ; he had not dissembled his own opin-
" ion as to either, and when he should now insist
" upon it again, which he must do, he could not but
" confess that it was a very hard injunction, not to
" be yielded to without some reluctancy :" but he
besought her to tell him, " whether she thought it
" in her power to divert it ; or that it was not in
" the king's power to impose it upon her. "

She answered, " she knew it was in her own
" power to consent or not to consent to it ; and that
" she could not despair, but that the king's justice
" and goodness might divert him from the prosecu-
" tion of a command so unreasonable in him, and so
" dishonourable to her. She would not dispute the
" king's power, what it might impose, being sure
" that she could not rescue herself from it : but,"
she said, " nobody knew better than he, whether the



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 189
king was obliged to leave the choice of her own 1652.



" servants to herself; and if it were otherwise, she
" had been deceived. "

He told her, " that she had and would always en-
" joy that privilege : but that it was always under-
" stood in conditions of that nature, that as the hus-
" band would not impose a servant, against whom
" just exceptions could be made ; so it was pre-
" sumed, that no wife would refuse to receive a ser-
'* vant, that was esteemed and commended by her
" husband. That he did assure her, upon as much
" knowledge as he was capable to have in affairs of
" such a nature, that the king would exact an entire
" conformity to his pleasure in this particular ; and
" then the question would only be, whether it would
" be better that she conform herself with alacrity
" to an obedience, with those circumstances which
" might be obliging and meritorious on her part ; or
" that it should be done without her consent, and
" with all the repugnancy she could express, which
" could only be in angry words and ungracious
" circumstances, which would have a more bitter
" operation in her own breast and thoughts, than
" any where else : and therefore he did very impor-
" tunately advise her to submit to that cheerfully,
" that she could not resist ; which if she should not
" do, and do out of hand, she would too late re-
pent. "

To which she replied with great calmness, " that
" it may be worse could not fall out than she ex-
" pected ; but why she should repent the not giving
" her consent, she could not apprehend, since her
" conscience would not give her leave to consent:"
which when she saw him receive with a face of



190 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1662. trouble and wonder, which it was his misfortune
~ and weakness never to be able to conceal or dissem-
ble, she continued her discourse, and said, " she
" could not conceive how any body could, with a
" good conscience, consent to what she could not
" but suppose would be an occasion and opportunity
" of sin. " To which he suddenly replied, " that he
" now understood her ; and that she ought to have
" no such apprehension, but to believe the profes-
" sions the king made, of the sincerity whereof she
" would hereby become a witness; and if there
" should be any tergiversation, the opportunity,
" which she fancied, would be more frequent at a
" distance than by such a relation, which nothing
" but a resolved innocence could make desirable by
" either party. " To which he added, " that he
" thought her majesty had too mean and low an
" opinion u of her person and her parts, if she thought
" it could be in the power of any other lady to de-
" prive her of the interest she had a right to, if she
" did all that became her to retain it ; and which in
" that case she could not lose but by the highest
" fraud and perjury, which she could not justly en-
" tertain the suspicion of. "

There cannot be a greater patience and intent-
ness of hearing, than the queen manifested during
the time of his discourse, sometimes seeming not
displeased, but oftener by a smile declaring that she
did not believe what he said : and in conclusion, in
few words declared, " that the king might do what
" he pleased, but that she would x not consent to it ;"
and pronounced it with a countenance, as if she

" had too mean and low an lower opinion
opinion] had a meaner and a x would] could



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 191

both hoped and believed, that her obstinacy would 1662.

in the end prevail over the king's importunity : and

it is very probable, that she had advice given her

to that purpose. The chancellor concluded with

telling her, " that he would give her no more trouble

" upon this particular : that he was sorry he had not

" credit enough to prevail with her majesty in a

" point that would have turned so much to her be-

" nefit ; and that she would hereafter be sorry for

" her refusal. " And when he had given the king

a faithful account of all that had passed ; and " that

st he believed them both to be very much to blame,

" and that that party would be most excusable who

" yielded first ;" he made it his humble suit, " that His endea -

vours prove

" he might be no more consulted with, nor employed uns
" in an affair in which he had been so unsuccessful. " "

The king came seldom into the queen's company,
and when he did he spake not to her ; but spent his
time in other divertisements, and in the company of
those who made it their business to laugh at all
the world, and who were as bold with God Almighty
as with any of his creatures. He persevered in all
his resolutions without any remorse ; directed a day
for all the Portugueses to be embarked, without as-
signing any considerable thing of bounty to any of
them, or vouchsafing to write any letter to the king
or queen of Portugal of the cause of the dismission
of them. And this rigour prevailed upon the great
heart of the queen, who had not received any money
to enable her to be liberal to any of those, who had
attended her out of their own country, and pro-
mised themselves places of great advantage in her
family : and she earnestly desired the king, " that
" she might retain some few of those who were



192 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1662. " known to her, and of most use, that she might not
~ " be wholly left in the hands of strangers ;" and em-
ployed others to make the same suit to the king on
her behalf. Whereupon the countess of Penalva, who
had been bred with her from a child, and who, by
the infirmity of her eyes and other indisposition of
health, scarce stirred out of her chamber, was permit-
ted to remain in the court : and some few ? inferior
servants in her kitchen and in the lowest offices, be-
sides those who were necessary to her devotions,
were left here. All the rest were* transported to
Portugal.

The officers of the revenue were required to use
all strictness in the receipt of that part of the por-
tion that was brought over with the fleet ; and not
to allow any of those demands which were made
upon computation of the value of money, and other
allowances, upon the account : and Diego de Silva,
who was designed in Portugal without any good
reason to be the queen's treasurer, and upon that
expectation had undertaken that troublesome pro-
vince to see the money paid in London by what was
assigned to that purpose, was committed to prison
for not making haste enough in the payment and in
finishing the account; and his commitment went
very near the queen, as an affront done to herself.
The Portugal ambassador, who was a very honest
man, and so desirous to serve the king that he had
upon the matter lost the queen, was heartbroken ;
and after a long sickness, which all men believed
would have killed him, as soon as he was able to
endure the air, left Hampton-court, and retired to
his own house in the city.

> few] other z were] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 193

In all this time the king pursued his point : the lady 1 662.
came to the court, was lodged there, was every day
in the queen's presence, and the king in continual
conference with her ; whilst the queen sat untaken
notice of: and if her majesty rose at the indignity
and retired into her chamber, it may be one or two
attended her ; but all the company remained in the
room she left, and too often said those things aloud
which nobody ought to have whispered. The king
(who had in the beginning of this conflict appeared
still with a countenance of trouble and sadness,
which had been manifest to every body, and no
doubt was really afflicted, and sometimes wished
that he had not proceeded so far, until he was
again new chafed with the reproach of being go-
verned, which he received with the most sensible
indignation, and was commonly provoked with it
most by those who intended most to govern him)
had now vanquished or suppressed all those tender-
nesses and reluctances, and appeared every day more
gay and pleasant, without any clouds in his face, and
full of good humour ; saving that the close observers
thought it more feigned and affected than of a na-
tural growth. However, to the queen it appeared
very real, and made her the more sensible, that she
alone was left out in all jollities, and not suffered to
have any part of those pleasant applications and
caresses, which she saw made almost to every body
else ; an universal mirth in all company but in hers,
and in all places but in her chamber ; her own ser-
vants shewing more respect and more diligence to
the person of the lady, than towards their own mis-
tress, who they found could do them less good. The
nightly meeting continued with the same or more

VOL. II. O



194 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1662. license; and the discourses which passed there, of
what argument soever, were the discourse of the
whole court and of the town the day following:
whilst the queen had the king's company those few
hours which remained of the preceding night, and
which were too little for sleep.

All these mortifications were too heavy to be
borne : so that at last, when it was least expected
or suspected, the queen on a sudden let herself fall
first to conversation and then to familiarity, and
even in the same instant to a confidence with the
lady ; was merry with her in public, talked kindly
of her, and in private used nobody more friendly.
This excess of condescension, without any provo-
cation or invitation, except by multiplication of in-
juries and neglect, and after all friendships were re-
newed, and indulgence yielded to new liberty, did
the queen less good than her former resoluteness
had done. Very many looked upon her with much
compassion, commended the greatness of her spirit,
detested the barbarity of the affronts she underwent,
and censured them as loudly as they durst; not
without assuming the liberty sometimes of insinuat-
ing to the king himself, " how much his own honour
" suffered in the neglect and disrespect of her own
" servants, who ought at least in public to manifest
" some duty and reverence towards her majesty ;
" and how much he lost in the general affections of
" his subjects : and that, besides the displeasure of
" God Almighty, he could not reasonably hope for
" children by the queen, which was the great if not
" the only blessing of which he stood in need,
" whilst her heart was so full of grief, and whilst
" she was continually exercised with such insup-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 195

" portable afflictions. " And many, who were not 1662.
wholly unconversant with the king, nor strangers to ~~
his temper and constitution, did believe that he grew
weary of the struggle, and even ready to avoid the
scandal that was so notorious, by the lady's with-
drawing from the verge of the court and being no
longer seen there, how firmly soever the friendship
might be established. But this sudden downfall
and total abandoning her own greatness, this low
demeanour and even application to a person she had
justly abhorred and worthily contemned, made all
men conclude, that it was a hard matter to know
her, and consequently to serve her. And the king
himself was so far from being reconciled by it, that
the esteem, which he could not hitherto but retain
in his heart for her, grew now much less. He con-
cluded that all her former aversion expressed in
those lively passions, which seemed not capable of
dissimulation, was all fiction, and purely acted to
the life by a nature crafty, perverse, and inconstant.
He congratulated his own ill-natured perseverance,
by which he had discovered how he was to behave
himself hereafter, and what remedies he was to ap-
ply to all future indispositions : nor had he ever
after the same value of her wit, judgment, and un-
derstanding, which he had formerly ; and was well
enough pleased to observe, that the reverence others
had for all three was somewhat diminished.

The parliament assembled together at the same 1663.
time in February to which they had been adjourned in ent P nIeet$
or prorogued, and continued together till the end of Febt 18<
July following. They Wrought the same affection
and duty with them towards the king, which they
had formerly ; but were much troubled at what they

o 2



196 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1663. had heard and what they had observed of the divi-

sions in court. They had the same fidelity for the

king's service, but not the same alacrity in it : the
despatch was much slower in all matters depending,
than it had used to be. The truth is ; the house of
commons was upon the matter not the same : three
years sitting, for it was very near so long since they
had been first assembled, had consumed very many
of their members ; and in the places of those who
died, great pains were taken to have some of the
king's menial servants chosen ; so that there was a
very great number of men in all stations in the
court, as well below stairs as above, who were mem-
bers of the house of commons. And there were
very few of them, who did not think themselves
qualified to reform whatsoever was amiss in church
or state, and to procure whatsoever supply the king
would require.

They, who either out of their own modesty, or in
regard of their distant relation to his service, had
seldom had access to his presence, never had pre-
sumed to speak to him ; now by the privilege of
parliament every day resorted to him, and had as
much conference with him as they desired. They,
according to the comprehension they had of affairs,
represented their advice to him for the conducting
his affairs ; according to their several opinions and
observations represented those and those men as
well affected to his service, and others, much better
than they, who did not pay them so much respect,
to be ill-affected and to want duty for his majesty.
They brought those, whoappeared to them to be
most zealous for his service, because they professed
to be ready to do any thing he pleased to prescribe,



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 197

to receive his majesty's thanks, and from himself his 1663.
immediate directions how to behave themselves in~~
the house ; when the men were capable of no other
instruction, than to follow the example of some dis-
creet man in whatsoever he should vote, and behave
themselves accordingly.

To this time, the king had been content to refer
the conduct of his affairs in the parliament to the
chancellor and the treasurer ; who had every day
conference with some select persons of the house of
commons, who had always served the king, and
upon that account had great interest in that assem-
bly, and in regard of the experience they had and
their good parts were hearkened to with reverence.
And with those they consulted in what method to
proceed in disposing the house, sometimes to pro-
pose, sometimes to consent to what should be most
necessary for the public ; and by them to assign
parts to other men, whom they found disposed and
willing to concur in what was to be desired : and all
this without any noise, or bringing many together
to design, which ever was and ever will be ingrateful
to parliaments, and, however it may succeed for a lit-
tle time, will in the end be attended with prejudice.

But there were two persons now introduced to characters

. . i . i . i of two lead-

act upon that stage, who disdained to receive orders, ing men in

or to have any method prescribed to them ; who coLmTns.
took upon them to judge of other men's defects, and
thought their own abilities beyond exception.

The one was sir Harry Bennet, who had pro- or sir

i c, Henry Ben-

CUred himself to be sent agent or envoy into Spain, net.

as soon as the king came from Brussels ; being a
man very well known to the king, and for his plea-
sant and agreeable humour acceptable to him : and

o 3



198 CONTINUATION OF TH LIFE OF

1G63. he remained there at much ease till the king re-
turned to England, having waited upon his majesty
at Fuentarabia in the close of the treaty between
the two crowns, and there appeared by his dexterity
to have gained good credit in the court of Spain,
and particularly with don Lewis de Haro ; and by
that short negociation he renewed and confirmed
the former good inclinations of his master to him.
He had been obliged always to correspond with
the chancellor, by whom his instructions had been
drawn, and to receive the king's pleasure by his sig-
nification ; which he had always done, and pro-
fessed much respect and submission to him : though
whatever orders he received, and how positive so-
ever, in particulars which highly concerned the
king's honour and dignity, he observed them so far
and no further than his own humour disposed him ;
and in some cases flatly disobeyed what the king en-
joined, and did directly the contrary, as in the case
of the Jesuit Peter Talbot ; who having carried
himself with notorious insolence towards the king
in Flanders, had transported himself into England,
offered his service to Cromwell, and after his death
was employed by the ruling powers into Spain, upon
his undertaking to procure orders, by which the
king should not be suffered longer to reside in Flan-
ders : of all which his majesty having received full
advertisement, he made haste to send orders into
Spain to sir Harry Bennet, " that he should prepare
" don Lewis for his reception by letting him know,
" that though that Jesuit was his natural subject,
" he had so misbehaved himself, that he looked
" upon him as a most inveterate z enemy and a trai-
1 inveterate] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 199

" tor ; and therefore his majesty desired, that he j 663.

" might receive no countenance there, being, as he

" well knew, sent by the greatest rebels to do him
" prejudice. "

This was received by sir Harry Bennet before
the arrival of the man, who found no inconvenience
by it ; and instead of making any complaint con-
cerning him, he writ word, " that Talbot had more
" credit than he in that court ; that he professed to
" have great devotion for the king ; and therefore
" his advice was, that the king would have a better
" opinion of him, and employ him in his service:"
and himself received him into his full confidence,
and consulted with no man so much as with him ;
which made all men believe that he was a Roman
catholic, who did believe that he had any religion.
But he had made his full excuse and defence for all
this at the interview at Fuentarabia, from whence the
king returned with marvellous satisfaction in his dis-
cretion as well as in his affection. And until, con-
trary to all his expectation, he heard of the king's
return into England, all his thoughts were employed
how to make benefit of the duke of York's coming
into Spain to be admiral of the galleys ; which he
writ to hasten all that might be.

Though he continued his formal correspondence
with the chancellor, which he could not decline ;
yet he held a more secret intelligence with Daniel
O'Neile of the bedchamber, with whom he had a
long friendship. As soon as the king arrived in
England, he trusted O'Neile to procure any direc-
tion from the king immediately in those particulars
which himself advised. And so he obtained the
king's consent, for his consenting to the old league

o 4



1663. that had been made between England and Spain in
~~ the time of the late king, and which Spain had ex-
pressly refused to renew after the death of that king,
(which was suddenly proclaimed in Spain, without
ever being consulted in England;) and presently
after leave to return into England without any let-
ter of revocation : both which were procured, or ra-
ther signified, by O'Neile, without the privity of the
chancellor or of either of the secretaries of state ;
nor did either of them know that he was from Ma-
drid, till they heard he was in Paris, from whence
he arrived in London in a very short time after.
So far the chancellor was from that powerful in-
terest or influence, when his credit was at highest.

But he was very well received by the king, in
whose affections he had a very good place : and
shortly after his arrival, though not so soon as he
thought his high merit deserved, his majesty con-
ferred the only place then void (and that had been
long promised to a noble person, who had behaved
himself very well towards his majesty and his blessed
father) upon him, which was the office of privy
purse ; received him into great familiarity, and into
the nightly meeting, in which he filled a principal
place to all intents and purposes. The king very
much desired to have him elected a member in the
house of commons, and commanded the chancellor
to use his credit to obtain it upon the first opportu-
nity : and in obedience to that command, he did
procure him to be chosen about the time we are
now speaking of, when the parliament assembled in
February.
ofMr. wii- The other person was Mr. William Coventry, the

Ham Co- . _

ventry. youngest son to a very wise father, the lord Coven-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 201

try, who had been lord keeper of the great seal of 1663.
England for many years with an a universal reputa-~
tion. This gentleman was young whilst the war
continued : yet he had put himself before the end
of it into the army, and had the command of a foot
company, and shortly after travelled into France ;
where he remained whilst there was any hope of
getting another army for the king, or that either of
the other crowns would engage in his quarrel. But
when all thoughts of that were desperate, he re-
turned into England ; where he remained for many
years without the least correspondence with any of
his friends beyond the seas, and with so little repu-
tation of caring much for the king's restoration, that
some of his own family, who were most zealous for
his majesty's service, and had always some signal
part in any reasonable design, took care of nothing
more, than that nothing they did should come to
his knowledge ; and gave the same advice to those
about the king, with whom they corresponded, to
use the same caution. Not that any body suspected
his being inclined to the rebels, or to do any act of
treachery ; but that the pride and censoriousness of
his nature made him unconversable, and his despair
that any thing could be effectually done made him
incompetent to consult the ways of doing it. Nor
had he any conversation with any of the king's
party, nor they with him, till the king was pro-
claimed in London ; and then he came over with
the rest to offer his service to his majesty at the
Hague, and had the good fortune to find the duke
of York without a secretary. For though he had a



an] a



202 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1G63. Walloon that was, in respect of the languages of
which he was master, fit for that function in the
army, and had discharged it very well for some
years; yet for the province the duke was now to
govern, having the office of high admiral of Eng-
land, he was without any fit person to discharge the
office of secretary with any tolerable sufficiency : so
that Mr. Coventry no sooner offered his service to
the duke, but he was received into that employ-
ment, very honourable under such a master, and in
itself of the greatest profit next the secretaries of
state, if they in that respect be to be preferred.

He had been well known to the king and duke
in France, and had a brother whom the king loved
well and had promised to take into his bedchamber,
as he shortly after did, Harry Coventry, who was
beloved by every body, which made them glad of
the preferment of the other ; whilst they who knew
the worst of him, yet knew him able to discharge
that office, and so contributed to the duke's receiv-
ing him. He was a sullen, ill-natured, proud man,
whose ambition had no limits, nor could be con-
tained within any. His parts were very good, if he
had not thought them better than any other man's ;
and he had diligence and industry, which men of
good parts are too often without, which made him b
quickly to have &t least credit and power enough
with the duke ; and he was without those vices which
were too much in request, and which make men
most unfit for business and the trust that cannot
be separated from it.

He had sat a member in the house of commons,

b him] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 203

from the beginning of the parliament, with very 1663.
much reputation of an able man. He spake perti-
nently, and was always very acceptable and well
heard ; and was one of those with whom they, who
were trusted by the king in conducting his affairs
in the lower house, consulted very frequently ; but
not so much, nor relied equally upon his advice, as
upon some few others who had much more expe-
rience, which he thought was of use only to igno-
rant and dull men, and that men of sagacity could
see and determine at a little light, and ought rather
to persuade and engage men to do that which they
judged fit, than consider what themselves were in-
clined to do : and so did not think himself to be
enough valued and relied upon, and only to be made
use of to the celebrating the designs and contrivance
of other men, without being signal in the managery,
which he aspired to be. Nor did any man envy
him the province, if he could indeed have governed
it, and that others who had more useful talents
would have been ruled by him. However, being a
man who naturally loved faction and contradiction,
he often made experiments how far he could prevail
in the house, by declining the method that was pre-
scribed, and proposing somewhat to the house that
was either beside or contrary to it, and which the
others would not oppose, believing, in regard of his
relation, that he had received newer directions : and
then if it succeeded well, (as sometimes it did,) he
had argument enough to censure and inveigh against
the chancellor, for having taken so ill measures of
the temper and affections of the house ; for he did
not dissemble in his private conversation (though
his outward carriage was very fair) that he had no



204 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1663. kindness for him, which in gratitude he ought to
""have had; nor had he any thing to complain of
from him, but that he wished well and did all he
could to defend and support a very worthy person,
who had deserved very well from the king, against
whom he manifested a great and causeless animo-
sity, and desired to oppress for his own profit, of
which he had an immoderate appetite.

When those two persons, sir Harry Bennet and
Mr. Coventry, (between whom there had been as
great a league of friendship, as can be between two
very proud men equally ill-natured,) came now to
sit together in the house of commons ; though the
former of them knew no more of the constitution
and laws of England than he did of China, nor had
in truth a care or tenderness for church or state,
but believed France was the best pattern in the
world ; they thought they should have the greatest
wrong imaginable, if they did not entirely govern it,
and if the king took his measures of what should be
done there from any body but themselves. They
made friendships with some young men, who spake
confidently and often, and c upon some occasions
seemed to have credit in the house. And upon a
little conversation with those men, who, being coun-
try gentlemen of ordinary condition and mean for-
tunes, were desirous to have interest in such a per-
son as sir Harry Bennet, who was believed to have
great credit with the king; he believed he under-
stood the house, and what was to be done there, as
well as any man in England.

He recommended those men to the king " as per-

c and] Not in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 205

" sons of sublime parts, worthy of his majesty's ca- 1663.
" ressing : that he would undertake to fix them to
" his service ; and when they were his own, he
" might carry what he would in the house of com-
" mons. " The men had parts indeed and good af-
fections, and often had resorted to the chancellor,
received advice from him, and thought themselves
beholden to him; being at that time entirely go-
verned by sir Hugh Pollard, who was himself still
advised by the chancellor (with whom he had a long
and fast friendship) how he should direct his friends,
having indeed a greater party in the house of com-
mons willing to be disposed of by him, than any
man that ever sat there in my time. But now these
gentlemen had got a better patron ; the new cour-
tier had raised their value, and talked in another
dialect to them, of recompenses and rewards, than
they had heard formerly. He carried them to the
king, and told his majesty in their own hearing,
" what men of parts they were, what services they
" had done for him, and how much greater they
" could do :" and his majesty received and conferred
with them very graciously, and dismissed them with
promises which made them rich already.

The two friends before mentioned agreed so well
between themselves, that whether they spake to-
gether or apart to the king, they said always the
same things, gave the same information, and took
care that both their masters might have the same
opinions and judgments. They magnified the affec-
tions of the house of commons, " which were so
" great and united, that they would do whatso-
" ever his majesty would require. That there were
" many worthy and able men, of whose wisdom the



206 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1 663. " house was so well persuaded, that they commonly
~~ " consented to whatsoever they proposed : and that
" these men complained, that they had no directions
" given to them which way they might best serve
" the king ; they knew not what he desired, which
" when they should do, it would quickly appear how
" much they were at the king's disposal, and all
" things which now depended long would be here-
" after despatched in half the time. "

The king wondered very much, " that his friends
" in the house were no better informed, of which he
" had never heard any complaint before, and wished
" them to speak with the chancellor :" for neither
of these men were yet arrived at the confidence
to insinuate in the least degree any ill-will or pre-
judice to him, though they were not united in any
one thing more than the desire of his ruin, and the
resolution to compass it by all the ill arts and de-
vices they could use ; but till it should be more sea-
sonable, they dissembled to both their masters to
have a high esteem of him, having not yet credit
enough with either to do him harm. They said,
" they would very willingly repair to him, and be
" directed by him : but they desired that his majesty
" himself would first speak to him (because it would
" not so well become them) to call those persons,
" w r hom they had recommended to him, to meet
" together with the rest with whom he used to ad-
" vise ; which the persons they named they were
" sure would be very glad of, having all of them a
" great esteem of the chancellor, and being well
" known to him," as indeed they were, and most
of them obliged by him.

The king willingly undertook it : and being shortly



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 207

after attended by the chancellor, his majesty told IG63.
him all that the other two had said to him, and did
not forget to let him know the great good-will they
had both professed towards him. He asked him
" what he thought of such and such men," and par-
ticularly named Mr. Clifford and Mr. Churchill, and
some other men of better quality and much more
interest, " who," he said, " took it ill that they were
" not particularly informed what the king desired,
" and which way they might best serve him ;" and
bade him, " that at the next meeting of the rest,
" these men might likewise have notice to be pre-
" sent, together with sir Harry Bennet and Mr.
" William Coventry ;" for Harry Coventry (who was
a much wiser man than his brother, and had a much
better reputation with wise men) was constantly in
those councils.

The chancellor told him, " that great and noto-
" rious meetings and cabals in parliament had been
" always odious in parliament : and though they
" might produce some success in one or two parti-
" culars till they were discovered, they had always
" ended unluckily ; until they were introduced in
" the late ill times by so great a combination, that
" they could not receive any discountenance. Yet
" that they, who compassed all their wicked designs
" by those cabals, were so jealous that they might
" be overmatched by the like practices, that when
" they discovered any three or four of those, who
" were used to concur with them, to have any pri-
" vate meetings, they accused them to conspire
" against the parliament. That when his majesty
" returned, and all the world was full of joy and de-
" light to serve him, and persons were willing and



208 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1663. " importunate to receive direction how they might
~~ " do it in that convention ; care had been taken
" without any noise, or bringing any prejudice upon
" those who were willing to be instruments towards
" the procuring what was desirable, and to prevent
" what would be ingrateful, that little notice might
" be taken of them, which had good success.

" That since this parliament the lord treasurer
" and he had, by his majesty's direction, made choice
" of some persons eminent for their affection to the
" crown, of great experience and known abilities,
" to confer with for the better preparing and con-
" ducting what was to be done in the house of
" commons : but the number of them was not so
" great as to give any umbrage. Nor did they meet
" oftener together with them, than upon accidents
" and contingencies was absolutely necessary ; but
" appointed those few who had a mutual confidence
" in each other, and every one of which had an
" influence upon others and advised them what to
" do, to meet by themselves, either at the lord
" Bridgman's or Mr. Attorney's chambers, who still
" gave notice to the other two of what was neces-
" sary, and received advice. That there were very
" few of any notable consideration, who did not fre-
" quently repair to both d of them, either to dine
" with them or to perform some office of civility ;
" with every one of whom they conferred, and said
" what was necessary to inform e them what was fit
" for them to do.

" That two of those who were named by his ma-
" jesty, Mr. Clifford and Mr. Churchill, were honest

d frequently repair to both] c inform] inform and oblige

frequent to both



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 209

" gentlemen, and received the advice they were to 1663.
" follow from sir Hugh Pollard, who had in truth a~~
" very particular influence upon all the Cornish and
" Devonshire men. And that his majesty might
" know that he had not been well informed, that the
" others named by him took it unkindly that they
" did not know his pleasure, who were leading men,
" as indeed they were ; he assured his majesty that
" there was not one of those, who was not particu-
" larly consulted with, and advertised by some per-
" son who was chosen by every one of them for that
" purpose f ; and that they would by no means resort
*' to any meeting, fearing to undergo the odious
" name of undertakers, which in all parliaments hath
" been a brand : but as they had never opposed any
" thing that related to his service, so upon any pri-
" vate insinuation they had been ready to propose
" any thing which would not have been so accept-
" able from any, who had been known to have rela-
" tion to his service, or to depend upon those who
" had. "

He besought his majesty to consider, " whether
" any thing had hitherto, in near three years, fallen
" out amiss, or short of what he had expected, in
" the wary administration that had been in that
" affair ;" and did not coriceal his own fears, " that
" putting it into a more open and wider channel,
" his majesty's own too public speaking with the
" members of parliament, and believing what every
" man who was present told him passed in debates,
" and who for want of comprehension as well as me-
" mory committed many mistakes in their relations,

f purpose] person
VOL. II. P



1663. " would be attended with some, inconveniences not
~ " easy to b. e remedied. " The king was not dissa-
tisfied with the discourse, but seemed to approve
it: however he would have sir Harry Bennet, Mr.
Clifford, and Churchill, called to the next meeting ;
and because they were to be introduced into com-
pany they had not used to converse with, that it
should be at the chancellor's chamber, who should
let the rest know the good opinion his majesty had
of those who were added to the number.
An aitera- fj v t n j s means and with these circumstances this

tion in the

manage- alteration was made in the conduct of the king's

ment of the . . . . ,

house of service in the parliament ; upon which many other
' alterations followed by degrees, though not at once.
Yet presently it appeared, that this introduction of
new confidents was not acceptable to those, who
thought they had very well discharged their trust.
Sir Harry Bennet was utterly unknown to them, a
man unversed in any business, who never had nor
ever was like to speak in the house, except in his
ear who sat next him to the disadvantage of some
who had spoken, and had not the faculties to get
himself beloved, and was thought by all men to be
a Roman catholic, for which they had not any other
reason but from his indifference in all things which
concerned the church. i,

When they met first at the chancellor's chamber,
as the king had directed, they conferred freely toge-
ther with little difference of opinion : though it ap-
peared that they, who had used to be together be-
fore, did not use the same freedom as formerly in
delivering their particular judgments, not having
confidence enough in the new comers, who in their
private meetings afterwards took more upon them,



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 211

rather to direct than to advise ; so that the other 1 663.
grew unsatisfied in their conversation 8 . And though
the meetings continued at one of the places before
mentioned, some always discontinued their attend-
ance ; so that by degrees there were less resolutions
taken than had been formerly ; nor was there so
cheerful a concurrence, or so speedy a despatch of
the business depending in the house, as had been.

However, there appeared nothing of disunion in
the parliament, but the same zeal and concurrence
in all things which related to the king. The mur-
murs and discontents were most in the country,
where the people began to talk with more license
and less reverence of the court and of the king him-
self, and to reproach the parliament for their raising so
much money, and increasing of the impositions upon
the kingdom, without having done any thing for the
redress of any grievance that lay upon the people.
The license with reference to religion grew every
day greater, the conventicles more frequent and
more insolent, which disturbed the country exceed-
ingly ; but not so much as the liberty the papists
assumed, who behaved themselves with indiscretion,
and bragged as if they had a toleration and cared
not what the magistrates could do. The parliament
had a desire to have provided against those evils
with the same rigour : but though there would have
been a general consent in any provision that could
be made against the fanatics and the conventicles,
yet there would not be the like concurrence against
the papists ; and it was not possible to carry on the
one without the other. And therefore the court,

s conversation] conversion.
P 2



212 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1663. that they might be sure to prevent the last, inter-
"rupted all that was proposed against the former,
which they wished provided against, and chose to
have neither out of fear of both ; which increased
the disorders in the country, and caused more reflec-
tions upon the court : so that this session of parlia-
ment produced less of moment than any other.

And the king, after they had given him four sub-
sidies, which was all the money they could be drawn
to give, that he might part as kindly with them as
he used to do, and upon discovery of several sedi-
tious meetings amongst the officers of the disbanded
army, which he could best suppress when he had
most leisure, he resolved to prorogue the parliament.
And so sending for them upon the twenty-seventh
of July, he thanked them for the present which
The king's they had made to him of the four subsidies, " which,"

speech at

the proro- he told them, " he would not have received from

gation of . . . . , r> t

the pariia r " them, if it were not absolutely necessary for their
" peace and quiet as well as his : and that it would
" yet do him very little good, if he did not improve
" it by very good husbandry of his own ; and by re-
" trenching those very expenses, which in many
*' respects might be thought necessary enough. But
" they should see that he would much rather im-
" pose upon himself, than upon his subjects ; and
" that if all men would follow his example in re-
" trenching their expenses, (which possibly they
" might do with much more convenience than he
" could *do his,) the kingdom would in short time
" gain what they - had given him that day. " He
told them, " he was very glad that they were going
" into their several countries, where their presence
" would do much good : and he hoped their vigi-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 213

" lance and authority would prevent those disturb- 1663.
" ances, which the restless spirits of ill and unquiet ~~
" men would be always contriving, and of which his
" majesty did assure them they promised themselves
" some effects that summer. And that there had
" been more pains and unusual ways taken to kindle
" the old fatal fears and jealousies, than he thought
" he should ever have lived to have seen, at least to
" have seen so countenanced. "

He told them, " that he had expected to have had
" some bills presented to him against the several dis-
'* tempers in religion, against seditious conventicles,
" and against the growth of popery : but that it
" might be they had been in some fear of reconciling
" those contradictions in religion into some conspi-
" racy against the public peace, to which himself
" doubted men of the most contrary motives in con-
" science were inclinable enough. He did promise
" them that he would lay that business to heart,
" and the mischiefs which might flow from those li-
" censes ; and if he lived to meet with them again,
" as he hoped he should, he would himself take care
" to present two bills to them to that end. And
" that, as he had already given it in charge to the
"judges, in their several circuits, to use their utmost
" endeavours to prevent and punish the scandalous
" and seditious meetings of sectaries, and to convict
" the papists ; so he would be as watchful, and take
" all the pains he could, that neither the one or the
" other should disturb the peace of the kingdom. "
And adding many gracious expressions of his esteem
and confidence in their affections, he caused them
to be prorogued towards the end of March, which
would be the beginning of the year 1664.
p 3



214 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 663. The king had an intention at that time to have pre-



The king pared against the next meeting two such bills as he
prepare two mentioned to them, and was well enough content
^' e ls a a g *' s "f that the parliament had not presented such to him,
and sect- which he well foresaw would not have been such as



anes.



he should have been pleased with. He would have
liked the most rigorous acts against all the other
factions in religion, but did not think the papists
had deserved the same severities, which would have
been provided against them with the other, it being
very apparent, that the kingdom generally had re-
sumed their old jealousies of them, provoked by the
very unwary behaviour of that people, who bragged
of more credit in the court than they could justify,
though most men thought they had too much : and
- that was the reason that he had commanded the
chancellor to require the judges, who were then be-
ginning their circuits, to cause the Roman catholics
to be convicted, which he believed would allay much
of the jealousies in the country, as for the present
it did. And then he resolved to cause two such
bills to be prepared for several reasons, of which the
principal was, that he might divide them into two
bib's ; presuming that when he had sent one against
either, they would not affect reducing both into
one, which was that which the catholic party most
apprehended.

imprudent His majesty was himself very unsatisfied with the
. ! f the' pa- imprudent carriage of the catholics, and thought
they did affect too much to appear as if they stood
upon the level with all other subjects : and he re-
ceived very particular and unquestionable informa-
tion, that some priests had made it an argument to
some whom they endeavoured to make their prose-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 215

lytes, " that the king was of their religion in his 1663.
" heart, and would shortly declare it to all the world;" '
with which his majesty was marvellously offended,
and did heartily desire that any of those indiscreet
persons might be proceeded against with severity.
Yet he had no mind that any man should be put to
death, which could hardly be avoided if any man
should be brought to trial in the case aforesaid, ex-
cept he had granted his pardon, which with these
circumstances would have carried scandal in it. Be-
sides, he did think the wisest of that party had not
carried themselves with modesty enough, with what
was good for themselves and for his majesty's ho-
nour. And therefore he had, without imparting it
to any friends of theirs, given that direction to the
judges for convicting them, as the best means to re-
claim them to a better temper : and he had a pur-
pose, that the bill he meant should be prepared
should more effectually perform that part, without
exposing them to any notable inconveniences in
their persons or their fortunes, if they behaved them-
selves well and warily.

He did believe, that it was necessary for his ser- The king

. 1-111 -i i i designs to

vice that they should be all convicted, that it might have the
be evident to himself what their numbers consisted JJJ2! c<
of and amounted to, which he believed would be
found much inferior to what they were generally
computed, and then the danger from their power
would not be thought so formidable : and it could
be no prejudice to them without a further proceed-
ing upon their conviction, which he was resolved to
restrain, as he well might, and had done hitherto ;
resolving within himself, that no man should suffer
under those penal laws which had been made against

P 4



216 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1 663. them in the age before, if they lived like good sub-
jects, and administered no occasion of scandal. And
as he was not reserved in declaring that his gracious
purpose towards them, (as hath been said before ;)
so hitherto it had not been attended by any mur-
murs : and yet he was not without a purpose of
keeping such a power over them, as might make
them wholly depend upon him.

His majesty did, in his judgment and inclination,
put a great difference between those Roman catho-
lics, who being of ancient extraction had continued
of the same religion from father to son, without
having ever been protestant, amongst whom there
were very few who had not behaved themselves very
worthily ; and those, who since the late troubles had
apostatized from the church of England to that of
the Roman, without any such evidence of conscience,
as might not administer just reason to suspect, that
their inducements had been from worldly tempta-
tions. And he did resolve in his bill to make a
distinction between those classes, and to prevent, or
at least to discourage, those lapses which fell out too
frequently in the court ; nor did men believe that
they need make any apology for it, but appeared
the more confidently in all places. He did resolve
likewise to contract and lessen the number of the
ecclesiastical persons, who upon missions resorted
hither as to an infidel nation, (which was and is a
grievance that the catholics would be glad to be
eased in,) and to reduce them into such an order
and method by this bill, that he might himself
know the names of all priests remaining in the king-
dom, and their several stations where they resided ;
which must have produced such a security to those



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 217

who stayed, and to those with whom they stayed, 1663.
as would have set them free from any apprehension ~
of any penalties imposed by preceding parliaments.

But this design (which comprehended many other Measures

. . . ,. , taken to

particulars) vanished as soon as it was discovered, frustrate his
The king's own discourse of a bill that he would design *
cause to be drawn against the Roman catholics
awakened great jealousies; nor did they want in-
struments or opportunities to discover what the
meaning of it could be. Nor was the king reserved
in the argument, but communicated it with those
who he knew were well affected to that party, and
to one or two of themselves who were reputed to be
moderate men, and to desire nothing but the exer-
cise of their religion with the greatest secrecy and
caution, and who often informed him and com-
plained " of the folly and vanity of some of their
*' friends, and more particularly of the presumption
" of the Jesuits. " And such kind of factions and di-
visions there are amongst them, which might be cul-
tivated to very happy productions : but such inge-
nuity, as to be contented with what might gratify
all their own pretences, there is not amongst them.

These moderate men complained already, " that
" the king was deceived by their enemy the chan-
" cellor," who indeed was generally very odious to
them, for no other reason, but because they knew
he was irreconcileable to their profession ; not that
they thought he desired that the laws should be put
in execution against them ; and some of the chief of
them believed him to be much their friend, and had
obligations to him. But they all lamented this di-
rection given to the judges for their conviction,
" which," they informed the king, "was the necessary



218 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1663. " preamble to the highest persecution the law had
~~" prepared against them. That till they were con-
" victed they were in the same predicament with
" the rest of his subjects ; but as soon as they were
" convicted," (which the judges now caused to be
prosecuted throughout the kingdom,) " they were
" liable to all the other penalties, which his majesty
" was inclined to protect them from. " They pre-
sented to him a short memorial of the disadvantages
which were consequent to a conviction, in which
they alleged some particulars which were not clear
in the law, at least had never been practised in the
severest times.

Though the king had well weighed all he had
done before he did it, and well knew, after all their
insinuations and allegations, that none of those in-
conveniences could ensue to them, if he restrained
any further prosecution, which he always had in-
tended to do ; yet they wrought so far upon him,
that he was even sorry that he had proceeded so
far : and though it was not fit to revoke any part of
it, yet he cared not how little it was advanced. And
for the bill he meant to present in the next session^
they said, " all their security and quiet they had en-
" joyed since his majesty's happy return depended
" wholly upon the general opinion, that he had fa-
" vour for them, and satisfaction in their duty and
" obedience as good subjects, and their readiness to
" do him any service, which they would all make
" good with their lives and all that they had. But
" if he should now discover any jealousy of their
" fidelities, and that there was need of a new law
" against them, which his purpose of providing a bill
" implied, what mitigation soever his majesty in-



EDWARD EAUL OF CLARENDON. 219

" tended in it, it would not be in his majesty's power 1663.
" to restrain the passion of other men ; but all those"
" animosities which had been hitherto covered and
" concealed, as grateful to him, would upon this oc-
" casion break out to their destruction : and there-
" fore they hoped, that whatever bitterness the par-
" liament might express against them when they
" came together, they should receive no invitation
" or encouragement by any jealousy or displeasure
" his majesty should manifest to have towards
" them. "

These and the like arguments, or the credit of The king
those who urged them, made that impression, thatC'puTpose.
he declined any further thought of that bill ; nor was
there ever after mention of it. The catholics grew
bolder in all places, and conversant in those rooms of
the court into which the king's chaplains never pre-
sumed to enter ; and to crown all their hopes, the
lady declared herself of that faith, and inveighed
sharply against the church she had been bred in.

During the interval of the parliament, there was
not such a vacation from trouble and anxiety as was
expected. The domestic unquietness in the court
made every day more noise abroad: infinite scan-
dals and calumnies were scattered amongst the
people ; and they expressed their discontents upon Discontents
the great taxes and impositions which they were"r y . ie
compelled to pay, and publicly reproached the par-
liament ; when they were in truth vexed and grieved
at heart for that which they durst not avow, and
did really believe that God was angry with the na-
tion, and resolved to exercise it under greater tri-
bulation than he had so lately freed them from.
The general want of money was complained of, and



220 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1 663. a great decay of trade ; so that the native commo-
"dities of the kingdom were not transported. Yet
both these were but pretences, and resulted from
combinations rather than from reason. For it ap-
peared by the customs, that the trade was greater
than it had ever been, though some of our native
commodities, especially cloth, seemed for some time
to be at a stand ; which proceeded rather from the
present glut, which in the general license the inter-
lopers had irregularly transported in great quan-
tities, by which the prices were brought low, and
could only be recovered by a restraint for some time,
which the merchant adventurers put upon them-
selves, and would have put upon the interlopers, who
were at last too hard for them, even upon the mat-
ter to the suppressing the company, that had stood
in great reputation for very many years, and had
advanced that manufacture to a great height ; and
whether it deserved that discountenance, time must
decide. How unreasonable the other discourse was
of want of money, there needs no other argument,
but the great purchases which were every day made
of great estates ; nor was any considerable parcel of
land in any part of England offered to be sold, but
there was a purchaser at hand ready to buy it.

However, these pretences, together with the sud-
den bringing up all the money, that was collected
for the king, in specie to London, which proceeded
from the bankers' advancing so much present money
for the emergent occasions, for which they had
those assignments upon the money of the country,
A sudden did really produce such a sudden fall of the rents
ts< throughout the kingdom, as had never been known
before : so that men were compelled to abate gene-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 221

rally a fourth part of their annual rents at the least, l 663.
or to take their lands into their own hands, for"
which they were as ill provided. All this mischief
fell upon the nobility and greatest gentry, who were
owners of the greatest estates, every body whose es-
tate lay in land undergoing a share in the suffering,
which made the discontent general ; which they
thought the best way h to remedy would be to raise
no more taxes, which they took to be the cause why
the rents fell. In the mean time the expenses of
the court, and of all who depended upon it, grew
still higher, and the king himself less intent upon
his business, and more loved his pleasures, to which
he prescribed no limits, nor to the expenses which
could not but accompany them.

There was cause enough to be jealous of the pub- Danger of
lie peace; there being every day discoveries madetion.
of private meetings and conferences between officers
of the old army ; and that correspondences were
settled between them throughout the kingdom in a
wonderful method ; and that they had a grand com-
mittee residing in London, who had the supreme
power, and which sent orders to all the rest, who
were to rise in one day, and meet at several ren-
dezvouses. Hereupon several persons were appre-
hended and committed to prison ; and the king him-
self often took the pains to examine them ; and
they confessed commonly more to his majesty him-
self than upon any other examination. Proclama-
tions issued often for the banishing all officers who
had ever borne arms against the king twenty miles
from London, which did more publish the apprehen-
sion of new troubles.

11 way] Omitted in MS.



an insurrec-



CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
J 663. There can be no doubt, but that there were many



seditious purposes amongst that people, of which
there often appeared so full evidence, that many
were executed for high treason, who were tried and
condemned by the judges at their 1 general sessions
at Newgate : yet there was often cause to believe
that many men were committed, who in truth had
not been more faulty, than in keeping ill company
and in hearing idle discourses. Informing was
grown a trade, which many affected to get money
by : and as the king's ministers could not reject in
a time of so much jealousy, so the receiving them
gave them great trouble ; for few of them were will-
ing to be produced as evidence against those they
accused, pretending, sometimes with reason, "that
" if they were known they should be rendered use-
" less for the future, whereas they were yet unsus-
" pected and admitted into all councils. " All the
sects in religion spake with more boldness in their
meetings, and met more frequently, than they had
used to do in the times that sir Richard Browne
and sir John Robinson had been lord mayors ; and
the officers who succeeded them proved less vigilant.
A general despondency seemed to possess the minds
of men, as if they little cared what came to pass ;
which did not proceed so much from malice, as from
the disease of murmuring, which had been contract-
ing above twenty years, and became almost incorpo-
rated into the nature of the nation.
An intrigue There happened about this time an alteration in

in the

court to ad- the court, that produced afterwards many other alter-
H. Rennet, ations which were not then suspected, yet even at

1 their] the



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 223

that time was not liked in the court itself, and less 1663.
out of it. The keeper of the privy purse, who was""
more fit for that province than for any other to
which he could be applied, did not think himself yet
preferred to a station worthy of his merit and great
qualifications. Some promises the king had made
to him when he was at Fuentarabia, and had long
much kindness for his person and much delight in
his company : so that his friend, Mr. O'Neile, who
was still ready to put his majesty in mind of all his
services, had nothing hard to do but to find a va-
cancy that might give opportunity for his advance-
ment ; and he was dexterous in making opportuni-
ties which he could not find, and made no 'scruple to
insinuate to the king, " that the abilities of neither
" of -his secretaries were so great but that he might
" be better served. " Indeed his majesty, who did
not naturally love old men, had not so much esteem
of them as their parts and industry and integrity
deserved, and would not have been sorry if either or
both of them had died.

Secretary Nicholas had served the crown very character
many years with a very good acceptation, was made Ni
secretary of state by the late king, and loved and
trusted by him in his nearest concernments to his
death : nor had any man, who served him, a more
general reputation of virtue and piety and unques-
tionable integrity throughout the kingdom. He
was a man to whom the rebels had been always ir-
reconcileable ; and from the end of the war lived in
banishment beyond the seas, was with his majesty
from the time he left France (for whilst the king
was in France with his mother, to whom the secre-
tary was not gracious, he remained at a distance ;



224 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. but from the time that his majesty came into Ger-



many he was always with him) in the exercise of
the same function he had under his father, and re-
turned into England with him, with hope to repair
his fortune by the just perquisites of his office, which
had been very much impaired by his long sufferings
and banishment. He had neVer been in his youth
a man of quick and sudden parts, but full of industry
and application, (which it may be is the better com-
position,) and always versed in business and all the
forms of despatch. He was now some years above
seventy, yet truly performed his office with punctu-
ality, and to the satisfaction of all men who repaired
to him : and the king thought it an envious as well
as an ill-natured thing, to discharge such an officer
because he had k lived too long.
of secretary The other secretary was secretary Morrice, whose

Mornce. J

merit had been his having transacted all that had
been between the king and the general, which was
thought to be much more than it was. Yet he had
behaved himself very well, and as much disposed
the general as he was capable of being disposed ;
and his majesty had preferred him to that office
purely to gratify and oblige the general; and he
had behaved himself very honestly and diligently in
the king's service, and had a good reputation in the
house of commons, and did the business of his office
without reproach. He had lived most part of his
time in the country, with the repute of a wise man
and a very good scholar, as indeed he was both in
the Latin and Greek learning; but being without
any knowledge in the modern languages, he gave

k had] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 225

the king often occasion to laugh at his unskilful 1663.
pronunciation of many words. In the Latin de-~
spatches, which concern all the northern parts, he
was ready, and treated with those ambassadors flu-
ently and elegantly ; and for all domestic affairs no
man doubted his sufficiency, except in the garb and
mode and humour of the court.

And the inducement that brought him in made it
unfit to remove him, lest it might grieve the general,
whose friend and kinsman he was: so that there
was no expedient to provide for sir Harry Bennet,
but by removing secretary Nicholas by his own con-
sent ; for the king would not do it otherwise to so old
and faithful a servant. And his majesty was the
more inclined to it, because it would give him the
opportunity to bring another person into the office
of the privy purse, of whom he was lately grown
very fond, and towards whom he had, when he
came into England, a greater aversion than to any
gentleman who had been abroad with him ; and that
was sir Charles Berkley, who was then captain of
the duke of York's guard, and much in the good
grace of his royal highness.

Whilst this intrigue was contriving and depend-
ing, great care was taken that it might not come to
the notice of the chancellor, lest if he could not di-
vert the king from desiring it, which they believed
he would not attempt, he might dissuade his old
friend the secretary, with whom he had held a long
and particular friendship, from hearkening to any
proposition, or accepting l any composition ; which
they believed not unreasonably that the other would

1 accepting] to accept
VOL. II. Q



226 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1663. be very solicitous in, as well to keep a man in,
""whom he could entirely trust, as to keep another
out, of whose abilities he had no esteem, and in
whose affection he had no confidence : and it was
thought by many, that the same apprehension pre-
vailed with the good old man himself to cherish the
secrecy. Certain it is, that the whole matter was
resolved and consented to, before ever the chancellor
had a suspicion of it.

O'Neile, who had always the skill to bring that
to pass by others which he could not barefaced ap-
pear in himself, insinuated to Mr. Ashburnham, who
pretended, and I think had, much friendship for the
secretary, " that the king thought the secretary too
" old to take so much pains, and often wished that
" his friends would persuade him to retire, that
" there might be a younger man in the office, who
" could attend upon his majesty at all hours and in
" all journeys ; but that his majesty always spake
" kindly of him, and as if he resolved to give him
" an ample recompense :" and in confidence told
him, " that the king had an impatient desire to
" have sir Harry Bennet secretary of state. " Ash-
burnham was well versed in the artifices of court
too ; and thought he might very well perform the
office of a friend to his old confident, and at the
same time find a new and more useful friend for
himself, by having a hand in procuring a large satis-
faction for the old, and likewise facilitating the way
for the introduction of a new secretary, who could
not forget the obligation. So he told O'Neile, " that
" all the world knew that he had for many years pro-
" fessed a great friendship for secretary Nicholas,"
(they had been both servants at the same time to



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 227

the duke of Buckingham, when he was killed,) " and 1 6G3.
" that he should be much troubled to see him dis- ~~
" placed in his old age with contempt ; but if his
" majesty would dismiss him with honour and re-
" ward, that he might be able to provide for his wife
" and children, he would make no scruple to per-
" suade him to quit his employment. " O'Neile had
all he looked for, and only enjoined him secrecy,
" that it might not come to the king's ear that he
" had communicated this secret to any man ; and
" he did presume, that before any resolution was
" taken in it, his majesty would speak of it to the
" chancellor. "

Within a day or two the king sent for Ashburn-
ham, and told him " he knew he was a friend to
" the secretary, who was now grown old, and not
" able to take the pains he had done ; that he had
" served his father and himself very faithfully, and
" had spent his fortune in his service ; that if he
" were willing to retire, for without his consent he
" would do nothing, he would give him ten thou-
" sand pounds, or any other recompense he should
" choose," implying a title of honour : but intimated,
though he referred all to his own will, " that he
" wished, and that it would be acceptable to him,
" that the office might be vacant and at his ma-
" jesty's disposal. "

He undertook the employment very cheerfully,
and quickly imparted all that had passed from the
king, and all that he knew before, to the secretary ;
who was not fond of the court, and thought he had
lived long enough there, having seen and observed
much that he was grieved at heart to see. He con-
sidered, that though this message was very gracious,

Q 2



228 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1663. and offered a noble reward for his service, it did



withal appear that the king did desire he should be
gone ; and having designed a successor to him, who
had already much credit with him, if he should
seem sullen or unwilling, he might in a short time
be put out without any consideration, or at most
with the promise of one. Thereupon he wished his
friend " to assure the king, that he would very
" readily do whatsoever his majesty thought neces-
" sary for his service ; but he hoped, that after
" above forty years spent in the service of the crown,
" he should not be exposed to disgrace and con-
" tempt. That he had a wife and children, who
" had all suffered with him in exile till his majesty's
" return, and for whom he could not make a com-
" petent provision without his majesty's bounty ;
" and therefore he hoped, that before his majesty
" required the signet, he would cause the recom-
" pense he designed to be more than what he had
" mentioned, and to be first paid. "

This province could not be put into a fitter hand,
secretary for it was managed with notable skill. And as soon
resigns! 8 as ^ was known that the secretary would willingly
resign, which was feared, and that only a better
recompense was expected, every body was willing
that the king should make the act look as gra-
ciously as might be, that the successor might be at-
tended with the less envy. And Mr. Ashburnham
cultivated their impatience so skilfully, that it cost
the king, in present money and land or lease, very
little less than twenty thousand pounds, to bring in
a servant whom very few cared for, in the place of

* m make] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 229

an old servant whom every body loved : and he re- ] 663.
ceived all that was promised, before he resigned his "~
place. And if the change had been as good for the
king, as it was for the good old secretary, every body
would have been glad. And thus sir Harry Bennet sir H. Ben-
was at the king's charge accommodated, even to the "
satisfaction of his own ambition : and his majesty Jlfch
was as well pleased, that he had gotten sir Charles Berkle y

privy purse.

Berkley into the other office about his person, whom
he every day loved with more passion, for what
reason no man knew nor could imagine.

And from this time they who stood at any near The chan-
distance could not but discern, that the chancellor's terest de-
interest and credit with the king manifestly declined : clmes '
not that either of these two pretended to be his rival,
or appeared to cross any thing in council that he
proposed or advised ; on the contrary, they both
professed great respect towards him. One of them,
being no privy counsellor, made great professions
and addresses to him by himself, and by some friends
who had much credit with him ; protested " against
" meddling at all in business, and that he only hoped
" to gain a fortune by his majesty's favour, upon
" which he might be able to live ;" nor did it appear
afterwards, that he did to his death wish that the
chancellor's power should be lessened : and the other
made all the professions imaginable of affection and
respect to him, and repaired upon occasions to him
for advice and for direction. Nor in truth could
either of them have done him any prejudice at that
time with the king by pretending to do it ; but by
pretending the contrary by degrees got power to
do it.

His majesty did not in the least degree withdraw

Q3



230 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1663. his favour from him, heard him as willingly, came
The king as often to him, was as little reserved in any thing ;
nueV^Tfa. on ty * n one P ar ticular he did with some solemnity
vour to him. conjure him never to mention it to him again, in
which he did not yet punctually obey him, nor avoid
seasonably saying any thing to him which he be-
lieved to be his duty, and which his majesty never
seemed to take ill. And whenever he spake to him
of either of the other two gentlemen, which he fre-
quently did with much kindness, he always added
somewhat of both their respects and esteem for him,
as a thing that pleased him well ; and said once,
" that it concerned them, for whenever he should
" discern it to be otherwise, he should make them
" repent it. " Yet notwithstanding all this, from
that time counsels were not so secret, and greater
liberty was n taken to talk of the public affairs in
the evening conversation, than had been before^
when they happened sometimes to be shortly men-
tioned in the production of some wit or jest ; but
now they were often taken into debate, and censured
with too much liberty with reference to things and
persons; and the king himself was less fixed and
more irresolute in his counsels ; and inconvenient
grants came every day to the seal for the benefit of
particular persons, against which the king had par-
ticularly resolved, and at last by importunity would
have passed. Lastly, both these persons were most
devoted to the lady, and much depended upon her
interest, and consequently were ready to do any
thing that would be grateful to her.

There was another mischief contrived about this

n was] Not in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 231

time, that had a much worse influence upon the 1663.

public, except we shall call it the same, because it

did in truth proceed from it. Though the public The first

c . . f . . rise of the

state of affairs, in respect ot the distempers and Dutch war.
discomposures which are mentioned before, and that
the expenses exceeded what was assigned to sup-
port it, whereby the great debt was little diminished,
yielded little delight to those who were most trusted
to manage and provide* for them, and who had a
melancholic and dreadful apprehension of conse-
quences : yet whilst the nation continued in peace,
and without any danger from any foreign enemy,
the prospect was so pleasant, especially to those
who stood at a distance, that they saw nothing wer-
thy of any man's fear ; and there was reasonable
hope, that the expenses might every year be re-
duced within reasonable bounds P. But all that
hope vanished, when there appeared an immoderate
desire to engage the nation in a war.

Upon the king's first arrival in England, he ma-
nifested a very great desire to improve the general
traffick and trade of the kingdom, and upon all oc-
casions conferred with the most active merchants
upon it, and offered all that he could contribute to
the advancement thereof. He erected a council of
trade, which produced little other effect than the
opportunity of men's speaking together, which pos-
sibly disposed them to think more, and to consult
more effectually in private, than they could in such
a crowd of commissioners. Some merchants and sea-
men made a proposition by Mr. William Coventry
and some few others to the duke of York, " for the

" the] that the '' bounds] hopes

Q 4



CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1663. " erection of a company in which they desired his
The erec- " royal highness to preside," (and from thence it
^AW! was called the R y al Company,) " to which his ma-
can com- jesty should grant the sole trade of Guinea, which
" in a short time they presumed would bring great
" advantage to the public, and much profit to the
" adventurers, who should begin upon a joint stock,
" to be managed by a council of such as should be
" chosen out of the adventurers. "

This privilege had before the troubles been f '
granted by the late king to sir Nicholas Crisp and
others named by him, who had at their own charge
sent ships thither : and sir Nicholas had at his own
charge bought a nook of ground, that lay into the
sea, of the true owners thereof, (all that coast being
inhabited by heathens,) and built thereon a good fort
and warehouses, under which the ships lay ; and he
had advanced this trade so far before the troubles,
that he found it might be carried on with very great
benefit. After the rebellion began, and sir Nicholas
betook himself to serve the king, some merchants
continued the trade, and either by his consent or
Cromwell's power had^ the possession of that fort,
called Cormantine ; which was still in the possession
of the English when his majesty returned, though
the trade was small, in respect the Dutch had fixed
a stronger quarter at no great distance from it, and
sent much more ships and commodities thither, and
returned once r every year to their own country with
much wealth. The chief end of this trade was, be-
sides the putting off great quantities of our own ma-
nufactures according as the trade should advance, to

'i been] Omitted in MS. ' once] one



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 233

return with gold, which that coast produced in good 1663.
quantity, and with slaves, blacks, which were readily ~
sold to any plantation at great prices.

The model was so well prepared, and the whole
method for governing the trade so rationally pro-
posed, that the duke was much pleased with it, and
quickly procured a charter to be granted from the A charter

. , , . . , . granted to

king to this company with ample privileges, and it.
his majesty himself to become an adventurer, and,
which was more, to assist them for the first esta-
blishment of their trade with the use of some of
his own ships. The duke was the governor of the
company, with power to make a deputy : all the
other officers and council were chosen by the com-
pany, which consisted of persons of honour and
quality, every one of which brought in five hundred
pounds for the first joint stock, with which they set
out the first ships ; upon the return whereof they
received so much encouragement and benefit, that
they compounded with sir Nicholas Crisp for his
propriety in the fort and castle ; and possessed
themselves of another place upon the coast, and
sent many ships thither, which made very good re-
turns, by putting off their blacks at the Barbadoes
and other the king's plantations at their own prices,
and brought home such store of gold that admin-,
istered the first occasion for the coinage of those
pieces, which from thence had the denomination of
guineas; and what was afterwards made of the
same species, was coined of the gold that was
brought from that coast by the royal company. In
a word, if that company be not broken or disordered
by the jealousy that the gentlemen adventurers have
of the merchants, and their opinion that they under-



234 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1 663. stand the mysteries of trade as well as the other, by
"" which they refuse to concur in the necessary expe-
dients proposed by the other, and interpose unskil-
ful overtures of their own with pertinacy, it will be
found a model equally to advance the trade of Eng-
land with that of any other company, even that of
the East Indies.

From the first entrance into this trade, which the
duke was exceedingly disposed to advance, and was
constantly present himself at all councils, which
were held once a week in his own lodgings at White-
hall, it was easily discovered that the Dutch had a
better trade there than the English, which they were
then willing to believe that they had no right to, for
that the trade was first found out and settled there
by the English ; which was a sufficient foundation to
settle it upon this nation, and to exclude all others,
at least by the same law that the Spaniard enjoys
the West Indies, and the Dutch what they or the
Portuguese possessed in the East. But this they
quickly found would not establish such a title as
would bear a dispute : the having sent a ship or
two thither, and built a little fort, could not be al-
lowed such a possession as would exclude all other
nations. And the truth was, the Dutch were there
some time before us, and the Dane before either:
and the Dutch, which was the true grievance, had
planted themselves more advantageously, upon the
bank of a river, than we had done ; and by the erec-
tion of more forts were more strongly seated; and
drove a much greater trade, which they did not be-
lieve they would be persuaded to quit. This drew
the discourse from the right to the easiness, by the
assistance of two or three of the king's ships, to



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 235

take away all that the Dutch possessed in and about 1663.
Guinea, there having never been a ship of war seen "
in those parts ; so that the work might be presently
done, and such an alliance made with the natives,
who did not love the Dutch, that the English might s
be unquestionably possessed of the whole trade of
that country, which would be of inestimable profit
to the kingdom.

The merchants took much delight to enlarge
themselves upon this argument, and shortly after to
discourse " of the infinite benefit that would accrue
" from a barefaced war against the Dutch, how easily
" they might be subdued, and the trade carried by
" the English. That Cromwell had always beaten
" them, and thereby gotten the greatest glory he
" had, and brought them upon then- knees ; and
" could totally have subdued them, if he had not
" thought it more for his interest to have such a
" second, whereby he might the better support his
" usurpation against the king. And therefore, after
" they had consented to all the infamous conditions
" of the total abandoning his majesty, and as far as
" in them lay to the extirpation of all the royal fa-
" mily, and to a perpetual exclusion of the prince of
" Orange, he made a firm peace with them ; which
" they had not yet performed, by their retaining
'* still the island of Poleroone, which they had so
" long since barbarously taken from the English,
" and which they had expressly promised and un-
" dertaken to deliver in the last treaty, after Crom-
" well had compelled them to pay a great sum of
" money for the damages which the English had

s might] may



236 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1663. " sustained at Amboyna, when all the demands and
~~ " threats from king James could never procure any

" satisfaction for that foul action. "
The duke of These discourses, often reiterated in season and

York much

for it. out of season, made a very deep impression in the
duke ; who having been even from his childhood in
the command in armies, and in his nature inclined
to the most difficult and dangerous enterprises, was
already weary of having so little to do, and too im-
patiently longed for any war, in which he knew he
could not but have the chief command. But these
kind of debates, or l the place in which they were
made, could contribute little to an affair of so huge
an importance, otherwise" than by inciting the
duke, which they did too much, to consider and af-
fect it, and to dispose others who were near him to
inculcate the same thoughts into him, as an argu-
ment in which his honour would be much exalted in
the eye of all the world : and to these x good offices
they were enough disposed by the restlessness and
unquietness of their own natures, and by many
other motives for the accomplishing their own
designs, and getting more power into their own
hands.

But there was lately, very lately, a peace fully
concluded with the States General upon the same
terms, articles, and conditions, which they had for-
merly yielded to Cromwell, being very much more
advantageous than they had ever granted in any
treaty to the crown. And at the time of the con-
clusion of the peace, they delivered their orders
from the States General and their East India com-

1 or] nor " otherwise] other x these] the



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 237

pany for the delivery of the island of Poleroone to 1 663.
the English, which y Cromwell himself had extorted ~~
from them with the greatest difficulty : so that
there was now no colour of justice to make a war
upon them. Besides that there were at present
great jealousies from Spain upon the marriage with
Portugal ; nor did France, which had broken pro-
mise in making a treaty with Holland, make any
haste to renew the treaty with England. And
therefore it could not but seem strange to all men,
that when we had only made a treaty of peace with
Holland, and that so newly, and upon so long con-
sideration, and had none with either of the crowns,
we should so much desire to enter into a war with
them.

However, the duke's heart was set upon it, and
he loved to speak of it, and the benefits which would
attend it. He spake of it to the king, whom he The king
found no ways inclined to it, and therefore he knewt i t mc
it was unfit to propose it in council : yet he spake
often of it to such of the lords of whom he had the
best opinion, and found many of them to concur
with him in the opinion of the advantages which
might arise from thence. And sometimes he thought
he left the king disposed to it, by an argument
which he found prevailed with many : " that the
" differences and jealousies in point of trade, which
" did every day fall out and would every day in-
" crease between the English and the Dutch, who
" had in the late distractions gotten great advan-
" tages, would unavoidably produce a war between
" them ; and then that the question only was, whe-

y which] and which



238 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1663. " ther it were not better for us to begin it now,
~ " when they do not expect it, and we are better
" prepared for it than probably we shall be then ;
" or to stay two or three years, in which the same
" jealousy would provoke them to be well provided,
" when probably we might not be ready. That we
" had the best sea officers in the world, many of.
" whom had often beaten the Dutch, and knew how
" to do it again ; and a multitude of excellent mari-
" ners and common seamen : all which, if they
" found that nothing would be done at home, would
" disperse themselves in merchant voyages to the
" Indies and the Straits ; and probably so many
" good men would never be found together again. "

And with such arguments he many times thought
that he left the king much moved : but when he
spake to him again (though he knew that he had no
kindness for the Dutch) his majesty was changed,
and very averse to a war ; which he imputed to
The chan- the chancellor, who had . not dissembled, as often as
poses itS*" his highness spake to him, to be passionately and
obstinately against it. And he did take all the op-
portunities he could find to confirm the king in his
aversion to it, who was in his heart averse from it,
by presenting to him the state of his own affairs,
" the great debt that yet lay upon him, which with
" peace and good husbandry might be in some time
" paid ; but a war would involve him in so much
" greater, that no man could see the end of it. That
" he would be able to preserve himself against the
" factions and distempers in his own kingdom, and
" probably suppress them, if he were without a fo-
" reign enemy : but if he should be engaged in a
" war abroad, his domestic divisions, especially those



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 239

" in religion, would give him more trouble than he 1663.
" could well struggle withal.

" That it was an erroneous assumption, that the
" Dutch would be better provided for a war two or
" three years hence, and his majesty worse, for
" which there was no reason. That within that
" time it would be his own fault, if the distempers
" in his three kingdoms were not composed, which
" would make him much fitter for a war ; whereas
" now neither of them could be said to be in peace,
" that of Ireland being totally unsettled, and that of
" Scotland not yet well pleased, and England far
" from it. That in that time it was very probable
" that the two crowns would be again engaged in a
" war ; since it was generally believed, and with
" great reason, that France only expected the death
" of the king of Spain, who was very infirm, and
" meant then to fall into Flanders, having at the
" same time with great expense provided great ma-
" gazines of corn and hay upon the borders, which
" could be for no other end. That whilst he conti-
" nued in peace, his friendship would be valuable to
" all the princes of Europe, and the two crowns
" would strive who should gain him : but if he en-
" gaged in a war, and in such a war as that with z
" Holland, which would interrupt and disturb all
" the trade of the kingdom, upon which the greatest
" part of his revenue did rise ; all other princes
" would look on, and not much esteem any offices
" he could perform to them. And lastly, that a
" little time might possibly administer a just occa-
" sion of a war, which at present there was not. "

' that witli] Not in MS.



240 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1663. These, and better arguments which the king's

"own understanding suggested to him, made him

fully resolve against the war, and to endeavour to

change his brother from affecting it, which wrought

not at all upon him ; but finding that many things

fell from the king in the argument, which had been

alleged to himself by the chancellor, he concluded

the mischief came from him, and was displeased ac-

The duke cordingly, and complained to his wife, " that her fa-

with him " ther should oppose him in an affair upon which he

" knew his heart was so much set, and of which

" every body took so much notice ;" which troubled

her very much. And she very earnestly desired her

father, " that he would no more oppose the duke in

" that matter.