No More Learning

"

They leave And with this answer the ambassadors were dis-

the king-
dom, missed, with liberal presents and all gracious de-

h a trade] a foreign trade



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 441

monstrations of esteem of their persons, and so 1665.



returned for France, where they always gave just
testimony of the civilities and fair treatment they
had received.

But this resolution increased the king's appetite
to peace, and made him think of all other expedi-
ents that might contribute to it ; and none seemed
so hopeful, as that France and Holland might be
divided : and he would have been very willing to A prospect
have agreed with Holland upon any reasonable con- France and
ditions, that he might continue the war with France ; Holland -
which there were many reasonable inducements to
hope might be brought to pass. It was notorious,
that preparations had been made for two or three
years past by France at a very great expense upon
the borders, that they might be ready to enter
into Flanders as soon as news should arrive of the
king of Spain's death ; and that war would immedi-
ately fall out as soon as that king's decease should
be known, which from his age and infirmities must
be expected every day : and in that case the friend-
ship could not continue long with Holland, which
thought that France was already too near a neigh-
bour to them, to be willing that they should be nearer
by a conquest of Flanders, which with its own force
could not make an equal resistance. It was likewise
as notorious that all the other provinces, Holland
only excepted, did impatiently desire the peace; and
Holland had only been restrained from the same
impatience by the sole credit" and authority of De
Wit, and by his persuading them, " that France
" would assist them with men, money, and ships, and
*' likewise declare a war. against England, which"



442 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. (as hath been said before) " would produce a peace
~ " upon such conditions as would make it happy to
" them :" and that though it was true that it had
indeed assisted them with some money, it was not
considerable to their vast expenses, nor in truth of
importance in comparison of the other, which it was
equally obliged to do, and had performed nothing.
And it was evident that Holland itself was jealous
of those proceedings ; and even De Wit, in his pri-
vate discourses to other ministers, seemed to be much
unsatisfied with their breach of faith, and not to be
without apprehension that they would in the end
enter into a stricter alliance with England, and leave
Holland as a prey to both.

The Spanish ambassador, who always desired that
the peace might be established between the English
and the Dutch, and that they would both join with
Spain in a defensive league, into which Denmark
would be glad to enter, and Sweden might be drawn
in upon the same conditions which they now re-
ceived from France, towards which he had often de-
sired the king to interpose, was now very glad that
the French ambassadors had taken their leaves and
were gone ; and he pretended to have many assu-
rances from the Spanish ambassador at the Hague,
that the Dutch had those inclinations which are
mentioned before, " and that De Wit would be glad
" to confer in private with any man trusted by the
" king, if he might be sure that it should not be
" communicated to France. " Upon all these proba-
bilities, and the certainty that no good could be ex-
pected from France, his majesty resolved to embrace
all opportunities to agree with Holland ; towards



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 443

which he had a secret intelligence, to which he gave 1665.
more credit than to all the rest, which shall be~
mentioned hereafter.

There were so many great transactions during the
king's residence in Oxford, besides what was done
in the parliament and what related to the dismission
of the French ambassadors, so many counsels which
were executed, and so many secret designs only ini-
tiated then, and not executed till long after, that
there cannot be too particular a recollection of the
occurrences of all that time. And if some things
are mentioned which seem too light and of too small
importance to have a place in this relation, they will
be found at last to be the rise and principal ingre-
dient to some counsel and resolution, which proved
afterwards of consequence enough, as well to the
public as to the interest of particular persons.

The first attempt that was made was to make a AD attempt
breach between the chancellor and the treasurer, friendship



who had been long fast friends, and were believed
to have most credit with the king; and they who an ^ trea *
loved neither of them thought the most likely way
to hurt them was to make them love one another
less. Several attempts had been made upon the
chancellor to that purpose without effect : he knew
the other too well to be shaken in the esteem he had
of his friendship, and the knowledge he had of his
virtue.

But there was now an accident fell out, that gave
them an opportunity to suggest to the treasurer,
" that the chancellor had failed in his friendship to-
" wards him. " The occasion was upon the vacancy The occa.
of an office near the queen by the death of Mr. 8lonoflU
Mountague, master of the horse to her majesty, who



444 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. had been killed before Bergen : and the news arriv-
ing with the duke at York, before it was known at
Salisbury to the king, the duke and his wife writ to
the king and to the queen " to confer that place
" upon his younger brother," who was now become
both the eldest and the only son to his father, the
lord Mountague of Boughton ; and the gentleman
himself, on whose behalf the letters were writ, came
himself by post with them within two or three
hours after the news was brought to Salisbury, and
he brought likewise a letter from the duchess to the
chancellor, " to assist the gentleman all he could
" in his pretence," he at the same time enjoying
the same office under the duchess that his brother
had under the queen.

The chancellor had never used to interpose in
matters of that nature, nor had he any acquaintance
with this gentleman who was now recommended :
yet he could not refuse to wait upon the queen, and
shew her the letter he had received, without any
intention to appear further in it. But when he
waited upon the queen, who had received her letter
before, her majesty seemed graciously disposed to
gratify the gentleman, if the king approved it ; but
said, " that she would make no choice herself of any
" servant without knowing first his majesty's plea-
" sure :" and she added, " that she had been in-
" formed, that the lord Mountague was very angry
" with his son that was unfortunately slain, for hav-
" ing taken that charge in her family, and that he
" never allowed him any thing towards his support ;
" and if all other obstructions were out of the way,
" she would not receive him, except she were first
" assured that his father would like and desire it. "



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 445

Her majesty vouchsafed to wish the chancellor " to 1665.
" speak with the king, and as dexterously as he could ~~
" to dispose him to recommend Mr. Mountague to
" her, as just and reasonable, since his brother had
" lost his life in his service. "

This command of her majesty obliged the chan-
cellor to wait upon the king, and to shew him the
letter he had received from the duchess ; and at the
same time the king gve him that which he had
from the duke, in which his highness desired him,
" that if that place was not presently conferred upon
" Mr. Mountague, his majesty would not dispose of
" it till he waited upon him. " The chancellor told
him, " that the queen gave no answer, but referred
" it entirely to his majesty. " And he said, " he
" would never recommend any person to her but
" such a one as would be very grateful to her. " He
said, " it would seem very hard to deny one brother
" to succeed another who was killed in his service. "
He confessed, " that the lord Crofts had moved him
" on the behalf of Mr. Robert Spencer, of whom he
" had a good opinion : but that he had answered
" him, that he would not do any thing in it till
"he saw his brother ; which resolution he would
" keep. " To which the chancellor made no reply,
having in his own private inclinations and affection
much more kindness for Mr. Spencer, of whose pre-
tence he had never received the least intimation
before, than for the other, with whom he had spoken
very few words in his life. He told Mr. Mountague
no more but that which the king himself had told
him, " that he would not dispose of the place till
" the duke should arrive ;" only he added what
the queen had said of his father, and advised him



446 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1G65. to think of the way to remove that obstruction.
~ Whereupon he resolved to make a journey to his fa-
ther, which he knew he might well do before the
king and his brother could meet.

The same night Mr. Spencer came to the chan-
cellor, and brought him a letter from the treasurer
(whose nephew he was, and who was unfortunately
gone out of the town the day before to a house of
his own twenty miles distant) to recommend his ne-
phew to the queen, to whom and to the king he had
likewise letters. The chancellor gave him an ac-
count of all that had passed, shewed him the letter
that he had received from the duchess, and told him
what the queen and the king had said, and " that it
" was not possible for him to do him service, for
" which he was very sorry ;" but advised him " to
" deliver both his letters, and to attend their ma-
" jesties, who he was confident had yet taken no re-
" solution :" with all which he was very well satis-
tisfied, and confessed " he could not expect that he
" should appear for him. " When he delivered his
letters to both their majesties, he received so gra-
cious an answer from both, that he might reasonably
expect 1 his suit to be granted, though the king told
him, " he would not dispose of the place till he
" spake with his brother. " And there is no doubt
but if the lord treasurer had been in the town when
the news first came to the king of Mr. Mountague's
death, which was a whole day before the arrival of
the duke's letter, the king or queen would not have
denied him his request.

Within a short time after Mr. Spencer had left

1 expect] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 447

him, the lord Crofts, who had married his sister, and ifi65.
was governed by the lord Arlington, came to the""
chancellor, and desired him " to take care, out of
" his friendship with the treasurer, that the king
" might not refuse to gratify him in this suit for his
" nephew, which was the first he had ever made ;
" and if he should be denied, it would exceedingly
" trouble him. That when he spake to the king of
" it, as soon as the news came, and told him, he was
" sure that the treasurer would be a suitor to him
" for his nephew, his majesty did promise him that
" he should have it ; and that both their majesties
" had as good as said the same now to Robert
" Spencer : and therefore, if he would now use his
" credit, the thing might be despatched presently,
"^nd without further delay. " **y^

The chancellor asked him, " whether Mr. Spencer
" had informed him of all that had passed between
" them two :" he said, " yes ; and that he had done
" all that the duchess had desired him, in speaking
" both to the king and queen, and that his friendship
" to the lord treasurer should prevail with him to
" use all his endeavours for his nephew. " Where-
upon the chancellor shewed the duchess's letter, and
repeated to him again all that he had formerly said
to Mr. Spencer, and asked him, " what the duke
" and his wife must think of him, if, instead of pur-
" suing what they desired, he should solicit quite
" contrary to it. " He said, " that he might tell
" them that he was engaged by the lord treasurer
" before he received their letter;" and then talked
passionately and indiscreetly " of the affront the
" treasurer would think he received, if this were de-
" nied him; and that all the world would say, that



448 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. " he might have compassed it, if he had not failed

" in his friendship. " To which he made no other

answer, than " that the doing so base a thing as he
*' desired would more probably destroy that friend-
" ship with a man so punctual in honour and justice
" as the treasurer was, than any thing that he had
" done or should leave undone ;" and advised him
" not to make the business worse by his activity,
" and that if he had the king's and queen's promise,
" as he pretended, he might very well acquiesce till
" the duke came. "

However, his very great indiscretion and pre-
sumption made the thing much worse, by deliver-
ing messages from the king to the queen, and from
her majesty to the king, that they both disavowed,
and by his usual discourses, " that it should now
" appear who had the most credit with the king,
" the duke or the treasurer, and how much the king
" would suffer, if he disobliged the treasurer;" all
which was quickly transmitted by the intelligence
that was every day sent to York. On the other
hand, he still advised the treasurer " to continue his
" importunity to the king and queen," (a thing the
most contrary to his nature,) and assured him, " that
" it would be grateful to them, and was expected
" by them. " Whereupon, as soon as the treasurer
came to the court, which was not till the king came
to Oxford, he went to both their majesties, and re-
newed his suit to them with more warmth and con-
cernment than was customary to him, and received
such an answer from both as very well satisfied him :
and without doubt the king intended to persuade his
brother to desist from pressing him further on the
behalf of the other, for whom he had no kindness.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 449

But the duke, who arrived by post the very next 1665.
day, came in another temper than was expected.
The intelligence from Salisbury of the contest that
was for that place, and the insolent behaviour and
expressions used by the lord Crofts, had exceedingly
moved him, and he looked upon the treasurer as
engaged to try who had the greatest power, and as k
in opposition to him : so that the same night that he
came to town, when the king and he were in pri-
vate, he complained of it with much warmth ; and
he besought his majesty importunately " that he
" would declare, that the world might know who had
" most interest in his favour, he or the treasurer. "
The king was so much put out of the method he
intended to use in this affair, knowing that the ex-
pressions the duke had mentioned had been too often
used by the lord Crofts, for which he had often re-
prehended him, that he presently applied that re-
medy which he thought most proper; and, after
conference with the queen, signed the warrant for
admitting Mr. Mountague into the office, who was
sworn the next morning : so that the first news the
treasurer heard, after both their majesties had the
day before said all to him that he could desire, was,
that the place was already full ; which he received
with more commotion than was natural to him, and
looked upon it as a designed contrived affront, to
expose him to contempt. " Why would not the
" king, if he had changed his mind after he left
fl him, first send him word of it, that he might have
" known his purpose ? "

All this storm fell presently upon the chancellor :

k as] Not in MS.
VOL. II. G g



450 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. the lord Crofts assured him, " that it had been done
~" at Salisbury, if he had not hindered it; that he
" had been with the duke before he spake with
" the king, and given him advice what tune he
" should speak in, which was used accordingly, and
" had prevailed ; and that when he came into the
" duke's chamber to kiss his hand, his highness
" turned away, and would not speak to him, which
" must proceed from the influence of the chancellor. "
Whereas in truth the chancellor had only seen the
duke in public, and said no more to him than what
he said in public, thinking it no good manners to
trouble him with any private discourse, when he
was so weary of his journey ; nor did he know that
any thing was done in that affair till the day after
it was done, and after it was known to the treasurer.
Upon the 'whole matter, how unwilling soever he
was to believe that he could be so grossly faulty to
him, when he saw the chancellor next, his counte-
nance was not the same it used to be ; which the
other taking notice of, asked him, according to his
"usual familiarity, " what the matter was ;" but re-
ceived such an answer as made him discern that
there was somewhat amiss : and so he said no more.
The other being the same day with the king, the
duke came into the room, and in his looks mani-
fested a displeasure towards the treasurer, which
confirmed the former jealousy of the chancellor ;
which was improved by the ladies, who did not like
their lodging, and thought it proceeded from want
of friendship in him, who had the power over the
university, and might have assigned what lodgings
he pleased to the treasurer; and he had assigned
this, as the best house in the town for so great a



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 451

family, and which their own servant had desired as 1G65.
the best in the town, as it was.

When the chancellor discovered the ground of
this alteration, he grew out of humour too, and
thought himself unworthily suspected: and so for
two or three days the two friends came not together.
And in that time the chancellor had enough to do
to inform the duke, who was not only very much
offended with the treasurer, but thought that he had
been, out of his friendship to the treasurer, more re-
miss than he ought to have been in a business so
earnestly recommended by him and his wife ; and
the intelligence from Salisbury had made reflections
upon him as much as upon the other. But his royal
highness willingly received information of all that
had passed, and discerned the foul carriage of others
as well as of the lord Crofts; and was pleased to
confess, " that he had done all he ought to do, and
" that he had been misinformed of the lord trea-
" surer's part in that affair, which had made him
" think amiss of him ; which he would acknowledge
" to him next time he saw him. "

After this the chancellor, having a more clear
view, upon conference with the king and the duke,
of this pernicious design, which in some degree had
compassed its end, if there grew a strangeness be-
tween the treasurer and him, went to him : and they
being together without any others, he told him, " it
" should not be in his power to break friendship
" with him to gratify the humour of other people,
" without letting him know what the matter was,"
which he conjured him to impart to him ; assuring
him, " that he would find that nothing was more im-
" possible than that he could commit a fault towards

Gg2



452 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. " him, and that they who wished well to neither of
~ " them had contrived this separation as the best
" way to hurt them both. " And when he saw that
lie did not yet open himself, he told him, " that he
'" had heard that he had received some umbrage in
'* the pretence of his nephew, and therefore he would
" give him an account of all that he knew of it,"
which he did exactly ; and concluded with a pro-
testation,' " that he had not known what had been
" done at Oxford till after he came from him, when
" he observed the change of his countenance towards
" him, of the cause of which he could not then make
" any conjecture. "

The treasurer thereupon with his usual freedom
told him, " that if his part had been no other than
" as he related, he thought himself obliged to give
" him a narration of all he had done, and of the
" grounds and motives he had to think that he had
" failed in his friendship. " And thereupon he men-
tioned " the kindness and esteem he had for his
" nephew, whom he thought in all respects of birth
" and breeding at least as worthy of that relation as
" the gentleman who was possessed of it ; and yet
" that since he was not upon the place, he had no
" mind to engage himself in the suit : and that
" when his nephew had given him an account what
" the chancellor had said to him," which he did with
great ingenuity, " and he knew that the duke of
" York appeared in it for another, he resolved to
" prosecute it no further ; until the lord Crofts with
" all confidence assured him, that the king had pro-
'" mised him to confer the place upon Robert Spencer,
" and that both their majesties expected that he
" should make it his suit, to the end that they might



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 453

" thereby decline the importunity that he expected 1665.

" from his brother. " He told him of some expressions ~~

he had used to the king in that affair, which the king

himself had reported ; and " that when he took his

" leave of the queen to go to Oxford," (which was

the next day after Mr. Mountague came from York,)

" he dissuaded her majesty from receiving Mr.

" Spencer, alleging some reasons against it, which a

" lady who was near overheard, and informed the

" person of it who acquainted him with it : all

" which, with the king's and queen's so ample pro-

" mises to him so few hours before the conferring

'* the place upon another, and the duke of York's

" manner of receiving him after he had been shut

" up with him, as he was informed, might very well

" excuse him for thinking he had some share in the

" affront he had undergone. "

To which the other replied, " that if indeed he
" did believe all that he had been told, he could not
" but think so ; but," he said, " he thought he had
" known him better than to give credit to such re-
" ports, which must make him a fool and a knave :
" that for the words he should have used to the
" king or the queen, there had nothing passed like
" it to either of them, but that they were purely
" devised out of malice ; which should be manifest
" unto him, for he would not speak a word of it to
" the king till they were both with him together)
" and then he would ask before him what his car-
" riage had been, and by his majesty's sudden an-
" swer he might judge of the report. " He told him
then, " how much he had suffered with the duke,
" and what excellent stories had been made to his
" royal highness of both of them, and of the good

Gg3



454 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. " part the lord Crofts had acted, of which he was
~~" not without some evidence. " After this eclair-
cissement, of the sincerity whereof every day admin-
istered new testimony, they both returned to their
mutual confidence in each other : and they who had
contrived this former device entered into a new
confederacy, how they might first remove the trea-
surer, which would facilitate the pulling the chan-
cellor down ; of which anon.
The duke Within a short time after the duke returned out

consults the

chancellor of Yorkshire, his highness told the chancellor in
\ng two"* confidence, " that he had two suits which he in-
king. * the " tended to make to the king, and with which he
" first acquainted him, that he might have his as-
" sistance in the obtaining them. The first was, in
" which he and his wife were equally engaged, to
" prevail with the king to make sir George Savile a
" viscount. " He said, " he knew well the resolution
" the king had taken, to which he had contributed
" his advice, to make no more lords : but that he
" hoped in this particular case his majesty would
" upon his desire dispense with a general rule.
" That sir George had one of the best fortunes of
" any man in England, and lived the most like a
" great man ; that he had been very civil to him
" and his wife in the north, and treated them at his
" house in a very splendid manner ; and that he
" was engaged to prevail with the king in this
" point, or to confess he had no power, which he
" hoped he should not be without in this matter ;"
and asked his opinion.

The chancellor in his usual freedom, which he
always took when he was to deliver his advice to
the king or duke, said, "that he could not advise



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 455

*' his highness to move the king in it; for besides
" that he knew the king's positive determination,
" the departure from which might ,be of ill con-
" sequence, sir George Savile was a man of a very
" ill reputation amongst men of piety and reli-
" gion, and was looked upon as void of all sense
" of religion, even to the doubting, if not denying,
" that there is a God, and that he was not reserved
" in any company to publish his opinions : which
" made him believe that it would neither be for
" his highness's honour to propose it, nor for the
" king's to grant it, in a time when all license in
" discourse and in actions was spread over the king-
" dom, to the heart-breaking of very many good
" men 1 , who had terrible apprehensions of the con-
" sequence of it. " The duke was not at all pleased
with his discourse, and said, " he was resolved to
" use all his credit with the king to compass it, and
" that he hoped, that whatever he thought, he would
" not oppose it. "

The other particular was, " that he would move
" the king to make Mr. Coventry his secretary a
'* privy counsellor ;" and asked him " what he
" thought of that. " To which he answered, " that
" his opinion in that point would please him no bet-
" ter than in the former. That he did not think it
" fit to be asked : and if the king his brother were
" inclined to be jealous of him, as some had endea-
" voured to persuade him, such an instance as this
" would very much confirm it ; for never any
" prince of Wales had a servant of the highest de-
" gree about him called to the council, till his father
" called the earl of Newcastle, who was the prince's
1 men] Omitted in MS.
Gg4



456 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. " governor, to the board; which was not till upon
"~" the approach of the troubles he discerned that he
" should employ him in another charge. That the
" members of that board had been always those
" great officers of state, and other officers, who in
" respect of the places they held had a title to sit
'* there, and of such few others who, having great
" titles and fortunes and interest in the kingdom,
" were an ornament to the table. That there were
" at present too many already, and the number
" lessened the dignity of the relation : that his high-
" ness had already brought the lord Berkley thither,
" who had no manner of title to be there but his de-
" pendance upon him ; and now to bring in his se-
" cretary, for no other reason but for being his se-
" cretary, might be thought an encroachment, and
" be misinterpreted by the king. " He added, " that
" his wrangling litigious nature would give the
'* board much trouble ; and that he knew him to be
" so much his particular enemy, that he would
" watch all the opportunities to do him all possible
" ill offices to the king and to his royal highness. "

The duke replied only to the last, and said, " he
" perceived somebody had done Will. Coventry ill
(C offices, which he knew to be unjust and false :
** and that he could assure him, upon his own
" knowledge, that he had a great respect for him,
" and desired his favour ; and that he would pass
" his word for him, that he would never do any
** thing to disserve him, which if he should do, he
" should for ever lose his favour, which he knew
" well. " And no doubt the duke did believe all he
said, for he had a perfect kindness for the chancel-
lor; and when he did not comply with what he



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 457

wished, he knew that it was out of the integrity of 1665.
his judgment, and his strict duty to the king and""
himself, and that he had never flattered or dissem-
bled with either of them. And Mr. Coventry had
skill enough to persuade him to believe what he de-
sired should be true, though there were in the view
of all men frequent instances of the contrary, and of
the absence of all ingenuity and sincerity in his ac-
tions.

Within very few days after this conference, and ^he duke

11-1 . 11 moves the

when the duchess had made new instance with her king to
father in the case of sir George Savile, and with
more importunity than the duke, and appeared more
concerned and troubled that he should not be more
forward to comply with the duke's desires, (but the
chancellor, who always with the respect that was
due to her quality preserved the dignity of a father
very entire, would give no other answer than he
had done to the duke, and advised her to dissuade
him from making the request to the king ;) his
highness one day desired the king that he would re-
tire into his closet, and call the chancellor to him :
and when they three were together in the room,
after a short discourse of letters which he had TG-
ceived from the earl of Sandwich, which there will
be occasion anon to mention at large, the duke told
the king, " he had an humble suit to his majesty ;"
and then spake much of the great interest that sir
George Savile had in the northern parts, of the
greatness of his estate, and his orderly and splendid
way of living, and concluded with his desire, " that
" his majesty would make him an English viscount. "
Upon which the king presently put him in mind
" of the resolution he had formerly made in that



458 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. " room, and he thought upon his own motion, but
~~" he was sure it had been with his concurrence and
" approbation. "

The duke replied, " that he remembered it very
" well, and thought he should do well still in the.
" general to observe it : yet it was in those cases al-
" ways supposed, that an extraordinary case might
" fall out, that might produce an exception ; and he
" did most humbly beseech his majesty, that he
" would, upon his very earnest interposition-, from
" which nobody could make a precedent, dispense
" with the rule. " He did confess, " that he was so
" confident of his majesty's favour, that he had given
" sir George Savile cause to believe that he would
" prevail in that suit ; which if he should not do, he
" must be thought either not to have intended what
" he promised, or to have no credit with his ma-
" jesty, neither of which would be for his honour. "
which the The king replied roundly, and with more pre-
not consent sence of mind than he had always about him, " that
" it was absolutely necessary to be very precise in
" the observation of the rule, which if he should
" once break, a world of inconveniences would break
" in upon him, which he could not defend himself
" against. " He named two or three persons who
were very solicitous for honours, and had several
pretences to it, and his majesty had only been able
to resist and evade their importunity, by objecting
this declared resolution to them. The plain truth
is ; he had made some promise (a weakness he was
too often liable to), to those persons or to their friends,
" that when he should make any new creations,
" they should be sure to be in the number :" nor did
he apprehend any inconvenience from redeeming



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 459

himself from the present importunity, which was still 1665.
grievous to him, since he had resolved to make no
new creation. And this was the true reason that
made him now so inexorable to his brother, who was
very much troubled, and declined to move any thing
else in so unlucky a season, not without some appre-
hension, from the king's quicker way of discourse,
that he had been prepared for it by the chancellor,
who though present had not spoke one word in the
debate, nor indeed ever informed the king of the
conference his highness had formerly held with him
upon that subject, nor ever spoken to him concern-
ing it.

However, in this perplexity, as the duke thought
it necessary to inform Mr. Coventry, who had prin-
cipally advanced this pretence, all that had passed
before the king, that his nephew (for so sir George
Savile was) might see he could make no further pro-
gress in it ; so in the passion he unwarily told him
all that had passed in the former conference with
the chancellor, which he took care should not be
concealed from any who were like to be willing to
revenge it. And the duke, to shew how willing he
was to oblige the family, immediately received a
younger brother of sir George Savile, whom he had
only seen in the north, to wait upon him in his bed-
chamber ; who being a young man of wit, and in-
credible confidence and presumption, omitted no
occasion to vent his malice against the chancellor,
with a license that in former times would have been
very penal, though it had concerned a person of a
much inferior quality in the state.

Within a short time after, the king told the Mr. wniiam
chancellor, " that his brother had desired him that adm! ttc7of



460 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. " his secretary Mr. Coventry might be admitted of
the privy. " the privy-council, which he could not deny, but
council and na( j p rom j se( i it should be done at the next meet-

the private

committee;"' ing;" which was accordingly done, and he knight-
. ed: and quickly after, upon the like desire of the
duke, he was called to that committee with which
his majesty used to consult his most secret affairs.
And from this time there was an alteration in the
whole carriage and debate of all manner of business :
and as the chancellor had found his own credit with
the king much diminished from the time of the lord
Arlington's being secretary ; so a greater decrease of
it was now visible to all men from the access of this
new counsellor.

The lord Arlington had not the gift of speaking
nor of a quick conception, and go rarely contradicted
any thing in council: his talent was in private,
where he frequently procured, very inconveniently,
changes and alterations from public determinations.
But sir William Coventry (between whom and the
other there was an entire conjunction and combina-
tion) was a man of quick parts and a ready speaker,
unrestrained by any modesty or submission to the
age, experience, or dignity of other men, equally
censorious of what had been done before he was a
counsellor, as solicitous in contradiction of whatsoever
was proposed afterwards : insomuch as the very first
time that he was admitted to the private committee,
the debate being about providing money to be paid
at a day approaching to the bishop of Munster, ac-
cording to the king's obligation, he said, " we had
" need enough of money for our own immediate
" occasions ; and that we ought not to assign any to
" the advancement of the affairs of other men. "



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 461

Whereupon he was informed " of the treaty the 1665.
" king had entered into, and that the bishop was at ~~
" that time upon his march, which was by every
" body looked upon as of great importance to his
" majesty ;" to which he answered, " that he had
" heard somewhat of it, how secretly soever it had
" been carried, and that he had never liked it from
" the beginning, nor would give his consent that any
" more money should be paid towards it ;" which
the king himself looked upon as a rare impudence.

His great ambition was to be taken notice ef j for where he
opposing and contradicting whatsoever was proposed oppoleftL
or said by the chancellor or treasurer, towards whom chancellor

and trea-

all other counsellors, how little soever they cared surer -
for their persons, had ever paid respect in regard of
their offices. He was a declared enemy to all law-
yers, and to the law itself; and any thing passed
under the great seal of England was of no more
authority with him, than if it were the scroll of a
scrivener. He had no principles in religion or state ;
of one mind this day, and another to-morrow ; and
always very uneasy to those who were obliged to
consult with him; whose pride and insolence will
administer frequent occasions of mention throughout
the ensuing relation.

The king had not been many days in Oxford, ^" e cc ^ t of
when news arrived that the earl of Sandwich had& fterthe

. a m . i T-V n attempt at

been engaged in some conflict with the Dutch fleet ; Bergen.
of the particulars whereof there was a general long-
ing to be advertised. The truth was, that whilst
the earl rode, after the business of Bergen, as near
that coast as was safe, in expectation of the Dutch
fleet, the winds, which are always tempestuous in
that season of the year, September, made it abso-



462 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. lutely necessary for him to remove with his whole
~ fleet to the coast of Scotland, where there were har-
bours enough for him to ride safe ; and in this in-
terval of time De Ruyter was passed by towards
that of Norway. The news of their Indian fleet
having been attacked by the English in Bergen, and
the letters of some of their officers, which implied as
if they were not satisfied in the security of the port
and of the fidelity of the governor, produced a won-
derful consternation in Holland ; and if they should
be deprived of that wealth, the very company of the
East Indies would be in danger of being dissolved.

The fleet was ready to set sail, under the com-
mand of De Ruyter, well fitted and manned : but
there were still many m factions amongst the cap-
tains and other officers, that might upon any acci-
dents produce many mischiefs ; for the better pre-
vention whereof, the pensionary De Wit was willing
to venture his own person, believing himself to be
as secure any where as on shore, if any misfortune
should befall the fleet. And so he was by a special
commission made plenipotentiary, with an ample
allowance for his table, and a guard of halberdiers
for the safety of his person, with a good train of vo-
lunteers : and so he put himself on board the ship
of De Ruyter, who received orders from him.
Lord sand- The earl of Sandwich, after he had received ad-
abie'to * vertisements of the Dutch fleet's being passed by
come to an f or Norway, took all the care he could to put him-

engagement

with De self and his fleet in the way of their return. They
made a short stay on the coast of Norway, where
upon good consideration their ships were dismissed,

m many] so many



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 463

and loud clamour raised against the hostility of the 1665.
English. And notwithstanding all the vigilance the"
earl could use, the darkness and length of the nights
so favoured them, that he could not engage their
whole fleet, as he endeavoured to do : yet he had But takes

many of his

the good fortune in two encounters to take eight of ships in
their great ships of war, two of their best East India
ships, and about twenty of their other merchant
ships, which were all under the protection of their
fleet, or ought to have been. After which he was
by tempest driven to put the fleet into security in
the English harbours, it being already the month of
October.

It was a fair booty, and came very opportunely to
supply the present necessities of the navy, and to
provide for the setting out of the next fleet at
spring, and was in truth gotten with very good con-
duct, and without any considerable damage : but it
being much less than was expected, (for whatsoever
was upon the sea was looked upon as our own,) the
news no sooner arrived at Oxford, but intelligence
came with it of many oversights which had been
committed and opportunities lost, otherwise it had
been easy to have taken the whole fleet ; and that it
might have been pursued further when it was in
view, after those East India ships were taken, which
were indeed surprised and boarded at the break of
day, when they thought themselves in the middle
of their own fleet. And it is as true that the earl
did then pursue to engage the fleet, till they were
got so near the French shore, that the wind blowing
in to the land, it was by all the flag-officers thought
absolutely necessary to give over the chace.



464 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. Sir William Coventry, who had never paid a ci-
sirw. co- vility to any worthy man but as it was a disobliga-
ventry-s t j on to another whom he cared less for, and so had

unjust re-
flections only contributed to the preferment of the earl of

upon him. -. . ;,. . ',/,. ,. . , . .

Sandwich in the last expedition that he might cross
prince Rupert, received much intelligence from seve-
ral officers in the fleet, which he scattered abroad to
the prejudice of the earl, and was willing that it
should be believed that he had been too wary in
avoiding danger. But the king and the duke were
very just to the earl, and discountenanced all those
reports as scandals and calumnies : and the duke,
who had seen his behaviour in the most dangerous
action, gave him a loud testimony " of a prudent
" and brave commander, and as forward and bold in
" the face of danger as the occasion required or dis-
" cretion permitted. " And his highness undertook
" that he had in all this expedition done what a
" man of honour was pbliged to do," and was abun-
dantly satisfied (as his majesty likewise was) with
the rich prizes he had brought home, which had
caused equal lamentation in Holland, and almost
broke the heart of De Wit himself. But what suc-
cess soever the earl had at sea, it was his mis-
fortune to do an unadvised action when he came
into the harbour, that lessened the king's own
esteem of him, and to a great degree irreconciled
the duke to him, and gave opportunity to his ene-
mies to do him much prejudice.

An impm- It was a constant and a known rule in the admi-
of theeari" ralty, that of any ship that is taken from the enemy
wLh a after bulk * s not to ^ e Dr k eT1 till it be brought into the
his return; port and adjudged lawful prize. It seems that when



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 465

the fleet returned to the harbour, the flag-officers 1665.
petitioned or moved the earl of Sandwich, " in re-~~
" gard of their having continued all the summer
" upon the seas with great fatigue, and been en-
" gaged in many actions of danger, that he would
" distribute amongst them some reward out of the
" Indian ships ;" which he thought reasonable, and
inclined to satisfy them, and writ a letter to the
vice-chamberlain to inform the king of it, and " that
" he thought it fit to be done ;" to which the vice-
chamberlain, having shewed the letter to the king,
returned his majesty's approbation. But before the
answer came to his hand, he had executed the de-
sign, and distributed as much of the coarser goods
to the flag-officers, as by estimatitin was valued to
be one thousand pounds to each officer, and took to
the value of two thousand pounds for himself. This
suddenly made such a noise and outcry, as if all the
Indian and other merchant ships had been plundered
by the seamen : and they again cried out as much,^
that no care was taken of them, but all given to the
flag-officers ; which the other captains thought to be
an injury to them.

The general (who had nothing like kindness for which the
the earl of Sandwich, whose service he thought had
been too much considered and recompensed by the |j
king at his arrival) had notice of it before it came to
Oxford ; and, according to his universal care, (which
was afterwards found to proceed from private ani-
mosity,) sent orders to all the port towns, to seize
upon goods which were brought in shallops from the
fleet ; and gave advertisement to Oxford of the ex-
traordinary ill consequence of that action, and " that
" it would spoil the sale of all that remained of those

VOL. II. H h



466 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. " ships, since the East India company, which pro-

" bably would have been the best chapmen, would

" not now be forward to buy, since so much was

" disposed of already to other hands as would spoil

" their market. " And by this time the earl himself

had given an account of all that had been done, and

The king the motives, to the duke. The king was justly dis-

with tL pleased for the expedition he had used, " Why had

earl> " his approbation been desired, when he resolved to

" do the thing before he could receive an answer? "

yet n was glad that he had done so, because he

would have been more excusable if he had received

it.

The duke But the duke, who had been constantly kind to
against him.
the earl, was offended in the highest degree, and
thought himself injured and affronted beyond any
precedent. " This most unjustifiable action could
" proceed only from two fountains : the one of ex-
" treme vanity and ambition, to make himself popu-
" lar amongst the officers of the fleet, who ought not
" to have been gratified by him at the king's charge.
" When any such bounty should be seasonable, it
" was the duke's province to have been the author,
" and the conduit to have conveyed it : he had him-
" self been an eyewitness of their behaviour in the
' greatest action ; and for the earl to assume the
" rewarding them by his own authority, was to de-
" fraud and rob him of his proper right and juris-
" diction. " And he looked upon his having desired
the king's allowance by the vice-chamberlain, as a
trick and an aggravation ; for he ought to have
asked his advice, as his superior officer: and the

n yet] and the] their



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 467

poor vice-chamberlain underwent his share in the 1G65.
reproach, for having presumed to move the king in ~~
a particular, that, if it was to be moved at all, had
been to be moved by the duke. " The other foun-
" tain which might produce this presumption might
" be avarice," which was the sole blemish (though it
never appeared in any gross instance) that- seemed
to cloud many noble virtues in that earl, who now
became a very pregnant evidence of the irresistible
strength and power of envy ; which though it feeds
on its own poison, and is naturally more grievous to
the person who harbours it, than to him that is ma-
ligned, yet when it finds a subject it can effectually
work upon, it is more insatiable in revenge than any
passion the soul is liable unto.

He was a gentleman of so excellent a temper and character of

the earl of

behaviour, that he could make himself no enemies ; sandwich.
of so many good qualities, and so easy to live with,
that he marvellously reconciled the minds of all men
to him, who had not intimacy enough with him to
admire his other parts : yet was in the general in-
clinations of men upon some disadvantage. They
who had constantly followed the king whilst he as
constantly adhered to Cromwell, and knew not how
early he had entertained repentance,. and with what
hazards and dangers he had manifested it, did be-
lieve the king had been too prodigal in heaping so
many honours upon him. And they who had been
familiar with him and of the same party, and
thought they had been as active as he in contribut-
ing to the revolution, considered him with some
anger, as one who had better luck than they without
more merit, and who had made early conditions :
when in truth no man in the kingdom had been

Hh 2



468 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. less guilty of that address; nor did he ever contri-
bute to any advancement to which he arrived, by
the least intimation or insinuation that he wished it,
He is very or that it would be acceptable to him. Yet upon
treated. this blast the winds rose from all quarters, reproaches
of all sorts were cast upon him, and all affronts con-
trived for him.

The earl had conveyed that part of the goods
which he had assigned to himself in a shallop to
Lynn, from whence it could pass* by water to his
own house. An officer in that port seized upon it
by virtue of the general's warrant, and would cause
it presently to be unladen, which he began to do.
But the servants of the earl appealed to the other
officers in equal authority, to whom they brought a
letter with them from the earl of Sandwich, in which
he owned all those goods to be his, (amongst which
were his bedding and furniture for his cabin, and all
his plate, and other things suitable,) and likewise a
note of all the other goods which might be liable to
pay custom ; and desired them " to send one of
" their searchers with the boat to his house, where
" he should receive all their dues, without being
" unladen in the port ;" which, besides the delay,
would be liable to many inconveniences. The officer
who had first arrested it, and who had dependance
upon a great man of the country, who was not un-
willing that any affront should be put upon the earl,
roughly refused to suffer it to pass without being
first unladen ; but being overruled by the other offi-
cers, vented his anger in very unmannerly language
against the earl : of all which he, being advertised
by his servants, sent a complaint to the lords of the
council, and desired " the fellow might be sent for



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 469

" and punished ;" which could not be refused, though 1665.
it proved troublesome in the inquiry. For the offi- ~~
cer, who was a gentleman of a fair behaviour and
good repute, denied all those words which carried in
them the worst interpretation ; but justified the ac-
tion, and produced the general's warrant, which had
unusual expressions, and apparent enough to have a
particular and not a general intention.

The general had quick advertisement of it, and
writ very passionately from London, " that an offi-
" cer should be sent for without having committed
" any other offence than in obeying and executing
" a warrant of his :" and the other great man, who
was of great importance to the king's service, and in
the highest trust in that country, writ several let-
ters, " how impossible it would be to carry on the
" king's service in that country, if that officer should
" be punished for doing that, when he ought to be
" punished if he had not done it ;" and therefore de-
sired, " that he might be repaired by them who had
" caused him to be sent for. "

Sir William Coventry had now full sea-room to
give vent to all his passions, and to incense the
duke, who was enough offended without such con-
tributions : " if this proceeded from covetousness, it
" was not probable that it would be satisfied with so
" little ; and therefore it was probable, that though
" the officers might not have received above the va-
" lue of one thousand pounds," which was assigned
to each, " yet himself would not be contented with
" so little as two thousand ; and they might there-
" fore well conceive that he had taken much more,
" which ought to be examined with the greatest
" strictness. " There had been nothing said before

Hh 3



470 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. of not taking advantage enough upon the enemy in
~ all occasions which had been offered, and of not
pursuing them far enough, which was not now re-
newed, with P advice, " that he might be presently
" sent for ;" though it was known that, as soon as he
could put the ships into the ports to which they
were designed, he would come to Oxford. And
there were great underhand endeavours, that the
house of commons might be inflamed with this mis-
carriage and misdemeanor, and present it as a com-
plaint to the house of peers, as fit to be examined
and brought to judgment before that tribunal. And
. they, who with all the malice imaginable did endea-
vour in vain to kindle this fire, persuaded the king
and the duke, " that by their sole activity and
" interest it was prevented for that time, because
" the session was too short, and that all necessary
" evidence could not be soon produced at Oxford ;
" but that, as soon as the plague should cease to
" such a degree in London that the parliament
" might assemble there, it would be impossible to
" restrain the house of commons from pursuing that
" complaint," of which nobody thought but them-
selves and they who were provoked by them.

The earl of Sandwich had so good intelligence

from Oxford, that he knew all that was said of him,

and began to believe that he had done unadvisedly

in administering occasion of speaking ill to those

He fuiiy who greedily sought for it : and as soon as his ab-

seifofthT sence from the fleet could be dispensed with, he



misconduct ma ^ e haste to Oxford, and gave so full an account
at sea ; o f every day's action, from the time that he went to

P with] without



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 471

sea to the day of his return, and of his having never J665.
done any thing of importance, nor having left any
thing undone, but with and by the advice of the
council of war, upon the orders he had received,
that both the king and the duke could not but ab-
solve him from all the imputations of negligence or
inadvertency.

But for the breaking bulk, and the circumstances And makes

11*11111 . an injjenu-

that attended it, they declared they were unsatis- ous acknow-
fied. And he confessed " that he had been much to e f hhHin-
" blame," and asked pardon, ,and with such excuses P mdence '
as he thought might in some degree plead for him.
He protested, " it seemed to him to have had some
" necessity : that the whole fleet was in a general
" indisposition, and complained, that for all that
" summer action" (which indeed had been full of
merit) " they had nothing given to them, not without
" some muttering that they would have somewhat
" out of those Indian ships before they would part
" with them ; insomuch as he had a real apprehen-
" sion that they had a purpose to plunder them.
" And he should have feared more, if he had. not
" complied with the flag-officers' importunity : and
" thereupon he consented that they should have
" each of them the value of one thousand pounds,
" and which he was most confident the goods which
" had been delivered to them did not exceed. " He
confessed " he had not enough considered the con->
" sequence, and that they who had not received any
" donative would be more displeased, than they who
" had it were satisfied with it ; which he acknow-
" ledged was the case : that he was heartily sorry
" for permitting any such thing to be done, and
" more for having taken any himself, and humbly

H h 4



472 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1 665. " asked 1 pardon for both ; and desired ' that his
"~ " own part, which remained entire, might be re-
" stored to the ship from whence it had been taken,
" which he would cause to be done. "

A more ingenuous acknowledgment could not be
made : and they who could not but observe many
persons every day excused for more enormous trans-
gressions, did hope that he, who had so few faults to
answer for, would have been absolved for that tres-
with which pass. And the king himself used him very gracious-
satisfied, ly, and so did the duke ; and he was sent back to
the fleet, to give order for the sending out a winter-
guard and ordering all other maritime affairs, and
for the sending up the India ships into the river, with
great care that none of the seamen should go on
shore, where the plague still raged little if at all less
than it had done in the summer : and so he himself
and most other men believed and were glad, that an
ill business was so well composed. But sir William
did not intend that it should end there.
The East The present business, that must admit no inter-

India prizes

sold for the ruption, was the raising what money might be to

service of . .

the war. supply the present necessities of the fleet, to pay the
seamen, and to make all preparations to set out the
fleet against the spring, when the French ships
would be infallibly ready to join with the Dutch ;
and the money that was given by the parliament
would not be paid till long after ; and the affairs of
the bankers were in such disorder by the death of
servants, and the plague having been in some of
their houses, that the usual course of advancing mo-
nies by assignations could not be depended upon.

( i asked] Omitted in MS. r desired] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 473

The general had written to the lord treasurer, " that J665.
" he thought that there could not be so good chap-""
" men for those ships as the East India company,
" some whereof had been with him to know the
" king's pleasure ; and if authority were granted to
" any men to treat upon that affair, they would
" send for members enough of their company, who
" were dispersed in the country, to be present at a
" court, which would authorize a committee to
" treat and contract with them :" and he said,
" that he was confident that half the money would
" be paid upon the making the bargain. " The king
was no sooner advertised of this overture, than he
sent sir George Carteret and Mr. Ashburnham to
London, to confer with the general and to be ad-
vised by him, and granted authority to them three
to sell those two prizes to those who would give
most. And they found no overtures to be so advan-
tageous as those which were made by that company:
and yet they made so much use of the advantage of
the time, when all men of notorious wealth were
out of the town, that they thought not fit to make
any agreement till they gave the king an account of
the whole transaction, with their opinions, upon
conference with other men of business ; and to that
purpose the two persons who had been sent to the
general returned safe to Oxford.

It hath been mentioned before, that it was
thought a great presumption in any body to pre-
sume to interpose in the maritime affairs, which
was interpreted to be an invasion of the duke's pe-
culiar province 8 ; and by this means the credit of sir

s province] Not in MS.



474 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. William Coventry was so absolute, that the disposal
The kin of all was in his power. He had persuaded the

persuaded duke, and the lord Arlington, who was in firm con-
to remove

lord sand- junction with him, had prevailed with the king to
the com believe, "that the house of commons was so in-
nandofthe cense( j a g a inst the lord Sandwich for his late pre-
" sumption, that it would not be possible to hinder
" them in their next assembling" (which was ap-
pointed or resolved to be in April, if it pleased God
to extinguish the sickness) " from falling* very se-
" verely upon the earl of Sandwich, which would
" be a very great dishonour to the king, if he were
" at that time in ttie command of the fleet ; and
" that -there was no way to preserve him" (for that
was their method when they had a mind to ruin a
man, to pretend a great care that he might not be
undone) "but by dismissing him from that charge,
" which probably might preserve him from being
" further questioned, since it would be interpreted
" a punishment inflicted on him by the king for his
" crime, and so might stop him from being further
" prosecuted for the same offence. " To which they
added, "that it would be necessary in another re-
" spect; for that many of the officers, as well as
" common seamen, had opened their mouths very
" wide against him, especially after it was gene-
" rally known that the king and the duke were of-
" fended with him, and had not been at all reserved
" in charging him with several reproaches : and that
" if the same command were still continued in him,
" it could not be presumed that those men would
" ever put themselves under his command whom
" they had so much provoked. "

1 from falling] to fall



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 475

These arguments, urged by men who were not 1665.
known, at least by the king and duke, to be his ene-
mies, and one of them thought to be (and in truth
was, but for his conjunction with the other) his
friend, and to wish him very well, prevailed upon
the judgments of both of them ; insomuch as they
resolved to confer with the chancellor, whom they
knew to be much the earl's friend. And they both
expressed " very much kindness to and confidence The king
" in the affection and integrity and courage of
" earl of Sandwich, though he was to be blamed
" his late indiscretion, and a resolution with their
" utmost power to defend him from undergoing any
" disgrace by it : but that it would contribute most
" to his preservation, that he quitted the employ-
" ment, and that some other persons should be sent
" to command the next fleet in the spring. For if
** he should again go to sea, and the u parliament
" should press to have him sent for, to answer what
" they had to object against him, his majesty must
" either refuse to consent to it, which would make
" a breach with his parliament, or by consenting dis-
" order his maritime affairs to that degree, that the
" enemy could not but take very great advantage of
" it. " Therefore they commanded the chancellor
to confer with him and discourse the whole matter
to him, to assure him x " of the king's and duke's fa-
" vour, and that they were in this particular moved
*' only by their tenderness to him ; and that some
" expedient should be first found out to remove him
" with honour, before any notice should be taken of
" the purpose to remove him, and before any other

11 the] Not in MS. * to assure him] secure him



476 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. "person should be deputed to the command; and

~ " that he himself should either propose the expe-

" dient, if any such occurred to him that would be

" grateful, or judge of any that should be proposed

" to him. "

The cban- The chancellor did presume to declare, " that he
against re- " thought that they were persuaded to apprehend
him? D " somewhat that could not fall out. That he would
" not take upon him to excuse the earl of Sandwich
" for any offence he had committed : if it were of
" that magnitude that his majesty thought fit to re-
" move him from his command, nobody could cen-
" sure it ; and it may be, in a time of so much li-
" cense, the severity might be thought seasonable.
" But the apprehension that the parliament would
" take more notice of what the earl had done, than
" they would of any other breach of order that was
" every day committed, was without any just rea-
" son. " But that argument was presently silenced
by their undertaking to know somewhat that the
other could not do, and that there was no other way
to preserve him y but that which was proposed.

There was at that time an opportunity in view,
that might give the earl of Sandwich an employ-
ment very worthy of him, and which no man could
imagine would be assigned to any man who was in
An account disgrace. Sir Richard Fanshaw, who was a gentle-
S Fan- nian very well known and very well beloved, had



1 been first ambassador in Portugal, and had behaved
Spain. himself so well there, that when he returned from
thence, he was recommended, and upon the matter
desired, by that crown to be sent to Spain, as the

y him] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 477

fittest person to mediate in the king's name between ] 665.
Spain and Portugal; and the king had before de-~~
signed to send him ambassador into Spain, as well
to settle a treaty between England and Spain, (for
there was none yet,) as to do all the offices between
those other crowns which were requisite to the end
aforesaid. No man knew that court better 2 , or
was so well versed in the language, having lived
many years before in that court in much better
times. He had remained now about two years,
with such frequent mortifications as ministers use to
meet with in courts irresolute and perplexed in their
own affairs, as the counsels of Madrid were in the
last years of the king, as his indisposition increased,
or by relaxing administered some hope. He had
made a journey to Lisbon upon the earnest desire
of Spain, and returned without eifect. The peace
was equally desired and equally necessary to both
nations : but the Portugal was a unmoveable in the
conditions of it, preferring the worst that could fall
out, even the abandoning their country, rather than
to be without the sovereignty of it ; and the Span-
iard as positive not to part with their title, though
they had no hope of their subjection. Nor did
Spain appear solicitous to conclude any treaty with
England, except either Portugal might be compre-
hended in it or abandoned by it.

On a sudden, when the recovery' 1 of the king
grew more desperate, (which is never a thing noto-
riously known in that court,) a project for a treaty
was sent to the ambassador, containing more advan-



z better] Not in MS. b recovery] recovery or long

1 was] Omitted in MS. continuance



478 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. tages in trade to the nation, (which are the most
~" important matters in all those treaties,) and insisting
upon fewer inconvenient conditions, than had ever
been in any former treaties ; without any mention
of Tangier or Jamaica, which had hitherto in the
entrance into any treaty since the king's return
made the progress impossible : only it was urged,
" that it might either be presently accepted and
" signed by the ambassador, with a covenant that it
" should be confirmed by the king within so many
" days after it should be presented to him, or
" else that there should be no more mention or dis-
" course of it. "

The ambassador, surprised with this overture,
compared what was offered with what he was to de-
mand by his instructions ; and what was defective
in those particulars he added to the articles present-
ed to him, with such additions as, upon his own ob-
servation and conference with the merchants, oc-
curred to him, or which seemed probable to be
granted from somewhat themselves had offered
more than had been demanded by him. These
alterations and amendments were approved and
consented to, and quickly returned engrossed and
signed by the king, on condition to be presently
signed by him, with the undertaking that is for-
merly mentioned. It had been wisely done by the
ambassador, and no more than his duty, if he had
first acquainted his master or the ministers with all
that had passed, and expected a particular order be-
fore he had signed it. But that being expressly re-
fused, without concealing the reason or the king's
weakness, " which," they declared, " might make
" such an alteration in counsels, that if it were not



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 479

" done in his lifetime, they knew not what might
" happen after :" this was thought as good an argu-
ment by him for the despatch, as it was to them ;
and that if he should not make use of this conjunc-
ture, there would never be the like advantageous
treaty offered again. Hereupon he presently signed
the treaty, with some secret article which was not
to the advantage of Portugal, otherwise than that
he concluded, by what had been said to him at Lis-
bon, it would have been acceptable to them.

This treaty was no sooner brought to the king by
the Spanish ambassador, (wljo had received it by an
express) and perused at the council-table, but many
gross faults were found to be in it. Besides the
gentleman's absence, who would with greater abi-
lities have defended himself than any of those who
had reproached him, it was no advantage to him
that he was known to be much in the chancellor's
confidence : and therefore the more pain was taken
to persuade the king that he was a weak man,
(which the king himself knew him not to be ;) and
they put such a gloss upon many of the articles, and
rejected others as unprofitable which were thought
to contain matters of great moment, that c they
would not consent that a trade to the West Indies
could be any benefit to England, and the like. In
the end, the king concluded that he would not sign
the treaty ; for which he had some access of reason
within a month after, by the death of the king of
Spain.

When all these reproaches were cast upon the He is re-
ambassador, and notice given that the king did dis- ca

c that] as



480 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. avow the treaty and refused to sign it; it was rea-
"sonably resolved that he ought not to remain there
longer as ambassador, but to be recalled. But the
plague driving the king from London and dispersing
the council, the pursuing this resolution was no
more assumed, till the business of the earl of Sand-
wich (1 made it thought on as a good expedient ; and
the chancellor was directed in his discourse with the
earl to mention it, as a proper expedient in his con-
dition to be laid hold on and embraced.

The chancellor entered upon the whole discourse
with that freedom and openness that became a man
who he knew was not suspected by him. He told
him all that himself knew of the affair, and the ap-
prehension the king had of the parliament, and the
expedient he had thought of to remove him out of
the reach or noise of clamour, of which he made him
the judge ; and " if he did not like this employment* 5
" for Spain, some other should be thought of and
" published before it should be known, and before
" the command of the fleet should be committed to
" any other. "

The earl of Sandwich lamented " that it had been
" in any body's power to make so ill impressions in
" the king and the duke, upon his having commit-
" ted a trespass, for which he was heartily sorry;"
and confessed " it was a presumption and indiscre-
" tion,the ill consequence whereof he had not had wit
" enough to discover : however, he did not yet think
" it so great, as to make him fear to give an account
" of it before the parliament, or any thing that they
" could do upon it. " He seemed not to be ignorant

d Sandwich] Not in MS. e employment] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 481

of the offices sir William Coventry did him, " in 1665.
" drawing complaints and reproaches from those ~
" who had neither cause nor inclination to speak to
" his disadvantage. He was sensible of the general's
" want of justice towards him, which he knew not
" to what to impute, but to his pride and weakness.
" He did acknowledge it great bounty in the king,
" since he thought him unfit and unworthy to con-
" tinue in the command he had, that he would
" yet assign him to so honourable an employment ;
" which, though it could not wipe off\the reproach
" of being dismissed from the other charge, was yet
" a sufficient evidence that he was not out of his
" majesty's good opinion and confidence : and there-
" fore he did with all cheerfulness submit to his ma-
" jesty's pleasure, and would be ready for his jour-
" ney to Spain as soon as his despatch should be pre-
" pared. " r . 1 ^

He told him then, " that he was in one respect
" glad to be removed from his present command, for
" he was confident that he would see no more great
" matters done at sea, for that the common men
". were weary of the war; and that sir William
" would never suffer any peace to be in the fleet,
" but had creatures ready to do all ill offices amongst
" them, whom he cherished and preferred before the
" best officers ;" and told him many other things
which fell out afterwards, and said, " sir William
" would make any man who should succeed him
" weary of his command, by sending such variety of
" orders that he would not know what to do. " And
shortly after, he gave him a perfect journal of his
last expedition, in whicli there were indeed many
orders which must needs startle and perplex a com-

VOL. II. I i



482 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. mander in chief, it being his usual course to sig-
~~nify the duke's pleasure in matters of the greatest
importance without the duke's hand; which yet
they durst not disobey, nor produce in their own jus-
tification, being such as in truth were no such war-
rants as they ought to obey, and yet would reflect
upon his royal highness : and told him likewise of
the ill inventions he had set on foot, by which prince
Rupert was stopped from being joined with him in
the command of the last fleet.
The eari of When the chancellor had informed the king of

Sandwich . . . .

sent ambas- the earl of Sandwich's submission to his pleasure,

ordinary and that he would be ready to undertake the em-

mto Spam. p} y me nt f or Spain as soon as his majesty pleased ;

hereupon the king declared his resolution in council

to send the earl of Sandwich his extraordinary am-

bassador, as well to correct and amend the mistakes

and errors in the late treaty, as f further to mediate

the peace with Portugal, which upon the death of

the king was in some respect more practicable. And

to that purpose he sent sir Robert Southwell, one of

the clerks of the council, envoy into Portugal, that

the earl might the better know the inclinations of

that people : and all instructions necessary were pre-

sently to be prepared to both those ends.

The king This first work being thus despatched, it remained

appointing to settle the command, for the ensuing year, of the



fleet; and there can be little doubt made, but that
general ^he king and the duke had resolved this at the same

joint iuhm-

rals ' time that they determined that the earl of Sandwich
should not continue in it : however, it was commu-
nicated to tfobody, till the designation of the other

f as] and



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 483

was published. Then the king told the chancellor, 1665.
" that his brother and he had long considered that ~~
" affair, and could not think of any expedient so
" good for the performance of that service, as a con-
" junction between prince Rupert and the general,
" and making them both joint commanders in chief
" of the fleet for the next expedition. " There had
many exceptions occurred to them against commit-
ting the charge to either of them singly ; nor were
they without apprehension of some which might
fall out by joining them together, which would be
much greater, if they were not both well prepared
to embrace the occasion, and themselves to like the
designation. For the doing this the chancellor was
again thought to be the fittest man, being believed
to have the greatest interest in both of them, and
most in him from whom the greatest difficulties
were expected to arise, which was prince Rupert.
It was easy to know prince Rupert's mind, who was
in the house : yet they were both in cases of that
nature desirous always to impart what they desired
by others, rather than to debate it first themselves.
But then the general was at London, besieged by
the plague ; and the matter was not fit to be com-
municated by letter, because, if he should make any
scruple of concurring in it, it was to be declined.

Upon these considerations it was resolved, first,
that the chancellor should prepare prince Rupert,
and then that the general should be sent for to Ox-
ford upon pretences, of which enough would occur.
The prince, though he was much more willing to Prince RU-
have gone alone, willingly conformed to the king's fingiyac-
pleasure: and so both the king and duke spake at 01
large with him upon all that was necessary to be

I i 2



joint com-
mission.



484 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. adjusted. And the general was sent to, " that it was
~~" necessary for the king to confer with him upon
" some propositions, which were made to him upon
" the East India ships," (which transaction was not
at that time yet concluded ;) " and therefore that on
" such a day he should come from London early
'* in the morning," (for it was deep winter,) " in his
" own coach to Beaconsfield, where he should find
" another coach ready to receive him, and another
" at another stage ; so that he might be with ease
" at Oxford the same night," as he was, and very
graciously received by the king, as he deserved to
be. But as he had no manner of imagination of the
true reason why he was sent for, so neither his ma-
jesty nor the duke would impart it to him, out of
real imagination that it would riot be grateful to
him ; but that was left to be imparted and dexterously
managed by the chancellor, in whom, as was said
before, it was generally believed that he had great
confidence.



The chan- jj e th e next morning entered into conference

cellor con-

fers with with him, and after general discourses told him,

6 a that the king had disposed the earl of Sandwich



subject. (( J. Q another employment, for which he did not
" seem sorry ; and that it must be now thought of,
" who was fit to command in his place : that there
" was no hope of peace, instead whereof there
" would be an entire conjunction between France
" and the Dutch; and that the French fleet" (the
ambassadors being about this time gone) " would
" be ready to join with them as soon as they should
" put to sea ; and there was much doubt that
" the Dane would betake himself to the same al-
" liance ; and all would be at sea before we should



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 485

" be, except extraordinary diligence were used, 1665.
*' which the continuance of the plague would hardly ~~
" admit. " The general presently answered, " that
" no person was so fit for that command as prince
" Rupert, who understood the seas well, and had
" that courage that was necessary in this conjunc-
" ture. "

The chancellor told him, " that the king had
" great confidence in the affection and unquestion-
" able courage of prince Rupert : but he was not
" sure, that the quickness of his spirit and the
" strength of his passion might not sometimes
" stand in need of the advice and assistance of a
" friend, who should be in equal authority with
" him ; and had therefore thought of finding some
" fit person to be joined with him, and so make one
" admiral of two persons. " To which the other not
replying suddenly, he continued his discourse, say-
ing, " that the king had such a person in his view,
" whom he would never acquaint with it, until he
" might find some way to discover that the propos-
" ing it would not be ingrateful to him ; and that
" he was obliged to make this discovery, and that
" the person in the king's view was himself; and
" that if he and prince Rupert were joined in the
" command of the fleet and undertook it, his majesty
" would believe that he had done all that was in his
" power, and would, with great hope, commit all the
" rest to God Almighty. " He said, " he thought he
" had behaved himself most like a friend in telling
" him shortly and plainly what the king's drift was,
" towards which, though the secret was known to
" none but the duke of York, yet such an advance



486 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1 665. W as made, that his majesty was well assured that
" prince Rupert would readily comply with his
" pleasure. " Upon the whole matter he desired him
" to deal as like a friend with him, and to tell him
" freely if he had no mind to the employment ; and
" he would take upon him to prevent the making
" the proposition to him, and that neither the king
" nor duke should take it unkindly. "

The general appeared really surprised and full of
thoughts ; and after a short pause he desired him
" not to believe that he made the least difficulty?
" in his thoughts of undertaking the service ; but
" many things had occurred to him in the discourse,
" which he would mention anon. " He said, " that
" for his own part he should be willing to go out of
" London to-morrow, and think himself much safer
" in any action against the Dutch than he could be
" in the post he was, where every day men died
" about him and in his view ; and as he thought
" that he had done the king better service by stay-
" ing in London, than he could have done in any
" other place, so he believed, if the sickness should
" continue," (as it was like enough to do, there ap-
pearing yet very little decrease,) " his majesty might
" think that his presence might be as necessary
" there as it had been. " The chancellor replied,
" that his majesty had foreseen that contingency ;
" and had already resolved, that if that fell out to
" be the case, he should rather desire his residence
" should be where it had been (though he was much
" troubled to expose him to so much hazard) than

g difficulty] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 487

" in any other place: but that his majesty's confi- 1665.
" dence in the mercy of God, that he would take off ~~
" this heavy visitation before the end of winter, had
" suggested the other designation of him to the ser-
" vice of the fleet, upon the good conduct whereof
" his own and the kingdom's happiness so much de-
" pended. "

The general quickly replied, " that for that matter The gene-
" he was so willing to engage himself, that if the king to the "
" pleased, he would most readily serve under the com- ^ s plea ~
" mand of prince Rupert :" to which the other an-
swered as readily, " that the king would never con-
" sent to that. " And so they resolved presently to
go to the king, that his majesty and the duke might
know what would please them so much. And as they
were going, the general said smiling, " that he would
" tell him now what the true cause was, that had
" made that pause in him upon the first discourse of
" the business ; and that it would be necessary for
" him, after all things should be adjusted with the
" king and duke and prince Rupert, that what con-
" cerned him should still remain a secret, and prince
" Rupert be understood to have that command alone.
" For if his wife should come to know it, before he
" had by degrees prepared her for it, she would
" break out into such passions as would be very un-
" easy to him : but he would in a short time dis-
" pose her well enough ; and in the mean time no-
" thing should be omitted on his part, that was
" necessary for the advancement of the service. "
Hereupon the king, the duke, the prince, and the
general consulted of all that was to be done : and
he at the end of two days returned to London with



488 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE.

1665. the same expedition that he came to Oxford, to-
"gether with sir George Carteret the treasurer of
the navy, and all orders that were requisite for the
sale of the East India ships, upon which all provi-
sions for the fleet were to be made.



END OF VOL. II.


THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES



FROM THE LIBRARY OF
ERNEST CARROLL MOORE



THE LIFE

OF

EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON,

LORD HIGH CHANCELLOR OF ENGLAND,

AND

CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD.



Ne quid f nisi dicere audeat, ne quid veri non audeat. CICERO.



THE LIFE



OF

EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON,

LORD HIGH CHANCELLOR OF ENGLAND,

f AND

CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD :

IN WHICH IS INCLUDED

A CONTINUATION

OF HIS

HISTORY OF THE GRAND REBELLION.



WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.



A NEW EDITION,

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



VOL. III.

OXFORD,
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.

MDCCCXXVII.



CoRege
Ubrary



V.

THE

CONTINUATION

OF

THE LIFE

OF

^

EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON



A HOUGH the parliament at Oxford had pre- 1665.
served that excellent harmony that the king had
proposed, and hardly wished any thing in which
they had not concurred, insomuch as never parlia-
ment so entirely sympathised with his majesty ; and
though a it passed more acts for his honour and se-
curity than any other had ever done in so short a
session : yet it produced b a precedent of a very un-
happy nature, the circumstances whereof in the
present were unusual and pernicious, and the conse-
quences in the future very mischievous, and there-
fore not unfit to be set out at large.

The lord Arlington and sir William Coventry, An attempt
closely united in the same purposes, and especially {J e remOTe
against the chancellor, had a great desire to find 811
some means to change the course and method of the
king's counsels ; which they could hardly do whilst

a though] Not in MS. b produced] introduced

VOL. in. B



S7C K



ie trea-
urer.



2 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1665. the same persons continued still in the same employ-
"ments. Their malice was most against the chan-
cellor : yet they knew not what suggestions to make
to the king against him, having always pretended
to his majesty, how falsely soever, to have a great
esteem of him. Their project therefore was to re-
move the treasurer, who was as weary of his office
and of the court as any body could be of him : but
his reputation was so great, his wisdom so unques-
tionable, and his integrity so confessed, that they
knew in neither of those points he could be im-
peached. And the king himself had kindness and
reverence towards him, though he had for some
years thought him less active, and so less fit for that
administration, than every body else knew him to
be: and these men had long insinuated unto his
majesty , " how ill all the business of the exchequer
" was managed by the continual infirmities of the
" treasurer, who, between the gout and the stone,
" had not ease enough to attend the painful function
" of that office, but left the whole to be managed
" and governed by his secretary sir Philip Warwick ;"
upon whose experience and fidelity he did in truth
much rely, as he had reason to do, his reputation
for both being very signal and universal. And to-
wards fastening this reproach they had the contribu-
tion of the lord Ashley, who was good at looking into
other men's offices, and was not pleased to see sir
Philip Warwick's credit greater than his with the
treasurer, and his advice more followed. And the
other two had craftily insinuated to him, that he
would make much a better treasurer ; which, whilst

majesty] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 3

he thought they were in earnest, prevailed with him iGf>r>
not only to suggest materials to them for that re-
proach, but to inculcate the same to the king upon
several occasions : but when he discovered that they
intended nothing of advantage to his particular, he
withdrew from that intrigue, though in all other
particulars he sided with them.

The king was too easy in making assignations
upon his revenue, which would make it uncapable
to satisfy others which were more necessary, and to
grant suits by lease or farm, (sometimes to worthy
men,) which were of mischievous consequence to all
the measures which could be taken ; and those the
treasurer found himself obliged to stop : and com-
monly, upon informing the king of it and of his
reasons, his majesty was very well pleased with
what he had done, and (as hath been said before)
did often give himself ease from the importunity of
many, by signing the warrants they brought to him,
in confidence that either the chancellor or treasurer
would not suffer them to pass. However, it raised
clamour ; and there were men enough who had the
same provocation to make a great noise ; and they
easily found countenance from others* who desired
it should be believed, " that it was a high arrogance
" and presumption in any subject to stop any sig-
" nature of the king, and so make his majesty's
" grace and bounty to be ineffectual, if his appro-
" bation and consent was not likewise procured. "
There was visibly great want of money, though
there were vast sums d raised ; which they laboured
to persuade the king proceeded from the unskilful-

d sums] sums of money
B 2



4 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

I6fr>. ness or unactivity of the treasurer, who was again
~ tired with the vexation and indignity, when he had
so frequently presented the king with the particulars
of the receipts and disbursements, and made it de-
monstrable how much his expenses exceeded all his
income; and how impossible it would be, without
lessening these, to provide wherewithal to supply
necessaiy occasions* : but this was an ungracious
subject, and opened more mouths than could easily
be stopped.

There was a man who hath been often named,
sir George Downing, who by having been some years
in the office of one of the tellers of the exchequer,
and being of a restless brain, did understand enough
of the nature of the revenue and of the course of
the receipt, to make others who understood less of
it to think that he knew the bottom of it, and that
the expedients, which should be proposed by him
towards a reformation, could not but be very per-
tinent and practicable. And he was not unhurt in
the emoluments of his own office, which were less-
ened by the assignations made to the bankers, upon
the receipts themselves, without the money's ever
passing through the tellers' office ; by which, though
they did receive their just fees, they had not what
they would have taken, if the money had passed
through their own hands. He was a member of
parliament, and a very voluminous sj>eaker, who
would be thought wiser in trade than any of the
merchants, and to understand the mystery of all
professions much better than the professors of them.
And such a kind of chat is always acceptable in a

e necessary occasions] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON.