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CENTRAL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

University of California, San Diego

DATE DUE
OCT 20 199U
SEP i 7 1990
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\'	UCSD Libr.

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(/

BISHOP BURNET'S

HISTORY

OF

HIS OWN TIME:

WITH THE

SUPPRESSED PASSAGES OF THE FIRST VOLUME,

AND NOTES

BY THE

EARLS OF DARTMOUTH AND HARDWICKE,

AND

SPEAKER ONSLOW,

HITHERTO UNPUBLISHED. To which are added

THE CURSORY REMARKS OF SWIFT, AND OTHER OBSERVATIONS.

VOL. IL

OXFORD,

AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. MDCCCXXIII.

THE , 344

H I STORY

OF

MY OWN TIMES.

BOOK III.

Of the rest of king Charles the second's reign^ from the year 1673 to the year 1685, in which he died.

Hitherto the reign of king Charles was 1673.

pretty serene and calm at home. A nation weary Great jea- of a long civil war was not easily brought into jea- [^"*J*„g[ lousies and fears, which were the seeds of distrac- tion, and might end in new confusions and troubles. But the court had now given such broad intimations of an ill design, both on our religion and the civil constitution, that it was no more a jealousy: all was now open and barefaced. In the king's pre- sence the court flatterers were always magnifying 345 absolute government, and reflecting on the insolence of a house of commons. The king said once to the earl of Essex, as he told me, that he did not wish to be like a grand signior, with some mutes about VOL. II. B

2 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1673. him, and bags of bow-strings to strangle men as he had a mind to it : but he did not think he was a king, as long as a company of fellows were looking into all his actions, and examining his ministers, as well as his accounts. He reckoned, now he had set the church party at such a distance from the dis- senters, that it was impossible to make them join in opposition to his designs. He hoped, the church party would be always submissive : and he had the dissenters at mercy.

The proceedings of the former year had opened aU men's eyes. The king's own religion was sus- pected, as his brother's was declared : and the whole conduct shewed a design to govern by the French model. A French general was brought over to schomberg commaud our armies. Count Schomberg, who was command" a German by birth, (but his mother was an English the army, ^q^^jj^^ ^^s scnt ovcr. He was a firm protestant, and served at first in HoUand. But upon the prince of Orange's death he went into France, where he grew into so high a reputation, that he was kept under, and not raised to be a marshal, only on the account of his rehgion. He was a calm man, of great application and conduct, [beyond what was expected by those who knew him on other occa- sions : for he was too much a German in the liber- ties he allowed himself in entertainments ; but when he commanded armies, he kept himself to better rules.] He thought much better than he spoke. He was a man of true judgment, of great probity, and of an humble and obhging temper : and at any other time of his life he would have been very ac- ceptable to the English. But now he was looked " on as one sent over from France to bring our army

e

OF KING CHARLES II. $

under a French discipline : and so he was hated by 1673. the nation, and not much loved by the court. He was always pressing the king to declare himself the he&d of the protestant pai'ty. He pressed him like- wise to bring his l^rother over from popery : but the king said to him, you know my brother long ago, that he is as stiff as a mule. He Uked the way of Charenton so well, that he went once a week to London to the. French church there, that was ac- cording to that form : so the duke and lord Clifford looked on him as a presbyterian, and an unfit man for their purpose. The duke of Buckingham hated him; for he hoped to have commanded the army* And as an army is a very unacceptable thing to the ' English nation, so it came to be the more odious^ when commanded by a general sent over from France. Schomberg told me, he saw it was impos- sible that the king could bring any great design to a good effect : he loved his ease so much, that he never minded business: and every thing that was said to him of affairs was heard with so little atten-346 tion, that it made no impression.

The ministry was all broke to pieces. The duke The court of Buckingham was alone, hated by all, as he hated divided, all the rest. But he went so entirely into all their ill designs, that the king considered him, and either loved or feared him so much, that he had a deep root with him. Lord Clifford stuck firm to the duke, and was heated with the design of bringing in popery, even to enthusiasm. It was believed, if the design had succeeded, he had agreed with his wife to take orders^, and to aspire to a cardinal's hat.

• Was he or she to take orders ? S. B 2

4 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1673, He grew violent ; and could scarce speak with pa- tience of the church of England and of the clergy. The earl of ArUngton thought that the design was now lost, and that it was necessary for the king to make up with his people in the best manner he could. The earl of Shaftsbury was resolved to save himself on any terms ^.

The money was exhausted : so it was necessary to have a session of parliament. And one was called in the beginning of the year. At the opening it, the king excused the issuing out the writs, as done to save time, and to have a fuU house at the first open- ing : but he left that matter wholly to them : he spoke of the declaration for liberty of conscience in another style : he said he had seen the good effects of it ; and that he would stick to it, and maintain it : he said, he was engaged in a war for the honour of the nation, and therefore he demanded the sup- plies that were necessary to carry it on. On these heads lord Shaftsbury enlarged. But no part of his speech was more amazing than that, speaking of the war with the Dutch ; he said, Delenda est Car^ thago. Yet, while he made a base complying speech in favour of the court and of the war, he was in a secret management with another party.

The house of commons was uppn this all in a

b I heard the first duke of him the lie, which turned the

Bolton say, that at this time discourse into a quarrel, that

the duke of Buckingham, lord was made up before they part-

Shaftsbury, and a great deal of ed. D. (The secrets were

company, dined at his house, those of a ministry composed

and after they had drank very of whigs, romanists, and athe-

freely, the duke of Buckingham ists, who were the advisers of

began to tell some of their se- the worst measures of this

crets, which Shaftsbury had no reign.) way to prevent but by giving

OF KING CHARLES II. 5

flame. They saw popery and slavery lay at the 1673. bottom. Yet, that they might not grasp at too The decia- much at once, they resolved effectually to break the J!^^"!*^** whole design of popery. They argued the matter '^g»'- of the declaration ; whether it was according to law, or not. It was plainly an annulling of the penal law, made both against papists and dissenters. It was said, that though the king had a power of par- doning, yet he had not a power to authorize men to break laws. This must infer a power to alter the whole government. The strength of every law was the penalty laid upon offenders : and, if the king could secure offenders by indemnifying them before- hand, it was a vain thing to make laws ; since by that maxim they had no force, but at the king's dis- cretion. Those who pleaded for the declaration pre- 347 tended to put a difference between penal laws in spiritual matters and all others : and said that the king's supremacy seemed to give him a peculiar au- thority over these : by virtue of this it was, that the synagogue of the Jews and the Walloon churches had been so long tolerated. But to this it was an- swered, that the intent of the law in asserting the supremacy was only to exclude aU foreign jurisdic- tion, and to lodge the whole authority with the king: but that was still to be bounded and regu- lated by law : and a difference was to be made be- tween a connivance, such as that the Jews lived under, by which they were still at mercy, and a legal authority : the parliament had never disputed the legality of the patent for the Walloon congrega- tions, which was granted to encourage strangers, professing the same religion, to come among us, when they were persecuted for it in their own coun-

B 3

'6 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1673. try : it was at first granted only to strangers : but afterwards in the days of their children, who were natives, it had been made void : and now they were excepted by a special clause out of the act of uni- formity. The house came quickly to a very una- nimous resolution, that the declaration was against law. And they set that forth in an address to the king, in which they prayed that it might be called in. Some were studying to divert this, by setting them on to inquire into the issuing out the writs. And the court seemed willing that the storm should break on lord Shaftsbury, and would have gladly compounded the matter by making him the sacrifice. He saw into that ; and so was resolved to change sides with the first opportunity. A bill for The house was not content with this : but they ' brought in a bill disabling all papists from holding any employment or place at court; requiring all persons in public trust to receive the sacrament in a parish church, and to carry an attested certificate of that, with witnesses to prove it, into chancery, or the county sessions ; and there to make a declara- tion renouncing tran substantiation in fuU and posi- tive words. Great pains was taken by the court to divert this. They proposed that some regard might be had to protestant dissenters, and that their meet- ings might be allowed. By this means they hoped to have set them and the church party into new The pru- hcats ; for now all were united against popery. Love, the dissent- who scrvcd for the city of London, and was himself a dissenter, saw what ill effects any such quarrels might have : so he moved, that an effectual security might be found against popery, and that nothing might intei-pose till that was done. When that was

OF KING CHARLES II. J

over, then they would try to deserve some favour: 1673. but at present they were willing to lie under the se- verity of the laws, rather than clog a more necessary work with their concerns. The chief friends of the 348 sects agi'eed to this. So a vote passed to bring in a bill in favour of protestant dissenters, though there was not time enough, nor unanimity enough, to finish one this session : for it went no farther than a se- cond reading, but was dropt in the committee. But this prudent behaviour of theirs did so soften the church party, that there was no more votes nor bills offered at against them, even in that angry parliament, that had been formerly so severe upon them.

The court was now in great perplexity. If they Debates in

,. • 1 1 n ^^^ house

gave way to proceedmgs m the house 01 commons, of lords. there was a ftiU stop put to the design for popery : and if they gave not way to it, there was an end of the war. The French could not furnish us with so much money as was necessary : and the shutting up the exchequer had put an end to all credit. The court tried what could be done in the liouse of lords. Lord Clifford resolved to assert the declaration with all the force and all the arguments he could bring for it. He shewed the heads he intended to speak on to the king, who aj)proved of them, and sug- gested some other hints to him. He began the de- bate with rough words : he called the vote of the commons monstrum horrendum ingens, and run on in a very high strain. He said all that could be said, with great heat, and many indecent expres- sions. When he had done, the earl of Shaftsbury, to the amazement of the whole house, said, he must differ from the lord that spoke last toto coelo. He

B 4)

a THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1673. gaid, while those matters were debated out of doors,

he might think with others, that the supremacy, as- serted as it was by law, did warrant the declara- tion : but now that such a house of commons, so loyal and affectionate to the king, were of another mind, he submitted his reasons to theirs : they were the king's great council : they must both advise and support him : they had done it ; and would do it still, if their laws and their religion were once secure to them. The king was aU in fury to be thus for- saken by his chancellor : and told lord Clifford, how weU he was pleased with his speech, and how highly he was offended with the other. The debate went on, and upon a division the court had the majority. But against that vote about thirty of the most con- siderable of the house protested. So the court saw they had gained nothing in carrying a vote, that drew after it such a protestation '^.

This matter took soon after that a quick turn. It had been much debated in the cabinet, what the king should do. Lord Clifford and duke Lauder- dale were for the king's standing his ground. Sir Ellis Leightoun assured me, that the duke of Buck- ingham and lord Berkeley offered to the king, if he would bring the army to town, that they would take 349 out of both houses the members that made the op- position. He fancied, the thing might have been

^ (There is no notice in the ings of the House of Lords

Journals of the House of Lords state, that there was any divi-

of any protest having been en- sion or protest on this occa-

tered against a decision of that sion. This information was

house respecting the king's de- obligingly communicated by the

claration for liberty of con- reverend Mr. Bandinel, head

science. Neither does Chand- keeper of the Bodleian library.) ler in his History and Proceed-

OF KING CHARLES II. 9

easily brought about, and that, if the king would 1673. have acted with the spirit that he sometimes put on, The variety they might have carried their business. Duke Lau- J*^ JJ^"'""* derdale talked of bringing an army out of Scotland, •''"g's and seizing on Newcastle ; and pressed this with as much vehemence, as if he had been able to have ex- ecuted it. Lord Cliiford said to the king, his people did now see through all his designs : and therefore he must resolve to make himself master at once, or be for ever subject to much jealousy and contempt. The earls of Shaftsbury and Arlington pressed the king, on the other hand, to give the parliament full content : and they undertook to procure him money for carrying on the war : and, if he was successful in that, he might easily recover what he must in this extremity part with. This suited the king's own temper. Yet the duke held him in suspence.

Colbert's brother, Croissy, was then the French The French ambassador here. Lord Arlington possessed him king to with such an apprehension of the madness of violent H^^ pariia- counsels, and that the least of the ill effects they ™*°*- might have would be the leaving the war wholly on the French king, and that it would be impossible to carry it on, if the king should run to such extremi- ties, as some were driving him to at home ; that he gained him both to press the king and his brother to comply with the parliament, and to send an ex- press to his own master, representing the whole matter in the light in which lord Arlington had set it before him.

In the aftemoop of the day in which the matter had been argued in the house of lords, the earls of Shaftsbury and Arlington got all those members of /the house of commons on whom they had any influ-

10 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1673. ence, (and who had money from the king, and were his spies, but had leave to vote with the party against the court, for procuring them the more crer dit,) to go privately to him, and to tell him that upon lord Clifford's speech the house was in such fury, that probably they would have gone to some high votes and impeachments : but the lord Shafts- bury speaking on the other side restrained them : they believed he spoke the king's sense, as the other did the duke's ; this calmed them. So they made the king apprehend, that the lord chancellor's speech, with which he had been so much offended, was really a great service done him : and they persuaded him farther, that he might now save himself, and obtain an indemnity for his ministers, if he would The king part with the declaration, and pass the bill. This tha° sud- was SO dcxterously managed by lord Arlington, who deniy. g^^ ^ great number of the members to go one after another to the king, who by concert spoke all the same language, that before night the king was quite 350 changed, and said to his brother, that lord Clifford had undone himself, and had spoiled their business by his mad sjieech ; and that, though lord Shafts- bury had spoke like a rogue, yet that had stopt a fiiry which the indiscretion of the other had kin- dled to such a degree, that he could serve him no longer. He gave him leave to let him know all this. The duke was struck with this; and imputed it whoUy to lord Arlington's management. In the evening he told lord Clifford what the king had said. The lord Clifford, who was naturally a vehe- ment man, went upon that to the king, who scarce knew how to look him in the face. Lord Clifford said, he knew how many enemies he must needs

OF KING CHARLES II. 11

make to himself by his speech in the house of lords : 1673. but he hoped that in it he both served and pleased the king, and was therefore the less concerned in every thing else : but he was surprised to find by the duke, that the king was now of another mind. The king was in some confusion : he owned, that all cnfford lie had said was right in it self: but he said, that he, who sat long in the house of commons, should have considered better what they could bear, and what the necessity of his affairs required. Lord Clifford in his first heat was inclined to have laid down his white staff, and to have expostulated roundly with the king. But a cooler thought stop- ped him. He reckoned he must now retire : and therefore he had a mind to take some care of his fa^ mily in the way of doing it : so he restrained him- self; and said, he was sorry that his best meant ser- vices were so ill understood. Soon after this, letters came from the French king, pressing the king to do all that was necessary to procure money of his par- liament, since he could not bear the charge of the war alone. He also writ to the duke, and excused the advice he gave upon the necessity of affafrs ; but promised faithfuUy to espouse his concerns, as soon as he got out of the war, and that he would never be easy, tiU he recovered that which he was now forced to let go. Some parts of these transac- tions I had from the duke and from duke Lauder- dale : the rest, that related to the lord CUfibrd, Ti- tus told me, he had from his own mouth.

As soon as lord Clifford saw he must lose the white staff, he went to the duke of Buckingham, who had contributed much to the procuring it to him ; and told him, he brought him the first notice

12 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1^673. that he was to lose that place to which he had

helped him, and that he would assist him to procure

it to some of his friends. After they had talked

round all that were in any sort capable of it, and

had found great objections to every one of them,

osborn they at last pitched on sir Thomas Osbom, a gentle- made lord n-«rii«

treasurer, man of Yorkshire, whose estate was much sunk. He was a very plausible speaker, but too copious, 351 and could not easily make an end of his discourse ^. He had been always among the high cavaliers : and missing preferment, he had opposed the court much^ and was one of lord Clarendon's bitterest enemies. He gave himself great liberties in discourse, and did not seem to have any regard to truth, or so much as to the appearances of it; and was an implacable enemy : but he had a peculiar way to make his friends depend on him, and to believe he was true to them. He was a positive and undertaking man : so he gave the king great ease, by assuring him aU things would go according to his mind in the next session of parliament. And when his hopes failed him, he had always some excuse ready to put the miscarriage upon. And by this means he got into the highest degree of confidence with the king, and maintained it the longest of aU that ever served him. A great The king now went into new measures. He

Mppjwas ^g^Ug^ £qj. ^jjg declaration, and ordered the seal put

•* I never knew a man that would afterwards make use of

could express himself so clearly, very much to his advantage, by

or that seemed to carry his point undertaking that people should

so much by force of a superior be of an opinion, that he knew

understanding. In private con- was theirs before. D.

versation he had a particular ' He had been with the

art in making the company tell court now for some time, and

their opinions without disco- was treasurer of the navy. O. vering of his own ; which he

OF KING CHARLES II. 13

to it to be broken. So the act for the taking the 1673. sacrament, and the test against transubstantiation, went on : and together with it an act of grace passed, which was desired chiefly to cover the mi- nistry, who were all very obnoxious by their late actings. The court desired at least 1,200,000/.; for that sum was necessary to the carrying on the war. The great body of those who opposed the court had resolved to give only 600,000/. which was enough to procure a peace, but not to con- tinue the war. Garroway and Lee had led the opposition to the court all this session in the house of commons: so they were thought the properest to name the sum. Above eighty of the chief of the party had met over night, and had agreed to name 600,000/. But Garroway named 1,200,000/. and was seconded in it by Lee. So this surprise gained that great sum, which enabled the court to carry on the war. When their party reproached these persons for it, they said, they had tried some of the court as to the sum intended to be named, who had assured them, the whole agreement would be broke, if they offered so small a sum : and this made them venture on the double of it. They had good rewards from the court : and yet they continued still voting on the other side. They said, they had got good pennyworths for their money: a sure law against popery, which had clauses in it never used before; for all that continued in office after the time lapsed, they not taking the sacra- ment, and not renouncing transubstantiation, (which came to be called the test, and the act from it the test act,) were rendered incapable of holding any office : all the acts they did in it were declared in-

14 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1673. valid and illegal, besides a fine of five hundred

pounds to the discoverer. Yet upon that lord Ca- vendish, now duke of Devonshire, said, that when much money was given to buy a law against po- pery, the force of the money would be stronger in 352 order to the bringing it in, than the law could be for keeping it out. I never knew a thing of this nature carried so suddenly and so artificially in the house of commons, as this was, to the great amaze- ment of the Dutch, who relied on the parliament, and did not doubt but that a peace with England would be procured by their interposition. The duke Thus this mcmorablc session ended. It was in- aii his com- deed much the best session of that long parliament, missions, rpj^^ church party shewed a noble zeal for then* reli- gion : and the dissenters got great reputation by their silent deportment. After the session was over, the duke carried all his commissions to the king, and wept as he delivered them up : but the king shewed no concern at all. Yet he put the admiralty in a commission composed whoUy of the duke's crea- tures : so that the power of the navy was still in his hands. Lord Clifford left the treasury, and was succeeded by Osbom, who was soon after made earl of Danby. The earl of Shaftsbury had lost the king's favour quite. But it was not thought fit to lay him aside, till it should appear what service he could do them in another session of parliament. Lord Arlington had lost the duke more than any other. He looked on him as a pitiful coward, who would forsake and betray any thing, rather than run any danger himself Prince Rupert was sent to command the fleet. But the captains were the duke's creatures: so they crossed him all they

OF KING CHARLES II. U

could, and complained of every thing he did. In 1673. a word, they said he had neither sense nor con- duct left. Little could be expected from a fleet so commanded and so divided. He had two or three engagements with the Dutch, that were weU fought on both sides, but were of no great conse- quence, and were drawn battles. None of the French ships engaged, except one, who charged their admiral for his ill conduct : but, instead of re- ward, he was clapt in the Bastille upon his return to France. This opened the eyes and mouths of the whole nation. All men cried out, and said, we were engaged in a war by the French, that they might have the pleasure to see the Dutch and us destroy one another, while they knew our seas and ports, and learned all our methods, but took care to preserve themselves. Count Schomberg told me, he pressed the French ambassador to have the matter examined. Otherwise, if satisfaction was not given to the nation, he was sure the next parliament would break the alliance. But by the ambassador's coldness he saw the French admiral had acted ac- cording to his instructions. So Schomberg made haste to get out of England, to prevent an address to send him away : and he was by that time as weary of the court, as the court was of him ^.

The duke was now looking for another wife. He Ti>e ^»^e made addresses to the lady Bellasis, the widow of second mw- the lord Bellasis's son. She was a zealous protest- q^q ant, though she was married into a popish family.

* The king put him in ex- a man little esteemed at that

pectation of a garter ; but (by time ; which aggravated the af-

the intrigues of the ladies) had front, as he thought. D. given it to the earl of Mulgrave,

16 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1673. She was a woman of much life and great vivacity, but of a very small proportion of beauty; as the duke was often observed to be led by his amours to objects that had no extraordinary charms. Lady Bellasis gained so much on the duke, that he gave her a promise under his hand to marry her. And he sent Coleman to her to draw her over to popery : but in that she could not be moved. When some of her friends reproached her for admitting the duke so freely to see her, she could not bear it, but said, she could shew that his addresses to her were honourable. When this came to the lord BeUasis's ears, who was her father-in-law, and was a zealous papist, and knew how intractable the lady was in those matters, he gave the whole design of bringing in their religion for gone, if that was not quickly broke : so he, pretending a zeal for the king and the duke's honour, went and told the king all he had heard. The king sent for the duke, and told him, it was too much that he had played the fool once : that was not to be done a second time, and at such an age. The lady was also so threatened, that she gave up the promise, but kept an attested copy of it, as she herself told me. There was an arch- duchess of Inspruck, to whom marriage was so- lemnly proposed : but the empress happening to die at that time, the emperor himself married her. After that a match was proposed to the duke of Modena's daughter, which took effect. But be- cause those at Rome were not willing to consent to it, unless she might have a public chapel, which the court would not hearken to, another marriage was proposed for a daughter of the duke of Crequi's. I saw a long letter of the duke's writ to sir William

OF KING CHARLES II. 17

Lockhart upon this subject with great anxiety. He 1673. apprehended, if he was not married before the ses- eion of parliament, that they would fall on that matter, and limit him so, that he should never be able to marry to his content : he was vexed at the stiffness of the court of Rome, who were demanding terms that could not be granted : he had sent a po- sitive order to the earl of Peterborough, who was negotiating the business at Modena, to come away by such a day, if all was not consented to : in the mean while he hoped, the king of France would not put that mortification on him, as to expose him to the violence of the parliament, (I use his own words ;) but that he would give order for despatch- ing that matter with all possible haste. But, while he was thus perplexed, the court of Rome yielded : and so the duke married that lady by proxy : and the earl of Peterborough brought her over through France.

The Swedes offered at this time a mediation in a treaty

opened at

order to a peace : and Cologn was proposed to be coiogn. the place of treaty. The king ordered the earl of ^^* Sunderland, sir LeoUn Jenkins, and sir Joseph Wil- liamson thither, to be his plenipotentiaries. Lord ^<"'*^ '^""-

derland's

Sunderland was a man of a clear and ready appre- character. hension, and a quick decision in business. He had too much heat both of imagination and passion, and was apt to speak very freely both of persons and things ^ His own notions were always good : but

' He was remarkable for ne- was secretary, Mr. Bridgman

ver speaking in public, nor at always attended to take the mi-

the cabinet, more than he was nutes for him, and whilst he

of such a lord's opinion, or he was president, the lord chan-

wondered how any body could cellor always acted for him at

be of that opinion. When he the council. Mr. War, who

VOL. II. C

IB THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1673. he was a man of great expense. And, in order to

the supporting himself, he went into the prevailing counsels at court : and he changed sides often, with little regard either to religion or the interest of his Tcountry. He raised many enemies to himself by the contempt with which he treated those who dif- fered from him. He had indeed the superior genius to all the men of business that I have yet known. And he had the dexterity of insinuating himself so entirely into the greatest degree of confidence with three succeeding princes, who set up on very differ- ent interests, that he came by this to lose himself so much, that even those who esteemed his parts, de- pended little on his firmness, b? ke'*ff '^ The treaty of Cologn was of a short continuance : for the emperor, looking on Furstenberg, the dean of Cologn, and bishop of Strasbourg, afterwards ad- vanced to be cardinal, who was the elector's pleni- potentiary at that treaty, as a subject of the empire, who had betrayed it, ordered him to be seized on. The French looked on this as such a violation of the passports, that they set it up for a preliminary, before they would enter upon a treaty, to have him set at liberty. .i») Maestricht was taken this summer ; in which the

duke of Monmouth distinguished himself so emi- nently, that he was much considered upon it. The king of France was there ; [but it was tliought he took much more care of his person than became a great prince. After the taking of Maestricht he

was one of his comniis, told me, he was usually at cards, and he he never came to the secretary's would sign them without read- office, but they carried the pa- ing, and seldom asked what pers to him at his house, where they were about. D.

OF KING CHARLES II. 19

went to Nancy in Lorraine, and left the prince of 1673. Cond^ with the ^rmy in Flanders, Turenne having the command of that on the Upper Rhine against the Grermans ; for the emperor and the whole em- pire were now engaged.

But I return now to the intrigues of our court. I The affairs

1 • • 1 1 1 !• 1 • °f Scotland.

came up this summer, m order to the pubushmg the Memoirs of the Dukes of Hamilton. I had left Scotland under an universal discontent. The whole administration there was both violent and corrupt, and seemed to be formed on a French model. The parliament had in the year 1663, in order to the bring- ing our trade to a balance with England, given the king in trust a power to lay impositions on foreign commodities. So upon that a great duty was lately laid upon French salt, in order to the better vend- ing the salt made at home : upon which it was sold very dear. And that raised great complaints : for, as the salt was excessive dear, so it did not serve all 355 purposes. All people looked on this as the begin- ning of a gabel. An imposition was also laid on tobacco : and all brandy was prohibited to be im- ported, but not to be retailed : so those who had the grant of the seizures sold them, and raised the price very much. These occasioned monopolies : and the price of those things that were of great consump- tion among the commons was much raised : so that a trust lodged with the crown was now abused in the highest degree. As these things provoked the body of the people, so duke Lauderdale's insolence, and his engrossing every thing to himself, and to a few of his friends, and his wife and his brother setting all things to sale, raised a very high discontent all over the nation. The affairs of tlie church were al-

c 2

m tiIe history of the reign

1 673. together neglected : so that in aU respects we were quite out of joint.

I went up with a fuU resolution to do my coun- try all the service I could, and to deal very plainly with the duke of Lauderdale, resolving, if I could do no good, to retire from aU affairs, and to meddle no more in public business. I lost indeed my best friend at court. Sir Robert Murray died suddenly at that time. He was the wisest and worthiest man of the age, and was as another father to me. I was sensible how much I lost in so critical a con- juncture, being bereft of the truest and faithfuUest friend I had ever known : and so I saw I was in danger of committing great errors for want of so kind a monitor. Lander- At my comiug to court, duke Lauderdale took

sign. me into his closet, and asked me the state of Scot- land. I upon that gave him a very punctual and r " true account of it. He seemed to think that I ag- gravated matters ; and asked me, if the king should need an army from Scotland to tame those in Eng- land, whether that might be depended on? I told him, certainly not : the commons in the southern parts were all presbyterians : and the nobility thought they had been iU used, and were generally discon- tented, and only waited for an occasion to shew it. He said, he was of another mind : the hope of the spoil of England would fetch them aU in. I an- swered, the king was ruined, if ever he trusted to that : and I added, that with relation to other more indifferent persons, who might be otherwise ready enough to push their fortunes without any anxious inquiries into the gi'ounds they went on, yet even these would not trust the king, since he had so lately

OF KING CHARLES II. 21

said, he would stick to his declaration, and yet had 1673. so soon after given it up. He said, Hinc ilUe la- crymce: but the king was forsaken in that matter, for none stuck to him but lord Clifford and himself: and then he set himself into a fit of railing at lord Shaftsbury. I was struck with this conversation ; and by it I clearly saw into the desjjerate designs of the court, which were as foolish as they were wicked : for I knew, that upon the least disorder in 356 England they were ready in Scotland to have broke out into a rebellion : so far were they from any incli- nation to have assisted the king in the mastering of England. I was much perplexed in my self what I ought to do, whether I ought not to have tried to give the king a truer view of our affairs : but I resolved to stay for a fit opportunity. I tried the duchess of Lau- derdale, and set before her the injustice and oppres- sion that Scotland was groaning under : but I saw she got too much by it to be any way concerned at it s. They talked of going down to hold a session of par- liament in Scotland : I warned them of their dan- ger. But they despised all I could say : only gi'eat offers were made to my self, to make me wholly theirs, which made no impression on me.

He carried me to the king, and proposed the The king licensing my Memoirs to him. The king bid mcMemoTra. bring them to him ; and said, he would read them himself. He did read some parts of them, particu-

B ( " The only apprehension " more narrowly into certain

" was of my lord Lauderdale's " methods she had lately found

•* being influenced by his lady " out of getting money for her-

** to oppose it, {;joiz. holding a " self." hije of King James II.

" parliament in Scotland in lately published by Dr. Clarke,

" 168 1,) for fear lest a parlia- from the Stuart papers, vol. K

" nient should look a little pag. 683.)

c 3

SSt THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

^^73. larly the account I gave of the ill conduct of the bishops, that occasioned the beginning of the wars : and told me, that he was weU pleased with it. He was at that time so much offended with the English bishops for opposing the toleration, that he seemed much sharpened against them. He gave me back my book to carry it to secretary Coventry, in order to the licensing it. The secretary said, he would read it all himself: so this obliged me to a longer stay than I intended. Sir Ellis Leightoun carried me to the duke of Buckingham, with whom I passed almost a whole night; and happened so far to please him, that he, who was apt to be fired with a new acquaintance, gave such a cha- racter of me to the king, that ever after that he took much notice of me, and said, he would hear me preach. He seemed well pleased with my ser- mon ; and spoke of it in a strain that drew much envy on me. And shewed He ordcrcd me to be sworn a chaplain, and ad-

me great ^ ^ '^

favour. mitted me to a long private audience, that lasted above an hour, in which I took all the freedom with him that I thought became my profession. He run me into a long discourse about the authority of the

> :;..;f»i- cJmrch, which he thought we made much of in our disputes with the dissenters, and then took it all away when we dealt with the papists. I saw plainly what he aimed at in this : and I quickly convinced him, that there was a great difference between an authority of government in things indifferent, and a pretence to infallibility. He complained heavily of the bishops for neglecting the true concerns of the church, and following courts so much, and being so engaged in parties. I went through some other

OF KING CHARLES II. 83

things with relation to his course of life, and entered 1673. into many particulars with much freedom. He bore it all very well ; and thanked me for it : some things 357 he freely condemned, such as living with another man's wife : other things he excused, and thought God would not damn a man for a little irregulai' pleasure. He seemed to take all I had said very kindly : and during my stay at court he used me in so particular a manner, that I was considered as a man growing into a high degree of favour.

At the same time lord Ancram, a Scotish earl, but ^fy conver-

1 n • • 1 • 1 sation with

of a small fortune, and of no pnnciples, either as to tiie duke. religion or virtue, whose wife was a papist, and him- self a member of the house of commons, told the duke that I had a great interest in Scotland, and might do him service in that kingdom. He de- pended on duke Lauderdale ; but hated him, because he did nothing for him. We were acquainted there : and, he having studied the most divinity of any man of quaUty I ever knew, we found many subjects of discourse. He saw I did not flatter duke Lau- derdale ; and he fancied he might make a tool of me. So he seemed to wonder that I had not been carried to wait on the duke; and brought me a message from him, that he would be glad to see me : and upon that he carried me to him. The duke received me very graciously. Lord Ancram had a mind to engage me to give him an account of the affairs of Scotland; but I avoided that, and very bluntly entered into much discourse with him about matters of religion. He said some of the common things, of the necessity of having but one church, otherwise we saw what swarms of sects did rise up on our revolt from Rome, and these had raised many rebellions, and the shedding much blood : and

c 4

24 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1673. he named both his father's death and his great grand- mother's, Mary queen of Scots : he also turned to some passages in Heylin's History of the Reforma- tion, which he had lying by him : and the passages were marked, to shew upon what motives and prin- ciples men were led into the changes that were then made. I enlarged upon all these particulars ; and shewed him the progress that ignorance and super- stition had made in many dark ages, and how much bloodshed was occasioned by the papal pretensions, for all which the opinion of infallibility was a source never to be exhausted. And I spoke long to such things as were best suited to his temper and his ca- pacity. I saw lord Ancram helped him all he could, by which I perceived how he made his court ; for which when I reproached him afterwards, he said, it was ill breeding in me to press so hard on a prince. The duke upon this conversation expressed such a liking to me, that he ordered me to come oft to him : and afterwards he allowed me to come to him in a private way, as oft as I pleased. He desired to know the state of affairs in Scotland. I told him how little that kingdom could be depended on. [I saw he was firm to duke Lauderdale : there- fore I laid the fault on others, and excused him the 358 best I could. But] I turned the discourse often to matters of religion. He broke it very gently; for he was not at all rough in private conversation. He wished I would let those matters alone: I might be too hard for him, and silence him, but I could never convince him **. I told him, it was

•* In one of the duke's letters, " again of turning protestant ;

(to the first lord Dartmouth,) " do not ex|}ect it, or flatter

he writes, " Pray, once for all, " yourself I shall ever be it. I

•• never say any thing to me *' never shall, and if occasion

OF KING CHARLES II. 9iS

a thing he could never answer to God nor the 1673!, world, that, being born and baptized in our church, and having his father's last orders to continue stead- fast in it, he had suffered himself to be seduced, and as it were stolen out of it, hearing only one side, without offering his scruples to our divines, or hear- ing what they had to say in answer to them ; and that he was now so fixed in his popery, that he would not so much as examine the matter. He said to me, he had often picqueered out (that was his word) on Sheldon, and some other bishops ; by whose answers he could not but conclude, that they were much nearer the church of Rome, than some of us young men were.

Stillingfleet had a little before this time published a book of the idolatry and fanaticism of the church of Rome. Upon that the duke said, he asked Shel- don, if it was the doctrine of the church of England, that Roman catholics were idolaters : who answered him, it was not ; but that young men of parts would be popular ; and such a charge was the way to it. He at that time shewed me the duchess's paper, '■'. that has been since printed : it was aU writ with her own hand. He gave me leave to read it twice over : but would not suffer me to copy it. And upon th6 mention made in it of her having spoke to the bishops concerning some of her scruples, and that she had such answers from them, as confirmed and height- ened them, I went from him to Morley, as was said

"were, I hope God would give " upon mature consideration,

" me his grace to suffer death " and foreseeing all and worse

" for the true catholic religion " than has yet happened to

" as banishment. What I have " me." D.

" done was not hastily, but '^'•*

26 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1673. formerly, and had from him the answer there set

I carried down '. I asked the duke's leave to bring doctor ilSeefto StiUingfleet to him. He was averse to it ; and said, him. it would make much noise, and could do no good. I told him, even the noise would have a good effect : it would shew he was not so obstinate, but that he was willing to hear our divines. I pressed it much ; for it became necessary to me, on my own account, to clear my self from the suspicion of popery, which this extraordinary favour had drawn upon me. I at last prevailed with the duke to consent to it : and he assigned an hour of audience. StiUingfleet went very readily, though he had no hopes of success. We were about two hours with him, and went over most of the points of controversy. StiUingfleet thought, the point that would go the easiest, and be the best understood by him, was the papal preten- sions to a power over princes, in deposing them, and giving their dominions to others'^ : and u23on that, he shewed him, that popery was calculated to make the pope the sovereign of aU Christendom. The 359 duke shifted the discourse from one point to an- other; and did not seem to beUeve the matters of fact, and history aUeged by us. So we desired, he would caU for some priests, and hear us discourse of those matters with them in his presence. He de- clined this ; and said, it would make a noise. He assured us, he desii-ed nothing, but to foUow his own conscience, which he imposed on no body else, and

' (Page 309.) second's excommunication of

^^ The kingdom of Navare has king John, for being in confe-

been held by the crown of Spain, deracy with Lewis the Xllth of

ever since the year 15 12, by no France, upon which Ferdinand

other title than pope Julius the the catholic took possession. D.

OF KING CHARLES II. 27

that he would never attempt to alter the established 1673. religion. He loved to repeat this often. But when I was alone with him, I warned him of the great difficulties his religion was like to cast him into. This was no good argument to make him change : but it was certainly a very good argument to make him consider the matter so well, that he might be sure he was in the right. He objected to me the doctrine of the church of England in the point of submission, and of passive obedience. I told him, there was no trusting to a disputable opinion : there were also distinctions and reserves, even in those who had asserted these points the most: and it was very certain, that when men saw a visible danger of being first undone, and then burnt, they would be inclined to the shortest way of arguing, and to save themselves the best way they could : interest and self-preservation were powerful motives. He did very often assure me, he was against all violent methods, and all persecution for conscience sake, and was better furnished to speak well on that head, than on any other. I told him, all he could say that way would do him little ser- vice : for the words of princes were looked on as arts to lay men asleep : and they had generally re- garded them so little themselves, that they ought not to expect that others should have great regard to them. I added, he was now of a religion, in which others had the keeping of his conscience, who would now hide from him this point of their reli- gion, since it was not safe to own it, till they had it in their power to put it in practice : and whenever that time should come, I was sure, that the princi- ples of their church must carry him to all the ex-

28 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1673. tremities of extirpation. I carried a volume of judge Crook's to him, in which it is reported, that king James had once in council complained of a slander cast on him, as if he was inclined to change his re- ligion; and had solemnly vindicated himself from the imputation ; and prayed, that if any should ever spring out of his loins that should maintain any other religion than that which he truly maintained and professed, that God would take him out of the world. He read it : but it made no impression. And when I urged him wdth some things in his fa- ther's book, he gave me the account of it that was formerly mentioned'. He entered into great free- dom with me about all his affairs : and he shewed me the journals he took of business every day with 360 his own hand : a method, he said, that the earl of Clarendon had set him on. The duchess had begun to write his life. He shewed me a part of it in a thin volume in folio. I read some of it, and found it writ with a great deal of spirit. He told me, he intended to trust me with his journals, that I might draw a history out of them. And thus, in a few weeks' time, I had got far into his confidence. He did also aUow me to speak to him of the irregulari- ties of his life, some of which he very freely con- fessed : and when I urged him, how such a course of life did agree with the zeal he shewed in his re- ligion ; he answered. Must a man be of no religion, unless he is a saint ? Yet he bore my freedom very gently, and seemed to like me the better for it. My favour with him grew to be the observation of the whole court. Lord Ancram said, I might be what

'(Page 51.)

OF KING CHARLES II. 9&

I pleased, if I would be a little softer in the points 1673. of religion. Sir Ellis Leightoun brought me a mes- sage from F. Sheldon, and some of his priests, assur- ing me, they heard so well of me, that they offered me their service. He pressed me to improve my present advantages to the making my fortune : the see of Durham was then vacant : and he was confi- dent it would be no hard matter for me to compass it. But I had none of those views, and so was not moved by them. The duke of Buckingham asked me, what I meant in being so much about the duke ? If I fancied I could change him in point of religion, I knew him and the world very little : if I had a mind to raise my self, a sure method for that was, to talk to him of the reformation, as a thing done in heat and haste, and that in a calmer time it might be fit to review it all. He said, I needed go no far- ther ; for such an intimation would certainly raise me. And when I was positive not to enter into such a compliance, he told me, he knew courts bet- ter than I did : princes thought their favours were no ordinary things : they expected great submis- sions in return : otherwise they thought they were despised : and I would feel the ill effects of the fa- vour I then had, if I did not strike into some com- pliances : and, since I was resolved against these, he advised me to withdraw from the court ; the sooner the better. I imputed this to his hatred of the duke : but I found afterwards the advice was sound and good. I likewise saw those things in the duke's temper, from which I concluded, I could not main- tain an interest in him long. He was for subjects submitting in all things to the king's notions ; and thought, that all who opposed him or his ministers

30 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1673. in parliament, were rebels in their hearts; and he

hated all popular things, as below the dignity of a

king. He was much sharpened at that time by the

proceedings of the house of commons.

The duke's jjj ^jig former session, it was known that he was

marriage ^ ,

opposed by treating a mamage with the archduchess : and yet mons. no address was made to the king to hinder his mar- 361 rying a papist. His honour was not then engaged : so it had been seasonable, and to good purpose, to have moved in it then. But now he was mari-ied by proxy, and lord Peterborough had brought the lady to Paris '. Yet the house of commons resolved to follow the pattern the king of France had lately set. He treated with the elector palatine for a mar- riage between his brother and the elector's daughter; in which one of the conditions agreed to was, that she should enjoy the freedom of her religion, and have a private oratory for the exercise of it. When she came on her way as far as Metz, an order was sent to stop her, till she was better instructed : upon which she changed, at least as to outward appear- ance. It is true, the court of France gave it out that the elector had consented to this method, for the saving his own honour. And he had given the world cause to believe he was capable of that, though he continued openly to deny it. The house of com- mons resolved to follow this precedent, and to make an address to the king, to stop the princess of Mo- dena's coming to England, till she should change

' He went first to see a ridiculous description he sent

daughter of the duke of New- of her person, which conchided,

bourg, (who was afterwards that there was nothing white

married to the emperor Leo- about her but her eyes. D. pold,) but ,tliat dropt upon a

OF KING CHARLES II. 31

her religion. Upon this the duke moved the king 1673. to prorogue the parliament for a week : and a com- mission was ordered for it. The duke went to the house on that day, to press the calling up the com- mons before they could have time to go on to busi- ness. Some peers were to be brought in. The duke pressed lord Shaftsbury to put that off, and to pro- rogue the parliament. He said coldly to him, there was no haste. But the commons made more haste : for they quickly came to a vote for stopping the marriage. And by this means they were engaged ^having put such an affront on the duke) to proceed farther. He presently told me how the matter went, and how the lord chancellor had used him : he was confident the king would take the seals from him, if he could not manage the sessions so as to procure him money, of which there was indeed small appear- ance. I told him, I looked on that as a fatal thing, if the commons began once to affront him : that would have a sad train of consequences, as soon as they thought it necessary for their own preservation to secure themselves from falling under his revenges. He said, he was resolved to stand his ground, and to submit to the king in every thing: he would never take off an fenemy : but he would let aU the world see, that he was ready to forgive every one, that should come off from his opposition, and make applications to him. When the week of the proro- gation was ended, the session was opened by a speech of the king's, which had such various strains in it, that it was plain it was made by different per- sons. The duke told me, that lord Clarendon, dur-362 ing his favour, had penned all the king's speeches ; but that now they were composed in the cabinet.

32 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

J 673. one minister putting in one period, while another

made another ; so that aU was not of a piece. He told me, lord Arlington was almost dead with fear : but lord Shaftsbury reckoned himself gone at court, and acted more roundly. In his speech he studied to correct his Delenda est Carthago, applying it to the Loevestein party, whom he called the Carthagin- ians : but this made him as ridiculous, as the other had made him odious'^. The house of commons took up again the matter of the duke's marriage, and moved for an address about it. But it was said, the king's honour was engaged. Yet they ad- dressed to him against it. But the king made them no answer. By that time I had obtained a licence of secretary Coventry for my book, which the king said should be printed at his charge. A pariia- - But uow I must give an account of a storm raised SiMd. against my self, the effects of which were very sen- sible to me for many years. The duke of Lauder- dale had kept the Scotish nation in such a depend- ance on himself, that he was not pleased with any of them that made any acquaintance in England, and least of aU in the court : nor could he endure that any of them should apply themselves to the king or the duke, but through him. So he looked on the favour I had got into with a very jealous eye. His duchess questioned me about it. Those who know what court jealousies are will easily believe, that I must have said somewhat to satisfy them, or break with them. I told her, what was very true

^ He always denied these to couneil, and he obliged by or-

be his own words, and said der to put them into the

they were proposed by some speech he made to the parlia-

pther persons of the king's ment, in the former sessions. O.

OF KING CHARLES II. 88

as to the duke, that my conversation with him was 1673. about religion ; and that with the king I had talked of the course of life he led. I observed a deep jea* lousy of me in them both; especially because I could not go with them to Scotland. I said, I would follow, as soon as the secretary would des- patch me. And as soon as that was done I took post, and by a great fall of snow was stopped by the way. But I unhappily got to Edenburgh the night before the parliament met. Duke Hamilton, and many others, told me how strangely duke Lauder- dale talked of my interest at court; as if I was ready to turn papist. Duke Hamilton also told me, they were resolved next day to attack duke Lauder- dale, and his whole administration in parliament. I was troubled at this ; and argued with him against the fitness of it all I could. But he said he was en- . gaged : the earls of Rothes, Argile, and Tweedale, and all the cavalier party, had promised to stick by him. I told him, what afterwards happened, that most of these would make their own terms, and leave him in the lurch ' : and the load would lie on him. When I saw the thing was past remedy, I re- solved to go home, and follow my studies ; since 1 363 could not keep duke Lauderdale and him any longer in a good understanding.

Next day, when the parliament was opened, the a party king's letter was read, desiring their assistance in against carrying on the war with Holland, and assuring them of his affection to them in very kind words. This was seconded by duke Lauderdale in a long speech. And immediately it was moved to appoint

' True sublime. S. ''

VOL. II. D

34 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1673. a committee to prepare an answer to the king's let- " ter, as was usual. Duke Hamilton moved, that the state of the nation might be first considered, that so they might see what grievances they had : and he hinted at some. And then, as it had been laid, about twenty men, one after another, spoke to se- veral particulars. Some mentioned the salt, others the tobacco and the brandy : some complained of the administration of justice, and others of the coin. With this the duke of Lauderdale was struck, as one dead; for he had raised his credit at court by the opinion of his having all Scotland in his hand, and in a dependance on him : so a discovery of this want of credit with us he saw must sink him there. He had not looked for this ; though I had warned him of a great deal of it. But he reflecting on that, and on the credit I had got at court, and on the haste I made in my journey, and my coming criti- cally the night before the session opened : he laid all this together, and fancied I was sent upon design, as the agent of the party, and that the licensing my book was only a blind : he believed sir Robert Mur- ray had laid it, and that the earl of Shaftsbury had r managed it. And because it was a common artifice of king Charles's ministers, to put the miscarriage of affairs upon some accident that had not been fore- seen by them, but should be provided against for the future ; he assured the king, that I had been • the incendiary, that I had my uncle's temper in me, and that I must be subdued, otherwise I would em- broil all his affairs. The king took all things of that kind easily from his ministers, without hearing any thing to the contrary : for he was wont to say, aU apologies were lies : upon which one said to him

..; .J or

OF KING CHARLES II. 35

once, then he would always believe the first lie. 1673. But all this was much increased, when duke Lau- derdale upon his coming up told the king, that I had boasted to his wife of the freedom that I had used with him upon his course of life. With this the king was highly offended : or at least he made much use of it, to justify many haid things that he said of me : and for many years he allowed himself a very free scope in talking of me. I was certainly to blame for the freedom I had used with the duch- ess of Lauderdale : but I was surprised by her ques- tion : and I could not bring my self to tell a lie : so I had no other shift ready to satisfy her. But the duke [of York] kept up still a very good opinion of me. I went home to Glasgow, where I prosecuted 364 my studies tiU the June following, when I went again to London.

Duke Lauderdale put off the session of parliament He offers

to redress

for some time ; and called a council, in which he grievances said, great complaints had been made in parliament "* *^""°" ' of grievances : he had full authority to redress them all in the king's name: therefore he charged the privy counsellors to lay aU things of that kind before that board, and not to carry them before any other assembly, till they saw what redress was to be had there. Duke Hamilton said, the regular way of complaints was to make them in parliament, which only could redress them effectually ; since the put- ting them down by the authority of council was only laying them aside for a while, till a fitter op- portunity was found to take them up again. Upon this, duke Lauderdale protested that he was ready in the king's name to give the subject ease and free*

D 2

36 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1673. dom, and that those who would not assist and con- " ' CUT with him in this were wanting in duty and re- spect to the king; and since he saw the matter of the salt, the tobacco, and the brandy, had raised much clamour, he would quash these. But the party had a mind to have the instruments of their oppression punished, as well as the oppression it self removed; and were resolved to have these things condemned by some exemplary punishments, and to pursue duke Lauderdale and his party with this cla- mour.

1674. Next session of parliament new complaints were raisedTbout offered. Duke Lauderdale said, these ought to be of ^the'^ar- ^ladc first to the lords of the articles, to whom all tides. petitions and motions ought to be made first; and that they were the only judges, what matters were » fit to be brought into parliament. The other side

said, they were only a committee of parliament, to put motions into the form of acts ; but that the par- liament had still an entire authority to examine into the state of the nation. In this debate, they had the reason of things on their side : but the words of the act favoured duke Lauderdale. So he lodged it now where he wished it might be, in a point of pre- rogative. He valued himself to the king on this, that he had drawn the act that settled the power of the lords of the articles; who being all upon the matter named by the king, it was of great concern to him to maintain that, as the check upon factious spirits there ; which would be no sooner let go, than the parliament of Scotland would grow as unquiet, as a house of commons was in England : that was a

OF KING CHARLES 11. 37

consideration which at this time had great weight 1674. with the king. I now return to give an account of this year's session in England.

In the beginning of it, the duke of Ormond, the The pm- earls of Shaftsbury and Arlington, and secretary the' paSa" Coventiy, offered an advice to the king, for sending E,^gfa",j the duke for some time from the court, as a good 365 expedient both for himself and the duke. The king hearkened so far to it, that he sent them to move it to the duke. He was highly incensed at it : he said, he would obey aU the king's orders, but would look on those as his enemies who offered him such advices. And he never forgave this to any of them ; no, not to Coventry, for aU his good opinion of him. He pressed the king vehemently to take the seals from the earl of Shaftsbury. So it was done : and they were given to Finch, then attorney-general, made afterwards earl of Nottingham. He was a Finch's man of probity, and well versed in the laws : [but ^ very ill bred, and both vain and haughty.] He was long much admired for his eloquence : but it was la- boured and affected : and he saw it as much de- spised before he died. He had no sort of know- ledge in foreign affairs : and yet he loved to talk of them perpetually : by which he exposed himself to those who understood them. He thought he was bound to justify the court in all debates in the house of lords, which he did with the vehemence of a pleader, rather than with the solemnity of a senator. He was an incorrupt judge : and in his court he could resist the strongest applications even from the -C king himself, though he did it no where else. He was too eloquent on the bench, in the house of lords, and [even] in common conversation [that eloquence

D 3

88 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1674. became in him ridiculous.] One thing deserves to

be remembered of him : he took great care of filling the church livings that belonged to the seal with worthy men : and he obliged them aU to residence ^. Lord Shaftsbury was now at liberty to open himself against the court; which he did with as little re- serve as decency.

The house of commons were resolved to fall on aU the ministry. They began with duke Lauder- dale, and voted an address to remove him from the king's councils and presence for ever. They went next upon the duke of Buckingham : and it being moved, in his name, that the house would hear him, he was suffered to come to the house. The first day of his being before them, he fell into such a dis- order, that he pretended he was taken ill, and de- sired to be admitted again. Next day he was more composed. He justified his own designs, laying all the ill counsels upon others, chiefly on lord Arling- ton, intimating plainly that the root of all errors was in the king and the duke. He said, hunting was a good diversion, but if a man would hunt with a brace of lobsters, he would have but ill sport. He had used that figure to my self; but had then ap- plied it to prince Rupert and lord Arlington : but it was now understood to go higher. His speech sig- nified nothing towards the saving of himself: but it lost him the king's favour so entirely, that he never, recovered it afterwards. Lord Arlington was next attacked : he appeared also before the commons, and 366 spoke much better than was expected : he excused himself, but without blaming the king : and this had

"^ (See a character of this great man by duke Wharton, in the True Briton, No. 69.) ;

OF KING CHARLES II. 39

so good an effect, that though he, as secretary of 1674. state, was more exposed than any other, by the many warrants and orders he had signed, yet he was acquitted, though by a small majority. But the care he took to preserve himself, and his success in it, lost him his high favour with the king, as the duke was out of measure offended at him : so he quitted his post, and was made lord chamberlain.

The house of commons was resolved to force the king to a peace with the Dutch. The court of France recalled Croissy, finding that the duke was offended at his being led by lord Arlington. Rou- vigny was sent over : a man of great practice in bu- siness and in all intrigues. He was still a firm pro- testant, but in all other respects a very dexterous courtier, and one of the greatest statesmen in Eu- rope. He had the appointments of an ambassador, but would not take the character, that he might not have a chapel, and mass said in it. Upon his com- ing over, as he himself told me, he found all the ministers of the allies were perpetually plying the membei-s of the house of commons with their memo- rials. He knew he could gain nothing on them : so he never left the king. The king was in great p^r- a peace plexity : he would have done any thing, and parted ^uh "he with any persons, if that would have procured him^'****' money for carrying on the war. But he saw little appearance of that. He found he was indeed at the mercy of the States. So lord Arlington pressed the Spanish ministers to prevail with the States, and the prince of Orange, to get a proposition for a peace to be set on foot. And that it might have some shew of a peace both begged and bought, he proposed that a sum of money should be offered the king by

D 4

40 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1674. the States, which should be made over by him to the prince for the payment of the debt he owed him. Rouvigny pressed the king much to give his parlia- ment all satisfaction in points of religion. The king answered him, if it was not for his brother's folly, {jia sottise de mon frere,) he would get out of all his difl&culties. Rouvigny drew a memorial for in- forming the house of commons of the modesty of his master's pretensions : for now the French king was sensible of his errors, in making such high demands as he had made at Utrecht ; and was endeavouring to get out of the war on easier terms. The States committed a great error in desiring a peace with England, without desiring at the same time that the king should enter into the alliance, for reducing the French to the terms of the triple alliance. But the prince of Orange thought, that if he could once se- parate the king from his alliance with France, the other point would be soon brought about. And the States were much set on the having a peace with 367 England, hoping then both to be freed of the great trouble of securing the coast at a vast charge, and also by the advantage of their fleet to ruin the trade, and to insult the coast of France. The States did this winter confer a new and extraordinary dignity on the prince of Orange. They made him heredit- ary stadtholder. So that this was entailed on him and his issue male. He had in a year and a half's time changed the whole face of their affairs. He had not only taken Naerden, which made Amster- dam easy : but by a very bold undertaking he had gone up the Rhine to Bon, and had taken it in a very few days : and in it had cut off the supplies that the French sent down to their garrisons on the

OF KING CHARLES II. 41

Rhine and the Isel. So that the French finding 1674. they could not subsist longer there, were now re- solved to evacuate all those places, and the three provinces of which they were possessed ; which they did a few months after. An alliance was also made with the emperor. And by this means both the elector of Cologn and the bishop of Munster were brought to a peace with the States. The elector of Brandenburgh was likewise returning to the alliance with the States : for in the treaty, to which he was forced to submit, with Turenne for a truce of a year, he had put an article, reserving to himself a liberty to act in concurrence with the empire, ac- cording to such resolutions as should be taken in the diet. This change of the affairs of the States had got the prince of Orange the affections of the people to such a degree, that he could have obtained every thing of them that he would have desired : and even the loss of so important a place as Maestricht was not at all charged on him. So he brought the States to make applications to the king in the style of those who begged a peace, though it was visible they could have forced it. In conclusion, a project of a peace with England was formed, or rather the peace of Breda was writ over again, with the offer of 2 or 300,000/. for the expense of the war. And the king signed it at lord Arlington's office.

He came up immediately into the drawing-room ; where seeing Rouvigny, he took him aside, and told him, he had been doing a thing that went more against his heart than the losing of his right hand : he had signed a peace with the Dutch, the project being brought him by the Spanish ambassador : he saw nothing could content the house of commons, or

m THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1674. draw money from them ; and lord Arlington had pressed him so hard, that he had stood out tiQ he was weary of his life : he saw it was impossible for him to carry on the war without supplies, of which it The king was plain he could have no hopes. Rouvigny told mediator of him, what was done could not be helped : but he e peace, ^^y]^^ ^et him scc how faithfully he would serve him on this occasion : he did not doubt but his master would submit all his pretensions to him, and make him the arbiter and mediator of the peace. 368 This the king received with great joy ; and said, it would be the most acceptable service that could be done him. The French resolved uj)on this to ac- cept of the king's mediation. And so the king got out of the war, very little to his honour, having both engaged in it upon unjust grounds, and ma- naged it all along with ill conduct and bad success : and now he got out of it in so poor and so disho- nourable a manner, that with it he lost his credit both at home and abroad. Yet he felt little of aU this. He and his brother were now at their ease. Upon this, the parliament was quickly prorogued : and the court delivered itself up again to its ordi- nary course of sloth and luxury. But lord Arling- ton, who had brought all this about, was so entirely lost by it, that though he knew too much of the secret to be iU used", yet he could never recover the ground he had lost. The duch- The duchcss of York came over that winter. She

ess s cha- racter, was then very young, about sixteen, but of a fuU

growth. She was a graceful person, with a good

measure of beauty, and so much wit and cunning,

" He was in that of the king's conversion to popery. O.

OF KING CHARLES II. 48

that during all this reign she behaved herself in so ^674. obliging a manner, and seemed so innocent and good, that she gained upon all that came near her, and possessed them with such impressions of her, that it was long before her behaviour after she was a queen could make them change their thoughts of her. So artificially did this young Italian behave herself, that she deceived even the eldest and most jealous persons, both in the court and country. Only sometimes a satirical temper broke out too much, which was imputed to youth and wit not enough practised to the world. She avoided the appearances of a zealot, or a meddler in business ; and gave herself up to innocent cheerfulness ; and was universally esteemed and beloved as long as she was duchess.

She had one put about her to be her secretary, ^'"'eman's

, , . "^ character.

Coleman ; who became so active in the affairs of the party, and ended his life so unfortunately, that since I had much conversation with him, his circum- stances may deserve that his character should be given, though his person did not. I was told he was a clergyman's son : but he was early catched by the Jesuits, and bred many years among them. He understood the art of managing controversies, chiefly that great one of the authority of the church, better than any of their priests. He was a bold man, resolved to raise himself, which he did by de- dicating himself wholly to the Jesuits : and so he was raised by them. He had a great easiness in writing in several languages ; and writ many long letters, and was the chief correspondent the party had in England. He lived at a vast expense. And talked in so positive a manner, that it looked like

44 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1674. one who knew he was weU supported. I soon saw into his temper ; and I warned the duke of it" : for I looked on him, as a man much liker to spoil busi-» 369 ness, than to carry it on dexterously. He got into the confidence of P. Ferrier the king of France's confessor; and tried to get intq the same pitch of confidence with P. de la Chaise, who succeeded him in that post. He went about every where, even to the jails among the criminals, to make proselytes. He dealt much both in the giving and taking of bribes. But now the affaii's of England were calmed, I look again to Scotland, which was yet in a storm. > The affairs The kiuff writ to dukc Hamilton to come up.

of Scotland. " , ^

And when he and lord Tweedale arrived, they were so well received, that they hoped to carry their point. But the king's design in this was, that, if he could have brought the house of commons to have given money, he was resolved to have parted with duke Lauderdale, and have employed them. And his kind usage of them was on design to per- suade the commons to use himself better, by shew- ing that he was ready to comply with them. He gave them so good a hearing, that they thought they had fully convinced him : and he blamed them only for not complaining to himself of those griev-" ances. But, as soon as he saw it was to no purpose to look for money from the house of commons, and had signed the peace, he sent them down with fuU assurances that all things should be left to the judg- ment of the parliament. They came down through the greatest faU of snow that has been in all my The pariia- Hfe-timc. When they got home, instead of a ses-

ment was •/ o '

^ " ' ° Was it for the good of the shop gave the duke this wami^ protestant religion, that the bi- ing? D. yAitJ

OF KING CHARLES II. 45

sion, there was an order for a prorogation ; which 1674. gave such an universal discontent, that many of- fered at very extravagant propositions, for destroy- ing duke Lauderdale and all his party. Duke Ha- milton, who told me this some years after, when an act of grace was published, was neither so bad nor so bold as to hearken to these. The king writ him a cajoling letter, desiring him to come up once more, and to refer all matters to him : and he as- sured him, he would make up all differences.

In the mean while duke Lauderdale took aU pos- sible methods to become more popular. He con- nived at the insolence of the presbyterians, who took possession of one of the vacant churches of Edenburgh, and preached in it for some months. The earl of Argile and sir James Dabimple were the men on whom the presbyterians depended most. Duke Lauderdale returned to his old kindness with the former : and lord Argile was very ready to for- get his late unkindness. So matters were made up between them. Dalrimple was the president of the Dairimpie's

. character.

session, a man 01 great temper, and of a very mild deportment, but [a false and cunning man p, and a great per vert er of justice : in which he had a parti- cular dexterity of giving some plausible colours to the greatest injustice. This family has risen the fastest, and yet has had the greatest misfortunes of any in Scotland. His eldest son, the viscount of Stairs, rode over a child, and dashed out his brains ; and he had two sons, who, in their play, found and charged a pistol, with which the one shot the other dead. Another of the president's sons, being in = a

P (The printed copy had, instead of this long passage, a cun- _nmg man. He was, &c.)

46 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1674. fever, snatched at somewhat that lay by him, and swallowed it down, which proved to be cantharides, intended for a viscatory plaister ; with which he was ulcerated all within, and died in extreme mi- sery : another of his sons, in a fit, fell into the fire, which burnt out half his face. His daughters have had extraordinary fits, in which they have jumped over high waUs : and one of them died in an odd manner. These things occasioned much censure and many strange discourses. This man] was now taken into the chief confidence. He told the pres- byterians, if they would now support duke Lauder- dale, this would remove the prejudice the king had against them, as enemies to his service. This wrought on many of them. What influence soever The clergy this might havc on the presbyterians, the strange

was much .,,. , iiii

provoked, couduct With relation to them provoked the clergy ^'^out of measure. Some hot men, that were not pre- ferred as they thought they deserved, grew very mutinous, and complained that things were let fall into much confusion. And they raised a grievous outcry for the want of a national synod to regulate our worship and government : and so moved in the diocesan synods, that a petition should be offered to the privy council, setting forth the necessity of hav- ing a national synod. I liked no part of this. I knew the temper of our clergy too well to depend much on them. Therefore I went out of the way on purpose when our synod was to meet. Petitions were offered for a national synod, which was thought an innocent thing. Yet, it being done on design to heighten the fermentation the kingdom was in, great exceptions were taken to it. One bishop, and four of the clergy, were turned out by an order from the

OF KING CHARLES II. 47

king, pursuant to the act asserting the supremacy. 1674. After a year, upon their submission, they were re- stored. Though I was not at all concerned in this, (for I was ever of Nazianzen's opinion, who never wished to see any more synods of the clergy ^,) yet the king was made believe, that I had laid the whole matter, even though I did not appear in any part of it.

Another disorder broke out, which had greater a great dis-

traction in

effects. A cause being judged in the supreme court Scotland, of session, the party appealed to the parliament. This was looked on as a high contempt, done on design to make the parliament a court of judicature, that so there might be a necessity of frequent par- liaments. So the judges required all the lawyers to condemn this, as contrary to law. And they had the words of a law on their side : for there lay no such appeal as stopped process, nor was there a writ of error in their law : but upon petitions, par- liaments had, though but seldom, reviewed and re- versed the judgments of the courts. So the debate lay about the sense of the word appeal. Sir George Lockhart, brother to the ambassador, was the most learned lawyer and the best pleader I have ever yet known in any nation ; [he was a covetous, a pas- sionate, and an ambitious man ;] and he had all the lawyers almost in a dependance on him. He was engaged with the party, and resolved to stand it out. The king sent down an order to put all men from the bar that did not condemn appeals. And,

<i Dog. S. (The times, which a zeal which ill suited the then

Swift supposes the bishop to prevailing politics, and which

reflect on, were times of virtu- occasioned a discontinuance of

ous zeal against the unceasing the synodical meetings of the

attacks of heresy and infidelity ; church of England.)

48 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1674. when that wrought not on them, they were by pro- clamation banished Edenburgh, and twelve miles about it : and a new day was assigned them for making their submission ; the king in a very un- usual style declaring, on the word of a prince, that, if they submitted not by that day, they should ne- ver be again admitted to their practice. -They stood it out : and the day lapsed without their submitting. Yet afterwards they renounced appeals in the sense of the Roman law : and, notwithstanding the un- usual threatening in the proclamation, they were 371 again restored to practice. But this made a stop for a whole year in all legal proceedings. '

Lauder- The government of the city of Edenburgh was

dale's pro- t c^ t ^ -r

ceedings not SO Compliant as was expected. So duke Lau- derdale procured a letter from the king to turn out twelve of the chief magistrates, and to declare them for ever incapable of aU public trusts : so entirely had he forgot his complaints formerly made against incapacity, even when passed in an act of parlia- ment : [but he kept to the same number of twelve.] The boroughs of Scotland have by law a privilege of meeting once a year in a body, to consider of trade, and of bye-laws relating to it. At a conven- tion held this year, a petition was agreed on, and sent to the king, complaining of some late acts that hindered trade, for the repeal of which there was great need of a session of parliament : they there- fore prayed, that when the king sent down a com- missioner to hold a session, he might be instructed in order to that repeal. This was judged a legal thing by the lawyers there ; for this was a lawful assembly: they did not petition for a parliament, but only for instructions to the session. Yet it was

OF KING CHARLES II. 4^

condemned as seditious: and those who promoted 1674. it were fined and imprisoned for it. Thus duke Lauderdale was lifted up out of measure, and re- solved to crush all that stood in his way. He was made earl of Guildford in England \ and had a pen- sion of three thousand pounds : and he let himself loose into a very ungovemed fury. When duke Hamilton and some other lords came up, the king desired they would put their complaints in writing. They said, the laws were so oddly worded, and more oddly executed, in Scotland, that the modest- est paper they could offer might be condemned as leasing-making, and misrepresenting the king's pro- ceedings : so they would not venture on it. The king promised them, that no ill use should be made of it to their prejudice. But they did not think it safe to trust him ; for he seemed to be entirely deli- vered up to all duke Lauderdale's passions ^.

It is no wonder then that I could not stand be- ^ ^^ "J's-

• . graced.

fore him ; though at my coming up, the duke of York received me with great kindness, and told me, how he had got out of great difficulties, and added, that the king was very firm to him : he commended likewise his new duchess much : he was troubled at

*■ In the former session of Baronage, for the time of duke

parliament it was often men- Lauderdale's being made an

tioned in the house of com- English peer. O.

mons to treat him as a com- » (Luing, in his History of

nioner of England, and against Scotland, vol. iv. p. 71. relates,

him as such (they) could do that their grievances were com-

more, than against 'the other nmnicated to Charles by an

ministers, who were peers of anonymous letter. The letter

England. Gray's manuscript is to be found in a contempo-

Debates in the House of Com- rarj' pamphlet, entitled, An Ac-

mons, for somewhat of this, comptof Scotland's Grievances,

in 1673, and 1675. They are by Reason of the Duke of Lau-

now printed. See Dugdale's derdale's Ministrie, p. 33 — 37.)

VOL. II. E

50 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1674. our disorders : he was firm to duke Lauderdale : but he would have endeavoured to reconcile matters, if there had been room for it. He told me, the king was highly incensed against me ; and was made be- lieve, that I was the chief spring of aU that had happened : he himself believed me more innocent ; and said, he would endeavour to set me right with him : and he carried me to the king, who received me coldly. Some days a,fter, when the duke was a hunting, the lord chamberlain told me, he had or- ders to strike my name out of the list of the chap- lains ; and that the king forbade me the court, and 372 expected I should go back to Scotland. The duke seemed troubled at this, and spoke to the king about it : but he was positive. Yet he admitted me to say to him what I had to offer in my own justification. I said all that I thought necessary ; and appealed to duke Hamilton, who did me justice in it. But the

■ u ^ ! ' king said, he was afraid I had been too busy ' ; and wished me to go home to Scotland, and be more quiet. The duke upon this told me, that, if I went home without reconciling my self to duke Lauder- dale, I should be certainly shut up in a close prison, where I might perhaps lie too long. This I looked on as a very high obUgation : so I resigned my employment, and resolved to stay in England. I preached in many of the churches of London ; and was so well received, that it was probable I might be accepted of in any that was to be disposed of by a popular election ". So a church falling to be given in that way, the electors had a mind to choose me : but yet they were not willing to offend the court. The

*■ The king knew him right. S, " Much to his honour. S.

OF KING CHARLES II. 61

duke spoke to duke Lauderdale, and told him that 1674. he had a mind I should be settled in London, and desired he would not oppose it. Duke Lauderdale said, all this was a trick of the party in Scotland, to settle me, that I might be a correspondent between the factions in both kingdoms. Yet, upon the duke's undertaking that I should not meddle in those matters, he was contented that the king should let the electors know he was not against their choosing me. Upon this duke Lauderdale, seeing what a root I had with the duke, sent a message to me, that, if I would promise to keep no farther correspondence with duke Hamilton, I should again be restored to his favour. I said, I had promised the duke to meddle no more in Scot- ish affairs : but I could not forsake my friends, nor turn against them. By this he judged I was in- flexible. So he carried a story to the king the very night before the election, that upon inquiry was found to be false, when it was too late to help what was done. Upon that, the king sent a severe mes- sage to the electors. So I missed that. And some time after a new story was invented, of which Sharp was indeed the author, by which the king was made believe that I was possessing both lords and com- mons against duke Lauderdale. Upon that, the king ordered Coventry to command me to leave London, and not to come within twenty miles of it. The duke told me what the particulars were, which were all false : for lord Falconbridge and lord Car- lisle were the lords into whom it was said I was infusing those prejudices. Now I was known to neither of them ; for, though they had desired my

E 2

SS THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1674. acquaintance, I had declined it. So I told all this to secretary Coventry, who made report of it to the king in the duke's presence : and those lords justi- fied me in the matter. I hoped the king would upon all this recall his order. But he would not do 373 it. So I asked to have it in writing. The secretary knew it was against law: so he would not do it. But I was forbid the court. The duke brought duke Lauderdale and me once together, to have made us friends. But nothing would do, unless I would forsake all my friends, and discover secrets. I said, I knew no wicked ones: and I could not break with persons with whom I had Hved long in great friendship. The duke spoke to the lord trea- surer, to soften duke Lauderdale with relation to me ; and sent me to him. He undertook to do it ; but said afterwards, duke Lauderdale was intract- able.

This violent and groundless prosecution lasted some months. And during that time I said to some, that duke Lauderdale had gone so far in opening some wicked designs to me, that I per- ceived he could not be satisfied unless I was un- done. So I told what was mentioned before of the discourses that passed between him and me ''. This I ought not to have done, since they were the ef- fects of confidence and friendship. But such a course of provocation might have heated a cooler and elder man than I was, being then but thirty, to forget the caution that I ought to have used. The persons who had this from me, resolved to make

« A Scotch dog. S.

OF KING CHARLES II. 53

use of it against him, in the next session of parlia- 1674. ment : for which the earl of Danby and he were preparing, by turning to new methods.

Lord Danby set up to be the patron of the church ^he minis-

•' ^ *■ ters turned

party and of the old cavaliers : and duke Lauder- to the dale joined himself to him. It was said, the king party, had all along neglected his best and surest friends : so a new measure was taken up, of doing all pos- sible honours to the memory of king Charles I. and to all that had been in his interests. A statue of • brass on horseback, that had been long neglected, was bought, and set up at Charing Cross : and a magnificent funeral was designed for him. The building of St. Paul's in London was now set on foot with great zeal. Morley and some of the bi- shops were sent for : and the new ministry settled a scheme with them, by which it was offered to crush all the designs of popery. The ministers ex- pressed a great zeal in this ; and openly accused all the former ministers for neglecting it so long. But, to excuse this to the duke, they told him, it was a great misfortune, that the church pai'ty and the dis- senters were now run into one; that the church party must have some content given them ; and then a test was to be set on foot, that should for ever shut out all dissenters, who were an implacable sort of people. A declaration renouncing the law- fulness of resistance in any case whatsoever, and an engagement to endeavour no alteration in church or state, was designed to be a necessary qualification of aU that might choose or be chosen members of parliament. If this could be canied, the king's party would be for ever sepai'ated from the dis- senters, and be so much the more united to him.

E 3

54 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1674. In order to this, it was necessary to put out severe o^j^ orders of council against all convicted or suspected papists. The duke acquainted me with this scheme. He disliked it much. He thought this would raise the church party too high. He looked on them as intractable in the point of popery. Therefore he thought, it was better to keep them under by sup- porting the papists. He looked on the whole pro- jet , as both knavish and foolish. And upon this he spoke severely of duke Lauderdale, who he saw would do any thing to save himself: he (Lauder- dale) had been all along in ill terms both with Shel- don and Morley : but now he reconciled himself to them : he brought Sharp out of Scotland, who went about assuring all people, that the party set against him was likewise set against the church. This, though notoriously false, passed for true among strangers. And, Leightoun coming up at the year's end to quit his archbishopric of Glasgow, Burnet had made such submissions that he was restored to it. So that wound, which had been given to epi- scopacy in his person, was now healed. And Leigh- toun retired to a private house in Sussex, where he lived ten years in a most heavenly manner, and with a shining conversation. So now duke Lau- derdale was at the head of the church party, corre- The court was somewhat disturbed with discove-

spondence , • t 1

with Hoi- nes that were made at this time. When sir Joseph vered.**"" Williamsou came back from Cologn, he secretly met with Wicquefort, who has published a work about ambassadors. He was the Dutch secretary, that translated the intelligence that came from England. And sometimes the originals were left in his hands. Williamson prevailed with him to deliver these to

OF KING CHARLES II. •' SHI

him. Most of them were writ by the lord Howard's 1674. brother, who upon his brother's death was after- ward's lord Howard. He was a man of wit and learning, bold and poor, who had run through many parties in religion. In Cromwell's time he was re- baptized, and had preached in London. He set up in opposition to Cromwell, as a great common- wealth's man, and did some service in the restora- tion. But he was always poor, and ready to engage in any thing that was bold. He went over in the beginning of the war, and offered to serve De Wit. But he told me, he found him a dry man. As soon as the prince was raised, he waited on him and on Fagel ; and undertook not only to send them good intelligence, but to make a great party for them. He pressed the prince to make a descent on Eng- land, only to force the king to call a parliament, and to be advised by it. And he drew such a ma- uifestOf as he believed would be acceptable to the nation. He, and one of the Du Moulins, that was in lord Arlington's oflfice, joined together, and gave the States very good intelligence. Du Moulin, fear- ing that he was discovered, took the alarm in time, and got beyond sea. Most of the papers that Wic- quefort delivered were of Howard's writing. So upon his examination in the Tower, it appeared 375 they had his letters against him. And, when notice was sent of this to Holland, Wicquefort was called on to bring before them all the original letters that were trusted to him. And upon his not doing it, he was clapt up. And the States sent word to the king, that, if any person suffered in England on the account of the letters betrayed by him, his head should go for it. Halewyn told me, when it was

E 4

56 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1674. put to the judges to know what sort of crime this

could be made, since the papers were given up after the peace was concluded, (otherwise the betraying the secrets of the state to enemies was a manifest crime,) they came to this resolution, that as by the Roman law every thing was made capital that was contra salutem populi Romania so the delivering up such papers was a capital crime. This threaten- ing saved Howard. But yet Wicquefort was kept very long in prison, and ruined by it. He had a sort of a character from one of the princes of Ger- many, upon which he insisted. But the States thought, that his coming into their service was the Jealousies throwiug up of that character. Upon this occasion prince of CaTstairs, mentioned in the year 1672, was sent over Orange. fj-Qu^ Holland to England. And he was seized on with a paper of instructions, that were drawn so darkly, that no wonder if they gave a jealousy of some ill designs then on foot. The prince said, when asked about it, that it was only meant for a dii-ection for carrying on the levies of some regi- ments that the king had allowed the Dutch to make in Scotland, which the king did the better to excuse his letting so many continue in the French service. Howsoever, mention being made of money to be paid, and of men to be raised, and a compli- ment being ordered to be made to duke Hamilton, this looked suspicious. Howard had confessed all he knew upon promise of pardon. So that and this laid together gave the court some apprehensions. Duke Lauderdale made use of it to heighten the king's iQ opinion of the party against him. And, because lieutenant-general Drummond was of all the military men he that had th^ best capacity and the

OF KING CHARLES II. 57

greatest reputation, he moved that he might be se- 1674. cured. The method he took in doing it shewed that he neither suspected him nor regarded the law. The ancient method was to requu-e men to render Drummond

was ordered

themselves prisoners by such a day. This was a snare to prison. to many, who, though innocent, yet hating restraint, went out of the way, and were proceeded against in an outlawry : but an act of parliament had been made, condemning that method for the future. Yet duke Lauderdale resolved to follow it. And Drum- mond, knowing his innocence, rendered himself as required ; and was kept a year in a very cold and inconvenient prison at Dunbarton, on the top of a high rock. This, coming after a whole life of loyal- ty and zeal, was thought a very extraordinary re- wai'd to such high pretensions.

One thing on this occasion may be fit to be told. 376 Lord Kincardin had served duke Lauderdale faith- fully, even longer than he could do with a good con- science : for he had stuck to him, and was left by him with the king, when he went to Scotland, who knew weU with how much zeal he had supported his interest, and excused his faults. When duke Lauderdale was hotly pushed at, he then promised to all his friends, that he would avoid all former er- rors, if he got out of his trouble : and that made lord Kincardin so earnest to serve him. But, when he saw into how much fury he was running, he tried to have persuaded him to more temper; but found it was in vain. Then he confessed to me, that I had judged truer than he had done ; for I , j

believed he would grow worse than ever. When lord Kincardin found he could not hinder things in private, he opposed them at council: and so they

58 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1674. broke with him. He came up to justify himself to the king, who minded those matters very little ; but thought it was necessary to give a full scope to duke Lauderdale's motions, who had told the king there was a spirit of rebellion that run through all sorts of people, and that was to be subdued by acts of power, though perhaps neither legal nor just : and when that evil spirit was once broken, then it would be fit to return to more legal and moderate counsels. So lord Kincardin found there was no arguing with the king upon particulars. Therefore he begged leave to stay some time at court, that he might not be obliged to oppose that, which the king was made believe his service required. The king consented to this; and upon all occasions used him very weU. Duke Lauderdale could not bear that, and pressed the king often to command him home ; which he refused to do. Once he urged it with much vehe- mence : and the king answered as positively, that he saw no reason for it, and he would not do it. Upon this he came home as in a fit of distraction, and was gathering together all his commissions to deliver them up to the king. Upon that the mar- quis of Athol, who was then in high favour with him, went to the king, and told him that he had Sent duke Lauderdale home half dead and half mad ; and begged the king to take pity on him. So the king sent a message to lord Kincardin, ordering him to go home. This lord Athol himself told me afterwards. The battle Towards the end of summer the battle of SenefF was fought : in the beginning of which the French had a great advantage : but the prince of Cond^ pushed it too far : and the prince of Orange engaged

OF KING CHARLES II. 59

the whole army with so much bravery, that it ap- 1674! peared that the Dutch army was now brought to another state than he had found it in. He charged himself in many places, with too great a neglect of his person, considering how much depended upon it. He once was engaged among a body of French, 377 thinking they were his own men, and bid Chem charge : they told him they had no more powder : he, perceiving they were none of his men, with great presence of mind got out of their hands, and brought up a body of his army to charge them ; who quickly routed them. The action in the afternoon recovered the loss that was made in the morning ; and possessed all the world, the prince of Cond^ in particular, with a great esteem of the prince's con- duct and courage. I will say little of foreign af- fairs ; because there are many copious accounts of them in print ; and I can add little to them. With . relation to the battle of SenefF, the prince himself told me that the day before he saw a capuchin, that came over from the French army, and had a long conversation with Zouch, the emperor's general; who behaved himself so iU on the day of battle, that the prince said to his son at night, that his father had acted so basely, that, if it had not been for the respect he bore the emperor, he would have shot him through the head. He was disgraced on this. But the success of the campaign was lost by it. They had a noble army; and might have done much more than they did. Grave was retaken in the end of the campaign. So the provinces were now safe on that side. And the prince had gained so much credit with the States, that he was now more than ever the master of their counsels. luvj Uiy.^

60 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1674. The alarm that those discoveries from Holland Arlington gave om* court, made lord Arlington offer at one Ho"L^ trial more for recovering the king's confidence. He offered to go over to Holland with the earl of Os- sory : for they fancied they had a great interest in the prince, by their having married two of Bever- vardt's daughters : and the prince had always a par- ticular affection to lord Ossory. Lord Arlington said, he would go to the bottom of every thing with the prince ; and did not doubt, but he would bring him into an entire dependence on his uncle, and particularly dispose him to a general peace ; on, which the king was much set, it being earnestly de- sired by the French. It was likewise believed, that he had leave to give the prince the hope of marry-: ing her whom he afterwards married. The duke told me he knew nothing of the matter: he had heard, lord Arlington had talked as if the managing that was his chief errand: and upon that he had asked the king, who assured him that he had a posi- tive order not so much as to speak of that matter. Yet, whether notwithstanding this he had a secret order, or whether he did it without order, he cer- tainly talked a great deal of it to the prince, as a thing which he might depend on, if he would in all other things be governed by the king. Temple Sir William Temple had been sent over the sum-;

bMsador naer before, as ambassador: and his chief instruc- toHoi^nd. ^j^jjg were, to dispose all people's minds, chiefly the' prince's, to a peace. But the prince had avoided- the seeing him till the end of the campaign. Lord> Arlington had thrown him off, when he went into, the French interest : and Temple was too proud to , bear contempt, or forget such an injury soon. He

OF KING CHARLES 11. 01

was a vain man, much blown up in his own conceit, 1674. which he shewed too indecently on aU occasions. He had a true judgment in aflfairs, and very good principles with relation to government ; but [good] in nothing else : [for he was an Epicurean both in principle and practice.] He seemed to think that things were as they are from all eternity. At least he thought reHgion was fit only for the mob >. He was a great admirer of the sect of Confucius in China, who were atheists themselves, but left reli- gion to the rabble. He was a corrupter of all that came near him. And he delivered himself up wholly to study, ease, and pleasure ^. He entered into a close friendship with lord Danby, who de- pended much on him : and was directed in aU his notions as to foreign affairs by him; for no man ever came into the ministry, that understood the affairs of Europe so little as he did.

I will henceforth leave the account of our affairs beyond sea wholly to Temple's letters, in which they are very truly and fully set forth. And in them it appears, that the prince of Orange, even while so young, and so little practised in affairs, had

>■ A word of dignity for an a disdain at the misrepresenta-

historian. S, tion here of his principles with

* The author should have regard to religion ; his whole done more justice to the cha- life was a continued course of racter of this truly great man ; probity, disinterestedness, and one of the ablest, most sincere, every other amiable virtue, with generous, and virtuous min- every elegancy of it. Great in isters, that any age has pro- business, and happy out of it. diiced ; and will always be See, and contemplate his writ- deemed one of the honours of ings ; but pass gently over his this nation, as a statesman, a few errors. O. Sir William writer, and as a lover and ex- Temple was a man of virtue, ample of the finest sorts of to which Burnet was a stran- learning. They who knew sir ger. S. William Temple best, have had

62 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

.1674. so clear and so just a view of them, that nothing ' could misguide him ; and that the bad prospect he

had from the ill condition of affairs did not frighten him to accept of any mean or base conditions of peace. His fidelity to his country and the pubUc interest was so firm, that no private considerations of his own could bias him, or indeed be much con- sidered by him. These letters give him a character that is so subHme, as well as so genuine, that it raises him much above all the performances of rhe- toric or panegyric. I will mention very little that is to be found in them. HoUand was in great ex- pectation, when they saw two such men as the earls of Ossory and Arlington come over, together with the earl of Danby's eldest son, though the last only made the shew a little greater. Lord Arlington for some days insisted vehemently on the prince's dis- missing Du Moulin, who had discovered the secrets of his office to him. In this the prince complied: and Du Moulin was sent to one of their plantations. As to all other things, lord Arlington talked to him in the strain of a governor ; and seemed to presume too much on his youth, and on his want of experi- ence. But, instead of prevailing on the prince, he lost him so entirely, that aU his endeavours after- wards could never beget any confidence in him. So he came back, and reckoned this was his last essay ; which succeeding so ill, he ever after that withdrew from all business. He made himself easy to the king, who continued to be still very kind to him.

1675. At Easter, a piece of private news came from

Ejirnd" France, which the duke was much delighted with,

379 because it did an honour to the order of the Jesuits,

OF KING CHARLES H. 6»

to whom he had devoted himself. The new con- 1675. fessor had so pressed the king of France in Lent to send away his mistress, Montespan, that he pre- vailed at last. She was sent to a nunnery. And so the king received the sacrament, as was said, in a state of contrition. This was writ to the duke, and set out with such circumstances, as the French usually do every thing that relates to their king. The duke was much pleased with it. He told me, he had related it with all its circumstances to the king in the duchess of Portsmouth's hearing ; and said, they both heard it with great uneasiness, and were much out of countenance at it. The duke himself was then in the best temper I had ever known him in. He was reading Nurembergius of the difference of things temporal and things eternal : and we had much good discourse on that subject. Lord Arlington ran so much in his mind, that he once said to me, if lord Arlington would read that book, he would not meddle in so many affairs as he did. I saw he was very jealous of him, and of his interest in the king. Thus I have given a full ac- count of my acquaintance with the duke.

I lost his favour soon after this. For in April i was exa. 1675 a session of parliament was held, as prepara- S'e^house tory to one that was designed next winter, in which °Jj^^' money was to be asked : but none was now asked ; it being only called to heal aU breaches, and to beget a good understanding between the king and his peo- ple. The house of commons fell upon duke Lauder- dale. And those who knew what had passed be- tween him and me", moved that I should be exa-

* See before, p- 373. O.

64 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1675. mined before a committee. I was brought before them. I told them how I had been commanded out of town. But though that was illegal, yet, since it had been let fall, it was not insisted on. I was next examined concerning his design of arming the Irish papists. I said, I, as well as others, had heard him say, he wished the presbyterians in Scot- land would rebel, that he might bring over the Irish papists to cut their throats. I was next exa- mined concerning the design of bringing a Scotish army into England. I desired to be excused, as to what had passed in private discourse; to which I thought I was not bound to answer, unless it were high treason. They pressed me long : and I would give them no other answer. So they all concluded, that I knew great matters ; and reported this spe- cially to the house. Upon that I was sent for, and brought before the house. I stood upon it, as I had done at the committee, that I was not bound to an- swer ; that nothing had passed that was high trea- son ; and as to all other things, I did not think my self bound to discover them. I said farther, I knew duke Lauderdale was apt to say things in a heat, which he did not intend to do. And since he had 380iised my self so ill, I thought my self the more obliged not to say any thing that looked like revenge for what I had met with from him. I was brought four times to the bar. At last I was told, the house thought they had a right to examine into every thing that concerned the safety of the nation, as well as into matters of treason : and they looked on me as bound to satisfy them : otherwise they would make me feel the weight of their heavy dis- pleasure, as one that concealed what they thought

OF KING CHARLES II. 65

was necessary to be known. Upon this I yielded, iGys. and gave an account of the discourse formerly men- tioned ^. They laid great weight on this *^, and re- newed their address against duke Lauderdale.

I was much blamed for what I had done. Some, to make it look the worse, added, that I had been his chaplain, which was false ; and that I had been much obliged to him, though I had never received any real obligation from him, but had done him great services, for which I had been very unworthily requited. Yet the thing had an ill appearance, as the disclosing of what had passed in confidence ; though I make it a great question, how far even that ought to bind a man, when the designs are very wicked, and the person continued still in the same post and capacity of executing them. I have told the matter as it was, and must leave my self to the censure of the reader. My love to my country, and my private friendships, carried me perhaps too far *' ; especially since I had declared much against clergymen's meddling in secular affairs, and yet had run my self so deep in them. [The truth is, I had been, for above a year, in a perpetual agitation, and was not calm or cool enough to reflect on my con- duct, as I ought to have done. I had lost much of a spirit of devotion and recollection, and so it was no wonder, if I even committed great errors.]

This broke me quite with the court, and in that respect proved a great blessing to me. It brought me out of many temptations ; the greatest of all be-

*• P. 355. O. Treacherous from him. See Journal of the

villain. S, House of Commons, 21, 23, 29.

<^ They made no use of it; April 5. — May 6. 1675. O.

and the majority of the house <* Right. S. did not seem to like its coming

VOL. 11. F

m THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1675. ing the kindness that was growing upon me from the duke, which might have involved me into great difficulties, as it did expose me to much censure ; all which went off upon this occasion. And I applied my self to my studies, and my function, being then settled preacher at the roUs, and soon after lecturer of St. Clement's. I lived many years under the pro- tection of sir Harbottle Grimstone, master of the rolls, who continued steady in his favour to me, though the king sent secretary Williamson to desire him to dismiss me. He said he was an old man, fitting himself for another world, and he found my ministry useful to him ; so he prayed that he might be excused in that. He was a long and very kind patron to me. I continued ten years in that post, free from all necessities : and, I thank God, that was all I desired. But, since I was so long happy in so quiet a retreat, it seems but a just piece of gratitude, that I should give some account of that venerable old man. Sir Har- Hc was dcsccuded from a long-lived family ; for Grim- his great grandfather lived till he was ninety-eight, chTrSter. ^^ grandfather to eighty-six, and his father to se- 381 venty-eight, and himself to eighty-two. He had to the last a great soundness of health, of memory, and of judgment. He was bred to the study of the law, being a younger brother. Upon his elder brother's death he threw it up. But falling in love with judge Crook's daughter, the father would not bestow her on him, unless he wotdd return to his studies ; which he did with great success. That judge was one of those who delivered his judgment in the chequer-chamber against the ship-money, which he did with a long and learned argument. And sir

OF KING CHARLES II. 67

Harbottle's father, who sensed in parliament for Es- 167^ sex, lay long in prison, because he would not pay the loan-money. Thus both his family and his wife's were zealous for the interest of their country. In the beginning of the long parliament he was a great asserter of the laws ; and inveighed severely against all that had been concerned in the former illegal oppression. His principle was, that allegi- ance and protection were mutual obligations; and that the one went for the other. He thought the law was the measure of both ; and that when a legal protection was denied to one that paid a legal alle- giance, the subject had a right to defend himself He was much troubled, when preachers asserted a divine right of regal government. He thought it had no other effect, but to give an ill impression of them as aspiring men : nobody was convinced by it: it inclined their hearers rather to suspect all they said besides : it looked like the sacrificing their country to their own preferment ; and an encourag- ing of princes to turn tyrants. Yet when the long parliament engaged into the league with Scotland, he would not swear the covenant. And he discon- tinued sitting in the house till it was laid aside. Then he came back, and joined with Hollis, and the other presbyterians, in a high opposition to the in- dependents, ^nd to Cromwell in particular, as was told in the first book. And he was one of the se- cluded members that were forced out of the house. He followed afterwards the practice of the law, but was always looked at as one who wished weU to the ancient government of England. So he was chosen speaker of that house that called home the king; and had so great a merit in that whole affair, that

r 2

68 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1675. he was soon after, without any application of his own, made master of the rolls : in which post he continued to his death with a high reputation, as he well deserved it. For he was a just judge; very slow, and ready to hear every thing that was of- fered, without passion or partiality. I thought his only fault was, that he was too rich : and yet he gave yearly great sums in charity, discharging many prisoners by paying their debts. He was a very pious and devout man, and spent every day at least an hour in the morning, and as much at night, in prayer and meditation. And even in winter, when he was obliged to be very early on the bench, he took care to rise so soon, that he had always the command of that time which he gave to those exer- cises. He was much sharpened against popery ; but 382 had always a tenderness to the dissenters ^, though he himself continued still in the communion of the church. His second wife, whom I knew, was niece to the great sir Francis Bacon : and was the last heir of that family. She had all the high notions for the church and the crown, in which she had been bred; but was the humblest, the devoutest, and best tempered person I ever knew of that sort ^ It was really a pleasure to hear her talk of religion : she did it with so much elevation and force. She was always very plain in her clothes : and went oft to gaols, to consider the wants of the prisoners, and relieve or discharge them ; and by the meanness of her dress she passed but for a servant trusted with the charities of others. When she was travelling in the country, as she drew near a village, she often or-

« Burnet's test of all virtues. S. ^ Hogue. S.

OF KL\G CHARLES II. 69

dered her coach to stay behind till she had walked 1675. about it, giving orders for the instruction of the children, and leaving liberally for that end. With two such persons I spent several of my years very happily. But I now return to the session of Par- liament s .

In the house of commons the business against Danbyat- duke Lauderdale was taken up warmly at three se- in vain. veral times : and three several addresses were made to the king against him. The king's answer was, that he would protect no man against law and justice; but would condemn none without special matter well made out. There was no money of- fered : so addresses were feeble things. The next at- tempt was against the earl of Danby, wl\o had be- gun to invert the usual methods of the exchequer. But the majority were for him : so that charge came to nothing. Only those who begun it formed a party against liim, that grew in conclusion to be too hard for him. He took a different method from those who were in the ministry before him. They had taken off the great and leading men : and left the herd as a despised company, who could do no- thing, because they had none to head them. But lord Danby reckoned that the major number was the surer game : so he neglected the great men, who he thought raised their price too high ; and reckoned,

8 Lord treasurer Oxford told Sir Harbottle knew he had

nie, his father, sir Edward Har- spoke of it to nobody else, and

ley, was very intimately ac- charged Burnet with having re-

quainted with the master of the vealed it. He began to make

rolls ; and wlien the bill of ex- some very awkward excuses ;

elusion was depending, had com- which the master stopt, by tell-

municated a secret of very great ing him, that he himself was

importance to him, which he most to be blamed, for having

trusted to Burnet, and by that mentioned it to any body. D. means was soon known at court.

f3

70 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1675. that he could gain ten ordinary men, cheaper than one of those. This might have succeeded with him, if they that did lead his party had been wise and skilful men. But he seemed to be jealous of aU such,, as if they might gain too much credit with the king. The chief men that he made use of were of so low a size, that they were baffled in every debate. So that many, who were inclined enough to vote in all obe- dience, yet were ashamed to be in the vote on the side that was manifestly run down in the debate. dhS^r^ The ablest man of his party was Seimour, who was the first speaker of the house of commons that was not bred to the law. He was a man of great birth, being the elder branch of the Seimour family ; and was a graceful man, bold and quick. But [was the most immoral and impious man of his age ;] he had a sort of a pride so peculiar to himself, that I 383 never saw any thing like it. He had neither shame nor decency with it ^ . [And in all private dealings he was the unjustest and blackest man that has lived in our times.] He was violent against the court, till he forced himself into good posts. He was the most assuming speaker that ever sate in the chair. He knew the house and every man in it so well, that by looking about he could teU the fate of any question. So, if any thing was put, when the court party was not weU gathered together, he would have held the house from doing any thing, by a wil- ful mistaking or mistating the question. By that he

•* When he was speaker, his own coach, but sir Edward told

coach broke at Charing Cross, him it was more proper for him

and he ordered the beadles to to walk in the streets, than the

stop the next gentleman's they speaker of the house of com-

met, and bring it to him. The mons ; and left him so to do,

gentleman in it was much sur- without any further apology. D. prised to be turned out of his

OF KING CHARLES II. 71

gave time to those who were appointed for that mer- 1 675. cenary work, to go about and gather in all their party. And he would discern when they had got the majority. And then he would very fairly state the question, when he saw he was sure to carry it.

A great many of the court grew to be so uneasy, especially when they saw the king was under the in- fluence of French and popish counsels, that they were glad to be out of the way at critical times. On some occasions they would venture to vote against the court : of which the memorable answer of Harvey's', who was treasurer to the queen, was a noted instance. He was one whom the king loved personally: and yet upon a great occasion he voted against that which the king desired. So the king chid him severely for it. Next day, another im- portant question falling in, he voted as the king would have him. So the king took notice of it at night ; and said, You were not against me to day. He answered, No, sir, I was against my conscience to day. This was so gravely delivered, that the king seemed pleased with it: and it was much talked of. While things went thus in the house of commons, there was the greatest and longest debate in the house of lords that has been in all my time. They sat upon it often till midnight.

It was about the test that Lord Danby had con-Debate« tiived, as was formerly mentioned. Lord Danby, a^Jist[°'"^ and lord Finch, and some of the bishops, were the chief arguers for it. They said, it was necessary that a method should be found out, to discriminate the good subjects from the bad : we had been lately

• He was either father or uncle of the present earl of Bristol. He was uncle. O

F 4

72 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1675. involved in a long civil war, occasioned by the ill principles that some had taken up with relation to government : it was fit to prevent the return of such miseries : the king had granted a very fuU indemnity, and had observed it religiously : but there was no reason, while so much of the old leaven still re- mained, to leave the nation exposed to men of such principles : it was not fit to make a parliament per- petual : yet that was a less evil, than to run the ha- zar^ of a bad election ; especially when jealousies and fears had been blowed about the nation : a good constitution was to be preserved by all pru- dent methods : no man was to be pressed to take this test : but, as they, who were not wiUing to come into such an engagement, ought to have the mo- desty to be contented with the favour and conni- vance of the government, so, if that did not teach 384 them good manners, it might be fit to use severer tools. To all this, great opposition was made. It was plain, the duke did not like it : but the king was so set on it, that he did not declare himself against it. But aU the papists were against it : they thought the bringing any test in practice would certainly bring on one that would turn them out of the house. The lords Shaftsbury, Buckingham, HoUis, Hallifax, and aU those who were thought the country party, opposed this mightily. They thought there ought to be no tests, beyond the oath of allegiance, upon the elections to Parliament : that it being the great privilege of EngUshmen, that they were not to be taxed but by their representatives ; it was therefore thought a disinheriting men of the main part of their birthright, to do any thing that should shut them out from their votes in electing;.

OF KING CHARLES II. 73

all tests in public assemblies were thought dangerous, i67^ and contrary to public lil)erty : for if a parliament thought any law inconvenient for the good of the whole, they must be supposed still free to alter it ^ : and no previous limitation could bind up their le- gislature : a great deal was said, to shew that the peace of the world was best secured by good laws and good government; and that oaths or tests were no security : the scrupulous might be fettered by them : yet the bulk of the world would boldly take any test, and as boldly break through it ; of which the late times had given large proofs: the matter of this test was very doubtful : for though, generally speaking, the king's person and his power were not to be distinguished, yet that was not uni- versally true : an infant king, or a lunatic, were ex- ceptions : as also a king in his enemies' hands ; which was the case of Henry VI. for whose power his own party fought even against his person : so an excep- tion was to be understood; otherwise the proposi- tion, that affirmed it was a traitorous position to se-^ parate them, was not true : nor could it be reason- able to bind up men against alterations : every new law was an alteration : it was not easy to define how far the power of making alterations might go, and where it must stop : these things were best left at large : upon the whole matter, as they were against any parliamentary tests, so they were more particu- larly against this. Lord Shaftsbury distinguished himself more in this session than ever he had done before. He spoke once a whole hour, to shew the inconvenience of condemning all resistance upon any pretence whatsoever. He said, it might be proper

'' Wrong arguing. S. ■■•<

W THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1675. to lay such ties upon those who served in the mi- ■ litia, and in corporations, because there was still a

superior power in parliament to declare the extent of the oath : but it might be of very ill consequence to lay it on a parliament : since there might be cases, though so far out of view that it was hard to sup- pose them, in which he believed no man would say, it was not lawful to resist. If a king would make us a province, and tributary to France, and subdue 385 the nation by a French army, or to the papal author- ity, must we be bound in that case tamely to sub- mit ? Upon which he said many things that did cut to the quick. And yet, though his words were watched, so that it was resolved to have sent him to the tower if any one word had fallen from him that had made him liable to such a censure, he spoke both with so much boldness and so much caution, that, though he provoked the court extremely, no ad- vantage could be taken against him. The court car- ried every question in favour of the test, though with great opposition, and a protestation made upon every step that was carried. So that the bill was in a fair way to have passed : and very probably it would have passed in the house of commons, when, by an unlooked for emergent, the session was broke. A dispute Ever since the end of king James I.'s reign, peti- peais aifd tious of appeal were brought to the house of lords privileges. £j.qjjj dccrecs iu chancery. This rose from a parity of reason, because writs of error lay from the courts of law to the house of lords. And since the business of the chancery grew to be so extended and com- prehensive, it was not thought safe to leave it to the lord chancellor's conscience. So this practice, though

OF KING CHARLES II. 75

so lately begun, grew on by degrees to be the main 1675. business of the house of lords. A petition of appeal was brought against a member of the house of com- mons. The lords received it, and made an order upon it. The member being served with it, brought it into the house of commons. And they voted it a breach of privilege, for the lords to meddle with one of their house. The lords, on the other hand, said, they were bound to do justice to all : and no privi- lege could lie against that : and, since they never sate but when the commons sate likewise, if a privi- lege from that house could stop their proceedings, there must be a failure in justice : and since no pri- vilege was ever pretended in the case of a writ of error, it could not lie against an appeal. So they resolved to proceed in the cause. The commons passed a vote against any lawyers that should plead at the lords' bar in this cause. But the lords com- manded the council to go on ; with which they com- plied. And as they went from the lords' bar, they were l^y an order from the house of commons sent to the tower. But they were by another order from the lords set at liberty. So the two houses being as it were at war, it was necessary to put an end to the session.

This was very uneasy to the court : for they saw The ses-

. sion broke

it was a very sure method to break a session ot par- up oa it. liament, every time that it was taken up. I am not sure, if this was laid, or if it happened by accident. Lord Shaftsbuiy said, it was laid by himself. But others assured me, it happened in course, though it produced great eflfects : for there never was a strength in the court to raise this debate of the test in any subsequent session. And as this made the

76 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1675. court apprehend they might by the prosecution of ' the same appeal lose the next session, since the

oov prorogation did only discontinue parliamentary pro- ceedings, but not judiciary ones ; so they feared this might go so far as to force a dissolution of the pre- sent parliament : to which the court would be very hardly brought, after they had practised so long upon the members, and knew them all so well.

In this session, on a day that grievances were to be gone upon, Grimstone said, that considering the extent of privilege, he looked on a standing parlia- ment as the greatest grievance of the nation ; so many men being exempted from justice, and from the demands of their creditors, for so long and so indefinite a time. This motion was let faU at that time. But it was not forgot ^ . And it was likely to be taken up, when new opportunities should be offered. The summer went over without any consi- derable accidents at home. A sewion of A ncw scssiou met next winter. And at the first

parliament.

opening it, the kmg laid before the commons the great difficulties he was in by the anticipations of his revenues. It was then generally thought, that the king was in such straits, that, if money could not be obtained, he must turn to other counsels and to other 'ministers. The debate went high in the committee of the whole house. It was offered on the one side to shew, that the king had not enough in his hands to maintain the government and to secure the na- tion : though our neutrality at that time made trade flow in upon us, so that the customs rose higher than

' Old sir Christopher Mus- or a bad one ever do good to grave used to say, that a good the man that made it. D. motion in parliament never died; ■ ''

OF KING CHARLES 11. T7

ever. On the other hand it was said, that if antici- 1675. pations were once admitted as a reason for a supply, the court would never want that reason. It was fit- ter to examine by whose means or on what design those anticipations were made. At last, the question was put. And the vote being then stated, and the previous question being then put, whether the main question should be then put or not, the votes were equal. So sir Charles Harbord, who was in the chair, gave it for putting the main question. But, some of the country side coming in between the two questions, the main question was lost by two or three. So near was the court to the carrying so great a point. Harbord was much blamed for his rashness. He said, the duty of the chair was always to set matters forward : and so he ought to have given it for putting the main question : and, if the same equality had continued, he said, he would have given it for the court. He was a very rich and co- vetous man, who knew England weU : and his parts were very quick about him in that great age, being past eighty. A lively repartee was made by his own son to him in the debate. He had said, the right way of dealing with the king, and of gaining him to them, was, to lay their hands on their purses, and to deal roundly with him. So his son said, he seconded his motion : but he meant, that they should lay their hands on their purses, as he himself did, and hold them well shut, that no money should go out of them. The earl of Danby was much disappointed 387 at this. Yet he took heart, since it was brought so near, that he reckoned he would make the next ses- sion sure. The petition of appeal, that had broke the former session, was now brought on again before

78 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

jg75 the lords. The court tried their whole strength to

keep it off, tiU they saw what might be expected

from the commons. So, upon the miscarriage of the great vote in the house of commons, the lords went on upon the petition : and, the commons opposing them vigorously, as before, it was visible that the parliament must be prorogued. The charac- Upou this it was proposcd in the house of lords pariiameTto addrcss the king for dissolving the present par- '"^°- liament. It was manifest the two houses could no longer maintain the correspondence that was ne- cessary. In a new parliament this must fall to the ground : but it could not while this lasted. It was said, a standing parliament changed the constitution of England'". The king did no more consult with his people, nor know them : but he had now a cabal of single persons to deal with. The people were now cut off from their liberty of electing ; and so had no more a true representative. It was said, that a par- liament of a long continuance would be either an engine to sell the liberties of their country, or would, by rendering themselves popular, join with the people against the crown. In either case it was like to be destructive to the constitution. So it was moved, that an address should be made to the king for dissolving the parliament. And, to the wonder of all men, the duke joined in it. The majority of the temporal lords were for it. But the bench of bishops was against it : and so it was not carried. The thing became the universal subject of discourse. It was infused into the members of the house of

™ The present loss under for nothing now will do but K.J. (sic.) Temporamutantur} septennial parliaments. S. 'i

OF KING CHARLES II. 79

commons, that, if they would not be more tractable, 1675. and help the king out of his necessities, he was sure a new parliament would give him money, and make him easy ; and that the rather for having dissolved them. This wrought on many of them, who had been chosen while the nation was in a fit, or rather a fury, of loyalty. They knew, they could never hope to be chosen again. Many of them were ruined in their fortunes, and lived upon their privi- leges and upon their pensions. They had got it among them for a maxim, which contributed not a little to our preservation while we were in such hands, that, as they must not give the king too much at a time, lest there should be no more use of them, so they were to take care not to starve the court, lest they themselves should be starved by that means. They were indeed generally both against popery and France. And, to redeem their credit for the money that they were ready to give some- what too lavishly, they said, when they went into their countries, that it was on design to fix the king to an English interest and the protestant religion. 388 And they had talked so high on those heads, that the court itself could not manage them, when any thing relating to these came before them. Some of them were high for the prerogative : others high for the church : and all the mercenary men were careful of themselves. In opposition to these a great party was formed, who declared more heartily for the protestant religion, and for the interest of England. The duke of Buckingham and the earl of Shaftsbury opened many of their eyes, and let them know the designs of the court. And indeed they were then so visible, that there was enough seen, without such secret in-

80 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1675. telligence, to convince the most incredulous. Sir WUliam Coventry had the greatest credit of any man in the house. He never meddled personally with any minister. He had a perfect understanding of affairs. So he laid open the errors of the govern- ment with the more authority, because he mixed no passion nor private resentments with it. His bro- ther usually answered him with much life in a re- partee, but not with the weight and force with which he spoke. Colonel Birch was a man of a pe- culiar character. He had been a carrier at first, and retained still, even to an affectation, the clown- ishness of his education". He got up in the pro- gress of the war to be a colonel, and to be concerned in the excise. And at the restoration he was found to be so useful in managing the excise, that he was put in a good post. He was the roughest and bold- est speaker in the house; and talked in the lan- guage and phrases of a carrier, but with a beauty

" Sir Edward Seimour re- then and has since been much

fleeted upon him very grossly talked of, and should not be

once in a debate, for his former forgotten. Coventry had, in

• profession ; to which he an- some debate in the house of

swered very calmly, that it was commons, in which Birch had

true he had been a carrier, and spoken of the other side, reflect-

he believed if that worthy gen- ed on Birch's having been a

tleman had ever been so, he carrier ; upon which Birch got

would have been so still. King up and said, " It is very true,

Charles the second told him, " what that gentleman says, I

upon something he had mov- " was a carrier once; and let

ed in the house of commons, " me tell that gentleman it is

that he remembered forty-one, " ver%' fortunate for him that he

to which he replied, that he " never was a carrier, for if he

remembered forty-eight. For " had been a carrier, he would

which the duke of Monmouth " have been a carrier still."

would have had him sent to Birch, as I have heard from a

the Porter's Lodge, but the member of his time, that was

king would not sufl'er it. D. then a young man, [that he,]

There was a saying of his to though old, was at the head of

this Mr. Coventry, which was their club in Chanon Row. O.

OF KING CHARLES II. 81

and eloquence that was always acceptable. I heard 1675. Coventry say, he was the best speaker to carry a popular assembly before him that he had ever known. He spoke always with much life and heat. But judgment was not his talent. Waller was the delight of the house: and even at eighty he said the liveliest things of any among them : he was only concerned to say that which should make him be applauded. But he never laid the business of the house to heart, being a vain and empty, though a witty, man. He deserves the character of being one of the great refiners of our language and poetry. He was for near sixty years one of the best of all our writers that way. The two men of quality that were the most considered were the lord Russell and the lord Cavendish. Lord Russell was a man of great candour, and of a general reputation ; uni- versally beloved and trusted; of a generous and obliging temper. He had given such proofs of an undaunted courage and of an unshaken firmness, that I never knew any man have so entire a credit in the nation as he had. He quickly got out of some of the disorders into which the court had drawn him. And ever after that, his life was un- blemished in all respects. He had, from his first education, an inclination to favour the non-conform- ists " ; and wished the laws could have been made easier to them, or they more phant to the law. He was a slow man, and of little discourse : but he had a true judgment, when he considered things at his 389 o^vn leisure. His understanding was not defective : but his virtues were so eminent, that they would

° So have all the aiithor's favourites. S. VOL. II. G

BH THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1675. have more than balanced real defects, if any had been found in the other. Lord Cavendish, after- wards earl, and then duke, of Devonshire, was too much a libertine both in principle and practice. He went off from the court at first upon resentments for some disappointments there. He was [an am- bitious and revengeful man ; but he had the courage of an hero, with a much greater proportion of wit and knowledge than is usual in men of his birth. He had a softness in his exterior deportment to which there was nothing within that was answer- able p.] Littleton and Powle were the men that laid the matters of the house with the greatest dexterity and care. Powle was very learned in precedents, and parliament journals, which goes a great way in their debates : and, when he had time to prepare himself^, he was a clear and strong speaker. Lit- tleton was the ablest and the vehementest arguer of them all. He commonly lay quiet till the end of a debate: and he often ended it, speaking with a slrain of conviction and authority that was not easily resisted. I lived the very next door to him for several years : and we spent a great deal of our time every day together. He told me all their ma- nagement : and commonly, when he was to put his whole strength to argue any point, he used to talk it over with me, and to set me to object all that I could against him. He lived wholly in London. So matters were most in his hands during the in-

P In the printed book was deportment. substituted. He was ambitious, 1 I have seen many of his

-and had the courage of a hero, occasional speeches, and they

tcith an unusual proportion both are all very good, and do not de-

qf wit and knowledge. He had serve this distinction upon them.

a great softness in his exterior O.

OF KING CHARLES II. 8»

tervals of parliament. And by his means it was, 1675. that I arrived at such knowledge of their intrigues. He was a wise and worthy man, had studied much modem history, and the present state and interest of Europe. Sir Thomas Lee was a man that va- lued himself upon artifice and cunning, in which he was a great master, without being out of counte- nance when it was discovered ^ Vaughan, the chief justice's son, was a man of great integrity, had much pride, but did great service. These were the chief men that preserved the nation from a very de- cjeitful and practising court, and from a corrupt house of commons. And by their skiU and firmness they, from a small number, who began the opposi- tion, grew at last to be the majority ^

All this I thought fit to lay together, and to fiU 1675. as it were an empty place in my history : for, as tervai be-

, . 1 . . /> . tween the

our mam busmess lay m preparing tor, or managing sessions of a session of parliament, so we had now a long in-P"''**™*°*- tervai, of above a year, between this session in win-

' Hie agreed to Second the had this from one who knew hiiri motion for 1,200,000^. for six in parliament, and I have seed thousand pounds, which one of many of his speeches, which the clerks of the treasury was manifest this to have been his to bring in a hackney coach to character. He may be seen in Fleet Ditch, where Lee was to the conference between the two meet him in another, and up- houses about the abdication, on a sign given, they were to The same person used to talk change coaches : which was ex- very highly of Garway also, ecuted accordingly ; but, un- and thought them the ablest luckily, the coachman knew parliament men of their time ; them bothj and toW what he and so they have been general- had seen. D. ly deemed, and were much

» He should have mentioned spoken of as such, long after

Sacheverel here, who was very their deaths, which happened

eminent among them, and infe- not a great while after the re-

rior to few in his abilities. I have volution. O.

o 2

84* THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1676. ter 1675, and the next session of parliament, which was not till the spring in 1677- The French were much set on procuring a peace. And they, seeing how much the parhament was set on engaging the king in the alliance, prevailed with him to discon- tinue the session ; for which, no doubt, he had round sums of money sent to him t . An account About this time Lockhart the ambassador in passages of Fraucc died. The farther he saw into the designs ^urag^e'^in ^^ ^^c couit, hc grcw the more uneasy in the post ^™°*^Q he was in, though he acted in it with great spirit and resolution, both with relation to his own master and to the French king : of which I will set down two passages, that may be very instructive to am- bassadors. In this time of neutraUty the French privateers took many English ships, pretending they were Dutch, only with English passes. One of these was taken by a privateer, that, as was believed, Pe- pys, then secretary to the English admiralty, and in great favour with the duke, had built; and, as was said, out of the king's stores. The merchants proved in council, that the ship was EngHsh. So Lockhart had an order to demand her: and he pressed it so effectually, that an order was sent from the court of France to discharge her. But before that was executed, the king was prevailed on by Pepys, to tell the French ambassador, that he did not concern himself in that ship : he believed mer-

' " (Rouvigny (the French " in case it should refuse to

" ambassador) writes, 2d Sep- " give him money ; in consi-

" tember 1674, that Charles " deration of which lie was to

" had agreed either to prorogue " have a pension of ioo,oooZ.

" his parliament tillApril 1675, "from France." Appendix to

" in consideration of 500,000 Dalrymple's Memoirs of Great

" crowns, or if he convened it Britain and Ireland, p. 99.) •' in November, to dissolve it

OF KING CHARLES II. M

chants were rogues, and could bring witnesses to 16; 6. prove whatsoever they had a mind to : so the court of France might do what they pleased in that mat- ter. This was writ to Versailles a day or two after the former order was sent. But upon it a new one went to Dunkirk, where the ship lay, to stop her. This came before she could get out. So Lockhart, being informed of that, went to court, and com- <18 plained heavily. He was told what the king him- self had said about it. He answered resolutely, that the king spoke to them only by him. Yet he wrote upon this to the court of England, desiring to be recalled, since he could serve no longer with honour, after he had been so disowned. Upon this the king wrote him a letter with his own pen, ex- cusing the matter the best he could; and justified him in what he had done. And upon that secret orders were sent, and the ship was discharged. The other was a higher point, considering the bi- gotry of the king of France. Lockhart had a French popish servant, who was dying, and sent for the sacrament. Upon wliich it was brought with the procession ordinary in such cases. Lockhart, hearing of this, ordered his gates to be shut. And upon that many were inflamed, and were running to force his gates : but he ordered all his family tO stand to then- arms, and, if any force was offered, to fire. There was a great noise made of this. But no force was offered. He resolved to complain first ; and so went to court, and expostulated upon it. He said, his house was his master's house : and here a public triumph was attempted on his master's re- ligion, and affronts were offered him: he said, if a priest had brought the sacrament privately,, he

G 3

86 HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1676. would have connived at it : but he asked reparation for so public an injury. The king of France seemed to be highly displeased at this, calling it the greatest indignity that had ever been done to his God during his reign. Yet the point did not bear arguing : so Lockhart said nothing to that. When Lockhart went from him, Pompone followed him, sent after 391 him by the king ; and told him, he would force the king to suffer none of his subjects to serve him. He answered, he would order his coachman to drive the quicker to Paris, to prevent that ; and left Pompone to guess the meaning. As soon as he came to his house, he ordered aU his French servants to be imj- mediately paid off, and dismissed. The court of England was forced to justify him in aU this matter. A public letter of thanks was writ to him upon it. And the court of France thought it fit to digest it. But the French king looked on him ever after with great coldness, if not with aversion. Soon after that, he feU into a languishing, which, after some months, carried him off. I have ever looked on him as the greatest man that his country produced in this age, next to sir Robert Murray. Manage- The carl of Danby began now to talk against the France. French interest with open mouth. Rouvigny stayed but two years in England : for though he served his master's interests but too well, yet the popish party could not bear the want of a chapel in the French ambassador's house. So he was recalled : and Cour- tin was sent in his room. Before he parted, he talked roundly with lord Danby : he said, he was going into popular interests against those of his mas- ter's honour, who having engaged the king of France in the war, and being forced to leave him to fight

OF KING CHARLES II. ^

it out alone, ought not to turn against him ; espe- 1676. daily, since the king of France referred every thing to him as the arbiter and mediator of the peace : he remembered him of the old duke of Buckingham's fate, who thought to become popular by breaking the Spanish match ; and it was his ruin : he said, the king of France was the king's best friend and truest ally : and if he made the king forsake him, and depend on his parliament, being so tempered as they were then, both the king and he might come to repent it, when it was too late. I had all this from himself. To this lord Danby replied, that he spoke as a faithful servant to his own master, and that he himself would act as a faithful servant to his mas- ter. Courtin spoke a great deal to the same purpose, in the prince of Conde's presence, when I had the honour to wait on him. He told me, there was a strange reverse in things : lord Danby was at that time suffering for being in the French interest : and lord Montague '^ was popular as being against it: whereas, to his knowledge, during his employment in England, lord Danby was an enemy to their interest, as much as lord Montague was for it. I can say no- thing as to one point, whether any great sums came 1 . mIt over from France all this while, or not. Some watched ;,'^ji

the rising and falling of the exchange, by which men skilful in those matters can judge, when any great sum passes from one kingdom to another, either in specie or by bill : but they could never find out any thing to make them conclude it was done. Lord Montague told me, he tried often to get into that secret, but in vain : he often said to the king, that, 392 if he would trust him, he could make better bar- " Not then a lord. O. G 4

88 HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1676. gains for him than others had made : but the king

never answered him a word on that head : and he believed, that what sums soever came over, they were only to the duchess of Portsmouth, or to the king's privy purse ; and that the French ambassador had the sole managing of that matter, the king perhaps not being wilhng to trust any of his own subjects with so important and so dangerous a se- cret. In all companies the earl of Danby was de- claring openly against France and popery. And the see of London faUing then void by Henchman's death, he brought Compton, brother to the earl of Northampton, to succeed him. He was made bishop of Oxford, upon Crew's being promoted to Duresme, [who, bating the dignity of being born of a noble, though puritan family, had not any one quaUty to recommend him to so great a post, unless obedience and compliance could supply aU other defects. He has neither learning nor good sense, and is no preacher. He was a fawning abject slave to the court. And thus was raised, and has been now for above thirty years possessed of the greatest income in the church ^.] The ciiarac- Compton fwas a man of a much better form ; hel

ter of some ^ -^ ■- -■

bishops, carried arms for some years. When he was past thirty, he took orders. He was an humljle and modest man. He applied himself more to his function than bishops had commonly done. He went much about his diocese ; and preached, and confirmed in many ijlaces. His preaching was without much life or learning i for he had not gone through his studies witli thei ^^^exactness that was fitting. He was a great patron

.'■ (See below, p. 822.)

OF KING CHARLES II. ^ 8^

of the converts from popery, and of those protestants, ig^g^

whom the bad usage they were beginning to meet ~^

with in France drove over to us : and by these means he came to have a great reputation. He was making many complaints to the king, and often in council, of the insolence of the papists, and of Cole- man's in particular ^ . So that the king ordered the duke to dismiss Coleman out of his wservice. Yet he continued still in his confidence. But with these good qualities Compton was a weak man, wilful, and strangely wedded to a party "*. He was a property to lord Danby, and was turned by him as he pleased. The duke hated him. But lord Danby persuaded both the king and him, that, as his heat did no great hurt to any person, so the giving way to it helped to lay the jealousies of the church party. About a year after that, Sheldon dying, Compton was per- suaded that lord Danby had tried with all his strength to promote him to Canterbury ; though , that was never once intended. There were none of the order, that were in any sort fitted to fill that see, whom the court could trust.

Sancroft, dean of St. Paul's, was raised to it. He was a man of solemn deportment, had a sullen gra- vity in his looks, and was considerably learned. He had put on a monastic strictness, and lived abstracted .«)«.«jnq from company. These things, together with his living unmarried, and his being fixed in the old

^' Mrs. Coniwallis, a Roman and bishop Coniplon was made

catholic, was in great favour use of, to take notice at the

with the princess Ann, and council of the dangerous conse-

had introduced her friend Mrs. qiience such a woman's being

Churchill, since duchess of about the princess might have ;

Marlborough, who soon found, u))on which Mrs. Cornwallis

if she could get rid of her in- was ordered never to come into

troductress, she should have the her presence more. D. entire confidence to herself : ^ He means to the church. S.

90 HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1676. maxims of high loyalty, and a superstitious valuing of little things, made the court conclude, that he was a man who might be entirely gained to serve all their ends ; or, at least, that he would be an un- active speculative man, and give them little opposi- tion in any thing that they might attempt, when they had more promising opportunities. He was a dry, cold man, reserved and peevish; so that none loved him, and few esteemed him ^ : yet the high church party were weU pleased with his promotion. As lord Danby thus raised his creatures in the church, so he got all men turned out of their places, that did not entirely depend on him : and went on in his credit with the king, stiU assuring him, that, if he would leave things to his conduct, he would certainly bring about the whole cavalier party again to him. And such was the corruption and poverty of that party, that, had it not been that French and popish counsels were so visible in the whole course of our affairs, he had very probably gained them to have raised the king's power, and to have extirpated the dissenters, and to have brought things very near to the state they were in, in king Charles I.'s time, before the war. The pro- All this whilc the papists were not idle. They

jectsofthe . , , . ,.,,,. , i-

papists, tried then* strength with the king to get the parlia- ment dissolved : in which their hopes carried them so far, that Coleman drew a declaration for justify-t

"Jfalse and detracting. S. " could not have been entrusted

But compare this with the cha- " to one more firm and tem-

racter of this archbishop, in the " perate in the exercise of his

author's second volume of the " authority, more watchful over

History of the Reformation, " its general interests, or more

page 379. O. (Dr. D'Oyley, in " intrepid in the defence of its

his life of the archbishop lately " rights and privileges at the

published, well observes, " that " hour ,olf periju" Vol.i. p. 153^).

*♦ the government of the church j,i ^j . niuxj

OF KING CHARLES II., f tfl

ing it. Thdr design in this was, once to divide the 1 676. king and his people : for they reckoned the new parliament would not be so easy to him as this was. For how angry soever this was at him, and he some^ times at them, yet they saw that a severe act against popery, or some steps made against France, would dispose them to forget all former quarrels, and to give money. And as the king always wanted that, and loved to be easy, so the prospect of it was ever in his view. They feared, that at some time or other this might make him both sacrifice popery, and forsake France. So they took all possible methods to engage the king to a more entire dependence on France, and to a distrust of his own people. They were labouring for a general peace in all courts where they had any interest. The prince of Orange's obstinacy was the common subject of their complaints. Lord Shaftsbury tried, upon the duke's concurring in the vote for an address to have the parliament dissolved, if he could separate him from the earl of Danby. And he sent a message to him by the lord Stafford, that his voting as he did in that matter had gained much on many who were for-p merly his enemies : he wished he would use his in^- terest with the king to get that brought about; and he durst undertake, that a new parliament should be more inclinable to grant the papists a to-r leration, than they would ever find this would prove.

But the duke and lord Danby were too firmly coieman'* united to be easily divided ; for whatever lord Danby "* gave out, he made the duke believe, that all that he intended would really turn to his service. Coleman was very busy in writing many letters to all places, but chiefly to the court of France. He was in all his despatches setting forth the good st^te of the

98 HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1676. duke's affairs, and the great strength he was daily QQ4 gaining. He was either very sanguine, if he be- lieved this himself, or very bold in offering to im- pose it so positively on others. He was always full of assurances, that, if a peace could be brought about, so that the king of France was set at liberty to assist them with his purse and his force, they were never in such hopes of succeeding in the great design of rooting out this pestilent heresy, that had so long overrun these northern kingdoms, as now. He had a friend, one sir William Throgmorton, of whom he intended to make great use. He and his wife had prevailed with him and his lady to change their religion. And so he sent them over to France, recommending him to the king's confessor, F. Fer- rier, as a man that might do them great service, if he could be made one of theirs. So Ferrier, looking on him as a man of importance, applied himself to turn him, which was soon done. And the confes- sor, to raise the value of his convert, spoke of him to the king in such a strain, that he was much consi- dered. When his lady abjured, the duke of Orleans led her up to the altar. He took great state on him, and soon spent all he had. He was a busy man between the two courts. But before he got into any considerable post, Ferrier died: and the new confessor did not take such care of him as his predecessor had done. So he was forced to quit his «*ii«mo}<.'.j high living, and retire to a private house. And he Sent liis lady into a monastery. Yet he continued Still to be Coleman's agent and correspondent. He went often to see an English lady, that was of their religion, lady Brown. And being one day with her, he received a deep wound by a knife struck into his thigh, that pierced the great artery. Whether

OF KING CHARLES II. 9ff

the lady did it to defend herself, or he to shew the 1076. violence of his passion, was not known. It was not possible to stop the bleeding. Yet the lady would have him carried out of her house. He died in the house of one Hollman, an eminent man of their re- ligion, then at Paris. The whole matter was car- ried off in such secrecy, that Lockhart, then at Paris, could never penetrate further into it. I had this from his lady after his death. [I love not to make judgments on extraordinary events ; but this man's fate, and Coleman's, together with his wife's, who cut her own throat, and had a large share in all he did, were no usual things.] l^i

Coleman quickly found out another correspond- ent, that was more useful to him than he whom he lost could ever have been, F. St. German, a Je- suit, who was sent over with the duchess, and passed for her confessor, though I have been assured that was a mistake. He had all the heat of his order in him, and was apt to talk very boldly. I was some- times in company with him. He was complained of in council by the bishop of London for some practice on one that was come over a convert, whom he was between threatening and persuasion working on, in order to the sending him back. This came to be discovered. Upon which he fled. And on him Cole- man fixed for his chief correspondent. Howard was about this time by cardinal Altieri's means promoted •to be a cardinal. And upon that the king and duke 395 sent compliments to Rome. This opened a nego- tiation with that court, that was put in the hands of the internuncio at Brussels. So it was proposed, that a sum of money should be given the king, if in return of tha^ some suitable favours for those of

m HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1676. their religion could be obtained. Coleman was sent over by the duke to Brussels, to treat about it, none being in the secret but the lord Arundell. Yet, as he understood it, the king himself knew of it. When he went thither, he found the sum offered was so smaU, and the conditions demanded were so high, that he made no progress in the negotiation. What- ioeret Coleman did in the main business, he took good care of himself. All his letters were full of their being able to do nothing for want of money. And he made the French ambassador believe, he eould do his master great service, if he was weU sup- plied. He got once 2500 guineas from him, to gain his master some friends. But he applied it all to furnish out his own expense. He was at that time so lifted up, that he had a mind to pass for the head 6f the party. And of this I will give one instance, in which I my self had a share.

Sir Philip Terwhit, a papist, had married a zea- lous protestant, who suspecting his religion, charged him with it. But he denied it before marriage; and carried that so far, that he received the sacra- inent with her in her own church. After they were tnarried, she found that he had deceived her; and they lived untowardly together. At this time some scruples were put in her head, with which she ac- quainted me, and seemed fully satisfied with the an- swers that I gave her. She came afterwards to me, and desired I would come to her house, and talk of all those matters with some that her husband would bring to meet us. I told her, I would not decline the thing, if desired, though I seldom knew good come of such conferences. She made the same pro-

OF KING CHARLES II. «|

position to Dr. Stillingfleet ; and he gave the same 167(5. answer. So a day was set, and we went thither, ^ ^^^^ and found ten or twelve persons, that were nof^*"*"*^-

^ tween Cole-

known to us. We were scarce set down, when man and

some di-

Coleman came in, who took the whole debate upon vines, him. I writ down a very exact account of all that passed, and sent it to them, and had their additions to it : and I printed it. The thing made a great noise, and was a new indication of Coleman's ar- rogance. Soon after that, the lady, who continued firm upon this conference, was possessed with new scruples about the validity of our ordinations. I got from her the paper that was put in her hand, and ■answered it: and she seemed satisfied with that likewise. But afterwards the uneasiness of her life prevailed more on her than her scruples did; and she changed her religion.

Some time after I had printed the memoirs of the ^ '">'^«r-

^ took to

dukes of Hamilton, which were favourably received, wnte the the reading of these got me the acquaintance andou*r*rXr- friendship of sir William Jones, then attorney gene-^^^' raL He was raised to that high post merely by merit, and by his being thought the greatest man of the law : for, as he was no flatterer, but a man of a morose temper, so he was against all the measures that they took at court. They were weary of him, and were raising sir John King to vie with him : but he died in his rise, which indeed went on very quick. Jones was an honest and wise man. He had a roughness in his deportment that was very disagree- able : but he was a good natured man at bottom, and a faithful friend. He grew weary of his em- ployment, and laid it down : and though the great seal was offered him, he would not accept of it, nor

96 HISTORY OF THE EEIGN

1676. return to business. The quickness of his thoughts carried his views far. And the sourness of his tem- per made him too apt both to suspect and to despise most of those that came to him. My way of writing history [made him think I was cut out for if.] And so he pressed me to undertake the history of England ''. But Sanders's book, that was then trans- lated into French, and cried up much in France, ■made all my friends [conclude I was the fittest man^^] to answer it, by writing the history of the reforma- tion. So now all my thoughts were turned that way. I laid out for MSS. and searched into all of- fices. I got for some days into the Cotton library. But duke Lauderdale, hearing of my design, and ap- prehending it might succeed in my hands, got Dol- ben, bishop of Rochester, to divert sir John Cotton from suffering me to search into his library. He told him, I was a great enemy to the prerogative, to which Cotton was devoted, even to slavery '^. So he

Ulir"- * The editors substituted, magistrate to use his discretion pleased him. upon extraordinary occasions, ^ Very modest. S. where the rigor of the law may ^ Press me was substituted. prove unjust or oppressive, and <= The word prerogative has to exercise the supreme author- been much used, though seldom ity in all- cases where the law understood, and as little by the has not directed or limited the bishop as any. The notion the execution. But which way sir greatest men of our law have John Cotton, who was a very had of it, has been, that it is a worthy honest gentleman, that power lodged in the crown for understood and loved the con- which there is no law, but not stitution of his country, could repugnant to any law. The be devoted, even to slavery, to meaning is, the execution of the prerogative, the bishop the law being vested in the would have done well to have Jking, and it being impossible produced some better proof for, the legislature should foresee than his own saying so. Biit I all cases that may happen, have believe nobody will wonder at left a power with the chief his being cautious how he

OF KING CHARLES II. 97

said, I would certainly make an ill use of all I had 16; 6. found. This wrought so much on him, that I was no more admitted, till my first volume was pub- lished. And then, when he saw how I had composed it, he gave me free access to it.

At this time the earl of Essex was brought over The eari of from being lord lieutenant of Ireland, whose friend- racter. ship to me was afterwards such, that I think my self obliged to stop, and to give some account of him. He was the lord Capell's son. His education was neglected by reason of the war. But, when he was at man's age, he made himself master of the Latin tongue, and made a great progress in mathematics, and in all the other parts of learning. He knew our law and constitution well, and was a very thought- ful man. He began soon to appear against the court. The king imputed it to his resentments : so he re- solved to make use of him. He sent him ambassador to Denmark, where his behaviour in the affair of the flag gained him much reputation : though he said to me, there was nothing in it. That king had ordered the governor of Croonenburgh to make all ships that passed strike to him. So when lord Essex was sailing by, he sent to him, either to strike to him, or to sail by in the night, or to keep out of his reach : otherwise he must shoot, first with powder, but next with ball. Lord Essex sent him a resolute answer, that the kings of England made others strike to them, but their ships struck to none : he would 397 not steal through in the dark, nor keep out of his

trusted a Scotch divine in nor duke Lauderdale had inter-

seurching for English records, posed. D. though neither bishop Dolben

VOL. II. H

ge HISTORY OF THE REIGN

16/6: reach : and if he shot at him, he would defend him- His employ- self. The govemoF did shoot at him, but on design ment in gjjQj. q^^j. JjJj^^ This was thought great bravery in him : yet he reckoned, it was impossible the gover- nor would endeavour to sink a ship that brought over an ambassador. While he was there, the king ,. died, which made a great change in the court. For that king had made one of his servants stadtholder ; which was indeed a strange thing, he himself being upon the place. He was but a mean person, and was advanced by the favour the queen bore him. Lord Essex's first business was to justify his beha- viour in refusing to strike. Now at his going from England sir John Cotton had desired him to take some volumes of his library that related to Danish affairs ; which he took, without apprehending that he should have great occasion to use them : but this accident made him search into them. And he found very good materials to justify his conduct ; since by formal treaties it had been expressly stipulated, that the English ships of war should not strike in the Danish seas. This raised his character so high at court, that it was writ over to him, that he might ex- pect every thing he should pretend to at his return. The change of government that he saw in Denmark, and the bringing it about with so little difficulty, made a great impression on him : since one of the freest nations in the world was on a sudden brought r() under a most arbitrary form of government. Many of the ancient nobility seemed uneasy under the change. And even the chancellor himself, though raised by favour from very mean beginnings, could not forbear to lament even to him the change of their constitution.

ii .U .J07

OF KING CHARLES II. 99

Upon his return from Denmark, he was made lord 1676.

lieutenant of Ireland. He could never understand And his go- how he came to be raised to that post ; for he had [reiand"* ^^ not pretended to it : and he was a violent enemy to popery ; not so much from any fixed principle in re- ligion, in which he was too loose, as because he looked on it as an invasion made on the freedom of human nature. In his government of Ireland he ex- ceeded all that had gone before him ; and is still considered as a pattern to aU that come after him. He studied to understand exactly well the constitu- tion, and interest of the nation. He read over all their council books ; and made large abstracts out of them, to guide him, so as to advance every thing that had been at any time set on foot for the good of the kingdom. He made several volumes of tables of the state, and persons that were in every county and town ; and got true characters of all that were ca- pable to serve the public. And he preferred men always upon merit, without any application from themselves; and watched over all about him, that there should be no bribes going among his servants. The revenue of Ireland was then in the earl of Ra- nelagh's management ; who was one of the ablest 398 men that island had bred, capable of all affairs, even in the midst of a loose run of pleasure, and much riot. He had the art of pleasing masters of very dif- ferent tempers and interests so much, that he con- tinued above thirty years in great posts. He had undertaken to furnish the king with money for the building of Windsor out of the revenue of Ireland. And it was believed the duchess of Portsmouth had a great yearly pension out of his office. By this means payments in Ireland were not regularly made.

H 2

100 HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1676. So the earl of Essex complained of this. The king

would not own how much he had from lord Rane-

lagh, but pressed lord Essex to pass his accounts. He answered, he could not pass them as accounts : but, if the king would forgive lord Ranelagh, he would pass a discharge, but not an ill account. The king was not pleased with this, nor with his exactness in that government : it reproached his own too much. So he took a resolution about this time to put the duke of Ormond in it again. Upon this occasion the earl of Essex told me, that he knew the king did often take money into his privy purse, to defraud his ex- chequer : for he reckoned that what was carried thi- ther, was not so much his own, as his privy purse was. And Coventry told lord Essex, that there was once a plantation-cause at the council board : and he was troubled to see the king espouse the worst side : and upon that he went to him, and told him secretly, that it was a vile cause which he was supporting: the king answered him, he had got good money for doing it.

About this time there was a proposition made for farming the revenue of Ireland. And lord Danby seemed for some time to favour one set of men, who offered to farm it. But on the sudden he turned to another. The secret of this broke out, that he was to have great advantages by the second proposition. The matter was brought to the council table : and some were examined to it upon oath. Lord Wid- drington did confess that he made offer of a round sum to lord Danby, but said that he did not accept of it. Lord Hallifax was yet of the council. So he observed that the lord treasurer had rejected that offer very mildly ; but not so as to discourage a se-

OF KING CHARLES II. 101

cond attempt: it would be somewhat strange, if a 1676.

man should ask the use of another man's wife, and if

the other should indeed refuse it, but with great ci- vility. This nettled lord Danby, who upon that got him to be dismissed from that board : at which the duke was much pleased, who hated lord HaUifax at that time, more even than the earl of Shaftsbury himself; for he had fallen severely on the declara- tion for toleration in the house of lords. He said, if we could make good the eastern compliment, O king", live for ever I he could trust the king with every thing ; but since that was so much a compliment, that it could never become real, he could not be im- plicit in his confidence. Thus matters went on all 1676, and to the beginning of the (year) 1677, when 399 another session of parliament was held. I have brought within this year several things that may be of use to enlighten the reader as to the state of things, though perhaps of their own nature they were not important enough to deserve to be told. But in so bare a year, as this proved to be, it seemed no im- pertinent digression, to bring all such matters into the reader's way.

I shall next give some account of Scotish affairs, tjic affairs The duke of Lauderdale had mastered the opposi-** *^° *" ' tion made to him so entirely, that men were now though silent, not quiet ^. The field conventicles in- creased mightily. Men came to them armed. And upon that great numbers were outlawed : and a writ was issued out, that was indeed legal, but very sel- dom used, called intercammoning : because it made

^ Nonsense, or printer's mistake. It should be, nUntj though not quiet. S.

Hd

1(» THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1676. all that harboured such persons, or did not seize them, when they had it in their power, to be in- volved in the same guilt. By this means many, ap- prehending a severe prosecution, left their houses, and went about like a sort of banditti, and fell un- der a fierce and savage temper. The privy council upon this pretended they were in a state of war. And upon an old statute, that was almost quite for- got, it was set on foot, that the king had a power to take any castle that lay convenient for his forces, and put a garrison in it. So twelve houses were marked out : of which two were the chief dwelling- houses of two peers. The rest were the houses of gentlemen, that had gone into the party against duke Lauderdale. And though these were houses of no strength, and not at all properly situated for the suppressing of conventicles, yet they were taken. Soldiers were put in them. And the countries about were required to furnish those small garrisons with all things necessary. This was against the express words of the law that had lately settled the militia. Great opposition was made to it. Yet it was kept up above a year, till the houses were quite ruined by the rude soldiers, who understood that the more waste they made, it would be the more acceptable. At last it was let fall. t'*fM> miff

Another thing happened, scarce worth mention- ing, if it was not for the effects that followed on it. One Carstairs, a loose and vicious gentleman ^, who had ruined his estate, undertook to Sharp to go about in disguise to see those conventicles, and to carry some with him to witness against such as

^ Epithets well placed, S.

OF KING CHARLES II. 103

they saw at them; in which he himself was not to 1676. appear : but he was to have a proportion of all the fines that should be set upon this evidence : and he was to have so much for every one of their teachers that he could catch. He had many different dis- guises, and passed by different names in every one of them. He found Kirkton, an eminent preacher among them, who was as cautious as the rest were bold, and had avoided all suspicious and dangerous meetings. Carstairs, seeing him walking on the streets of Edenburgh, told him, there was a person that was sick, and sent him to beg a visit from him. He suspecting nothing went with him. Carstairs 400 brought him to his own lodgings ; and there he told him, he had a warrant against him, which he would execute, if he would not give him money to let him alone. Kirkton said, he had not offended, and was willing to go to prison till his innocence should ap- pear. Carstairs really had no warrant : but, as was afterwards discovered, he had often taken this me- thod, and had got money by it. So he went out to procure a warrant, and left Kirkton locked up in his chamber. Kirkton called to the people of the house : and told them how he was trepanned. And he got one of them to seek Baillie of Jerviswood, his brother-in-law, who was a gentleman of great parts, but of much greater virtue. [He was indeed deeply possessed with those principles, but was otherwise a most extraordinary man.] Carstairs could not find nine privy counsellors to sign a warrant, which were the number required by law. Yet when he came back, he pretended he had a warrant, and would force Kirkton to go to prison upon it. Kirkton re-

H 4

104 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1676. fused to obey any such warrant, till he saw it. And upon that Carstairs struggled, and puUed him to the ground, and sate on him, the other crying out murder. At that time Baillie came to the door : and, hearing him cry out, he called to Carstairs to open the door : and, that not being done, he forced it, and found Carstairs sitting upon Kirkton. He drew his sword, and made him come off him. He then asked him, what warrant he had to use him as he did ? He said, he had a warrant to carry him to prison : but he refused to shew it. Baillie offered to assist in executing it, if he had any : but he per- sisted in this, that he was not bound to shew it. Baillie made Kirkton to go out ; and followed him, no violence being used; for which he had many witnesses, whom the noise had brought together. And he said, he was resolved to sue Carstairs for this riot. But before the next council-day a war- rant was signed by nine privy counsellors, but ante- dated, for the committing of Kirkton, and of six or seven more of their preachers. Lord Athol told me, he was one of those who signed it with that false date to it. So BaiUie was cited before the council : Carstairs produced his warrant, which he pretended he had at the time that Earkton was in his hands, but did not think fit to shew, since that would dis- cover the names of others, against whom he was also to make use of it. BaiUie brought his wit- nesses to prove his behaviour. But they would not so much as examine them. It was said, that upon Carstairs saying he had a warrant, Kirkton was bound to go to gaol ; and that, if it had been found that he was carried thither without a warrant, the

OF KING CHARLES II. 105

gaoler would not have received him. Duke Hamil- jQ^g

ton and lord Kinkardin were yet upon the council.

And they argued long against this way of proceed- ing, as liker a court of inquisition than a legal government. Yet Baillie was fined five hundred pounds, and condemned to a year's imprisonment. And upon this an occasion was taken to turn duke Hamilton and lord Kinkardin out of the council, as enemies to the church, and as favourers of conven- ticles.

The parliament of England had been prorogued 1677. for about a year and some months, by two different rau "d ln°° prorogations. One of these was for more than a^^^yj"jg year. So upon that it was made a question, whe- i^s^^'ty of »

•' * ■*• proroga-

ther by that the parliament was not dissolved. Thetion. argument for it was laid thus. By the ancient laws a parhament was to be held once a year, atid oft- ener if need be : it was said, the words, if need be, in one act, which were not in another that enacted an annual parliament without that addition, did not belong to the whole period, by which a session was only to be held once a year if it was needful ; but belonged only to the word oftener : so that the law was positive for a parliament once a year : and if so, then any act contrary to that law was an unlawful act : by consequence, it could have no operation : from whence it was inferred, that the prorogation which did run beyond a year, and by consequence made that the parliament could not sit that year, was illegal ; and that therefore the parliament could not sit by virtue of such an illegal act. Lord Shaftsbury laid hold on this with great joy, and he thought to work his point by it. The duke of

106 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1677. Buckingham was for every thing that would em- broil matters ^ The earl of Salisbury was brought into it, who was a high-spirited man, and had a very ill opinion of the court. Lord Wharton went also into it. And lord HoUis writ a book for it : but a fit of the gout kept him out of the way. All the rest of the party was against it. They said, it was a subtUty : and it was very dangerous to hang so much weight upon such weak grounds. The words, if need be, had been understood to belong to the whole act : and the long parliament did not

-Tv pretend to make annual parliaments necessary, but insisted only on a triennial parliament : if there had been need of a parliament during that long proro- gation, the king by proclamation might have dis- solved it, and called a new one. All that knew the ' temper of the house of commons were much trou- bled at this dispute, that was like to rise on such a point. It was very certain the majority of both houses, who only could judge it, would be against it. And they thought such an attempt to force a dissolution, would make the commons do every

^ He said in his speech on " laoe with, and therefore de-

this occasion, " That ancient " sired to keep it." These last

" statutes were not like women, words of this duke are very like

" the worse for being old." his manner, and have been ge-

" That the words of the sta- nerally asserted to have been

*' tute were as plain as a pike- spoken by him, and mentioned

" staff." I mention these as a to be so by several historians;

specimen of the style of a wit, but the words are not in the

and of him, who upon his de- Report made by the solicitor"

livering to the commons, at a general (Finch) of the confer-

conference, the lord Claren- ence. See Journal of the House

don's apology, sent to the lords of Commons of 4th December

upon his withdrawing out of 1667. The solicitor was a

the kingdom, said, " the lords grave man. O. (The duke had

*' desired to have it again, for before called it, " This scandal-

** it had a style they were in " ous and seditious pajjer.")

OF KING CHARLES II. 107

thing that the court desired. Lord Hallifax set 1677. himself much against this ; and did it not without expressing great sharpness against lord Shaftsbury, who could not be managed in this matter. So, upon the first opening the session, the debate was brought on : and these lords stood against the whole house. That matter was soon decided by a question.

But then a second debate rose, which held for 402 two days, whether these lords were not liable to censure, for offering a debate, that might create great distractions in the subjects' minds, concern- ing the legality of parliament. Lord Hallifax, with the rest of the party, argued against it strongly. They said, if an idle motion was made, and check- ed at first, he that made it might be censured for it, though it was seldom, if ever, to be practised in a free council, where every man was not bound to be wise, nor to make no impertinent motion : but when the motion was entertained, and a de- bate followed, and a question was put upon it, it was destructive to the freedom of public councils, to call any one to an account for it : they might The lords With the same justice call them to an account for it sent to their debates and votes : so that no man was safe, unless he could know where the majority would be : - here would be a precedent to tip down so many lords at a time, and to garboil the house, as often as any party should have a great majority. It was said, on the other hand, here was a design to put the nation into great disorder, and to bring the legality of a parliament into dispute. So it was carried to oblige them to ask pardon as delinquents : otherwise it was resolved to send them to the tower. They refused to ask pardon ; and so were sent thi-

108 THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

1677. ther. The earl of Salisbury was the first that was called on : for the duke of Buckingham went out of the house. He desired he might have <