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diff --git a/14380-h/14380-h.htm b/14380-h/14380-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..30d8d10 --- /dev/null +++ b/14380-h/14380-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,33245 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Life of John Milton, Volume 5 (of 7), 1654-1660, by David Masson</title> +<style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[*/ + + <!-- + + li {list-style-type: none;} + + body {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + + p {font-size: 1.0em; text-align: justify;} + + blockquote {font-size: 0.9em;} + + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {text-align: center;} + + h2.title {margin-top: 1em;} + + h2 {margin-top: 4em;} + h2.pg {text-align: center; margin-top: 0em;} + + hr.full {width: 100%; } + hr {width: 50%;} + + table, td, th {border:0px black solid; } + td {padding: 0px 2px;} + + .footnote {font-size: 0.9em; margin-right: 10%; margin-left: 10%;} + .footnote p {text-align: justify;} + + .figcenter {text-align: center; border: 0;} + .figcenter img {border: 0;} + .figcenter p {text-align: center; border: 0;} + + .figright {text-align: center; float: right; clear: both;} + .figleft {text-align: center; float: left; clear: both;} + .figright img, + .figleft img {margin: 10px; width: 200px; border: 0;} + .figright p, + .figleft p {text-align: center; width: 200px; border: 0; + padding: 0; margin: 0;} + + .figrt {text-align: center; margin: 5px; float: right;} + .figrt img {width: 50px; border: 0;} + .figrt p {text-align: center; width: 100px;} + + .poem {margin-left:5%; margin-right:5%; + margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem p {margin: 0;} + .poem p.i2 {margin-left: 2em;} + .poem p.i4 {margin-left: 4em;} + .poem p.i6 {margin-left: 6em;} + .poem p.i8 {margin-left: 8em;} + .poem p.i10 {margin-left: 10em;} + .poem p.i12 {margin-left: 12em;} + .poem p.i14 {margin-left: 14em;} + + .side {float:right; + font-size: 75%; + width: 25%; + padding-left:10px; + border-left: dashed thin; + margin-left: 10px; + text-align: left; + text-indent: 0; + font-weight: bold; + font-style: italic; + clear: right;} + + span.pagenum + {position: absolute; left: 1%; right: 91%; font-size: 8pt;} + + a:link {color:#0000ff; + text-decoration:none} + link {color:#0000ff; + text-decoration:none} + a:visited {color:#0000ff; + text-decoration:none} + a:hover {color:#ff0000} + pre {font-size: 8pt;} + + sup {font-size:0.6em;} + + --> + +/*]]>*/ +</style> +</head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14380 ***</div> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Life of John Milton, Volume 5 (of 7), +1654-1660, by David Masson</h1> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> + <h2> + THE LIFE + </h2> + <h5> + OF + </h5> + <h1> + JOHN MILTON: + </h1> + <h4> + NARRATED IN CONNEXION WITH + </h4> + <h3> + THE POLITICAL, ECCLESIASTICAL, AND LITERARY + </h3> + <h2 class="pg"> + HISTORY OF HIS TIME. + </h2> + <h5> + BY + </h5> + <h4> + DAVID MASSON, M.A., LL.D., + </h4> + <h5> + PROFESSOR OF RHETORIC AND ENGLISH LITERATURE + </h5> + <h5> + IN THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH. + </h5> + <h4> + VOL. V. + </h4> + <h4> + 1654-1660. + </h4> + <h5> + London: + </h5> + <h6> + MacMillan and Co. + </h6> + <h4> + 1877. + </h4> + <hr /> + <h3> + CONTENTS. + </h3> + <h4> + BOOK I. + </h4> + <h5> + SEPTEMBER 1654-JUNE 1657. + </h5> + <p> + <i>HISTORY</i>:—OLIVER'S FIRST PROTECTORATE CONTINUED. + </p> + <p> + <i>BIOGRAPHY</i>:—MILTON'S LIFE AND SECRETARYSHIP THROUGH + THE FIRST PROTECTORATE CONTINUED. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#Ac1s1">CHAP. I. SECTION I.</a> Oliver and his First + Parliament: Sept. 3, 1654-Jan. 22, 1654-5.—Meeting of the + First Parliament of the Protectorate: Its Composition: + Anti-Oliverians numerous in it: Their Four Days' Debate in + challenge of Cromwell's Powers: Debate stopped by Cromwell: His + Speech in the Painted Chamber: Secession of some from the + Parliament: Acquiescence of the rest by Adoption of <i>The + Recognition</i>: Spirit and Proceedings of the Parliament still + mainly Anti-Oliverian: Their Four Months' Work in Revision of the + Protectoral Constitution: Chief Debates in those Four Months: + Question of the Protector's Negatives: Other Incidental Work of + the Parliament: Question of Religious Toleration and of the + Suppression of Heresies and Blasphemies: Committee and + Sub-Committee on this Subject: Baxter's Participation: Tendency + to a Limited Toleration only, and Vote against the Protector's + Prerogative of more: Case of John Biddle, the + Socinian.—Insufficiency now of our former Synopsis of + English Sects and Heresies: New Sects and Denominations: The + Fifth-Monarchy Men: The Ranters: The Muggletonians and other + Stray Fanatics: Bochmenists and other Mystics: The Quakers or + Friends: Account of George Fox, and Sketch of the History of the + Quakers to the year 1654.—Policy of the Parliament with + their Bill for a New Constitution: Parliament outwitted by + Cromwell and dissolved: No Result. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#Ac1s2">CHAP. I. SECTION II.</a> Between the + Parliaments, or the Time of Arbitrariness: Jan. 22, + 1654-55—Sept. 17, 1656.—Avowed "Arbitrariness" of + this Stage of the Protectorate, and Reasons for it.—First + Meeting of Cromwell and his Council after the Dissolution: + Major-General Overton in Custody: Other Arrests: Suppression of a + wide Republican Conspiracy and of Royalist Risings in Yorkshire + and the West: Revenue Ordinance and Mr. Cony's Opposition at Law: + Deference of Foreign Governments: Blake in the Mediterranean: + Massacre of the Piedmontese Protestants: Details of the Story and + of Cromwell's Proceedings in consequence: Penn in the Spanish + West Indies: His Repulse from Hispaniola and Landing in Jamaica: + Declaration of War with Spain and Alliance with France: Scheme of + the Government of England by Major-Generals: List of them and + Summary of their Police-System: Decimation Tax on the Royalists, + and other Measures <i>in terrorem</i>: Consolidation of the + London Newspaper Press: Proceedings of the Commission of Ejectors + and of the Commission of Triers: View of Cromwell's Established + Church of England, with Enumeration of its various Components: + Extent of Toleration outside the Established Church: The + Protector's Treatment of the Roman Catholics, the Episcopalians, + the Anti-Trinitarians, the Quakers, and the Jews: State of the + English Universities and Schools under the Protectorate: + Cromwell's Patronage of Learning: List of English Men of Letters + alive in 1656, and Account of their Diverse Relations to + Cromwell: Poetical Panegyrics on him and his + Protectorate.—New Arrangements for the Government of + Scotland: Lord Broghill's Presidency there for Cromwell: General + State of the Country: Continued Struggle between the + Resolutioners and the Protesters for Kirk-Supremacy: Independency + and Quakerism in Scotland: More Extreme Anomalies there: Story of + "Jock of Broad Scotland": Brisk Intercourse between Scotland and + London: Mission of Mr. James Sharp.—Ireland from 1654 to + 1656.—Glimpse of the Colonies. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#Ac1s3">CHAP. I. SECTION III.</a> Oliver and the First + Session of his Second Parliament: Sept. 17, 1656-June 26, + 1657.—Second Parliament of the Protectorate called: Vane's + <i>Healing Question</i> and another Anti-Oliverian Pamphlet: + Precautions and Arrests: Meeting of the Parliament: Its + Composition: Summary of Cromwell's Opening Speech: Exclusion of + Ninety-three Anti-Oliverian Members: Decidedly Oliverian Temper + of the rest: Question of the Excluded Members: Their Protest: + Summary of the Proceedings of the Parliament for Five Months + (Sept. 1656-Feb. 1656-7): Administration of Cromwell and his + Council during those Months: Approaches to Disagreement between + Cromwell and the Parliament in the <i>Case of James Nayler</i> + and on the Question of Continuation of the Militia by + Major-Generals: No Rupture.—The Soxby-Sindercombe + Plot.—Sir Christopher Pack's Motion for a New Constitution + (Feb. 23, 1656-7): Its Issue in the <i>Petition and Advice</i> + and Offer of the Crown to Cromwell: Division of Public Opinion on + the Kingship Question: Opposition among the Army Officers: + Cromwell's Neutral Attitude: His Reception of the Offer: His long + Hesitations and several Speeches over the Affair: His Final + Refusal (May 8, 1657): Ludlow's Story of the + Cause.—Harrison and the Fifth Monarchy Men: Venner's + Outbreak at Mile-End-Green.—Proposed New Constitution of + the <i>Petition and Advice</i> retained in the form of a + Continued Protectorate: Supplements to the <i>Petition and + Advice</i>: Bills assented to by the Protector, June 9: Votes for + the Spanish War.—Treaty Offensive and Defensive with France + against Spain: Dispatch of English Auxiliary Army, under + Reynolds, for Service in Flanders: Blake's Action in Santa Cruz + Bay.—"<i>Killing no Murder</i>": <i>Additional and + Explanatory Petition and Advice</i>: Abstract of the Articles of + the New Constitution as arranged by the two Documents: Cromwell's + completed Assent to the New Constitution, and his Assent to other + Bills. June 26, 1657: Inauguration of the Second Protectorate + that day: Close of the First Session of the Second Parliament. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#Ac2s1">CHAP. II.</a> Milton's Life and Secretaryship + through the First Protectorate continued: September 1654-June + 1657.—SECTION I.: From September 1654 to January 1654-5, or + Through Oliver's First Parliament.—Ulac's Hague Edition of + Milton's <i>Defensio Secunda</i>, with the <i>Fides Publica</i> + of Morus annexed: Preface by Dr. Crantzius to the Reprint: Ulac's + own Preface of Self-Defence: Account of Morus's <i>Fides + Publica</i>, with Extracts: His Citation of Testimonies to his + Character: Testimony of Diodati of Geneva: Abrupt Ending of the + Book at this Point, with Ulac's Explanation of the + Cause.—Particulars of the Arrest and Imprisonment of + Milton's Friend Overton.—Three more Latin State-Letters by + Milton for Oliver (Nos. XLIX.-LI.): No State-Letters by Milton + for the next Three Months: Milton then busy on a Reply to the + <i>Fides Publica</i> of Morus. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#Ac2s2">CHAP. II. SECTION II.</a>: From January 1654-5 + to September 1656, or Through the Period of + Arbitrariness.—Letter to Milton from Leo de Aitzema: + Milton's Reply: Letter to Ezekiel Spanheim at Geneva: Milton's + Genovese Recollections and Acquaintances: Two more of Milton's + Latin State-Letters (Nos. LII., LIII.): Small Amount of Milton's + Despatch-Writing for Cromwell hitherto.—Reduction of + Official Salaries, and Proposal to Reduce Milton's to £150 a + Year: Actual Commutation of his £288 a Year at Pleasure into £200 + for Life: Orders of the Protector and Council relating to the + Piedmontese Massacre, May 1655: Sudden Demand on Milton's Pen in + that Business: His Letter of Remonstrance from the Protector to + the Duke of Savoy, with Ten other Letters to Foreign States and + Princes on the same Subject (Nos. LIV.-LXIV.): His Sonnet on the + Subject.—Publication of the <i>Supplementum</i> to More's + <i>Fides Publica</i>: Account of the <i>Supplementum</i>, with + Extracts: Milton's Answer to the <i>Fides Publica</i> and the + <i>Supplementum</i> together in his <i>Pro Se Defensio</i>, Aug. + 1655: Account of that Book, with Specimens: Milton's Disbelief in + Morus's Denials of the Authorship of the <i>Regii Sanguinis + Clamor</i>: His Reasons, and his Reassertions of the Charge in a + Modified Form: His Notices of Dr. Crantzius and Ulac: His Renewed + Onslaughts on Morus: His Repetition of the Bontia Accusation and + others: His Examination of Morus's Printed Testimonials: Ferocity + of the Book to the last: Its Effects on Morus.—Question of + the Real Authorship of the <i>Regii Sanguinis Clamor</i> and of + the Amount of Morus's Concern in it: The Du Moulin Family: Dr. + Peter Du Moulin the Younger the Real Author of the <i>Regii + Sanguinis Clamor</i>, but Morus the Active Editor and the Writer + of the Dedicatory Epistle: Du Moulin's own Account of the whole + Affair: His close Contact with Milton all the while, and Dread of + being found out.—Calm in Milton's Life after the Cessation + of the Morus-Salmasius Controversy: Home-Life in Petty France: + Dabblings of the Two Nephews in Literature: John Phillips's + <i>Satyr against Hypocrites</i>: Frequent Visitors at Petty + France: Marvell, Needham, Cyriack Skinner, &c.: The + Viscountess Ranelagh, Mr. Richard Jones, and the Boyle Connexion: + Dr. Peter Du Moulin in that Connexion: Milton's Private Sonnet on + his Blindness, his Two Sonnets to Cyriack Skinner, and his Sonnet + to young Lawrence: Explanation of these Four + Sonnets.—<i>Scriptum Domini Protectoris contra + Hispanos</i>: Thirteen more Latin State-Letters of Milton for the + Protector (Nos. LXV.-LXXVII.), with Special Account of Count + Bundt and the Swedish Embassy in London: Count Bundt and Mr. + Milton.—Increase of Light Literature in London: Erotic + Publications: John Phillips in Trouble for such: Edward + Phillips's London Edition of the Poems of Drummond of + Hawthornden: Milton's Cognisance of the same.—Henry + Oldenburg and Mr. Richard Jones at Oxford: Letters of Milton to + Jones and Oldenburg.—Thirteen more State-Letters of the + Milton Series (Nos. LXXVIII.-XC.): Importance of some of them. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#Ac2s3">CHAP. II. SECTION III.</a>: From September 1656 + to June 1657, or Through the First Session of Oliver's Second + Parliament.—Another Letter from Milton to Mr. Richard + Jones: Departure of Lady Ranelagh for Ireland: Letter from Milton + to Peter Heimbach: Milton's Second Marriage: His Second Wife, + Katharine Woodcock: Letter to Emeric Bigot: Milton's Library and + the Byzantine Historians: M. Stoupe: Ten more State-Letters by + Milton for the Protector (Nos. XCI.-C.): Morland, Meadows, Durie, + Lockhart, and other Diplomatists of the Protector, back in + London: More Embassies and Dispatches over Land and Sea: Milton + Standing and Waiting: His Thoughts about the Protectorate + generally. + </p> + <h4> + BOOK II. + </h4> + <h5> + JUNE 1657-SEPTEMBER 1658 + </h5> + <p> + <i>HISTORY</i>:—OLIVER'S SECOND PROTECTORATE. + </p> + <p> + <i>BIOGRAPHY</i>:—MILTON'S LIFE AND SECRETARYSHIP THROUGH + THE SECOND PROTECTORATE. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#Bc1s1">CHAP. I.</a> Oliver's Second Protectorate: June + 26, 1657-Sept. 3, 1658.—Regal Forms and Ceremonial of the + Second Protectorate: The Protector's Family: The Privy Council: + Retirement of Lambert: Death of Admiral Blake: The French + Alliance and Successes in Flanders: Siege and Capture of Mardike: + Other Foreign Relations of the Protectorate: Special Envoys to + Denmark, Sweden, and the United Provinces: Aims of Cromwell's + Diplomacy in Northern and Eastern Europe: Progress of his English + Church-Establishment: Controversy between John Goodwill and + Marchamont Needham: The Protector and the Quakers: Death of John + Lilburne: Death of Sexby: Marriage of the Duke of Buckingham to + Mary Fairfax: Marriages of Cromwell's Two Youngest Daughters: + Preparations for another Session of the Parliament: Writs for the + Other House: List of Cromwell's Peers.—Reassembling of the + Parliament. Jan. 20, 1667-8: Cromwell's Opening Speech, with the + Supplement by Fiennes: Anti-Oliverian Spirit of the Commons: + Their Opposition to the Other House: Cromwell's Speech of + Remonstrance: Perseverance of the Commons in their Opposition: + Cromwell's Last Speech and Dissolution of the Parliament, Feb. 4, + 1657-8.—State of the Government after the Dissolution: The + Dangers, and Cromwell's Dealings with them: His Light Dealings + with the Disaffected Commonwealth's Men: Threatened Spanish + Invasion from Flanders, and Ramifications of the Royalist + Conspiracy at Home: Arrests of Royalists, and Execution of + Slingsby and Hewit: The Conspiracy crushed: Death of Robert Rich: + The Earl of Warwick's Letter to Cromwell, and his Death: More + Successes in Flanders: Siege and Capture of Dunkirk: Splendid + Exchanges of Compliments between Cromwell and Louis XIV.: New + Interference in behalf of the Piedmontese Protestants, and + Project of a Protestant Council <i>De Propaganda Fide</i>: + Prospects of the Church Establishment: Desire of the Independents + for a Confession of Faith: Attendant Difficulties: Cromwell's + Policy in the Affairs of the Scottish Kirk: His Design for the + Evangelization and Civilization of the Highlands: His Grants to + the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow: His Council in + Scotland: Monk at Dalkeith: Cromwell's Intentions in the Cases of + Biddle and James Nayler: Proposed New Act for Restriction of the + Press: Firmness and Grandeur of the Protectorate in July 1658: + Cromwell's Baronetcies and Knighthoods: Willingness to call + another Parliament: Death of Lady Claypole: Cromwell's Illness + and Last Days, with the Last Acts and Incidents of his + Protectorship. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#Bc2s1">CHAP. II.</a> Milton's Life and Secretaryship + through the Second Protectorate. —Milton still in Office: + Letter to Mr. Henry de Brass, with Milton's Opinion of Sallust: + Letters to Young Ranelagh and Henry Oldenburg at Saumur: Morus in + New Circumstances: Eleven more State-Letters of Milton for the + Protector (Nos. CI.-CXI.): Andrew Marvell brought in as Assistant + Foreign Secretary at last (Sept. 1657): John Dryden now also in + the Protector's Employment: Birth of Milton's Daughter by his + Second Wife: Six more State-Letters of Milton (Nos. + CXII.-CXVII.): Another Letter to Mr. Henry de Brass, and another + to Peter Heimbach: Comment on the latter: Deaths of Milton's + Second Wife and her Child: His two Nephews, Edward and John + Phillips, at this date: Milton's last Sixteen State-Letters for + Oliver Cromwell (Nos. CXVIII.-CXXXIII), including Two to Charles + Gustavus of Sweden, Two on a New Alarm of a Persecution of the + Piedmontese Protestants, and Several to Louis XIV. and Cardinal + Mazarin: Importance of this last Group of the State-Letters, and + Review of the whole Series of Milton's Performances for Cromwell: + Last Diplomatic Incidents of the Protectorate, and Andrew Marvell + in connexion with them: Incidents of Milton's Literary Life in + this Period: Young Güntzer's <i>Dissertatio</i> and Young Kock's + Phalæcians: Milton's Edition of Raleigh's Cabinet Council: + Resumption of the old Design of Paradise Lost and actual + Commencement of the Poem: Change from the Dramatic Form to the + Epic: Sonnet in Memory of his Deceased Wife. + </p> + <h4> + BOOK III. + </h4> + <h5> + SEPTEMBER 1658—MAY 1660. + </h5> + <p> + <i>HISTORY:</i>—THE PROTECTORATE OF RICHARD CROMWELL, THE + ANARCHY, MONK'S MARCH AND DICTATORSHIP, AND THE RESTORATION. + </p> + <p> + RICHARD'S PROTECTORATE: SEPT. 3, 1658—MAY 25, 1659. + </p> + <p> + THE ANARCHY:— + </p> + <p> + STAGE I.:—THE RESTORED RUMP: MAY 25, 1659—OCT. 13, + 1659. + </p> + <p> + STAGE II.:—THE WALLINGFORD-HOUSE GOVERNMENT: OCT. 13, + 1659—DEC. 26, 1659. + </p> + <p> + STAGE III.:—SECOND RESTORATION OF THE RUMP, WITH MONK'S + MARCH FROM SCOTLAND: DEC. 26, 1659—FEB. 21, 1859-60. + </p> + <p> + MONK'S DICTATORSHIP, THE RESTORED LONG PARLIAMENT, AND THE + RESTORATION. + </p> + <p> + <i>BIOGRAPHY:</i>—MILTON'S LIFE AND SECRETARYSHIP THROUGH + RICHARD'S PROTECTORATE, THE ANARCHY, AND MONK'S DICTATORSHIP. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#Cc1s1">CHAP. I. FIRST SECTION.</a> The Protectorate of + Richard Cromwell: Sept. 3, 1858—May 25, + 1659.—Proclamation of Richard: Hearty Response from the + Country and from Foreign Powers: Funeral of the late Protector: + Resolution for a New Parliament.—Difficulties in Prospect: + List of the most Conspicuous Props and Assessors of the New + Protectorate: Monk's Advice to Richard: Union of the Cromwellians + against Charles Stuart: Their Split among themselves into the + Court or Dynastic Party and the Army or Wallingford-House Party: + Chiefs of the Two Parties: Richard's Preference for the Court + Party, and his Speech to the Army Officers: Backing of the Army + Party towards Republicanism or Anti-Oliverianism: Henry + Cromwell's Letter of Rebuke to Fleetwood: Differences of the Two + Parties as to Foreign Policy: The French Alliance and the War + with Spain: Relations to the King of Sweden.—Meeting of + Richard's Parliament (Jan. 27, 1658-9): The Two Houses: Eminent + Members of the Commons: Richard's Opening Speech: Thurloe the + Leader for Government in the Commons: Recognition of the + Protectorship and of the Other House, and General Triumph of the + Government Party: Miscellaneous Proceedings of the + Parliament.—Dissatisfaction of the Army Party: Their Closer + Connexion with the Republicans: New Convention of Officers at + Wallingford-House: Desborough's Speech; The Convention forbidden + by the Parliament and dissolved by Richard: Whitehall surrounded + by the Army, and Richard compelled to dissolve the + Parliament.—Responsible Position of Fleetwood, Desborough, + Lambert, and the other Army Chiefs: Bankrupt State of the + Finances: Necessity for some kind of Parliament: Phrenzy for "The + Good Old Cause" and Demand for the Restoration of the Rump: + Acquiescence of the Army Chiefs: Lenthall's Objections: First + Fortnight of the Restored Rump: Lingering of Richard in + Whitehall: His Enforced Abdication. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#Cc1s2">CHAP. I. SECOND SECTION.</a> The Anarchy, Stage + I.: or The Restored Rump: May 25, 1659-Oct. 13, + 1659.—Number of the Restored Rumpers and List of them: + Council of State of the Restored Rump: Anomalous Character and + Position of the New Government: Momentary Chance of a Civil War + between the Cromwellians and the Rumpers: Chance averted by the + Acquiescence of the Leading Cromwellians: Behaviour of Richard + Cromwell, Monk, Henry Cromwell, Lockhart, and Thurloe, + individually: Baulked Cromwellianism becomes Potential Royalism: + Energetic Proceedings of the Restored Rump: Their Ecclesiastical + Policy and their Foreign Policy: Treaty between France and Spain: + Lockhart at the Scene of the Negotiations as Ambassador for the + Rump: Remodelling and Reofficering of the Army, Navy, and + Militia: Confederacy of Old and New Royalists for a Simultaneous + Rising: Actual Rising under Sir George Booth in Cheshire: Lambert + sent to quell the Insurrection: Peculiar Intrigues round Monk at + Dalkeith: Sir George Booth's Insurrection crushed: Exultation of + the Rump and Action taken against the Chief Insurgents and their + Associates: Question of the future Constitution of the + Commonwealth: Chaos of Opinions and Proposals: James Harrington + and his Political Theories: The Harrington or Rota Club: + Discontents in the Army: Petition, and Proposals of the Officers + of Lambert's Brigade: Severe Notice of the same by the Rump: + Petition and Proposals of the General Council of Officers: + Resolute Answers of the Rump: Lambert, Desborough, and Seven + other Officers, cashiered: Lambert's Retaliation and Stoppage of + the Parliament. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#Cc1s2c1">CHAP. I. SECOND SECTION (continued).</a> The + Anarchy, Stage II.: or The Wallingford-House Interregnum: Oct. + 13, 1659-Dec. 26, 1659.—The Wallingford-House Government: + Its <i>Committee of Safety</i>: Behaviour of Ludlow and other + Leading Republicans: Death of + Bradshaw.—Army—Arrangements of the New Government: + Fleetwood, Lambert, and Desborough, the Military Chiefs: Declared + Championship of the Rump by Monk in Scotland: Negotiations opened + with Monk, and Lambert sent north to oppose him: Monk's Mock + Treaty with Lambert and the Wallingford-House Government through + Commissioners in London: His Preparations meanwhile in Scotland: + His Advance from Edinburgh to Berwick: Monk's Army and + Lambert's.—Foreign Relations of the Wallingford-House + Government: Treaty between France and Spain: Lockhart: Charles + II. at Fontarabia: Gradual Improvement of his Chances in + England.—Discussions of the Wallingford-House Government as + to the future Constitution of the Commonwealth: The Vane Party + and the Whitlocke Party in these Discussions: Johnstone of + Warriston, the Harringtonians, and Ludlow: Attempted + Conclusions.—Monk at Coldstream: Universal Whirl of Opinion + in favour of him and the Rump: Utter Discredit of the + Wallingford-House Rule in London: Vacillation and Collapse of + Fleetwood: The Rump Restored a second time. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#Cc1s2c2">CHAP. I. SECOND SECTION (continued).</a> The + Anarchy, Stage III.: or Second Restoration of the Rump, with + Monk's March from Scotland: Dec. 26, 1659-Feb. 21, + 1659.—The Rump after its Second Restoration: New Council of + State: Penalties on Vane, Lambert, Desborough, and the other + Chiefs of the Wallingford-House Interregnum: Case of Ludlow: New + Army Remodelling: Abatement of Republican Fervency among the + Rumpers: Dispersion of Lambert's Force in the North: Monk's March + from Scotland: Stages and Incidents of the March: His Halt at St. + Alban's and Message thence to the Rump: His Nearer View of the + Situation: His Entry into London, Feb. 3, 1659-60: His Ambiguous + Speech to the Rump, Feb. 6: His Popularity in London: Pamphlets + and Letters during his March and on his Arrival: Prynne's + pamphlets on behalf of the Secluded Members: Tumult in the City: + Tumult suppressed by Monk as Servant of the Rump: His Popularity + gone: Blunder retrieved by Monk's Reconciliation with the City + and Declaration against the Rump: <i>Roasting of the Rump in + London</i>, Feb. 11, 1659-60: Monk Master of the City and of the + Rump too; Consultations with the Secluded Members: Bill of the + Rump for Enlarging itself by New Elections; Bill set aside by the + Reseating of the Secluded Members: Reconstitution of the Long + Parliament under Monk's Dictatorship. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#Cc1s3">CHAP. I. THIRD SECTION.</a> Monk's Dictatorship, + the Restored Long Parliament, and the Drift to the Restoration: + Feb. 21, 1659-60—April 25, 1660.—The Restored Long + Parliament: New Council of State: Active Men of the Parliament: + Prynne, Arthur Annesley, and William Morrice: Miscellaneous + Proceedings of the Parliament: Release of old Royalist Prisoners: + Lambert committed to the Tower: Rewards and Honours for Monk: + "Old George" in the City: Revival of the Solemn League and + Covenant, the Westminster Confession of Faith, and all the + Apparatus of a Strict Presbyterian Church-Establishment: Cautious + Measures for a Political Settlement: The Real Question evaded and + handed over to another Parliament: Calling of the Convention + Parliament and Arrangements for the Same: Difficulty about a + House of Lords: How obviated: Last Day of the Long Parliament, + March 16, 1659-60: Scene in the House.—Monk and the Council + of State left in charge: Annesley the Managing Colleague of Monk: + New Militia Act carried out: Discontents among Monk's Officers + and Soldiers: The Restoration of Charles still very dubious: + Other Hopes and Proposals for the moment: The Kingship privately + offered to Monk by the Republicans: Offer declined: Bursting of + the Popular Torrent of Royalism at last, and Enthusiastic Demands + for the Recall of Charles: Elections to the Convention Parliament + going on meanwhile: Haste of hundreds to be foremost in bidding + Charles welcome: Admiral Montague and his Fleet in the Thames: + Direct Communications at last between Monk and Charles: + Greenville the Go-between: Removal of Charles and his Court from + Brussels to Breda: Greenville sent back from Breda with a + Commission for Monk and Six other + Documents.—Broken-spiritedness of the Republican Leaders, + but formidable Residue of Republicanism in the Army: Monk's + Measures for Paralysing the same: Successful Device of Charges; + Montague's Fleet in Motion: Escape of Lambert from the Tower: His + Rendezvous in Northamptonshire: Gathering of a Wreck of the + Republicans round him: Dick Ingoldsby sent to crush him: The + Encounter near Daventry, April 22, 1660, and Recapture of + Lambert: Great Review of the London Militia, April 24, the day + before the Meeting of the Convention Parliament: Impatient + longing for Charles: Monk still impenetrable, and the Documents + from Breda reserved. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#Cc2s1">CHAP. II. FIRST SECTION.</a> Milton's Life and + Secretaryship through Richard's Protectorate: Sept. 1658-May + 1659.—Milton and Marvell still in the Latin Secretaryship: + Milton's first Five State-Letters for Richard (Nos. + CXXXIII.-CXXXVII.): New Edition of Milton's <i>Defensio + Prima</i>: Remarkable Postscript to that Edition: Six more + State-Letters for Richard (Nos. CXXXVIII.-CXLIII.): Milton's + Relations to the Conflict of Parties round Richard and in + Richard's Parliament: His probable Career but for his Blindness: + His continued Cromwellianism in Politics, but with stronger + private Reserves, especially on the Question of an Established + Church: His Reputation that of a man of the Court-Party among the + Protectoratists: His <i>Treatise of Civil Power in Ecclesiastical + Causes</i>: Account of the Treatise, with Extracts: The Treatise + more than a Plea for Religious Toleration: + Church-Disestablishment the Fundamental Idea: The Treatise + addressed to Richard's Parliament, and chiefly to Vane and the + Republicans there: No Effect from it: Milton's Four last + State-Letters for Richard (Nos. CXLIV.-CXLVII.): His Private + Epistle to Jean Labadie, with Account of that Person: Milton in + the month between Richard's Dissolution of his Parliament and his + formal Abdication: His Two State-Letters for the Restored Rump + (Nos. CXLVIII.-CXLIX.) + </p> + <p> + <a href="#Cc2s2">CHAP. II. SECOND SECTION.</a> Milton's Life and + Secretaryship through the Anarchy: May 1659—Feb. + 1659-60.—<i>First Stage of the Anarchy, or The Restored + Rump</i> (May—Oct. 1659):—Feelings and Position of + Milton in the new State of Things: His Satisfaction on the whole, + and the Reasons for it: Letter of Moses Wall to Milton: Renewed + Agitation against Tithes and Church Establishment: Votes on that + Subject in the Rump: Milton's <i>Considerations touching the + Likeliest Means to remove Hirelings out of the Church</i>: + Account of the Pamphlet, with Extracts: Its thorough-going + Voluntaryism: Church-Disestablishment demanded absolutely, + without Compensation for Vested Interests: The Appeal fruitless, + and the Subject ignored by the Rump: Dispersion of that Body by + Lambert.—<i>Second Stage of the Anarchy, or The + Wallingford-House Interruption</i> (Oct.-Dec. + 1659):—Milton's Thoughts on Lambert's coup d'etat in his + <i>Letter to a Friend concerning the Ruptures of the + Commonwealth</i>: The Letter in the main against Lambert and in + Defence of the Rump: Its extraordinary practical Proposal of a + Government by two Permanent Central Bodies: The Proposal compared + with the actual Administration by the <i>Committee of Safety</i> + and the Wallingford-House Council of Officers: Milton still + nominally in the Latin Secretaryship: Money Warrant of Oct. 25, + 1659, relating to Milton, Marvell, and Eighty-four other + Officials: No Trace of actual Service by Milton for the new + <i>Committee of Safety</i>: His Meditations through the Treaty + between the Wallingford-House Government and Monk in Scotland: + His Meditations through the Committee-Discussions as to the + future Model of Government; His Interest in this as now the + Paramount Question, and his Cognisance of the Models of + Harrirgton and the Rota Club: Whitlocke's new Constitution + disappointing to Milton: Two more Letters to Oldenburg and Young + Ranelagh: Gossip from abroad in connection with these Letters: + Morns again, and the Council of French Protestants at Londun: End + of the Wallingford-House Interruption.—<i>Third Stage of + ike Anarchy, or The Second Restoration of the Rump</i> (Dec. + 1659-Feb. 1659-60):—Milton's Despondency at this Period: + Abatement of his Faith in the Rump: His Thoughts during the March + of Monk from Scotland and after Monk's Arrival in London: His + Study of Monk near at hand and Mistrust of the Omens: His + Interest for a while in the Question of the Preconstitution of + the new Parliament promised by the Rump: His Anxiety that it + should be a Republican Parliament by mere Self-enlargement of the + Rump: His Preparation of a new Republican Pamphlet: The + Publication postponed by Monk's sudden Defection from the Rump, + the Roasting of the Rump in the City, and the Restoration of the + Secluded Members to their places in the Parliament: Milton's + Despondency complete. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#Cc2s3">CHAP. II. THIRD SECTION.</a> Milton through + Monk's Dictatorship: Feb. 1659-60—May 1660.—First + Edition of Milton's <i>Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free + Commonwealth</i>: Account of the Pamphlet, with Extracts: + Vehement Republicanism of the Pamphlet, with its Prophetic + Warnings: Peculiar Central Idea of the Pamphlet, viz. the Project + of a Grand Council or Parliament to sit in Perpetuity, with a + Council of State for its Executive: Passages expounding this + Idea: Additional Suggestion of Local and County Councils or + Committees: Daring Peroration of the Pamphlet: Milton's + Recapitulation of the Substance of it in a short Private Letter + to Monk entitled <i>Present Means and Brief Delineation of a Free + Commonwealth</i>: Wide Circulation of Milton's Pamphlet: The + Response by Monk and the Parliament of the Secluded Members in + their Proceedings of the next fortnight: Dissolution of the + Parliament after Arrangements for its Successor: Royalist Squib + predicting Milton's speedy Acquaintance with the Hangman at + Tyburn: Another Squib against Milton, called <i>The Censure of + the Rota upon Mr. Milton's Book</i>: Specimens of this Burlesque: + Republican Appeal to Monk, called <i>Plain English</i>: Reply to + the same, with another attack on Milton: Popular Torrent of + Royalism during the forty days of Interval between the Parliament + of the Secluded Members and the Convention Parliament (March 16, + 1659-60—April 25, 1660): Caution of Monk and the Council of + State: Dr. Matthew Griffith and his Royalist Sermon, <i>The Fear + of God and the King</i>: Griffith imprisoned for his Sermon, but + forward Republicans checked or punished at the same time: Needham + discharged from his Editorship and Milton from his Secretaryship: + Resoluteness of Milton in his Republicanism: His <i>Brief Notes + on Dr. Griffith's Sermon</i>: Second Edition of his <i>Ready and + Easy Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth</i>: Remarkable + Additions and Enlargements in this Edition: Specimens of these: + Milton and Lambert the last Republicans in the field: Roger + L'Estrange's Pamphlet against Milton, called <i>No Blind + Guides</i>: Larger Attack on Milton by G. S., called <i>The + Dignity of Kingship Asserted</i>: Quotations from that Book; + Meeting of the Convention Parliament, April 25, 1660: Delivery by + Greenville of the Six Royal Letters from Breda, April 28-May 1, + and Votes of both Houses for the Recall of Charles: Incidents of + the following Week: Mad impatience over the Three Kingdoms for + the King's Return: He and his Court at the Hague, preparing for + the Voyage home: Panic among the surviving Regicides and other + prominent Republicans: Flight of Needham to Holland and + Absconding of Milton from his house in Petty France: Last Sight + of Milton in that house. + </p> + <hr /> + <h3> + BOOK I. + </h3> + <h4> + SEPTEMBER 1654—JUNE 1657. + </h4> + <h4> + <i>HISTORY</i>:—OLIVER'S FIRST PROTECTORATE CONTINUED. + </h4> + <h4> + <i>BIOGRAPHY</i>:—MILTON'S LIFE AND SECRETARYSHIP THROUGH + THE FIRST PROTECTORATE CONTINUED. + </h4> + <hr /> + <h1> + THE LIFE OF JOHN MILTON, + </h1> + <h4> + WITH THE + </h4> + <h3> + HISTORY OF HIS TIME. + </h3> + <hr /> + <h2> + <a name="Ac1s1" id="Ac1s1">CHAPTER I.</a> + </h2> + <h3> + OLIVER'S FIRST PROTECTORATE CONTINUED: SEPT. 3, 1654-JUNE 26, + 1657. + </h3> + <p> + Oliver's First Protectorate extended over three years and six + months in all, or from December 16, 1653 to June 26, 1657. The + first nine months of it, as far as to September 1654, have been + already sketched; and what remains divides itself very distinctly + into three Sections, as follows:— + </p> + <p> + Section I:—<i>From Sept.</i> 3, 1654 <i>to Jan.</i> 22, + 1654-5. This Section, comprehending four months and a half, may + be entitled OLIVER AND HIS FIRST PARLIAMENT. + </p> + <p> + Section II:—<i>From Jan.</i> 22, 1654-5 <i>to Sept.</i> 17, + 1656. This Section, comprehending twenty months, may be entitled + BETWEEN THE PARLIAMENTS, OR THE TIME OF ARBITRARINESS. + </p> + <p> + Section III:—<i>From Sept.</i> 17, 1656 <i>to June</i> 26, + 1657. This Section, comprehending nine months, may be entitled + OLIVER AND THE FIRST SESSION OF HIS SECOND PARLIAMENT. + </p> + <p> + We map out the present chapter accordingly. + </p> + <h3> + SECTION I. + </h3> + <h3> + OLIVER AND HIS FIRST PARLIAMENT: SEPT, 3, 1654-JAN. 22, 1654-5. + </h3> + <p> + MEETING OF THE FIRST PARLIAMENT OF THE PROTECTORATE: ITS + COMPOSITION: ANTI-OLIVERIANS NUMEROUS IN IT: THEIR FOUR DAYS' + DEBATE IN CHALLENGE OF CROMWELL'S POWERS: DEBATE STOPPED BY + CROMWELL: HIS SPEECH IN THE PAINTED CHAMBER: SECESSION OF SOME + FROM THE PARLIAMENT: ACQUIESCENCE OF THE REST BY ADOPTION OF + <i>THE RECOGNITION</i>: SPIRIT AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE PARLIAMENT + STILL MAINLY ANTI-OLIVERIAN: THEIR FOUR MONTHS' WORK IN REVISION + OF THE PROTECTORAL CONSTITUTION: CHIEF DEBATES IN THOSE FOUR + MONTHS: QUESTION OF THE PROTECTOR'S NEGATIVES: OTHER INCIDENTAL + WORK OF THE PARLIAMENT: QUESTION OF RELIGIOUS TOLERATION AND OF + THE SUPPRESSION OF HERESIES AND BLASPHEMIES: COMMITTEE AND + SUB-COMMITTEE ON THIS SUBJECT: BAXTER'S PARTICIPATION: TENDENCY + TO A LIMITED TOLERATION ONLY, AND VOTE AGAINST THE PROTECTOR'S + PREROGATIVE OF MORE: CASE OF JOHN RIDDLE, THE + SOCINIAN.—INSUFFICIENCY NOW OF OUR FORMER SYNOPSIS OF + ENGLISH SECTS AND HERESIES: NEW SECTS AND DENOMINATIONS: THE + FIFTH-MONARCHY MEN: THE RANTERS: THE MUGGLETONIANS AND OTHER + STRAY FANATICS: BOEHMENISTS AND OTHER MYSTICS: THE QUAKERS OR + FRIENDS: ACCOUNT OF GEORGE FOX, AND SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF THE + QUAKERS TO THE YEAR 1654.—POLICY OF THE PARLIAMENT WITH + THEIR BILL FOR A NEW CONSTITUTION: PARLIAMENT OUTWITTED BY + CROMWELL AND DISSOLVED: NO RESULT. + </p> + <p> + Before the 3rd of September, 1654, the day fixed by the + Constitutional Instrument for the meeting of the First Parliament + of the Protectorate, the 460 newly elected members, or the major + part of them, had flocked to Westminster. They were a gathering + of the most representative men of all the three nations that + could be regarded as in any sense adherents of the Commonwealth. + All the Council of State, except the Earl of Mulgrave and Lord + Lisle, had been returned, some of them by two or three different + constituencies. Secretary Thurloe had been returned; Cromwell's + two sons, Richard and Henry, had been returned, Henry as member + for Cambridge University; several gentlemen holding posts in his + Highness's household had been returned. Of the old English peers, + there had been returned the Earl of Salisbury, the Earl of + Stamford, and Lord Dacres; and of the titular nobility there were + Lord Herbert, Lord Eure, Lord Grey of Groby, and the great + Fairfax. Among men of Parliamentary fame already were ex-Speaker + Lenthall, Whitlocke, Sir Walter Earle, Dennis Bond, Sir Henry + Vane <i>Senior</i>, Sir Arthur Hasilrig, Thomas Scott, William + Ashurst, Sir James Harrington, John Carew, Robert Wallop, and Sir + Thomas Widdrington; and of Army or Navy men, of former + Parliamentary experience or not, there were Colonels Whalley, + Robert Lilburne, Barkstead, Harvey, Stapley, Purefoy, Admiral + Blake, and ex-Major-General Harrison. Some of these had been + returned by two constituencies. Bradshaw was a member, with two + of the Judges, Hale and Thorpe, and ex-Judge Glynne. Lawyers + besides were not wanting; and Dr. Owen, though a divine, + represented Oxford University. One missed chiefly, among old + names, those of Sir Henry Vane <i>Junior</i>, Henry Marten, + Selden, Algernon Sidney, and Ludlow; but there were many new + faces. Among the thirty members sent from Scotland were the Earl + of Linlithgow, Sir Alexander Wedderburn, Colonel William + Lockhart, the Laird of Swinton, and the English Colonels Okey and + Read. Ireland had also returned military Englishmen in + Major-General Hardress Waller, Colonels Hewson, Sadler, Axtell, + Venables, and Jephson, with Lord Broghill, Sir Charles Coote, Sir + John Temple, Sir Robert King, and others, describable as Irish or + Anglo-Irish.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Complete list gives in Parl. Hist, III. 1428-1433. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The 3rd of September, selected as Cromwell's "Fortunate Day," + chancing to be a Sunday, the Parliament had only a brief meeting + with him that day, in the Painted Chamber, after service in the + Abbey, and his opening speech was deferred till next day, On + Monday, accordingly, it was duly given, but not till after + another sermon in the Abbey, preached by Thomas Goodwin, in which + Cromwell found much that he liked. It was a political sermon, on + "Israel's bringing-out of Egypt, through a Wilderness, by many + signs and wonders, towards a Place of Rest,"—Egypt + interpreted as old Prelacy and the Stuart role in England, the + Wilderness as all the intermediate course of the English + Revolution, and the Place of Rest as the Protectorate or what it + might lead to. Goodwill seems to have described with special + reprobation that latest part of the Wilderness in which the cry + had arisen for sheer Levelling in the State and sheer + Voluntaryism in the Church; and Cromwell, starting in that key + himself, addressed the Parliament, with noble earnestness, in + what would now be called a highly "conservative" speech. Glancing + back to the Barebones Parliament and beyond, he sketched, the + proceedings of himself and the Council and the great successes of + the Commonwealth during the intervening eight months and a half, + and hopefully committed to the Parliament the further charge of + Order and Settlement throughout the three nations, Then he + withdrew. That same day they chose Lenthall for their Speaker, + and Scobell for their Clerk.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Cromwell's Second Speech (Carlyle, III. 16-37); Commons + Journals of dates. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Cromwell's hopes were blasted. The political division of the + population of the British Islands was now into OLIVERIANS, + REPUBLICAN IRRECONCILABLES, PRESBYTERIANS, and STUARTISTS, the + two last denominations hardly separable by any clear line, Now, + in this new Parliament, though there were many staunch + Oliverians, and no avowed Stuartists, the Republican + Irreconcilables and the Presbyterians together formed a majority. + They needed only to coalesce, and the Parliament called by + Oliver's own writs would be an Anti-Oliverian Parliament. And + this is what happened. + </p> + <p> + No sooner was the House constituted, with about 320 members + present out of the total 460, than it proposed for its first + business what was called "The Matter of the Government"; by which + was meant a review of that document of forty-two Articles, called + the <i>Government of the Commonwealth</i>, which was the + constitutional basis of the Protectorate. On Thursday, Sept. 7, + accordingly, they addressed themselves to the vital question of + the whole document as propounded in the first of the Articles. + "Whether the House shall approve that the Government shall be in + one Single Person and a Parliament": such was the debate that day + in Grand Committee, after a division on the previous question + whether they should go into Committee. On this previous question + 136 had voted <i>No</i>, with Sir Charles Wolseley and Mr. + Strickland (two of the Council of State) for their tellers, but + 141 had voted <i>Yea</i>, with Bradshaw and Colonel Birch for + their tellers. In other words, it had been carried by a majority + of five that it fell within the province of the House to + determine whether the Single-Person element in the Government of + the Commonwealth, already introduced somehow as a matter of fact, + should be continued. On this subject the House debated through + the rest of that sitting, and the whole of the next, and the + next, and the next,—i.e. till Monday, Sept 11. Bradshaw, + Hasilrig, and Scott took the lead for the Republicans, not that + they hoped to unseat Cromwell, but that they wanted to assert the + paramount authority of Parliament, and convert the existing + Protectorship into a derivative from the House then sitting. + Lawrence, Wolseley, Strickland, and others of the Council of + State, describable as the ministerial members, maintained the + existing constitution of the Protectorate, and pointed out the + dangers that would arise from plucking up a good practical basis + for mere reasons of theory. Matthew Hale interposed at last with + a middle motion, substantially embodying the Republican view, but + affirming the Protectorship at once, and reserving qualification. + All in all, there was great excitement, much confusion, and an + outbreak from some members of very violent language about + Cromwell.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates: Parl. Hist. III. 1445; Godwin, + IV. 116-125. + </p> + </div> + <p> + What might have been the issue had a vote come on can only be + guessed. Things were not allowed to go that length. On Tuesday, + Sept, 12, the members, going to the House, found the doors + locked, soldiers in and around Westminster Hall, and a summons + from the Lord Protector to meet him again in the Painted Chamber. + Having assembled there, they listened to Cromwell's "Third + Speech." It is one of the most powerful of all his speeches. It + began with a long review of his life in general and the steps by + which he had recently been brought to the Protectorship. It + proceeded then to a recitation of what he called "the witnesses" + to his Government, or proofs of its validity—the Witness + <i>above</i>, or God's manifest Providence in leading him to + where he was; the Witness <i>within</i>, or his own consciousness + of integrity; and the Witnesses <i>without</i>, or testimonies of + confidence he had received from the Army, the Judges, the City of + London, other cities, counties and boroughs, and public bodies of + all sorts. "I believe," he said, "that, if the learnedest men in + this nation were called to show a precedent, equally clear, of a + Government so many ways approved of, they would not in all their + search, find it." Then, coming to the point, he asked what right + the present Parliament had to come after all those witnesses and + challenge his authority. Had they not been elected under writs + issued by him, in which writs it was expressly inserted, by + regulation of Article XII. of the Constitutional Instrument of + the Protectorate, "That the persons elected shall not have power + to alter the Government as it is hereby settled in one Single + Person and a Parliament"? On this point he was very emphatic. + "That <i>your</i> judgments, who are persons sent from all parts + of the nation under the notion of approving this + Government—for <i>you</i> to disown or not to own it; for + <i>you</i> to act with Parliamentary authority especially in the + disowning of it, contrary to the very fundamental things, yea + against the very root of this Establishment; to sit and not own + the Authority by which you sit:—is that which I believe + astonisheth more men than myself." A revision of the Constitution + of the Protectorate in <i>circumstantials</i> he would not object + to, but the <i>fundamentals</i> must be left untouched. And let + those hearing him be under no mistake as to his own resolution. + "The wilful throwing away of this Government, such as it is, so + owned of God, so approved by men, so witnessed to in the + fundamentals of it as was mentioned above, were a thing + which,—and in reference not to <i>my</i> good, but to the + good of these Nations and Posterity,—I can sooner be + willing to be rolled into my grave, and buried with infamy, than + I can give my consent unto." He had therefore called them now + that they might come to an understanding. There was a written + parchment in the lobby of the Parliament House to which he + requested the signatures of such as might see fit. The doors of + the Parliament House would then be open for all such, to proceed + thenceforth as a free Parliament in all things, subject to the + single condition expressed in that parchment. "You have an + absolute Legislative Power in all things that can possibly + concern the good and interest of the public; and I think you may + make these Nations happy by this settlement." With so much great + work before them, with the three nations looking on in hope, with + foreign nations looking on with wonder or worse feelings, had + they not a great responsibility?<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Carlyle's Cromwell, III. 37-61. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Bradshaw, Hasilrig, and others, would not sign the document + offered them, which was a brief engagement "to be true and + faithful to the Lord Protector and the Commonwealth," and not to + propose alteration of the Government as "settled in a single + Person and a Parliament." The Parliament, therefore, lost these + leaders; but within an hour "The Recognition," as it came to be + called, was signed by a hundred members, and the number was + raised to 140 before the day was over, and ultimately to about + 300. And so, with this goodly number, the House went on. But the + Anti-Oliverian leaven was still strong in it. This appeared even + in the immediate dealings of the House with the Recognition + itself. They first (Sept, 14) declared that it should not be + construed to comprehend the whole Constitutional Instrument of + the Protectorate, but only the main principle of the first + Article; and then (Sept. 18) they converted the Recognition into + a resolution of their own, requiring all members to sign it, + Next, in order to get rid of the stumbling-block of the First + Article altogether, they resolved (Sept. 19) that the Supreme + Legislative authority was and did reside in "One Person and the + People assembled in Parliament," and also (Sept. 20) that Oliver + Cromwell was and should he Lord Protector for life, and that + there should be Triennial Parliaments. Thus free to advance + through the rest of the Forty-two Articles at their leisure, they + made that thenceforward almost their sole work. Through the rest + of September, the whole of October, and part of November, the + business went on in Committee, with the result of a new and more + detailed Constitution of the whole Government in sixty Articles + instead of the Forty-two. A Bill for enacting this Constitution, + passed the first reading on the 22nd of December, and the second + on the 23rd; it then went back into Committee for amendments; and + in January 1654-5 the House was debating these amendments and + others.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates given and of Nov. 7, and Godwin, + IV, 130-132. + </p> + </div> + <p> + In the long course of the total debate perhaps the most + interesting divisions had been one in Committee on October 16, + and one in the House on November 10. In the first the question + was whether the Protectorship should be hereditary, and it had + been carried by 200 votes to 60 that it should <i>not</i>. This + was not strictly an Anti-Oliverian demonstration; for, though + Lambert was the mover for a hereditary Protectorship in + Cromwell's family, many of the undoubted Oliverians voted in the + majority, nor does there seem to be any proof that Lambert had + acted by direct authority from Cromwell. More distinctly an + Anti-Oliverian vote had been that of Nov. 10, which was on a + question of deep interest to Cromwell: viz. the amount of his + prerogative in the form of a negative on Bills trenching on + fundamentals. In his last speech he had himself indicated these + "fundamentals," which ought to be safe against attack even by + Parliament—one of them being Liberty of Conscience, another + the Control of the Militia as belonging to the Protector <i>in + conjunction with</i> the Parliament, and a third the provision, + that every Parliament should sit but for a fixed period. In all + other matters he was content with a negative for twenty days + only; but on bills trenching on these fundamentals he required a + negative absolutely. The question had come to the vote in a very + subtle form. The motion of the Opposition was that Bills should + become Law without the Protector's consent after twenty days, + "provided that such Bills contain nothing in them contrary to + such matters wherein the Parliament shall think fit to give a + negative to the Lord Protector," while the amendment of the + Oliverians or Court-party altered the wording into "wherein the + Single Person and the Parliament shall declare a negative to be + in the Single Person," thus giving Cromwell himself, and not the + Parliament only, a right of deciding where a negative should lie. + On this question the Oliverians were beaten by 109 votes to 85, + and the decision would probably have caused a rupture had not the + Opposition conceded a good deal when they went on to settle the + matters wherein Parliament <i>would</i> grant the Protector a + negative.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Journals of dates and Godwin, IV. 134-139. + </p> + </div> + <p> + As we have said, almost the sole occupation of the Parliament was + this revision of the flooring on which itself and the + Protectorate stood. They did, however, some little pieces of work + besides. They undertook a revision of the Ordinances that had + been passed by the Protector and his Council, and also of the + Acts of the Barebones Parliament; and they proposed Bills of + their own to supersede some of these,—especially a new Bill + for the Ejection of Scandalous Ministers, and a new Bill for + Reform of the Court of Chancery. But of all the incidental work + undertaken by this Parliament none seems to have been undertaken + with so much gusto as that which consisted in efforts for the + suppression of Heresy and Blasphemy. Here was the natural outcome + of the Presbyterianism with which the Parliament was charged, and + here also the Parliament was very vexatious to the soul of the + Lord-Protector. + </p> + <p> + After all, this portion of the work of the Parliament can hardly + be called incidental. It was part and parcel of their main work + of revising the Constitution, and it was inter-wrought with the + question of Cromwell's negatives. Article XXXVII. of the original + Instrument of the Protectorate had guaranteed liberty of worship + and of preaching outside the Established Church to "such as + profess faith in Jesus Christ," and Cromwell, in his last speech, + had noted this as one of the "fundamentals" he was bound to + preserve. How did the Parliament meet the difficulty? Very + ingeniously. They said that the phrase "such as profess faith in + Jesus Christ" was a vague phrase, requiring definition; and, the + whole House having formed itself into a Committee for Religion, + and this Committee having appointed a working sub-Committee of + about fourteen, the sub-Committee was empowered to take steps for + coming to a definition. Naturally enough, in such a matter, the + sub-Committee wanted clerical advice; and, each member of the + sub-Committee having nominated one divine, there was a small + Westminster Assembly over again to illuminate Parliament on the + dark subject. Dr. Owen and Dr. Goodwin were there, with Nye, + Sidrach Simpson, Stephen Marshall, Mr. Vines, Mr. Manton, and + others. Mr. Richard Baxter had the honour of being one, having + been asked to undertake the duty by Lord Breghill, when the + venerable ex-Primate Usher had declined it; and it is from Baxter + that we have the fullest account of the proceedings. When he came + to town from Kidderminster, he found the rest of the divines + already busy in drawing up a list of "fundamentals of faith," the + profession of which was to be the necessary title to the + toleration promised. Knowing "how ticklish a business the + enumeration of fundamentals was," Baxter tried, he says, to stop + that method, and suggested that acceptance of the Creed, the + Lord's P[r]ayer, and the Decalogue would be a sufficient test. + This did not please the others; Baxter almost lost his character + for orthodoxy by his proposal; Dr. Owen, in particular, forgetful + of his own past, was now bull-mad for the "fundamentals." They + were drawn out at last, either sixteen or twenty of them in all, + and handed to Parliament through the sub-Committee. Thus + illuminated, Parliament, after a debate extending over six days + (Dec. 4-15, 1654), discharged its mind fully on the Toleration + Question. They resolved that there should certainly be a + toleration for tender consciences outside the Established Church, + but that it should not extend to "Atheism, Blasphemy, damnable + Heresies to be particularly enumerated by this Parliament, + Popery, Prelacy, Licentiousness or Profaneness," nor yet to "such + as shall preach, print, or avowedly maintain anything contrary to + the fundamental principles of Doctrine held forth in the public + profession,"—said "fundamental principles" being the + "fundamentals" of Dr. Owen and his friends, so far as the House + should see fit to pass them. They were already in print, with the + Scriptural proofs, for the use of members, and the first of them + <i>was</i> passed the same day. It was "That the Holy Scripture + is that rule of knowing God, and living unto Him, which whoso + does not believe cannot be saved." The others would come in time. + Meanwhile it was involved in the Resolution of the House that the + Protector himself should have no veto on any Bills for + restraining or punishing Atheists, Blasphemers, damnable + Heretics, Papists, Prelatists, or deniers of any of the + forthcoming Christian fundamentals.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of days given; Neal, IV. 97-100; Baxter's + Life, 197-205. On this visit to town, Baxter had the honour to + preach before Cromwell, having never done so till then, "save + once long before when Cromwell was an inferior man among other + auditors." He had also the honour of two long interviews with + Cromwell, the first with one or two others present, the second + in full Council. They seem to have been reciprocally + disagreeable. On both occasions, according to Baxter, Cromwell + talked enormously for the most part "slowly" and "tediously" to + Baxter's taste, but with passionate outbreaks against the + Parliament. On the second occasion the topic was Liberty of + Conscience, and what was being done in the Subcommittee and by + the Divines on the subject. Baxter ventured to hint that he had + put his views on paper and that it might save time if his + Highness would read them. "He received the paper after, but I + scarce believe that he ever read it; for I saw that what he + learned must be from himself—being more disposed to speak + many hours than to hear one, and little heeding what another + said when he had spoken himself." Cromwell had made up his mind + about Baxter long ago (Vol. III. p. 386), but had apparently + now given him another trial, on the faith of his reputed + liberality on the Toleration question. But Baxter did not gain + upon him. + </p> + </div> + <p> + As if to show how much in earnest they were on this whole + subject, the House had at that moment the notorious + Anti-Trinitarian John Biddle in their custody. Since 1644, when + he was a schoolmaster in Gloucester, this mild man had been in + prison again and again for his opinions, and the wonder was that + the Presbyterians had not succeeded in bringing him to the + scaffold in 1648 under their tremendous Ordinance of that year. + His Socinian books were then known over England and even on the + Continent, and he would certainly have been the first capital + victim under the Ordinance if the Presbyterians had continued in + power. At large since 1651, he had been living rather quietly in + London, earning his subsistence as a Greek reader for the press, + but also preaching regularly on Sundays to a small Socinian + congregation. In accordance with the general policy of the + Government since Cromwell had become master, he had been left + unmolested. The orthodox had been on the watch, however, and + another Socinian book of Biddle's, called <i>A Two-fold + Catechism</i>, published in 1654, had given them the opportunity + they wanted. For this book Biddle had been arrested on the 12th + of December, and he had been brought before the House on his + knees and committed to prison on the 13th. The views which the + House were then formulating on the Limits of Toleration in the + abstract may be said therefore to have been illustrated over Mr. + Biddle's body in the concrete. His case came up again on the 15th + of January, when the House, after hearing with horror some + extracts from his books, ordered them to be burnt by the hangman, + and at the same time instructed a Committee to prepare a Bill for + punishing him. The punishment, if the Presbyterians could succeed + in falling back on their Parliamentary Ordinance of May 1648, was + to be death.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Wood's Ath. III. 593-598; Commons Journals of dates. + </p> + </div> + <p> + It was really of very great consequence to the Commonwealth of + the Protectorate what theory of Toleration should be adopted into + its Constitution, whether the Parliament's or Cromwell's. For the + ferment of religious and irreligious speculation of all kinds in + the three nations was now something prodigious, and there were + widely diffused denominations of dissent and heresy that had not + been in existence ten years before, when the Long Parliament and + the Westminster Assembly first discussed the Toleration Question. + Our synopsis of the English sects and Heresies of 1644 (Vol. III. + 143-159) is not, indeed, wholly out of date for 1654, but it + would require extensions and modifications to adjust it + accurately to the latter year. There had been the natural flux + and reflux of ideas during the intervening decade, the waning of + some sects and singularities that had no deep root, the + interblending of others, and new bursts in the teeming chaos. + <i>Atheists</i>, <i>Sceptics</i>, <i>Mortalists</i> or + <i>Materialists</i>, <i>Anti-Scripturists</i>, + <i>Anti-Trinitarians</i> or <i>Socinians</i>, <i>Arians</i>, + <i>Anti-Sabbatarians</i>, <i>Seekers</i>, and <i>Divorcers</i> or + <i>Miltonists</i>: all these terms were still in the vocabulary + of the orthodox, describing persons or bodies of persons of whose + opinions the Civil Magistrate was bound to take account. Sects, + on the other hand, that had been on the black list ten years ago + had now been admitted to respectability. <i>Baptists</i> or + <i>Anabaptists</i>, <i>Antinomians</i>, <i>Brownists</i>, nay + even INDEPENDENTS generally, had been regarded in 1644 as dark + and dangerous schismatics; but now, save in the private + colloquies or controversial tracts of Presbyterians, no feeling + of horror attached to those names. INDEPENDENTS, indeed, were now + the Lords of the Commonwealth, and <i>Anabaptists</i> and + <i>Antinomians</i> were in high places, so that the most orthodox + Presbyterians found themselves side by side with them in private + gatherings and committees. In the Established Church of the + Protectorate there was to be a comprehension of Presbyterians, + Independents, and such Baptists and other really Evangelical + Sectaries as might be willing; and, accordingly, the question of + mere Toleration outside the Established Church no longer + concerned the Evangelical sects lying immediately beyond ordinary + Independency. If, from objection to the principle of an + Establishment, they chose to remain outside, they would have + toleration there as a matter of course. To make up, however, for + this removal of so many of the old Sectaries from all practical + interest in the question on their own account, there were new + religious denominations of such strange ways and tendencies, such + unknown relations to anything hitherto recognised as Orthodoxy or + as Heresy, that the poor Civil Magistrate, or even the coolest + Abstract Tolerationist, in contemplating them, might well be + puzzled. The following is a list of the chief of these new Sects + that had sprung up since 1644:— + </p> + <p> + FIFTH-MONARCHY MEN:—At first sight this does not appear a + new sect, but merely a continuation of the old MILLENARIES or + CHILIASTS (Vol. III, pp. 152-153), who believed that the Personal + Reign of Christ on Earth for a thousand years was approaching. + The change of name, however, indicates greater precision in the + belief, and also greater intensity. According to the wild system + of Universal Chronology then in vogue, the past History of the + World, on this side of the Flood, had consisted of four great + successive Empires or Monarchies—the Assyrian, which ended + B.C. 531; the Persian, which ended B.C. 331; the Macedonian, or + Greek Empire of Alexander, which was made to stretch to B.C. 44; + and the Roman, which had begun B.C. 44, with the Accession of + Augustus Cæsar, and which had included, though people might not + see how, all that had happened on the Earth since then. But this + last Monarchy was tottering, and a Fifth Universal Monarchy was + at hand. It was that foreshadowed in Rev. xx.: "And I saw an + Angel come down from Heaven, having the key of the Bottomless Pit + and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the Dragon, + that great serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a + thousand years, and cast him into the Bottomless Pit, and shut + him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the + nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and + after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw Thrones, + and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I + saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of + Jesus, and for the worship of God, and which had not worshipped + the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon + their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned + with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not + again until the thousand years were finished." This prophecy was + the property of all Christians, and might receive different + interpretations. The literal interpretation, favoured by some + theologians, was that, at some date fast approaching, Christ + would reappear visibly on Earth, accompanied by the re-embodied + souls of dead saints and martyrs, while the rest of the dead + slept on, and that in the glorious reign of Righteousness and the + subjugation of all Evil thus begun for a thousand years men then + living, or the true saints among them, might partake. This + interpretation, though scouted by the more rational theologians, + had seized on many of the more fervid English Independents and + Sectaries, so that they had begun to see, in the great events of + their own time and land, the dazzling edge of the near + Millennium. The doctrine had caught the souls of Harrison and + other men of action, hitherto classed as Anabaptists or Seekers. + Now, so far there was no harm in it, nor could any of the + orthodox who rejected it for themselves dare to treat it as one + of the heresies to be restrained by the Civil Magistrate. + Evidently, however, there was a root of danger. What if the + Fifth-Monarchy men should make it part of their faith that the + saints could accelerate the Fifth Monarchy, and that it was their + duty to do so? Then their tenet might have strange practical + effects upon English politics. Already, in the time of the + Barebones Parliament, there had been warnings of this, the + Fifth-Monarchy men there, or outside the Parliament, having + distinguished themselves by an ultra-Republicanism which verged + on Communism, and also by their zeal for pure Voluntaryism in + Religion and the abolition of a paid Ministry and all express + Church machinery. The fact had not escaped Cromwell, and in his + speech at the opening of the present Parliament he had taken + notice of it. In that very speech he had singled out for remark + "the mistaken notion of the Fifth Monarchy." It was a notion, he + admitted, held by many good and sincere men; nay it was a notion + he honoured and could find a high meaning in. "But for men, on + this principle, to betitle themselves that they are the only men + to rule kingdoms, govern nations, and give laws to people, and + determine of property and liberty and everything else,—upon + such a pretension as this: truly they had need to give clear + manifestations of God's presence with them, before wise men will + receive or submit to their conclusions." If they were notions + only, he added, they were best left alone; for "notions will hurt + none but those who have them." But, when the notions were turned + into practice, and proposals were made for abrogation of Property + and Magistracy to smooth the way for the Fifth Monarchy, then one + must remember Jude's precept as to the mode of dealing with the + errors of good men. "Of some have compassion," Jude had said, + "making a difference; others save with fear, pulling them out of + the fire."<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Hearne's <i>Ductor Historicus</i>, 1714 (for the old + doctrine of the Four Monarchies); Thomason Pamphlets; Carlyle's + Cromwell, III. 24-27.—The Fifth Monarchy notion was by no + means an upstart oddity of thought among the English Puritans + of the seventeenth century. It was a tradition of the most + scholarly thought of mediæval theologians as to the duration + and final collapse of the existing Cosmos; and it may be traced + in the older imaginative literature of various European + nations. Thus the Scottish Sir David Lindsay's long poem + entitled <i>Monarchy, or Ane Dialogue betwix Experience and one + Courtier of the Miserable Estate of the World</i>, the date of + which is 1553, is a moralized sketch of the whole previous + history of the world, according to the then accepted doctrine + of the Four past Secular Monarchies, with a glance around at + the Europe of Lindsay's own time as already certainly in the + dregs of "The Latter Days," and an anticipation, as if with + assured personal belief, of a glorious Fifth Monarchy, or + miraculous reconstitution of the whole Universe into a new + Heaven and Earth, to begin probably about the year 2000. + </p> + </div> + <p> + RANTERS:—"These made it their business," says Baxter, "to + set up the Light of Nature under the name of <i>Christ in + Man</i>, and to dishonour and cry down the Church, the Scripture, + and the present Ministry, and our worship and ordinances; and + called men to hearken to Christ within them. But withal they + conjoined a cursed doctrine of Libertinism, which brought them to + all abominable filthiness of life. They taught, as the FAMILISTS, + (see Vol. III. p. 152), that God regardeth not the actions of the + outward man, but of the heart, and that to the pure all things + are pure ... I have seen myself letters written from Abington, + where among both soldiers and people this contagion did then + prevail, full of horrid oaths and curses and blasphemy, not fit + to be repeated by the tongue or pen of man; and this all uttered + as the effect of knowledge and a part of their Religion, in a + fanatic strain, and fathered on the Spirit of God." The Ranters, + in fact, seem to have been ANTINOMIANS (see Vol. III. 151-152) + run mad, with touches from FAMILISM and SEEKERISM greatly + vulgarized. Of no sect do we hear more in the pamphlets and + newspapers between 1650 and 1655, though there are traces of them + of earlier date. The pamphlets about them generally take the form + of professed accounts of some of their meetings, with reports of + their profane discourses and the indecencies with which they were + accompanied. There are illustrative wood-cuts in some of the + pamphlets; and, on the whole, I fancy that some low printers and + booksellers made a trade on the public curiosity about the + Ranters, getting up pretended accounts of their meetings as a + pretext for prurient publications. There is plenty of testimony, + however, besides Baxter's word, that there was a real sect of the + name pretty widely spread in low neighbourhoods in towns, and + holding meetings. Among Ranters named in the pamphlets I have + noticed a T. Shakespeare. "The horrid villainies of the sect," + says Baxter, "did not only speedily extinguish it, but also did + as much as ever anything did to disgrace all sectaries, and to + restore the credit of the ministry and the sober unanimous + Christians;" and this, or the transfusion of Ranterism into + equivalent phrenzies with other names, may account for the fact + that after a while the pamphlets about the Ranters cease or + become rare. Clearly, in the main, the regulation of such a sect, + so long as it did last, was a matter of police; and the only + question is whether there were any tenets mixed up with + Ranterism, or held by some roughly called Ranters, that were + capable of being dissociated, and that were in fact in some cases + dissociated, from offences against public decency. Exact data are + deficient, and there were probably varieties of Ranters + theologically. Pantheism, or the essential identity of God with + the universe, and his indwelling in every creature, angelic, + human, brute, or inorganic, seems to have been the belief of most + Ranters that could manage to rise to a metaphysics—with + which belief was conjoined also a rejection of all essential + distinction between good and evil, and a rejection of all + Scripture as mere dead letter; but from a so-called "Carol of the + Ranters" I infer that Atheism, or at least Mortalism or + Materialism (see Vol. III. p. 156-157), had found refuge among + some of the varieties. Thus:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "They prate of God! Believe it, fellow-creature, + </p> + <p> + There's no such bugbear: all was made by Nature. + </p> + <p> + We know all came of nothing, and shall pass + </p> + <p> + Into the same condition once it was + </p> + <p> + By Nature's power, and that they grossly lie + </p> + <p> + That say there's hope of immortality. + </p> + <p> + Let them but tell us what a soul is: then + </p> + <p> + We shall adhere to these mad brainsick men."<sup>1</sup> + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Baxter's Life, 76-77; and Thomason Pamphlets <i>passim</i>. + The pamphlet last quoted is in Vol. 485 (old numbering). I have + also used a quotation from another pamphlet in Barclay's + <i>Inner Life of the Religious Societies of the + Commonwealth</i> (1876), pp. 417-418. + </p> + </div> + <p> + STRAY FANATICS: THE MUGGLETONIANS:—Sometimes confounded + with the Ranters, but really distinguishable, were some crazed + men, whose crazes had taken a religious turn, and whose + extravagances became contagious.—Such was a John Robins, + first heard of about 1650, when he went about, sometimes as God + Almighty, sometimes as Adam raised from the dead, with the power + of raising others from the dead. He had raised Cain and Judas, + and other personages of Scripture, forgiving their sins and + blessing them; which personages, changed in character, but + remembering their former selves quite well, went about in + Robins's company and were seen and talked with by various people. + He could work miracles, and in dark rooms would exhibit himself + surrounded with angels, and fiery serpents, and shining lights, + or riding in the air. He had been sent to Bridewell, and his + supernatural powers had left him.—One heard next, in 1652, + of two associates, called John Reeve and Ludovick Muggleton, who + professed to be "the two last Spiritual Witnesses (Rev. xi.) and + alone true Prophets of the Lord Jesus Christ, God alone blessed + to all eternity." They believed in a real man-shaped God, + existing from all eternity, who had come upon earth as Jesus + Christ, leaving Moses and Elijah to represent him in + Heaven—also in the mortality of the soul till the + resurrection of the body; and their chief commission was to + denounce and curse all false prophets, and all who did not + believe in Reeves and Muggleton. They visited Robins in Bridewell + and told <i>him</i> to stop his preaching under pain of eternal + damnation; but they favoured some eminent Presbyterian and + Independent ministers of London with letters to the same effect. + They dated their letters "from Great Trinity Lane, at a + Chandler's shop, against one Mr. Millis, a brown baker, near Bow + Lane End;" and the editor of <i>Mercurius Politicus</i>, who had + received one of their letters so dated, had the curiosity to go + to see them, with some friends of his, in the end of August 1653. + He found them "at the top of an old house in a cockloft," and + made a paragraph of them thus:—"They are said to be a + couple of tailors: but only one of them works, and that is + Muggleton; the other, they say, writes prophecies. We found two + women there whom they had convinced; whom we questioning, they + said they believed all. Besides there was an old country plain + man of Essex, who said he had been with them twice before; and, + being asked whether he were of the same opinion and did believe + them, he answered, Truly he could not tell what to say, but he + was come to have some discourse with them in private." Two mouths + after this interview (Oct. 1653), they were brought before the + Lord Mayor and Recorder for their letters to ministers, and + sentenced to six months of imprisonment each. But they were to be + farther heard of in the world. Muggleton indeed to as late as + 1698, when he died at the age of ninety, leaving a sect called + THE MUGGLETONIANS, who are perhaps not extinct yet.—Among + those who attached themselves to Reeves and Muggleton was a + Thomas Tany, who called himself also "Theauro John," and + professed to be the Lord's High Priest. They would have nothing + to do with him, and put him on their excommunicated list. Whether + because this preyed on the poor man's mind or not, he was found + in the lobby of the Parliament House on Saturday, Dec. 30. 1654, + with a drawn sword, slashing at members, and knocking for + admittance. The House, who were then in the midst of their debate + on the proper Limits of Toleration, ordered him to be brought to + the bar:—"Where," say the journals, "being demanded by Mr. + Speaker what his name was, answered' <i>Theeror John</i>'; being + asked why he came hither, saith, He fired his tent, and the + people were ready to stone him because he burnt the + Bible—which he acknowledgeth he did. Saith it is letters, + not life. And he drew his sword because the man jostled him at + the door. Saith he burnt the Bible because the people say it is + the Word of God, and it is not; it deceived <i>him</i>. And saith + he burnt the sword and pistols and Bibles because they are the + Gods of England. He did it not of himself; and, being asked who + bid him do it, saith God.' And thereupon was commanded to + withdraw." He was sent into custody immediately.—Stray + fanatics like Robins, Reeves, Muggleton, and Theauro John, seem + to have been not uncommon through England.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Godwin, IV. 313-317; Mercurius Politicus, No. 167 (Aug. + 18-25, 1653); Commons Journals, Dec. 30, 1654; Barclay's + <i>Religious Societies</i>, pp. 421-422. + </p> + </div> + <p> + BOEHMENISTS AND OTHER MYSTICS:—Of the German Mystic Jacob + Boehme (1575-1624) there had been a <i>Life</i> in English since + 1644, with a catalogue of his writings, and since then + translations of some of the writings themselves had appeared at + intervals, mostly from the shop of one publisher, Humphrey + Blunden. The interest in "the Teutonical Philosopher" thus + excited had at length taken form in a small sect of professed + BOEHMENISTS, propounding the doctrine of the Light of Nature, + i.e. of a mystic intuitional revelation in the soul itself of all + true knowledge of divine and human things. Of this sect Baxter + says that they were "fewer in number," and seemed "to have + attained to greater meekness and conquest of passions," than the + other sects. The chief of them was Dr. Pordage, Rector of + Bradfield, in Berks, with his family. They held "visible and + sensible communion with angels" in the Rectory, on the very walls + and windows of which there appeared miraculous pictures and + symbols; and the Doctor himself, besides alarming people with + such strange phrases as "the fiery deity of Christ dwelling in + the soul and mixing itself with our flesh," was clearly + unorthodox on many particular points.<sup>1</sup>—Boehme's + system included a mystical physics or cosmology as well as a + metaphysics or theosophy, and some of his English followers seem + to have allied themselves with the famous Astrologer William + Lilly, whose prophetic Almanacks, under the title of <i>Merlinus + Anglicus</i>, had been appearing annually since 1644. But indeed + all sorts of men were in contact with this quack or quack-mystic. + He had been consulted by Charles I as to the probable issue of + events; he had been consulted and feed by partisans of the other + side: his Almanacks, with their hieroglyphics and political + predictions, had a boundless popularity, and were bringing him a + good income; he was the chief in his day of those fortune-telling + and spirit-auguring celebrities who hover all their lives between + high society and Bridewell. As he had adhered to the + Parliamentarians and made the stars speak for their cause, he had + hitherto been pretty safe; but the leading Presbyterian and + Independent ministers, as we have seen (ante IV, p. 392), had + recently called upon Parliament to put down his bastard science. + Gataker had attacked "that grand impostor Mr. William Lilly" in + an express publication.<sup>2</sup>—Is it in a spirit of + mischief that Baxter names THE VANISTS, or disciples of Sir Henry + Vane the younger, as one of the recognised sects of this time? + That great Republican leader, it was known, with all his deep + practical astuteness and the perfect clearness and shrewdness of + his speeches and business-letters, carried in his head a mystic + Metaphysics of his own which he found it hard to express. It was + a something unique, including ideas from the Antinomians, the + Anabaptists, and the Seekers, he had been so much among, with + something also of the Fifth-Monarchy notion, and with the theory + of absolute Voluntaryism in Religion, but all these amalgamated + with new ingredients. Burnet tells us that, though he had taken + pains to find out Vane's meaning in his own books, he could never + reach it, and that, as many others had the same experience, it + might be reasonable to conclude that Vane had purposely kept back + the key to his system. Friends of Vane had told Burnet, however, + that "he leaned to Origen's notion of a universal salvation of + all, both of devils and the damned, and to the doctrine of + pre-existence." Even when Cromwell and Vane had been close + friends, calling each other "Fountain" and "Heron" in their + private letters. Vane had been in possession of such peculiar + lights, or of others, beyond Cromwell's apprehension. "Brother + Fountain can guess at his brother's meaning," he had written to + Cromwell in Scotland August 2, 1651, with reference to some + troublesome on-goings in the Council of State during Cromwell's + absence, begging him not to believe ill-natured reports about + "Brother Heron" in connexion with them, and adding, "Be assured + he answers your heart's desire in all things, except he be + esteemed even by you in principles too high to fathom; which one + day, I am persuaded, will not be so thought by you, when, by + increasing with the increasings of God, you shall be brought to + that sight and enjoyment of God in Christ which passes + knowledge." If this to Cromwell, what to others? Three years had + passed, and Vane was now in compulsory retirement. His <i>Retired + Man's Meditations</i> had not yet been published. Such Vanists, + therefore, as there were in 1654 must have imbibed their + knowledge of them from Sir Henry's conversation or indirectly. + Among these Baxter mentions Peter Sterry, one of Cromwell's + favourite preachers, and afterwards known as a mystic on his own + account. Of Sterry's preaching, already notoriously obscure, Sir + Benjamin Rudyard had said that "it was too high for this world + and too low for the other," and Baxter puns on the association of + Vane and Sterry, asking whether <i>Vanity</i> and + <i>Sterility</i> had ever been more happily conjoined. But the + sect of the VANISTS existed perhaps mainly in Baxter's + fancy.<sup>3</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Stationers' Registers from 1644 to 1654; Baxter, 77-78; + Neal, IV. 112-113. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Engl. Cycl. Art. <i>Lilly</i>; Stationers' Registers of date + June 10, 1653 (Gataker's Tract) and of other dates (Lilly's + Almanacks). + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 3: Baxter, 74-76; Milton Papers by Nickolls, 78-79; Wood's Ath. + III, 578 et seq. and IV. 136-138. + </p> + </div> + <p> + QUAKERS OR FRIENDS:—Who can think of the appearance of this + sect in English History without doing what the sect itself would + forbid, and reverently raising the hat? And yet in 1654 this was + the very sect of sects. It was about the Quakers that there had + begun to be the most violent excitement among the guardians of + social order throughout the British Islands.—It was then + six or seven years since they had first been heard of in any + distinct way, and four since they had received the name QUAKERS. + A Derbyshire Justice of the Peace, it is said, first invented + that name for them, because they seemed to be fond of the text + Jer. v. 22, and had offended him by addressing it to himself and + a brother magistrate: "Fear ye not me? saith the Lord; will ye + not tremble at my presence?" But Robert Barclay's account of the + origin of the name in his <i>Apology for the Quakers</i> (1675) + is probably more correct, though not inconsistent. He says it + arose from the fact that, in the early meetings of "The Children + of the Light," as they first called themselves, violent physical + agitations were not unfrequent, and conversions were often + signalized by that accompaniment. There was often an "inward + travail" in some one present; "and from this inward travail, + while the darkness seeks to obscure the light, and the light + breaks through the darkness, which it will always do if the soul + gives not its strength to the darkness, there will be such a + painful travail found in the soul that will even work upon the + outward man, so that often-times, through the working thereof, + the body will be greatly shaken, and many groans and sighs and + tears, even as the pangs of a woman in travail, will lay hold of + it: yea, and this not only as to one, but ... sometimes the power + of God will break forth into a whole meeting, and there will be + such an inward travail, while each is seeking to overcome the + evil in themselves, that by the strong contrary workings of these + opposite powers, like the going of two contrary tides, every + individual will be strongly exercised as in a day of battle, and + thereby trembling and a motion of body will be upon most, if not + upon all, which, as the power of Truth prevails, will from pangs + and groans end with a sweet sound of thanksgiving and praise. And + from this the name of <i>Quakers</i>, i.e. <i>Tremblers</i>, was + first reproachfully cast upon us; which though it be none of our + choosing, yet in this respect we are not ashamed of it, but have + rather reason to rejoice therefore, even that we are sensible of + this power that hath oftentimes laid hold of our adversaries, and + made them yield to us, and join with us, and confess to the + Truth, before they had any distinct and discursive knowledge of + our doctrines."—The Quakers, then, according to this + eminent Apologist for them, <i>had</i>, from the first, definite + doctrines, which might be distinctly and discursively known. What + were they? They hardly amounted to any express revolution of + existing Theology. In no essential respect did any of their + recognised representatives impugn any of the doctrines of + Christianity as professed by other fervid Evangelical sects. The + Trinity, the Divinity of Christ, the natural sinfulness of men, + propitiation by Christ alone, sanctification by the Holy Spirit, + the inspiration and authority of the Scriptures—in these, + and in other cardinal tenets, they were at one with the main body + of their contemporary Christians. Though it was customary for a + time to confound them with the Ranters, they themselves + repudiated the connexion, and opposed the Ranters and their + libertinism wherever they met them. Wherein then lay the + distinctive peculiarity of the Quakers? It has been usual to say + that it consisted in their doctrine of the universality of the + gift of the Spirit, and of the constant inner light, and motion, + and teaching of the Spirit in the soul of each individual + believer. This is not sufficient. That doctrine they shared + substantially with various other sects,—certainly with the + Boehmenists and other Continental Mystics, not to speak of the + English Antinomians and Seekers. Nay, in their first great + practical application of the doctrine they had been largely + anticipated. If the inner motion or manifestation of the Spirit + in each mind, in interpretation of the Bible or over and above + the Bible, is the sole true teaching of the Gospel, and if the + manifestation cometh as the Spirit listeth, and cannot be + commanded, a regular Ministry of the Word by a so-called Clergy + is an absurdity, and a hired Ministry an abomination! So said the + Quakers. In reaching this conclusion, however, they had only + added themselves to masses of people, known as Brownists, + Seekers, and Anabaptists, who had already, by the same route or + by others, advanced to the standing-ground of absolute + Voluntaryism. What did distinguish the early Quakers seems to + have been, in the first place, the thorough form of their + apprehension of that doctrine of the Inner Light, or Immediate + Revelation of the Spirit, which they held in common with other + sects, and, in the second place, their courage and tenacity in + carrying out the practical inferences from that doctrine in every + sentence of their own speech and every hour of their own conduct. + As to the form in which they held the doctrine itself Barclay + will be again our best authority. "The testimony of the Spirit," + he says, "is that alone by which the true knowledge of God hath + been, is, and can only be, revealed; who, as by the moving of his + own Spirit he converted the Chaos of this world into that + wonderful Order wherein it was in the beginning, and created Man + a living Soul to rule and govern it, so by the same Spirit he + hath manifested himself all along unto the sons of men, both + Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles: which revelations of God by + the Spirit, whether by outward voices and appearances, dreams, or + inward objective manifestations in the heart, were of old the + formal object of their faith and remain yet so to be,—since + the object of the Saints' faith is the same in all ages, though + set forth under divers administrations." This Inner Light of the + Spirit, seizing men and women at all times and places, and + illuminating them in the knowledge of God, was, Barclay elsewhere + explains, something altogether supernatural, something totally + distinct from natural Reason. "That Man, as he is a rational + creature, hath Reason as a natural faculty of his soul, we deny + not; for this is a property natural and essential to him, by + which he can know and learn many arts and sciences, beyond what + any other animal can do by the mere animal principle. Neither do + we deny that by this rational principle Man may apprehend in his + brain, and in the notion, a knowledge of God and spiritual + things; yet, that not being the right organ, ... it cannot profit + him towards salvation, but rather hindereth." And what of the use + and value of the Scriptures? "From these revelations of the + Spirit of God to the saints have proceeded the Scriptures of + Truth, which contain (1) A faithful historical account of the + actings of God's people in divers ages, with many singular and + remarkable providences attending them; (2) A prophetical account + of several things, whereof some are already past and some yet to + come; (3) A full and ample account of all the chief principles of + the doctrine of Christ ... Nevertheless, because they are only a + declaration of the fountain, and not the fountain itself, + therefore they are not to be esteemed the principal ground of all + Truth and Knowledge, nor yet the adequate primary rule of faith + and manners. Nevertheless, as that which giveth a true and + faithful testimony of the first foundation, they are and may be + esteemed a secondary rule, subordinate to the Spirit, from which + they have all their excellency and certainty." So much for the + <i>form</i> of the central principle of Early Quakerism, so far + as it can be expressed logically. But it was in the resolute + application of the principle in practice that the Early Quakers + made themselves conspicuous. They were not Speculative + Voluntaries, waiting for the abolition of the National Church, + and paying tithes meanwhile. They were Separatists who would at + once and in every way assert their Separatism. They would pay no + tithes; they called every church "a steeple-house"; and they + regarded every parson as the hired performer in one of the + steeple-houses. Then, in their own meetings for mutual + edification and worship, all their customs were in accordance + with their main principle. They had no fixed articles of + congregational creed, no prescribed forms of prayer, no ordinance + of baptism or of sacramental communion, no religious ceremony in + sanction of marriage, and no paid or appointed preachers. The + ministry was to be as the spirit moved; all equally might speak + or be silent, poor as well as rich, unlearned as well as learned, + women as well as men; if special teachers did spring up amongst + them, it should not be professionally, or to earn a salary. Yet, + with all this liberty among themselves, what unanimity in the + moral purport of their teachings! Their restless dissatisfaction + with the Established Church and with all known varieties of + Dissent, their passion for a full reception of Christ at the + fountain-head, their searchings of the Scriptures, their private + raptures and meditations, their prayers and consultations in + public, had resulted in a simple re-issue of the Christianity of + the Sermon on the Mount. Quakerism, in its kernel, was but the + revived Christian morality of meekness, piety, benevolence, + purity, truthfulness, peacefulness, and passivity. There were to + be no oaths: Yea or Nay was to be enough. There were to be no + ceremonies of honour or courtesy-titles among men: the hat was to + be taken off to no one, and all were to be addressed in the + singular, as <i>Thou</i> and <i>Thee</i>. War and physical + violence were unlawful, and therefore all fighting and the trade + of a soldier. Injuries to oneself were to be borne with patience, + but there was to be the most active energy in relieving the + sufferings of others, and in seeking out suffering where it + lurked. The sick and those in prison were to be visited, the + insane and the outcast; and the wrongs and cruelties of law, + whether in death-sentences for mere offences against property, or + in brutal methods of prison-treatment, were to be exposed and + condemned. For the rest, the Friends were to walk industriously + and domestically through the world, honest in their dealings, + wearing a plain Puritan garb, and avoiding all vanities and + gaieties.—Had it been possible for such a sect to come into + existence by mere natural growth, or the unconcerted association + of like-minded persons in all parts of the country at once, even + then, one can see, there would have been irritation between it + and the rest of the community. The refusal to pay tithes, the + refusal of oaths in Courts of Law or anywhere else, the objection + to war and to the trade of a soldier, the <i>Theeing</i> and + <i>Thouing</i> of all indiscriminately, the keeping of the hat on + in any presence, would have occasioned constant feud between any + little nucleus of Quakers and the society round about it. But the + sect had not formed itself by any such quiet process of + simultaneous grouping among people who had somehow imbibed its + tenets. It had come into being, and in fact had shaped its tenets + and become aware of them, through a previous fervour of itinerant + Propagandism such as had hardly been known since the first + Apostles and Christian missionaries had walked among the heathen. + The first Quaker, the man in whose dreamings by himself, aided by + scanty readings, the principles of the sect had been evolved, and + in whose conduct by himself for a year or two the sect had + practically originated, was the good, blunt, obstinate, + opaque-brained, ecstatic, Leicestershire shoemaker, George Fox, + the Boehme of England. From the year 1646, when he was two and + twenty years of age, the life of Fox had been an incessant tramp + through the towns and villages of the Midlands and the North, + with preachings in barns, in inns, in market-places, outside + courts of justice, and often inside the steeple-houses + themselves, by way of interruption of the regular ministers, or + correction of their doctrine after the hours of regular service. + Extraordinary excitements had attended him everywhere, paroxysms + of delight in him with tears and tremblings, outbreaks of rage + against him with hootings and stonings. Again and again he had + been brought before justices and magistrates, to whose presence + indeed he naturally tended of his own accord for the purpose of + lecturing them on their duties, and to whom he was always writing + Biblical letters. He had been beaten and put in the stocks; he + had been in Derby jail and in several other prisons, charged with + riot or blasphemy; and in these prisons he had found work to his + mind and had sometimes converted his jailors. And so, by the year + 1654, "the man with the leather breeches," as he was called, had + become a celebrity throughout England, with scattered converts + and adherents everywhere, but voted a pest and terror by the + public authorities, the regular steeple-house clergy whether + Presbyterian or Independent, and the appointed preachers of all + the old sects. By this time, however, he was by no means the sole + preacher of Quakerism. Every now and then from among his converts + there had started up one fitted to assist him in the work of + itinerant propagandism, and the number of such had increased in + 1654 to about sixty in all. Richard Farnsworth, James Nayler, + William Dewsbury, Thomas Aldam, John Audland, Francis Howgill, + Edward Burrough, Thomas Taylor, John Camm, Richard Hubberthorn, + Miles Halhead, James Parnel, Thomas Briggs, Robert Widders, + George Whitehead, Thomas Holmes, James Lancaster, Alexander + Parker, William Caton, and John Stubbs, of the one sex, with + Elizabeth Hooton, Anna Downer, Elizabeth Heavens, Elizabeth + Fletcher, Barbara Blaugden, Catherine Evans, and Sarah Cheevers, + of the other sex, were among the chief of these early Quaker + preachers after Fox. They had carried the doctrines into every + part of England, and also into Scotland and Ireland; some of them + had even been moved to go to the Continent. Wherever they went + there was the same disturbance round them as round Fox himself, + and they had the same hard treatment—imprisonment, + duckings, whippings. It is necessary that the reader should + remember that in 1654 Quakerism was still in this first stage of + its diffusion by a vehement propagandism carried on by some sixty + itinerant preachers at war with established habits and customs, + and had not settled down into mere individual Quietism, with + associations of those who had been converted to its principles, + and could be content with their own local meetings. In the chief + centres, indeed, there were now fixed meetings for the resident + Quakers, the main meeting place for London being the Bull and + Mouth in St. Martin's-le-Grand; but Fox and most of his + coadjutors were still wandering about the country.—There + was already an extensive literature of Quakerism, consisting of + printed letters and tracts by Fox himself, Farnsworth, Nayler, + Dewsbury, Howgill, and others, and of invectives against the + Quakers and their principles by Presbyterians and Independents; + and some of the letters of the Quakers had been directly + addressed to Cromwell. There had also, some time in 1654, been + one interview between the Lord Protector and Fox. Colonel Hacker, + having arrested Fox in Leicestershire, had sent him up to London. + Brought to Whitehall, one morning early, when the Lord Protector + was dressing, he had said, on entering, "Peace be on this House!" + and had then discoursed to the Protector at some length, the + Protector kindly listening, occasionally putting a question, and + several times acknowledging a remark of George's by saying it was + "very good," and "the truth." At parting, the Protector had taken + hold of his hand, and, with tears in his eyes, said "Come again + to my house! If thou and I were but an hour of the day together, + we should be nearer one to another. I wish no more harm to thee + than I do to my own soul." Outside, the captain on guard, + informing George that he was free, had wanted him, by the + Protector's orders, to stay and dine with the household; but + George had stoutly declined.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Sewel's <i>History of the People called Quakers</i> (ed. + 1834), I, I—136; Rules and Discipline of the Society of + Friends (1834), <i>Introduction</i>; Baxter, 77; Neal, IV. + 31-41; Pamphlets in Thomason Collection; Robert Barclay's + <i>Apology for the Quakers</i> (ed. 1765), pp. 4, 48, 118, + 309-310. This last is a really able and impressive + book—far the most reasoned exposition even yet, I + believe, of the principles of early Quakerism. Though not + written till twenty years after our present date, it was the + first accurate and articulate expression, I believe, of the + principles that had really, though rather confusedly, pervaded + the Quaker teachings and writings at that date.—There are + many particles of information about the early Quakers, and + about other contemporary English sects, in <i>The Inner Life of + the Religious Societies of the Commonwealth</i>, published in + 1878, the posthumous work of a second Robert Barclay, two + hundred years after the first. But the book, though laborious, + is very chaotic, and shows hardly any knowledge of the time of + which it mainly treats. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Such were the more recent sects and heresies for which, as well + as for those older and more familiar, the First Parliament of the + Protectorate had been, with the help of Dr. Owen and his + brother-divines, preparing a strait-jacket. Of that Parliament, + however, and of all its belongings, the Commonwealth was to be + rid sooner than had been expected. + </p> + <p> + It had been the astute policy of the Parliament to concentrate + all their attention upon the new Constitution for the + Protectorate, and to neglect and postpone other business until + the Bill of the Constitution had been pushed through and + presented to Cromwell for his assent. In particular they had + postponed, as much as possible, all supplies for Army and Navy + and for carrying on the Government. By this, as they thought, + they retained Cromwell in their grasp. By the instrument under + which they had been called, he could not dissolve them till they + had sat five months,—which, by ordinary counting from Sept. + 3, 1654, made them safe till Feb. 3, 1654-5. But, if they could + contrive that it should be Cromwell's interest not to dissolve + them then, there was no reason why they should not sit on a good + while longer, perhaps even till near Oct. 1656, the time they had + themselves fixed for the meeting of the next Parliament. To + postpone supplies, therefore, till after the general Bill of the + Constitution in all its sixty Articles should have received + Cromwell's assent, to wrap up present supplies and the hope of + future supplies as much as possible in the Bill itself, was the + plan of the Anti-Oliverians. The Bill, it will be remembered, had + passed the second reading on Dec. 23, had then gone into + Committee for amendments, and had come back to the House with + these amendments. On the 10th of January, 1654-5, when the Bill + was almost ready to be engrossed, it was moved by the Oliverians + that there should be a conference about it with the Protector; + but the motion was lost by 107 votes to 95. Among various + subsequent divisions was one on the 16th on the question whether + the Bill should become Law even if the Lord Protector should + refuse his assent, and the Anti-Oliverians negatived the putting + of the question by eighty-six votes to fifty-five. The next day, + after another division, it was resolved thus: "That this Bill + entitled <i>An Act Declaring and Settling the Government of the + Commonwealth</i>, &c., be engrossed in order to its + presentment to the Lord Protector for his consideration and + assent," and that, if "the Lord Protector and the Parliament + shall not agree thereunto and to every Article thereof, then the + Bill shall be void and of none effect." Cromwell having thus been + shut up to accept all or none, the Bill passed the third and + conclusive reading on Friday, Jan. 19. Then all depended on + Cromwell, who would have twenty days to make up his mind. He had + made up his mind already, and did not mean to wait for the + parchment. The Bill included provisions striking, as he + conceived, at the root of his Protectorate, e.g. one for + depriving him and the Council of State of that power of interim + legislation which they had hitherto exercised with so much + effect, and others withholding the negative he thought his due on + future Bills affecting fundamentals. He was, besides, wholly + disgusted with the spirit and conduct of the Parliament. + Accordingly, having bethought himself that, in the payment of the + soldiers and sailors, a month was construed as twenty-eight days + only, he let the Saturday and Sunday after the third reading of + the Bill pass quietly by, and then, on Monday the 22nd, having + summoned the House to meet him in the Painted Chamber, addressed + them in what counts as the Fourth of his Speeches, told them + their time was up that day, and dissolved them. Their + Constitutional Bill of Sixty Articles disappeared with them; and + they had not, in all the five months, sent up a single Bill to + Cromwell for his assent.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates; Godwin, IV. 148-157; Carlyle, + III. 70-95. + </p> + </div> + <h3> + <a name="Ac1s2" id="Ac1s2">SECTION II.</a> + </h3> + <h3> + BETWEEN THE PARLIAMENTS, OR THE TIME OF ARBITRARINESS: JAN. 22, + 1654-55—SEPT. 17, 1656. + </h3> + <p> + AVOWED "ARBITRARINESS" OF THIS STAGE OF THE PROTECTORATE, AND + REASONS FOR IT.—FIRST MEETING OF CROMWELL AND HIS COUNCIL + AFTER THE DISSOLUTION: MAJOR-GENERAL OVERTON IN CUSTODY: OTHER + ARRESTS: SUPPRESSION OF A WIDE REPUBLICAN CONSPIRACY AND OF + ROYALIST RISINGS IN YORKSHIRE AND THE WEST: REVENUE ORDINANCE AND + MR. CONY'S OPPOSITION AT LAW: DEFERENCE OF FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS: + BLAKE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN: MASSACRE OF THE PIEDMONTESE + PROTESTANTS: DETAILS OF THE STORY AND OF CROMWELL'S PROCEEDINGS + IN CONSEQUENCE: PENN IN THE SPANISH WEST INDIES: HIS REPULSE FROM + HISPANIOLA AND LANDING IN JAMAICA: DECLARATION OF WAR WITH SPAIN + AND ALLIANCE WITH FRANCE: SCHEME OF THE GOVERNMENT OF ENGLAND BY + MAJOR-GENERALS: LIST OF THEM AND SUMMARY OF THEIR POLICE-SYSTEM: + DECIMATION TAX ON THE ROYALISTS, AND OTHER MEASURES <i>IN + TERROREM</i>: CONSOLIDATION OF THE LONDON NEWSPAPER PRESS: + PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMISSION OF EJECTORS AND OF THE COMMISSION + OF TRIERS: VIEW OF CROMWELL'S ESTABLISHED CHURCH OF ENGLAND, WITH + ENUMERATION OF ITS VARIOUS COMPONENTS: EXTENT OF TOLERATION + OUTSIDE THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH: THE PROTECTOR'S TREATMENT OF THE + ROMAN CATHOLICS, THE EPISCOPALIANS, THE ANTI-TRINITARIANS, THE + QUAKERS, AND THE JEWS: STATE OF THE ENGLISH UNIVERSITIES AND + SCHOOLS UNDER THE PROTECTORATE: CROMWELL'S PATRONAGE OF LEARNING: + LIST OF ENGLISH MEN OF LETTERS ALIVE IN 1656, AND ACCOUNT OF + THEIR DIVERSE RELATIONS TO CROMWELL: POETICAL PANEGYRICS ON HIM + AND HIS PROTECTORATE.—NEW ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE GOVERNMENT + OF SCOTLAND: LORD BROGHILL'S PRESIDENCY THERE FOR CROMWELL: + GENERAL STATE OF THE COUNTRY: CONTINUED STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE + RESOLUTIONERS AND THE PROTESTERS FOR KIRK-SUPREMACY: INDEPENDENCY + AND QUAKERISM IN SCOTLAND: MORE EXTREME ANOMALIES THERE: STORY OF + "JOCK OF BROAD SCOTLAND": BRISK INTERCOURSE BETWEEN SCOTLAND AND + LONDON: MISSION OF MR. JAMES SHARP.—IRELAND FROM 1654 TO + 1656.—GLIMPSE OF THE COLONIES. + </p> + <p> + This long stretch of twenty months was to be another period of + the government of the Commonwealth by the Lord Protector and the + Council of State on their own responsibility and without a + Parliament. In the circumstances in which the late Parliament had + left them, without supplies and without a single concluded and + authoritative enactment, they could only fall back on the + original Instrument of the Protectorate, amending its defects by + their own ingenuity as exigencies occurred, with a suggestion now + and then snatched, for the sake of quasi-Parliamentary + countenance, from the wreck of the late Constitutional Bill. + Hence a character of "arbitrariness" in Cromwell's government + throughout this period greater perhaps than in any other of his + whole Protectorate. For that, however, he was prepared. At the + first meeting of the Council after the Dissolution of Parliament + (Tuesday, Jan. 23, 1654-5) there were present, I find, His + Highness himself, and thirteen out of the eighteen Councillors, + viz.: Lord President Lawrence, the Earl of Mulgrave, Viscount + Lisle, Lambert, Desborough, Fiennes, Montague, Sydenham, + Strickland, Sir Charles Wolseley, Skippon, Jones, and Rous; and + it was then "ordered by his Highness and the Council that Friday + next be set apart for their seeking of God, and that Mr. Lockyer, + Mr. Caryl, Mr. Denn, and Mr. Sterry, be desired then to give + their assistance." In entering on the new period of their + Government, the Protector and the Council thought a day of + special prayer very fitting.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1 Council Order Book of date.—Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, + having shown Anti-Oliverian tendencies in the late Parliament, + did not reappear in the Council after the Dissolution, and had + virtually ceased to be a member. Colonel Mackworth had died + Dec. 26, 1654. The three other members not present at the + meeting of Jan. 23, 1664-5 were Fleetwood, Sir Gilbert + Pickering, and Richard Mayor. Fleetwood was in Ireland; + Pickering's absence was accidental, and he was in his place + very regularly afterwards; Mayor did not attend steadily. + </p> + </div> + <p> + In the Dissolution Speech Cromwell, rebuking the Parliament for + their inattention to what he considered their real duty, had + compared them to a tree under the shadow of which there had been + a too thriving growth of other vegetation. Interpreting the + parable, he had explained to them that there was at that moment a + new and very complex conspiracy against the Commonwealth, that + the Levellers at home had been in correspondence with the + Cavaliers abroad, that their plans were laid and their manifestos + ready, that commissioners from Charles Stuart had arrived and + stores of arms and money had been collected, and also (worst of + all) that there had been tamperings with the Army by Commonwealth + men of higher note than the mere Levellers. He did not believe, + he said, that any then in Parliament were in the Cavalier + interest in the connexion, but he was not sure that they were all + perfectly clear of the connexion on all its sides. At all events, + he knew that their policy of starving the Army had given the + enemy their best opportunity. Fortunately, he had already some of + the chief home-conspirators in custody, and the Cavalier part of + the plot might explode when it liked.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Speech IV (Carlyle, III 75-81.) + </p> + </div> + <p> + The chief of those in custody when Cromwell spoke was the + Republican Major-General Overton. He had been under suspicion + before, as we have seen, but had cleared himself sufficiently to + Cromwell, and had been sent back to Scotland as second in command + to Monk (Sept. 1654). Since then, however, he had relapsed into + the Anti-Oliverian mood, and had become, it was believed, the + head of the numerous Anti-Oliverians or Republicans in Monk's + Army, The proposal was to seize Monk, make Overton the + commander-in-chief, and march into England, But, information + having been received in time, there had been the necessary + arrests of the guilty officers (Dec. 1654). Most of them had been + kept in Edinburgh to be dealt with by Monk; but the chiefs had + been sent at once to London, and among them Overton, whose arrest + had taken place at Aberdeen. He was committed to the Tower Jan. + 16, 1654-5. The clue having thus been furnished, further + investigation had disclosed more. In concert with the + Anti-Oliverian movement in the Army of Scotland, and depending on + that movement for help, there had been plottings in England, in + which Harrison, Colonel Okey, Colonel Alured, Colonel Sexby, + Adjutant-General Allen, Admiral Lawson, Major John Wildman, Lord + Grey of Groby, Carew, and even Bradshaw, Hasilrig, and Henry + Marten, were, or were said to be, more or less involved. The aim + seems to have been a combination of the Anabaptist Levellers with + the more eminent Republicans,—the Levellers, or some of + them, quite willing to combine also with the Royalists, and + indeed in confidential negotiation with them. How the scheme, or + medley of schemes, would have turned out in the working, was + never to be known. It was frustrated by the arrest, in January + and February, of most of the suspected. The most important arrest + was that of Major Wildman, the undoubted chief of the Levelling + section of the conspiracy. When arrested in Wiltshire, he was + found in the act of dictating a "Declaration of the Free and + Well-affected People of England now in arms against the tyrant + Oliver Cromwell, Esq." He was imprisoned in Chepstow Castle. + Sexby, the most active man after Wildman in the Levelling or + Anabaptist section of the conspiracy, escaped and went abroad. + Adjutant-General Allen, and others less deeply implicated, were + dismissed from their posts in the Army. Harrison was confined in + the Isle of Portland, Carew in St. Mawes, in Cornwall, and Lord + Grey of Groby in Windsor Castle. None of all the Republicans, + higher or lower, it was remarked, suffered any punishment beyond + such seclusion or dismissal from the service. Clemency on that + side was always Cromwell's policy.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Godwin, IV. 158-165; Carlyle, III. 66-70 and 98-99; + Whitlocke, IV. 182-188 (Wildman's Proclamation); Life of Robert + Blair, 319. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Much sharper was Cromwell's method of dealing with the attempted + invasion and insurrection of the Royalists independently. Hopes + had risen high at the Court of the Stuarts, and the preparations + had been extensive. Charles himself had gone to Middleburg, with + the Marquis of Ormond and others, to be ready for a landing in + England; Hull had been thought of as the likeliest landing-place; + commissioned pioneers of the enterprise were already moving about + in various English counties. Of all this Thurloe had procured + sufficient intelligence through his foreign spies, and the + precautions of the Protector and Council had been commensurate. + The projected Overton revolt in Scotland and the Wildman-Sexby + plot in England having been brought to nothing, the Royalists had + to act for themselves. Two abortive risings in March, 1654-5, + exhausted their energy. One was in Yorkshire, where Sir Henry + Slingsby and Sir Richard Malevrier appeared in arms, but were + immediately suppressed. The other was in the West, and was more + serious. On the night of Sunday, the 11th of March, a body of 200 + Cavaliers, headed by Sir Joseph Wagstaff, one of Charles's + emissaries from abroad, took possession of the city of Salisbury, + The assizes were to be held in the city the next day, and Chief + Justice Rolle, Judge Nicholas, and the High Sheriff, had arrived + and were in their beds. They were seized; and next morning + Wagstaff issued orders for hanging them, but was stopped in the + act by the remonstrances of Colonel John Penruddock and others. + From Salisbury, finding no encouragement among the citizens, the + insurgents moved westward till they reached South Molton in + Devonshire, where they were overtaken on the night of Wednesday, + March 14, by Captain Unton Crook. There was a brief street-fight, + ending in the defeat of the Royalists, and the capture of + Penruddock and about fifty more. Wagstaff escaped. Of the + contemporary insurgents in the north there had meanwhile escaped + Malevrier and also Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, who had come from + abroad to head the Royalist insurrection generally, had gone to + the north, but had not awaited the actual upshot. He lay + concealed in London for a time, and got to Cologne at last. In + the trials which ensued those who suffered capitally were + Penruddock, beheaded at Exeter, a Captain Hugh Grove and several + others at other places in the West, and two or three at York. + Many of the inferior culprits, capitally convicted, had their + lives spared, but were sent in servitude to + Barbadoes.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Clarendon, 824-827; Whitlocke, IV. 188; Godwin, IV. 167-169; + Carlyle, III. 99-100. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Revenue had been one of the first cares of the Protector and + Council in resuming power after the Dissolution. By a former + ordinance of theirs of June 1654 (Vol. IV. p. 562), the + assessment for the Army and Navy had been renewed for three + months at the rate of £120,000 per month, and for the next three + months at the lowered rate of £90,000 per month. This ordinance + had expired at Christmas 1654; and, though the Parliament had + then passed a Bill for extending the assessment for three months + more at £60,000 per month, the Bill had never been presented to + Cromwell for his assent. On the 8th of February, 1654-5, + therefore, a new Ordinance by his Highness and Council fixed the + assessment for a certain term at £60,000 per month. This + acceptance of the reduction proposed by the Parliament gave + general satisfaction; and there is evidence that at this time + Cromwell and the Council let themselves be driven to various + shifts of economy rather than overstrain their power of + ordinance-making in the unpopular particular of supplies. But, + indeed, it was on the question of the validity of this power + generally, all-essential as it was, that they encountered their + greatest difficulties. A merchant named Cony did more to wreck + the Protectorate by a suit at law than did the Cavaliers by their + armed insurrection. Having refused to pay custom duty because it + was levied only by an ordinance of the Lord Protector and Council + of March, 1654, and not by authority of Parliament, he had been + fined £500 by the Commissioners of Customs, and had been + committed to prison for non-payment. On a motion for a writ of + <i>habeas corpus</i> his case came on for trial in May 1655. + Maynard and two other eminent lawyers who were his counsel + pleaded so effectively that they were committed to the Tower for + what was called language destructive to the Government. Cony + himself then went on with the pleading, and so sturdily that + Chief Justice Rolle was non-plussed, and had to confess as much + to Cromwell. It was only by delay, and then by some private + management of Cony, that a decision was avoided which would have + enabled the whole population legally to defy every taxing + ordinance of the Protectorate. Similarly the Ordinance of August + 1654 for regulating the Court of Chancery, and even the Ordinance + of Treason under which the late insurgents had been tried, had + brought the Protectorate into collision with the consciences of + Lawyers and Judges. There were such remonstrances to Cromwell on + the subject that he had to re-arrange the whole Bench. He removed + Rolle and two other Judges, appointing Glynne and Steele in their + stead, and he deprived Whitlocke and Widdrington of their + Commissionerships of the Great Seal, compensating them after a + while by Commissionerships of the Treasury. For all this + "arbitrariness" Cromwell avowed, in the simplest and most + downright manner, the plea of absolute necessity. The very + existence of his Protectorate was at peril; and that meant, he + declared, the existence of the Commonwealth.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Godwin, IV. 174-183; Whitlocke, through April, May, June, + and July, 1655. + </p> + </div> + <p> + For such "arbitrariness" in some of the Protector's + home-proceedings there was, most people allowed, a splendid + atonement in the marvels of his foreign policy. Never had there + been on the throne of England a sovereign more bent upon making + England the champion-nation of the world. The deference, the + sycophancy, of foreign princes and potentates to him, and the + proofs of the same in letters and embassies, and in presents of + hawks and horses, had become a theme for jests and caricatures + among foreigners themselves. Parliaments might come and go in + Westminster; but there sat Cromwell, immoveable through all, the + impersonation of the British Islands. His dissolution of the late + Parliament, and his easy suppression of the subsequent tumult, + had but increased the respect for him abroad. Whether he would + finally declare himself for Spain or for France was still the + momentous question. The Marquis of Leyda, Spanish Governor of + Dunkirk, had come to London to assist Cardenas in the + negotiations for Spain; but Mazarin was indefatigable in his + offers, through M. de Bordeaux and otherwise.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Council Order Books <i>passim</i>; Guizot, II. 203. + </p> + </div> + <p> + While the Parliament was still sitting, Cromwell had sent out two + fleets, one under the command of Blake (Oct. 1654), the other + under that of Penn (Dec. 1654). There was the utmost secrecy as + to the destination and objects of both, but the mystery did not + last long about Blake's. He had received instructions to go into + the Mediterranean, make calls there on all powers against which + the Commonwealth had claims, and bring them to account. Blake + fulfilled his mission with his usual precision and success. His + first call of any importance was on the Grand Duke of Tuscany, + formerly so much in the good graces of the Commonwealth (Vol. IV. + pp. 483-485), but whom Cromwell, after looking more into matters, + had found culpable. Blake's demands were for heavy money-damages + on account of English ships taken by Prince Rupert in 1650, and + sold in Tuscan ports, and also on account of English ships + ordered out of Leghorn harbour in March 1653, so that they fell + into the hands of the Dutch. There was the utmost consternation + among the Tuscans, and the alarm extended even to Rome, inasmuch + as some of Rupert's prizes had been sold in the Papal States. A + disembarcation of the English heretics and even their march to + Rome did not seem impossible; and Tuscans and Romans were greatly + relieved when the Grand Duke paid £60,000 and the Pope 20,000 + pistoles (£14,000), and Blake retired. His next call was at + Tunis, where there were accounts with the Dey. That Mussulman + having pointed to his forts, and dared Blake to do his worst, + there was a tremendous bombardment on the 3rd of April, 1655, + reducing the forts to ruins, followed by the burning of the Dey's + entire war-squadron of nine ships. This sufficed not only for + Tunis, but also for Tripoli and Algiers. All the Moorish powers + of the African coast gave up their English captives, and engaged + that there should be no more piracy upon English vessels. Malta, + Venice, Toulon, Marseilles, and various Spanish ports were then + visited for one reason or another; and in the autumn of 1655 + Blake was still in the Mediterranean for ulterior purposes, + understood between him and Cromwell.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Guizot, II. 186-198, with, documents in Appendix; Godwin, + IV. 187-188; Whitlocke. IV., 206-207. + </p> + </div> + <p> + While Blake was in the Mediterranean, one Italian potentate did a + sudden act of infamy, which resounded through Europe, and for + which Cromwell would fain have clutched him by the throat in his + own inland capital. This was Carlo Emanuele II., Duke of Savoy + and Prince of Piedmont. + </p> + <p> + In the territories of this young prince, in the Piedmontese + valleys of Luserna, Perosa, and San Martino, on the east side of + the Cottian Alps, lived the remarkable people known as the + Vaudois or Waldenses. From time immemorial these obscure + mountaineers, speaking a peculiar Romance tongue of their own, + had kept themselves distinct from the Church of Rome, maintaining + doctrines and forms of worship of such a kind that, after the + Lutheran Reformation, they were regarded as primitive Protestants + who had never swerved from the truth through the darkest ages, + and could therefore be adopted with acclamation into the general + Reformed communion. The Reformation, indeed; had penetrated into + their valleys, rendering them more polemical for their faith, and + more fierce against the Church of Rome, than they had been + before. They had experienced persecutions through their whole + history, and especially after the Reformation; but, on the whole, + the two last Dukes of Savoy, and also Christine, daughter of + Henry IV. of France, and Duchess-Regent through the minority of + her son, the present Duke, had protected them in their + privileges, even while extirpating Protestantism in the rest of + the Piedmontese dominions. Latterly, however, there had been a + passion at Turin and at Rome for their conversion to the Catholic + faith, and priests had been traversing their valleys for the + purpose. The murder of one such priest, and some open insults to + the Catholic worship, about Christmas 1654, are said to have + occasioned what followed. + </p> + <p> + On the 25th of January, 1654-5, an edict was issued, under the + authority of the Duke of Savoy, "commanding and enjoining every + head of a family, with its members, of the pretended Reformed + Religion, of what rank, degree, or condition soever, none + excepted, inhabiting and possessing estates in the places of + Luserna, Lucernetta, San Giovanni, La Torre, Bubbiana, and + Fenile, Campiglione, Briccherassio, and San Secondo, within three + days, to withdraw and depart, and be, with their families, + withdrawn, out of the said places, and transported into the + places and limits marked out for toleration by his Royal Highness + during his good pleasure, namely Bobbio, Villaro, Angrogna, + Rorata, and the County of Bonetti, under pain of death and + confiscation of goods and houses, unless they gave evidence + within twenty days of having become Catholics." Furthermore it + was commanded that in every one even of the tolerated places + there should be regular celebration of the Holy Mass, and that + there should be no interference therewith, nor any dissuasion of + any one from turning a Catholic, also on pain of death. All the + places named are in the Valley of Luserna, and the object was a + wholesale shifting of the Protestants of that valley out of nine + of its communes and their concentration into five higher up. In + vain were there remonstrances at Turin from those immediately + concerned. On the 17th of April, 1655, the Marquis di Pianezza + entered the doomed region with a body of troops, mainly + Piedmontese, but with French and Irish among them. There was + resistance, fighting, burning, pillaging, flight to the + mountains, and chasing and murdering for eight days, Saturday, + April 24, being the climax. The names of about three hundred of + those murdered individually are on record, with the ways of the + deaths of many of them. Women were ripped open, or carried about + impaled on spikes; men, women, and children, were flung from + precipices, hacked, tortured, roasted alive; the heads of some of + the dead were boiled and the brains eaten; there are forty + printed pages, and twenty-six ghastly engravings, by way of + Protestant tradition of the ascertained variety of the devilry. + The massacre was chiefly in the Valley of Luserna, but extended + also into the other two valleys. The fugitives were huddled in + crowds high among the mountains, moaning and starving; and not a + few, women and infants especially, perished amid the snows. On + the 27th of April some of the remaining Protestant pastors and + others, gathered together somewhere, addressed a circular letter + to Protestants outside the Valleys, stating the hard case of the + survivors. "Our beautiful and flourishing churches," they said, + "are utterly lost, and that without remedy, unless God Almighty + work miracles for us. Their time is come, and our measure is + full. O have pity upon the desolations of Jerusalem, and be + grieved for the afflictions of poor Joseph! Shew the real effects + of your compassions, and let your bowels yearn for so many + thousands of poor souls who are reduced to a morsel of bread for + following the Lamb whithersoever he goes."<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Morland's History of the Evangelical Churches of the Valleys + of Piedmont, with a Relation of the Massacre (1658), 287-428; + Guizot, II. 213-215. + </p> + </div> + <p> + There was a shudder of abhorrence through Protestant Europe, but + no one was so much roused as Cromwell. In the interval between + the Duke of Savoy's edict and the Massacre he had been desirous + that the Vaudois should publicly appeal to him rather than to the + Swiss; and, when the news of the Massacre reached England, he + avowed that it came "as near his heart as if his own nearest and + dearest had been concerned." On Thursday the 17th of May, and for + many days more, the business of the Savoy Protestants was the + chief occupation of the Council. Letters, all in Milton's Latin, + but signed by the Lord Protector in his own name, were despatched + (May 25) to the Duke of Savoy himself, to the French King, to the + States General of the United Provinces, to the Protestant Swiss + Cantons, to the King of Sweden, to the King of Denmark, and to + Ragotski, Prince of Transylvania. A day of humiliation was + appointed for the Cities of London and Westminster, and another + for all England. A Committee was appointed, consisting of all the + Councillors, with Sir Christopher Pack and other eminent + citizens, and also some ministers, to organize a general + collection of money throughout England and Wales in behalf of the + suffering Vaudois. The collection, as arranged June 1, was to + take the form of a house-to-house visitation by the ministers and + churchwardens in every city, town, and parish on a particular + Lord's day, for the receipt of whatever sum each householder + might freely give, every such sum to be noted in presence of the + donor, and the aggregates, parish by parish, or city by city, to + be remitted to the treasurers in London, who were to enter them + duly in a general register. The subscription, which lagged for a + time in some districts, produced at length a total of £38,097 + 7<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i>—equal to about £137,000 now. Of this + sum £2000 (equal to about £7500 now) was Cromwell's own + contribution, while London and Westminster contributed £9384 + 6<i>s.</i> 11<i>d.</i>, and the various counties sums of various + magnitudes, according to their size, wealth, and zeal, from + Devonshire at the head, with £1965 0<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i>, + Yorkshire next, with £1786 14<i>s.</i> 5<i>d.</i>, and Essex + next, with £1512 17<i>s.</i> 7<i>d.</i>, down to Merionethshire + yielding £3 0<i>s.</i> 1<i>d.</i> from her eight parishes, and + Radnorshire £1 14<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> from her seven. Cromwell's + own donation of £2000 went at once to Geneva for immediate use; + and £10,000 followed on the 10th of July, as the first instalment + of the general subscription. There were similar subscriptions, it + ought to be added, in other Protestant countries.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Letter from Thurloe to Pell at Geneva (Vaughan's + Protectorate, I. 158-159); Council Order Books, May 17, 18, 22, + 23, 25, June 1 and July 8, 1655; Morland, 562-596. Morland + gives an interesting abstract of the Treasurer's Accounts of + the Collection; but the original accounts in a large folio + book, entitled <i>Committee for Piedmont</i> &c., are in + the Record Office. The counties are arranged there + alphabetically and the parishes alphabetically under each + county, with the sums which the <i>parishes</i> individually + subscribed. Some parishes seem wholly to have neglected the + subscription, and there are blanks opposite their names. + </p> + </div> + <p> + At the time of the massacre Cromwell had two agents in + Switzerland, viz. Mr. JOHN PELL (Vol. IV. p. 449) and the + ubiquitous JOHN DURIE. They had been sent abroad early in 1654, + to cultivate the friendly intercourse already begun between the + Evangelical Cantons and the Commonwealth, and also to watch the + progress of a struggle which had just broken out between the + Popish Cantons of the Confederacy and the Evangelical Cantons. As + the Evangelical Cantons were also astir about the Vaudois, whose + cause was so closely connected with their own, the services of + Pell and Durie were now available for that business. Cromwell, + however, had thought an express Commissioner necessary, with + instructions to negotiate directly with the Duke of Savoy, and + had selected for the purpose Mr, SAMUEL MORLAND, an able and + ingenious man, about thirty years of age, who had been with + Whitlocke in his Swedish Embassy, and had been taken into the + Council office on his return as assistant to Thurloe. On the 26th + of May Morland left London, carrying with him the letters + addressed to Louis XIV. and the Duke of Savoy. He was at La Fère + in France on the 1st of June, treating with the French King and + Mazarin, and was able to despatch thence a letter from the French + King to Cromwell, expressing willingness to do all that could be + done for the Vaudois, and explaining that he had already conveyed + his views on the subject to the Duke of Savoy. Thence Morland + continued his journey to Rivoli, near Turin, where he arrived on + the 21st of June. He was received most politely, was entertained + and driven about both at Rivoli and at Turin itself, and was + admitted to a formal audience on or about the 24th. He there made + a speech in Latin to the Duke, the Duchess-mother being also + present, and delivered Cromwell's letter, The speech was a very + bold one. He spared no detail of horror in his picture of the + massacre as he had authentically ascertained it, and added, "Were + all the Neros of all times and ages alive again (I would be + understood to say it with out any offence to your Highness, + inasmuch as we believe that none of these things was done by any + fault of yours), they would be ashamed at finding that they had + contrived nothing that was not even mild and humane in + comparison. Meanwhile angels are horrorstruck, mortals amazed!" + The Duchess-mother, replying for her son, could hardly avoid + hinting that Mr. Morland had been rather rude. She was, + nevertheless, profuse in expressions of respect for the Lord + Protector, who had no doubt received very exaggerated + representations of what had happened, but at whose request she + was sure her son would willingly pardon his rebellious subjects + and restore them to their privileges. During the rest of + Morland's stay in Turin or its neighbourhood the object of the + Duke's counsellors, and also of the French minister, was to + furnish him with what they called a more correct account of the + facts, and induce him to convey to Cromwell a gentler view of the + whole affair. Morland kept his own counsel; but, having had a + second audience, and received the Duke's submissive but guarded + answer to Cromwell, and also several other papers, he left Turin + on the 19th of July and proceeded, according to his instructions, + to Geneva.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Morland, 563-583; and Letters between Pell and Thurloe given + in <i>Vaughan's Protectorate</i>. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Meanwhile Cromwell, dissatisfied with the coolness of the French + King and Mazarin, and also with the shuffling and timidity of the + Swiss Cantons, had been taking the affair more and more into his + own hands. He had despatched, late in July, another Commissioner, + Mr. GEORGE DOWNING, to meet Morland at Geneva, help Morland to + infuse some energy into the Cantons, and then proceed with him to + Turin to bring matters to a definite issue. He had been inquiring + also about the fittest place for landing an invading force + against the Duke, and had thought of Nice or Villafranca. Blake's + presence in the Mediterranean was not forgotten. All which being + known to Mazarin, that wily statesman saw that no time was to be + lost. While Mr. Downing was still only on his way to Geneva + through France, Mazarin had instructed M. Servien, the French + minister at Turin, to insist, in the French King's name, on an + immediate settlement of the Vaudois business. The result was a + <i>Patente di Gratia e Perdono</i>, or "Patent of Grace and + Pardon," granted by Charles Emanuel to the Vaudois Protestants, + Aug. 19, in terms of a Treaty at Pignerol, in which the French + Minister appeared as the real mediating party and certain Envoys + from the Swiss Cantons as more or less assenting. As the Patent + substantially retracted the Persecuting Edict and restored the + Vaudois to all their former privileges, nothing more was to be + done. Cromwell, it is true, did not conceal that he was + disappointed. He had looked forward to a Treaty at Turin in which + his own envoys, Morland and Downing, and D'Ommeren, as envoy from + the United Provinces, would have taken the leading part, and he + somewhat resented Mazarin's too rapid interference and the too + easy compliance of the envoys of the Cantons. The Treaty of + Pignerol contained conditions that might occasion farther + trouble. Still, as things were, he thought it best to acquiesce. + Downing, who had arrived at Geneva early in September, was at + once recalled, leaving Morland and Pell still there, to + superintend the distribution of the English subscription-money + among the poor Vaudois, instalment after instalment, as they + arrived. The charitable work was to detain Morland in Geneva or + its neighbourhood for more than a year, nor was the great + business of the Piedmontese Protestants to be wholly out of + Cromwell's mind to the day of his death.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Morland, 605-673; Guigot, II. 220-225; Council Order Book, + July 17. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Just at the date of the happy, though not perfect, conclusion of + the Piedmontese business, came almost the only chagrin ever + experienced by Cromwell in the shape of the failure of an + enterprise. It was now some months since he had made up his mind + in private to a rupture with Spain, intending that the fact + should be first announced to the world in the actions of the + fleet which he had sent with sealed orders to the West Indies + under Penn's command. The instructions to Penn and to General + Robert Venables, who went with him as commander of the troops, + were nothing less, indeed, than that they should strike some + shattering blow at that dominion of Spain in the New World which + was at once her pride and the source of her wealth. It might be + in one of her great West-India Islands, St. Domingo, Cuba, or + Porto Rico, or it might be at Cartagena on the South-American + mainland, where the treasures of Peru were amassed, for annual + conveyance across the Atlantic. Much discretion was left to Penn + and Venables, but on the whole St. Domingo, then called + Hispaniola, was indicated for a beginning. Blake's presence in + the Mediterranean with the other fleet had been timed for an + assault on Spain at home when the news should arrive of the + disaster to her colonies.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Guizot, II. 184-186; Godwin, IV. 180-194. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Penn and Venables together were not equal to one Blake. They + opened their sealed instructions at Barbadoes, one of the two or + three small Islands of the West-Indies then possessed by the + English, and, after counsel and preparation, proceeded to + Hispaniola. The fleet now consisted of about sixty vessels, and + there were about 9000 soldiers on board, some of them veterans, + but most of them recruits of bad quality. They were off St. + Domingo, the capital of the Island, on the 14th of April, 1655, + and from that moment there was misunderstanding and blundering. + Penn, Venables, and the Chief Commissioner who had been sent out + with them, differed as to the proper landing point; the wrong + landing point was chosen for the main body; the men fell ill and + mutinied; the Spaniards, who might have been surprised at first + by a direct assault on St. Domingo, resisted bravely, and poured + shot among the troops from ambuscade. Two attempts to get into + St. Domingo were both foiled with heavy loss, including the death + of Major-General Heane and others of the best officers. The + mortality from climate and bad food being also great, the + enterprise on Hispaniola was then abandoned; but, dreading a + return to England with nothing accomplished, Penn and Venables + bethought themselves of Jamaica. Here, where they arrived May 10, + they were rather more fortunate. The Spaniards, utterly + unforewarned, deserted the coast, and fled inland. There was no + difficulty, therefore, in taking nominal possession of the chief + town, though even that was done in a bungling manner. Then, + leaving the Island in charge of a portion of the troops, under + Major-General Fortescue, with Vice-Admiral Goodson to sail about + it with a protecting squadron, Penn hastened back to England, + Venables quickly following him. They arrived in London, within a + few days of each other, early in September, and were at once + committed to the Tower for having returned without orders. The + news of the failure of their enterprise had preceded them, and + Cromwell was profoundly angry. A bilious illness which he had + about this time was attributed by the French ambassador Bordeaux + to his brooding over the West-Indian mischance. He was soon + himself again, however, and Penn and Venables had nothing to + fear. They were released after a few weeks. After all, Jamaica + was better than nothing.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Godwin, IV. 195-203; Carlyle, III. 122-123; Guizot, II. + 226-231; Letters of Cromwell to Vice-Admiral Goodson and + Major-General Fortescue (Carlyle, III. 126-132). + </p> + </div> + <p> + One result of the West Indian expedition was that the + long-delayed alliance with France was now a settled affair. + Cardenas had his pass-ports sent him, and on the 22nd of October, + 1655, he left England. The Court of Madrid had already recalled + him, laid an embargo on all English property in Spain, and + conferred a Marquisate and pension on the Governor of Hispaniola. + On the 24th of October the Treaty of Peace and Commerce between + Cromwell and Louis XIV. was finally signed; and within a few days + afterwards there was out in London an elaborate document entitled + "<i>Scriptum Domini Protectoris, ex consensu atque sententia + Concilii sui editum, in quo hujus Reipublica causa contra + Hispanos justa esse demonstratur</i>" ("The Lord-Protector's + Manifesto, published with the consent and advice of his Council, + in which the justice of the Cause of this Commonwealth against + the Spaniards is demonstrated"). Now, accordingly, the + Commonwealth entered on a new era of her history. Cromwell and + Mazarin were to be fast friends, and the Stuarts were to have no + help or countenance any more from the French crown; while, on the + other hand, there was to be war to the death between the + Commonwealth and Spain, war in the new world and war in the old, + and Spain was thus naturally to adopt the cause of Charles II., + and employ exiled English Royalism everywhere as one of her + agencies,—Of the consciousness of the Lord-Protector and + the Council of this increased complexity of the foreign relations + of the Commonwealth in consequence of the rupture with Spain + there is a curious incidental illustration. "That several volumes + of the book called <i>The New Atlas</i> be bought for the use of + the Council, and that the Globe heretofore standing in the + Council Chamber be again brought thither," had been one of the + Council's instructions to Thurloe at their meeting of Oct. 2. + Thenceforth, doubtless, both the Globe and the Atlas were to be + much in request.—More important, however, than such fixed + apparatus in the Council Room was the moving instrumentality of + envoys and diplomatists in the chief European cities and + capitals. Above all, an able ambassador in Paris was now an + absolute necessity. Nor was the fit man wanting. Among the former + Royalists of the Presbyterian section that had become reconciled + to the Commonwealth, and attached to the Protector by strong + personal loyalty, was the Scottish WILLIAM LOCKHART, member for + Lanarkshire in the late Parliament. He had been trained to arms + in France in his youth, and had since then served as a Colonel + among the Scots. In this capacity he had been in Hamilton's Army + of the Engagement, defeated by Cromwell at Preston, and in David + Leslie's subsequent Army for Charles II., defeated at Dunbar. + Having received some insults from Charles, of such a kind that he + had declared that "no King on earth should use him in that + manner," he had snapped his connexion with the Stuarts before the + Battle of Worcester; and for some time after that battle he had + lived moodily in Scotland, meditating a return to France for + military employment. A visit to London and an interview with + Cromwell had retained his talents for the service of the + Protectorate, and his affection for that service had been + confirmed by his marriage, in 1654, with Robina Sewster, the + orphan niece of the Protector. Altogether Cromwell had judged him + to be the very man to represent the Protectorate at Paris, and be + even a match for Mazarin. He was now thirty-four years of age. He + was nominated to the embassy in December 1655; but he did not go + to his post till the following April.—Hardly a less + important appointment was that, in January 1655-6, of young + Edward Montague to be one of the Admirals of the Fleet. Blake, + who had been cruising off Cadiz, and on whom there was the chief + dependence for action against the Spaniards at sea, had felt the + responsibility too great, and had applied for a colleague. Penn, + being in disgrace, was out of the question; and Montague, then a + member of the Protector's Council, was chosen. He had been one of + Cromwell's favourites and disciples since the days of Marston + Moor and Naseby, when, though hardly out of his teens, he had + distinguished himself highly as a Parliamentary Colonel. + Henceforth the sea was to be his chief element; and, as Admiral + or General at sea, he was to become very famous.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Godwin, IV, 214-217 and 298-300; Guizot, II. 231-234; + Thomason copy of the Declaration against Spain, dated Nov. 9, + 1655; Council Order Books, Oct. 2, 1655; Article on Lockhart in + Chambers's Biographical Dictionary of Scotsmen; Carlyle, III. + 309-310. + </p> + </div> + <p> + It was just about this time of change and extension in the + foreign relations of the Commonwealth that the people of England + and Wales became aware that they were, and had been for some + time, under an entirely new system of home-government, called + <i>Government by Major-Generals</i>. + </p> + <p> + The difficulties of the home-government of the Protectorate were + great and peculiar. The power of the Lord-Protector and his + Council to pass ordinances had been called in question. Judges + and lawyers were not only pretty unanimous in the opinion that + resistance to payment of imposts not enacted by Parliamentary + authority might be made good at law, and that the Ordinance for + Chancery Reform was also legally invalid; they doubted even + whether, in strict law, there could be proceedings for the + preservation of the public peace, by courts and magistrates, + under any Council ordinance about crimes and treasons. All this + Cromwell had been meditating. How was revenue to be raised? How + were Royalist and Anabaptist plottings to be suppressed? How were + police regulations about public manners and morals to be + enforced? How was the will of the Central Government at + Whitehall, in any matter whatsoever, to be transmitted to any + spot in the community and made really operative? Meditating these + questions, Cromwell, as he expressed it afterwards, "did find out + a little poor invention": "I say," he repeated, "there was a + little thing invented."<sup>1</sup> The little invention + consisted in a formal identification of the Protector's Chief + Magistracy with his Headship of the Army. He had resolved to map + out England and Wales into districts, and to plant in each + district a trusty officer, with the title of Major-General, who + should be nominally in command of the militia of that district, + but should be really also the executive there for the Central + Government in all things. A beginning had been made in the + business as early as May 1655, when Desborough was appointed + Major-General of the Militia in the six southwestern counties; + and the districts had been all marked out and the Major-Generals + chosen in August. But there had been very great secrecy about the + scheme; and not till the 31st of October was there official + announcement of the new organization. Only about mid-winter, + 1655-6, did people fully realise what it meant. The + Major-Generalcies then stood thus:— + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Speech V. (Carlyle, III. 176). + </p> + </div> + <table summary="List of Major-Generalcies"> + <tr> + <th> + + </th> + <th> + Person. + </th> + <th> + District. + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1. + </td> + <td> + MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP SKIPPON. + </td> + <td> + <i>London.</i> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 2. + </td> + <td> + MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN BARKSTEAD. + </td> + <td> + <i>Westminster and Middlesex.</i> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 3. + </td> + <td> + MAJOR-GENERAL THOMAS KELSEY. + </td> + <td> + <i>Kent and Surrey.</i> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 4. + </td> + <td> + MAJOR-GENERAL WILLIAM GOFFE. + </td> + <td> + <i>Sussex, Hants, and Berks.</i> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 5. + </td> + <td> + FLEETWOOD (with MAJOR-GENERAL HEZEKIAH HAYNES as his deputy). + </td> + <td> + <i>Oxford, Bucks, Herts, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and + Cambridge.</i> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 6. + </td> + <td> + MAJOR-GENERAL EDWARD WHALLEY. + </td> + <td> + <i>Lincoln, Notts, Derby, Warwick, and Leicester.</i> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 7. + </td> + <td> + MAJOR-GENERAL WILLIAM BUTLER. + </td> + <td> + <i>Northampton, Bedford, Hunts, and Rutland.</i> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 8. + </td> + <td> + MAJOR-GENERAL CHARLES WORSLEY (succeeded by MAJOR-GENERAL + TOBIAS BRIDGES). + </td> + <td> + <i>Chester, Lancaster, and Stafford.</i> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 9. + </td> + <td> + LAMBERT (with MAJOR-GENERAL ROBERT TILBURNE and MAJOR-GENERAL + CHARLES HOWARD as his deputies). + </td> + <td> + <i>York, Durham, Cumberland Westmorland, and + Northumberland.</i> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 10. + </td> + <td> + MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN DESBOROUGH. + </td> + <td> + <i>Gloucester, Wilts, Dorset, Somerset, Devon, and + Cornwall.</i> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 11. + </td> + <td> + MAJOR-GENERAL JAMES BERRY. + </td> + <td> + <i>Worcester, Hereford, Salop, and North Wales.</i> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 12. + </td> + <td> + MAJOR-GENERAL DAWKINS. + </td> + <td> + <i>Monmouthshire and South Wales.</i><sup>1</sup> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Council Order Books, as digested by Godwin, IV. 228-229. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The powers intrusted to these Major-Generals and to their + subordinate officers in the several counties were all but + universal. They were to patrol the counties with horse and foot, + but especially with horse. They were to guard against robberies + and tumults and to bring criminals to punishment. They were to + take charge of the public morals, and see the laws put in force + against drunkenness, blasphemy, plays and interludes, profanation + of the Lord's Day, and disorderliness generally. They were to + keep a register of all disaffected persons, remove arms from + their houses, note their changes of residence, and take security + for the good behaviour of themselves, their families, and + servants. All travellers and strangers were bound to appear + before them, and give an account of themselves and their + business. They were to arrest vagabonds and persons with no + visible means of living. Above all, they were to see to the + execution of a certain very severe and far-reaching measure which + the Protector and the Council had determined to adopt in + consequence of the late Royalist insurrection and conspiracy. + </p> + <p> + Either from information that had been received, or merely <i>in + terrorem</i>, there had, during the past summer and autumn, been + numerous arrests of persons of rank and wealth that had hitherto + been allowed to live quietly in their country mansions, on the + understanding that, though Royalists, they had ceased to be such, + in any active sense. The Marquis of Hertford, the Earl of + Lindsey, the Earl of Newport, the Earl of Northampton, the Earl + of Rivers, the Earl of Peterborough, Viscount Falkland, and Lords + Lovelace, St. John, Petre, Coventry, Maynard, Lucas, and + Willoughby of Parham, with a great many commoners of distinction, + had been thus arrested. There was a general consternation among + the peaceful Royalists throughout the country. It looked as if + their peacefulness was to be of no avail, as if the Act of + Oblivion of Feb. 1651-2 was to be a dead letter, as if Cromwell + had suddenly changed his policy of universal conciliation. In + reality, Cromwell had no intention of reversing his policy of + universal conciliation; but he wanted to teach the lesson that + Royalist insurrections and conspiracies would fall heavily on the + Royalists themselves, and he wanted particularly, at that moment, + to make the Royalists pay the expenses of the police kept up on + their account. Under cover of the consternation caused by the + numerous arrests, he introduced, in fact, a <i>Decimation</i> + upon the Royalists, i.e. an income tax of ten per cent, upon all + Royalists possessing estates in land of £100 a year and upwards + or personal property worth £1500. It was to be the main business + of the Major-Generals to assess this tax within their bounds, and + to collect it strictly and swiftly. It is astonishing with what + ease they succeeded. It seems to have been even a relief to the + Royalists to know definitely what their principles were to cost + them, and to have arrest or the dread of it commuted into a fixed + money payment. As soon as the tax was fairly in operation, all or + most of those who had been arrested were liberated, and + subsequent arrests by the Major-Generals themselves were only of + vagabonds or suspicious persons. The only appeal from the + Major-Generals was to his Highness himself and the + Council.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Godwin, 223-242; Carlyle, III. 101. + </p> + </div> + <p> + What with the vigilance of the Major-Generals in their districts, + what with the edicts of the Protector and the Council for the + direction of the Major-Generals, the public order now kept over + all England and Wales was wonderfully strict. At no time since + the beginning of the Commonwealth had there been so much of that + general decorum of external behaviour which Cromwell liked to + see. Cock-fights, dancing at fairs, and other such amusements, + were under ban. Indecent publications that had flourished long in + the guise of weekly pamphlets disappeared; and books of the same + sort were more closely looked after than they had been. But what + shall we say about this Order, affecting the newspaper press + especially:—"<i>Wednesday, 5th Sept.</i>, 1655—At the + Council at Whitehall, Ordered by his Highness the Lord Protector + and the Council, That no person whatever do presume to publish in + print any matter of public news or intelligence without leave of + the Secretary of State"? The effect of the order was that not + only the indecent publications purporting to be newspapers were + suppressed, but also a considerable number of newspapers proper, + insomuch that the London newspaper press was reduced thenceforth + to two weekly prints, authorized by Thurloe, viz. Needham's + <i>Mercurius Politicus</i>, published on Thursdays, and <i>The + Public Intelligencer</i>, a more recent adventure, published on + Mondays. Just after the order, I note, the <i>Mercurius + Politicus</i> enlarged its size somewhat, to match with the + <i>Public Intelligencer</i>, and in the first number of the new + size (Sept. 22-Oct. 4, 1655) the Editor speaks with great + approbation of the Order of Council "silencing the many pamphlets + that have hitherto presumed to come abroad." Needham seems now to + have assumed the editorship of both papers; and after the + twenty-third number of the <i>Intelligencer</i> (March 3-10, + 1655-6) the publisher of it, as well as of the <i>Mercurius + Politicus</i>, was Thomas Newcome. The newspaper press of the + Protectorate was thus pretty well consolidated by Mr. Thurloe. + There were two papers only, under one management, or rather there + was a single bi-weekly newspaper with alternative + names.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Council Order Books of 1655 and 1658 <i>passim; Merc. + Pol.</i> and <i>Public Intelligencer</i> of dates given. + </p> + </div> + <p> + It was part of the duty of the Major-Generals to assist, so far + as might still be necessary, in the execution of the Ordinance of + Aug. 1654 for the ejection of scandalous and insufficient + ministers and schoolmasters (Vol. IV. p. 564 and p. 571), The + County <i>Committees of Ejectors</i> under that Ordinance had + already performed their disagreeable work in part, but were still + busy. On the whole, though they turned out many, they seem not to + have abused their powers. "I must needs say," is Baxter's + testimony, "that in all the counties where I was acquainted, six + to one at least, if not many more, that were sequestered by the + Committees were, by the oaths of witnesses, proved insufficient + or scandalous, or both—especially guilty of drunkenness or + swearing,—and those that, being able godly preachers, were + cast out for the war alone, as for their opinions' sake, were + comparatively very few. This, I know, will displease that party; + but this is true." Baxter admits, indeed, that there were cases + in which the Committees were swayed too much by mere political + feeling, and ejected men from their pulpits whom it would have + been better to retain. Other authorities assert the same more + strongly, but rather fail in the proof. The most notorious + instance produced of a blunder on the part of any of the + Committees was in Berkshire. The Rector of Childrey in this + county was the learned orientalist Pocock, who had lost his + Professorship of Hebrew in the University of Oxford for refusing + the engagement to the Commonwealth, but still held the Arabic + lectureship there, because there was no one else who knew Arabic + sufficiently. Not liking his look, or not seeing what Orientalism + had to do with the Gospel, the rude Berkshire Committee were on + the point of turning him out of his Rectory, when Dr. Owen + interfered manfully and prevented the scandal. About the same + time, it is said, Thomas Fuller was in some trepidation about his + living of Waltham Abbey, in Essex, but acquitted himself before + the Committee handsomely.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Baxter, 74; Wood's Ath. IV. 319; Godwin, IV. 40-41. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Distinct from the County Committees of Ejectors, and forming the + other great constitutional power in Cromwell's + Church-Establishment, was the Central or London <i>Committee of + the Thirty-eight Triers</i> (Vol. IV. p. 571). It was their duty + to examine "all candidates for the public ministry," i.e. all + persons presented to livings by the patrons of the same, and pass + only those that were fit. Baxter's report of the work of these + Triers, as done either by themselves in conclave, or by + Sub-commissioners for them in the counties, is the more + remarkable because he disowned the authority under which the + Triers acted and was in controversy with most of them. "Though + their authority was null," he says, "and though some few + over-busy and over-rigid Independents among them, were too severe + against all that were Arminians, and too particular in inquiring + after evidences of sanctification in those whom they examined, + and somewhat too lax in their admission of unlearned and + erroneous men that favoured Antinomianism or Anabaptism, yet, to + give them their due, they did abundance of good to the Church. + They saved many a congregation from ignorant, ungodly, drunken + teachers. That sort of men that intended no more in the ministry + than to say a sermon as readers say their common prayers, and so + patch up a few good words together to talk the people asleep with + on Sunday, and all the rest of the week go with them to the + ale-house and harden them in sin; and that sort of ministers that + either preached against a holy life, or preached as men that + never were acquainted with it; all those that used the ministry + but as a common trade to live by, and were never likely to + convert a soul:—all these they usually rejected, and in + their stead admitted of any that were able serious preachers, and + lived a godly life, of what tolerable opinion soever they were. + So that, though they were many of them somewhat partial for the + Independents, Separatists, Fifth Monarchy men, and Anabaptists, + and against the Prelatists and Arminians, yet so great was the + benefit above the hurt which they brought to the Church that many + thousands of souls blessed God for the faithful ministers whom + they let in." Royalist writers after the Restoration give, of + course, a different picture. "Ignorant, bold, canting fellows," + they say, "laics, mechanics, and pedlars," were brought into the + Church by Cromwell's Triers. One may, in the main, trust + Baxter.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Baxter, 72; Noal, IV. 102-109. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Cromwell's Established Church of England and Wales may now be + imaged with tolerable accuracy. It contained two patches of + completed Presbyterian organization, one in London and the other + in Lancashire. The system of Presbyteries or Classes, with + half-yearly Provincial Assemblies, which had been set up by the + Long Parliament in these two districts, remained undisturbed. + Both in London and in Lancashire, however, the system was in a + languid state; and for the rest of the country, and indeed for + non-Presbyterians in London and Lancashire too, the Church or + Public Ministry was practically on the principle of the + Independency of Congregations. Each parish had, or was to have, + its regular minister, recognised by the State, and the + association of ministers among themselves for consultation or + mutual criticism was very much left to chance and discretion. + Ministers and deacons, however, did draw up Agreements and form + voluntary Associations in various counties, holding monthly or + other periodical meetings; and, as it was the rule in such + associations not to meddle with matters of Civil Government, they + were countenanced by the Protectorate. Baxter tells us much of + the Association in Worcestershire which he had helped to form in + 1653, and adds that similar associations sprang up afterwards in + Cumberland and Westmorland, Wilts, Dorset, Somersetshire, + Hampshire, and Essex. These Associations are to be conceived as + imperfect substitutes for the regular Presbyterian organization, + and most of the ministers belonging to them were eclectics or + quasi-Presbyterians, like Baxter himself, making the most of + untoward circumstances, while the stricter Presbyterians, who + sighed for the perfect model, held aloof. Perhaps the majority of + the State-clergy all over the country consisted of these two + classes of Presbyterians baulked of their full + Presbyterianism,—the <i>Rigid Presbyterians</i>, who would + accept nothing short of the system as exemplified in London and + Lancashire, and the <i>Eclectics</i> or + <i>Quasi-Presbyterians</i> grouped in voluntary Associations. But + among the State-clergy collectively there were several other + varieties. There were many of the old <i>Church-of-England + Rectors and Vicars</i>, still Prelatic in sentiment, and, though + obliged to disuse the Book of Common Prayer, maintaining some + sweet remnant of Anglicanism. Some of these, not of the High + Church school, did not scruple to join the quasi-Presbyterian + Associations that were liberal enough to admit them; but most + found more liberty in keeping by themselves. Then there were the + Independents proper, drawn from all those various Evangelical + Sects, however named separately, whose principle of Independency + stopped short of absolute Voluntaryism, and therefore did not + prevent them from belonging to a State-Church. The more moderate + of these Independents might easily enough, in consistency with + their theory of Congregationalism, join the quasi-Presbyterian + Associations, and some of them did so; but not very many. The + majority of them were simply ministers of the State-Church, in + charge of individual parishes and congregations, and consulting + each other, if at all, only in informal ways. Among the + Independent Sectaries of all sorts thus officiating individually + in the State-Church, the difficulty, as far as one can see, must + have been chiefly, or solely, with the <i>Baptists</i>. How could + preachers who rejected the rite of Infant Baptism, maintained the + necessity of the rebaptism of adults, and thought dipping the + proper form of the rite, be ministers of parishes, or be included + in any way among the State-clergy? That such ministers did hold + livings in Cromwell's Established Church is a fact. Mr. John + Tombes, the chief of the Anti-Pædobaptists, and himself one of + Cromwell's Triers, retained the vicarage of Leominster in + Herefordshire, with the parsonage of Boss in the same county, and + a living at Bewdley in Worcestershire; and there are other + instances. Baxter's language already quoted implies nothing less, + indeed, than that Anti-Pædobaptists in considerable numbers were + presented to Church-livings by the patrons and passed by the + Triers; and he elsewhere signifies that he did not himself + greatly object to this. "Let there be no withdrawing," he says, + "from the ministry and church of that place [i.e. a parish of + mixed Pædobaptists and Anti-Pædobaptists] upon the mere ground of + Baptism. If the minister be an Anabaptist, let not us withdraw + from him on that ground; and, if he be a Pædobaptist, let not + <i>them</i> withdraw from <i>us</i>." He even suggests that the + pastor of a church might openly record his opinion on the Baptism + subject, if it were contrary to that of the majority of the + members, and then proceed in his pastorate all the same, and + that, on the other hand, private members might publicly enter + their dissent from their pastor's opinion, and yet abide with him + lovingly and obediently in all other things. How far, and in how + many places, this method of leaving Pædo-baptism an open question + was actually in operation in the Established Church of the + Protectorate, and whether Infant Baptism thus fell into complete + abeyance in some parishes where Anabaptists of eminence were + settled, or whether the Pædobaptist parishioners in such eases + quietly avoided that result by having their children baptized by + other ministers, are points of some obscurity. On the whole, the + difficulty can have been felt but exceptionally and here and + there, for it was obviated on the great scale by the fact that + most of the real Anabaptists, preachers and people alike, were + Voluntaries, disowning the State-Church altogether, and meeting + only in separate congregations. Even for such, however, in + localities where they were pretty numerous, there seems to have + been a desire to make some provision. Thus on March 13, 1655-56, + it was ordered by His Highness and the Council "that it be + referred to General Desborough, Major-General for the County of + Devon, to take care that the Church under the form of Baptism at + Exeter have such one of the public meeting-places assigned to + them for their place of worship as is best in repair, and may + with most conveniency be spared and set apart for that use." The + Exeter Baptists may have thought it not inconsistent with their + principles to accept so much of State favour. Not the public + buildings, so much as the Tithes and Lay Patronage with which + they were connected, were the abominations of the State-Church in + the eyes of the Anabaptist Voluntaries. For let it not be + forgotten that Cromwell's ardent passion for a + Church-Establishment under his Protectorate had come more and + more to involve, in his reasonings, the preservation of the + Tithe-system and the continuance of lay Patronage. The legal + patrons of livings retained their right of nominating to + vacancies; the Triers only checked that right by examination of + nominees and the rejection of the unfit. Cromwell himself + combined in his own person, to a most extraordinary extent, the + functions both of Patron and Trier. "It is observable that, his + Highness having near one half of the livings in England, one way + or other, in his own immediate disposal by presentation, he + seldom bestoweth one of them upon any man whom himself doth not + first examine and make trial of in person, save only that, at + such times as his great affairs happen to be more urgent than + ordinary, he useth to appoint some other to do it in his behalf; + which is so rare an example of piety that the like is not to be + found in the stories of Princes." We have not exaggerated, it + will be seen, Cromwell's personal anxiety about his Established + Church. That, indeed, is farther proved, in a very interesting + manner, by certain entries in the Order Books of his Council + which become more and more frequent in this middle section of his + Protectorate. They refer to "augmentations of ministers' + stipends." Thus, in December 1655, there is an order for the + augmentation of the stipends of seventy-five ministers in + different counties, all in one batch; and succeeding entries in + 1656 show the steady progress of the same work by repeated orders + for other augmentations, batch after batch. Clearly Cromwell had + resolved that there should be a systematic increase of the + salaries of the parochial clergy all over England, beginning with + those who needed it most. The details of the business were + managed by that body of "Trustees for maintenance of ministers" + which had been appointed by Ordinance in Sept. 1654 (Vol. IV. p. + 564); but the final Orders for Augmentations came from the + Protector and Council, and there was no part of his work in which + the Protector seemed to have more pleasure.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Baxter, 96-97 and 180-188; Wood's Ath. III. 1083; Council + Order Books of dates; Neal, IV. Chap. 3; Marchamont Needham's + Book against John Goodwin, entitled <i>The Great Accuser Cast + Down</i>, published in July 1657. The information about + Cromwell's practice in his patronage of livings is from the + last. The book was dedicated to Cromwell. + </p> + </div> + <p> + But what of that Toleration of Dissent from the Established + Church which he professed to be equally dear to him? That + Cromwell was faithful still to the principle of Liberty of + Conscience, to the fullest extent of his past professions, there + can be no doubt. It may be more doubtful whether his past + professions pledged him to a theory of Toleration as absolute as + that which had been advocated eleven or twelve years before by + Roger Williams and John Goodwin, and then adopted by the Army + Independents generally, and which was still upheld by the main + body of the Anabaptists. The evidence, however, rather favours + the idea that he had already been in sympathy even with this + extreme theory of Toleration, and so that now, though he had + bitterly disappointed his old Anabaptist associates by declaring + himself for the Civil Magistrate's Authority in matters of + Religion, he still cherished the extreme theory of Toleration as + it might be applied round about his Established Church. In his + heart, I believe, he was for persecuting nobody whatsoever, + troubling nobody whatsoever, for mere religious heresy, even of + the kinds he himself most abhorred. But, though this might be his + private ideal, his difficulties publicly and practically were + enormous. The other unlimited Tolerationists in England were + Anabaptists and the like, detesting his Established Church as + incompatible with true Toleration, and in league for battering it + down. Through the rest of the community there was but little + voice for Toleration. The frantic and idiotic stringency of the + Presbyterians of 1644-6 was now, indeed, rather out of fashion, + and a certain mild babble about a Limited Toleration was common + in the public mouth. But the old leaven was at work in many + quarters; occasional pamphlets from the Presbyterian camp still + wailed lamentably about "the effects of the present Toleration, + especially as to the increase of Blasphemy and Damnable Errors;" + and some Presbyterian booksellers had recently published <i>A + Second Beacon Fired</i>, in which they insidiously tried to work + upon the Lord Protector's new Conservative and State-Church + instincts; by denouncing the books of some leading Anabaptists + and other heretics, hostile to his Government, and humbly + adjuring him to "do what might be expected from Christian + magistrates" in such flagrant cases. In the late Parliament there + had been much of this Presbyterian spirit, and it had been proved + abundantly that the Protector's idea of Toleration would have + been voted down by the national representatives. Then what a + harassing definition of proper Christian Toleration had come even + from Cromwell's favourite Independents, Messrs. Owen and the + rest, with their twenty fundamentals! Add the difficulties + arising from the nature of some of the current heresies + themselves, as tending directly to the defamation of his + government, the subversion of laws and institutions, and the + disturbance of the peace.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Various Thomason Pamphlets of 1654-1656. The <i>Second + Beacon Fired</i> was published in Oct. 1654 by six London + booksellers—Luke Fawne, John Rothwell, Samuel Gellibrand, + Thomas Underhill, Joshua Kirton, and Nathaniel Webb. Two of + them, Rothwell and Underhill, had published for Milton in + former days. The heretics chiefly denounced are Biddle, Dell, + Farnworth, Norwood, Braine, John Webster, and Feake. John + Goodwin replied to the booksellers in <i>A fresh Discovery of + the High Presbyterian Spirit, or the Quenching of "The Second + Beacon Fired</i>," published in Jan. 1654-5, and so found + himself in a new quarrel. There was a reply called <i>An + Apology for the Six Booksellers</i>. + </p> + </div> + <p> + A very fair amount of Liberty of the Press, though not to + newspapers, nor to publications clearly immoral, seems to have + been allowed by Cromwell. Through 1655 and 1656 there were books + and pamphlets of the most various kinds, and advocating the most + various opinions. There were Episcopalian books and Anabaptist + books, arguments for Tithes and arguments against Tithes, Fifth + Monarchy tracts, Quaker Tracts and Anti-Quaker Tracts, in + extraordinary profusion. Prynne would publish one day <i>The + Quakers unmasked and clearly detected to be but the spawn of + Romish frogs, Jesuits and Franciscan Friars, sent from Rome to + seduce the intoxicated giddy-headed English nation</i>, and + George Fox would print the next day <i>The Unmasking and + Discovery of Antichrist, with all the False Prophets, by the true + light which comes from Christ Jesus</i>. Nor, of course, was + there, any interference with the religious meetings of any of the + ordinary Puritan sects, Baptists or whatever else, that chose to + form separatist congregations. Even those who so far passed the + bounds that they were called Ranters or Fanatics were quite safe + in their own conventicles; and altogether one has to conclude + that much that went by the still worse names of Blasphemy, + Atheism, Infidelity, and Anti-Christianism, had as quiet a life + under the Protectorate as in any later time. Practically, all + that is of interest in the enquiry as to the amount of Religious + Toleration under Cromwell's Government lies in what is known of + his dealings with five denominations of Dissenters from his + Established Church—the Papists, the Episcopalians, the + Socinians or Anti-Trinitarians, the Quakers, and the Jews. + </p> + <p> + (1) <i>The Papists.</i> Papists might be Papists under Cromwell's + government in the sense that there was no positive compulsion on + them to abjure their creed and profess another. The question, + however, is as to open liberty of Roman Catholic worship. This + question had passed through Cromwell's mind, and the results of + his ruminations upon it appear most succinctly in one of his + letters to Mazarin. After the Treaty made with France, the + Cardinal very naturally pressed the subject of a toleration for + Catholics in England, the rather as Cromwell was always so + energetic for a toleration of Protestants in Catholic countries. + "Although I have this set home to my spirit," Cromwell wrote in + reply, "I may not (shall I tell you I <i>cannot</i>?) at this + juncture of time, and as the face of my affairs now stands, + answer your call for Toleration. I say <i>I cannot</i>, as to a + public declaration of my sense in that point; although I believe + that under my government your Eminency, in behalf of Catholics, + has less reason for complaint, as to rigour on men's consciences, + than under the Parliament. For I have of some, and those very + many, had compassion; making a difference. Truly I have (and I + may speak it with cheerfulness in the presence of God, who is a + witness within me to the truth of what I affirm) made a + difference; and, as Jude speaks, 'plucked many out of the + fire,'—the raging fire of persecution, which did tyrannise + over their consciences, and encroached by an arbitrariness of + power upon their estates. And herein it is my purpose, as soon as + I can remove impediments, and some weights that press me down, to + make a farther progress, and discharge my promise to your + Eminency in relation to that."<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Carlyle, III. 202-203. The letter is dated Dec. 26, 1656. + </p> + </div> + <p> + (2) <i>The Episcopalians.</i> The question under this heading is + not about those moderate Episcopalian divines who had conformed + so far as to retain their rectories and vicarages in the + Established Church, but about those Episcopalians of stronger + principle, whether High Church and Arminian or not, who had been + ejected from their former livings, or were trying to maintain + themselves by some kind of private practice of their clerical + profession in various parts of England. Against these, just at + the time when the Major-Generalcies were coming into full + operation, there did issue one fell Ordinance. It was published + Nov. 24, 1655, under the title of <i>An Ordinance for Securing + the Peace of the Commonwealth</i>, and it ordered that after Jan. + 1, 1655-6 no persons should keep in their houses as chaplains or + tutors any of the ejected clergy, and also that none of the + ejected should teach in schools, preach publicly or privately, + celebrate baptism or marriage, or use the Book of Common Prayer, + under pain of being prosecuted. The Ordinance seems to have been + issued merely as part and parcel of that almost ostentatious + menace of severities against the Royalists by which Cromwell + sought at that particular time to terrify them into submission + and prevent farther plottings. At all events, it was announced in + the Ordinance itself that there would be great delicacy in the + application of it, so as to favour such of the ejected as + deserved tender treatment; and, in fact, it was never applied or + executed at all. No one was prosecuted under it; and, though it + was not recalled, it was understood that it was suspended by the + pleasure of his Highness, and that chaplains, teachers, and + preachers, of the Episcopal persuasion, might go on as before, + and reckon on all the toleration accorded to other Dissenters. On + this footing they did go on, ex-Bishops and future Bishops among + them, with increasing security; and gradually the notion got + abroad that the Protector began to have even a kindly feeling for + the "good old Church." Many Royalist authorities concur to that + effect. "The Protector," says one, "indulged the use of the + Common-Prayer in families and in private conventicles; and, + though the condition of the Church of England was but melancholy, + yet it cannot be denied that they had a great deal more favour + and indulgence than under the Parliament." Burnet, on the + authority of Dr. Wilkins, afterwards Bishop Wilkins, who was the + second husband of Cromwell's youngest sister, adds a more + startling statement. "Dr. Wilkins told me," says Burnet, "he + (Cromwell) often said to him (Wilkins) no temporal government + could have a sure support without a national church that adhered + to it, and he thought England was capable of no constitution but + Episcopacy; to which he told me he did not doubt but Cromwell + would have turned." Wilkins probably liked to think this after he + himself had turned; but it is hardly credible in the form in + which Burnet has expressed it. Yet Cromwell, in that temper of + conservatism, or desire of a settled order in all things, which + more and more grew upon him after he had assumed the + Protectorate, had undoubtedly the old Episcopalian clergy in view + as a body to be conciliated, and employed as a counterpoise to + the Anabaptists. He cannot but have been aware, too, of the + spontaneous movements in some of the quasi-Presbyterian + Associations of the clergy for a reunion as far as possible with + the more moderate Episcopalians, as distinct from the High-Church + Prelatists or Laudians. Among others, Baxter was extremely + zealous for such a project; and his accounts of his + correspondence about it with ex-Bishop Brownrigg in 1655, and his + conversations about it at the same time with ex-Primate Usher, + are very curious and interesting. Baxter and many more were quite + willing that there should be a restored Episcopacy after Usher's + own celebrated model: i.e. an Episcopacy not professing to be + <i>jure divino</i>, but only for ecclesiastical + conveniency,—the Bishops to be permanent Presidents of + clusters of the clergy, and to be fitted into an otherwise + Presbyterian system of Classes and Provincial Synods. They were + willing, moreover, in the interest of such a scheme, to + reconsider the old questions of a Liturgy, kneeling at the + Sacrament, and other matters of Anglican ceremonial. Enough all + this to rouse the angry souls of <i>Smectymnuus</i>, Milton, and + the other Root-and-Branch Anti-Prelatists who had led the English + Revolution. But, as times change, men change, and it is not + impossible that Cromwell, the first real mover of the + Root-and-Branch Bill of 1641, may now, fifteen years later, have + looked speculatively sometimes at the old trunk in the + timberyard. It is certain that he treated with profound respect + the man whose advice about any remodelling of Episcopacy would + have been the most authoritative generally. Ex-Primate Usher had + lived in London through the Commonwealth and the Protectorate + with the highest honour, pensioned at the rate of £400 a year, + and holding also the preachership to the Society of Lincoln's + Inn. Cromwell had shown him every attention, and had consulted + him on several occasions. He had retired to Reigate a short time + before his death, which happened on the 21st of March, 1655-6. He + was buried in Westminster Abbey, a sum of £200 having been voted + for his funeral by the Protector and Council. Eight months after + his death there was published from his manuscript, by his friend + and former chaplain, Dr. Nicholas Bernard, that famous + <i>Reduction of Episcopacy into the form of Synodical + Government</i> which had got about surreptitiously in 1641 (Vol. + II. 229-230), and which was then regarded, and has been regarded + ever since, as the most feasible model of a Low-Church Episcopacy + adapted to Presbyterian forms.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Neal, IV. 135-137 and 101-2; Burnet (ed. 1823) I. 110; + Baxter, 172-178 and 206; Thomason Catalogue, Nov. 25, 1656 + (date of publication of Usher's <i>Reduction</i>); Wood's + Fasti, I. 446. + </p> + </div> + <p> + (3) <i>Anti-Trinitarians.</i> The crucial test of Cromwell's + Toleration policy as regarded this class of heretics, and indeed + as regarded all heresies of the higher order, was the case of + poor Mr. John Biddle. The dissolution of the late Parliament had + been so far fortunate for him that the prosecution begun against + him by that Parliament under the old Blasphemy Ordinance of 1648 + had been stopped and he had been set at liberty (March 1655). But + it was only to get into fresh trouble. The orthodox in London + were determined that he should not be at large, and it was + reported to the Council on the 3rd of July that on the preceding + Thursday, June 28, "in the new meeting-house at Paul's, commonly + called Captain Chillingdon's church meeting-place, John Biddle + did then and there, in presence of about 500 persons, maintain, + some hours together, in a dispute, that Jesus Christ was not the + Almighty or most High God, and hath undertaken to proceed in the + game dispute the next Thursday." Cromwell himself was present at + this meeting of the Council, with Lawrence, Lambert, the Earl of + Mulgrave, Skippon, Rous, Sydenham, Pickering, Montague, Fiennes, + Viscount Lisle, Wolseley, and Strickland. What were they to do? + They ordered the Lord Mayor to stop the intended meeting, and all + such meetings in future, and to arrest Biddle if necessary; and + they referred the affair for farther enquiry to Skippon and Rous. + The affair, it seems, could not possibly be hushed up; Biddle was + committed to Poultry Compter, and then to Newgate, and his trial + came on at the Old Bailey, again under the Blasphemy Ordinance of + 1648. Having, with difficulty, been allowed counsel, he put in + legal objections, and the trial was adjourned till next term. + Meanwhile London was greatly agitated. The Presbyterians and the + orthodox generally were eager for Biddle's conviction; but a very + considerable number of persons, including not only Biddle's own + followers and free-thinkers of other sorts, but also some + Independent and Baptist ministers, whose orthodoxy was beyond + suspicion, bestirred themselves in his behalf. Pamphlets appeared + in that interest, one entitled <i>The Spirit of Persecution again + broken loose against Mr. John Biddle</i>, and a numerously signed + petition was addressed to Cromwell, requesting his merciful + interference. The Petition, as we learn from <i>Mercurius + Politicus</i>, was very badly managed. "The persons who presented + a petition some few days since to his Highness on the behalf of + Biddle," says that paper under date Sept. 28, "came this day in + expectation of an answer. They had access, and divers godly + ministers were present. And, the Petition being read in the + hearing of divers of those under whose countenance it was + presented, many of them disowned it, as being altered both in the + matter and title of it since they signed it, and so looked upon + it as a forged thing, wherein both his Highness and they were + greatly abused, and desired that the original which they signed + might be produced; which Mr. Ives and some others of the + contrivers and presenters of it were not able to do, nor had they + anything to say in excuse of so foul a miscarriage. Whereupon + they were dismissed, his Highness having opened to them the evil + of such a practice [tampering with petitions after they had been + signed], as also how inconsistent it was for <i>them</i>, who + professed to be members of the Churches of Christ and to worship + him with the worship due to God, to give any countenance to one + who reproached themselves and all the Christian Churches in the + world as being guilty of idolatry: showing that, if it be true + which Mr. Biddle holds, to wit that our Lord and Saviour Jesus + Christ is but a creature, then all those who worship him with the + worship due to God are idolaters. His Highness showed moreover + that the maintainers of this opinion of Mr. Biddle's are guilty + of great blasphemy against Christ, who is God equal with the + Father; and he referred it to them to consider whether any who + loved the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity could give any + countenance to such a person as he is." But, while the + petitioners were thus dismissed with a severe lecture, Cromwell + had made up his mind to save Mr. Biddle. On the 5th of October it + was resolved by the Council that he should be removed to the Isle + of Scilly and there shut up; and Cromwell's warrant to that + effect was at once issued. In no other way could the trial have + been quashed, and it was the kindest thing that could have been + done for Biddle in the circumstances. He lived comfortably enough + in his seclusion in the distant Island for the next two years and + a half, receiving an allowance of a hundred crowns <i>per + annum</i> from Cromwell, and employing his leisure in the deep + study of the Apocalypse and the preparation of a treatise against + the Doctrine of the Fifth Monarchy.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Council Order Books, July 3 and Oct. 5, 1655; <i>Merc. + Pol.</i> Sept. 27-Oct. 4, 1655; Wood's Ath. III. 599-601; + Thomason Catalogue (Tracts for and against Biddle). + </p> + </div> + <p> + (4) <i>The Quakers.</i> There was immense difficulty with this + new sect—from the fact, as has been already explained, that + they had not settled down into mere local groups of individuals, + asking toleration for themselves, but were still in open war with + all other sects, all other forms of ministry, and prosecuting the + war everywhere by itinerant propagandism. George Fox himself and + the best of his followers seem by this time indeed to have given + up the method of actually interrupting the regular service in the + steeple-houses in order to preach Quakerism; but they were + constantly tending to the steeple-houses for the purpose of + prophesying there, as was the custom in country-places, after the + regular service was over. Thus, as well as by their conflicts + with parsons of every sect wherever they met them, and their + rebukings of iniquity on highways and in market-places, not to + speak of their obstinate refusals to pay tithes in their own + parishes, they were continually getting into the hands of + justices of the peace and the assize-judges. Take as one example + of their treatment in superior courts the appearance of William + Dewsbury and other Quakers before Judge Atkins at Northampton + after they had been half a year in Northampton jail.—Seeing + them at the bar with their hats on, the Judge told the jailor he + had a good mind to fine him ten pounds for bringing prisoners + into the Court in that fashion, and ordered the hats to be + removed by the jailor's man. Then, after some preliminary parley, + "What is thy name?" said the Judge to Dewsbury, who had made + himself spokesman for all. "Unknown to the World," said Dewsbury. + "Let us hear what that name is that the World knows not," said + the Judge goodhumouredly. "It is," quoth Dewsbury, "known in the + light, and none can know it but he that hath it; but the name the + world knows me by is William Dewsbury." Then to the question of + the Judge, "What countryman art thou?" the reply was, "Of the + Land of Canaan." The Judge remarked that Canaan was far off. + "Nay," answered Dewsbury, "for all that dwell in God are in the + holy city, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from Heaven, where + the soul is in rest, and enjoys the love of God in Jesus Christ, + in whom the union is with the Father of Light." The Judge + admitted that to be very true, but asked Dewsbury whether, being + an Englishman, he was ashamed of that more prosaic fact. "Nay," + said Dewsbury, "I am free to declare that my natural birth was in + Yorkshire, nine miles from York towards Hull." The Judge then + said, "You pretend to be extraordinary men, and to have an + extraordinary knowledge of God." Dewsbury replied, "We witness + the work of regeneration to be an extraordinary work, wrought in + us by the Spirit of God." The conversation then turned on their + preaching itinerancy, and abstinence from all ordinary callings, + the Judge remarking that even the Apostles had worked with their + hands. Dewsbury admitted that some of the Apostles had been + fishermen, and Paul a tent-maker, but asserted that, "when they + were called to the ministry of Christ, they left their callings + to follow Christ whither he led them by his Spirit," and that he + and his fellow-prisoners had but done the same. The end of the + colloquy was that the Judge, with every wish to be lenient, could + not make up his mind to discharge the prisoners. "I see by your + carriage," he said, "that what my brother Hale did at the last + assizes, in requiring bond for your good behaviour, he might + justly do it, for you are against magistrates and ministers"; and + they were remitted to Northampton jail accordingly.—If + judges like Hale and Atkins had to act thus, one may imagine how + the poor Quakers fared in the hands of inferior and rougher + functionaries. Fines and imprisonment for vagrancy, contempt of + court, or non-payment of tithes, were the ordinary discipline for + all; but there were cases here and there of whipping by the + hangman, and other more ferocious cruelties. For among the + Quakers themselves there were varieties of milder and wilder, + less provoking and more provoking. The Quakerism of men like Fox + and Dewsbury was, at worst, but an obdurate and irritating + eccentricity, in comparison, for example, with the Quakerism run + mad of James Nayler. This enthusiast, once quarter-master in a + horse troop under Lambert, and regarded as "a man of excellent + natural parts," had for three or four years kept himself within + bounds, and been known only as one of the most eminent preachers + of the ordinary Gospel of the Quakers and a prolific writer of + Quaker tracts. But, having come to London in 1655, he had been + unbalanced by the adulation of some Quaker women, with a Martha + Simmons for their chief. "Fear and doubting then entered him," + say the Quaker records, "so that he came to be clouded in his + understanding, bewildered, and at a loss in his judgment, and + became estranged from his best friends, because they did not + approve his conduct." In other words, he became stark mad, and + set up for himself, as "The Everlasting Son, the Prince of Peace, + the Fairest among Ten Thousand, the Altogether Lovely." In this + capacity he went into the West of England early in 1656, the + admiring women following him, and chaunting his praises with + every variety of epithet from the Song of Solomon, till he was + clapped up in Exeter jail. Nor was Nayler the only madman among + the Quakers about this time. A kind of epidemic of madness seems + to have broken out in the sect, or among those reputed to belong + to it. "One while," says Baxter, "divers of them went naked + through divers chief towns and cities of the land, as a + prophetical act: some of them have famished and drowned + themselves in melancholy;" and he adds, more especially, as his + own experience in Kidderminster, "I seldom preached a lecture, + but going and coming I was railed at by a Quaker in the + market-place in the way, and frequently in the congregation + bawled at by the names of Hireling, Deceiver, False Prophet, Dog, + and such like language." The Protector's own chapel in Whitehall + was not safe. On April 13, 1656, "being the Lord's day," says the + <i>Public Intelligencer</i> for that week, "a certain Quaker came + into the chapel in sermon time, and in a very audacious manner + disturbed the preacher, so that he was fain to be silent a while, + till the fellow was taken away. His Highness, being present, did + after sermon give order for the sending him to a justice of + peace, to be dealt with according to law."—Naturally, the + whole sect suffered for these indecencies and extravagances of + some of its members, and the very name <i>Quakerism</i> became a + synonym for all that was intolerable. The belief had got abroad, + moreover, that "subtle and dangerous heads," Jesuits and others, + had begun to "creep in among them," to turn Quakerism to + political account, and "drive on designs of disturbance." + Altogether the Protector and Council were sorely tried. Their + policy seems, on the whole, to have been to let Quakerism run its + course of public obloquy, and get into jail, or even to the + whipping-post <i>ad libitum</i>, for offences against the peace, + but at the same time to instruct the Major-Generals privately to + be as discreet as possible, making differences between the sorts + of Quakers, and especially letting none of them come to harm for + their mere beliefs. "Making a difference," as by the injunction + in Jude's epistle, was, as we know, Cromwell's own great rule in + all cases where complete toleration was impossible, and he does + not seem to have been able to do more for the Quakers. He had + not, however, forgotten his interview with their chief, and may + have been interested in knowing more especially what had become + of <i>him</i>.—Fox, after much wandering in the West + without serious mishap, had fallen among Philistines in Cornwall + early in 1656, and had been arrested, with two companions, for + spreading papers and for general vagrancy and contumacy. He had + been in Launceston prison for some weeks, when Chief Justice + Glynne came to hold the assizes in those parts. There had been + the usual encounter between the Judge and the Quakers on the + eternal question of the hats. "Where had they hats at all, from + Moses to Daniel?" said the Chief Justice, rather rashly, meaning + to laugh at the notion that Scripture could be brought to bear on + the question in any way whatever. "Thou mayest read in the third + of Daniel," said Fox, "that the three children were cast into the + fiery furnace, by Nebuchadnezzar's command, with their coats, + their hose, and <i>their hats on</i>." Glynne, though he had lost + his joke, and though Fox put him further out of temper by + distributing among the jurymen a paper against swearing, did not + behave badly on the whole, and the issue was the simple + recommitment of Fox and his friends to Launceston prison. There, + however, as they would not any longer pay the jailor the seven + shillings a week he demanded for the board of each, they were put + into the most horrible hole in the place and treated abominably. + They were in this predicament when Cromwell heard of them. "While + G. Fox was still in prison, one of his friends went to Oliver + Cromwell, and offered himself, body for body, to lie in prison in + his stead, if he would take him and let G. Fox go at liberty. But + Cromwell said he could not do it, for it was contrary to law; + and, turning to those of his Council, 'Which of you,' quoth he, + 'would do as much for me if I were in the same condition?'" An + order was sent by Cromwell to the Governor of Pendennis Castle to + enquire meantime into the treatment of the Launceston prisoners, + and their release followed after a little while. It was noted + also, in proof of his personal kindness towards the Quakers, + that, though he received letters from some of them violently + abusive of himself and his government, he never showed any anger + on that account.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Sewel's History of the Quakers (ed. 1834) I. 137-173; + Baxter, 77 and 180; <i>Public Intelligencer</i> of April 14-21, + 1656; Council Order Book, Feb. 6, 1655-6. + </p> + </div> + <p> + (5)<i>The Jews.</i> A very interesting incident of Cromwell's + Protectorate was his attempt to obtain an open toleration for the + Jews in England. Since the year 1290, when they had been banished + in a body out of the kingdom under Edward I., there had been only + isolated and furtive instances of visits to England or residence + in England by persons of the proscribed race. Of late, however, a + certain Manasseh Ben Israel, an able and earnest Portuguese Jew, + settled in Amsterdam as a physician, had conceived the idea that, + in the new age of liberty and other great things in England, + there might be a permission for the Jews to return and live and + trade freely. He had opened negotiations by letter, first with + the Rump and then with the Barebones Parliament, but had at + length come over to London to deal directly with the Protector. + "<i>To his Highness the Lord Protector, &c. the Humble + Addresses of Manasseh Ben Israel, Divine and Doctor of Physic, in + behalf of the Jewish Nation</i>," were in print on the 5th of + November, 1655; and they were formally before the Council on the + 13th, his Highness present in person. The petition was for a + general protection of such Jews as might come to reside in + England, with liberty of trade, freedom for their worship, the + possession of a Jewish synagogue and a Jewish cemetery in London, + and a revocation of all statutes contrary to such privileges. + Cromwell was thoroughly in favour of the proposal and let the + fact be known; but, as it was necessary to proceed with caution, + the matter was referred to a conference between the Council and + twenty-eight persons outside of it, fourteen of whom were + clergymen (Owen, Thomas Goodwin, Nye, Cudworth, Hugh Peters, + Sterry, &c.), and the rest lawyers (St. John, Glynne, Steele, + &c.), or city merchants (Lord Mayor Dethicke, Aldermen Pack + and Tichbourne, &c.) There were four meetings of this + Conference at Whitehall in December, Cromwell himself taking + part. "I never heard a man speak so well," says an auditor of his + speech at one of the meetings. On the whole, however, the + Conference could not agree with his Highness. Some of the + city-men objected, on commercial grounds, to the admission of the + Jews; and the clergy were against it almost to a man, partly on + the authority of Scripture texts, partly from fear of the effects + of the importation into London of the new sect of Judaism. The + Conference was discontinued; and, though the good Rabbi lingered + on in London till April 1656, nothing could be done. Prejudice in + the religious world was too strong. Nevertheless the Protector + found means of giving effect to his own views. Not only did he + mark his respect for Manasseh Ben Israel by a pension of £100 a + year, to be paid him in Amsterdam; he admitted so many Jews, one + by one, by private dispensation, that there was soon a little + colony of them in London, with a synagogue to suit, and a piece + of ground at Stepney leased for a cemetery. In effect, the + readmission of the Jews into England dates from Cromwell's + Protectorate.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: <i>Merc. Pol.</i> Nov. 1-8, 1655; Council Order Book, Nov. + 13; Godwin, IV. 243-251; Carlyle, III. 136, note. Prynne + opposed the Readmission of the Jews in a pamphlet, in two + parts, called <i>A Short Demurrer to the Jews' long + discontinued Remitter</i> (March 1656); and Durie published, in + the form of a letter to Hartlib, <i>A Case of Conscience: + whether it be lawful to admit Jews into a Christian + Commonwealth</i> (June 27, 1656). I have not seen Durie's + letter; but Mr. Crossley (<i>Worthington's Diary</i>, I. 83, + note) reports it as moderately favourable to the Jewish claim. + The letter is dated, he says, from Cassel, Jan. 8, 1655-6. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Although making no great pretensions to learning himself, + Cromwell seems to have taken especial pleasure in that part of + his powers and privileges which gave him an influence on the + literature and education of the country. Here, in fact, he but + carried out in a special department that general notion of the + Civil Magistrate's powers and duties which had led him to declare + himself so strongly for the preservation and extension of an + Established Church. The more thorough-going champions of + Voluntaryism in that day, Anabaptists and others, had begun, as + we have seen, to agitate not only for the abolition of a national + Church or State-paid clergy of any kind, but also for the + abolition of the Universities, the public schools, and all + endowments for science or learning. But, if Cromwell had so + signally disowned and condemned the system of sheer Voluntaryism + in Religion, it was not to be expected that the more peculiar and + exceptional Voluntaryism which challenged even State Endowments + for education should find any countenance from <i>his</i> + Protectorate. Nor did it. + </p> + <p> + The two English Universities had been sufficiently Puritanized + long before Cromwell's accession to the supreme + power—Cambridge in 1644-5, under the Chancellorship of the + Earl of Manchester (III. 92-6), and Oxford in 1647-8, under the + Chancellorship of the Earl of Pembroke (IV. 51-52). The Earl of + Manchester, who had been living in complete retirement from + public affairs since the establishment of the Commonwealth, still + retained the nominal dignity of the Cambridge Chancellorship; but + Cromwell had already for five years been Chancellor of the + University of Oxford himself, having been elected to the office + in January 1650-1, after the Earl of Pembroke's death. His + interest in University matters had been naturally sustained by + this official connexion with Oxford, and had shown itself in + various ways before his Protectorate; but his Protectorate added + fresh powers to those of his mere Chancellorship for Oxford, and + brought his native University of Cambridge also within his grasp. + He availed himself of his powers largely and punctually in the + affairs of both, and was applauded in both as the steady defender + of their honours and privileges.—To rectify what might + still be amiss in them, or too much after the mere Presbyterian + standard of Puritanism, he had appointed, by ordinance of + September 2, 1654, (Vol. IV. p. 565), a new body of Visitors for + each, to inquire into abuses, determine disputes, &c. The + result was that the two Universities were now in better and + quieter working order than they had been since the first stormy + interruption of their old routine by the Civil War. Each reckoned + a number of really able and efficient men among its heads of + colleges, and in its staff of professors and tutors. In Oxford + there was Dr. John Owen, head of Christ Church, and all but + permanently Vice-Chancellor of the University, with Dr. Thomas + Goodwin, Dr. John Wilkins, Dr. Robert Harris, Dr. Thankful Owen, + Dr. John Conant, Dr. Jonathan Goddard, and others, as heads of + other Colleges, and Dr. Henry Wilkinson, Dr. Lewis Du Moulin, Dr. + Pocock, and the mathematicians Dr. Seth Ward and Dr. John Wallis + among the Professors. Cambridge boasted of such men as Dr. Ralph + Cudworth, Dr. Benjamin Whichcote, Dr. John Worthington, Dr. John + Lightfoot, Dr. Lazarus Seaman, Dr. John Arrowsmith, Dr. Anthony + Tuckney, Dr. Henry More, and others now less remembered. And + under the discipline and teaching of such chiefs there was + growing up in both Universities a generation of young men as well + grounded in all the older sorts of learning as any generation of + their predecessors, with the benefit also of newer lights, as was + to be proved by the names and appearances of many of them in + English history to the end of the century. Even Clarendon admits + as much. It was a wonder to him to find, in the subsequent days + of his own Chancellorship of the University of Oxford, that the + "several tyrannical governments mutually succeeding each other" + through so many previous years had not so affected the place but + that it still "yielded a harvest of extraordinary good and sound + knowledge in all parts of learning." He attributed this to the + inherent virtues of the academic soil itself, which could choke + bad seeds, cherish the good, and even defy barrenness by finding + its own seeds; but it may be more reasonable to suppose that the + superintendence of the Universities under the "tyrannical + governments," and especially under Cromwell's as the latest of + them, had not been barbaric.—The University Commissioners, + it may be added, had authority to inspect Westminster School, + Eton, Winchester, and Merchant Taylors'. But, indeed, there seems + hardly to have been a foundation for learning anywhere in England + that was not, in one way or another, brought under Cromwell's + eye. In his inquiries after moneys that might still be + recoverable out of the wreck of the old ecclesiastical revenues + one can see that, next to the increase and better sustenance of + his Established Ministry, additions to the endowed scholastic + machinery of the country were always in his mind. It is clear + indeed that one of those characteristics of conservatism by which + Cromwell intended that his government should be distinguished + from the preceding Governments of the Revolution was greater care + of the surviving educational institutions of England and Wales, + with the resuscitation of some that had fallen into decay. The + money-difficulties were great, and less could be accomplished + than he desired; but, apart from what may have been done for the + refreshment of the older foundations, it is memorable that + Cromwell was able to give effect to at least one very + considerable design of English University extension. A College in + Durham, expressly for the benefit of the North of England, with a + Provostship, four Professorships, and tutorships and fellowships + to match, was one of the creations of the + Protectorate.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Wood's Fasti Oxon. from 1654 onwards; Orme's Life of John + Owen, 175-187; Clarendon, 623; Godwin, IV. 102-104 and 595; + Neal, IV. 121-123; with references to Worthington's Diary by + Crossley, and Cattermole's <i>Literature of the Church of + England</i>. + </p> + </div> + <p> + While it was chiefly through the organized means afforded by the + Universities and Colleges that Cromwell did what he could for the + encouragement of learning, his relations to the learned men + individually that were living in the time of his Protectorate + were always at least courteous, and in some instances peculiarly + friendly. + </p> + <p> + Usher being dead (March 21, 1655-6), and also the great Selden + (Nov. 20, 1654) and the venerable and learned Gataker (July 27, + 1654), the following were the Englishmen of greatest literary + celebrity already, or of greatest coming note in English literary + history, who were alive at the midpoint of Oliver's Protectorate, + and could and did then range themselves (for we exclude those of + insufficient age) as his adherents on the whole, his subjects by + mere compulsion, or his implacable and exiled enemies. We divide + the list into groups according to that classification, as + calculated for the year 1656; but the names within each group are + arranged in the order of seniority:<sup>1</sup>— + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: There may be errors and omissions in the list; but, having + taken some pains, I will risk it as it stands. + </p> + </div> + <p> + ADHERENTS MORE OR LESS CORDIAL. + </p> + <ul> + <li>George Wither (<i>ætat</i> 68). + </li> + <li>John Goodwin (<i>ætat</i> 63). + </li> + <li>Edmund Calamy (<i>ætat</i> 56). + </li> + <li>Thomas Goodwin (<i>ætat</i> 56). + </li> + <li>John Lightfoot (<i>ætat</i> 54). + </li> + <li>Edmund Waller (<i>ætat</i> 51). + </li> + <li>John Rushworth (<i>ætat</i> 49). + </li> + <li>Milton (<i>ætat</i> 48). + </li> + <li>Benjamin Whichcote (<i>ætat</i> 46). + </li> + <li>James Harrington (<i>ætat</i> 45). + </li> + <li>Henry More (<i>ætat</i> 42). + </li> + <li>John Wilkins (<i>ætat</i> 42). + </li> + <li>John Owen (<i>ætat</i> 40). + </li> + <li>John Wallis (<i>ætat</i> 40). + </li> + <li>Ralph Cudworth (<i>ætat</i> 39). + </li> + <li>Algernon Sidney (<i>ætat</i> 39). + </li> + <li>Marchamont Needham (<i>ætat</i> 36). + </li> + <li>Andrew Marvell (<i>ætat</i> 36). + </li> + <li>Roger Boyle, Lord Broghill (<i>ætat</i> 35). + </li> + <li>William Petty (<i>ætat</i> 33). + </li> + <li>Thomas Stanley (<i>ætat</i> 31). + </li> + <li>John Aubrey (<i>ætat</i> 30). + </li> + <li>Robert Boyle (<i>ætat</i> 29). + </li> + <li>John Bunyan (<i>ætat</i> 28). + </li> + <li>Sir William Temple (<i>ætat</i> 27). + </li> + <li>John Tillotson (<i>ætat</i> 26). + </li> + <li>John Howe (<i>ætat</i> 26). + </li> + <li>Edward Phillips (<i>ætat</i> 26). + </li> + <li>John Phillips (<i>ætat</i> 25). + </li> + <li>John Dryden (<i>ætat</i> 25). + </li> + <li>Henry Stubbe (<i>ætat</i> 25). + </li> + <li>John Locke (<i>ætat</i> 24). + </li> + <li>Samuel Pepys (<i>ætat</i> 24). + </li> + <li>Edward Stillingfleet (<i>ætat</i> 21). + </li> + </ul> + <p> + SUBJECTS BY COMPULSION. + </p> + <ul> + <li>Ex-Bishop Hall (died Sept. 8, 1656, <i>ætat</i> 82). + </li> + <li>John Hales (died May 19, 1656, <i>ætat</i> 72). + </li> + <li>Robert Sanderson (<i>ætat</i> 69). + </li> + <li>Thomas Hobbes (<i>ætat</i> 68). + </li> + <li>Robert Herrick (<i>ætat</i> 65). + </li> + <li>John Hacket (<i>ætat</i> 64). + </li> + <li>Izaak Walton (<i>ætat</i> 63). + </li> + <li>James Shirley (<i>ætat</i> 62). + </li> + <li>James Howell (<i>ætat</i> 62). + </li> + <li>Gilbert Sheldon (<i>ætat</i> 58). + </li> + <li>William Prynne (<i>ætat</i> 56). + </li> + <li>Brian Walton (<i>ætat</i> 56). + </li> + <li>Peter Heylin (<i>ætat</i> 56). + </li> + <li>Jasper Mayne (<i>ætat</i> 52). + </li> + <li>Thomas Fuller (<i>ætat</i> 52). + </li> + <li>Edward Pocock (<i>ætat</i> 52). + </li> + <li>Sir William Davenant (<i>ætat</i> 51). + </li> + <li>Thomas Browne of Norwich (<i>ætat</i> 51). + </li> + <li>William Dugdale (<i>ætat</i> 51). + </li> + <li>Henry Hammond (<i>ætat</i> 51). + </li> + <li>Richard Fanshawe (<i>ætat</i> 48). + </li> + <li>Aston Cockayne (<i>ætat</i> 48). + </li> + <li>Samuel Butler (<i>ætat</i> 44). + </li> + <li>Jeremy Taylor (<i>ætat</i> 43). + </li> + <li>John Cleveland (<i>ætat</i> 43). + </li> + <li>John Pearson (<i>ætat</i> 43). + </li> + <li>John Birkenhead (<i>ætat</i> 41). + </li> + <li>John Denham (<i>ætat</i> 41). + </li> + <li>Richard Baxter (<i>ætat</i> 41). + </li> + <li>Roger L'Estrange (<i>ætat</i> 40). + </li> + <li>Abraham Cowley (<i>ætat</i> 38). + </li> + <li>John Evelyn (<i>ætat</i> 36). + </li> + <li>Isaac Barrow (<i>ætat</i> 26). + </li> + <li>Anthony Wood (<i>ætat</i> 25). + </li> + <li>Robert South (<i>ætat</i> 23). + </li> + </ul> + <p> + ACTIVE ENEMIES IN EXILE. + </p> + <ul> + <li>John Bramhall (<i>ætat</i> 63). + </li> + <li>George Morley (<i>ætat</i> 58). + </li> + <li>John Earle (<i>ætat</i> 55). + </li> + <li>Sir Kenelm Digby (<i>ætat</i> 53). + </li> + <li>Sir Edward Hyde (<i>ætat</i> 48). + </li> + <li>Thomas Killigrew (<i>ætat</i> 45). + </li> + <li>George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham (<i>ætat</i> 29). + </li> + </ul> + <p> + The relations of Cromwell to such persons varied, of course, with + their attitudes towards himself and his government. + </p> + <p> + The theologian among his adherents to whom he seems to have been + drawn by the strongest elective affinity was Dr. John Owen. "Sir, + you are a person I must be acquainted with," he had said to Owen + in Fairfax's garden; laying his hand on his shoulder, one day in + April 1649, just after he had first heard Owen + preach;<sup>1</sup> and so, from being merely minister of + Coggeshall in Essex, Owen had become Cromwell's friend and + chaplain in Ireland, and had still, through his subsequent + promotions, ending with the Deanery of Christ Church and the + Vice-Chancellorship of Oxford, been much about Cromwell and much + trusted by him. Perhaps the only difference now between them was + that Owen's theory of Toleration was less broad than Cromwell's. + Next to Owen among the divines of the Commonwealth, the Protector + seems to have retained his liking for Dr. Thomas Goodwin, and for + such other fervid or Evangelical Independents as Caryl, Sterry, + Hugh Peters, and Nicholas Lockyer, with a gradual tendency to + John Howe, the youngest of his chaplains. For the veteran + free-lance and Arminian John Goodwin, a keen critic now of + Cromwell's Commission of Triers and of other parts of his + Church-policy, his liking must have been less; but Goodwin's + merits were fairly appreciated, and he had at least perfect + liberty to conduct his congregation as he pleased and to publish + his pamphlets. So, on the other hand, eminent Presbyterian + divines like Calamy, accommodated amply in Cromwell's Established + Church, had all freedom and respect.—As to his dealings + with non-clerical men of letters friendly to his government, we + know a good deal already. Milton, of whose relations to the + Protectorate we shall have to speak more at large, was his Latin + Secretary; Needham was his journalist; Marvell was in his private + employment and was looking for something more public. Still + younger men were growing up, in the Universities or just out of + them, regarding the Protectorate as now the settled order of + things, in which they must pass their future lives. Cudworth, + recently promoted from the mastership of Clare College, + Cambridge, to that of Milton's old College of Christ's, had been + asked by the Protector to recommend to him any very promising + young Cambridge men he might discover;<sup>2</sup> and, + doubtless, there had been a similar request to Owen of Oxford. + Dryden, still at Cambridge, though now twenty-five years of age, + and already, by his father's death, a small Northamptonshire + squire of £40 a year, was looking forward, we shall find, as his + family connexions with the Parliamentarians and the Commonwealth + made natural, to a life in London under the great Protector's + shadow. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Orme's Life of Owen (1820), p. 113. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Life of Cudworth, as cited by Godwin, IV. 596. + </p> + </div> + <p> + All that could be expected by divines and scholars ranking in our + second category, i.e. as subjects of the Protectorate by mere + compulsion, and known to be strongly disaffected to it, was + protection and safety on condition of remaining quiet. This they + did receive. For a month or two, indeed, after the terrible + ordinance of Nov. 24, 1655, threatening the expulsion of the + ejected Anglican clergy from the family-chaplaincies, + schoolmasterships, and tutorships, in which so many of them had + found refuge, and forbidding them to preach anywhere or use the + Book of Common Prayer, there had been a flutter of consternation + among the poor dispersed clerics. That Ordinance, however, as we + saw, had merely been <i>in terrorem</i> at a particular moment, + and had remained a dead letter. The admirable John Hales, it is + true, did resign a chaplaincy which he held near Eton rather than + bring the good lady who sheltered him into trouble; and by his + death soon afterwards England lost a man of whom the Protector + must have had as kindly thoughts as of any of the old Anglicans. + That case was exceptional. Ex-Bishop Hall, in the end of his + much-battered life, lived quietly near Norwich, remembering his + past losses and sequestrations under the Long Parliament rather + than suffering anything more of the kind. Peter Heylin was in + similar circumstances in Oxfordshire, and by no means bashful. + Jeremy Taylor alternated between the Earl of Carbery's seat, + called "the Golden Grove," in Caernarvonshire, near which he + taught a school, and the society of his friend John Evelyn, in + London or at Sayes Court in Surrey,—tending on the whole to + London, where he resumed preaching, and, after a brief arrest and + some little questioning, was left unmolested. Hammond was mainly + at Sir John Packington's in Worcestershire; Sanderson and Fuller + were actually in parochial livings, the one in Lincolnshire, the + other in Essex; and Pocock was in a Professorship. Sorely vexed + as such men were, and poorer in the world's goods than they had + been, this was the time of the greatest literary productiveness + of some of them. Old Bishop Hall had not ceased to write, but was + to leave trifles of his last days to be published after the + Restoration as "Shakings of the Olive Tree"; and works, or tracts + and sermons, by Sanderson, Heylin, Hammond, Fuller, and Jeremy + Taylor, some of them of a highly Episcopal tenor, were among the + publications of the Protectorate. Fuller's <i>Church History of + Britain</i>, one of the best and most lightsome books in our + language, was published in 1655-6. Brian Walton's great Polyglott + had not yet been carried farther than the third volume; but the + Protector had continued to that scholar the material furtherance + in his arduous work which had been yielded first by the Rump + Government, apparently on some solicitation by Milton (Vol. IV. + pp. 446, 447); and the work, when it did appear complete in six + volumes folio, in 1657, was to contain handsome acknowledgment by + Walton of this generosity. Of the incessant literary activity of + the Presbyterian Baxter through the Protectorate we need say + nothing. It is more remarkable that there was no interruption of + William Prynne's interminable series of pamphlets on all sorts of + public questions, and often violently against the Government. For + the rest, where were the Herricks, the Shirleys, the Clevelands, + and the other old Royalist wits and satirists of the lighter + sort? Keeping schools, most of them, or living with friends in + the country, and now and then sending out, as before, some light + thing in print. Samuel Butler, a secretary or the like in private + families, was yet unknown to fame, but was taking notes and sure + to print them some day; and the two most placid and imperturbable + men in all England were Browne of Norwich and Izaak Walton. + Browne, all his best known writings published long ago, but + appearing in new editions, was contented now with attending his + patients; and, when Izaak Walton was not in his house in + Clerkenwell (to which neighbourhood he seems to have removed + after giving up his shop in Chancery Lane), he was away on some + fishing ramble. His <i>Complete Angler, or The Contemplative + Man's Recreation</i> had appeared in May 1653, and a second + edition of it was just out.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Details in this paragraph are from various sources: e.g. + Wood's; 'Ath. and Fasti and Walker's Sufferings of the Clergy + under the several names, Cattermole's <i>Literature of the + Church of England</i>, Lowndes's Bibliographer's Manual by + Bohn, and the Thomason Catalogue of Pamphlets. See also, for + Jeremy Taylor, Evelyn's <i>Diary and Correspondence</i>, about + date 1855-6. Evelyn was greatly concerned about Cromwell's + ordinance for suppressing preaching and schoolmastering by the + Anglican clergy, and about its probable results for Taylor in + particular. See one of his letters to Taylor (pp. 593-4, ed. + 1870). + </p> + </div> + <p> + The number of wits and men of letters still hostile to the + Protectorate to such a degree that they would undergo the + hardships of exile rather than live in England was, it will have + been observed, comparatively small. This arose from the fact that + some who had been in exile at the death of Charles I, or even + afterwards in the train of Charles II., had reluctantly lost + faith in the possibility of a restoration of the Stuarts, and had + returned to England, to join themselves with those whom we have + classed generally as Cromwell's "subjects by compulsion." Leading + cases were those of Hobbes, Sir William Davenant, and Abraham + Cowley; with which, for convenience, may be associated that of + the satirist Cleveland, though <i>he</i> had never gone into + exile, but had remained in England, taking the + risks.—HOBBES, who had been in Paris since 1641, to be out + of the bustle of the English confusions, but who had come into + central connexion with the Stuart cause there by his appointment + in 1646 to be tutor to young Charles, had been obliged to leave + that connexion, ostensibly at least, in 1651 or 1652. The + occasion is said to have been the publication of his + <i>Leviathan</i>. That famous book of 1651, like its two + predecessors of 1650, <i>Human Nature</i> and <i>De Corpore + Politico</i>, he had found it convenient to publish in London, + where the Commonwealth authorities do not seem to have made the + least objection. But by this time Hobbes's infidelity, or + Atheism, or Hobbism, or whatever it was, had become a dreadful + notoriety in the world; and, when Hobbes presented a fine copy of + his great book to Charles II., that pious young prince had been + instructed by the Royalist divines about him that it would not do + to countenance either Mr. Hobbes or his books any longer. Charles + retained privately all his own real regard for his old tutor, and + Hobbes perfectly understood that; but the hint had been taken. + Back in England at last, and permitted to live in the house of + his old pupil and patron, the Earl of Devonshire, where his only + annoyance was the society of the Earl's chaplain, Jasper Mayne, + he had found the Protectorate comfortable enough for all his + purposes, and had been publishing new books under it, including + his pungent disputations with ex-Bishop Bramhall on Liberty and + Necessity and with Wallis of Oxford on + Mathematics.<sup>1</sup>—Hobbes's friend DAVENANT had for + some time been less lucky. <i>His</i> return to England had been + involuntary. He had been captured at sea in 1650 on his way to + Virginia (Vol. IV. p. 193), had been a prisoner in the Isle of + Wight and in the Tower and in danger of trial for his life, and + had been released only by strong intercession in his favour, in + which Milton is thought to have helped. This result, however, had + reconciled him, and Davenant too had become one of the subjects + of the Protectorate. Nay he had struck out an ingenious mode of + livelihood for himself under Cromwell, somewhat in his old line + of business. "At that time," says Wood, "tragedies and comedies + being esteemed very scandalous by the Presbyterians, and + therefore by them silenced, he contrived a way to set up an + Italian Opera, to be performed by declamations and music; and, + that they might be performed with all decency, seemliness, and + without rudeness and profaneness, John Maynard, serjeant-at-law, + and several sufficient citizens, were engagers. This Italian + Opera began in Rutland House in Charter-house yard, May 23, 1656, + and was afterwards transferred to the Cockpit in Drury Lane." + Cromwell's own fondness for music may have prompted him to this + relaxation, in Davenants favour, of the old theatre-closing + Ordinance of September 1642. At all events, money was coming in + for Davenant, and he was not very unhappy.<sup>2</sup>—The + Satirist JOHN CLEVELAND, as we have said, had never gone into + exile. This was the more remarkable because, through the Civil + War, he had adhered to the King's cause most tenaciously, not + only in official employment for it, but also serving it by the + circulation of squibs and satires very offensive to the + Parliamentarians, and to the Scots in particular. Through the + Commonwealth, however, and also into the Protectorate, he + <i>had</i> lived on in England, in obscurity and with risks, + latterly somewhere in or about Norfolk, as tutor or quasi-tutor + to a gentleman, on £30 a year. By ill luck, in Nov. 1655, just + when the police of the Major-Generals was coming into operation, + he had been apprehended, on his way to Newark, by the vigilance + of Major-General Haynes, and committed to prison in Yarmouth, + There seems to have been no definite charge, other than that he + was "the poet Cleveland" and was a questionable kind of vagrant. + He had been in prison for some months when it occurred to him to + address a letter to the Protector himself. "May it please your + Highness," it began, "Rulers within the circle of their + government have a claim to that which is said of the Deity: they + have their centre everywhere and their circumference nowhere, It + is in this confidence that I address your Highness, as knowing no + place in the nation is so remote as not to share in the ubiquity + of your care, no prison so close as to shut me up from the + partaking of your influence." After explaining that he had been + and still was a Royalist, but that he had taken no active part in + affairs for about ten years, he concludes, in a clever vein of + compliment, thus: "If you graciously please to extend indulgence + to your suppliant in taking me out of this withering durance, you + will find mercy will establish you more than power, though all + the days of your life were as pregnant with victories as your + twice-auspicious Third of September." The appeal to Cromwell's + magnanimity was successful. Cleveland was released, came to + London, and lived by his wits there till his death in May + 1658.<sup>3</sup>—A much later returner from among the + Royalist exiles than either Hobbes or Davenant was the poet + COWLEY. His return was late in 1655 or early in 1656, and seems + to have been attended with some mystery. He had been for years at + Paris or St. Germains, in the household of Lord Jermyn, acting as + secretary to his Lordship and to Queen Henrietta Maria, + deciphering the secret letters that came to them, and therefore + at the very heart of the intrigues for Charles II. Yet, after a + temporary imprisonment, security in £1000 had been accepted in + his behalf, and he had been allowed to remain in London. The + story afterwards by his Royalist friends was that he had come + over, by understanding with Jermyn and the ex-Queen, to watch + affairs in their interest and send them intelligence, and that, + the better to disguise the design, he pretended compliance with + the existing powers, meaning to obtain the degree of M.D. from + Oxford, and set up cautiously as a medical practitioner. It is + very unlikely that such a dangerous game could have been safely + tried under eyes like Thurloe's; and the fact seems to be that + Cowley was honestly tired of exile and willing to comply, in a + manly way, for the sake of life once more at home. One of his + first acts after his return was to publish his Collected Poems in + a volume of four parts. They appeared, on or about April 1656, + from the shop of Humphrey Moseley, the publisher of Milton's + Poems ten years before, and still always dealing, as then, in the + finer literature. In a preface to the book Cowley distinctly + avowed his intention to accept the inevitable, treat the + controversy as at length determined against the Stuarts by the + unaccountable will of God, and no longer persist in the + ridiculous business of weaving laurels for the conquered. He + announced at the same time that he had not only excluded from the + volume all his pieces of this last kind, but had even burnt the + manuscripts. In a copy of the book presented by him to the + Bodleian Library at Oxford there is a "Pindarique Ode" in his own + hand, dated June 26, 1656, breathing the same sentiment. The book + is supposed to be addressing the great Library; and, after + congratulating itself on being admitted into such a glorious + company without deserts of its own, but by mere predestination, + it is made to say:— + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Wood's Ath. III. 1207-1212, and 972. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Wood's Ath. III. 805-806. In Davenant's works (pp. 341-359 + of folio edition of 1673) will be found, by those who are + curious, a copy of <i>"The First Day's Entertainment at Rutland + House by Declamations and Musick: after the manner of the + Ancients."</i> It strikes one as very proper and very heavy, + but it may have been a godsend to the Londoners after their + long deprivation of theatrical entertainments. The music was + partly by Henry Lawes. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 3: <i>Cromwelliana</i>, 154; Wood's Fasti, I. 499; Godwin, IV. + 240-241. There is a MS. copy of Cleveland's letter among the + Thomason large quartos. It is dated "Oct. 1657;" but that, I + imagine, is an error. + </p> + </div> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Ah! that my author had been tied, like me, + </p> + <p> + To such a place and such a company, + </p> + <p> + Instead of several countries, several men, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + And business which the Muses hate!"<sup>1</sup> + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Wood's Fasti, II. 209-213; Johnson's Lives of the Poets, + with Cunningham's Notes (1854), I. 7-12. Cowley did receive the + M.D. degree at Oxford, Dec. 2, 1657, and did remain in England + through the rest of Cromwell's Protectorate; and, though the + Royalists welcomed him back after Cromwell's death, his + compliance was to be remembered against him. + </p> + </div> + <p> + As the Muses were returning to England in full number, and + ceasing to be so Stuartist as they had been, it was natural that + there should be express celebrations of the Protectorate in their + name. There had been dedications of books to Cromwell, and + applauses of him in prose and verse, from the time of his first + great successes as a Parliamentary General; and such things had + been increasing since, till they defied enumeration. In the + Protectorate they swarmed. Matchless still among the tributes in + verse was Milton's single Sonnet of May 1652, "<i>Cromwell, our + chief of men</i>," and Milton had written no more to or about + Cromwell in the metrical form since the Protectorate had begun, + but had contented himself with adding to his former prose + tributes in various pamphlets that most splendid and subtle one + of all which flames through several pages of his <i>Defensio + Secunda</i>. It is Milton now, almost alone, that we remember as + Cromwell's laureate; but among the sub-laureates there were some + by no means insignificant. Old George Wither, though his + marvellous metrical fluency had now lapsed into doggrel and + senility, had done his best by sending forth, in 1654-5, from + some kind of military superintendentship he held in the county of + Surrey (Wood calls it distinctly a Major-Generalship at last, but + that is surely an exaggeration), two Oliverian poems, one called + <i>The Protector: A Poem briefly illustrating the Supereminency + of that Dignity,</i> the other <i>A Rapture occasioned by the + late miraculous Deliverance of his Highness the Lord Protector + from a desperate danger</i>.<sup>1</sup> In stronger and more + compact style, though still rather rough, Andrew Marvell, in the + same year, had added to his former praises of Cromwell a poem of + 400 lines, published in a broad-sheet, with the title <i>The + First Anniversary of the Government under his Highness the Lord + Protector</i>. It began:— + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Wood's Ath. III. 762-772. + </p> + </div> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Like the vain curlings of the watery maze + </p> + <p> + Which in smooth streams a sinking weight does raise, + </p> + <p> + So man, declining always, disappears + </p> + <p> + In the weak circles of increasing years, + </p> + <p> + And his short tumults of themselves compose, + </p> + <p> + While flowing Time above his head does close. + </p> + <p> + Cromwell alone with greater vigour runs, + </p> + <p> + Sun-like, the stages of succeeding suns; + </p> + <p> + And still the day which he doth next restore + </p> + <p> + Is the just wonder of the day before. + </p> + <p> + Cromwell alone doth with new lustre spring, + </p> + <p> + And shines the jewel of the yearly ring; + </p> + <p> + 'Tis he the force of scattered Time contracts, + </p> + <p> + And in one year the work of ages acts."<sup>1</sup> + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Marvell's Works, edited by Dr. Grosart, I. 169-170. + </p> + </div> + <p> + But the most far-blazoned eulogy at the time, and the smoothest + to read now, was one in forty-seven stanzas, which appeared May + 31, 1655, with the title <i>A Panegyric to my Lord Protector of + the present greatness and joint interest of his Highness and this + Nation, by E. W., Esq.</i> The author was Edmund Waller, still + under a cloud for his old transgression, but recovering himself + gradually by his wealth, his plausibility and fine manners, and + his powers of versifying. Here are four of the stanzas:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "Your drooping country, torn by civil hate, + </p> + <p> + Restored by you, is made a glorious state, + </p> + <p> + The seat of Empire, where the Irish come, + </p> + <p> + And the unwilling Scots, to fetch their doom. + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "The sea's our own; and now all nations greet, + </p> + <p> + With bending sails, each vessel of our fleet; + </p> + <p> + Your power extends as far as winds can blow, + </p> + <p> + Or swelling sails upon the globe may go. + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "Heaven, that hath placed this Island to give law + </p> + <p> + To balance Europe and its states to awe, + </p> + <p> + In this conjunction doth on Britain smile,— + </p> + <p> + The greatest Leader and the greatest Isle .... + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "Had you some ages past this race of glory + </p> + <p> + Run, with amazement we should read your story; + </p> + <p> + But living virtue, all achievements past, + </p> + <p> + Meets envy still to grapple with at last."<sup>1</sup> + </p> + </div> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Waller's Poems: date of this from Thomason's Catalogue. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Waller's verses, if nothing else, would suggest that we ought to + know something more, at this point, of the state of Scotland, + Ireland, and even the Colonies, under Cromwell's Protectorate. + </p> + <p> + SCOTLAND. + </p> + <p> + After August 1654, when the Glencairn-Middleton insurrection had + been suppressed (Vol. IV, p. 532), the administration of Scotland + had been again for some time wholly in the hands of Monk, as the + Commander-in-chief there, with assistance from the four resident + English Judges and minor officials. Cromwell and his Council in + London, however, had been thinking of a more regular method for + the Government of Scotland; and, at length, in the end of July + 1655, the following was the arrangement: + </p> + <p> + I. CIVIL ESTABLISHMENT. + </p> + <p> + COUNCIL, SITTING IN EDINBURGH. + </p> + <p> + <i>President of Council</i> (£2000 a year): Roger Boyle, Lord + Broghill. + </p> + <ul> + <li>General Monk. + </li> + <li>Major-General Charles Howard. + </li> + <li>Colonel Adrian Scroope. + </li> + <li>Colonel Cooper. + </li> + <li>Colonel Nathaniel Whetham. + </li> + <li>Colonel William Lockhart (soon afterwards Sir William, and + Ambassador to France). + </li> + <li>John Swinton, Laird of Swinton (afterwards Sir John). + </li> + <li>Samuel Desborough, Esq. (brother of the Regicide). + </li> + </ul> + <p> + <i>Chief Clerk to the Council</i> (£300 a year): Emanuel Downing. + </p> + <p> + SUPREME COMMISSIONERS OF JUSTICE (in lieu of the Old Scotch Court + of Session):—This was a body of Seven Judges; four of whom + were English—George Smith, Edward Moseley, William + Lawrence, and Henry Goodyere (the last two in the places of two + of the original four of 1652),—but three of them native + Scots, accustomed to Scottish law and practice. These native + Judges had been added for some time already, and there had been, + and were to be, changes of the persons; but one hears most of + Lockhart, Swinton, Sir James Learmont, Alexander Pearson, and + Andrew Ker. At hand, and helping much, though no longer now the + great man he had been in Scotland, was Sir Archibald Johnstone of + Warriston. + </p> + <p> + STATE OFFICERS:—Most of the state-offices of the old + Scottish constitution were still kept up, but were held, of + course, by the new Councillors and Judges. The <i>Keepership of + the Great Seal</i> was given to Desborough; the <i>Signet</i> or + <i>Privy Seal</i>, with the fees of the old <i>Secretaryship</i>, + to Lockhart; the <i>Clerk Registership</i> to Judge Smith; + &c. + </p> + <p> + TRUSTEES OF FORFEITED AND SEQUESTRATED ESTATES:—Under this + name, by the Ordinance of April 12, 1654 (Vol. IV. pp. 561-562), + there was a body of seven persons, about half of them English, + looking after the rents and revenues of those numerous Scottish + nobles and lairds the punishment of whom, for past delinquency, + by total or partial seizing of their estates, had been one of the + necessary incidents of the Conquest (Vol. IV. pp. 559-561). + </p> + <p> + II. MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT. + </p> + <p> + COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, General George Monk (head-quarters Dalkeith), + with Major-General Howard, Colonels Cooper, Scroope, and Whetham, + and other Colonels and inferior officers, under him. The total + force of horse and foot in Scotland may have been about 7000 or + 8000. It was distributed over the country in forts and garrisons, + the chief being those of Edinburgh, Leith, Glasgow, Stirling, + Dundee, Perth, Aberdeen, Dunnottar, Burntisland, Linlithgow, + Dumbarton, Ayr, Dunstaffnage, and Inverness. Everywhere the + English soldiers acted as a police, and their officers + superseded, or were conjoined with, the native magistrates and + sheriffs in the local courts.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Council Order Books of the English Council July 26, 1655, + containing letter from "Oliver P." to Monk, announcing the new + establishment; <i>Perfect Proceedings</i>, No. 307, publishing + for the Londoners, under date July 27, the names of his + Highness's new Council for Scotland; Baillie's Letters, III. + 249-250; Godwin, IV. 462-3. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Under this government Scotland was now very tranquil and + tolerably prosperous. True, almost all the old poppy-heads or + thistle-heads, the native nobles and notables, were gone. Those + of them who had been taken at Worcester, or had been sent out of + Scotland as prisoners about the same time by Monk, were still, + for the most part, in durance in England; others were in foreign + exile; the few that remained in Scotland, such as Argyle, + Loudoun, Lothian, the Marquis of Douglas, and his son Angus, were + out of sight in their country-houses, utterly broken by private + debts or fines and forfeitures, and in very low esteem. Then, + among many Scots of good status throughout the community, there + were complaints and grumblings on account of the taxes for the + support of the English Army, or on account of loss of posts and + chances by the admission of Englishmen to the same, or by the + promotion of such other Scots as the English saw fit to favour, + Incidents of this kind, much noted at the time, had been the + ejection of some Professors from the Universities by the English + Visitors in 1653, and the appointments by the same visitors of + men of their own choice to University posts—e.g. Mr. Robert + Leighton, minister of Newbattle, to the Principalship of + Edinburgh University, and Mr. Patrick Gillespie to that of the + University of Glasgow. But even Baillie, whose complaints on such + grounds had been bitter in 1654, and to whom the appointment of + Gillespie to the Glasgow Principal-ship had been a particular + private grievance, was in better spirits before 1656. Glasgow, he + then reports, was flourishing. "Through God's mercy, our town, in + its proportion, thrives above all the land. The Word of God is + well loved and regarded; albeit not as it ought and we desire, + yet in no town of our land better. Our people has much more trade + in comparison than any other: their buildings increase strangely + both for number and fairness." Burnet's account is that the whole + country partook of this growing prosperity, which he attributes + to the excellent police of the English, the trading they + introduced, and the money they put in circulation. "A man may + ride over all Scotland with a switch in his hand and a hundred + pounds in his pocket, which he could not have done these five + hundred years," was Mr. Samuel Desborough's summary account + afterwards of the state of the country which he had helped to + administer under the Protectorate; and Cromwell's own reference + to the subject is even more interesting and precise. + Acknowledging that the Scots had suffered much, and were in fact + "a very ruined nation," yet what had befallen them had + introduced, he hinted, a very desirable change in the + constitution of Scottish society. It had enfranchised and + encouraged the middle and lower classes. "The <i>meaner</i> sort + in Scotland," he said, "love us well, and are likely to come into + as thriving a condition as when they were under their own great + lords, who made them work for their living no better than the + peasants of France;" and "The <i>middle</i> sort of people," he + added, "do grow up there into such a substance as makes their + lives comfortable, if not better than they were before." Of + course, in neither of these classes, any more than from among the + dispossessed nobles and lairds, can the sentiment of Scottish + nationality and the pain of its abolition have been extinct. Yet + one notices, towards the end of 1656, a soothing even in that + respect. The Scots, all but universally, by that time, had + acquired the habit of speaking deferentially of "His Highness" or + "His Highness the Lord Protector"; correspondence with Charles + II. had entirely ceased; the Edinburgh barristers had returned to + the bar; and the Scottish clergy, pretty generally, left off + praying for Charles publicly. Lord Broghill's admirable + management had helped much to this reconciliation. "If men of my + Lord Broghill's parts and temper be long among us," wrote + Baillie, "they will make the present Government more beloved than + some men wish. From our public praying for the King Broghill's + courtesies, more than his threats, brought off our leading men." + Baillie himself had yielded that point at last.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Baillie, III. 236-321 (including letters to Spang, July 19, + 1654, Dec. 31, 1655, and Sept. 1, 1656); Burnet (ed. 1823), I. + 104-105; Chambers's Domestic Annals of Scotland, II. 249; + Carlyle, III. 342-3 (Cromwell's Speech XVII.). + </p> + </div> + <p> + Raging yet among the Scottish clergy, and dividing the Scottish + community so far as the clergy had influence, was the controversy + between the <i>Resolutioners</i> and the <i>Remonstrants</i> or + <i>Protesters</i> (Vol. IV. pp. 201-214, 281-284, 288-289, and + 361). By a law of political life, every community, at every time, + must have <i>some</i> polarizing controversy; and this was + Scotland's through the whole period of her absorption in the + English Commonwealth and Protectorate. The Protesters were the + Whigs, and the Resolutioners the Tories, of Scotland through that + time; and the strife between the parties was all the fiercer + because, Scottish autonomy being lost, it was the only native + strife left for Scotsmen, and they were battened down to it, as + an indulgence among themselves, by a larger and unconcerned rule + overhead. General Assemblies of the Kirk being no longer allowed, + it had to be conducted in Provincial Synods and Presbyteries + only, or in sermons and pamphlets of mutual reproach. The + exasperation was great; Church-censures and threats of such + passed and repassed; all attempts at agreement failed; the best + friends were parted. Leaders among the majority, or Resolutioner + clergy, were Mr. Robert Douglas of Edinburgh, who had preached + the coronation sermon of Charles II. at Scone, Mr. James Sharp of + Crail (these two back for some time from the imprisonment in + London to which Monk had sent them in 1651: Vol. IV. 296), Mr. + James Wood of St. Andrews, old Mr. David Dickson, now Professor + of Divinity in Edinburgh, and our perpetual friend Baillie. The + minority, or Protesters, were led by such ministers as Mr. James + Guthrie of Stirling, their first oracle, Mr. Patrick Giliespie of + Glasgow University, Mr. John Livingston of Ancram, Mr, Samuel + Rutherford of St. Andrews, and Mr. Andrew Cant of Aberdeen; with + whom, as their best lay head, was Johnstone of Warriston. + Peace-makers, such as Mr. Robert Blair of St. Andrews and Mr. + James Durham of Glasgow, negociated between the two sides; and + Mr. Robert Leighton, in his Edinburgh Principalship, looked on + with saintly and philosophic indifference. He hoped that, while + so many brethren "preached to the times," one brother might be + allowed "to preach on eternity" and that the differences on earth + would "make heaven the sweeter." In fact, however, the + controversy was not merely a theoretical one. Not only was it + involved whether the two last General Assemblies, of 1651 and + 1652, swayed as they had been by the Resolutioners, should be + recognised and their acts held valid, and what should be the + spirit and constitution of the Kirk in future: present interests + were also involved. It had been to the Protesters that Cromwell + had turned with greatest liking and hope, both on political + grounds and from spiritual sympathy, when he was fighting in + Scotland; and, since the beginning of his Protectorate, + <i>they</i> had been most in favour. Early in 1654 three of their + number, Mr. Patrick Gillespie, Mr. John Livingston, and Mr. John + Menzies, had been summoned to London to advise the Protector; + they had been there two or three months; and the effects of their + advice had been visible in an ordinance about vacant Kirk-livings + very favourable to the Protesters, and generally in a continued + inclination towards the Protesters in the proceedings of the + English Government in Scotland. The ministers and others ejected + by Cromwell's visitors had been mostly of the Resolutioner + species; and one of Baillie's complaints is that Protesters, + whether fit or not, were put into vacant livings by the English, + and that only Scotsmen of that colour were conjoined with the + English in the executive and the judicatories. Till 1656 all this + had been very natural. The dregs of Stuartism, and consequent + antipathy to the Protectorate, had persisted till then most + visibly among the Resolutioners.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Baillie, <i>ut supra</i>; Life of Robert Blair, 313 <i>et + seq.</i>; Wodrow's Introduction to his <i>History</i> (1721); + Beattie's <i>Church of Scotland during the Commonwealth</i> + (1842), Chap. III. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Though the Protesters were originally what we have called + super-ultra-Presbyterians, it was not surprising that some of + them had moved into Independency. There certainly were some + Independents among the Scottish parish clergy at this time, + especially about Aberdeen; and the Independents apart from the + National Church had become numerous. But mere Independency now, + or even Anabaptism, was nothing very shocking in Scotland; it was + the increase of newer sectaries that alarmed the clergy. + Quakerism had found its way into Scotland; so that there were + now, we are told by a contemporary, "great numbers of that + damnable sect of the Quakers, who, being deluded by Satan, drew + away many to their profession, both men and women." As in + England, Quaker preachers went about disturbing the regular + service in churches, or denouncing every form of ministry but + their own to open-air congregations, and often with physical + convulsions and fits of insane phrenzy. The Church-courts and the + civil authorities were much exercised by the innovation, and had + begun action against the sect, the rather because many of the + common people, in their weariness of the strife among their own + clergy, "resetted" the Quaker preachers and said they "got as + much good of them as of anybody else."<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: The quotations are from Chambers's <i>Dom. Annals of + Scotland</i>, II. 232-234. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Not an importation like Quakerism, but of ineradicable native + growth, was the crime of witchcraft; and, though that crime was + known in England too, and occupied English law-courts, Scotland + maintained her fearful superiority in witch-trials and + witch-burnings. "There is much witchery up and down our land," + wrote Baillie: "the English be but too sparing to try it, but + some they execute." Against crimes of other orders the English + judges were willing enough to act; and nothing is more startling + to one who is new to such facts than to find how much of their + business, in pious and Presbyterian Scotland, consisted in trials + of cases of hideous and abnormal sexualism. But, indeed, very + strange <i>isms</i> of quite another sort, and of which mere + modern theory would have pronounced the Scotland of that time + incapable, lurked underneath all the piety, all the preaching, + all the exercise of Presbyterian discipline, all the seeming + distribution of the population universally into Resolutioners and + Protesters, with interspersed Independents, Baptists, Quakers, + and other vehement Christians. Bead, from the Scottish + correspondence of Needham's <i>Mercurius Politicus</i>, in the + number for June 26-July 3, 1656, the following account of one of + the cases that had come before Judge Smith and Judge Lawrence in + their Dumfriesshire circuit of the previous May:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "Alexander Agnew, commonly called Jock of Broad Scotland," + [apparently an itinerant beggar, or Edie Ochiltree, of + Dumfriesshire] was tried on this + indictment.—"<i>First</i>, the said Alexander, being + desired to go to church, answered 'Hang God: God was hanged + long since; what had <i>he</i> to do with God? he had nothing + to do with God'. <i>Secondly</i>, He answered he was nothing in + God's common; God gave him nothing, and he was no more obliged + to God than to the Devil; and God was very greedy. + <i>Thirdly</i>, When he was desired to seek anything in God's + name, he said he would never seek anything for God's sake, and + that it was neither God nor the Devil that gave the fruits of + the land: the wives of the country gave <i>him</i> his meat. + <i>Fourthly</i>, Being asked how many persons were in the + Godhead, answered there was only one person in the Godhead, who + made all; but, for Christ, he was not God, because he was made, + and came into the world after it was made, and died as other + men, being nothing but a mere man. <i>Sixthly</i>, He declared + that he knew not whether God or the Devil had the greater + power; but he thought the Devil had the greatest; and 'When I + die,' said he, 'let God and the Devil strive for my soul, and + let him that is strongest take it.' <i>Seventhly</i>, He denied + there was a Holy Ghost, or knew there was a Spirit, and denied + he was a sinner or needed mercy. <i>Eighthly</i>, He denied he + was a sinner, and [said] that he scorned to seek God's mercy. + <i>Ninthly</i>, He ordinarily mocked all exercise of God's + worship and convocation in His name, in derision saying 'Pray + you to your God, and I will pray to mine when I think time.' + And, when he was desired by some to give thanks for his meat, + he said, 'Take a sackful of prayers to the mill, and shill + them, and grind them, and take your breakfast off them.' To + others he said, 'I will give you a twopence, and [if ye] pray + until a boll of meal and one stone of butter fall down from + heaven through the house-rigging to you.' To others, when bread + and cheese was given him, and was laid on the ground by him, he + said, 'If I leave this, I will [shall] long cry to God before + he give it me again.' To others he said, 'Take a bannock, and + break it in two, and lay down one half thereof, and ye will + long-pray to God before he put the other half to it again.' + <i>Tenthly</i>, Being posed whether or not he knew God or + Christ, he answered he had never had any profession, nor never + would—he had never had any religion, nor never would: + also that there was no God nor Christ, and that he never + received anything from God, but from Nature, which he said ever + reigned and ever would, and that to speak of Gods and their + persons was an idle thing, and that he would never name such + names, for he had shaken his cap of such things long since. And + he denied that a man has a soul, or that there is a Heaven or a + Hell, or that the Scriptures are the Word of God. Concerning + Christ, he said that he heard of such, a man; but, for the + second person of the Trinity, he had been the second person of + the Trinity if the ministers had not put him in prison, and + that he was no more obliged to God nor the Devil.—And + these aforesaid blasphemies are not rarely or seldom uttered by + him, but frequently and ordinarily in several places where he + resorted, to the entangling, deluding, and seducing of the + common people. Through the committing of which blasphemies, he + hath contravened the tenor of the laws and acts of Parliament, + and incurred the pain of death mentioned therein; which ought + to be inflicted upon him with all rigour, in manner specified + in the indictment.—Which indictment being put to the + knowledge of an assize, the said Alexander Agnew, called Jock + of Broad Scotland, was by the said assize, all in one voice, by + the mouth of William Carlyle, late bailie of Dumfries, their + chancellor, found guilty of the said crimes of blasphemy + mentioned in his indictment; for which the commissioners + ordained him, upon Wednesday, 21 May, 1656, betwixt two and + four hours in the afternoon, to be taken to the ordinary place + of execution for the Burgh of Dumfries, and there to be hanged + on a gibbet while [till] he be dead, and all his moveable goods + to be escheat." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + The intercourse between Scotland and London, both by letters and + by journeys to and fro, was now very brisk.<sup>1</sup> Not only + were Lauderdale, Eglinton, Marischal, David Leslie, and a number + of the other distinguished Scottish prisoners of 1651, still + detained in London, in more or less strict custody, with their + wives and retainers near them; but many Scots whose proper + residence was in Scotland were coming to London, on visits of + some length, for their own or for public business. Among these, + late in 1655, was Lockhart,—to be converted, as we know, + into the Protector's ambassador to the Court of France. The + eccentric ex-Judge Scot of Scotstarvet had already been in + London, petitioning for the remission or reduction of his fine of + £1500 for former delinquency, and succeeding completely at last, + "in consideration of the pains he hath taken and the service he + hath done to the Commonwealth." The Earl of Lothian was in + London, painfully prosecuting petitions for the recovery of + certain lost family-properties. But the most remarkable + apparition was that of the Marquis of Argyle. He came to London + in September, 1655, and he seems to have remained there for a + long while. What had brought him up was also a suit with the + Protector and the Council for reparation of some portions of his + lost fortunes and for favour generally; but he seems to have gone + about a good deal, visiting various people. "Came to visit me." + says Evelyn, the naturalist and virtuoso of Sayes Court, in his + diary, under date May 28, 1656, "the old Marquis of Argyle. Lord + Lothian, and some other Scotch noblemen, all strangers to me. + <i>Note</i>: The Marquis took the turtle-doves in the aviary for + owls." It had been his characteristic mistake through + life.<sup>2</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: In the London <i>Public Intelligencer</i> for April 12-19, + 1658, among other advertisements of stage-coaches starting from + "the George Inn, without Aldersgate," is one of a fortnightly + stage-coach for Edinburgh, the fare £4. Something of the sort + may have been running already. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Council Order Books of the Protectorate through 1655 and + 1656; <i>Mere. Pol.</i> for Sept. 27-Oct. 4, 1655; Evelyn's + <i>Diary</i> (ed. 1870), p. 248. In the Council Order Books, + under date Sept. 11, 1656, is minuted an order that, in terms + of an Act of the Estates of Scotland of March 16, 1649, the + Marquis of Argyle shall, from and after Nov. 10, 1657, have + half the excise of wines and strong waters in Scotland, but not + exceeding £3000 in any one year, until he is satisfied of a + debt of £145,400 Scots due to him by Scotland on public + grounds. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Any influence which the Marquis could now have with the Protector + in matters of Scottish Government must have been small; but it + was understood that, such as it was, it would be on the side of + the Kirk party of the Protesters. And this had become of some + consequence. In and through 1656, if not earlier, it had become + obvious that the inclinations of the Protector to that party had + been considerably shaken. The change was attributed partly to + Lord President Broghill. Almost from his first coming to + Scotland, this nobleman had found it desirable to win over the + Resolutioners. "The President Broghill," says Baillie, "is + reported by all to be a man exceeding wise and moderate, and by + profession a Presbyterian: he has gained more on the affections + of the people than all the English that ever were among us. He + has been very civil to Mr. Douglas and Mr. Dickson, and is very + intime with Mr. James Sharp. By this means we [the Resolutioners] + have an equal hearing in all we have ado with the Council. Yet + their way is exceeding longsome, and all must be done first at + London." So far as Broghill's communications with London might + serve, the Resolutioners, therefore, might count on him as their + friend. And by this time he had reasons to show. Had he not + succeeded, where the stern Monk had failed, in inducing the + Resolutioner clergy to give up public praying for King Charles + and otherwise to conform; and was it not on this ground that Monk + was believed still to befriend the Protesters? But perhaps it + hardly needed Broghill's representations to induce Cromwell to + reconsider his Scottish policy in regard to the Kirk. That same + Conservatism which had been gaining on him in the English + department of his Protectorate, leading him rather to discourage + extreme men while tolerating them, had begun to affect his views + of Kirk parties in Scotland. The Resolutioners were numerically + the larger party: if they would be reconciled, might they not be + his most massive support in North Britain? It is possible that + the institution of the new Scottish Council under Broghill's + Presidency may have been the result of such thoughts, and that + Broghill thus only took a course indicated for him by Cromwell. + At all events, various relaxations of former orders, about + admission to vacant livings and the like, had already been made + in favour of the Resolutioners; and, in and from 1656, it was + noted that extreme men in Scotland too were not to his Highness's + taste, and that, contrary to what might have been expected from + his former relations to Scottish Presbyterianism, his aim now was + to rebuild a good and solid Established Church in Scotland mainly + on the native Presbyterian principle, though under control, and + to leave extravagant spirits, including even those too forward + for Independency among the Scots, to the mere benefits of an + outside toleration. It was not his way to proceed hurriedly, + however; and, as the Protesters were religiously the men most to + his liking, and must by all means be kept within the Kirk, an + agreement between them and the Resolutioners was a political + necessity. To this end he had again, more than once recently, + requested some of the leaders of both parties to come to London + for consultation, as Gillespie, Livingston, and Menzies, for the + Protesters, had done before. Appeals to the Civil Power in + ecclesiastical matters being against the Presbyterian theory + which the parties professed in common, that suggestion had not + been taken, notwithstanding the precedent, and the parties had + persisted in their war of mutual invective in Scotland, each + getting what it could by private dealings with the Council + there,—the Resolutioners through Broghill and the + Protesters through Monk. But that could not last for ever; and, + in August 1656, strict Presbyterian theory had been so far waived + by both parties that both had resolved on direct appeal to his + Highness in London. The Resolutioners had the start. They had + picked out as their fittest single emissary Mr. James Sharp of + Crail, then forty-three years of age, already well acquainted + with London by his former compulsory stay there, and with the + advantage now of intimacy with Broghill. His Instructions, signed + by three of the leading Resolutioners, were ready on the 23rd of + August. They were substantially that he should clear the + Resolutioners with the Protector from the misrepresentations of + the Protesters, paint the Protesters in return as mainly hot + young spirits and disturbers, and obtain from his Highness a + restoration of Presbyterian use and wont through the whole Kirk, + with preponderance to the Resolutioners, though not with a + General Assembly till times were more quiet. <i>Per contra</i>, + the Protesters had drawn out certain propositions to be submitted + to Cromwell. They asked for a Commission for the plantation of + kirks, to be appointed by his authority and to consist of those + he might think fit, to administer the revenues of the Kirk + according to the Acts of Assemblies and the laws of the land + prior to 1651, the fatal year of the "Resolutions." They asked + also for a Commission of Visitation, one half to be elected by + the Resolutioners and one half by the Protesters, to have the + power of "planting and purging" in parishes and of composing + differences in Synods and Presbyteries. For urging these + propositions a deputation to Cromwell had been thought of, and + actually appointed. As it was postponed, however, Sharp was to be + in London first by himself. Hence some importance for the + Protesters in any counterweight there might be in Argyle's + presence there already. <sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Baillie, Letters to Spang, in 1655 and 1656, as already + cited, with III. 568-573 for Instructions to Sharp and + Propositions of the Protesters; Life of Robert Blair, 325-329. + </p> + </div> + <p> + No one was more anxious for the success of Mr. Sharp's mission + than the good Baillie of Glasgow University, now in his + fifty-fifth year, a widower for three years, but about to marry + again, and known as one of the stoutest Resolutioners and + Anti-Protesters since that controversy had begun. He had had his + discomforts and losses in the University under the new + Principalship of Mr. Patrick Gillespie; but had been busy with + his lectures and books, and the correspondence of which he was so + fond. Among his letters of 1654-5, besides those to Spang, are + two hearty ones to his old friend Lauderdale in his London + captivity, one or two to London Presbyterian ministers, and an + interesting one to Thomas Fuller, regretting that they had not + been sooner acquainted, and saying he had "fallen in love" with + Fuller's books and was longing for his <i>Church History</i>. + This was not the only sign of Baillie's mellower temper by this + time towards the Anglicans. He was inquiring much about Brian + Walton, whose name had not been so much as heard of when Baillie + was in London, and whose Polyglott seemed now to him the book of + the age. Baxter, on the other hand, was an Ishmaelite, a man to + be put down. All these matters, however, had been absorbed at + length in Baillie's interest in Mr. Sharp's mission. He was to + write to his old London friends, Rous, Calamy, and Ashe, urging + them to help Mr. Sharp to the utmost, and he was to correspond + with Sharp himself. "I pray God help you and guide you; you had + need of a long spoon [in supping with a certain personage]: trust + no words nor faces, for all men are liars," is the memorable + ending of the first letter that Sharp in London was to receive + from Baillie.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Baillie, III. 234-335; with Mr. Laing's Life of Baillie. + </p> + </div> + <p> + IRELAND. + </p> + <p> + There had been little of novelty in Ireland for some time after + the proclamation of the Protectorate (Vol. IV. p. 551). + Fleetwood, with the full title of "Lord Deputy" since Sept. 1654, + had conducted the Government, as well as he could, with a Council + of assessors, consisting, after that date, of Miles Corbet, + Robert Goodwin, Colonel Matthew Tomlinson, and Colonel Robert + Hammond. This last, so brought into the Protector's service after + long retirement, died at Dublin in July 1655. Ludlow still kept + aloof, disowning the Protectorate, though remaining in Ireland + with his old military commission. Left very much to themselves, + Fleetwood and his Council had carried out, as far as possible, + the Acts for the Settlement of the country passed or proposed by + the Rump in 1652, but not pushing too severely the great business + which the Rump had schemed out, of a general and gradual cooping + up of the Roman Catholics within the single province of + Connaught. In the nature of things, that business, or indeed any + actual prevention of the exercise of the Catholic Religion + wherever Roman Catholics abounded, was impracticable. It was + enough, in the Lord Protector's view, that the land lay quiet, + the Roman Catholics and their faithful priests not stirring too + publicly, the English soldiery keeping all under sufficient + pressure, and English and Scottish colonization shooting in here + and there, with Protestant preaching and Protestant farming in + its track. On the whole, Fleetwood's Lord-Deputyship, if not + eventful, was far from unpopular. <sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Godwin, IV. 447-449. + </p> + </div> + <p> + It had occurred to Cromwell, however, that more could be done in + Ireland, and that his son-in-law Fleetwood was perhaps not + sufficiently energetic, or sufficiently Oliverian, for the + purpose. Accordingly, about the same time that Fleetwood had been + raised to the Lord-Deputyship, Cromwell's second son, Henry, had + been appointed Major-General of the Irish Army. The good + impression he had made in his former mission to Ireland (Vol. IV. + p. 551) justified the appointment. Not till the middle of 1655, + however, did he arrive in Ireland. His reception then was + enthusiastic, and was followed by the sudden recall of Fleetwood + to London, professedly for a visit only, but really not to + return. The title of Lord-Deputy of Ireland was still to be + Fleetwood's for the full term of his original appointment; but he + was to be occupied by the duties of his English Major-Generalship + and his membership of Oliver's Council at home, and the actual + government of Ireland was thenceforth in the hands of Henry + Cromwell. The young Governor, whose wife had accompanied him, + held a kind of Court in Dublin, with Fleetwood's Councillors + about him, or others in their stead, and a number of new Judges. + The diverse tempers of these advisers, among whom were some + Anabaptists or Anti-Oliverians, and his own doubts as to some of + the instructions that reached him from his father, made his + position a very difficult one; but, though very anxious and + sensitive, he managed admirably. In particular, it was observed + that, in matters of religion, he had all his father's liberality. + It was "against his conscience," he said, "to bear hard upon any + merely on account of a different judgment." He conciliated the + Presbyterian clergy in a remarkable manner; the Royalists liked + him; he would not quarrel with the Anabaptists; and he was as + moderate as possible towards the Roman Catholics.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Godwin, IV. 449-458; <i>Milton Papers</i> by Nickolls, + 187-138; Carlyle, III. 108-109, and 133-140 (Letters from + Cromwell to his son Harry). + </p> + </div> + <p> + One of Henry Cromwell's difficulties would have been Ludlow, had + that uncompromising Republican remained in Ireland. From that he + was relieved. In January 1655 Fleetwood had been ordered by the + Protector to make Ludlow give up his commission; and, as Ludlow + questioned the legality of the demand, he had arranged with + Fleetwood to go and settle the matter with the Protector himself. + The Protector seeming to prefer that Ludlow should stay where he + was, and having sent orders to that effect, Fleetwood was himself + In England, and Henry Cromwell was in his place in Dublin, and + still there seemed no chance of leave for Ludlow to cross the + Channel. At length, without distinct leave, but trusting to a + written engagement Fleetwood had given him, he ventured on the + passage; and on Dec. 12, 1655, after the experience of a most + stormy sea, he had that of a more stormy interview with the + Protector and some of his Council at Whitehall. Cromwell rated + him roundly for his past behaviour generally and for his return + without leave, and demanded his <i>parole</i> of submission to + the established Government for the future. Some kind of + <i>parole</i> Ludlow was willing to give, declaring that he saw + no immediate chance of a subversion of the Government and knew of + no design for that end, but refusing to tie his hands "if + Providence <i>should</i> offer an occasion." With that Cromwell, + who had begun to "carry himself more calmly" towards the end of + the interview, was obliged to be content. He became quite civil + to Ludlow, saying he "wished him as well as he did any of his + Council," and desiring him to make "choice of some place to live + in where he might have good air." Ludlow retired into + Essex<sup>1</sup>. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Ludlow's Memoirs, 481-557; Carlyle, III. 136. + </p> + </div> + <p> + THE COLONIES. + </p> + <p> + With the exception of a factory of the London East India Company, + which had been established at <i>Surat</i> on the west coast of + Hindostan in 1612, and a settlement on the <i>Gambia</i> on the + western coast of Africa, dating from 1631, all the considerable + Colonies of England in 1656 were American:—I. NEW ENGLAND. + The four chief New England Colonies, <i>Plymouth</i>, + <i>Massachusetts</i>, <i>Connecticut</i>, and <i>New Haven</i>, + confederated since 1643, together with the outlying Plantations + of <i>Providence</i> and <i>Rhode-Island</i>, &c., still + belonged politically to the mother-country; and through + Cromwell's Protectorate, as before, the connexion had been + signified by references of various subjects to the + Home-Government, discussions of these by that Government, and + orders and advices transmitted in return. In the main, however, + the Colonies remained independent, each with its annually elected + Governor, and the Confederacy with its annually elected Board of + Commissioners besides; and, while professing high admiration of + Cromwell and approval generally of his rule, they were not + troubled with questions of rule seriously affecting their own + interests. The war with the Dutch did for some time involve them + in inconveniences with their Dutch neighbours; but their + dissensions were chiefly with each other, or domestically within + each colony. The harsh proceedings in Massachusetts and elsewhere + against Baptists and other Sectaries gave some colour to Roger + Williams's assertion that, in the matter of religious toleration, + New England was becoming old while Old England was becoming new; + and, as soon as Quakerism had broken out in New England and + Quakers had appeared there (1656), it became evident that there + would be even less mercy for that sect in New England than on the + other side of the Atlantic. Nevertheless, with their zealous + Puritanism, their energy and industry, and the abilities of their + Bradfords, Bradstreets, Winslows, Winthrops, Standishes, + Endicotts, Hayneses, Hopkinses, Newmans, Williamses, and other + prominent governors or assistant-governors, the Confederacy and + the Plantations went on prosperously towards their ultimate, + though yet unforeseen, destiny in the formation of the United + States. Cromwell, indeed, had a scheme which would have stopped + that issue. He had a scheme for fetching all the Puritans of New + England back and planting them splendidly in Ireland. + Communications on the subject had passed as early as 1651, when + Ireland had been just reconquered; but naturally without effect. + The New Englanders were not then too numerous perhaps to have + been transported to Ireland bodily; but, as one of their + historians says, "they had taken root." Their increase, however, + for more than a century thenceforward was to be mainly within + themselves, for new arrivals from England had become + scarce.<sup>1</sup> II. OTHER COLONIES AND SETTLEMENTS IN NORTH + AMERICA. These too went on very much at their own will, though + not quite unnoticed. <i>Virginia</i>, dating from 1608, and + <i>Maryland</i>, dating from 1634, continued to be the favourite + colonies for Royalist settlers, Anglican or Roman Catholic; but + there had been recent additions of English Puritans, and of + transported Scottish prisoners of war, to the population of + Virginia, and the connexions with the mother-country had remained + unbroken. There were commercial regulations about both Colonies + by the English Council, and grants of passes to them. Canada and + the other regions about the St. Lawrence, the possession of which + had been contested by the English and the French in the reign of + Charles I, had lapsed long ago into the hands of the French; but + Major Sedgwick had wrested back for Cromwell, in 1654, the + peninsula then called <i>Acadie</i>, but now <i>Nova Scotia</i>, + being part of the territory that had been granted under that name + by Charles to his Scottish Secretary, the Earl of Stirling, and + had been colonised by Scots, to some extent, from 1625 onwards. + Off the mainland, Newfoundland, which had contained an English + fishing population for at least twenty years, was not neglected; + and, beyond the bounds of any of the North-American Colonies or + Plantations that were definitely named and recognised, there may + have been stragglers knowing themselves to be subjects of the + Protectorate.<sup>2</sup> III. THE WEST INDIES. The + <i>Bermudas</i> or <i>Summer Islands</i> had been English since + 1612, and had now a considerable population of opulent settlers, + attracted by their beauty and the salubrity of the climate; + <i>Barbadoes</i>, English since 1605, and with a population of + more than 50,000, had been a refuge of Royalists, but had been + taken for the Commonwealth in 1652, and had been much used of + late for the reception of banished prisoners; such other Islands + of the Lesser Antilles as <i>Antigua</i>, <i>Nevis</i>, + <i>Montserrat</i>, and the <i>Virgin Islands</i>, together with + <i>The Bahamas</i>, to the north of Cuba, had been colonised in + the late reign; and <i>Jamaica</i> had been Cromwell's own + conquest from the Spaniards, by Penn's blunder, in 1655. The war + with Spain had given new importance to those West India + possessions of the Protectorate. They had become war-stations for + ships, with considerable armed forces on some of them; and some + of Cromwell's best officers had been sent out, or were to be sent + out, to command in them. Of them all Jamaica was Cromwell's pet + island. He had resolved to keep it and do his best with it. The + charge of it had been given to a commission consisting of Admiral + Goodson, Major-General Fortescue, Major-General Sedgwick (the + recaptor of Nova Scotia from the French), and Daniel Serle, + Governor of Barbadoes; and Fortescue and Sedgwick, and others in + succession, were to die at their posts there. To have the rich + island colonised at once with the right material was the + Protector's great anxiety; and his first thoughts on that + subject, as soon as he had learnt that the Island was his, had + issued in a most serious modification of his former offer to the + New Englanders. As they had refused to come back and colonise + Ireland, would they not accept Jamaica? "He did apprehend the + people of New England had as clear a call to transport themselves + thence to Jamaica as they had had from England to New England, in + order to the bettering of their outward condition;" besides + which, their removal thither would have a "tendency to the + overthrow of the Man of Sin." They should be transported free of + cost; they should have lands rent-free for seven years, and after + that at a penny an acre; they should be free from customs, + excise, or any tax for four years; they should have the most + liberal constitution that could be framed: only his Highness + would keep the right of appointing the successive Governors and + their Assistants. The answer of the Massachusetts people, when it + did arrive, was evasive. They spoke of the reported unhealthiness + of Jamaica, and they assured Ms Highness of their admiration, + their gratitude, and their prayers. The answer had not been + received at the date we have reached (Sept. 1656), and the + Protector still cherished his idea. As it proved, the New + Englanders were to remain New Englanders, and Jamaica was to be + colonised slowly and with less select material.<sup>3</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Palfrey's Hist. of New England, II. 304-415, and especially + 388-390. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Various minutes in Council Order Books from 1649 onwards; + Carlyle, III, Appendix, 442-443. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 3: Mills's <i>Colonial Constitutions</i> (1856), 124-133, + Introd. XXXIV. et seq.; Carlyle, III. 124-133; Palfrey's <i>New + England</i>, II. 390-393. + </p> + </div> + <h3> + <a name="Ac1s3" id="Ac1s3">SECTION III.</a> + </h3> + <h3> + OLIVER AND THE FIRST SESSION OP HIS SECOND PARLIAMENT: SEPT. 17, + 1656-JUNE 26, 1657. + </h3> + <p> + SECOND PARLIAMENT OF THE PROTECTORATE CALLED: VANE'S <i>HEALING + QUESTION</i> AND ANOTHER ANTI-OLIVERIAN PAMPHLET: PRECAUTIONS AND + ARRESTS: MEETING OF THE PARLIAMENT: ITS COMPOSITION: SUMMARY OF + CROMWELL'S OPENING SPEECH: EXCLUSION OF NINETY-THREE + ANTI-OLIVERIAN MEMBERS: DECIDEDLY OLIVERIAN TEMPER OF THE REST: + QUESTION OF THE EXCLUDED MEMBERS: THEIR PROTEST: SUMMARY OF THE + PROCEEDINGS OF THE PARLIAMENT FOR FIVE MONTHS (SEPT. 1656-FEB. + 1656-7): ADMINISTRATION OF CROMWELL AND HIS COUNCIL DURING THOSE + MONTHS: APPROACHES TO DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN CROMWELL AND THE + PARLIAMENT IN THE CASE OF JAMES NAYLER AND ON THE QUESTION OF + CONTINUATION OF THE MILITIA BY MAJOR-GENERALS: NO + RUPTURE.—THE SEXBY-SINDERCOMBE PLOT.—SIR CHRISTOPHER + PACK'S MOTION FOR A NEW CONSTITUTION (FEB. 23, 1656-7): ITS ISSUE + IN THE <i>PETITION AND ADVICE</i> AND OFFER OF THE CROWN TO + CROMWELL: DIVISION OF PUBLIC OPINION ON THE KINGSHIP QUESTION: + OPPOSITION AMONG THE ARMY OFFICERS: CROMWELL'S NEUTRAL ATTITUDE: + HIS RECEPTION OF THE OFFER: HIS LONG HESITATIONS AND SEVERAL + SPEECHES OVER THE AFFAIR: HIS FINAL REFUSAL (MAY 8, 1657): + LUDLOW'S STORY OF THE CAUSE.—HARRISON AND THE + FIFTH-MONARCHY MEN: VENNER'S OUTBREAK AT + MILE-END-GREEN.—PROPOSED NEW CONSTITUTION OF THE + <i>PETITION AND ADVICE</i> RETAINED IN THE FORM OF A CONTINUED + PROTECTORATE: SUPPLEMENTS TO THE <i>PETITION AND ADVICE</i>: + BILLS ASSENTED TO BY THE PROTECTOR, JUNE 9: VOTES FOR THE SPANISH + WAR,—TREATY OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE WITH FRANCE AGAINST + SPAIN: DISPATCH OF ENGLISH AUXILIARY ARMY, UNDER REYNOLDS, FOR + SERVICE IN FLANDERS: BLAKE'S ACTION IN SANTA CRUZ + BAY.—<i>"KILLING—NO MURDER"</i>: ADDITIONAL AND + EXPLANATORY PETITION AND ADVICE: ABSTRACT OF THE ARTICLES OP THE + NEW CONSTITUTION AS ARRANGED BY THE TWO DOCUMENTS: CROMWELL'S + COMPLETED ASSENT TO THE NEW CONSTITUTION, AND HIS ASSENT TO OTHER + BILLS, JUNE 26, 1657: INAUGURATION OF THE SECOND PROTECTORATE + THAT DAY: CLOSE OF THE FIRST SESSION OF THE SECOND PARLIAMENT. + </p> + <p> + Willing to relieve his government, if possible, from the + character of "arbitrariness" it had so long borne, Cromwell had + at last resolved on calling another Parliament. The matter had + been secretly deliberated in Council in May and June 1656, and + the writs were out on July 10. There had ensued, throughout + England, Scotland, and Ireland, a great bustle of elections, the + Major-Generals in England and the Councils in Scotland and + Ireland exerting themselves to secure the return of Oliverians, + and the Protector and his Council by no means easy as to the + result. Two recent Republican pamphlets had caused agitation. + One, which had been called forth by a Proclamation of a General + East a month or two before, was by Sir Henry Vane, and was + entitled <i>A Healing Question Propounded and Resolved.</i> It + was temperate enough, approving of the government in some + respects, and even suggesting the continuance of some kind of + sovereignty in a single person, but containing censures of the + "great interruption" of popular liberties, and appeals to the + people to do their part. The other and later pamphlet (Aug. 1), + directly intended to bear on the Elections, was called + <i>England's Remembrancer,</i> and was virtually a call on all to + use their votes so as to return a Parliament that should unseat + Oliver. The author of this second pamphlet evaded detection; but + Vane was brought to task for his. He was summoned to London from + his seat of Belleau in Lincolnshire, July 29; by an order of Aug. + 21 he was required to give security in £5000 that he would do + nothing "to prejudice the present government"; and, on his + refusal, there issued a warrant, signed by Henry Lawrence, as + President of the Council, for his committal to King Charles's old + prison, Carisbrooke Castle in the Isle of Wight. About the same + time, precautions were taken with Bradshaw, Harrison, Ludlow, + Lawson, Rich, Okey, Alured, and others. Bradshaw was suspended + for a week or two from his Chief-Justiceship of Chester; Harrison + was sent to Pendennis Castle in Cornwall; Rich to Windsor; + security in £5000 was exacted from Ludlow, or rather arranged for + him by Cromwell; and the others were variously under guard. Nor + did leading royalists escape. Just before the meeting of the + Parliament, a dozen of them, including Lord Willoughly of Parham + and Sir John Ashburnham, were sent to the Tower. The Republican + Overton was still there. All this new "arbitrariness" for the + moment was for the purpose of sufficiently tuning the + Parliament.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Council Order Books through July, Aug. and Sept. 1656; + Godwin, IV. 261-277; Ludlow, 568-573; Catalogue of Thomason + Pamphlets. + </p> + </div> + <p> + It met on Wednesday, Sept. 17, when the first business was + attendance, with the Protector, in the Abbey Church, to hear a + sermon from Dr. Owen. Among the 400 members returned from England + and Wales were the Protector's eldest son, Richard Cromwell (for + Cambridge University), Lord President Lawrence and at least + twelve other members of the Council (Fleetwood, Lambert, + Desborough, Skippon, Jones, Montague, Sydenham, Pickering, + Wolseley, Rous, Strickland, and Nathaniel Fiennes), with Mr. + Secretary Thurloe, Admiral Blake, and most of the Major-Generals + not of the Council (Howard, Berry, Whalley, Haynes, Butler, + Barkstead, Goffe, Kelsey, and Lilburne). Other members, of + miscellaneous note and various antecedents, were Whitlocke, + Ingoldsby, Scott, Dennis Bond, Maynard, Prideaux, Glynne, Sir + Harbottle Grimston, the Earl of Salisbury, Sir Arthur Hasilrig, + Sir Anthony Irby, Alderman Sir Christopher Pack, Lord Claypole, + Sir Thomas Widdrington, Ex-Speaker Lenthall, Richard Norton, + Pride (now Sir Thomas), and Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper,—this + last long an absentee from the Council, Of the thirty members + returned from the shires, burghs, or groups of such, in Scotland; + about half were Englishmen: e.g. President Lord Broghill for + Edinburgh, Samuel Desborough for Midlothian, Judge Smith for + Dumfriesshire, the physician Dr. Thomas Clarges (Monk's + brother-in-law) for Ross, Sutherland, and Cromarty, Colonel + Nathaniel Whetham for St. Andrews, &c.; while among the + native Scots returned were Ambassador Lockhart, Swinton, the Earl + of Tweeddale, and Colonel David Barclay. Ireland had returned, + among <i>her</i> thirty (who were nearly all Englishmen), Sir + Hardress Waller, Major-General Jephson, Sir Charles Coote, and + several Colonels.<sup>1</sup>—Not a few of the chief + members had been returned by more than one constituency: e.g. + Lord Broghill, for Cork as well as for Edinburgh. Several of + those returned cannot have been expected to give attendance, at + least at first. Thus, Admirals Blake and Montague were away with + their fleets, off Spain and Portugal. But Broghill did come up + from Scotland to attend, and Swinton and most of the other + members of the Scottish Council with him, leaving Monk once more + in his familiar charge. Ambassador Lockhart also had come over, + or was coming. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: List of the members returned for the Second Parliament of + the Protectorate in <i>Part. Hist.</i> III. 1479-1484. + </p> + </div> + <p> + There were two rather important interventions between Dr. Owen's + opening sermon to the Parliament and their settling down to + business. + </p> + <p> + One was the Lord Protector's opening speech in the Painted + Chamber, now numbered as Speech V, of the Cromwell series. It was + very long, of extremely gnarled structure, but full of matter. + The pervading topic was the war with Spain. This was justified, + with approving references to the published Latin Declaration of + Oct. 1655 on the subject, entitled <i>Scriptum Domini + Protectoris, &c.</i> (Milton's?), and with vehement + expressions of his Highness's personal abhorrence of Spain and + her policy. He represented her and her allies and dependents as + the anti-English and anti-Christian Hydra of the world, while + France, though Roman Catholic too, stood apart from all the other + Catholic powers in not being under the Pope's lash and so able to + be fair and reasonable. He urged the most energetic prosecution + of the war that had been begun. But with the Spanish war he + connected the dangers to England from the Royalist risings and + conspiracies of the last two years, announcing moreover that he + had now full intelligence of a compact between Spain and Charles + II., a force of 7000 or 8000 Spaniards ready at Bruges in + consequence, and other forces promised by Popish princes, clients + of Spain. There were English agents of the alliance at work, he + said, and one miscreant in particular who had been an Anabaptist + Colonel; and, necessarily, all schemes and conspiracies against + the present government would drift into the Hispano-Stuartist + interest. He acquitted some of the opponents of his government, + calling themselves "Commonwealth's men" and "Fifth Monarchy men," + from any intention of that conjunction; but so it would happen. + His arrests of some such had been necessary for the public + safety. He knew his system of Major-Generalships was much + criticised, and thought arbitrary; but that had been necessary + too, and a most useful invention. He had called this Parliament + with a hope of united constitutional action with them for the + future, and would recommend, in the domestic programme, under the + general head of "Reformation," certain great matters to their + care. There was the Sustentation of the Church and the + Universities; there was Reformation of Manners; and there was the + still needed Reformation of the Laws. On the Church-question he + avowed, more strongly than ever before, his desire to uphold and + perpetuate an Established Church. "For my part," he said, "I + should think I were very treacherous if I took away Tithes, till + I see the Legislative Power settle maintenance to Ministers + another way." He knew that some of the ministers themselves would + prefer some other form of State-provision; but, on the whole, + believing that some distinct State-maintenance of the Clergy, + whether by tithes or otherwise, was "the root of visible + profession." he adjured the Parliament not to swerve from that. + He expounded also his principle of comprehending Presbyterians, + Independents, Baptists, and all earnest Evangelical men amicably + in the Established Church, with small concern about their + differences from each, other, and expressed his especial + satisfaction that the Presbyterians had at length come round to + this view, and given up much of their old Anti-Toleration tenet. + "I confess I look at that as the blessedest thing which hath been + since the adventuring upon this government." Towards the end of + the speech there was just a hint that he stood on his + Protectorship for life, and regarded that as a fundamental, not + to be called in question. "I say, Look up to God: have peace + among yourselves. Know assuredly that, if I have an interest, I + am by the voice of the People the Supreme Magistrate, and, it may + be, do know somewhat that might satisfy my conscience, if I stood + in doubt. But it is a union, really it is a union, between you + and me; and, both of us united in faith and love to Jesus Christ, + and to His peculiar Interest in the world,-<i>that</i> must + ground this work. And in that, if I have any peculiar interest + which is personal to myself, which is not subservient to the + public end, it were not an extravagant thing for me to curse + myself, because I know God will curse me if I have." After + quoting the 85th Psalm, he dismissed them to choose their + Speaker.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Speech V.; Carlyle, III. 159-196. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Then, however, there was the second intervention. It was in the + lobby of the House. Some persons, acting for the Clerk of the + Commonwealth in Chancery, stood there, with tickets certifying + that such and such members had been duly returned and also + "<i>approved by his Highness's Council";</i> the doors of the + House were guarded by soldiers; and none but those for whom the + tickets had been made out were allowed to enter. About + ninety-three found themselves thus excluded; among whom, were + Hasilrig, Scott, Irby, Sir Harbottle Grimston, the Earl of + Salisbury, Maynard, four of the six members for the city of + London, and Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper. The residue, who had + received tickets, proceeded to constitute the House, and + unanimously elected Sir Thomas Widdrington, Sergeant at Law and + one of the Commissioners of the Treasury, for their Speaker. + Almost the only other business that day was to thank Dr. Owen for + his sermon, and order it to be printed.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals, Sept. 17, 1656; and Parl. Hist. III. + 1484-1487. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The next day there was read in the House a letter to the Speaker, + signed by a number of the excluded, informing him of the fact and + desiring to be admitted. Through that and the two following + sittings, an inquiry into the circumstances of the exclusion + formed part of the proceedings. The Clerk of the Commonwealth in + Chancery, being required to attend, did at last present himself, + and explained that he had but obeyed orders. He had received a + letter from Mr. Jessop, the Clerk of the Council, ordering him to + deliver tickets only to such of the persons elected as should be + certified to him as approved by the Council; and he had acted + accordingly. With some reluctance, he produced the letter; and + the House then resolved to ask the Council for their reasons for + excluding so many members. These were given, on the 20th, by + Fiennes for the Council. They were to the effect that Article + XXI. of the constituting Instrument of the Protectorate, called + <i>The Government of the Commonwealth</i> (Vol. IV. pp. 542-544), + required the Clerk of the Commonwealth in Chancery, for the first + three Parliaments of the Protectorate, to report to the Council + what persons had been returned, and empowered the Council to + admit those duly qualified and to exclude others, and also that, + by another clause in the same Instrument (Art. XVII.), it was + required that the persons elected should be "of known integrity, + fearing God, and of good conversation." All which being + undeniable, it was resolved by the House, after debate, Sept. 22, + by a majority of 125 to twenty-nine, to refer the excluded to the + Council itself for any farther satisfaction they wanted, and + meanwhile "to proceed with the great affairs of the nation." The + House, <i>without</i> the excluded, it will be seen, was + decidedly Oliverian in the main. The excluded, or some of them, + took their revenge by printing and distributing a Protest or + Remonstrance addressed to the Nation, with the names of all the + ninety-three attached, those of Hasilrig and Scott first. It was + a document of extreme vehemence, denouncing the Protector as an + armed tyrant and all who had abetted him in his last act as + capital enemies to the Commonwealth, and disowning beforehand, as + null and void, all that the truncated Parliament might do. + Cromwell took no notice whatever of this Remonstrance. By one + more stroke of "arbitrariness," bolder than any before, but + allowed, he might plead, by the Instrument of his Protectorate, + he had fashioned for himself a Second Parliament, likely to be + more to his mind than his First.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals, Sept, 18-22, 1656; Whitlocke, IV. 274-280 + (where the Remonstrance of the Excluded is given in full); + Ludlow, 579-580. + </p> + </div> + <p> + So it proved. Some of the excluded having been admitted after + all, and new elections having been made in cases where members + had been returned by two or more constituencies, the House went + on for the first five months (Sept. 1656-Feb. 1656-7) with a + pretty steady working attendance of about 220 at the + maximum—which implies that, besides the excluded, there + must have been a large number of absentees or very lax attenders. + During these five months a large amount of miscellaneous business + was done, with occasional divisions, but no vital disagreement + within the House, or between it and the Protector. There was an + Act for renouncing and disavowing Charles II, over again, and an + Act for the safety of the Lord Protector's person and government, + both made law, by Cromwell's assent, Oct. 27. There was a vote of + approbation of the war with Spain, with votes of means for + carrying it on. There were Bills, more formal than before, for + adjusting and completing the incorporation of Scotland and + Ireland with the Commonwealth. There were Committees of all sorts + for maturing these and other Bills. Among the grand Committees + was one for Religion. There were votes of reward to various + persons for past services. The better observance of the Lord's + Day was one of the subjects of discussion. Amid the minor or more + private business one notes a great many <i>naturalizings</i> of + foreigners resident in England, or of persons of English descent + born abroad or otherwise requiring to be naturalized. Theodore + Haak and his family, Dr. Lewis Du Moulin, a number of Lawrences + and Carews, and a daughter of the poet Waller, are among the + scores included in such Naturalization Bills. Through all this, + hardly a week, of course, without an order to Dr. Owen, Dr. + Thomas Goodwin, Caryl, Nye, Sterry, Manton, or some other leading + divine, to preach a special sermon, with thanks after for his + "great pains," and generally a request that the sermon should be + printed. On the whole, Speaker Widdrington had no light post. + Indeed, in January 1656-7, the House, perceiving him to be very + ill and weak, insisted on his taking leave of absence, and + appointed Whitlocke as his substitute. Whitlocke acted as + pro-Speaker, he tells us, from January 27 to Feb. 18, with great + acceptance and rapid despatch of business. On the last of these + days, however, Widdrington, though at the risk of his life, + reappeared and resumed duty. A fee of £5, it seems, was due to + the Speaker from every person naturalized by bill, and all such + fees would have gone to Whitlocke had Widdrington remained + absent. The loss to Whitlocke was made up handsomely by the House + in a vote of £2000, besides repayment of £500 he had expended + over his allowance in his Swedish embassy, and thanks for his + many eminent services.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals over period and for dates named; Whitlocke, + IV. 280-286. + </p> + </div> + <p> + About a fortnight after the Parliament had met (Oct. 2), there + had come splendid news from Blake and Montague. A Spanish fleet + from the West Indies, with the ex-Viceroy of Peru and his family + on board, and a vast treasure of silver, had been attacked in + Cadiz bay by six English frigates under the command of Captain + Stayner. Two of the ships had been taken, two burnt and sunk (the + ex-Viceroy, his wife, and eldest daughter, perishing most + tragically in the flames), and there had been a great capture of + silver. The rejoicing in London was great, and it was renewed a + month afterwards by the actual arrival of the silver from + Portsmouth, a long train of waggon-loads through the open + streets, on its way to the Mint, Admiral Montague himself had + come with it. He was in the House Nov. 4, welcomed with thanks + and applauses to his place for a while among the + legislators.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates given, and Godwin, IV, 300-303. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Legislative work being back in the hands of a Parliament, the + Protector and his Council had confined themselves meanwhile to + matters of administration, war, and diplomacy. Vane had been + released from his imprisonment in the Isle of Wight by order of + Council, Dec. 11, and permitted to return to Lincolnshire; and + there had been other relaxations of the severities attending the + opening of the Parliament. There had been an order of Council + (Oct. 2) for the release of imprisoned Quakers at Exeter, + Dorchester, Colchester, and other places, with instructions to + the Major-Generals in the respective districts to see the order + carried out and the fines of the poor people discharged. The + business of the Piedmontese Protestants still occupied the + Council, and there were letters to various foreign powers. Of new + diplomatic arrangements of the Protector about this time, and + through the whole session of the Parliament, account will be more + conveniently taken hereafter; but Ambassador Lockhart's temporary + presence in London, and his frequent colloquies with the + Protector over French affairs, Spanish affairs, the movements of + Charles II abroad, a rumoured dissension between Charles II. and + his brother the Duke of York, and Mazarin's astute intimacy with + all, are worthy of remark even now. It was on Dec. 10, 1656, that + Lockhart received from his Highness the honour of knighthood at + Whitehall; and on Feb. 3, 1656-7, it was settled by his Highness + and the Council that Lockhart's allowance thenceforward in his + Embassy should be £100 a week, i.e, about £18,000 a year in + present value. Lockhart's real post being in Paris, his + attendance in Parliament can have been but brief. His + fellow-Scotsman, Swinton of Swinton, also gave but brief + attendance. The Protector had taken the opportunity of Swinton's + visit to London to show him special attention, and to promote in + the Council certain very substantial recognitions of his adhesion + to the Commonwealth when other Scots abhorred it, and of his good + services in Scotland to it and the Protectorate since. But, as + his proper place was in Edinburgh, it was ordered, Dec. 25, 1656, + that he, and his fellow-members of the Scottish Council, + Major-General Charles Howard and Colonel Adrian Scroope, should + return thither. This was the more necessary because Lord Broghill + did not mean to return to Scotland, the air of which did not suit + him, but preferred employment for the future either in England or + in his native Ireland. Broghill's Presidency in Scotland had now, + indeed, virtually ceased, and the administration there, with the + difficult steering between the Resolutioners and the Protesters + of the Kirk, had been left to Monk and the rest. Nay, as we know, + the hearing of that vital Scottish question had been transferred + to London. Sharp, who had come to London in Broghill's train as + agent for the Resolutioners, "presently got access to the + Protector" and "was well liked of and accepted." But the Marquis + of Argyle had weight enough yet to stop any concession to him + till the other party had been heard. Accordingly, in October, + 1656, a Mr. James Simson, minister of Airth, had been sent up by + the Protesters, to be followed, more effectively, in January, by + Mr. James Guthrie himself, Principal Gillespie of Glasgow, and + three elders, of whom one was Warriston. There had been a + conference and debate between Sharp and these Protesters before + Cromwell, three of his Council being present, and Owen, Lockyer, + Manton, and Ashe attending as representative English divines; but + his Highness had not yet made up his mind. The rumour in Scotland + was that Sharp was likely to succeed, and that he had driven + Warriston and Gillespie very hard in the Conference, and + contrived, in particular, to make Warriston, in self-defence, + betray some awkward secrets. One finds, however, that Principal + Gillespie was invited to preach twice before the Parliament, and + thanked for his sermons, and that he had influence enough to move + in the Council a suit in the interests of the University of + Glasgow. Though Sharp, as Baillie advised him, was "supping with + a long spoon," Cromwell had probably taken estimate of + him.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Council Order Books of dates given, and of others (e.g. Nov. + 4 and Dec. 2, 1656, and Jan. 12 and Feb. 12, 1656-7); <i>Merc. + Pol.</i> No. 340 (Dec. 11-18, 1656); Life of Robert Blair, + 329-331; Baillie, III. 328-341. + </p> + </div> + <p> + One matter In which there had been an approach to disagreement + between the Parliament and the Protector was the famous <i>Case + of James Nayler;</i>—Quakerism and its extravagancies were + irritating the sober part of the nation unspeakably, and this + maddest of all the Quakers, on account of the outrageous + "blasphemies" of his recent Song-of-Simon procession through the + west of England—repeated at Bristol after his release from + Exeter jail—had been selected by Parliament for an example. + On the 31st of October, 1856, a large committee was appointed on + his case; and on the 5th of December, Nayler and others having + been brought prisoners to London meanwhile, the report of the + Committee was made, and there began a debate on the case, which + was protracted through ten sittings, Nayler himself brought once + or twice to the bar. It was easily resolved that he had been + "guilty of horrid blasphemy" and was a "grand impostor and great + seducer of the people": the difficult question was as to his + punishment. On the 16th of December it was carried but by + ninety-six votes to eighty-two that it should <i>not</i> be + death, and, after some faint farther argument on the side of + mercy, this was the sentence: "That James Nayler be set on the + pillory, with his head in the pillory, in the New Palace, + Westminster, during the space of two hours, on Thursday next, and + shall be whipped by the hangman through the streets from + Westminster to the Old Exchange, London, there likewise to be set + on the pillory, with his head in the pillory, for the space of + two hours, between the hours of eleven and one on Saturday + next—in each of the said places wearing a paper containing + an inscription of his crimes: and that at the Old Exchange his + tongue shall be bored through with a hot iron; and that he be + there also stigmatized in the forehead with the letter B: And + that he be afterwards sent to Bristol, and conveyed into and + through the said city on a horse bare-ridged, with his face + backwards, and there also publicly whipped the next market-day + after he comes thither: And that from thence he be committed to + prison in Bridewell, London, and there restrained from the + society of all people, and kept to hard labour, till he be + released by Parliament, and during that time be debarred from the + use of pen, ink, and paper, and have no relief but what he earns + by his daily labour." Though petitions for clemency had already + been presented to Parliament by some very orthodox people, the + first part of this atrocious sentence was duly executed Dec. 18. + Then came more earnest petitions both to Parliament and the + Protector, with the effect of a respite of the next part from the + 20th to the 27th; between which dates this letter from the + Protector was read in the House: "O.P. Right Trusty and + Well-beloved, We greet you well. Having taken notice of a + judgment lately given by yourselves against one James Nayler, + Although we detest and abhor the giving or occasioning the least + countenance to persons of such opinions and practices, or who are + guilty of the crimes commonly imputed to the said person: Yet, + We, being intrusted in the present Government on behalf of the + People of these Nations, and <i>not knowing how far such + Proceeding, entered into wholly without Us, may extend in the + consequence of it</i>, Do desire that the House will let Us know + the grounds and reasons whereupon they have proceeded." Two + things are here to be perceived. One is that Cromwell did not + approve of the course taken with Nayler. The other, and more + important, is that he regarded this action of the House, without + his consent, as an intrenchment on that part of his prerogative + which concerned Toleration. He thought himself, by the + constitution of his Protectorate, entrusted with a certain + guardianship of this principle, even against Parliament; and he + did not know how far Nayler's case might be made a precedent for + religious persecutions. What may have been the exact reply to + Cromwell from the House we do not know; but the House was not in + a mood to spare Nayler. He had not satisfied the clergymen sent + to confer with him. Accordingly, on the 27th, a motion to respite + him for another week having been lost by 113 to 59, the second + part of his punishment was inflicted to the letter; after which + he was removed to Bristol to receive the rest. All that one can + say is that, though Cromwell was far from pleased with the + business, and even thought it a horrible one, he did not feel + that he could at that time make it the occasion of an actual + quarrel with the Parliament.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates; Carlyle III, 213-215; Sewel's + <i>History of the People called Quakers</i> (ed. 1834) I. + 179-207. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Another matter in which a disagreement might have been feared + between Cromwell and his Parliament was that of <i>The + Major-Generalships.</i> This "invention" of Cromwell's for the + police of England and Wales generally, and specially for the + collection of the Decimation or Militia Tax from the Royalists, + had been so successful that he had congratulated himself on It in + his opening speech to the Parliament. He, doubtless, desired that + Parliament should adopt and continue it. On the 7th of January, + 1656-7, accordingly, there was read for the first time "a Bill + for the continuing and assessing of a Tax for the paying and + maintaining of the Militia forces in England and Wales," i.e. for + prolonging Cromwell's Decimation Tax of 1655, and virtually the + whole machinery of the Major-Generalships. That there would be + serious opposition in the House had been foreseen since Dec. 25, + when there had been two divisions on the question of leave to + bring in the Bill, and leave had been obtained only by + eighty-eight votes to sixty-three. Among the opponents were + Whitlocke and the other lawyers, all those indeed who wanted to + terminate the time of "arbitrariness," and objected to a tax now + on old political delinquents as contrary to the Parliamentary Act + of Oblivion of Feb. 1651-2. On the other hand, the Bill was + strongly supported by Lambert. Fiennes, Lisle, Pickering, + Sydenham, other members of Council, and the Major-Generals + themselves. It was, in fact, a Government Bill, Nevertheless, + after a protracted debate of six days, the second reading of the + Bill was negatived Jan. 29 by 121 to 78, and the Bill absolutely + rejected by 124 to 88. Cromwell himself had helped to bring about + this result. Much as he liked his "invention," he had perceived, + in the course of the debate, that it must be given up; and he had + given hints to that effect. The House, in short, had understood + that they were left to their own free will. And so the + Major-Generalships disappeared, the police of the country + reverted to the ordinary magistracy, and Cromwell was to trust to + Parliament for necessary supplies in more regular + ways.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates; Godwin, IV. 327-331. + </p> + </div> + <p> + What drew the Parliament and the Protector more closely together + about this time was the explosion of a new plot against the + Protector's life. At the centre of the plot was that "wretched + creature, an apostate from religion and all honesty," of whom + Cromwell had spoken in his opening speech as going between + Charles II. and the King of Spain, and negotiating for a Spanish + invasion of England. In other words, he was Edward Sexby, once a + stout trooper and agitator in the Parliamentarian army (Vol. III. + p. 534), afterwards Captain and even Colonel in the same, but + since then one of the fiercest Anabaptist malcontents. He had + been in the Wildman plot of Feb. 1654-5, but had then escaped + abroad; and since then his occupation had been as described by + Cromwell,—now in Flanders, now in Madrid, shuttling + alliance between Spain and the Stuarts. But, though a Spanish + invasion of England to restore the Stuarts was his great game, an + assassination of Cromwell anyhow, whether without a Spanish + invasion or in anticipation of it, was nearest to his heart. + Actually he had been in London just before the meeting of the + Parliament, trying to arrange for such "fiddling things"—so + Cromwell had called them—as shooting him in the Park or + blowing him up in his chamber at Whitehall. Before Thurloe had + traces of him, he had again decamped to Flanders; but he had left + a substitute in Miles Sindercombe, an old leveller and mutineer + of 1647, but since then a quarter-master in Monk's Army in + Scotland, and dismissed for his complicity in the Overton + project. Sexby had left Sindercombe £1600; and with this money + Sindercombe had been again tampering with Cromwell's guard, + taking a house at Hammersmith convenient for shots at Cromwell's + coach when he drove to Hampton Court, and buying gunpowder and + combustibles for a nearer attempt in Whitehall. He had been, seen + in the Chapel at Whitehall on the evening of January 8, and that + night the sentinel on duty smelt fire just in time to extinguish + a slow-match that was to explode a mass of blazing chemicals at + midnight. All Whitehall having been roused, the Protector with + the rest, information led at once to Sindercombe. He was arrested + in his lodging, and sent to the Tower; and, his trial having + followed, Feb. 9, he was convicted on evidence given by + accomplices, and doomed to execution on the 14th. In the night + preceding he was found dead in his bed, having poisoned himself. + He had left intimation that he was under no concern about his + immortal soul, having passed out of any form of religion + recognising such an entity, and become a Materialist or + Soul-sleeper. Meanwhile his plot had raised a ferment of new + loyalty round the Protector. On the 19th of January, when Thurloe + made a formal disclosure to the House of all the particulars of + the plot, a general thanksgiving throughout England, Scotland, + and Ireland, was ordered, and it was resolved that the whole + House should wait upon his Highness "to congratulate with his + Highness on this great mercy and deliverance." The interview was + on January the 23rd, in the Banqueting House in Whitehall, when + Speaker Widdrington made the address for the House, and Cromwell + replied in a most affectionate speech (<i>Speech</i> VI.). The + thanksgiving was on Feb. 20; on which day Principal Gillespie of + Glasgow and Mr. Warren had the honour of preaching the special + sermons before the House in St. Margaret's, Westminster. The day + was wound up by a noble dinner in Whitehall, to which the whole + House had been invited by the Protector, followed by a concert, + vocal and instrumental, in the part of the Palace called the + Cockpit.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates given, and of Feb. 18; Carlyle, + III. 204-211; Godwin, IV. 331-333; <i>Merc. Pol.</i> No. 349 + (Feb. 12-19, 1656-7); Whitlocke, IV. 286; Parl. Hist. III. + 1490. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Three days after the great dinner in Whitehall, i.e. on Monday, + Feb. 23, 1656-7, there was an incident in the House which turned + all the future proceedings of this Second Parliament of the + Protectorate into a new channel. It is thus entered in the + Journals:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + " ... Sir Christopher Pack [Ex-Mayor of London, knighted by + Cromwell, Sept. 25, 1655, and now one of the members for the + City] presented a Paper to the House, declaring it was somewhat + come to his hand tending to the Settlement of the Nation and of + Liberty and Property, and prayed it might be received and read; + and, it being much controverted whether the same should be read + without farther opening [preliminary explanation] thereof, the + Question being propounded <i>That this Paper, offered by Sir + Christopher Pack, be further opened by him before it is + read,</i> and the Question being put <i>That this Question be + now put,</i> it passed in the Negative. The Question being + propounded <i>That this Paper, offered by Sir Christopher Pack, + be now read,</i> and the Question being put <i>That that + Question be now put,</i> the House was divided. The Noes went + forth:—Colonel Sydenham, Mr. Robinson, Tellers for the + Noes—with the Noes 54; Sir Charles Wolseley, Colonel + Fitzjames, Tellers for the Yeas—with the Yeas 144. So it + passed in the Affirmative. And, the main Question being put, it + was Resolved <i>That this Paper, offered by Sir Christopher + Pack, be now read.</i> The said Paper was read accordingly, and + was entitled 'The Humble Address and Remonstrance of the + Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses, now assembled in the + Parliament of this Commonwealth.'"<sup>1</sup> + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of date. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The debate on the Paper was protracted to the evening "a candle" + having been ordered in for the purpose; and it was then adjourned + to the next day. In fact, for the next four months, or through + the whole remainder of the session, the House was to continue the + debate, or questions arising out of it, and to do little else. + For, on the 24th of February, it was resolved by a majority of + 100 to 44 (Lambert and Strickland tellers for the + <i>Minority</i>) that the paper should be taken up and discussed + in its successive parts, "beginning at the first Article after + the Preamble;" and, though an attempt was made next day to throw + the subject into Grand Committee, that was defeated by 118 to 63. + In evidence of the momentousness of the occasion, a whole + Parliamentary day was set apart for "seeking the Lord" upon it, + with prayers and sermons by Dr. Owen and others; and, when the + House met again after that ceremonial (Feb. 28), it was resolved + that no vote passed on any part of the Paper should be binding + till all should be completed.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Sir Christopher Pack's paper of Feb. 23, 1656-7, entitled <i>The + Humble Address and Remonstrance, &c.</i>, was nothing less + than a proposed address by Parliament to the Protector, asking + him to concur with the Parliament in a total recast of the + existing Constitution. It had been privately considered and + prepared by several persons, and Whitlocke had been requested to + introduce it, "Not liking—several things in it," he had + declined to do so; but, Sir Christopher having volunteered, + Whitlocke, Broghill, Glynne and others, were to back him. Indeed, + all the Oliverians were to back him. Or, rather, there was to + grow out of the business, according as the Oliverians were more + hearty or less hearty in their cooperation, a new distinction of + that body into <i>Thorough Oliverians</i> and <i>Distressed + Oliverians</i> or <i>Contrariants</i>. Why this should have been + the case will appear if we quote the First Article of the + proposed Address after the Preamble. It ran thus: "That your + Highness will be pleased to assume the name, style, title, + dignity, and office of KING of England, Scotland, and Ireland, + and the respective Dominions and Territories thereunto belonging, + and exercise thereof, to hold and enjoy the same, with the rights + and privileges and prerogatives justly, legally, and rightfully, + belonging thereunto: That your Highness will be pleased, during + your life-time, to appoint and declare the person who shall, + immediately after your death, succeed you in the Government of + these Nations." The rest of the Address was to correspond. Thus + Article II. proposed a return to the system of two Houses of + Parliament, and generally the tenor was towards royal + institutions. On the other hand, the regality proposed was to be + strictly constitutional. There was to be an end to all arbitrary + power. There were to be free and full Parliaments once in three + years at farthest; there was to be no violent interference in + future with the process of Parliament, no exclusion of any + persons that had been duly returned by the constituencies; and + his Highness and Council were not to make ordinances by their own + authority, but all laws, and changes or abrogations of laws, were + to be by Act of Parliament. Oliver was to be King, if he chose, + and a King with very large powers; but he was to keep within + Statute.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Whitlocke, IV. 286 and 289; Commons Journals of March 2, 3, + and 24, 1656-7, and March 25, 1657 (whence I have recovered the + original wording of Article I. of the Address). + </p> + </div> + <p> + On March 2 and 3 the First Article of the Address was debated, + with the result that it was agreed to <i>postpone</i> any vote on + the first and most important part of the Article, offering Oliver + the Kingship, but with the passing of the second part, offering + him, whether it should be as King or not, the power of nominating + his successor. A motion for postponing the vote on this part also + was lost by 120 to 63. Then, on the 5th, Article II., proposing + Parliaments of <i>two Houses</i>, was discussed, and adopted + without a division; after which there were discussions and + adoptions of the remaining proposals, day after day, with + occasional divisions about the wording, till March 24. On that + day, the House, their survey of the document being tolerably + complete, went back on the <i>postponed</i> clause of the First + Article, involving the all-important question of the offer of the + Kingship. Through two sittings that day, and again on March 25 + (New Year's Day, 1657), there was a very anxious and earnest + debate with closed doors, the opposition trying to stave off the + final vote by two motions for adjournment. These having failed, + the final vote was taken (March 25); when, by a majority of 123 + to 62, the Kingship clause was carried in this amended form: + "That your Highness will be pleased to assume the name, style, + title, dignity, and office of King of England, Scotland, and + Ireland, and the respective Dominions and Territories thereunto + belonging, and to exercise the same according to the laws of + these Nations." Then, it seemed, all was over, except verbal + revision of the entire address. Next day (March 26) it was + referred to a Committee, with Chief Justice Glynne for Chairman, + to perform this—i.e. to "consider of the title, preamble, + and conclusion, and read over the whole, and consider the + coherence, and make it perfect." All which having been done that + same day, and the House having given some last touches, the + document was ready to be engrossed for presentation to Cromwell. + By recommendation of the Committee, the title had been changed + from <i>Address and Remonstrance</i> into <i>Petition and + Advice</i>.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates, and between March 5 and March 25. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Of course, the great proposal in Parliament had been rumoured + through the land, notwithstanding the instructed reticence or + mysterious vagueness of the London newspapers; and, in the + interval between the introduction of Sir Christopher Pack's paper + and the conversion of the same into the <i>Petition and + Advice</i>, with the distinct offer of Kingship in its forefront, + there had been wide discussion of the affair, with much division + of opinion. Against the Kingship, even horrified by the proposal + of it, were most of those Army-men who had hitherto been + Oliverians, and had helped to found the Protectorate. Lambert, + Fleetwood, and Desborough, were at the head of this military + opposition, which included nearly all the other + ex-Major-Generals, and the bulk of the Colonels and inferior + officers. One of their motives was dread of the consequences to + themselves from a subversion of the system under which they had + been acting and a return to a Constitutional and Royal system in + which Cromwell and they might have to part company. This, and a + theoretical Republicanism still lingering in their minds, tended, + in the present emergency, almost to a reunion between them and + the old or Anti-Oliverian Republicans. It had been some of the + Oliverian Army-men in Parliament, at all events, that had first + resisted Pack's motion. Ludlow's story is that they very nearly + laid violent hands on Pack when he produced his paper; and the + divisions in the Commons Journals exhibit Lambert and various + Colonels, with Strickland, as among the chief obstructors of the + <i>Petition and Advice</i> in its passage through the House. + Strickland, it will be remembered, was an eminent member of the + Protector's own Council; and, as far as one can gather, several + others of that body, besides Lambert, Fleetwood, Desborough, and + Strickland—perhaps half of the whole number of those now + habitually attending the Council—were opposed to the + Kingship. On the other hand, the more enthusiastic Oliverians of + the Council, those most attached to Cromwell personally, e.g. Sir + Charles Wolseley, appear to have been acquiescent, or even + zealous for the Kingship; and there were at least some military + Oliverians, out of the Council, of the same mind. In the final + vote of March 25, carrying the offer of Kingship, the tellers for + the majority were Sir John Reynolds (Tipperary and Waterford), + and Major-General Charles Howard (Cumberland), while those for + the minority were Major-General Butler (Northamptonshire), and + Colonel Salmon (Dumfries Burghs). Undoubtedly, however, the chief + managers of the <i>Petition and Advice</i> in the House from the + first had been Whitlocke, Glynne, and others of the lawyers, with + Lord Broghill. The lawyers had been long anxious for a + constitutional Kingship: nothing else, they thought, could + restore the proper machinery of Law and State, and make things + safe. Accordingly, out of doors, in the whole civilian class, and + largely also among the more conservative citizens, the idea of + Oliver's Kingship was far from unwelcome. The Presbyterians + generally, it is believed, were very favourable to it, their + dispositions towards Cromwell having changed greatly of late; nor + of the old Presbyterian Royalists were all averse. There were + Royalists now who were not Stuartists, who wanted a king on + grounds of general principle and expediency, but were not + resolute that he should be Charles II. only. The real combination + of elements against Oliver's Kingship consisted, therefore, of + the unyielding old Royalists of the Stuart adhesion, regarding + the elevation of the usurping "brewer" to the throne as + abomination upon abomination, the Army Oliverians or Lambert and + Fleetwood men, interested in the preservation of the existing + Protectorate, and the passionate Republicans and Levellers, who + had not yet condoned even the Protectorate, and whom the prospect + of King and House of Lords over again, with all their belongings, + made positively frantic. + </p> + <p> + How far Cromwell had been aware beforehand of such a project as + that of Sir Christopher Pack's paper may be a question. That he + had let it be known for some time that he was not disinclined to + a revision and enlargement of the constitution of the original + Protectorate may be fairly assumed; but that he had concocted + Pack's project and arranged for bringing it on (which is Ludlow's + representation, and, of course, that of all the Histories) is + very unlikely. The project, as in Pack's paper, and as agreed + upon by Whitlocke, Glynne, and other lawyers and Parliament men, + was by no means, in all its parts, such a project as Cromwell + himself would have originated. To the Kingship he may have had no + objection, and we have his own word afterwards that he favoured + the idea of a Second House of Parliament; but there were + accompanying provisions not so satisfactory. What he had hitherto + valued in his Protectorate was the place and scope given to his + own supreme personality, his power to judge what was best and to + carry it through as he could, unhampered by those popular + suffrages and Parliamentary checks and privileges which he held + to be mere euphemisms for ruin and mutual throat-cutting all + through the British Islands in their then state of distraction; + and it must therefore have been a serious consideration with him + how far, in the public interests, or for his own comfort, he + could put himself in new shackles for the mere name of King. + What, for example, of the proposed restitution of the + ninety-and-odd excluded members to the present Parliament? How + could he get on after that? In short, there was so much in Pack's + paper suggestive of new and difficult questions as to the + futurity of Cromwell, his real influence in affairs, if he + exchanged the Protectorship for Kingship, that the paper, or the + exact project it embodied, cannot have been of Cromwell's + devising. There are subsequent events in proof of the fact. + </p> + <p> + On the 27th of February, the fourth day after the introduction of + Pack's paper, and the very day of the Fast appointed by the House + prior to consideration of it in detail, Cromwell had been waited + on by a hundred officers, headed by the alarmed Major-Generals, + imploring him not to allow the thing to go farther. His reply was + that, though he then specifically heard of the whole project for + the first time, he could by no means share their instantaneous + alarm. Kingship was nothing in itself, at best "a mere feather in + a man's hat"; but it need be no bugbear, and at least ought to be + no new thing to <i>them</i>. Had they not offered it to him at + the institution of the Protectorate, though the title of + Protector had been then preferred? Under that title he had been + often a mere drudge of the Army, constrained to things not to his + own liking. For the rest, were there not reasons for amending, in + other respects, the constitution of the Protectorate? Had it not + broken down in several matters, and were there not deficiencies + in it? If there had been a Second House of Parliament, for + example, would there have been that indiscreet decision in the + case of James Nayler, a decision that might extend farther than + Nayler, and leave no man safe?—Thus, with the distinct + information that Cromwell would not interfere with Pack's project + in its course through the House, had the Officers been dismissed. + It was probably in consequence of their remonstrance with + Cromwell, however, that the vote on the Kingship clause of the + First Article had been postponed from the 2nd of March to the + 25th. The delay had been useful. Though Lambert, Fleetwood, + Desborough, and the mass of the military men, still remained + "contrariants," not a few of them had been shaken by Cromwell's + arguments, or at least by his judgment. If <i>he</i>, whom it was + their habit to trust, was prepared to take the Kingship, and saw + reasons for it, why should they stand out? So, before the vote + did come on, Major-Generals Berry, Goffe, and Whalley, with + others, had ceased to oppose, and the Kingship clause, reserved + to the last, as the keystone of the otherwise completed arch, had + been carried, as we have seen, by two-thirds of the + House.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Godwin, IV. 349-353; Carlyle, III. 217. + </p> + </div> + <p> + It was on Tuesday, March 31, in the Banqueting House in + Whitehall, that Speaker Widdrington, attended by the whole House, + and by all the high State-officers, formally presented to + Cromwell, after a long speech, the <i>Petition and Advice</i>, + engrossed on vellum. The understanding, by vote of the House, was + that his Highness must accept the whole, and that otherwise no + part would be binding. Cromwell's answer, in language very calm + and somewhat sad (<i>Speech</i> VII.), was one of thanks, with a + request for time to consider. On the 3rd of April, a Committee of + the House, appointed by his request, waited on him for farther + answer. It was still one of thanks: e.g. "I should be very + brutish did I not acknowledge the exceeding high honour and + respect you have had for me in this Paper"; but it was in effect + a refusal, on the ground that, being shut up to accept all or + none, he could not see his way to accept (<i>Speech</i> VIII.). + Notwithstanding this answer, which could hardly be construed as + final, the House next day resolved, after two divisions, to + adhere to their <i>Petition and Advice</i>, and to make new + application to the Protector. On the previous question the + division was seventy-seven to sixty-five, Major-Generals Howard + and Jephson telling for the majority, and Major-General Whalley + and Colonel Talbot for the minority; on the main question there + was a majority of seventy-eight, with Admiral Montague and Sir + John Hobart for tellers, against sixty-five, told by General + Desborough and Colonel Hewson. A Committee having then prepared a + brief paper representing to his Highness the serious obligation + he was under in such a matter, there was a second Conference of + the whole House with his Highness (April 8). His reply to + Widdrington then (<i>Speech</i> IX.) did not withdraw his former + refusal, but signified willingness to receive farther information + and counsel. To give such information and counsel, and In fact to + reason out the matter thoroughly with Cromwell, the House then + appointed a large Committee of <i>ninety-nine</i>, composed in + the main, one must fancy, of members who were now eager for the + Kingship, or at least had ceased to object. Whitlocke, Broghill, + Glynne, Fiennes, Lenthall, Lord Commissioner Lisle, Sir Charles + Wolseley, and Thurloe, were to be the most active members of this + Committee; but it included also Admiral Montague, Generals + Howard, Jephson, Whalley, Pack, Goffe, and Berry, with Sydenham, + Rous, the Scotch Earl of Tweeddale, the Lord Provost of + Edinburgh, the poet Waller, and even Strickland. The Committee + was appointed April 9, and the House was to await the + issue.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Carlyle, III. 218-228 (with Cromwell's <i>Speeches</i> VII., + VIII., and IX.); Commons Journals of dates. + </p> + </div> + <p> + It seemed as if it would never be reached. The Conferences of the + Committee with Cromwell between April 11 to May 8, their + reasonings with him to induce him to accept the Kingship, his + reasonings in reply in the four speeches now numbered X.-XIII. of + the Cromwell series, his doubts, delays, avoidances of several + meetings, and constant adjournments of his final answer, make a + story of great interest in the study of Cromwell's character, not + without remarkable flashes of light on past transactions, and on + Cromwell's theory of his Protectorship and of Government in + general. Speech XIII., in particular, which is by far the + longest, and which was addressed to the Committee on April 21, is + full of instruction. Having in his previous speeches dealt + chiefly with the subject of the Kingship, and stated such various + objections to the kingly title as the bad associations with it, + the blasting as if for ever which it had received from God's + Providence in England, and the antipathy to it of many good men, + he here took up the rest of the <i>Petition and Advice</i>. + Approving, on the whole, of the spirit and contents of the + document, and especially of the apparent rejection in it of that + notion of perpetually-sitting Single-House Parliaments which he + considered the most fatal fallacy in politics, and persistence in + which by the Rump had left him no option but to dissolve that + body forcibly and assume the Dictatorship, he yet found serious + defects in some of the Articles, and want of precision on this + point and that. His criticisms of this kind were masterly + examples of his breadth of thought, his foresight, and his + practical sagacity, and made an immediate impression. For, at + this stage of the proceedings, the belief being that he would + ultimately accept the Kingship, the House, whose sittings had + been little more than nominal during the great Whitehall + Conferences, applied itself vigorously, by deliberations in + Committee and exchanges of papers with the Protector, to such + amendments of the <i>Petition and Advice</i> as he had indicated. + On April 30 sufficient intimation of such amendments was ready, + and the former Committee of Ninety-nine were required to let his + Highness know the same and ask him to appoint a time for his + positive answer. For another week, notwithstanding two + appointments for the purpose, all was still in suspense. During + that week we are to suppose Cromwell either in perplexed solitary + meditation, or shut up in those confidential meetings with a few + of the most zealous promoters of the Kingship which Whitlocke + describes. "The Protector," says Whitlocke, "often advised about + this and other great businesses with the Lord Broghill, + Pierrepoint, myself, Sir Charles Wolseley and Thurloe, and would + be shut up three or four hours together in private discourse, and + none were admitted to come in to him. He would sometimes be very + cheerful with us, and, laying aside his greatness, he would be + exceeding familiar with us, and by way of diversion would make + verses with us, and every one must try his fancy. He commonly + called for tobacco, pipes, and a candle, and would now and then + take tobacco himself: then he would fall again to his serious and + great business." At length, on Friday, May 8, the Parliament, + assembled once more in the Banqueting House, did receive their + positive answer. It was in a brief speech (Speech <i>XIV.</i>) + ending "I cannot undertake this Government with the title of + King; and that is mine Answer to this great and weighty + business."<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Carlyle, III. 280-301 (with Speeches X.—XIV.); Commons + Journals of dates; Whitlocke, IV. 289-290. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The story in Ludlow is that to the last moment Cromwell had meant + to accept, and that his sudden and unexpected refusal was + occasioned by a bold stroke of the Army-men. Having invited + himself to dine at Desborough's, says Ludlow, he had taken + Fleetwood with him, and had begun "to droll with them about + monarchy," and ask them why sensible men like them should make so + much of the affair, and refuse to please the children by + permitting them to have "their rattle." Fleetwood and Desborough + still remaining grave, he had called them "a couple of scrupulous + fellows," and left them. Next day (May 6) he had sent a message + to the House to meet him in the Painted Chamber next morning; + and, casually encountering Desborough again, he had told + Desborough what he intended. That same day Desborough had told + Pride, whereupon that resolute colonel had surprised Desborongh + by saying he would prevent it still. Going to Dr. Owen on the + instant, Pride had made him draft an Officers' Petition to the + House. It was to the effect that the petitioners, having + "hazarded their lives against monarchy," and being "still ready + to do so," observed with pain the "great endeavours to bring the + nation again under their old servitude," and begged the House not + to allow a title to be pressed upon their General which would be + destructive to himself and the Commonwealth. To this petition + Pride had obtained the signatures of two Colonels, seven + Lieutenant-Colonels, eight Majors, and sixteen Captains, not + members of the House; and Cromwell, learning what was in + progress, had sent for Fleetwood, and scolded him for allowing + such a thing, the rather as Fleetwood must know "his resolution + not to accept the crown without the consent of the Army." The + appointment with the House in the Painted Chamber for the 7th was + changed, however, into that in the Banqueting House on the 8th, + the latter place, as the more familiar, being fitter for the + negative answer he now meant to give.—Ludlow's story, + though he cites Desborough as his chief informant, is not + perfectly credible in all its details; but the Commons Journals + do show that the meeting originally appointed by Cromwell on the + 6th for the Painted Chamber on the 7th was put off to the 8th, + and then held in the Banqueting House, and also that there was an + Officers' Petition in the interim. It was brought to the doors of + the House, by "divers officers of the Army," on the 8th, just as + the House was adjourning to the Banqueting House; and the + Journals only record that the officers were admitted, and that, a + Colonel Mason having presented the Petition in their name and his + own, they withdrew. The rest is guess; but two main facts cannot + be doubted. One is that Cromwell's great, if not sole, reason at + last for refusing the Crown was his knowledge of the persistent + opposition of a great number of the Army men. The other is that + he remembered afterwards who had been the chief + <i>Contrariants</i>.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Ludlow, 586-591; Commons Journals of dates. There had been + public pamphlets against the Kingship: e.g. one by Samuel + Chidley, addressed to the Parliament, and called "Reasons + against choosing the Protector to be King." + </p> + </div> + <p> + While the great question of the Kingship had been in progress + there had been a detection of a conspiracy of the Fifth-Monarchy + Men. + </p> + <p> + Ever since the abortive ending of the Barebones Parliament these + enthusiasts had been recognisable as a class of enemies of the + Protectorate distinct from the ordinary and cooler Republicans. + While Vane and Bradshaw might represent the Republicans or + Commonwealth's men generally, the head of the Fifth-Monarchy + Republicans was Harrison. The Harrisonian Republic, the + impassioned dream of this really great-hearted soldier, was the + coming Reign of Christ on Earth, and the trampling down, in + anticipation of that reign, of all dignities, institutions, + ministries, and magistracies, that might be inconsistent with it. + In the Barebones Parliament, where the Fifth-Monarchy Men had + been numerous, and where Harrison had led them, they had gone + far, as we know, in conjunction with the Anabaptists, in a + practical attempt to convert Cromwell's interim Dictatorship, + with Cromwell's assent or acquiescence, into a beginning of the + great new era. They had voted down Tithes, Church-Establishments, + and all their connexions, and only the steadiness of Rons, + Sydenham, and the other sober spirits, in making that vote the + occasion of a resurrender of all power into Cromwell's hands, had + prevented the consequences. And so, Cromwell's Protectorate + having come in where Harrison wanted to keep a vacuum for the + Fifth Monarchy, and that Protectorate having not only conserved + Tithes and an Established Church, but professed them to be parts + of its very basis, Harrison had abjured Cromwell for ever. "Those + who had been to me as the apple of my eye," said Harrison + afterwards, "when they had turned aside, said to me, Sit thou on + my right hand; but I loathed it." Through the Protectorate, + accordingly, Harrison, dismissed from the Army, had been living + as a suspected person, with great powers of harm; and, three or + four times, when there were Republican risings, or threatenings + of such, it had been thought necessary to question him, or put + him under temporary arrest. The last occasion had been just + before the opening of the present Parliament, when he was + arrested with Vane, Rich, and others, and had the distinction of + being sent as far off as Pendennis Castle in Cornwall, while Vane + was sent only to the Isle of Wight, and Rich only to Windsor. The + imprisonments, however, being merely precautionary, had been but + short; and, at the time of the proposal of the Kingship to + Cromwell, Harrison, as well as the others, was again at liberty. + </p> + <p> + That Harrison had ever practically implicated himself in any + attempt to upset the Protectorate by force hardly appears from + the evidence. He was an experienced soldier, and, with all his + fervid notions of a Fifth Monarchy, too massive a man to stir + without calculation. All that can be said is that he was an + avowed enemy of Cromwell's rule, that he was looked up to by all + the Fifth-Monarchy Republicans, and that he held himself free to + act should there be fit opportunity. But there were Harrisonians + of a lower grade than Harrison. Especially in London, since the + winter of 1655, there had been a kind of society of + Fifth-Monarchy Men, holding small meetings in five places, only + one man in each meeting knowing who belonged to the others, but + the five connecting links forming a central Committee for + management and propagandism. It must have been from this + Committee, I suppose, that there emanated, in Sept. 1656, a + pamphlet called "<i>The Banner of Truth displayed, or a Testimony + for Christ and against Antichrist: being the substance of several + consultations holden and kept by a certain number of Christians + who are waiting for the visible appearance of Christ's Kingdom in + and over the World, and residing in and about the City of + London</i>." Probably as yet these humble Fifth-Monarchy Men had + not gone beyond private aspirations. At all events, Thurloe, + though aware of their existence, had not thought them worth + notice. But Sindercombe's Plot of Feb. 1656-7, and the subsequent + proposal of the Kingship for Cromwell, had excited them + prodigiously, and they had been longing for action, and looking + about for leaders. Harrison was their chief hope, and they had + applied to him, but also to other Republicans who were not + specially Fifth-Monarchy Men, such as Rich, Lawson, and Okey. + What encouragement they had or thought they had from such men one + does not know; but they had fixed Thursday, April 9, the very day + of the appointment of the great Committee of Ninety-nine to deal + with Cromwell about the Kingship, for an experimental rendezvous + and standard-raising on Mile-End-Green. This being known to + Thurloe, a horse-troop or two finished the affair by the capture + of about twenty of them at Shoreditch, ready to ride to + Mile-End-Green, and also by the capture at Mile-End-Green itself + of their intended standard, some arms, and a quantity of + Fifth-Monarchy books and manifestos. Five or six of the captured, + among whom was Thomas Venner, a wine-cooper, the real soul of the + conspiracy, were imprisoned in the Tower, and the rest elsewhere; + but, in accordance with Cromwell's lenient custom in such cases, + there was no trial, or other public notice of the affair, beyond + a report about it by Thurloe to the House (April 11). Harrison, + however, was again arrested, with Rich, Lawson, and Major + Danvers; and amongst those taken was a Mr. Arthur Squib, who had + been in the Barebones Parliament, and one of Harrison's chief + followers there. Squib's connexion with Venner in the present + wretched conspiracy seems to have been much closer than + Harrison's.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Godwin, IV. 372-375; Carlyle, III. 228-229; Thomason + Catalogue of Pamphlets; Commons Journals, April 11, 1657; + Thurloe, I. 289. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Cromwell had used the Venner outbreak to point a moral in one or + two of his speeches on the Kingship Question. The standard taken + at Mile-End-Green bore a Red Lion couchant, with the motto <i>Who + shall rouse him up?;</i> and among the tracts or manifestos taken + was one called <i>A Standard set up, whereunto the true Seed and + Saints of the Most High may be gathered together for the lamb, + against the Beast and the False Prophet</i>. It was a fierce + diatribe against Cromwell, with a scheme for the government of + the Commonwealth on Fifth-Monarchy principles after his + overthrow. The supreme authority was to be the Lord Jesus Christ; + but there was to be an annually elected Sanhedrim or Supreme + Council to represent Him, and to administer Biblical Law, and no + other, with inferior elected judges for towns and counties. The + Bible being the sole Law, a formal Legislature would be + unnecessary; and all other magistracy besides the Sanhedrim and + the Judgeships was to be abolished, and also, of course, all + State ministry of Religion. Now, to Cromwell, who had read the + Tract, all this furnished excellent illustration of the kind he + wanted. Always frankly admitting that it might be said he had + "griped at the government of the nations without a legal assent," + he had never ceased to declare that this had been a sheer + necessity for the nations themselves. But the <i>Standard set + up</i> of the Fifth-Monarchy insurgents of Mile-End-Green had + enabled him to return to the topic with reference specifically to + the Barebones Parliament and the transition thence to the + Protectorate. That wild pamphlet, he had told his auditors, in + Speech XII. (April 20), was by one who had been "a leading + person" in the Barebones Parliament (Harrison or Squib?); and in + Speech XIII. (April 21) he had dwelt on the fact again more at + large, revealing a story, as he said, of his "own weakness and + folly." The Barebones Parliament had been one of his own + choosing; he had filled it with "men of our own judgment, who had + fought in the wars, and were all of a piece upon that account." + This he had done in his "simplicity," expecting the best results. + But, as it had happened, there was a band of men in that + Parliament driving even then for nothing but the principles of + this wretched Fifth-Monarchy manifesto, the abolition of Church + and Magistracy, and a trial of a fantastic government by the Law + of Moses. Major-General Harrison and Mr. Squib had been the + leaders of this band, with the Anabaptist minister Mr. Feak as + their confidant out of doors; and what they did from day to day + in the Parliament had been concocted in private meetings in Mr. + Squib's house. "This was so <i>de facto:</i> I know it to be + true." Had he not done well in accepting the Protectorate at such + a moment, and so saving the Commonwealth from the delirium of + which they had just seen a new spurt at + Mile-End-Green?<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: I have taken the account of the <i>Standard Set Up</i> from + Godwin, IV. 375-378, not having seen it myself. The passages in + Cromwell's speeches referring to it will be found in Carlyle, + III, 260, and 276-277. + </p> + </div> + <p> + After the Protector's refusal of the Kingship the House proceeded + to adjust the new constitution they had prepared in the + <i>Petition and Advice</i> to that unavoidable fact. Not much was + necessary. It was only necessary to re-shape the key-stone, by + removing the word "King" from the first clause of the First + Article and retaining the word "Protector": all the rest would + hold good. Accordingly, after some days of debate, it was finally + agreed, May 22, that the former first clause of the First Article + should be cancelled, and this substituted: "That your Highness + will be pleased, by and under the name and style of Lord + Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland, + and the Dominions and Territories thereunto belonging, to hold + and exercise the office of Chief Magistrate of these Nations, and + to govern according to this <i>Petition and Advice</i> in all + things therein contained, and in all other things according to + the Laws of these Nations, and not otherwise." The remaining + clause of the First Article, empowering Cromwell to appoint his + immediate successor, was left untouched, as well as all the + subsequent Articles. To the whole of the <i>Petition and + Advice</i>, so arranged, Cromwell solemnly gave his assent in the + Painted Chamber, May 25, addressing the House in a short speech, + in which he expressed his thorough confidence in them in respect + to those explanations or modifications of the document which they + had promised in order to meet the objections he had taken the + liberty of making. He did not doubt there would be "a perfecting + of those things."<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates. The speech of Cromwell in + assenting to the <i>Petition and Advice</i>, May 25, 1657, had + been accidentally omitted in the earlier editions of Carlyle's + <i>Cromwell;</i> but it was given in the Appendix to the + edition of 1657. It may stand as Speech XIV*. in the numbering. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The "perfecting of those things" occupied a good deal of time. + What was necessary was to cast the resolutions already come to in + supplement to the <i>Petition and Advice</i>, or those that might + yet suggest themselves, into a valid legal form; and it was + agreed, June 4, that, except in as far as it might be well to + pass express Bills on specific matters, the best way would be to + frame and submit to his Highness a <i>Humble Additional and + Explanatory Petition and Advice</i>. The due framing of this, and + the preparation of the necessary Bills, were to be work for three + weeks more.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of date, and afterwards. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Meanwhile, in evidence that the Session of the Parliament up to + this point, notwithstanding the great business of the <i>Petition + and Advice</i> and the Kingship question, had by no means been + barren in legislation, the House had gathered up all the Bills + already passed, but not yet assented to, for presentation to his + Highness in a body. On the 9th of June thirty-eight such Bills, + "some of the public, and the others of a more private, + concernment," were presented to his Highness by the whole House, + assembled in the Painted Chamber, the Speaker, "after a short and + pithy speech," offering them as some grapes preceding the full + vintage, and his Highness ratifying all by his + assent.—Among these was one very comprehensive Act with + this preamble: "Whereas, since the 20th of April, 1653, in the + great exigences and necessities of these nations, divers Acts and + Ordinances have been made without the consent of the People + assembled in Parliament—which is not according to the + fundamental laws of the nations and the rights of the People, and + is not for the future to be drawn into example—yet, the + actings thereupon tending to the settlement of the estates of + several persons and families and the peace and quiet of the + nations: Be it enacted by his Highness the Lord Protector and + this present Parliament," &c. What is enacted is that about a + hundred Acts and Ordinances, all duly enumerated, out of those + made by the Barebones Parliament in 1653 or by Oliver and his + Council after the establishment of the Protectorate in Dec. 1656, + together with all acts and ordinances of the same touching + customs and excise, shall by this Act be confirmed and made good, + either wholly and absolutely (which is the case with nearly all) + or with specified modifications—"all other Acts and + Ordinances, and every branch and clause therein contained, not + confirmed by these presents, which have been made or passed + between the 20th day of April 1653 and the 17th day of September + 1656" to be absolutely null and void. In other words, the House + had been revising long and carefully the Acts of the Barebones + Parliament and the arbitrary Ordinances of Oliver and his Council + from Dec. 1653 onwards, with a view to adopt all that might stand + and to give them new constitutional sanction. Among the Acts of + the Barebones Parliament so confirmed and continued was their + famous Act for the forms and ceremonial of Marriage and for the + Registration of Births and Burials (Vol. IV. p. 511), except only + the clause therein declaring any other marriages than as these + prescribed to be illegal. Of Cromwell's own Ordinances from Dec. + 1653 onwards all were preserved that, I suppose, he really cared + for. Thus, of his <i>eighty-two</i> first public Ordinances, + passed between Dec. 1653 and the meeting of his First Parliament + Sept. 3, 1654, <i>thirty-six</i> were expressly confirmed; which, + as most of the rest were Excise or Customs Ordinances or Orders + for temporary occasion, means that substantially all his + legislation on his entering on the Protectorate was to remain in + force. More particularly, I may note that Nos. 7, 16, 24, 30, 31, + 32, 33, 50, 54, 58, 60, 66, 67, 69, 71, 81, and 82, in our List + of his first eighty-two Public Ordinances (Vol. IV. pp. 558-565) + were among those confirmed. These included his Ordinances against + Cockfights and Duels, his Ordinance for Reform of the Court of + Chancery, his various Ordinances for the incorporation and + management of Scotland, and his various Church-Establishment + Ordinances for England and Wales, with his two commissions of + Triers and Ejectors. Among contemporary ordinances of his also + confirmed, over and above those in the main list of Eighty-two, + were that for setting up Lectures in Scotland, that in favour of + Glasgow University, and that for the better support of the + Universities of Scotland—this last, however, limited to the + Universities alone by the omission of what related to "the + encouragement of public preachers" (Vol. IV. p. 565: footnote). + The most noticeable Ordinances of Cromwell's <i>not</i> confirmed + are those relating to Treasons—No. 8 in the List of + Eighty-two, and its appendages Nos. 12 and 49. Altogether, the + Parliament had handsomely cleared Cromwell in respect of his + Interim Dictatorship and what was past of his Protectorate, and + he had every reason to be satisfied. But, besides this + all-comprehensive Act of retrospection, several of the other Acts + presented for his assent at the same time must have been very + much to his mind.—There was an Act for settling lands in + Scotland upon General Monk, with similar Acts for settling lands + in Ireland on Fleetwood, Dr. Owen, Sir Hardress Waller, and other + persons of desert; there were several Naturalization Bills in + favour of a great number of foreigners and English aliens; there + was "An Act for limiting and settling the prices of Wines"; and + there was "An Act against Vagrants, and wandering, idle, + dissolute Persons." Most welcome to Cromwell, and drawing from + him a few words of special acknowledgment after his assent to all + the Bills (<i>Speech XV.</i>), were "Two Bills for an Assessment + towards the defraying of the charge of the Spanish war and other + occasions of the Commonwealth." One was for £60,000 a month from + England for the three months ending June 24; the other for an + assessment of £20,000 from Ireland for the same three months. + These were instalments of a lump sum of £400,000, which the House + had voted as long ago as Jan. 30, 1656-7, for the carrying on of + the Spanish war, and the remainder of which was to be raised in + other ways. The House had already before it a general Bill for + the continued assessment of England, Scotland, and Ireland, for + Army and Navy purposes, beyond the period specified; but that + Bill had not yet passed.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates; Scobell's Acts and Ordinances of + 1656, given in mass in his book, Part II. p. 371 et seq. See + especially there, pp. 389-395. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Army and Navy purposes, and the carrying on of the Spanish War: + these, through all the bustle of the Kingship question, had still + been the deepest things in Cromwell's mind. His alliance with + France, settled so far by the Treaty of Peace and Commerce dated + Oct. 24, 1655, but much imperilled since by Mazarin's dexterity + in evasion and his occasional oscillations towards Spain, had at + length, by Lockhart's exertions, been converted into a great + Treaty "offensive and defensive," signed at Paris, March 23rd, + 1656-7, and ratified by Louis XIV. April 30, and by Cromwell + himself May 4, 1657. By this treaty it was provided that there + should be joint action against Spain, by sea and land, for the + reduction and capture of Gravelines, Mardyke, and Dunkirk, the + three coast-towns of Spanish Flanders adjoining the French + territories on the north-east. Gravelines, if taken, was to + belong to France ultimately, but, if taken first, was to be held + by the English till Mardyke and Dunkirk were taken—which + two towns were to belong permanently to England, only with + stipulation of inviolability of Roman Catholic worship for the + inhabitants, and of no further English encroachments on Flanders. + For the joint-enterprise France was to supply 20,000 men, and + Cromwell an auxiliary army of 6000 foot (half at the expense of + France), besides a fleet for coast-service. A secret article of + the Treaty was that neither power should make separate peace with + the Spanish Crown for the space of one year from the date of the + Treaty.<sup>1</sup>—Cromwell had lost no time in fulfilling + his part of the engagement. To command the auxiliary English army + in Flanders he had selected Sir John Reynolds, who had served + ably heretofore in Ireland, and was now, as we have seen, member + for Tipperary and Waterford in the present Parliament, and a + strong Oliverian. His commission was dated April 25; and by May + 14 he and his 6000 English foot had all been landed at Boulogne. + They were thought the most splendid body of soldiers in Europe, + and were admired and complimented by Louis XIV., who went + purposely, with Lockhart, to review them. The promised fleet of + cooperation was to be under the command of young Admiral + Montague, who was still, however, detained in + England.<sup>2</sup>—Meanwhile Blake, in his wider command + off the coasts of Spain itself, or wherever in the Atlantic there + could be a dash at the Spaniard, had added one more to the series + of his naval exploits. To intercept a rich Spanish fleet from + Mexico, he had gone to the Canary Isles; he had found the fleet + there, sixteen ships in all, impregnably ensconced, as it was + thought, in the fortified bay of Santa Cruz in Teneriffe; and, + after a council of war, in which it was agreed that, though the + ships could not be taken, they might be destroyed, he had + ventured that tremendous feat April 20, with the most + extraordinary success. He had emerged from Santa Cruz Bay, after + eleven hours of connonading and fighting, all but undamaged + himself, but leaving not a ship of the Spanish fleet extant, and + every fort in ruins. Not till May 28 did the news reach London; + but on that day Thurloe presented a narrative of the glorious + action to the House, who forthwith ordered a special + thanksgiving, and a jewel worth £500 to Blake. On the 10th of + June the jewel was sent, with a letter of honour from the + Protector, and instructions to leave fourteen of his ships off + Cadiz, and return home himself with the rest of his + fleet.<sup>3</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Godwin, IV. 540-542. But see Guizot's <i>Cromwell and the + English Commonwealth</i>, II. 377 (Engl. Transl. 1854), with + Latin Text of the Treaty itself in Appendix to same volume. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Godwin, IV. 542-543; Commons Journals of May 5, 1657 (leave + to Reynolds to go on the service). + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 3: Commons Journals, May 28 and 29, 1657; Godwin, IV. 418-420; + Carlyle, III. 264 and 304-305. + </p> + </div> + <p> + "<i>Killing no Murder: briefly discoursed, in Three Questions, by + William Allen:</i>" such was the title of a pamphlet in secret + circulation in London in June, 1657, and still of some celebrity. + It began with a letter "To His Highness, Oliver Cromwell," in + this strain: "To your Highness justly belongs the honour of dying + for the people; and it cannot choose but be an unspeakable + consolation to you in the last moments of your life to consider + with how much benefit to the world you are likely to leave it ... + To hasten this great good is the chief end of my writing this + paper." There follows, accordingly, a letter to those officers + and soldiers of the army who remember their engagements, urging + them to assassinate Cromwell. "We wish we had rather endured + thee, O Charles," it says, "than have been condemned to this mean + tyrant, not that we desire any kind of slavery, but that the + quality of the master sometimes graces the condition of the + slave." Sindercombe is spoken of as "a brave man," of as "great a + mind" as any of the old Romans. At the end there is this + postscript: "Courteous reader, expect another sheet or two of + paper on this subject, if I escape the Tyrant's hands, although + he gets in the interim the crown upon his head, which he hath + underhand put his confederates on to petition his acceptance + thereof." This would imply that, though not in circulation till + June, the pamphlet had been written while the Kingship question + was in suspense, i.e, before May 8. The name "William Allen" on + the title-page was, of course, assumed. The pamphlet, hardly any + one now doubts, was by Edward Sexby, the Stuartist + arch-conspirator, then moving between England and the continent, + and known to have been the real principal of Sindercombe's plot. + Actually, when the pamphlet appeared, the desperate man was again + in England, despite Thurloe's police. The pamphlet was greedily + sought after, and much talked of. The sale was, of course, + dangerous. A copy could not be had under five + shillings.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Copy of <i>Killing no Murder</i> (first edition, much rarer + than a second and enlarged edition of 1659) among the Thomason + Pamphlets, with the date "June 1657" marked on it: Wood's Ath. + IV. 624-5; Godwin, IV. 388-390 (where the pamphlet is assumed + to have been out "early in May"); Carlyle, III, 67. After the + Restoration, Sexby being then dead, the pamphlet was claimed by + another.—An answer to <i>Killing no Murder</i>, under the + title <i>Killing is Murder</i>, appeared Sept. 21, 1657. It was + by a Michael Hawke, of the Middle Temple. + </p> + </div> + <p> + People were still talking of <i>Killing no Murder</i> when the + First Protectorate came to a close. We have now only to take + account of the circumstances of that event, and of the + differences there were to be, constitutionally, between the First + Protectorate and the Second. + </p> + <p> + On the 25th of June, 1657, all the details of the <i>Humble + Additional and Explanatory Petition and Advice</i> having been at + length settled by the House, that supplement to the original + <i>Petition and Advice</i> was also ready for his Highness's + assent. The two documents together, to be known comprehensively + as <i>The Petition and Advice</i>, were to supersede the more + military Instrument, called <i>The Government of the + Commonwealth</i>, to which Cromwell had sworn in Dec. 1653, at + his first installation, and were to be the charter of his new and + constitutionalized Protectorate. The Articles of this new + Constitution were seventeen in all, and deserve some + attention:—Article I., as we know, confirmed Cromwell's + Protectorship and empowered him to choose his + successor.—Article II. provided for the calling of + Parliaments of Two Houses once in three years at + furthest.—Article III. stipulated for all Parliamentary + privileges and the non-exclusion of any of the duly elected + members except by judgment of the House of which they might be + members.—Article IV., which was much the longest, + determined the classes of persons who should be disqualified from + being elected or voting in elections. <i>Universally</i>, all + Roman Catholics were to be excluded, and all who had abetted the + Irish Rebellion. Farther, in <i>England</i>, were to be excluded + all who had been engaged in any war against Parliament since Jan. + I, 1641-2, unless they had afterwards given "signal testimony" of + their good affections, and all who, since the establishment of + the Protectorate, had been engaged in any plot or insurrection + against <i>it</i>. In <i>Scotland</i> were to be excluded all who + had been in arms against the Parliament of England or against + that of Scotland before April 1, 1648 (old <i>Malignants</i> and + <i>Montrosists</i>), except such as had afterwards given "signal + testimony," &c., and also all who, since April 1, 1648, had + been in arms against the English Parliament or the Commonwealth + (the <i>Hamiltonians</i> of 1648, and the <i>Scottish Royalists + of all varieties</i> who had fought for Charles II. in 1650-51), + except such as had since March 1, 1651-2, "lived + peaceably"—but with the supplementary proviso, required by + his Highness, that, while "having lived peaceably" since + Worcester would suffice for the miscellaneous Royalists of + 1650-51, who were indeed nearly the whole population of Scotland, + the less pardonable <i>Hamiltonians</i> of 1648 would have to + pass much stricter tests. In <i>Ireland</i>, though Protestants + generally were to be qualified, there was to be like caution in + admitting such as, though faithful before March 1, 1649-50, had + afterwards opposed the Commonwealth or the Protector. These + disqualifications affected both voting and eligibility; but + eligibility was restricted still farther. Ineligible were to be + all atheistic persons, scoffers at Religion, unbelievers in the + divine authority of the Bible, or other execrable heretics, all + profaners of the Lord's Day, all habitual drunkards or swearers, + and all who had married Roman Catholics or allowed their children + to marry such. For the rest, all persons of the voting sex, over + the age of twenty-one, and "of known integrity, fearing God, and + of good conversation," were to be eligible. One farther exception + had been made in the original <i>Petition and Advice</i>; to wit, + all in holy orders, all ministers or public preachers. "There may + be some of us, it may be, who have been a little guilty of that, + who would be loath to be excluded from sitting in Parliament," + Cromwell had said laughingly while commenting on this clause; and + it had accordingly been defined as excluding only regular pastors + of congregations. He had procured an important modification of + another clause of the same Article. It had been proposed that the + business of examining who had been duly elected, and the power of + suspending members till the House itself should decide, should be + vested in a body of forty-one commissioners to be appointed by + Parliament; but, Cromwell having pointed out that this would be a + clumsy process, and that the commissioners themselves might be + "uncertain persons," and might "keep out good men," it was agreed + that the judgment of the House itself, with a fine of £1000 on + every unqualified person that might take his seat, would fully + answer the purpose.—Article V. related to the Second House + of Parliament, called simply "the other House." It was to consist + of not more than seventy nor fewer than forty persons, qualified + as by the last Article, to be nominated by the Protector and + approved by the Commons House, twenty-one to be a quorum, and no + proxies allowed. Vacancies were to be filled up by nominations by + the Protector, approved by the House itself. The powers of the + House were also defined. They were to try no criminal cases + whatsoever, unless on an impeachment sent up from the Commons, + and only certain specified kinds of civil cases. All their final + determinations were to be by the House itself, and not by + delegates or Committees.—Article VI. ruled that all other + particulars concerning "the calling and holding of Parliaments" + should be by law and statute, and that there should be no + legislation, or suspension, or abrogation of law, but by Act of + Parliament.—Article VII. guaranteed a yearly revenue of + £1,300,000, whereof £1,000,000 to be for the Army and Navy, and + the remaining £300,000 for the support of the Government, the + sums not to be altered without the consent of Parliament, and no + part of them to be raised by a land-tax. There might also be + "temporary supplies" over and above, to be voted by the Commons; + but on no account was his Highness to impose any tax, or require + any contribution, by his own authority. By Cromwell's request it + was added that his expenditure of the Army and Navy money should + be with the advice of his Council, and that accounts should be + rendered to Parliament.—Article VIII. settled that his + Highness's Privy Council should consist of not more than + twenty-one persons, seven a quorum, to be approved by both + Houses, and to be irremovable but by the consent of Parliament, + though in the intervals of Parliament any of them might be + suspended by the Protector. It was asked that the Government + should always be with the advice of the Council, and stipulated + that, after Cromwell's death, all appointments to the + Commandership-in-chief, or to Generalships at land or sea, should + be by the future Protectors with consent of the + Council.—Article IX. required that the Lord Chancellor, or + Lord Keeper, or Lords Commissioners of the Great Seal, the Lord + Treasurer or Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, the Judges, and + all the great State-officers in England, Scotland, or Ireland, + should, in cases of future appointment by the Protector and his + Council, be approved by Parliament.—Article X. + congratulated the Protector on his Established Church, and begged + him to punish, according to law, all open revilers of the + same.—Article XI. related to Religion and Toleration. The + Protestant Faith, as contained in the Old and New Testaments, and + as yet to be formulated in a Confession of Faith to be agreed + upon between his Highness and the Parliament, was to be the + professed public Religion, and to be universally respected as + such; but all believers in the Trinity and in the divine + authority of the Scriptures, though they might dissent otherwise + in doctrine, worship, or discipline from the Established Church, + were to be protected in the exercise of their own religion and + worship,—this liberty not to extend to Popery, Prelacy, or + the countenancing of blasphemous publications. Ministers and + Preachers agreeing in "matters of faith" with "the public + profession," though differing in "matters of worship and + discipline," were not to be excluded from the Established Church + by that difference, but might have "the public maintenance + appointed for the ministry" and promotion and employment in the + Church according to their abilities. None but those whose + difference extended to matters of faith need remain outside the + Established Church. Dissenters from the Established Church, if + sufficiently right in the faith, were to have equal admission + with others to all civil trusts and appointments, subject only to + any disqualification for civil office attached to the ministerial + profession. His Highness was requested to agree to the repeal of + all laws inconsistent with these provisions.—Article XII. + required that all past Acts for disestablishing or disendowing + the old Prelatic Church, and appropriating the revenues of the + same, should hold good.—Article XIII. required that Old + Malignants, and other such classes of persons as those + disqualified for Parliament in Article IV., should be excluded + also from other public trusts.—Article XIV. stipulated that + nothing in the <i>Petition and Advice</i> should be construed as + implying the dissolution of the present Parliament before such + time as his Highness should independently think + fit.—Article XV. provided that the <i>Petition and + Advice</i> should not be construed as repealing or annulling any + Laws or Ordinances already in force, not distinctly incompatible + with itself.—Article XVI. protected in a similar way all + writs, commissions, grants, law-processes, &c., issued and in + operation already, even though the wording should seem a little + past date.—Article XVII. and Last requested his Highness to + be pleased to take an oath of office. A form of such oath + appeared in the <i>Additional Petition and Advice</i>, with + another form of oath for his Highness's Councillors in England, + Scotland, and Ireland, and a third for the members of either + House of Parliament. This last, besides a promise to uphold and + promote the true Protestant Religion, contained a special promise + of fidelity to the Lord Protector and his Government. Farther, by + the same <i>Additional Petition and Advice</i>, the Lord + Protector was requested and empowered to issue writs calling + qualified persons to the other House in convenient time before + the next session of Parliament, and such persons were empowered + to meet and constitute the other House at the time and place + appointed without requiring farther approbation from the present + Single House.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: The original Petition and Advice is given in full in Scobell + (378-383), Whitlocke (IV. 292-301), and in Parl. Hist. (III. + 1502-1511); the Additional Petition and Advice in Scobell + 450-452, and Whitlocke, IV. 306-310. But see also Cromwell's + Speech XIII. with Mr. Carlyle's elucidations (Carlyle, III. 279 + et seq.) + </p> + </div> + <p> + Friday, June 26, 1657, was the last day of the present Single + House, and a day of high ceremonial in London. The House, having + met as usual in the morning, and transacted some overstanding + business, rose about two o'clock to meet his Highness in the + Painted Chamber. There, with the words "The Lord Protector doth + consent," the <i>Additional Petition and Advice</i>, and + therefore the whole new Constitution of the Protectorate, as just + described, became law, and assent was given also to a number of + Bills that had passed the House since the 9th. Among these was an + "Act for convicting, discovering, and repressing of Popish + Recusants," an "Act for the Better Observation of the Lord's + Day," and an "Act for punishing such persons as live at high + rates and have no visible estate, profession, or calling, + answerable thereto." There were also two Money Bills for + temporary supplies: viz. one for raising £15,000 from Scotland, + to go along with the £180,000 from England, and the £20,000 from + Ireland, voted for the three months just ended, and another + general and prospective one, assessing England at £35,000 a + month, Scotland at £6000 a month, and Ireland at £9000 a month, + for the next three years. All these assents having been received, + there was an adjournment to Westminster Hall for the solemn + installation of his Highness in his Second + Protectorate.—The Hall had been magnificently prepared, and + contained a vast assemblage. The members of the House, the Judges + in their robes, the Lord Mayor and Aldermen in their robes, and + other dignitaries, were ranged in the midst round, a canopied + chair of state. It was the royal chair of Scotland, with the + mystic coronation-stone underneath it, brought for the purpose + from the Abbey. In front of the chair was a table, covered with + pink-coloured Geneva velvet fringed with gold; and on the table + lay a large Bible, a sword, the sceptre, and a robe of purple + velvet, lined with ermine. His Highness, having entered, attended + by his Council, the great state officers, his son Richard, the + French Ambassador, the Dutch Ambassador, and "divers of the + nobility and other persons of great quality," stood, beside the + chair under the canopy. The Speaker, assisted by the Earl of + Warwick, Whitlocke, and others, then attired his Highness in the + purple velvet robe; after which he delivered to him the + richly-gilt Bible, girt him with the sword, and put the gold + sceptre into his hand. His Highness then swore the oath of + office, administered to him by the Speaker, After that, the + Speaker addressed him in a well-turned speech. "You have no new + name," he said, "but a new date now added to the old name: the + 16th of December is now changed into the 26th of June." He + explained that the robe, the Bible, the sword, and the sceptre + were presents to his Highness from the Parliament, and dwelt + poetically on the significance of each. "What a comely and + glorious sight," he concluded, "it is to behold a Lord Protector + in a purple robe, with a sceptre in his hand, a sword of justice + girt about him, and his eyes fixed upon the Bible! Long may you + prosperously enjoy them all, to your own comfort, and the comfort + of the people of these three Nations!" His Highness still + standing, Mr. Manton offered up a prayer. Then, the assemblage + giving several great shouts, and the trumpets sounding, his + Highness sat down in the chair, still holding the sceptre. Then a + herald stood up aloft, and signalled for three trumpet-blasts, at + the end of which, by authority of Parliament, he proclaimed the + Protector. There were new trumpet-blasts, loud hurrahs through + the Hall, and cries of "God save the Lord Protector." Once more + there was proclamation, and once more a burst of applauses. Then, + all being ended, his Highness, with his robe borne up by several + young persons of rank, passed with his retinue from the Hall by + the great gate, where his coach was in waiting. And so, with the + Earl of Warwick seated opposite to him in the coach, his son + Richard and Whitlocke on one side, and Viscount Lisle and Admiral + Montague on the other, he was driven through the crowd to + Whitehall, surrounded by his life-guards, and followed by the + Lord Mayor and other dignitaries in their coaches.—There + was a brief sitting of the House after the Installation. It was + agreed to recommend to his Highness to "encourage Christian + endeavours for uniting the Protestant Churches abroad," and also + to recommend to him to take some effectual course "for reforming + the government of the Inns of Court, and likewise for placing of + godly and able ministers there"; and it was ordered that the Acts + passed by the House should be printed collectively, and that + every member should have a copy. Then, according to one of the + Acts to which his Highness had that day assented, the House + adjourned itself for seven months, i.e. to Jan. 20, + 1657-8.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of June 26, 1657; Parl. Hist. III. + 1514-1518 (Reprint of the authorized contemporary account of + the Installation-Ceremony, which had a frontispiece by Hollar); + Whitlocke, IV. 303-305; Guizot's Cromwell, II. 337-339 (where + some of the particulars of the Installation seem to be from + French eye-witnesses). + </p> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="Ac2s1" id="Ac2s1">CHAPTER II.</a> + </h2> + <h3> + MILTON'S LIFE AND SECRETARYSHIP THROUGH THE FIRST PROTECTORATE + CONTINUED: SEPTEMBER 1654—JUNE 1657. + </h3> + <p> + For more than reasons of mere mechanical symmetry, it will be + well to divide this Chapter of Milton's Biography into Sections + corresponding with those of Oliver's Continued Protectorate in + the preceding Chapter. + </p> + <h3> + SECTION I: FROM SEPTEMBER 1654 TO JANUARY 1654-5, OR THROUGH + OLIVER'S FIRST PARLIAMENT. + </h3> + <p> + ULAC'S HAGUE EDITION OF MILTON'S <i>DEFENSIO SECUNDA</i>, WITH + THE <i>FIDES PUBLICA</i> OF MORUS ANNEXED: PREFACE BY DR. + CRANTZIUS TO THE REPRINT: ULAC'S OWN PREFACE OF SELF-DEFENCE: + ACCOUNT OF MORUS'S <i>FIDES PUBLICA</i>, WITH EXTRACTS: HIS + CITATION OF TESTIMONIES TO HIS CHARACTER: TESTIMONY OF DIODATI OF + GENEVA: ABRUPT ENDING OF THE BOOK AT THIS POINT, WITH ULAC'S + EXPLANATION OF THE CAUSE.—PARTICULARS OF THE ARREST AND + IMPRISONMENT OF MILTON'S FRIEND OVERTON.—THREE MORE LATIN + STATE-LETTERS BY MILTON FOR OLIVER (NOS. XLIX.—LI.): NO + STATE-LETTERS BY MILTON FOR THE NEXT THREE MONTHS: MILTON THEN + BUSY ON A REPLY TO THE <i>FIDES PUBLICA</i> OF MORUS. + </p> + <p> + In October 1654 there was out at the Hague, from Ulac's press, a + volume in two parts, with this title: "<i>Joannis Miltoni + Defensio Secunda pro Populo Anglicano contra infamem Libellum, + cujus titulus 'Regii Sanguinis Clamor adversus Parricidas + Anglicanos.' Accessit Alexandri Mori, Ecclesiastæ, Sacrarumque + Litterarum Professoris, Fides Publica contra calumnias Joannis + Miltoni, Scurræ. Hagæ-Comitum, ex Typographia Adriani Ulac</i>, + MDCLIV." ("John Milton's Second Defence for the English People in + reply to an infamous Book entitled 'Cry of the King's Blood + against the English Parricides.' To which is added A Public + Testimony of Alexander Morus, Churchman, and Professor of Sacred + Literature, in reply to the Calumnies of John Milton, Buffoon. + Printed at the Hague by Adrian Ulac, 1654.") The reprint of + Milton's <i>Defensio Secunda</i> fills 128 pages of the volume; + More's appended <i>Fides Publica</i>, or Public Testimony, in + reply, is in larger type and fills 129 pages separately numbered. + Morus, after all, it will be seen, had been obliged to acquiesce + in Ulac's arrangement (Vol. IV. p. 634). Instead of trying vainly + any longer to suppress Milton's book on the Continent, he had + exerted himself to the utmost in preparing a Reply to it, to go + forth with that reprint of it for the foreign market which Ulac + had been pushing through the press and would not keep back. + </p> + <p> + Although Milton complains that Ulac's edition of his book for the + foreign market was not only a piracy, but also slovenly in + itself, with printer's errors vitiating the sense and arrangement + in some cases,<sup>1</sup> it was substantially a reprint of the + original. Its interest for us, therefore, lies wholly in the + preliminary matter. This consists of a short Preface headed + "<i>Lectori</i>" ("To the Reader") and signed "GEORGIUS + CRANTZIUS, <i>S.S. Theol. D.</i>," and a longer statement headed + "<i>Typographus pro Se-ipso</i>" ("The Printer in his own + behalf") and signed "A. ULACQ." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Pro Se Def. (1655). + </p> + </div> + <p> + The Rev. Dr. Crantzius, who does not give his exact address, + writes in an authoritative clerical manner. Though in bad health, + he says, he cannot refrain from penning a few lines, to say how + much he is shocked at the length to which personalities in + controversy are going. He really thinks Governments ought to + interfere to put such things down. Readers will find in the + following book of Milton's a lamentable specimen. He knows + nothing of Milton himself; but Milton's writings show him to be a + man of a most damnable disposition, and Salmasius had once shown + him (Dr. Crantzius) an English book of Milton's propounding the + blasphemy "that the doctrine of the Gospel, and of our Lord Jesus + Christ, concerning Divorce is devilish." Dr. Crantzius had known + Salmasius very well; and O what a man <i>he</i> was! Nothing + amiss in him, except perhaps a hasty temper, and too great + subjection to a peculiar connubial fate! There was a posthumous + book of Salmasius against Milton; and, should it ever appear, + Milton would feel that even the dead could bite. Dr. Crantzius + had seen a portion of it; and, "Good Heavens! what a blackguard + is Milton, if Salmasius may be trusted." Dr. Crantzius had known + Morus both at Geneva and in Holland. He was certainly a man often + at feud with enemies and rivals, and giving them too great + opportunities by his irascibility and freedom of speech. But he + was a man of high aspirations; and the late Rev. Dr. Spanheim had + once told Dr. Crantzius that Morus's only fault was that he was + <i>altier</i>, as the French say, i.e. haughty. As for Milton's + special accusations against Morus, Dr. Crantzius knew them for a + certainty to be false. Even after the Bontia scandal had got + abroad and the lawsuit of Morus with the Salmasian household was + running its course, Dr. Crantzius had heard Salmasius, who was + not in the habit of praising people, speak highly of Morus. + Salmasius had admitted at the same time that his wife had injured + Morus, though he could not afford to destroy his "domestic peace" + by opposing her in the matter. On the Bontia affair specifically, + Salmasius's express words, not only to Dr. Crantzius, but to + others whom he names, had been, "If Morus is guilty, then I am + the pimp, and my wife the procuress." As to the sequel of the + case Dr. Crantzius is ignorant; and he furnishes Ulac with this + preface to the Book only in the interests of truth. But what a + quarrelsome fellow Milton must be, who had not kept his hands off + even the "innocent printer"! + </p> + <p> + The "innocent printer's" own preface to the Reprint shows him to + have been a very shrewd person indeed. He keeps his temper better + than any of them. Two years had elapsed., he says, since he + printed the <i>Regii Sanguinis Clamor</i>. Who the real author of + the book was he did not even yet know. All he knew was that some + one, who wanted to be anonymous, had sent the manuscript to + Salmasius, and that, after some delay and hesitation, he had + obliged Salmasius by putting the book to press. Ulac then relates + the circumstances, already known to us, of his correspondence + with Hartlib about the book, and his offers to Milton, through + Hartlib, to publish any reply Milton might make. He had been + surprised at the long delay of this reply, and also at the + extraordinary ignorance of business shown by Milton and his + friends in their resentment of <i>his</i> part in the matter. It + was for a tradesman to be neutral in his dealings; he had + relations with both the Parliamentarians and the Royalists, and + would publish for either side; and, as to his lending his name to + the Dedicatory Preface to Charles II., everybody knew that + printers did such things every day. However, here now is Mr. + Milton's <i>Defensio Secunda</i> in an edition for the foreign + market, printed with the same good will as if Milton had himself + given the commission. It contains, he finds, a most unjustifiable + attack on M. Morus, with abuse also of Salmasius, who is now in + his grave; but that is other people's business, not Ulac's. He + cannot pass, however, the defamation of himself inserted in + Milton's book.—Ulac then quotes the substance of Milton's + account of him as once a swindler and bankrupt in London, then + the same in Paris, &c. (Vol. IV. p. 588). This information, + Ulac has little doubt, Milton has received from a particular + London bookseller, whom Ulac believes also to have been the real + publisher of Milton's book, though Newcome's name appears on it. + It is all a tissue of lies, however, and Ulac will meet it by a + sketch of his own life since he first dealt in books. This takes + him twenty-six years back. It was at that time that, being in + Holland, which is his native country, and having till then not + been in trade at all, he received from England a copy of the + <i>Arithmetica Logarithmica</i> of the famous mathematician Henry + Briggs [published 1624]. Greatly enamoured with this work and + with the whole new science of Logarithms, and observing that + Briggs had given the Logarithms for numbers only from 1 to + 20,000, and then from 90,000 to 100,000, he had set himself to + fill up the gap by finding the Logarithms for numbers from 20,000 + to 90,000, and had had the satisfaction, in an incredibly short + space of time, of bringing out the result [in an extended edition + of Briggs's book published at Gouda, 1628]. Briggs and the + English mathematicians were highly gratified, and Ulac was asked + to publish also Briggs's <i>Trigonometria Britannica</i>. This + also he had done [at Gouda in 1633, Briggs having died in 1630, + and left the work in charge of his friend Henry Gellibrand]; + after which he had engaged in the heavy labour of converting into + Logarithms the Sines and Tangents to a Radius of 10,000,000,000 + given in the <i>Opus Palatinum</i>, and had issued the same under + the title <i>Trigonometria Artificialis</i>. These labours of + Ulac's were not unknown to the mathematical world; and it was + somewhat surprising that Milton had not heard of them, especially + as, in his sketch of his own life in the <i>Defensio Secunda</i>, + he professed his interest in Mathematics, and spoke of his visits + to London from Horton for the purpose of picking up any novelties + in that science. At any rate, it was zeal for the dissemination + of the mathematical books above-mentioned that had turned Ulac + into a printer and bookseller. In that capacity he certainly had + been in London, trading in books generally, and he had been in + difficulties there, though not of a kind discreditable to + himself. After he had been some years in London, trading + peaceably, some London booksellers, jealous for their monopoly, + had conspired against him, and tried to obtain an order from + Archbishop Laud for the confiscation of his whole stock in trade. + Through the kind offices of Dr. Juxon, Bishop of London, this had + been prevented, and he had been empowered to sell off his + existing stock. Nay, a little while afterwards, he had had a + prospect, through the Royal Printers, of a full trading licence + from the Archbishop, on condition of his buying from them copies + of two heavy works they had printed by the Archbishop's + desire—viz. <i>Theophylact on St. Paul's Epistles</i> and + the <i>Catena of the Greek Fathers on Job</i>. He had actually + obtained such a licence for two years, and had hopes of its + renewal, when the Civil War broke out. On that account only, and + not in any disgrace, as Milton said, he had, after having been + about ten years in all in London, transferred himself to + Paris.<sup>1</sup> He had been there about six years, dealing + honestly, and publishing important theological and other books, + the titles of some of which he gives; but here also he had been + the victim of trade jealousy. He had found it impossible to get + on in Paris, though it was utterly false that he dared not now + show his face there. He <i>had</i> shown his face there, since he + had returned to his native Holland and made the Hague his + head-quarters; and he could show his face there again without any + inconvenience. Meanwhile he was in the Hague, comfortable enough; + and his character there might easily be ascertained.—To + return to Milton's present book. Though Ulac had reprinted it, he + had done so in doubt whether, now that there was peace between + the United Provinces and the Protector, such irritating books + between the two nations ought not to be mutually suppressed. His + own leanings had always been rather to the English + Parliamentarians than to the Royalists, and hence he had been + disposed to think well of Milton. Though he cannot think so well + of him now, he will not retaliate by any abuse of Milton. "If + Milton is acknowledged in his own country to be a good man, let + him be glad of it; but I hear that many Englishmen who know him + are of another opinion. I would decide nothing on mere rumour; + nay, if I had ascertained anything scandalous about him with + positive certainty, I should think it better to hold my tongue + than to blazon it about publicly." How strange, however, that + Milton had fallen foul of Morus at such a violent rate! Had he + not been told two years ago, through Hartlib, that Morus was not + the author of the book for which he made him suffer? It was the + more inexcusable inasmuch as in the <i>Joannis Philippi, Angli, + Responsio ad Apologiam Anonymi Cujusdam</i>—which work + Milton had superintended, if he had not written it—there + had been the same mistake of attributing a work to the wrong + person. It would be for Morus himself, however, to take + cognisance of that. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Long ago, foreseeing the interest I should have in ULAC, I + made notes in the State-Paper Office of some documents + appertaining to him when he was a Bookseller in London. They do + not quite correspond with Ulac's account of his reasons for + leaving London. The documents, here arranged in what seems to + be their chronological order, are as follows:—(1) + Petition of Ulac, undated, to Sir John Lambe, Dean of the + Arches, that he would intercede with Laud in Ulac's favour. His + two years' licence for importing hooks is now almost expired; + but many of the Greek books he had bought from the Royal + Printers are still on his hands unsold, besides the whole + impression of a <i>Vita Christi</i> which he had also bought + from them after the London stationers would not look at it. It + would be a great thing for him therefore to have his licence + extended for a time; and, if this favour is obtained from his + Grace, he promises to do all he can for the importation of + learned Greek and Latin books of the kind his Grace likes. (2) + Humble Petition to Laud by Richard Whittaker, Humphrey + Robinson, George Thomason, and other London Booksellers, dated + April 15, 1640, representing to his Grace that, contrary to + decree in Star-Chamber, "one Adrian Ulacke, a Hollander, hath + now lately imported and landed at the Custom House divers bales + or packs of books, printed beyond seas, with purpose to vent + them in this kingdom," and praying for the attachment of the + said bales and the apprehension of Ulac. (3) Of the same date, + Laud's order, or suggestion to the Lord Treasurer to join him + in an order, to attach the goods in the Custom House + accordingly. (4) Humble Petition of Ulac to Juxon, Bishop of + London, of date April 1640, explaining the transaction for + which he is in trouble. He had gone to Paris "upon the 5th of + Dec. last," and had there sold a great many copies of + <i>Theophylact on Paul's Epistles</i>, the <i>Catena Patrum + Græcorum in Jobum</i>, Bishop Montague's <i>De Vita + Christi</i>, <i>Spelman's British Councils</i>, &c., at the + same time buying a number of books to be imported into England. + Although these last had been sent off from Paris before + January, "yet, by want of ships and winds, they could come no + sooner"—i.e. not till after the 13th of April, 1640, when + his two years' licence for importing had expired. He humbly + beseeches Juxon that he may be allowed to "receive and dispose + of the said books so sent freely without any trouble." (5) A + note of Laud's, written by his secretary, but signed by + himself, as follows:—"Had not the Petitioner offended in + a high matter against the State in transporting bullion of the + kingdom, I should have been willing to have given time as is + here [i.e. in the last document] expressed. However, I desire + Sir John Lambe to consider of his Petition, and do further + therein as he shall find to be just and fitting, unless he find + that the sentence in the Star-Chamber hath disabled + him.—W. CANT. <i>Apr.</i> 21, 1640." (6) Humble Petition, + undated, of Ulac, now "prisoner in the Fleet," to Sir John + Lambe. The prisoner "was, the 24th of May last, censured by the + Lords in the High Court of Star-Chamber in £1000 to his Majesty + and imprisonment." He is in very great straits, owing above + £500 to his Majesty's Printers for books, "much hindered by the + deadness of trading," and by the return of many books on his + hands. He is "a stranger, without any friends," and unless the + fine of £1000 is mitigated "to a very low rate," he will be in + "utter ruin and misery." He therefore prays Lambe's good word + with Laud.—My only doubt is whether the document I have + put here as No. 6, ought not to <i>precede</i> the others: i.e. + whether Ulac's offence in the matter of the "bullion," with his + fine and imprisonment, was not an affair of older date than his + importation of books after time in April 1640, though then + remembered against him. All the documents were together in the + same bundle in the S. P. 0. when I examined them, and the + published Calendars have not yet overtaken them. + </p> + </div> + <p> + And now for More's own <i>Fides Publica</i> or Public Testimony + for Himself. It is a most painful book on the whole. Gradually it + impresses you with considerable respect for the ability of the + author, and especially for his skill both in logical and pathetic + pleading; and throughout you cannot but pity him, and remember + that he was placed in about the most terrible position that a + human being, and especially a clergyman of wide celebrity, could + occupy—placed there too by what would now be called an act + of literary savagery, outraging all the modern proprieties of + personal controversy. Still the impression left finally is not + satisfactory. It is but fair, however, that he should speak for + himself. The book opens thus:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "If I could acknowledge as true of me any of those things which + you, by a wild and unbridled licence, have not only attributed + to me, but have even, to your eternal disgrace, dared to + publish, I should be angry with you to a greater degree than I + am, you most foolish Milton: for let that be your not + unfitting, though mild, designation in the outset, while that + of liar and others will fashion themselves out of the sequel. + But, as the charges are such that there is no one of those to + whom I am a little more closely known, however unfavourable to + me, but could convict them of falsehood from beginning to end, + I might afford, strong in the sole consciousness of my + rectitude, to despise them, and perhaps this is what I ought to + do. Still, with a mind as calm as a sense of the indignity of + the occasion will permit, I have resolved to expostulate with + you. Yet I confess myself to be somewhat moved; not by anger, + but by another feeling. I am sorry, let me tell you, for your + own case, and shall be sorry until you prove penitent, and this + whether it is from sheer mental derangement that you have + assailed with mad and impotent fury a man who had done you no + harm, and who was, as you cannot deny, entirely unknown to you, + or whether you have let out the empty house of your ears, as + those good masters of yours say, to foul whisperings going + about, and, with your ears, put your hand and pen too, for I + know not what wages, but certainly little honourable, at the + disposal of other people's malicious humour. Choose which you + please. I pray God Almighty to be merciful to you, and I beg + Him also in my own behalf that, as I proceed to the just + defence of my reputation, He may suggest to me a true and + modest oration, utterly free from all lying and + obscenity,—that is, very unlike yours." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + On the point of the authorship of the <i>Regii Sanguinis + Clamor</i> Morus is emphatic enough. He declares over and over + again that <i>he</i> was not the author, and he declares that + Milton knew this perfectly well,—might have known it for + two years, but had beyond all doubt known it before he had + published the <i>Defensio Secunda</i>. We shall bring together + the passages that refer to this subject:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + I neither wrote it, nor ever pretended to have done + so,—this I here solemnly declare, and make God my + witness,—nor did I contribute anything to the writing of + it.... The real author is alive and well, unknown to me by + face, but very well known to several good men, on the strength + of whose joint knowledge of the fact I challenge with righteous + detestation the public lie which wriggles everywhere through + your whole book.... Let the author answer for himself: I + neither take up his quarrel, nor thrust my sickle into his + corn.... But I wish the anonymous author would come forth some + time or other openly in his own name.... What then would Milton + think? He might have reason to fame and detest the light of + life, being manifestly convicted of lying before the world. He + might say, indeed, "I had not thought of it: I have been under + a mistake" ... But what if I prove by clear evidence that you + knew well enough already that the author of this book was + another person, not I? ... [Morus then goes on to say that + Milton might have learnt the fact in various ways, even from a + comparison of the style of the book with that of Morus's + acknowledged writings; but he lays stress chiefly on the + information actually sent to Milton in 1652 by Ulac, and on the + subsequent communications to him, through Durie and the Dutch + Ambassador Nieuport, before the <i>Defensio Secunda</i> had + left the press] ... Will you hear a word of truth? You had + certainly learnt the fact, and cannot for two whole years have + been ignorant of it. But, as you perceived it would not suit + your convenience to vent your spleen against an anonymous + opponent, that is a nobody, and some definite person must be + pitched upon as an adversary to bear your rage expressly, no + one else seemed to you more opportune than I as an object of + calumny, whether because you heard that I had many enemies, + though (what proves their savageness) without any cause, who + would hold up both thumbs in applause of your jocosities, or + because you knew that, by the arts of a Juno, I was involved in + a lawsuit, more troublesome in reality than dangerous, and you + did not believe that I should be, as I have been, the winner + before all the tribunals.... Your book once written, Morus must + of necessity stand for your opponent, or Milton, the Defender + of the People, would have done nothing in two years! He would + have lost all the laborious compilation of his days and nights, + all his punnings upon my name, all his sarcasms on my sacred + office and profession.... For, if you had taken out of your + book all the reproaches thrown at me, how little would there + have been, certainly not more than a few pages, remaining for + your "People"! What fine things would have perished, what + flowery, I had almost said Floralian, expressions! What would + have become of your "gardens of Alcinous and Adonis," of your + little story about "Hortensius"; what of the "syca<i>more</i>," + what of "Pyramus and Thisbe," what of the "Mulberry tree"? [All + these are phrases in Milton's book, introduced whenever he + refers circumstantially to the naughty particulars of the + scandals against Morus, whether in Geneva or in Leyden. The + name <i>Morus</i>, which means "mulberry tree" and "fool" in + Latin and Greek, and may be taken also for "Moor" or "Ethiop," + and in still other meanings, had yielded to the Dutch wits, as + well as to Milton, no end of metaphors and punning etymologies + in their squibs against the poor man] ... The real author of + the <i>Regii Sanguinis Clamor</i> neither lives among the + Dutch,—is not "stabled" among them, to use your own + expression—nor has he, I believe, anything in common with + them ... Vehemently and almost tragically you complain that I + have upbraided you with your blindness. I can positively affirm + that I did not know till I read it in your own book that you + had lost your eyesight. For, if anything occurred to me that + might seem to look that way, I referred to the mind [Note this + sentence: the Latin is "<i>Nam, si quid fortè se dabat quod eò + spectare videretur, ad animum referebam</i>"] ... Could I then + upbraid you with blindness who did not know that you were + blind,—with personal deformity who believed you even + good-looking, chiefly in consequence of having seen the rather + neat likeness of you prefixed to your Poems [Marshall's + ludicrous botch of 1645 which Milton had disowned] ... Nor did + I know any more that you had written on Divorce. I have never + read that book of yours; I have never seen it ... I will have + done with this subject. That book is not mine. I have + published, and shall yet publish, other books, not one letter + of which shall you, while I am alive and aware of it, attack + with impunity. Some <i>Sermons</i> of mine are in men's hands; + my books <i>On Grace and Free Will</i> are to be had; there are + in print my <i>Exercitations on the Holy Scripture, or on the + Cause of God</i>, which I know have passed into England, so + that you have no excuse,—as well as my <i>Apology for + Calvin</i>, dedicated to the illustrious Usher of Armagh, your + countryman, my very great friend, whose highly honourable + opinion of me, if the golden old man would permit, I would put + against a thousand Miltons. With God's help others will appear, + some of which, as but partly finished, I am keeping back, while + others are ready for issue. [A list of some of these, including + <i>Orationes Argumenti Sacri, cum Poematiis</i>: the list + closed with a statement that he has mentioned only his Latin + works, and not his French Sermons]. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Every now and then there is a passage of retaliation on Milton. + Here are two specimens: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + MILTON'S OWN CHARACTER AND REPUTATION:—"Do not think, + obscurely though you live, that, because you have had the first + innings in this game in the art of slander, you therefore stand + aloft beyond the reach of darts. You have not the ring of Gyges + to make you invisible. Your virtues are taken note of. You are + not such a person, my friend, that Fame should fear to tell + lies even about <i>you</i>; and, unless Fame lies, there is not + a meaner or more worthless man going, and nothing is clearer + than that you estimate by your own morals the characters of + other people. But I hope Fame lies in this. For who could hear + without the greatest pain—what I for my part hardly, nay + not to the extent of hardly, bring my mind to credit—that + there is a man living among Christians who, being himself a + concrete of every form of outrageous iniquity, could so censure + others?" + </p> + <p> + MILTON'S PRODIGIOUS SELF-ESTEEM:—"All which has so elated + you that you would be reckoned next after the very first man in + England, and sometimes put yourself higher than the supreme + Cromwell himself; whom you name familiarly, without giving him + any title of rank, whom you lecture under the guise of praising + him, to whom you dictate laws, assign boundaries to his rights, + prescribe duties, suggest counsels, and even hold out threats + if he shall not behave accordingly. You grant him arms and + rule; you claim genius and the gown for yourself. '<i>He only + is to be called great</i>,' you say, '<i>who has either done + great things</i>'—Cromwell, to wit!—-'<i>or teaches + great things</i>'—Milton on Divorce, to wit!—'<i>or + writes of them worthily</i>'—the same twice-great Milton, + I suppose, in his Defence of the English People!" + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + How does Morus proceed in the main business of clearing his own + character from Milton's charges? His plan was to produce a dated + and authenticated series of testimonials from others, extending + over the period of his life which had been attacked, and to + interweave these with explanations and an autobiographic memoir. + He has reached the eightieth page of his book before he properly + begins this enterprise. He gives first a testimonial from the + Genevan Church, dated Jan. 25, 1648, and signed by seventeen + ministers, of whom Diodati is one; then another from the Genevan + Senate or Town Council, dated Jan. 26, 1648; then two more, one + from the Church again, and one from the Senate again, both dated + April 1648; then, among others, a special testimonial from + Diodati, in the form of a long letter to Salmasius, dated + "Geneva, 9th May, 1648." Diodati's testimonial, which is given + both in French and in Latin, is the most interesting in itself, + and will represent the others. "As to his morals," says Diodati, + writing of Morus to Salmasius, "I can speak from intimate + knowledge, and do so with, strict conscientiousness. His natural + disposition is good and without deceit or reservation, frank and + noble, such as ought to put him in very harmonious relations with + all persons of honour and virtue, of whatsoever + condition,—quick and very sensible to indignities, but + easily coming to himself again: not one to provoke others, but + yet one who has terrible spurs for his own defence. I have hardly + seen any who have done themselves credit by attacking him. + <i>Conscia virtus</i>, and you may add what belongs to the + <i>genus irritabile vatum</i>, make him well armed against his + assailants. For the rest, piety, honesty, temperance, freedom + from all avarice or meanness, are found in him in a degree + suitable to his profession." + </p> + <p> + Suddenly, just when we have read this, and seen Morus + self-described as far as to the year 1648, when he was about to + leave Geneva for Holland, the book comes to a dead stop. + Diodati's letter ends on page 129; and when we turn over the leaf + we find a Latin note from Ulac, headed "<i>The Printer to the + Reader</i>" and expressed as follows:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "Our labours towards finishing this Treatise had come to this + point, when lo! M. Morus, who had been staying for some time + here at the Hague with the intention of completing it, called + away by I know not what occasion to France, and with a + favourable wind hastening his journey, was prevented from + bringing all to an end, and so gratifying with every possible + speed the desire of many curious persons to read both Treatises + at once, Milton's and More's. What to do I was for some days + uncertain; but some gentlemen, not of small condition, at + length persuaded me that I should not defer longer the + publication of what of his I had already in + print,—alleging that the remaining and still wanting + testimonies of eminent men, and of the Senates and Churches of + Middleburg, Amsterdam, &c., given for the vindication of M. + Morus, and which were here to have been subjoined, might be + afterwards printed separately when they reached me. Wishing to + comply with their request, and my own inclination too, I now + therefore do publish, Reader, what I am confident will please + your curiosity, if not in full measure, at least a good deal. + Let whosoever desires to see the sequel expect it as soon as + possible." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Was there ever such an unfortunate as Morus? Everything + everywhere seems to go wrong with him. Here, at the Hague, having + absented himself from Amsterdam for the purpose, he has been + writing his Defence of Himself against Milton, doing it cleverly + and in a way likely to make some impression, when, suddenly, for + some reason unknown even to his printer, he is obliged to break + off for a journey into France, just as he was approaching the + heart of his subject. Had he absconded? This seems actually to + have been the construction, abroad. "Morus is gone into France," + writes a Hague correspondent of Thurloe, Nov. 3, 1654; "it is + believed that he has a calling, <i>et quidem a Castris</i>, and + that he will not return to Amsterdam. They love well his renown + and learning, but not his conversation; for they do not desire + that he should come to visit the daughters of condition as he was + used to do. He promised Ulac to finish his Apology; but he went + away without taking his leave of him: so that you see that Ulac + hath finished abrupt." Morus, as we shall find, did finish the + book; but the <i>Fides Publica</i>, as it was first circulated in + Holland towards the end of 1654, and as it first reached Milton, + was the book abruptly broken off as above, at page 130, with the + testimonials and the autobiography coming no farther down than + the year 1648, when Morus had not yet left Geneva. + </p> + <p> + In January, 1654-5, when Milton had read Morus's <i>Fides + Publica</i> in its imperfect state, and was considering in what + form he should reply to it, his thoughts on the subject must have + been interrupted by the new misfortune of his friend Overton. + What that was has already been explained generally (ante pp. + 32-33); but the details of the incident belong to Milton's + biography. + </p> + <p> + Overton's former misunderstanding with the Protector having been + made up, he had been sent back to Scotland, as we saw, in + September, 1654, to be Major-General there under Monk, and + pledged to be faithful in his trust until he should himself give + the Protector notice of his desire to withdraw from it. For a + month or two, accordingly, all had gone well, Monk in the main + charge of Scotland, with his head-quarters at Dalkeith, near + Edinburgh, and Overton in special charge of the North of + Scotland, with his head-quarters at Aberdeen. Meanwhile, as + Oliver's First Parliament had been incessantly opposing him, + questioning his Protectorship, and labouring to subvert it, the + anti-Oliverian temper had again been strongly roused throughout + the country, and not least among the officers and soldiers of the + army in Scotland. There had been meetings and consultations among + them, and secret correspondence with scattered Republicans in + England and with some of the Parliamentary Oppositionists, till + at length, if Thurloe's informations were true, the design was + nothing less than to depose Monk, put Overton in supreme command, + and march into England under an anti-Oliverian banner. The + Levellers, on the one side, and the Royalists, on the other, were + to be drawn into the movement, if indeed there had not been + actual communications already with agents of Charles II. It may + be a question how far Overton himself was a party to the design; + but it is certain that he had relapsed into his former + anti-Oliverian humour, and was very uneasy in his post at + Aberdeen. "I bless the Lord," he writes mysteriously from that + town, Dec. 26, in answer to a letter of condolence from some + friend—"I bless the Lord I do remember you and yours (by + whom I am much remembered) so far as I am able in everything. I + know right well you and others do it much for me; and, pray, dear + Sir, do it still. Heave me up upon the wings of your prayers to + Him who is a God hearing prayers and granting requests. Entreat + Him to enable me to stand to his Truth; which I shall not do if + He deject or forsake me." This letter, as well as several letters + <i>to</i> Overton, had been intercepted by Monk's vigilance; and + hardly had it been written when Overton was arrested by Monk's + orders, and brought to Leith. At Leith his papers were searched, + and there was found in his letter-case this copy of verses in his + own hand:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "A Protector! What's that? 'Tis a stately thing + </p> + <p> + That confesseth itself but the ape of a King; + </p> + <p> + A tragical Cæsar acted by a clown, + </p> + <p> + Or a brass farthing stamped with a kind of crown; + </p> + <p> + A bauble that shines, a loud cry without wool; + </p> + <p> + Not Perillus nor Phalaris, but the bull; + </p> + <p> + The echo of Monarchy till it come; + </p> + <p> + The butt-end of a barrel in the shape of a drum; + </p> + <p> + A counterfeit piece that woodenly shows; + </p> + <p> + A golden effigies with a copper nose; + </p> + <p> + The fantastic shadow of a sovereign head; + </p> + <p> + The arms-royal reversed, and disloyal instead; + </p> + <p> + In fine, he is one we may Protector call,— + </p> + <p> + From whom the King of Kings protect us all!" + </p> + </div> + <p> + With this piece of doggrel, the intercepted letters, and the + other informations, Overton was shipped off by Monk from Leith to + London on the 4th of January, 1654-5; and on the 16th of that + month he was committed to the Tower. Thence the next day he wrote + a long letter to a private friend, in which he enumerates the + charges against him, and replies to them one by one. He denies + that he has broken trust with the Protector; he denies that he is + a Leveller; and, what pleases us best of all, he denies the + authorship of the doggrel lines just quoted. His exact words + about these may be given. "But, say some, you made a copy of + scandalous verses upon the Lord Protector, whereby his Highness + and divers others were offended and displeased ... I must + acknowledge I copied a paper of verses called <i>The Character of + a Protector</i>; but I did neither compose them, nor (to the best + of my remembrance) show them to any after I had writ them forth. + They were taken out of my letter-case at Leith, where they had + been a long time by me, neglected and forgotten. I had them from + a friend, who wished my Lord [Cromwell] well, and who told me + that his Lordship had seen them, and, I believe, laughed at them, + as, to my knowledge, he hath done at papers and pamphlets of more + personal and particular import and abuse." It is really a relief + to know that Overton, who is still credited with these lines by + Godwin, Guizot, and others, was not the author of them, and this + not because of their peculiar political import, but because of + their utter vulgarity. How else could we have retained our faith + in Milton's character of Overton—"you, Overton, bound to me + these many years past in a friendship of more than brotherly + closeness and affection, both by the similarity of our tastes, + and the sweetness of your manners"? Still to have copied and kept + such lines implied some sympathy with their political meaning; + and, Thurloe's investigations having made it credible otherwise + that Overton was implicated, more than he would admit, in the + design of a general rising against the Protector's Government, + there was an end to the promising career of Milton's friend under + the Protectorate. He remained from that time a close prisoner + while Oliver lived. On the 3rd of July, 1656, I find, his wife, + "Mrs. Anne Overton," had liberty from the Council "to abide with + her husband in the Tower, if she shall so think fit."<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Thurloe, III. 75-77, and 110-112; Council Order Book, July + 3, 1656. Godwin, whose accuracy can very seldom be impeached, + had not turned to the last-cited pages of Thurloe; and hence he + leaves the doggrel lines as indubitably Overton's own (<i>Hist. + of Commonwealth</i>, IV. 163). Guizot and others simply follow + Godwin in this, as in most things else.—That Overton's + disaffection was very serious indeed, and that Cromwell had had + good reason for his suspicions of him even on the former + occasion, appears from the fact that among the Clarendon Papers + in the Bodleian there is a draft, in Hyde's hand, of a letter, + dated April 1654, either actually sent, or meant to be sent, by + Charles II. to Overton. The substance of the letter, as in Mr. + Macray's abstract of it for the Calendar of the Clarendon + Papers (II. 344), is as follows:—"<i>The King to Col. + Ov[erton].</i> Has received such information of his affection + that he does not doubt it, and believes that he abhors those + who, after all their pretences for the public, do now manifest + that they have wholly intended to satisfy their own ambition. + He has it in his power to redeem what he has heretofore done + amiss; and the King is very willing to receive such a service + as may make him a principal instrument of his restoration, for + which whatsoever he or his family shall wish they shall + receive, and what he shall promise to any of his friends who + may concur with him shall be made good." If this letter was + among those found among Overton's papers at Leith (which is not + very likely), little wonder that Cromwell would not trust him + at large a second time. + </p> + </div> + <p> + At the date of Overton's imprisonment the Protector was making up + his mind to dismiss his troublesome First Parliament after his + four months and a half of experience of its temper; and six days + after that date he did dismiss it, to its own surprise, before it + had sent him up a single Bill. How many Latin letters had + Overton's friend Milton written for the Protector in his official + capacity during the four months and a half of that troublesome + Parliament? So far as the records show, only three. They were as + follows:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + (XLIX.) "To THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS LORD, LUIS MENDEZ DE HARO," + <i>Sept.</i> 4, 1654:<sup>1</sup>—The Spanish Prime + Minister, Luis de Haro, had recently, in the Protector's + apparent indecision between the Spanish alliance and the French + alliance, resolved to try to secure him for Spain by sending + over a new Ambassador, to supersede Cardenas, or to co-operate + with him. He had announced the same in letters to Cromwell; who + now thanks him, professes his desire to be in friendship with + Spain, and promises every attention to the new Ambassador when + he may arrive, Cromwell pays a compliment to the minister + himself. "To have your affection and approbation," he says, + "who by your worth and prudence have acquired such authority + with the King of Spain that you preside, with a mind to match, + over the greatest affairs of that kingdom, ought truly to be a + pleasure to me corresponding with my apprehension of the honour + I shall have from the good opinion of a man of excellence." + Milton is dexterous in wording his documents. + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: No. 29 in Skinner Transcript (where exact date is given); + No. 47 in Printed Collection and in Phillips (where month only + is given). + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (L.) TO THE CONSULS AND SENATE OF THE CITY OF BREMEN, <i>Oct. + 25</i>, 1654:—There has come to be a conflict between the + City of Bremen and the new King of Sweden, arising from + military designs of that King on the southern shores of the + North Sea and the Baltic, Bremen is in great straits; and the + authorities have represented this to Cromwell through their + agent, Milton's friend, Henry Oldenburg, and have requested + Cromwell's good offices with the Swedish King. Cromwell answers + that he has done what they want. He has great respect for + Bremen as a thoroughly Protestant city, and he regrets that + there should he a quarrel between it and the powerful + Protestant Kingdom of Sweden, having no stronger desire than + that "the whole Protestant denomination should at length + coalesce in one by fraternal agreement and concord." + </p> + <p> + (LI.) To CHARLES X., KING OF SWEDEN, <i>Oct.</i> 28, + 1654:—As announced to the Bremeners in the last letter, + Cromwell did write on their behalf to the Swedish King. He had + hoped that the great Peace of Munster or Westphalia (1648) had + left all continental Protestants united, and he regrets to hear + that a dispute between Sweden and the Bremeners has arisen out + of that Treaty. How dreadful that Protestant Swedes and + Protestant Bremeners, once in league against the common foe, + should now be slaughtering each other! Can nothing be done? + Could not advantage be taken of the present truce? He will + himself do anything in his power to bring about a permanent + reconciliation. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + These three letters, it will be observed, belong to the first two + months of that cramped and exasperated condition in which Oliver + found himself when he had his First Parliament by his side; and + there is not a single preserved letter of Milton for Oliver + between Oct. 26, 1654, the date of the last of the three, and + Jan. 22, 1654-5, the date of the sudden dissolution of the + Parliament. The reason of this idleness of Milton, in his + Secretaryship during those three months, leaving all the work to + Meadows, must have been, I believe, that he was then engaged on a + Reply to More's <i>Fides Publica</i> in the imperfect state in + which it had just come forth. All along, as we have seen, the + Literary Defence of the Commonwealth on every occasion of + importance had been regarded as the special charge of Milton in + his Secretaryship, to which routine duty must give way; and, as + his <i>Defensio Secunda</i> in reply to the <i>Regii Sanguinis + Clamor</i> had been, like several of his preceding writings, a + task performed by him on actual commission from the Rump + Government, though not finished till the Protectorate had begun, + Oliver and his Council may have thought it but fair that another + pamphlet of the same series in reply to the <i>Fides Publica</i> + of Morus should count also to the credit of Milton's official + services, even though it must necessarily be more a pamphlet of + mere personal concern than any of its predecessors. But, indeed, + by this time, Mr. Milton was a privileged man, who might regulate + matters very much for himself, and drop in on Thurloe and Meadows + at the office only when he liked. + </p> + <h3> + <a name="Ac2s2" id="Ac2s2">SECTION II</a>: FROM JANUARY 1654-5 TO + SEPTEMBER 1656, OR THROUGH THE PERIOD OF ARBITRARINESS. + </h3> + <p> + LETTER TO MILTON FROM LEO DE AITZEMA: MILTON'S REPLY: LETTER TO + EZEKIEL SPANHEIM AT GENEVA: MILTON'S GENEVESE RECOLLECTIONS AND + ACQUAINTANCES: TWO MORE OF MILTON'S LATIN STATE-LETTERS (NOS. + LII., LIII.): SMALL AMOUNT OF MILTON'S DESPATCH-WRITING FOR + CROMWELL HITHERTO.—REDUCTION OF OFFICIAL SALARIES, AND + PROPOSAL TO REDUCE MILTON'S TO £150 A YEAR: ACTUAL COMMUTATION OF + HIS £288 A YEAR AT PLEASURE INTO £200 FOR LIFE: ORDERS OF THE + PROTECTOR AND COUNCIL RELATING TO THE PIEDMONTESE MASSACRE, MAY + 1655: SUDDEN DEMAND ON MILTON'S PEN IN THAT BUSINESS: HIS LETTER + OF REMONSTRANCE FROM THE PROTECTOR TO THE DUKE OF SAVOY, WITH TEN + OTHER LETTERS TO FOREIGN STATES AND PRINCES ON THE SAME SUBJECT + (NOS. LIV.—LXIV.): HIS SONNET ON THE + SUBJECT.—PUBLICATION OF THE SUPPLEMENTUM TO MORE'S <i>FIDES + PUBLICA</i>: ACCOUNT OF THE SUPPLEMENTUM, WITH EXTRACTS: MILTON'S + ANSWER TO THE <i>FIDES PUBLICA</i> AND THE SUPPLEMENTUM TOGETHER + IN HIS <i>PRO SE DEFENSIO</i>, AUG. 1655: ACCOUNT OF THAT BOOK, + WITH SPECIMENS: MILTON'S DISBELIEF IN MORUS'S DENIALS OF THE + AUTHORSHIP OF THE <i>REGII SANGUINIS CLAMOR</i>: HIS REASONS, AND + HIS REASSERTIONS OF THE CHARGE IN A MODIFIED FORM: HIS NOTICES OF + DR. CRANTZIUS AND ULAC: HIS RENEWED ONSLAUGHTS ON MORUS: HIS + REPETITION OF THE BONTIA ACCUSATION AND OTHERS: HIS EXAMINATION + OF MORUS'S PRINTED TESTIMONIALS: FEROCITY OF THE BOOK TO THE + LAST: ITS EFFECTS ON MORUS.—QUESTION OF THE REAL AUTHORSHIP + OF THE <i>REGII SANGUINIS CLAMOR</i> AND OF THE AMOUNT OF MORUS'S + CONCERN IN IT: THE DU MOULIN FAMILY: DR. PETER DU MOULIN THE + YOUNGER THE REAL AUTHOR OF THE <i>REGII SANGUINIS CLAMOR</i>, BUT + MORUS THE ACTIVE EDITOR AND THE WRITER OF THE DEDICATORY EPISTLE: + DU MOULIN'S OWN ACCOUNT OF THE WHOLE AFFAIR: HIS CLOSE CONTACT + WITH MILTON ALL THE WHILE, AND DREAD OF BEING FOUND + OUT.—CALM IN MILTON'S LIFE AFTER THE CESSATION OF THE + MORUS-SALMASIUS CONTROVERSY: HOME-LIFE IN PETTY FRANCE: DABBLINGS + OF THE TWO NEPHEWS IN LITERATURE: JOHN PHILLIPS'S <i>SATYR + AGAINST HYPOCRITES</i>: FREQUENT VISITORS AT PETTY FRANCE: + MARVELL, NEEDHAM, CYRIACK SKINNER, &C.: THE VISCOUNTESS + RANELAGH, MR. RICHARD JONES, AND THE BOYLE CONNEXION: DR. PETER + DU MOULIN IN THAT CONNEXION: MILTON'S PRIVATE SONNET ON HIS + BLINDNESS. HIS TWO SONNETS TO CYRIACK SKINNER, AND HIS SONNET TO + YOUNG LAWRENCE: EXPLANATION OF THESE FOUR + SONNETS.—<i>SCRIPTUM DOMINI PROTECTORIS CONTRA + HISPANOS</i>: THIRTEEN MORE LATIN STATE-LETTERS OF MILTON FOR THE + PROTECTOR (NOS. LXV.—LXXVII.), WITH SPECIAL ACCOUNT OF + COUNT BUNDT AND THE SWEDISH EMBASSY IN LONDON: COUNT BUNDT AND + MR. MILTON.—INCREASE OF LIGHT LITERATURE IN LONDON: EROTIC + PUBLICATIONS: JOHN PHILLIPS IN TROUBLE FOR SUCH: EDWARD + PHILLIPS'S LONDON EDITION OF THE POEMS OF DRUMMOND OF + HAWTHORNDEN: MILTON'S COGNISANCE OF THE SAME.—HENRY + OLDENBURG AND MR. RICHARD JONES AT OXFORD: LETTERS OF MILTON TO + JONES AND OLDENBURG.—THIRTEEN MORE STATE-LETTERS OF THE + MILTON SERIES (NOS. LXXVIII.—XC.): IMPORTANCE OF SOME OF + THEM. + </p> + <p> + Oliver had just entered on his period of Arbitrariness, or + Government without a Parliament, when Milton received the + following letter in Latin from Leo de Aitzema, or Lieuwe van + Aitzema, formerly known to him as agent for Hamburg and the Hanse + Towns in London, but now residing at the Hague in the same + capacity (IV. 378-379). Aitzema, we may now mention, was a + Frieslander by birth, eight years older than Milton, and is + remembered still, it is said, for a voluminous and valuable + <i>History of the United Provinces</i>, consisting of a great + collection of documents, with commentaries by himself in + Dutch.<sup>1</sup> This had not yet been published. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: See Article <i>Aitzema</i> in Bayle's Dictionary. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + "To the honourable and highly esteemed Mr. John Milton, + Secretary to the Council of State, London. + </p> + <p> + "Partly because Morus, in his book, has made some aspersions on + you for your English Book on Divorce, partly because many have + been inquiring eagerly about the arguments with which you + support your opinion, I have, most honoured and esteemed Sir, + given your little work entire to a friend of mine to be + translated into Dutch, with a desire to have it printed soon. + Not knowing, however, whether you would like anything corrected + therein or added, I take the liberty to give you this notice, + and to request you to let me know your mind on the subject. + Best wishes and greetings from + </p> + <p> + "Your very obedient + </p> + <p> + "LEO AITZEMA<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <p> + "Hague: Jan. 29, 1654-5." + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Communicated by the late Mr. Thomas Watts of the British + Museum, and published by the late Rev. John Mitford in Appendix + to Life of Milton prefixed to Pickering's Edition of Milton's + Works (1851). + </p> + </div> + <p> + Milton's answer, rather unusually for him, was immediate. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + TO LEO VAN AITZEMA. + </p> + <p> + It is very gratifying to me that you retain the same amount of + recollection of me as you very politely showed of good will by + once and again visiting me while you resided among us. As + regards the Book on Divorce which you tell me you have given to + some one to be turned into Dutch, I would rather you had given + it to be turned into Latin. For my experience in those books of + mine has now been that the vulgar still receive according to + their wont opinions not already common. I wrote a good while + ago, I may mention, <i>three</i> treatises on the + subject:—the first, in two books, in which <i>The + Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce</i> (for that is the title + of the book) is contained at large; a second, which is called + <i>Tetrachordon</i>, and in which the four chief passages of + Scripture concerning that doctrine are explicated; the third + called <i>Colasterion</i>, in which answer is made to a certain + sciolist. [The <i>Bucer Tract</i> omitted in the enumeration.] + Which of these Treatises you have given to be translated, or + what edition, I do not know: the first of them was twice + issued, and was much enlarged in the second edition. Should you + not have been made aware of this already, or should I + understand that you desire anything else on my part, such as + sending you the more correct edition or the rest of the + Treatises, I shall attend to the matter carefully and with + pleasure. For there is not anything at present that I should + wish changed in them or added. Therefore, should you keep to + your intention, I earnestly hope for myself a faithful + translator, and for you all prosperity. + </p> + <p> + Westminster: Feb. 5, 1654-5.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Epist. Fam. 16. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The next letter, written in the following month, also connects + itself, but still more closely, with the Morus controversy. It is + addressed to Ezekiel Spanheim, the eldest son of that Frederick + Spanheim, by birth a German, of whom we have heard as Professor + of Theology successively at Geneva (1631-1642) and at Leyden + (1642-1649). This elder Spanheim, it will be remembered, had been + implicated in the opposition to Morus in both places—the + story being that he had contracted a bad opinion of Morus during + his colleagueship with him in Geneva, and that, when Salmasius, + partly to spite Spanheim, of whose popularity at Leyden he was + jealous, had negotiated for bringing Morus to Holland, Spanheim + "moved heaven and earth to prevent his coming." It is added that + Spanheim's death (May 1649) was caused by the news that Morus was + on his way, and that he had said on his death-bed that "Salmasius + had killed him and Morus had been the dagger."<sup>1</sup> On the + other hand, we have had recently the assurance of Dr. Crantzius + that Spanheim had once told him that the only fault in Morus was + that he was <i>altier</i>, or self-confident. That the stronger + story is the truer one substantially, if not to its last detail, + appears from the fact that an antipathy to Morus was hereditary + in the Spanheim family, or at least in the eldest son, Ezekiel. + As a scholar, an antiquarian, and a diplomatist, this Ezekiel + Spanheim was to attain to even greater celebrity than his father, + and his varied career in different parts of Europe was not to + close till 1710. At present he was only in his twenty-fifth year, + and was living at Geneva, where he had been born, and whither he + had returned from Leyden in 1651, to accept a kind of honorary + Professorship that had been offered him, in compliment partly to + his father's memory, partly to his own extraordinary promise. As + one who had lived the first thirteen years of his age in Geneva, + and the next nine in Leyden (1642-1651), and who was now back in + Geneva, he had been amply and closely on the track of Morus; and + how little he liked him will now appear:— + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Bayle, both in Article <i>Spanheim</i> and in Article + <i>Morus</i>. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + TO EZEKIEL SPANHEIM OF GENEVA. + </p> + <p> + I know not by what accident it has happened that your letter + has reached me little less than three months after date. There + is clearly extreme need of a speedier conveyance of mine to + you; for, though from day to day I was resolving to write it, I + now perceive that, hindered by some constant occupations, I + have put it off nearly another three months. I would not have + you understand from this my tardiness in replying that my + grateful sense of your kindness to me has cooled, but rather + that the remembrance has sunk deeper from my longer and more + frequent daily thinking of my duty to you in return. Late + performance of duty has at least this excuse for itself, that + there is a clearer confession of obligation to do a thing when + it is done so long after than if it had been done immediately. + </p> + <p> + You are not wrong, in the first place, in the opinion of me + expressed in the beginning of your letter—to wit, that I + am not likely to be surprised at being addressed by a + foreigner; nor could you, indeed, have a more correct + impression of me than precisely by thinking that I regard no + good man in the character of a foreigner or a stranger. That + you are such I am readily persuaded by your being the son of a + most learned and most saintly father, also by your being well + esteemed by good men, and also finally by the fact that you + hate the bad. With which kind of cattle as I too happen to have + a warfare, Calandrini has but acted with his usual courtesy, + and in accordance with my own sentiment, in signifying to you + that it would be very gratifying to me if you lent me your help + against a common adversary. This you have most obligingly done + in this very letter, part of which, with the author's name not + mentioned, I have not hesitated, trusting in your regard for + me, to insert by way of evidence in my forthcoming + <i>Defensio</i> [in reply to More's <i>Fides Publica</i>]. This + book, as soon as it is published, I will direct to be sent to + you, if there is any one to whose care I may rightly entrust + it. Any letters you may intend for me, meanwhile, you will not, + I think, be unsafe if you send under cover to Turretin of + Geneva, now staying in London, whose brother in Geneva you + know; through whom as this of mine will reach you most + conveniently, so will yours reach me. For the rest I would + assure you that you have won a high place in my esteem, and + that I particularly wish to be loved by you yet more. + </p> + <p> + Westminster: March 24, 1654-5.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Epist. Fam. 17. + </p> + </div> + <p> + In writing this letter Milton must have had brought back to his + recollection his visit to Geneva fifteen years before (June 1639) + on his way home from Italy. The venerable Diodati, the uncle of + his friend Charles, was the person in Geneva of whom he had seen + most, and who dwelt most in his memory; but the elder Spanheim + had then been in the same city, and Morus too, and the present + Ezekiel Spanheim, as a boy in his tenth year, and others, still + alive, who had then known Morus, and had since that time had him + in view. Milton had certainly not then himself seen Morus, though + he must have heard of him; but it is possible he may have seen + the elder Spanheim, and may now, in writing to Spanheim's son, + have remembered the fact. In any case there were links of + acquaintanceship still connecting Milton with Geneva and its + gossip. The "Calandrini," for example, who is mentioned in + Milton's letter, and who may be identified with a Genevese + merchant named "Jean Louis Calandrin," heard of in Thurloe's + correspondence, must in some way have been known to Milton + personally, and interested in serving him.<sup>1</sup> It had + been in in consequence of a suggestion of this Calandrini, + "acting-with his usual courtesy," that young Spanheim had, in + October 1654, when Morus's fragmentary <i>Fides Publica</i> was + just out or nearly so, addressed a polite letter to Milton, + sending him some additional information about the Genevese + portion of Morus's career. The letter had not readied Milton till + the end of December or the beginning of January 1654-5; and for + nearly three months after that he had left it unacknowledged. + That he had been moved to acknowledge it at last was, doubtless, + as his letter itself suggests, and as we shall see yet more + precisely, because he had then nearly ready his Reply to the + <i>Fides Publica</i>, and had used Spanheim's information there, + only suppressing the name of his informant. But that Milton had + already had no lack of private informants about Morus's career, + whether in Geneva or in Holland, has appeared abundantly. The + Hartlib-Durie-Haak-Oldenburg connexion about him in London was a + perfect sponge for all kinds of gossip from, abroad. We hear now, + however, of another person in particular who may have supplied + Milton with his earlier information as to the Genevese part of + Morus's life, A family long of note in Geneva had been that of + the Turretins, originally from Italy, and indeed from Lucca, + whence they had been driven, as the Diodatis had been, by their + Protestantism, One of this family, Benedict Turretin, born in + Geneva, had been a distinguished Theology Professor there, and at + his death in 1631 had left at least two sons. One of these, + Francis Turretin, born at Geneva in 1623, had, after the usual + wanderings of Continental scholars in those days, just returned + to Geneva (1653), and settled there in what may be called the + family-business, i.e. the profession of Theology. In this he was + to attain extraordinary celebrity, his <i>Institutio Theologiæ + Elencticæ</i> ranking to this day among Calvinistic Theologians + as a master-work of its kind. Well, this Francis Turretin, rising + into fame at Geneva, just as Ezekiel Spanheim was, and seeing + Spanheim daily, had, it seems from Milton's letter, a brother in + London, on intimate terms with Milton; and Milton's proposition + to young Spanheim was that they should correspond in future + through the two Turretins. Who would have thought to find the + future author of the <i>Institutio Theologiæ Elencticæ</i> used + by Milton for postal purposes? Is it not clear too that the + London Turretin must have been one of Milton's informants about + Morus's reasons for leaving Geneva? Respectability everywhere, at + our present date at least, seems adverse to Morus.<sup>2</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: For mention of Jean Louis Calandrin, the Genevese merchant, + see Letters between Pell and Thurloe in <i>Vaughan's + Protectorate</i> (I. 302, 308, 354). He died at Geneva, in Feb. + 1655-6, about a year after this mention of him by Milton. It is + possible he may have been a relative of a "Cæsar Calandrinus" + mentioned by Wood as one of the many foreigners who had studied + at Exeter College, Oxford, during the Rectorship of Dr. + Prideaux (1612-1641), and who was afterwards "a Puritanical + Theologist," intimate with Usher, a Rector in Essex, and + finally minister of the parish of Peter le Poor in London, + where he died in 1665, leaving a son named John. Wood speaks of + him as a German (Wood, Ath. III. 269, and Fasti, I. 393-4); but + the name is evidently Italian. Indeed I find that there had + been an intermarriage in Italy between the Diodati family and a + family of Calandrinis, bringing some of the Calandrinis also to + Geneva about the year 1575. (Reprint, for private circulation, + of a Paper on the Italian ancestry of Mr. William Diodate of + New Haven, U.S., read before the New Haven Colony Historical + Society, June 28, 1875, by Edward E. Salisbury, p. 13). By the + kindness of Colonel Chester, whose genealogical researches are + all-inclusive, I have a copy of the will of the above-named + Cæsar Calandrini of St. Peter le Poor, London. It is dated Aug. + 4, 1665, when he was "three score and ten," and mentions two + sons, Lewis and John, two daughters living, one of them married + to a Giles Archer, and grandchildren by these children, besides + nephews and nieces of the names of Papillon and Burlamachi. The + son "John" in this will proved it in October 1665, and cannot + have been the Calandrini of Milton's letter; but that + Calandrini may have been of the same connexion. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Bayle, Art. <i>Francois Turretin</i>. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Busy over his reply to the <i>Fides Publica</i>, Milton had + stretched his dispensation from routine duty in his Secretaryship + not only through November and December 1654 and January 1654-5, + as was noted in last section, but as far as to April 1655 in the + present section. Through these five months there is, so far as + the records show, a total blank, at all events, in his official + letter-writing. In April 1655, however, as if his reply to the + <i>Fides Publica</i> were then off his mind, and lying in the + house in Petty France complete or nearly complete in manuscript, + we do come upon two more of his Latin State-letters, as + follows:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LII.) TO THE PRINCE OF TARENTE, <i>April</i> 4, + 1655<sup>1</sup>:—This Prince, one of the chiefs of the + French nobility, but connected with Germany by marriage, was a + Protestant by education, had been mixed up with the wars of the + Fronde, and was altogether a very stirring man abroad. He had + written to Cromwell invoking his interest in behalf of foreign, + and especially of French, Protestantism. Cromwell expresses his + satisfaction in having had such an address from so eminent a + representative of the Reformed faith in a kingdom in which so + many have lapsed from it, and declares that nothing would + please him more than "to be able to promote the enlargement, + the safety, or, what is most important, the peace, of the + Reformed Church." Meanwhile he exhorts the Prince to be himself + firm and faithful to his creed to the very last.—The + Prince of Tarente, it may be mentioned, had interested himself + much in the lawsuit between Morus and Salmasius. He had tried + to act as mediator and induce Morus to withdraw his + action—a condescension which Morus acknowledges, though + he felt himself obliged, he says, to go on. + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: No. 32 in Skinner Transcript (which gives the exact date); + also in Printed Collection and in Phillips. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LIII.) To ARCHDUKE LEOPOLD of AUSTRIA, GOVERNOR OF THE SPANISH + NETHERLANDS (<i>undated</i>):—Sir Charles Harbord, an + Englishman, has had certain goods and household stuff violently + seized at Bruges by Sir Richard Grenville. The goods had + originally been sent from England to Holland in 1643 by the + then Earl of Suffolk, in pledge for a debt owing to Harbord; + and Grenville's pretext was that he also was a creditor of the + Earl, and had obtained a decree of the English Chancery in his + favour. Now, by the English law, neither was the present Earl + of Suffolk bound by that decree nor could the goods be + distrained under it. The decision of the Court to that effect + is herewith transmitted; and His Serenity is requested to cause + Grenville to restore the goods, inasmuch as it is against the + comity of nations that any one should be allowed an action in + foreign jurisdiction which he would not be allowed in the + country where the cause of the action first arose. "The justice + of the case itself and the universal reputation of your + Serenity for fair dealing have moved us to commend the matter + to your attention; and, if at any time there shall be occasion + to discuss the rights or convenience of your subjects with as, + I promise that you shall find our diligence in the same not + remiss, but at all times most ready."<sup>1</sup> + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Undated in Printed Collection and in Phillips; dated "Aug. + 1658" in the Skinner Transcript, but surely by mistake. Such a + letter can hardly have been sent to the Archduke after Oct. + 1655, when the war with Spain broke out. I have inserted it at + this point by conjecture only, and may be wrong. + </p> + </div> + <p> + In April 1655, when these two letters were written, Oliver was in + the sixteenth month of his Protectorship. His first nine months + of personal sovereignty without a Parliament, and his next four + months and a half of unsatisfactory experience with his First + Parliaments were left behind, and he had advanced two months and + more into his period of compulsory Arbitrariness, when he had to + govern, with the help of his Council only, by any means he could. + Count all the Latin State-Letters registered by Milton himself as + having been written by him for Cromwell during those first + fifteen months and more of the Protectorate, and they number only + nine (Nos. XLV.-XLVIII in Vol. IV. pp. 635-636, and Nos. + XLIX.-LIII. in the present volume). These nine Letters, with the + completion and publication of his <i>Defensio Secunda</i>, and + now the preparation of a Reply to More's <i>Fides Publica</i>, + and also perhaps occasional calls at Thurloe's office and + occasional presences at interviews with ambassadors and envoys in + Whitehall, were all he had been doing for fifteen months for his + salary of £288 a year. The fact cannot have escaped notice. He + had himself called attention to it, as if by anticipation, in + that passage of his <i>Defensio Secunda</i> in which he spoke of + the kind indulgence of the State-authorities in retaining him + honourably in full office, and not abridging his emoluments on + account of his disability by blindness. The passage may have + touched Cromwell and some of the Councillors, and there was + doubtless a general feeling among them of the worth, beyond + estimate in money, of Milton's name to the Commonwealth, and of + his past acts of literary championship for her. Economy, however, + is a virtue easily recommended to statesmen by any pinch of + necessity, and it so chanced that at the very time we have now + reached, April 1655, the Protector and his Council, being in + money straits, were in a very economical mood (see ante p. 35). + Here, accordingly, is what we find in the Council Order Books + under date April 17, 1655. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + <i>Tuesday, April</i> 17, 1655:—Present the Lord + President Lawrence, Lord Lambert (styled so in the minute), + Colonel Montague, Colonel Sydenham, Sir Charles Wolseley, Sir + Gilbert Pickering, Major-General Skippon. + </p> + <p> + "The Council resumed the debate upon the Report made from the + Committee of the Council to whom it was referred to consider of + the Establishment of the Council's Contingencies. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Ordered:</i>— + </p> + <p> + "That the salary of £400 <i>per annum</i> granted to MR. + GUALTER FROST as Treasurer for the Council's Contingencies be + reduced to £300 <i>per annum</i>, and be continued to be paid + after that proportion till further order. + </p> + <p> + "That the former yearly salary of MR. JOHN MILTON, of £288, + &c., formerly charged on the Council's Contingencies, be + reduced to £150 <i>per annum</i>, and paid to him during his + life out of his Highness's Exchequer. + </p> + <p> + "That the yearly salaries hereafter mentioned, being formerly + paid out of the Council's Contingencies,—that is to say + £45 12<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> <i>per annum</i> to Mr. Henry + Giffard, Mr. Gualter Frost's assistant,—<i>per annum</i> + to Mr. John Hall,—<i>per annum</i> to Mr. Marchamont + Needham,—<i>per annum</i> to Mr. George Vaux, the + house-keeper at Whitehall,—<i>per annum</i> for the rent + of Sir Abraham Williams's house [for the entertainment of + Ambassadors], and—<i>per annum</i> to M. René + Angler,—be for the future retrenched and taken away. + </p> + <p> + "That some convenient rooms at Somerset House be set apart for + the entertainment of Foreign Ambassadors upon their address to + his Highness. + </p> + <p> + "That it be referred to Mr. Secretary Thurloe to put that part + of the Intelligence [from abroad] which is managed by M. René + Augier into the common charge of Intelligence, and to order it + for the future by M, Augier or otherwise, as he shall see most + for the Commonwealth's service. + </p> + </blockquote> + <hr /> + <blockquote> + <p> + "That it be offered to his Highness as the advice of the + Council that several warrants be issued under the great seal + for authorizing and requiring the Commissioners of his + Highness's Treasury to pay, by quarterly payments, at the + receipt of his Highness's Exchequer, to the several officers, + clerks, and other persons after-named, according to the + proportions allowed them for their salary in respect of their + several respective offices and employments during their + continuance or till his Highness or the Council shall give + other order: that is to say:— + </p> + <p> + "To John Thurloe, Esq., Secretary of State:—For his own + office, after the proportion of £800 <i>per annum</i>; for the + office of Mr. Philip Meadows, Secretary for the Latin Tongue, + after the rate of £200 per annum; for the salaries + of—clerks attending his [Thurloe's] office at 6<i>s.</i> + 8<i>d.</i> <i>per diem</i>, a piece (which together amount + to——); for the salaries of eleven messengers at + 5<i>s.</i> <i>per diem</i>, apiece (which together amount to + £1003 15<i>s.</i>): amounting in the whole to —— + </p> + <p> + "To Mr. Henry Scobell and Mr. William Jessop, Clerks to the + Council, or to either of them:—For their own offices, + viz. Mr. Scobell £500 <i>per annum</i>, Mr. Jessop £500 <i>per + annum</i>; for the salaries of—clerks attending their + office at 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> <i>per diem</i> (which together + amount to ——): amounting in the whole to + —— + </p> + <p> + "To Mr, Edward Dendy, Serjeant at Arms attending the + Council:—For his own office after the proportion of £365 + <i>per annum</i>; for the salaries of his <i>ten</i> deputies + at 3<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> <i>per diem</i> a piece (which + together amount to £608 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>); amounting in + the whole to £973 6 8 + </p> + <p> + "To Richard Scutt, Usher of the Council Chamber:—For + himself and his assistants at 13<i>s.</i> <i>per diem</i>, + (being £237 5<i>s</i>, <i>per annum</i>); for Thomas Bennett's + salary, keeper of the back-door of the Council Chamber, at + 4<i>s. per diem</i> (being £73 <i>per annum</i>); for the + salary of Robert Stebbin, fire-maker to the clerks, at 2<i>s. + per diem</i> (being £36 10<i>s. per annum</i>): amounting in + the whole to £346 15 0 + </p> + <p> + "The first payment of the said several and respective sums + before-mentioned to commence from the 1st of April instant. + </p> + <p> + "To Richard Nutt, master of his Highness's barge:—For his + own office after £80 <i>per annum;</i> for Thomas Washborne, + his assistant, for his salary, after £20 <i>per annum;</i> for + the salaries of 25 watermen to attend his Highness's barge, at + £4 <i>per annum</i> to each (amounting together to £100 <i>per + annum</i>): amounting in the whole to £200 <i>per ann.</i> + </p> + <p> + "The same to commence from 25th March, 1655." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Clearly the Council were in a mood of economy. Not only were + certain salaries to be reduced, but a good many outlays were to + be stopped altogether, including Needham's subsidy or pension for + his journalistic services. But more appears from the document. In + spite of the general tendency to retrenchment, the salaries of + Scobell and Jessop, the two clerks of the Council, are to be + raised from £365 a year to £500 a year. This alone would suggest + that not retrenchment only, but an improvement also in the system + of the Council's business, was intended. The document as a whole + confirms that idea. It maps out the service of the Council more + definitely than hitherto into departments. Thurloe, of course, is + general head, styled now "Secretary of State"; but it will be + observed that the department of Foreign Affairs, including the + management of Intelligence from abroad, is spoken of as now + wholly and especially his, and that Meadows, with the designation + of "Secretary for the Latin Tongue," ranks distinctly under him + in that department. Scobell and Jessop, as "Clerks to the + Council," though under Thurloe too, are now important enough to + be jointly at the head of a separate staff; the Bailiff or + Constable department is separate from theirs, and under the + charge of Mr. Sergeant-at-Arms Dendy; and minor divisions of + service, nameable as Ushership and Barge-attendance, are under + the charge of Messrs. Scutt and Nutt respectively. The payments + of salaries are henceforward not to be vaguely through Mr. + Gualter Frost, as Treasurer for the Council's Contingencies, but + by warrants to the Treasury to pay regularly to the several heads + the definite sums-total in their departments, their own salaries + included. + </p> + <p> + Milton's case was evidently treated as a peculiar one. It was + certainly proposed that his allowance should be reduced from £288 + 18<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> a year, which had hitherto been its rate, + to £150 a year—i.e. by nearly one half. Most of us perhaps + are disappointed by this, and would have preferred to hear that + Milton's allowance had been doubled or tripled under the + Protectorate,—made equal, say, to Thurloe's. Records must + stand as they are, however, and must be construed coolly. + Milton's £288 a year for <i>his</i> lighter and more occasional + duties had doubtless been all along in fair proportion to the + elder Frost's £600 a year, or Thurloe's £800, for <i>their</i> + more vast and miscellaneous drudgery. Nor, if Milton had ceased + to be able to perform the duties, and another salaried officer + had been required in consequence, was there anything + extraordinary, in a time of general revision of salaries, that + the fact should come into consideration. The question was + precisely as if now a high official under government, who had + been in receipt of a salary of over £1000 a year, was struggling + on in blindness after six years of service, and an extra officer + at £700 a year had been for some time employed for his relief. In + such a case, the official being a man of great public celebrity + and having rendered extraordinary services in his post, would not + superannuation on a pension or retiring-allowance be considered + the proper course? But this was exactly the course proposed in + Milton's case. The reduction from £288 to £150 a year was, it + ought to be noted, only part of the proposition; for, whereas the + £288 a year had been at the Council's pleasure, it was now + proposed that the £150 a year should be for life. In short, what + was proposed was the conversion of a terminable salary of £288 a + year, payable out of the Council's contingencies, into a + life-pension of £150 a year, payable out of the Protector's + Exchequer: which was as if in a corresponding modern case a + terminable salary of over £1000 a year were converted into a + life-pension of between £500 and £600. On studying the document, + I have no doubt that the intention was to relieve Milton from + that moment from all duty whatsoever, putting an end to that + anomalous <i>Latin Secretaryship Extraordinary</i>, into which + his connexion with the Council had shaped itself since his + blindness, and remitting him, as <i>Ex-Secretary</i> Milton, a + perfectly free and highly-honoured man, to pensioned leisure in + his house in Petty France. For it is impossible that the Council + could have intended to retain. Milton in any way in the working + Secretaryship at a reduced salary of £150 a year while Meadows, + his former assistant, had the title of "Secretary for the Latin + Tongue," with a higher salary of £200 a year. Perhaps one may + detect Thurloe's notions of official symmetry in the proposed + change. Milton's <i>Latin Secretaryship Extraordinary</i> or + <i>Foreign Secretaryship Extraordinary</i> may have begun to seem + to Thurloe an excrescence upon his own general <i>Secretaryship + of State</i>, and he may have desired that Milton should retire + altogether, and leave the Latin Secretaryship complete to Meadows + as his own special subordinate in the foreign department. + </p> + <p> + The document, however, we have to add farther, though it purports + to be an Order of Council, did not actually or fully take effect. + I find, for example, that Needham's pension or subsidy of £100 a + year, which is one of the outlays the document proposed to + "retrench and take away," did not suffer a whit. He went on + drawing his salary, sometimes quarterly and sometimes + half-yearly, just as before, and precisely in the same form, viz. + by warrant from President Lawrence and six others of the Council + to Mr. Frost to pay Mr. Needham so much out of the Council's + Contingencies. Thus on May 24, 1655, or five weeks after the date + of the present Order, there was a warrant to Frost to pay Needham + £50, "being for half a year's salary due unto him from the 15th + of Nov. last to the 15th of this instant May"; and the subsequent + series of warrants in Needham's favour is complete to the end of + the Protectorate.<sup>1</sup> Again, Mr. George Vaux, whom our + present order seems to discharge from his house-keepership of + Whitehall, is found alive in that post and in receipt of his + salary of £150 a year for it to as late as Oct. 1659.<sup>2</sup> + There must, therefore, have been a reconsideration of the Order + by the Council, or between the Council and the Protector, with + modifications of the several proposals. The proposal to raise the + salaries of Scobell and Jessop from £365 a year to £500 a year + each must, indeed, have been made good,—for Scobell and + Jessop's successor in the colleagueship to Scobell are found + afterwards in receipt of £500 a year.<sup>3</sup> But, on the + same evidence, we have to conclude that the reductions proposed + in the cases of Mr. Gualter Frost and Milton were <i>not</i> + confirmed, or were confirmed only <i>partially</i>. Frost is + found afterwards distinctly in receipt of £365 a + year,<sup>4</sup> The actual reduction, in his case, therefore, + was not from £400 to £300, as had been proposed, but only from + £400 to £365, or back to what his salary had been formerly (Vol. + IV. 575-578). Milton again is found at the end of the + Protectorate in receipt of £200 a year, and not of £150 only, as + had been proposed In the Order.<sup>5</sup> The inference must + be, therefore, that there had been a reconsideration and + modification of the Order in his case also, ratifying the + proposal of a reduction, but diminishing considerably the + proposed <i>amount</i> of the reduction. One would like to know + to what influence the modification was owing, and how far + Cromwell himself may have interfered in the matter. On the whole, + while one infers that the reconsideration of the Order generally + may have been owing to direct remonstrances from those whom it + affected injuriously, such as Frost, Vaux, and Needham, there is + little difficulty in seeing what must have happened in Milton's + particular. My belief is that he signified, or caused it to be + signified, that he had no desire to retire on a life-pension, + that it would be much more agreeable to him to continue in active + employment for the State, that for certain kinds of such + employment he found his blindness less and less a + disqualification, that the arrangement as to salary might be as + the Council pleased, but that his own suggestion would be that + his salary should be reduced to £200, so that he and Mr. Meadows + should henceforth be on an equality in that respect. Such, at all + events, was the arrangement adopted; and we may now dismiss this + whole incident in Milton's biography by saying that, though in + April 1655 there was a proposal to superannuate him entirely on a + life-pension of £150 a year, the proposal did not take effect, + but he went on from that date, just as before, in the Latin + Secretaryship Extraordinary, though at the reduced salary of £200 + a year instead of his original £288. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: My notes from the Money Warrant Books of the Council. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Money Warrants of Feb. 15, 1658-9 and Oct. 25, 1659. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 3: Money Warrant of Oct. 25, 1659. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 4: Ibid. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 5: Ibid. + </p> + </div> + <p> + As if to prove that the arrangement was a perfectly suitable one, + and that Milton's retirement into ex-Secretaryship would have + been a loss, there came from him, immediately after the + arrangement had been made, that burst of Latin State-letters + which is now the most famous of his official performances for + Cromwell. It was in the second week of May, 1655, that the news + of the Massacre of the Piedmontese Protestants reached England; + and from the 17th of that month, onwards for weeks and weeks, the + attention of the Protector and the Council was all but engrossed, + as we have seen (ante pp. 38-44), by that dreadful topic. Here + are a few of the first Minutes of Council relating to it:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + <i>Thursday, May</i> 17, 1655:—Present: HIS HIGHNESS THE + LORD PROTECTOR, Lord President Lawrence, the Earl of Mulgrave, + Colonel Fiennes, Lord Lambert, Mr. Rous, Major-General Skippon, + Lord Viscount Lisle, Sir Gilbert Pickering, Colonel Montague, + Colonel Jones, General Desborough, Colonel Sydenham, Sir + Charles Wolseley, Mr. Strickland. <i>Ordered</i>, "That it be + referred to the Earl of Mulgrave, Sir Gilbert Pickering, Mr. + Rous, and Colonel Jones, or any—of them to consider of + the Petition [a Petition from London ministers and others], and + also of the papers of intelligence already come touching the + Protestants under the Duke of Savoy, and such other + intelligence as shall come to Mr. Secretary Thurloe, and to + offer to the Council what they shall think fit, as well + <i>touching writing of letters</i>, collections, or otherwise, + in order to their relief ... That it be referred to Colonel + Fiennes, Mr. Strickland, Sir Gilbert Pickering, and Mr. + Secretary Thurloe, to prepare the draft of a letter to the + French King upon this day's debate touching the Protestants + suffering in the Dukedom of Savoy, and to bring in the same + to-morrow morning." + </p> + <p> + <i>Friday, May</i> 18:—At a second, or afternoon sitting + (<i>present</i>: Lord President Lawrence, Lord Lambert, General + Desborough, the Earl of Mulgrave, Colonel Fiennes, Colonel + Jones, Colonel Sydenham, Colonel Montague), "Colonel Fiennes + reports from the Committee of the Council to whom the same was + referred the draft of a Letter to be sent from his Highness to + the King of France concerning the Protestants in the Dukedom of + Savoy; which, after some amendments, was approved and ordered + to be offered to his Highness as the advice of the Council." + </p> + <p> + <i>Tuesday, May</i> 22:—<i>Present</i>: Lord President + Lawrence, Colonel Sydenham, Mr. Rous, Colonel Montague, Colonel + Jones, General Desborough, Mr. Strickland, Colonel Fiennes, + Lord Viscount Lisle, Sir Gilbert Pickering, Lord Lambert. "The + Latin draft of a Letter to the Duke of Savoy in behalf of the + Protestants in his Territory was this day read. <i>Ordered</i>, + That it be offered to his Highness as the advice of the Council + that his Highness will please to sign the said Letter and cause + it to be sent to the said Duke." + </p> + <p> + <i>Wednesday, May</i> 23:—"Colonel Fiennes reports from + the Committee of the Council the draft of two letters in + reference to the sufferings of the Protestants in the + territories of the Duke of Savoy, the one to the States-General + of the United Provinces, the other to the Cantons of the + Swisses professing the Protestant Religion; which were read, + and, after several amendments, agreed. <i>Ordered</i>, That it + be offered to his Highness the Lord Protector as the advice of + the Council that he will please to send the said letters in his + Highness's name to the said States-General and the Cantons + respectively." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Though Milton's name is not mentioned in these minutes, it was + he, and no other, that penned, or at least turned into Latin, for + the Committee, and so for the Council and the Protector, the + particular letters minuted, and indeed all the other documents + required by the occasion. The following is a list of them:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LIV.) TO THE DUKE OF SAVOY, <i>May</i> 25, + 1655:<sup>1</sup>—This Letter may be translated entire. + It is superscribed "OLIVER, Protector of the Commonwealth of + England, &c., to the Most Serene Prince, EMANUEL, Duke of + Savoy, Prince of Piedmont, Greeting "; and it is worded as + follows:—"Most Serene Prince,—Letters have reached + us from Geneva, and also from the Dauphinate and many other + places bordering upon your dominion, by which we are informed + that the subjects of your Royal Highness professing the + Reformed Religion were recently commanded by your edict and + authority, within three days after the promulgation of the said + edict, to depart from their habitations and properties under + pain of death and forfeiture of all their estates, unless they + should give security that, abandoning their own religion, they + would within twenty days embrace the Roman Catholic one, and + that, though they applied as suppliants to your Royal Highness, + begging that the edict might be revoked, and that they might be + taken into their ancient favour and restored to the liberty + granted them by your Most Serene ancestors, yet part of your + army attacked them, butchered many most cruelly, threw others + into chains, and drove the rest into the deserts and + snow-covered mountains, where some hundreds of families are + reduced to such extremities that it is to be feared that all + will soon perish miserably by cold and hunger. When such news + was brought us, we could not possibly, in hearing of so great a + calamity to that sorely afflicted people, but be moved with + extreme grief and compassion. But, confessing ourselves bound + up with them not by common humanity only, but also by community + of Religion, and so by an altogether brotherly relationship, we + have thought that we should not be discharging sufficiently + either our duty to God, or the obligations of brotherly love + and the profession of the same religion, if we were merely + affected with feelings of grief over this disaster and misery + of our brethren, and did not exert ourselves to the very utmost + of our strength and ability for their rescue from so many + unexpected misfortunes. Wherefore the more we most earnestly + beseech and adjure your Royal Highness that you will bethink + yourself again of the maxims of your Most Serene ancestors and + of the liberty granted and confirmed by them time after time to + their Vaudois subjects. In granting and confirming which, as + they performed what in itself was doubtless most agreeable to + God, who has pleased to reserve the inviolable jurisdiction and + power over Conscience for Himself alone, so there is no doubt + either that they had a due regard for their subjects, whom they + found hardy and faithful in war and obedient always in peace. + And, as your Royal Serenity most laudably treads in the + footsteps of your forefathers in all their other kindly and + glorious actions, so it is our prayer to you again and again + not to depart from them in this matter either, but to repeal + this edict, and any other measure that may have been passed for + the molestation of your subjects of the Reformed Religion, + restoring them to their habitations and goods, ratifying the + rights and liberty anciently granted them, and ordering their + losses to be repaired and an end to be put to their troubles. + If your Royal Highness shall do this, you will have done a deed + most acceptable to God, you will have raised up and comforted + those miserable and distressed sufferers, and you will have + highly obliged all your neighbours that profess the Reformed + Religion,—ourselves most of all, who shall then regard + your kindness and clemency to those poor people as the fruit of + our solicitation. Which will moreover tie us to the performance + of all good offices in return, and lay the firmest foundations + not only for the establishment but even for the increase of the + relationship and friendship between this Commonwealth and your + Dominion. Nor do we less promise this to ourselves from your + justice and moderation. We beg Almighty God to bend your mind + and thoughts in this direction, and we heartily pray for you + and for your people peace and truth and prosperity in all your + affairs."<sup>2</sup>—The bearer of this letter to the + Duke, as we know, was Mr. Samuel Morland, who had been selected + as the Protector's special Commissioner for the purpose. He + left London on the 26th of May. He took with him, also, a copy + of the Latin speech which he was to deliver to the Duke in + presenting the letter. As there is much probability that this + Latin speech is also in part of Milton's composition, and as it + is in even a bolder and more indignant strain than the letter, + it may be well to translate it too:—"Your Serene and + Royal Highnesses [the Duke and his mother both + addressed?],—The Most Serene Lord, Oliver, Protector of + the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland, has sent me + to your Royal Highnesses; whom he salutes very heartily, and to + whom, with a very high affection and peculiar regard for your + Serenities, he wishes a long life and reign, and a prosperous + issue of all your affairs, amid the applauses and respect of + your people. And this is due to you, whether in consideration + of the excellent character and royal descent of your + Highnesses, and the great expectation of the world from so many + eminent good qualities, or in recollection, after reference to + records, of the ancient friendship of our Kings with the Royal + house of Savoy. Though I am, I confess, but a young man, and + not very ripe in experience of affairs, yet it has pleased my + Most Serene and Gracious Master to send me, as one much devoted + to your Royal Highnesses and ardently attached to all bearing + the Italian name, on what is really a great mission.—The + ancient legend is that the son of Croesus was completely dumb + from his birth. When, however, he saw a soldier aiming a wound + at his father, straightway he had the use of his tongue. No + other is my predicament, feeling as I do my tongue loosened by + those very recent and bloody wounds of Mother Church. A great + mission surely that is to be called wherein all the safety and + hope of many poor people is comprehended—their sole hope + lying in the chance that they shall be able, by all their + loyalty, obedience, and most humble prayers, to mollify and + appease the minds of your Royal Highnesses, now irritated + against them. In behalf of these poor people, whose cause pity + itself may seem to make its own, the Most Serene Protector of + England also comes as an intercessor, and most earnestly + requests and beseeches your Royal Highnesses to deign to extend + your mercy to these your very poor and most outcast + subjects—those, I mean, who, inhabiting the roots of the + Alps and certain valleys in your dominion, have professed + nominally the Religion of the Protestants. For he has heard + (what no one can say has been done by the will of your Royal + Highnesses) that those wretched creatures have been partly + killed by your forces, partly expelled by violence and driven + from their home and country, so that they are now wandering, + with their wives and children, houseless, roofless, poor, and + destitute of all resource, through rugged and inhospitable + spots and over snow-covered mountains. And, through the days of + this transaction, if only the things are true that fame at + present reports everywhere (would that Fame were proved a + liar!), what was not dared and attempted against them? Houses + smoking everywhere, torn limbs, the ground bloody! Ay, and + virgins, ravished and hideously abused, breathed their last + miserably; and old men and persons labouring under illness were + committed to the flames; and some infants were dashed against + the rocks, and the brains of others were cooked and eaten. + Atrocity horrible and before unheard of, savagery such that, + good God, were all the Neros of all times and ages to come to + life again, what a shame they would feel at having contrived + nothing equally inhuman! Verily, verily, Angels are + horrorstruck, men are amazed; heaven itself seems to be + astounded by these cries, and the earth itself to blush with + the shed blood of so many innocent men. Do not, great God, do + not seek the revenge due to this iniquity. May thy blood, + Christ, wash away this stain!—But it is not for me to + relate these things in order as they happened, or to dwell + longer upon them; and what my Most Serene Master requests from + your Royal Highnesses you will understand better from his own + Letter. Which letter I am ordered to deliver to your Royal + Highnesses with all observance and due respect; and, should + your Royal Highnesses, as we greatly hope, grant a favourable + and speedy answer, you will both do an act most gratifying to + the Lord Protector, who has taken this business deeply to + heart, and to the whole Commonwealth of England, and also + restore, by an exercise of mercy very worthy of your Royal + Highnesses, life, safety, spirit, country, and estates to many + thousands of most afflicted people who depend on your pleasure; + and me you will send back to my native country as the happy + messenger of your conspicuous clemency, with great joy and + report of your exalted virtues, the deeply obliged servant of + your Royal Highnesses for evermore."<sup>3</sup> + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: So dated in the official copy preserved in the Record Office + (Hamilton's <i>Milton Papers</i>, p. 15) and in the copy + actually delivered to the Duke (Morland, pp. 572-574)—the + phrase in both being "<i>Dabantur ex aula nostra + Westmonasterii</i>, 25 <i>Maii</i>, <i>anno</i> 1654." In the + Skinner Transcript, however, the dating is "<i>Westmonsterio, + May</i> 10, 1655;" which again is changed into "<i>Alba Aula, + May</i> 1655," i.e. "Whitehall, May 1655" (month only given) in + the Printed Collections and in Phillips. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: There are one or two slight verbal differences between + Milton's original draft, here translated, and the official copy + as actually delivered to the Duke, and as printed by Morland. + Thus, in the first sentence, instead of <i>"Redditæ sunt nobis + e Geneva, necnon ex Delphinatu aliisque multis ex locis ditioni + vestræ finitimis, literæ,"</i> the official copy has simply + <i>"Redditæ sunt nobis multis ex locis ditioni vestæ finitimis + literæ."</i> + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 3: I have translated the speech from the official Latin draft, + as preserved in the Record Office, and as printed by Mr. + Hamilton, <i>Milton Papers</i>, pp. 18-20. Mr. Hamilton has no + doubt that the composition is Milton's. He founds his opinion + partly on the style, and partly on the fact that the draft is + "written in the same hand as the other official copies of + Milton's letters." I agree with Mr. Hamilton, though the matter + does not seem to be absolutely beyond controversy. The style is + generally like Milton's; there are phrases repeated from + Milton's Latin elsewhere—e.g. "<i>montesque nivibus + coopertos</i>," repeated from the Letter to the Duke of Savoy, + and "<i>totius nominis Italici studiosissimum</i>" which almost + repeats the "<i>toiius Græci nominis ... cultor</i>" of the + second Letter to Philaras; and there are also phrases identical + with some used in Milton's other letters on the subject of the + Massacre which have yet to be noted in this list. On the other + hand, there are passages and expressions in the Speech that + strike one as hardly Miltonic, while the purport in some places + would favour the idea that Morland wrote the speech himself. + What seems to negative this idea most strongly, and therefore + to point most distinctly to Milton as the author, is the + existence of the MS. official copy in the Record Office. The + speech, that copy proves, must have been prepared before + Morland left London, and must have been taken with him. For + that it cannot have been merely deposited in the State Paper + Office afterwards, as a record of what he did say at Turin, is + proved by the fact that his actual speech at Turin, as printed + by himself in his book, with an English Translation (pp. + 558-561), though in substance identical with the draft-copy, + differs in some particulars. In the actual speech the plural, + "Your Royal Highnesses," is changed into the singular, "Your + Royal Highness," for address to the Duke only, though the + Duchess-mother was present; the parenthetical comparison of + Morland to the Son of Croesus is entirely omitted; and there + are other verbal changes, apparently suggested by Morland's + closer information as he approached Turin, or by his sense of + fitness at the moment—in illustration of which the reader + may compare the very strong passage about "the Neros of all + times and ages" as we have just rendered it from the draft with + the same passage as we have previously rendered it from + Morland's actual speech (ante p. 42). But, if Morland took the + speech with him, unless he wrote it himself and had it approved + before his departure, who so likely to have furnished it as + Milton? All in all, that is the most probable conclusion; and + anything un-Miltonic in the speech may be accounted for by + supposing that, though the Latin was Milton's, the substance + was not entirely his. Morland, though he does not say in his + book that the speech was furnished him, does not positively + claim it as his own. He, at all events, used the liberty of + deviating from the original draft. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LV.) TO THE EVANGELICAL SWISS CANTONS, <i>May 25, + 1655</i><sup>1</sup>:—His Highness in this letter + recapitulates the facts at some length, and expresses his + conviction that the Cantons, so much nearer the scene of the + horrors, are already duly roused. He informs them that he has + written to the Duke of Savoy and hopes the intercession may + have effect; but adds, "If, however, he should determine + otherwise, we are prepared to exchange counsels with you on the + subject of the means by which we may be able most effectively + to relieve, re-establish, and save from certain and undeserved + ruin, an innocent people oppressed and tormented by so many + injuries, they being also our dearest brothers in + Christ."<sup>2</sup> + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: So dated in the official copy as dispatched, and as printed + in Morland's book, pp. 581-562; but draft dated + "<i>Westmonasterio, May 19, 1655</i>" in the Skinner + Transcript, the Printed Collection, and Phillips. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: One of the phrases in this letter about the poor Piedmontese + Protestants is "<i>nunc sine tare, sine teoto, ... per monies + desertos atque nives, cum conjugibus ac liberis, miserrime + vagantur</i>." The phrase occurs almost verbatim in Morland's + speech to the Duke of Savoy—"<i>sine lare, sine tecto ... + cum suis conjugibus ac liberis vagari</i>." + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LVI.) TO CHARLES GUSTAVUS, KING OF SWEDEN, <i>May</i> 25, + 1655:—To the same effect as the last, <i>mutatis + mutandis</i>. What sovereign can be more ready to stir in such + a cause than his Swedish majesty, the successor of those who + have been champions of the Protestantism of Europe? Gladly will + the Protector form a league with him and with other powers to + do whatever may be necessary. + </p> + <p> + (LVII.) TO THE KING OF DENMARK, May 25, + 1655:<sup>1</sup>—An appeal in the same strain to his + Danish Majesty: phraseology varied a little, But matter the + same. + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: This and the last both so dated in official copy as printed + in Morland's book, pp. 554-557; dated only "May 1655" in + Skinner Transcript, Printed Collection, and Phillips. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LVIII.) TO LOUIS XIV., KING OF FRANCE, May 25, + 1655:<sup>1</sup>—The story recapitulated for the benefit + of his French Majesty, with the addition that it is reported + that some troops of his Majesty had assisted the Piedmontese + soldiery in the attack on the Vaudois. This the Protector can + hardly believe: it would be so much against that policy of + Toleration which the Kings of France have found essential for + the peace of their own dominions. The Protector cannot doubt, + at all events, that his Majesty will use his powerful influence + with the Duke of Savoy to induce him at once, as far as may be + possible, to repair the outrageous wrong already done. + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: This Letter is omitted in the Printed Collection and in + Phillips; but it is given in the Skinner Transcript (No. 38 + there), and Mr. Hamilton has printed it in his Milton Papers + (p. 2). It had already been printed in Morland's book (pp. + 564-565). + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LIX.) TO THE MOST EMINENT LORD, CARDINAL MAZARIN, <i>May</i> + 25, 1625:<sup>1</sup>—Not content with writing to Louis + XIV., Cromwell addressed also the great French Minister. After + mentioning the dreadful occasion, the letter + proceeds—"There is clearly nothing which has obtained for + the French nation greater esteem with all their neighbours + professing the Reformed Religion than the liberty and + privileges permitted and granted to Protestants by edicts and + public acts. It is for this reason chiefly, though for others + as well, that this Commonwealth has sought for the friendship + and alliance of the French to a greater degree than before. For + the settlement of this there have now for a good while been + dealings here with the King's Ambassador, and his Treaty is now + almost brought to a conclusion. Moreover, the singular + benignity and moderation of your Eminence, always manifest + hitherto in the most important transactions of the Kingdom + relating to the French Protestants, causes me to hope much from + your own prudence and magnanimity." + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Utterly undated in Printed Collection and in Phillips, and + quite misplaced in both; properly dated "May 25, 1655" in + Skinner Transcript. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LX.) TO THE STATES-GENERAL OF THE UNITED PROVINCES, <i>May</i> + 25, 1655:<sup>1</sup>—To the same effect as the letters + to the Swiss Cantons and the Kings of Sweden and Denmark, but + with emphatic expression of his Highness's peculiar confidence + In the Dutch Republic in such a crisis. He offers in the close + to act in concert with the States-General and other Protestant + powers for any interference that may be necessary. + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: So dated in official copy, as printed in Morland's book, pp. + 558-560; but undated in Printed Collection and in Phillips, and + dated "<i>West., Junii</i>—1655" in Skinner Transcript + (No. 41 there). This last is a mistake; for Thurloe speaks of + the letter as already written May 25 (Thurloe to Pell, + <i>Vaughan's Protectorate</i>, I. 185). The official copy, as + given in Morland, differs somewhat from Milton's draft. + "<i>Ego</i>" for Cromwell, in one sentence, is changed into + "<i>Nos;</i>" and the closing words of the draft, "<i>et is + demum, sentiet orthodoxnon injurias atque miserias tam graves + non posse nos negligere</i>" are omitted in the official copy, + possibly as too strong. These may be among the amendments made + in Council, May 23. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LXI.) TO THE PRINCE OF TRANSYLVANIA, <i>May</i>, + 1655:<sup>1</sup>—Transylvania, now included in the + Austrian Empire, was then an independent Principality of + Eastern Europe, in precarious and variable relations with + Austria, Poland, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire. The + population, a mixture of Wallachs, Magyars. Germans, and Slavs, + was largely Protestant; and the present Prince, George + Ragotzki, was an energetic supporter of the Protestant interest + in that part of Europe, and a man generally of much political + and military activity. He had written, it appears, to Cromwell + on the 16th of November, 1654, and had sent an Envoy to England + with the letter. It had expressed his earnest desire for + friendship and alliance with the Protector, and for + co-operation with him in the defence of the Reformed Religion. + Cromwell now acknowledges the letter and embassy, with high + compliments to the Prince personally, of whose merits and + labours there had been so much fame. This leads him at once to + the Piedmontese business. Is not that an opportunity for the + co-operation his Serenity had mentioned? At any rate, it + behoves all Protestant princes to be on the alert; for who + knows how far the Duke of Savoy's example may spread? + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Dated so in Skinner Transcript, Printed Collection, and + Phillips—with the addition "Westminster" in the first, + and "Whitehall" in the two last: no copy given in Morland's + book. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LXII.) TO THE CITY OF GENEVA, <i>June</i> 8, 1655:—This + letter announces the collection in progress in England for the + relief of the Piedmontese Protestants. It will take some time + to complete the collection; but meanwhile the first instalment + of £2000 [Cromwell's personal contribution] is remitted for + immediate use. His Highness is quite sure that the City + authorities of Geneva will cheerfully take charge of the money, + and see it distributed among those most in need. A postscript + bids the Genevese expect £1500 of the sum through Gerard Hensch + of Paris, and the remaining £500 through Mr. Stoupe, a well + known travelling agent of Cromwell and Thurloe. + </p> + <p> + (LXIII.) TO THE KING OF FRANCE, <i>July</i> 29, 1655:—The + Protector here acknowledges an answer received to his previous + letter of May 25. [The answer had been delivered to Morland + early in June, when he was on his way through Paris, and + transmitted by him to the Protector. A translation of it is + given in Morland's book, pp. 566-567.] He is glad to be + confirmed in his belief that the French officers who lent their + troops to assist the Piedmontese soldiery in that bloody + business did so without his Majesty's order and against his + will—glad also to learn that these officers have been + rebuked, and that his Majesty has, of his own accord, + remonstrated with the Duke of Savoy, and advised him to stop + his persecution of the Vaudois. As no effect has yet been + produced however, [Morland has by this time delivered his + speech at Turin, and reported the dubious answer given by the + Duke of Savoy: ante pp. 42-43], the Protector is now + despatching a special envoy [i.e. Mr. George Downing] to Turin, + to make farther remonstrances. This envoy will pass through + Paris, and his mission will have the greater chance of success + if his Majesty will take the opportunity of again impressing + his views upon the Duke. By so doing, by punishing those French + officers who employed his Majesty's troops so disgracefully, + and by sheltering such of the poor Vaudois as may have sought + refuge in France, his Majesty will earn the respect of other + Powers, and will strengthen the loyalty of his own Protestant + subjects. + </p> + <p> + (LXIV.) To CARDINAL MAZARIN, <i>July</i> 29, 1655:—This + is a special note, accompanying the foregoing letter, and + introducing and recommending Mr. Downing to his Eminence. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Besides these official documents for Cromwell on the Piedmontese + business, there came from Milton his memorable Sonnet on the + same, expressing his own feelings, and Cromwell's too, with less + restraint. It may have been in private circulation at the + Protector's Court at the date of the last two of the ten letters: + </p> + <p> + ON THE LATE MASSACRE IN PIEDMONT. + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints, whose bones + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold; + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Even them who kept thy truth so pure of old, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + When all our fathers worshipped stocks and stones, + </p> + <p> + Forget not: in thy book record their groans + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Who were thy sheep, and in their ancient fold + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Slain by the bloody Piedmontese, that rolled + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Mother with infant down the rocks. Their moans + </p> + <p> + The vales redoubled to the hills, and they + </p> + <p class="i2"> + To heaven. Their martyred blood and ashes sow + </p> + <p class="i2"> + O'er all the Italian fields, where still doth sway + </p> + <p> + The triple Tyrant; that from these may grow + </p> + <p class="i2"> + A hundredfold, who, having learnt thy way, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Early may fly the Babylonian woe.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: If Morland's speech at Turin was of Milton's composition, as + we have found probable, the contrast between one phrase in that + speech and the opening of this Sonnet is curious. "Do not, + great God, do not seek the revenge due to this iniquity," says + the Speech; "Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints," says the + Sonnet. + </p> + </div> + <p> + From the Piedmontese Massacre we have now to revert to Morus. His + <i>Fides Publica</i>, in reply to Milton's <i>Defensio + Secunda</i>, had been published in an incomplete state, as we + have seen, by Ulac at the Hague in August or September 1654; and + Milton had a rejoinder to this publication ready or nearly ready, + as we have also seen, by the end of March 1655. The reason why + this Rejoinder had not already appeared has now to be stated. + </p> + <p> + One of Morus's reasons for hurrying into France so unexpectedly, + and leaving his unfinished book in Ulac's hands, seems to have + been the chance of a professorship or pastorship there that would + enable him to quit Holland permanently, and settle at length in + his own country. "Some speak of calling Morus, against whom Mr. + Milton writes so sharply, to be Professor of Divinity at Nismes; + but most men say it will ruin that church," is a piece of + Parisian news sent by Pell to Thurloe in a letter from Zurich + dated Oct. 28, 1654;<sup>1</sup> and, with that prospect, or some + other, Morus seems to have remained in France for some time after + that date. When copies of his incomplete <i>Fides Publica</i> + reached him there, he may not have thanked Ulac for issuing the + book in such a state without leave given. All the more, however, + he must have felt himself obliged to complete the book. + Accordingly he did, from France, forward the rest of the MS. to + Ulac, with the result of the appearance at last from Ulac's press + of a supplementary volume with this title: "<i>Alexandri Mori, + Ecclesiastæ et Sacrarum Litterum Professoris, Supplementum Fidei + Publicæ contra calumnias Joannis Miltoni. Hagae-Comitum, Typis + Adriani Ulacq, 1655.</i>" ("Supplement to the Public Testimony of + Alexander Morus, Churchman and Professor of Sacred Literature, in + reply to the Calumnies of John Milton. Hague: Printed by Adrian + Ulac, 1655.") Ulac prefixes, under the heading "<i>The Printer to + the Reader</i>," a brief explanatory Preface. "You have here, + good Reader," he says, "the missing remainder of the edition of a + Treatise which we lately printed and published under the title + <i>Aleaxandri Mori Fides Publica contra calumnias Joannis + Miltoni</i>. This remainder that Reverend gentleman has sent me + from France. Of the whole matter judge as may seem fair and just + to you. Let it suffice for me to have satisfied your curiosity. + Farewell." It must have been this <i>Supplementum</i> of Morus, + reaching London perhaps in April 1655, or perhaps during the + first busy correspondence about the Piedmontese massacre, that + delayed the appearance of Milton's already written Rejoinder to + the imperfect <i>Fides Publica</i>. He would notice this + "Supplement" as well as the volume already published, and so have + done with Morus altogether. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Vaughan's <i>Protectorate</i>, I. 73; where "Mr. Miton" + appears as "Mr. Hulton." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Morus's <i>Supplementum</i> consists of 105 pages, added to the + original <i>Fides Publica</i>, but numbered onwards from the last + page there, so as to admit of the binding of the two volumes into + one volume consecutively paged, though with two title-pages, + differently dated. The matter also proceeds continuously from the + point at which the <i>Fides Publica</i>, broke off. Referring to + the testimony borne to his character in the venerable Diodati's + Letter from Geneva to Salmasius, dated May 9, 1648, and + connecting it with Milton's mention of his personal acquaintance + with Diodati formed in his visit to Geneva in 1639, Morus + addresses Milton thus: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "This is that John Diodati upon whom you cast no small stain by + your praise, and who truly, if he were alive, would prefer to + be in the number of those who are vituperated by you. Would he + <i>were</i> alive! How he would beat back your pride, not + indeed with other pride, but with the gravest smile of + contempt! How he would despise in his great mind your thoughts, + sayings, acts, all in one! How he would anticipate your fine + satire, and, moved with holy loathing, spit upon it! '<i>With + him</i>,' you say, '<i>I had daily society at Geneva</i>.' But + what did you learn from him? What of desirable contagion did + you carry away from his acquaintance? Often have we heard him + enumerating those friends he had in your country whom he + commended on the score of either learning or goodness. Of + <i>you</i> we never heard a syllable from him." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Then, after telling of his affectionate parting with Diodati at + Geneva, when both, were in tears and the old man blessed him, he + proceeds to quote other Testimonials, either in French or in + Latin. Four more are still from former Swiss friends:—viz. + an extract from another letter of Diodati, addressed to M. + L'Empereur; a letter from M. Sartoris to Salmasius, dated Geneva, + April 5, 1648; a testimonial from the lawyer Gothofridius, dated + Geneva, May 24, 1648; and a subsequent letter from the same, + dated Basel, April 23, 1651. All are very complimentary. Passing + then to his life in Holland after leaving Switzerland, Morus + continues the series of his testimonials. We have first, in + French or Latin, or both, a letter from the Church at Middleburg + to the Church at Geneva, dated Nov. 2, 1649, an extract from a + letter of the Synod of the Walloon Churches of the United + Provinces to the Pastors and Professors of Geneva, dated May 6, + 1650, and a testimonial from the Church of Middleburg, on the + occasion of sending M. Morus as deputy to the said Synod, dated + April 19, 1650. More documents of the same kind follow, chiefly + for the purpose of disproving the assertion that M. Morus had + been condemned and ejected by the Middleburg Church. They include + an extract from the Acts of the Consistory of the Walloon Church + of Middleburg, dated July 10, 1652, a testimonial from the + Middleburg Church of the same date, and an extract from the + Articles of the Synod of the Walloon Churches held at Groede, + Aug. 21-23, 1652. Having thus brought himself, with ample + testimonials of character, to the date of his removal from the + Middleburg Church to the Professorship in Amsterdam, he takes up + more expressly the <i>Accusatio de Bontid</i> or Bontia scandal. + He gives what he calls the true and exact version of that story, + with those details about Madame de Saumaise and her quarrel with + him on Bontia's account which have already appeared in our + narrative. He lays stress on the fact that it was himself that + had instituted the law-process, and persevered in it to the end; + and he dwells at some length on the successful issue of the case + both in the Walloon Synod and in the Supreme Court of Holland. He + has evidence, he says, that Salmasius, to his dying day, spoke in + high terms of him, and admitted that Madame de Saumaise was in + the wrong. "This statement has been made," he says, "not solely + in reply to your insolence, but also out of regard for the + weakness and ignorance of those at a distance who have imbibed + the venom of the calumny and heard of the spiteful revenge to + which I was subject, but not of the unusual sequel of its + judicial discomfiture. All of whom, but especially my friends and + countrymen, amid whom there has happened to me the same that + happened to Basil among <i>his</i> neighbours, I request and + beseech by all that is sacred not rashly to credit mere report, + much less the letters which my adversaries have sent hither and + thither through all nations, especially after they perceived that + they were driven from all their defences at home, judging that + they would more easily invest their lie with belief and authority + in distant parts. Fair critics, I doubt not, will at least + suspend their judgment, and not incline to either side, until + there shall have reached them a just narrative of the facts, + truly and freely written by a friend, the publication of which + has hitherto been kept back at my desire." Three additional + testimonials are then appended to show that his reputation had + not suffered in Amsterdam on account of the Saumaise-Bontia + scandal, and especially that the rumour that he had been + suspended from ministerial functions there was utterly untrue. + These Amsterdam testimonials, as being the latest in date, and + the most important in Morus's favour, may be given in + abstract:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + <i>From the Magistrates of Amsterdam, July 11, + 1654</i>:—"Whereas the Reverend and very learned Mr. + Alexander Morus, Professor of Sacred History in our illustrious + School, has complained to us that one John Milton, in a lately + published book, has attacked his reputation with atrocious + calumnies, and has added moreover that the Magistrates of + Amsterdam have interdicted him the pulpit, and that only his + Professorship of Greek remains,... We, &c., testify." What + they testify is that, since Morus had come to Amsterdam, "not + only had he done nothing which could afford ground for such + calumnies, or was unworthy of a Christian and Theologian," but + he had also discharged the duties of his Professorship with + extraordinary learning, eloquence and acceptance. So far, + therefore, were the Magistrates from censuring M. Morus that, + on the contrary, they were ready still, on any occasion, to + afford him all the protection and show him all the good will in + their power. The certificate is sealed with the City seal, and + signed by "N. Nicolai," the City clerk. + </p> + <p> + <i>From the Amsterdam Church (about same date)</i>:—Three + Pastors of this Church—Gothofrid Hotton, Henry + Blanche-Tete, and Nicolas de la Bassecour—certify, "in + the name of the whole convocation of the Gallo-Belgie Church of + Amsterdam," that Morus discharges his Professorship with high + credit; also "that, as regards his life and conversation, they + are so far from knowing or acknowledging him to be guilty of + those things of which he is accused by one Milton, an + Englishman, in his lately published book, that, on the + contrary, they have frequently requested sermons from him, and + he has delivered such in the church, excellent in quality and + perfectly orthodox,—which could not have occurred if + anything of the alleged kind had been known to his brethren + (<i>quod heud factum fuisset si hujusmodi quioquam nobis + innotuisset</i>)." + </p> + <p> + <i>From the Curators of the Amsterdam School, July 29, + 1654</i>:—To the same effect, with the story of the + circumstances of the appointment of Morus to the Professorship. + They had been very anxious to get him, and he had justified + their choice. "We think the calumnies with which he is + undeservedly loaded arise from nothing else than the ill-will + which is the inseparable accompaniment of especially + distinguished virtue." Signed, for the Curators, by "C. de + Graef" and "Simon van Hoorne." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + After asking Milton how he can face these flat contradictions of + his charges, not from mere individuals, but from important public + bodies, and saying that "one favourable nod from any one of the + persons concerned would be worth more than the vociferations of a + thousand Miltons to all eternity," Morus corrects Milton's + mistake as to the nature of his Professorship. It is not a + Professorship of Greek, but of Sacred History, involving Greek + only in so far as one might refer in one's lectures to Josephus + or the Greek Fathers. But he <i>had</i> been a Professor of + Greek—in Geneva, to wit, when little over twenty years of + age. Nor, in spite of all Milton's facetiousness on the subject + of Greek, and his puns on <i>Morus</i> in Greek, was he ashamed + of the fact. "For all learning whatever is Greek, so that whoever + despises Greek Literature, or professors of the same, must + necessarily be a sciolist." And here he detects the reason of + Milton's incessant onslaughts on Salmasius. Milton was evidently + most ambitious of the fame of scholarship, as appeared from his + anticipations of immortality in his Latin poems; and, though he + might be a fair Latinist—not immaculate in Latin either, as + he might hear some time or other from Salmasius himself, though + that was a secret yet—he knew that he could never snatch + away from Salmasius the palm of the highest, i.e. of Greek, + scholarship. Morus does not claim for himself the title of a + perfect classic; he is content with his present position and its + duties. Admirable lessons in life are to be obtained from the + study of Church History. Of these not the least is the + verification of the words in the Gospel, "Woe unto you when all + men shall speak well of you." What calumnies had been borne by + Jerome, Nazianzen, Chrysostom, Athanasius, and others of the best + of men! With such examples before one, why should an + insignificant person, like the writer, conscious too of many + faults and weaknesses, take calumny too much to heart? This + pathetic strain, attained towards the close of the book, is + maintained most skilfully in the peroration. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "But, if credit enough is not given to my own solemn + affirmation, nor to this Public Testimony, Thee, Lord God, I + make finally my witness, who explorest the inmost recesses of + the spirit, who triest the reins, and knowest the secret + motives of the breast, a Searcher of hearts to whom, as if by + thorough dissection, all things are bare. Thee, God, Thee I + call as my witness, who shalt one day be my Judge and the Judge + of all, whether it is not the case that men see in this heart + of mine what Thou seest not. Would that Thou didst not also see + in the same heart what they do not see! But ah me! I am far + baser in reality than they feign. Suppliantly I adore the will + of Thy Providence that permits me to be falsely accused among + men on account of so many hidden faults of which I am truly + guilty in Thy sight. Thou, Lord, saidst to Shimei, 'Curse + David.' Glory be to Thy name that hast chosen to preserve me, + exercised with so many griefs, that I may serve Thyself. There + is one great sin discernible in my soul, which I confess before + the whole world. I have never served Thee in proportion to my + strength; that little talent of Thy grace which Thou hast + deigned to grant me I have not yet turned to full + account—whether because I have followed too much the + pleasures of mere study, or whether I have consumed too much + time and labour in refuting the invectives of the + evil-disposed, to whom, such has been Thy pleasure, I have been + constantly an object of attack. Cover the past for me, regulate + the future. Cleared before men, before Thee I shall be cleared + never, unless Thy mercy shall be my succour. I confess I have + sinned against Thee, nor shall I do so more. Thou seest how + this paper on which I write is now all wet with my tears: + pardon me, Redeemer mine, and grant that the vow I now take to + Thee I may sacredly perform. Let a thousand dogs bark at me, a + thousand bulls of Bashan rush upon me, as many lions war + against my soul, and threaten me with destruction, I will reply + no more, defended enough if only I feel Thee propitious. I will + no more waste the time due to Thee, sacred to Thee, in mere + trifles, or lose it in beating off the importunity of moths. + Whatever extent of life it shall please Thee to appoint me + still, I vow, I dedicate, all to Thee, all to Thy Church. So + shall we be revenged on our enemies. Convert us all, Thou who + only canst. Forgive us, forgive them also; nor to us, nor to + them, but to Thy name, be the glory!" + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Milton read this, but was not moved. On the 8th of August, 1655, + there was published his Rejoinder to the original <i>Fides + Publica</i>, with his notice of the <i>Supplementum</i> appended. + It is a small volume of 204 pages, entitled <i>Joannis + Miltoni</i>, <i>Angli</i>, <i>Pro Se Defensio contra Alexandrum + Morum</i>, <i>Ecclesiasten</i>, <i>Libelli famosi</i>, <i>cui + titulus 'Regii Sanguinis Clamor ad Cælum adversus Parricidas + Anglicanus'</i>, <i>authorem recte dictum. Londini</i>, <i>Typis + Newcomianis</i>, 1655 ("The English, John Milton's Defence for + Himself, in reply to Alexander Morus, Churchman, rightly called + the author of the notorious book entitled 'Cry of the King's + Blood to Heaven against the English Parricides,' London, from + Newcome's Press, 1655"). This is perhaps the least known now of + all Milton's writings. It has never been translated, even in the + wretched fashion in which his <i>Defensio Prima</i> and + <i>Defensio Secunda</i> have been; and it is omitted altogether + in some professed editions of Milton's whole works.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: The date of publication is from the Thomason copy in the + British Museum. + </p> + </div> + <p> + After a brief Introduction, in which Milton remarks that the + quarrel, which was originally for Liberty and the English People, + has now dwindled into a poor personal one, he discusses afresh, + as the first real point in dispute, the question of the + authorship of the <i>Regii Sanguinis Clamor</i>. Morus's denials, + or seeming denials, go for nothing. Any man may deny anything; + there are various ways of denial; and he still maintains that + Morus is, to all legal intents and purposes, responsible for the + book. "Unless I show this." he says, "unless I make it plain + either that you are the author of that most notorious book + against us, or that you have given sufficient occasion for justly + regarding you as the author, I do not object to the conclusion + that I have been beaten by you in this controversy, and come out + of it ignominiously, with disgrace and shame." How is this strong + statement supported? In the first place, there is reproduced the + evidence of original, universal, and persistent rumour. "This I + say religiously, that through two whole years I met no one, + whether a countryman of my own or a foreigner, with whom there + could be talk about that book, but they all agreed unanimously + that you were called its author, and they named no one for the + author but you." To Morus's assertion that he had openly, loudly, + and energetically disowned the book, where suspected of the + authorship, Milton returns a complex answer. Partly he does not + believe the assertion, on the ground that there were many who had + heard Morus confessing to the book and boasting of it. Partly he + asks why such energetic repudiations were necessary, and why, in + spite of them, intimate friends of Morus retained their former + opinion. Partly he admits that there may latterly have been such + repudiations, but not till there was danger in being thought the + author. Any criminal will deny his crime in sight of the axe; + and, apart from the punishment which Morus had reason to expect + when he knew that Milton's reply to the <i>Regii Sanguinis + Clamor</i> was forthcoming, what had not the author of that book + to dread after the Peace between the Dutch and the Commonwealth + had been concluded? By articles IX., X., and XI. of the Peace it + was provided that no public enemy of the Commonwealth should have + residence, shelter, living, or commerce, within the bounds of the + United Provinces; and who more a public enemy of the Commonwealth + than the author of the <i>Regii Sanguinis Clamor</i>? No wonder + that, after that Peace, Morus had trembled for the consequences + of his handiwork. The loss of his Amsterdam Professorship, + instant ejection from Holland, and prohibition of return under + pain of death, were what he had to fear. Were not these powerful + enough motives for denial to a man like Morus? Had not Milton, + when he learnt by letters from Durie in May 1654 that Morus was + disowning—the book, been entitled to remember these + motives? For what other evidence had been produced besides + Morus's own word? His friend Hotton's only; and that was no + independent testimony, but only Morus's at second hand. And even + now, after Morus's repeated and studiously-worded denials in his + <i>Fides Publica</i>, how did the case stand? + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "That book [the <i>Regii Sanguinis Clamor</i>] consists of + various prooemia and epilogues [i.e. addition to the central + text]—to wit, <i>An Epistle to Charles</i>, another <i>To + the Reader</i>, and two sets of verses at the close, one + eulogistic of Salmasius, the other in defamation of me. Now, if + I find that you wrote or contributed any page of this whole + book, even a single verse, or that you published it, or + procured it, or advised it, or superintended the publishing, or + even lent the smallest particle of aid therein, you alone, + since no one else is to the fore, shall be to me responsible + for the whole, the author, the 'Crier'. Nor can you call this + merely my severity or vehemence; for this is the procedure + established among almost all nations by right and laws of + equity. I will adduce, as universally accepted, the Imperial + Civil Law. Read <i>Institut. Justiniani l. IV. De Injuriis, + Tit. 4</i>: 'If any one shall write, compose, or publish, or + with evil design cause the writing, composing, or publishing, + of a book or poem (or story) for the defamation of any one,' + &c. Other laws add 'Even should he publish in the name of + another, or without name;' and all decree that the person is to + be taken for the author and punished as such. I ask you now, + not whether you wrote the text of the <i>Regii Sanguinis + Clamor</i>, but whether you made, wrote, published, or caused + to be published, the Epistle Dedicatory to Charles prefixed to + the <i>Clamor</i>, or any particle thereof; I ask whether you + composed or caused to be published the other Epistle to the + Reader, or finally that Defamatory Poem, You have replied + nothing yet to these precise questions. By merely disowning the + <i>Clamor</i> itself and strenuously swearing that you wrote no + portion of it, you thought to escape with safe credit, and make + game of us, inasmuch as the Epistle to Charles the Son, or that + to the Reader, or the set of Iambic verses, is not the <i>Regii + Sanguinis Clamor</i>. Take now this in brief, therefore, that + you may not be able so to wheel about or prevaricate in future, + or hope for any escape or concealment, and that all may know + how far from mendacious, how veritable on the contrary, or at + least not unfounded, was that report which arose about you: + take, I say, this in brief,—that I have ascertained, not + by report alone, but by testimony than which none can be surer, + that you managed the bringing out of the whole book entitled + <i>Regii Sanguinis Clamor</i>, and corrected the printer's + proofs, and composed, either alone, or in association with one + or two others, the Epistle to Charles II. which bears Ulac's + name. Of this your own name 'ALEXANDER MORUS,' subscribed to + some copies of that Epistle, has been too clear and ocular + proof to many witnesses of the fact for you to be able to deny + the charge or to get rid of it.... There are several who have + heard yourself either admit, on interrogation, that that + Epistle is yours, or declare the fact spontaneously.... If you + ask on what evidence I, at such a distance, make these + statements, and how they can have become so certain to myself, + I reply that it is not on the evidence of rumour merely, but + partly on that of most scrupulous witnesses who have most + solemnly made the assertions to myself personally, partly on + that of letters written either to myself or to others. I will + quote the very words of the letters, but will not give the + names of the writers, considering that unnecessary in matters + of such notoriety independently. Here you have first an extract + from a letter to me from the Hague, the writer of which is a + man of probity and had no common means of investigating this + affair:—'I have ascertained beyond doubt + (<i>exploratissimum mihi est</i>) that Morus himself offered + the copy of the <i>Clamor Regii Sanguinis</i> to some other + printers before Ulac received it, that he superintended the + correction of the errors of the press, and that, as soon as the + book was finished, copies were given and distributed by him to + not a few.'... Take again the following, which a highly + honourable and intelligent man in Amsterdam writes as certainly + known to himself and as abundantly witnessed there:—'It + is most certain that almost all through these parts have + regarded Morus as the author of the book called <i>Regii + Sanguinis Clamor</i>; for he corrected the sheets as they came + from the press, and some copies bore the name of Morus + subscribed to the Dedicatory Epistle, of which also he was the + author. He himself told a certain friend of mine that he was + the author of that Epistle: nay there is nothing more certain + than that Morus either assumed or acknowledged the authorship + of the same.' ... I add yet a third extract. It is from another + letter from the Hague:—'A man of the first rank in the + Hague has told me that he has in his possession a copy of the + <i>Regii Sanguinis Clamor</i> with Morus's own letter.'" + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Farther on Milton re-adverts to the same topic, in a passage + which it is also well to quote: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "You say you 'will produce not rumours merely, not + conversations merely, but letters, in proof that I had been + warned not to assail an innocent man.' Let us then inspect the + letter you publish, which was written to you by 'that highly + distinguished man, Lord Nieuport, ambassador of the Dutch + Confederation,'—a letter, it is evident, which you bring + forward to be read, not for any force of proof in it, for it + has none, but merely in ostentation. He—and it shows the + singular kindliness of 'the highly distinguished man' (for what + but goodness in him should make him take so much trouble on + your most unworthy account?)—goes to Mr. Secretary + Thurloe. He communicates your letter to Mr. Secretary. When he + saw that he had no success, he sends to me two honourable + persons, friends of mine, with that same letter of yours. What + do they do? They read me that letter of Morus, and they + request, and say that Ambassador Nieuport also requests, that I + will trust to your letter in which you deny being the author of + the <i>Clamor Regii Sanguinis</i>. I answered that what they + asked was not fair—that neither was Morus's word worth so + much, nor was it customary to believe, in contradiction to + common report and other ascertained evidence, the mere letter + of an accused person and an adversary denying what was alleged + against him. They, having nothing more to say on the other + side, give up the debate.... When afterwards the Ambassador + wanted to persuade Mr. Secretary Thurloe, he had still no + argument to produce but the same copy of your letter; whence it + is quite clear that those 'reasons' brought to me 'for which he + desired' me to be so good as not to publish my book had nothing + to do with reasons of State. Do not then corrupt the + Ambassador's letter. Nothing there of 'hostile spirit,' nothing + of the 'inopportune time;' all he writes is that he 'is sorry I + had chosen, notwithstanding his request, to show so little + moderation'—sorry, that is, that I had not chosen, at his + private request, to oblige you, a public adversary, and to + recall and completely rewrite a work already printed and all + but out. Let 'the highly distinguished man,' especially as an + Ambassador, hold me excused if I would not, and really could + not, condone public injuries on private intercessions." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Before Milton passes to the review of Morus's vindication of his + character and past career, he disposes of Dr. Crantzius and Ulac, + as objects intervening between him and that main task. For the + <i>Fides Publica</i>, it will be remembered, had been bound up + with that Hague edition of Milton's <i>Defensio Secunda</i> to + which the Rev. Dr. Crantzius had prefixed a preface in rebuke of + Milton and in defence of Morus, and to which Ulac had also + prefixed a statement replying to Milton's charges against him of + dishonesty and bankruptcy. Several pages are given to Dr. + Crantzius, who is called "a certain I know not what sort of a + bed-ridden little Doctor," then taxed with ignorance, garrulity, + and general imbecility, and at last kicked out of the way with + the phrase "But I do marvellously delight in Doctors." Ulac, as + having been reckoned with before, receives briefer notice. + "<i>You are a swindler, Ulac</i>, said I; <i>I am a good + Arithmetician</i>, says Ulac:" so the notice begins; and then + follow some sentences to the effect that Ulac's creditors had + been very ill satisfied with his <i>counting</i>, that the rule + of probity is not the <i>Logarithmic canon</i>, that correct + accounts are different things from <i>Tables of Sines</i> or + <i>Tables of Tangents and Secants</i>, and that acting on the + square is not necessarily taught by <i>Trigonometry</i>. After + which Milton reverts to Ulac's double-dealings with himself, + first in his fathering the abusive Dedication of the <i>Regii + Sanguinis Clamor</i> while he was corresponding with Milton's + friends in London and making kind inquiries about Milton's + health, and next in bringing out a pirated edition of the + <i>Defensio Secunda</i>, printing the same inaccurately, and + actually binding it up with the <i>Fides Publica</i> of Morus, so + as to compel a united sale of the two books for his own profit. + How a man could have published so coolly a book in which he was + himself held up as a rogue and swindler passes Milton's + comprehension; but Ulac, he seems to admit, was no ordinary + tradesman. + </p> + <p> + For poor Morus himself there is not an atom of mercy yet. All his + dexterous pleading, all his declarations of innocence, all his + pathetic appeals, all his citations of the decisions in his + favour in the Bontia case by the Walloon Synod and the Supreme + Court of Holland, are simply trampled under foot, and the charges + formerly made against him are ruthlessly reiterated as true + nevertheless. There are even additional details, and fresh + charges of the same kind, derived from more recent information. + The plan adopted by Milton is to go over the <i>Fides + Publica</i>, extracting phrases and sentences from it, and + commenting on each extract; but the general effect of the book is + that of the ruthless chasing round and round of the poor + ecclesiastic in a biographical ellipse, the two foci of which are + Geneva and Leyden. + </p> + <p> + Distinct evidence is produced that both at Geneva and in Holland + the <i>fama</i> against Morus was still as strong as ever. The + evidence takes the form of extracts from two letters received by + Milton since the <i>Fides Publica</i> had appeared;— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + <i>From a Letter from Geneva, dated Oct. 14, 1654</i> (i.e. + from that letter of Ezekiel Spanheim of which Milton had told + Spanheim that he meant to avail himself, though without + mentioning the writer's name: sec ante pp. 172-173). "Our + people here cannot sufficiently express their wonder that you + are so thoroughly acquainted with the private history of a man + unknown to you personally, and that you have painted him so in + his native colours that not even by those with whom he has been + on the most familiar terms could the whole play-acting career + of the man (<i>tota, hominis histrionia</i>) have been more + accurately or happily set forth; whence they are at a loss, and + I with them, to understand with what face, shameless though he + is and impudent-mouthed, he is on the point of daring again to + appear in the public theatre. For it is the consummation and + completeness of your success in this part of the business that + you have not brought forward either imagined or otherwise + unknown charges against the man, but charges of common + repetition in the mouths of all his greatest friends even, and + which can be clearly corroborated by the authority and vote of + the whole assembly, and even by the accession of farther + criminations to the same effect... I would assure you that + hardly any one can now longer be found here, where for many + years he discharged a public-office, but greatly to the + disgrace of this Church, who would dare or undertake longer to + lend his countenance to the man's prostituted character." + </p> + <p> + <i>From a Letter from Durie at Basel, Oct. 3, + 1654</i>:—"As regards Morus's vices and profligacy, + Hotton does not seem to entertain that opinion of him; I know, + however, that others speak very ill of him, that his hands are + against nearly everybody and everybody's hands against him, and + that many ministers even of the Walloon Synod are doing their + best to have him deprived of the pastoral office. Nor here in + Basel do I find men's opinion of him different from that in + Holland of those who like him least." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + The fresh, particulars of information that Milton had received + about Morus and his alleged misdeeds are unsparingly brought out. + The name of the woman of bad character at Geneva with whom Morus + was said to have been implicated there, and the scandal about + whom had driven him from Geneva, has now been ascertained by + Milton. It was Claudia Pelletta; and of her name, and all the + topographical details of Morus's alleged meetings with her, there + is enough and more than enough. Claudia Pelletta at Geneva, and + Bontia at Leyden, pull Morus between them page after page: not + that they only have claims, for in one sentence we hear of an + insulted widow somewhere in Holland, and in another of a dubious + female figure seen one rainy night with Morus in a street in + Amsterdam. But Bontia is still Milton's favourite. He repeats the + Latin epigram about her and Morus; he apologizes for having + hitherto called her Pontia, attributes the error to a misreading + of the MS. of that epigram when it first came from Holland, but + says he still thinks Pontia the prettier name; and, using + information that had recently reached him, though we have been in + prior possession of something equivalent (Vol. IV. p. 465), he + thus reminds Morus of his most memorable meeting with that brave + damsel:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "You remember perhaps that day, nay I am sure you remember the + day, and the hour and the place too, when, as I think, you and + Pontia [he still keeps to the form 'Pontia'] last met in the + house of Salmasius—you to renounce the marriage-bond, she + to make you name the day for the nuptials. When she saw, on the + contrary, that it was your intention to dissolve the + marriage-engagement made in the seduction, then lo! your + unmarried bride, for I will not call her Tisiphone, not able to + bear such a wrong, flew furiously at your face and eyes with + uncut nails. You who, on the testimony of Crantzius (for it is + right that so great a contest should not begin without + quotation from your own <i>Fides Publica</i>)—you who, on + the testimony of Crantzius, were <i>altier</i> in French, or + <i>fiercish</i> in Latin, and on the testimony of Diodati had + <i>terrible spurs for self-defence</i>, prepare to do your + manly utmost in this feminine kind of fight. Madame de Saumaise + stands by as Juno, arbiter of the contest, Salmasius himself, + lying in the next room ill with the gout, when he heard the + battle begun, almost dies with laughing. But alas! and O fie! + our unwarlike Alexander, no match for his Amazon, falls down + vanquished. She, getting her man underneath, then first, from + her position of vantage, goes at his forehead, his eye-brows, + his nose; with wonderful arabesques, and in a Phrygian style of + execution, she runs her finger-points over the whole countenace + of her prostrate subject: never were you less pleased, Morus, + with Pontia's lines of beauty. At last, with difficulty, either + margin of his cheeks fully written on, but the chin not yet + finished, up he rises, a man, by your leave, absolutely + nail-perfect, no mere Professor now but a Pontifical + Doctor,—for you might have inscribed upon him, as on a + painting, <i>Pontia fecit</i>. [We see now the reason for + keeping to the form 'Pontia.'] Doctor? Nay rather a codex in + which his vengeful critic had scraped her adverse comments with + a new stilus. You felt then, I think, Ulac's Tables of Tangents + and Secants, to a radius of I know not how many painful + ciphers, printed on your skin." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + How does Milton meet Morus's protestations of his innocence both + at Geneva and in Leyden, and the evidence he adduces in his + behalf? Respecting the protestations, he notes that they are + merely general and that, like his denials of the authorship of + the <i>Regii Sanguinis Clamor</i>, they are worded equivocally or + indistinctly. Why does he not deny the Pelletta charge and the + Bontia charge, and the other charges, one by one specifically, + and in a downright manner? Why does he not go back to Geneva, + face the living witnesses and the documentary evidence there + waiting him, and abide the issue? As for the decisions in his + favour in the Bontia case by the Walloon Synod and the Supreme + Court of Holland, of what worth are they? One could see, one had + even been informed, that there had been influences at work with + both tribunals to procure the result, such as it was. Many good, + but easy, men had thought it best, for the reputation of the + Christian ministry, not to rake too deeply into such an + unpleasant business. Especially in the Synod the proceedings had + been a farce. When Riverius, the moderator of the Synod, at the + close of the proceedings, had said to Morus, "<i>Never was a Moor + so whitewashed as you have been to-day</i>," could not everybody, + with any sense of humour, perceive that the Reverend gentleman + had been joking? Then, what had been the formal decision of the + Synod? "<i>That nothing had been found in the papers of weight to + take away from the Churches their wonted liberty of inviting M. + Morus to preach when there was occasion</i>." Was that a + whitewashing with which to be content? No wonder that Morus had + taken refuge among his paper testimonials. About the whole system + of Testimonials Milton is considerably dubious. He does not deny + that a public testimonial may be an honour, and that there may be + proper occasion for such things; but, real discernment of merit + being rare, and those who give and those who seek testimonials + being but a jumble of the good and the bad together, the abuses + of the system bring it into discredit. "The man of highest + quality needs another's testimonial the least; nor does any good + man ever do anything merely to make himself known." Waiving that + general question, however, one may <i>examine</i> Morus's + testimonials. + </p> + <p> + This examination of the testimonials is begun in the first or + main part of Milton's <i>Pro Se Defensio</i>; but, as Morus had + only entered on his testimonials in the <i>Fides Publica</i> as + originally published, and presented most of them in his + <i>Supplementum</i> to that book, so Milton prolongs this branch + of his criticism into an appendix entitled separately <i>Authoris + ad Aleasandri Mori Supplementum Responsio</i> ("The Author's + Answer to Alexander More's Supplement.") Prom the first sentences + of this Appendix we learn that the preceding part of Milton's + book had been written two months before the <i>Supplementum</i> + had come into his hands. + </p> + <p> + Morus's published Testimonials divide themselves chronologically, + it may have been observed, into three sets—(1) those given + him at Geneva early in the year 1648, and brought by him into + Holland on his removal thither, (2) those given him at Middleburg + between Nov. 1649 and Aug. 1652, and (3) the three given him at + Amsterdam in July 1654, after Milton's <i>Defensio Secunda</i> + had appeared, and in contradiction of statements made in that + book.—On the Genevese set of Testimonials, including that + from the venerable Diodati, Milton's criticism, in substance, is + that they were vitiated by their date. They had been given, or + obtained by hard begging, not perhaps before the Pelletta scandal + had been heard of, but before it had been sufficiently notorious, + and while it still seemed credible to many that Morus was + innocent, and others were good-naturedly willing to stop the + investigation by speeding him off to another scene, Theodore + Tronchin, pastor and Professor of Theology, and Mermilliod and + Pittet, two other pastors, had been the first movers, among the + Genevese clergy, for an inquiry into Morus's conduct; the elder + Spanheim had, as Milton believed, been one of those that even + then would have nothing to do with the Testimonials; the aged + Diodati had then for some time ceased to attend the meetings of + his brethren, and might not know all. But, in any case, nearly a + year had elapsed between the date of the last of those Genevese + Testimonials which Morus had published and Morus's actual + departure from Geneva. During that interval there had been a + progress of Genevese opinion on the subject of his character and + conduct, and he had been furnished with fresh papers in the + nature of farewell Testimonials. Morus had suppressed those. + Would he venture to produce them?—On the Middleburg + Testimonials the criticism is that they do not matter much one + way or another, but that they show Morus on the whole to have + soon been found a troublesome person in Holland also, some + business about whom was always coming up in the Walloon Synods. + In Middleburg too there had been a progress of opinion about him + with farther experience. His co-pastor there. M. Jean Long, who + had been his firm friend for a while, and had signed some of the + testimonials, was now understood to speak of him with absolute + detestation. Morus having produced some of these testimonials to + disprove Milton's assertion that he had been ejected by the + Middleburg church, Milton explains that he had not said + <i>ejected</i>, but only <i>turned adrift</i>, and that this was + substantially the fact. Now, however, if Durie's report is + correct, not only would the single Middleburg church, but nearly + the whole Walloon Synod also, willingly <i>eject</i> + him.—Milton's greatest difficulty is with the three + Amsterdam testimonials of July 1654. He has to admit that they + prove him to have been misinformed when he said that the + Amsterdam authorities had interdicted Morus from the pulpit, just + as he had been wrong in calling Morus's Amsterdam professorship + that of Greek. That admission made (and it was hard for Milton + ever to admit he was wrong, even in a trifle), he contents + himself with quoting sentences from the Amsterdam testimonials to + show how merely formal they were, how little hearty, and with + this characteristic observation about the Amsterdam dignitaries, + tossing their testimony aside in any case: "<i>Et id nescio</i>, + [Greek: aristindên] <i>an</i> [Greek: ploutindên], <i>virtute an + censu, magistratum ilium in civitate suâ obtineant</i>: And I + know not, moreover, whether it is by merit or by wealth that the + gentlemen hold that magistracy in their city." This is, + doubtless, Milton's return for the slighting mention of himself + in the Amsterdam testimonials.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: A Hague correspondent of Thurloe, commenting on the + appearance of the first part of Morus's <i>Fides Publica</i> + and its abrupt ending had written, Nov. 3, 1654, thus: "The + truth is Morus durst not add the sentence [text of the judicial + finding] against Pontia; for the charges are recompensed [costs + allowed her], and where there is payment of charges that is to + say that the action of Pontia is good, but that the proofs + fail.... The attestations of his life at Amsterdam and at the + Hague, he could not get them to his fancy" (Thurloe, 11.708). + </p> + </div> + <p> + While we have thus given, with tolerable completeness, an + abstract of Milton's extraordinary <i>Pro Se Defensio contra + Alexandrum Morum</i>, we have by no means noticed everything in + it that might be of interest in the study of Milton's character. + There is, for example, one very curious passage in which Milton, + in reply to a criticism of Morus, defends his use of very gross + words (<i>verba nuda et prætextata</i>) in speaking of very gross + things. He makes two daring quotations, one from Piso's Annals + and the other from Sallust, to show that he had good precedent; + and he cites Herodotus, Seneca, Suetonius, Plutarch, Erasmus, + Thomas More, Clement of Alexandria, Arnobius, Lactantlas, + Eusebius, and the Bible itself, as examples occasionally of the + very reverse of a squeamish euphemism. Of even greater interest + is a passage in which he foresees the charges of cruelty, + ruthlessness, and breach of literary etiquette, likely to be + brought against him on account of his treatment of Morus, and + expounds his theory on that subject. The passage may fitly + conclude our account of the <i>Pro Se Defensio</i>:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "To defame the bad and to praise the good, the one on the + principle of severe punishment and the other on that of high + reward, are equally just, and make up together almost the sum + of justice; and we see in fact that the two are of nearly equal + efficacy for the right management of life. The two things, in + short, are so interrelated, and so involved in one and the same + act, that the vituperation of the bad may in a sense be called + the praising of the good. But, though right, reason, and use + are equal on both sides, the acceptability is not the same + likewise; for whoever vituperates another bears the burden and + imputation of two very heavy things at once,—accusing + another, and thinking well of himself. Accordingly, all are + ready enough with praise, good and bad alike, and the objects + of their praise worthy and unworthy together; but no one either + dares or is able to accuse freely and intrepidly but the man of + integrity alone. Accustomed in our youth, under so many + masters, to make laborious displays of imaginary eloquence, and + taught to think that the demonstrative force of the same lies + no less in invective than in praise, we certainly do at the + desk hack to pieces bravely the traditional tyrants of + antiquity. Mezentius, if such is the chance, we slay over again + with unsavoury antitheta; or we roast to perfection Phalaris of + Agrigentum, as in his own bull, with lamentable bellowing of + enthymemes. In the debating room or lecture-room, I mean; for + in the State for the most part we rather adore and worship + such, and call them most powerful, most great, most august. The + proper thing would be either not to have spent our first years + in sport as imaginary declaimers, or else, when our country or + the State needs, to leave our mere fencing-foils, and venture + sometimes into the sun, and dust, and field of battle, to exert + real brawn, shake real arms, seek a real foe. The Suffeni and + Sophists of the past, on the one hand, the Pharisees and Simons + and Hymenæi and Alexanders of the past on the other, we go at + with many a weapon: those of the present day, and come to life + again in the Church, we praise with studied eulogies, we honour + with professorships, and stipends, and chairs, the incomparable + men that they are, the highly-learned and saintly. If it comes + to the censuring of one of them, if the mask and specious skin + of one of them are dragged off, if he is shown to be base + within, or even publicly and openly criminal, there are some + who, for what purpose or through what timidity I know not, + would have him publicly defended by testimonies in his favour + rather than marked with due animadversion. My principle, I + confess, and as the fact has several times proved, is far + enough apart from theirs, inasmuch as, if I have made any + profit when young in the literary leisure I then had, whether + by the instructions of learned men or by my own lucubrations, I + would employ the whole of it to the advantage of life and of + the human race, could I range so far, to the utmost of my weak + ability. And, if sometimes even out of private enmities public + delinquencies come to be exposed and corrected, and I have now, + impelled by all possible reasons, prosecuted with most just + invective, nor yet without proper result, not an adversary of + my own merely, but one who is the common adversary of almost + all, a nefarious man, a disgrace to the Reformed Religion and + to the sacred order especially, a dishonour to learning, a most + pernicious teacher of youth, an unclean ecclesiastic, it will + be seen, I hope, by those who are chiefly interested in making + an example of him (for why should I not so trust?), that herein + I have performed an action neither displeasing to God, nor + unwholesome to the Church, nor unuseful to the State." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + What a blast this to pursue poor Morus over the Continent! It + would seem as if, in expectation of it, he had put himself as far + as he could out of hearing. When Milton's <i>Pro Se Defensio</i> + appeared, Morus was no longer in France, but in Italy; and it was + not till May, 1656, or nine months after, that he reappeared in + Holland. Then, as he had outrun by more than a year his formal + leave of absence from his Amsterdam professorship, granted Dec, + 20, 1654, there seem to have been strict inquiries as to the + causes of his long absence. It was explained that he had fallen + ill at Florence; it also came out that he had had a very + distinguished reception from the Grand Duke of Tuscany, and that + the Venetian Senate had presented him with a chain of gold for a + Latin poem he had written on a recent defeat of the Turks at sea + by the Venetian navy; and, what was most to the point, it + appeared, by addresses of his own at Amsterdam, and at a meeting + of the Walloon Synod at Leyden, that he had found in Italy great + opportunities "for advancing the glory of God by the preaching of + the Gospel." We know independently that, while in Italy, he had + made acquaintance with some of those wits and scholars among whom + Milton had moved so delightfully in his visit of 1638-9, and + among whom Heinsius had been back in 1652-3, to find that they + still remembered Milton, and could talk about him (Vol. IV. pp. + 475-476); and it is even startling to have evidence from Moms + himself that he exchanged especial compliments at Rome with + Milton's old friend Holstenius, the Vatican librarian, and became + so very intimate at Florence with Milton's beloved Carlo Dati as + to receive from Dati the most affectionate attention and nursing + through his illness. And so, all seeming fully satisfied at + Amsterdam, he resumed his duties in the Amsterdam School. Not to + be long at peace, however. Hardly had he returned when, either on + the old charges, now so terrifically reblazoned through Holland + by Milton's perseverance for his ruin, or on new charges arising + from new incidents, he and the Walloon church-authorities were + again at feud. In this uncomfortable state we must leave him for + the present.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Bayle's Dict, Art. <i>Morus</i>, and Bruce's Life of Morus, + pp. 142-145 and 204-205. This last book is a curiosity. One + hardly sees why the life and character of Morus should have so + fascinated the Rev. Archibald Bruce, who was minister of the + Associate Congregation at Whitburn, in Linlithgowshire, from + 1768 to 1816, and Professor of Theology there for the Associate + Presbyterian Synod for nearly all that time. He was a worthy + and learned man, for whom Dr. McCrie, the author of the Life of + John Knox, and of the same Presbyterian denomination, + entertained a more "profound veneration" than for any other man + on earth (see Life of McCrie by his son, edit. 1840, pp. + 52-57). He was "a Whig of the Old School," with liberal + political opinions in the main, but strongly opposed to Roman + Catholic emancipation; which brought him into connexion with + Lord George Gordon, of the "No Popery Riots" of 1780. He wrote + many books and pamphlets, and kept a printer at Whitburn for + his own use. He may have been drawn to Morus by his interest in + the history of Presbyterianism abroad, especially as Morus was + of Scottish parentage, or by his interest in the proceedings of + Presbyterian Church Courts in such cases of scandal as that of + Morus. At any rate, he defends Morus throughout most + resolutely, and with a good deal of scholarly painstaking. + Milton, on the other hand, he thoroughly dislikes, and + represents as a most malicious and un-Christian man, + consciously untruthful, and of most lax theology to boot. To be + sure, he was the author of <i>Paradise Lost</i>; but that + much-praised poem had serious religious defects too! There is + something actually refreshing in the <i>naïveté</i> and courage + with which the sturdy Professor of the Associate Synod + propounds his own dissent from the common + Milton-worship.—The authority for Morus's + acquaintanceship in Italy with Holstenius and Dati is the + collection of his Latin Poems, a thin quarto, published at + Paris in 1669, under the title of <i>Alexandri Mori + Poemata</i>. It contains his poem, a longish one in Hexameters, + on the victory of the Venetians over the Turks; also verses to + the Grand-Duke of Tuscany; also obituary elegiacs to Diodati of + Geneva, and several pieces to or on Salmasius. One piece, in + elegiacs, is addressed "<i>Ad Franciscum Turretinum, raræ + indolis ac summæ spei juvenem</i>." This Francis Turretin (so + addressed, I suppose, long ago, when he and Morus were in + Geneva together) was, if I mistake not, the famous Turretin of + Milton's letter about Morus to Ezekiel Spanheim (ante pp. + 173-176). Among the other pieces are one to Holstenius and one + to Carlo Dati. In the first Morus, speaking of his introduction + to Holstenius and to the Vatican library together, says he does + not know which seemed to him the greater library. The poem to + Dati is of considerable length, in Hexameters, and entitled + "<i>Ægri Somnium: ad præstantem virum Carolum Dati</i>" ("An + Invalid's Dream: To the excellent Carlo Dati"). It represents + Morus as very ill in Florence and thinking himself dying. + Should he die in Florence and be buried there, he would have a + poetic inscription over his grave to the effect that while + alive he also had cultivated the Muses, and begging the + passer-by to remember his name ("<i>Qui legis hæc obiter, + Morique morique memento</i>"). How kind Dati had been to + him—Dati, "than whom there is not a better man, the + beloved of all the sister Muses, the ornament of his country, + having the reputation of being all but unique in Florence for + learning in the vanished arts, siren at once in Tuscan, Latin, + and Greek! ... This Dati soothed my fever-fits with the music + of his liquid singing, and sat by my bed-side, and spoke words + of sweetness, which inhere yet in my very marrow." And so + Milton's Italian friend of friends (Vol. III. pp. 551-654 and + 680-683) had been charitable to poor Morus, whom he knew to be + a fugitive from Milton's wrath, and who could name Milton, if + at all, only with tears and cursing. + </p> + </div> + <p> + It is now high time, however, to answer a question which must + have suggested itself again and again in the course of our + narrative of the Milton and Morus controversy. Who was the real + author of the book for which Morus had been so dreadfully + punished, and what was the real amount of Morus's responsibility + in it? + </p> + <p> + That Milton's original belief on this subject had been shaken has + been already evident. He had written his <i>Defensio Secunda</i>, + in firm reliance on the universal report that Morus was the one + proper author of the <i>Regii Sanguinis Clamor</i>, or that it + had been concocted between him and Salmasius; and, though Morus's + denial of the authorship had been formally conveyed to him before + the <i>Defensio Secunda</i> left the press, he had let it go + forth as it was, in the conviction that he was still not wrong in + the main. The more express and reiterated denials of Morus in the + <i>Fides Publica</i>, however, with the references there to + another person as the real author, though Morus was not at + liberty to divulge his name, had produced an effect. The + authorship of the <i>Regii Sanguinis Clamor</i> was then indeed a + secondary question, inasmuch as in the <i>Fides Publica</i> Morus + had interposed himself personally,—not only in + self-defence, but also for counter-attack on Milton. Still, as + the <i>Fides Publica</i> would never have been written had not + Milton assumed Morus to be the author of the <i>Regii Sanguinis + Clamor</i> and dragged him before the world solely on that + account, Milton had necessarily, in replying to the <i>Fides + Publica</i>, adverted to the secondary question. His assertion + now, i.e, in the <i>Pro Se Defensio</i>, was a modified one. It + was that, whatever facts had yet to be revealed respecting the + authorship of the four or five parts of the compound book + severally, he yet knew for certain that Morus had been the editor + of the whole book, the corrector of the press for the whole, the + busy and ostentatious agent in the circulation of early copies, + and the writer at least of the Dedicatory Preface to Charles II., + put forth in Ulac's name. The question for us now is how far this + modified assertion of Milton was correct. + </p> + <p> + Almost to a tittle, it <i>was</i>. That Morus was the editor of + the book, the corrector of the press, and the active agent in the + circulation of early copies, may be taken as established by the + documentary proofs furnished by Milton, and is corroborated by + independent evidence known to ourselves long ago (Vol. IV. pp. + 459-465). But was he also partially the author? Here too Milton's + evidence may be taken as conclusive, so far as respects the + Dedicatory Epistle to Charles II. That Epistle, with its enormous + praises of Salmasius, and its extremely malignant notice of + Milton, was undoubtedly by Morus, for copies of it signed by + himself were still extant. So far, therefore, Milton was right in + saying that Morus's denial of the authorship of the <i>Regii + Sanguinis Clamor</i> was an equivocation, resting on a tacit + distinction between the body of the book and the additional or + editorial matter. In several passages Morus himself had betrayed + this equivocation, but in none so remarkably as in a sentence to + the peculiar phrasing of which we called attention in quoting it + (ante p. 159). Protesting that he had not so much as known the + fact of Milton's blindness at the time of the publication of the + <i>Regii Sanguinis Clamor</i>, and therefore could not have been + guilty of the heartless allusion to it in the Dedicatory Epistle, + he there said, "<i>If anything occurred to me that might seem to + look that way, I referred to the mind</i>,"—a phrase which + it is difficult to construe otherwise than as an admission that + he had written the Dedicatory Epistle, but had employed the + familiar quotation there ("<i>monstrum horrendum, informe, + ingens, cui lumen ademptum</i>") only metaphorically. All in all, + then, the authorship of the Dedicatory Epistle, as well as the + editorship and adoption of the whole anonymous book, is fastened + upon Morus. With this amount of responsibility fastened upon him, + however, Morus must be dismissed, and another person brought to + the bar. He was the Rev. DR. PETER DU MOULIN the younger. + </p> + <p> + The Du Moulins were a French family, well known in England. The + father, Dr. Peter Du Moulin the elder (called <i>Molinæus</i> in + Latin), was a French Protestant theologian of great celebrity. He + had resided for a good while in England in the reign of James I., + officiating as French minister in London, and in much credit with + the King and others; but, on the death of James, he had returned + to France. At our present date he was still alive at the age of + eighty-seven, and still not so much out of the world but that + people in different countries continued to think of him as a + contemporary and to quote his writings. There are references to + him, far from disrespectful, in one of Milton's Anti-Episcopal + Pamphlets in reply to Bishop Hall.<sup>1</sup> Two of his sons, + both born in France, had settled permanently in England, and had + become passionately interested in English public affairs, though + in very different directions.—The younger of these, LEWIS + DU MOULIN, born 1606, having taken the degree of Doctor of Physic + at Leyden, had come to England when but a young man, and, after + having been incorporated in the same degree at Cambridge (1684), + had been in medical practice in London. At the beginning of the + Long Parliament, he had taken the Parliamentarian side, and had + written, under the name of "Irenæus Philalethes," two Latin + pamphlets against Bishop Hall's <i>Episcopacy by Divine + Right</i>—pamphlets very much in the same vein of + root-and-branch Church Reform as those of the Smectymnuans and + Milton at the same time. Since then, still adhering to the + Parliament through the Civil War, he had become well known as an + Independent—much, it is said, to the chagrin of his old + father, who was a Presbyterian, with leanings to moderate + Episcopacy; and in 1647, in the Parliamentary visitation of the + University of Oxford, he had been rewarded with the Camden + Professorship of History in that University. He had been made + M.D. of Oxford in 1649. At least three publications had come from + his pen since his appointment to the Professorship, one of them a + Translation into Latin (1650) of the first chapter of Milton's + <i>Eikonoklastes</i>. From this we should infer, what is + independently likely, that he was acquainted with Milton + personally.<sup>2</sup>—Very different from the Independent + and Commonwealth's man Lewis Du Monlin. M.D. and History + Professor of Oxford, was his elder brother PETER DU MOULIN, D.D. + Born in 1600, he had been educated, like his brother, at Leyden, + and had taken his D.D. degree there. He is first heard of in + England in 1640, when he was incorporated in the same degree at + Cambridge; and at the beginning of the Civil War he was so far a + naturalised Englishman as to be Rector of Wheldrake, near York. + From that time, though a zealous Calvinist theologically, he was + as intensely Royalist and Episcopalian as his brother was + Parliamentarian and Independent. So we learn most distinctly from + a brief MS. sketch of his life through the Civil Wars and the + Commonwealth, written by himself after the Restoration, for + insertion into a copy of the second edition of one of his books, + of date 1660, presented by him to the library of Canterbury + Cathedral. "Our gracious King and now glorious Martyr, Charles + the First, he there says, finding that his rebellious subjects, + not content to make war against him in his kingdom, assaulted him + with another war out of his kingdom with their tongues and pens, + he set out a Declaration to invite all his loving subjects and + friends that could use the tongues of the neighbouring states to + represent with their pens the justice of his cause, especially to + Protestant Churches abroad. That Declaration smote my heart, as + particularly addressed to me; and I took it as a command laid + upon me by God himself. Whereupon I made a solemn vow to God + that, as far as Latin and French could go in the world, I would + make the justice of the King's and the Church's cause to be + known, especially to the Protestants of France and the Low + Countries, whom the King's enemies did chiefly labour to seduce + and misinform. To pay my vow, I first made this book" [entitled + originally "<i>Apologie de la Religion Reformée, et de la + Monarchie et de I'Église d'Angleterre, contre les Calomnies de la + Ligue Rebelle de quelques Anglois et Écossois</i>"; but in an + imperfect English translation the title was afterwards changed + into "<i>History of the Presbyterians</i>", and in the second + French edition, on a copy of which Du Moulin was now writing, it + became "<i>Histoire des Nouveaux Presbytériens, Anglois et + Écossois</i>"]—which was begun "at York, during the siege + [i.e. June 1644, just before Marston Moor], in a room whose + chimney was beaten down by the cannon while I was at my work; + and, after the siege and my expulsion from my Rectory at + Wheldrake, it was finished in an underground cellar, where I lay + hid to avoid warrants that were out against me from committees to + apprehend me and carry me prisoner to Hull. Having finished the + book, I sent it to be printed in Holland by the means of an + officer of the Master of the Posts at London, Mr. Pompeo + Calandrini, who was doing great and good services to the King in + that place. But, the King being dead, and the face of public + businesses altered, I sent for my MS. out of Holland, and + reformed it for the new King's service. And it was printed, but + very negligently, by Samuel Browne at the Hague [1649?] ... Much + about the same time I set out my Latin Poem, <i>Ecclesiæ + Gemitus</i> ('Groans of the Church'), with, a long Epistle to all + Christians in the defence of the King and the Church of England; + and, two years after [1652], <i>Clamor Regii Sanguinis ad + Coelum</i>. God blessed these books, and gave them the intended + effect, the disabusing of many misinformed persons. And it was so + well resented by his Majesty, then at Breda, that, being showed + my sister Mary among a great company of ladies, he brake the + crowd to salute her, and tell her that he was very sensible of + his obligations to her brother, and that, if ever God settled him + in his kingdom, he would make him know that he was a grateful + prince." Here, then, in Dr. Peter Du Moulin's own hand, though + not till after the Restoration, we have the <i>Regii Sanguinis + Clamor</i> claimed as his, with the information that it was one + of a series of books written by him with the special design of + maintaining the cause of Charles II. and discrediting the + Commonwealth among Continental Protestants.<sup>3</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: See close of <i>Animadversions on the Remonstrant's + Defence</i>. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Wood's Fasti, II. 125-126; Whitlocke, II. 290. The writings + of Lewis Du Moulin I have here mentioned are known to me only + by the titles and descriptions given by Wood and his annotator + Dr. Bliss. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 3: Wood's Fasti, II. 195; and <i>Gentleman's Magazine</i> for + 1773, pp. 369-370. In the last is given the autobiographic + sketch of Du Moulin, transcribed from the copy of his + <i>Histoire des Nouveaux Presbytériens</i> (edit. 1660) in the + Canterbury Library.—The Mary du Moulin, the sister of + Peter and Lewis, mentioned in the autobiographic sketch, died + at the Hague in Feb. 1699, having, like most of the Du Moulins, + attained a great age. The father, Dr. Peter the elder, died in + 1658 at the age of ninety; Lewis died in 1683 at the age of + seventy-seven; and Peter the younger, of the <i>Regii Sanguinis + Clamor</i>, died in 1684 at the age of eighty-four.—The + reader will have noted the Pompeo Calandrini mentioned as an + official in the London Post Office in the time of the Civil + War, and as secretly aiding Charles I. in his correspondence. + He was, doubtless, of the Italian-Genevese family of + Calandrinis already mentoned, <i>ante</i> pp. 172-173 and + footnote. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Yet farther proof on the subject, also from Dr. Peter's own hand. + In the Library of Canterbury Cathedral there is, or was, his own + copy of the original edition of the <i>Regii Sanguinis + Clamor</i>; and in that copy the preliminary Dedicatory Epistle + in Ulac's name to Charles II. is marked for deletion, and has + these words prefixed to it in Du Moulin's hand; "<i>Epistola, + quam aiunt esse Alexandri Mori, quæ mihi valde non probatur</i>" + ("Epistle which they say is by Alexander Morus, and which is not + greatly to my taste"),<sup>1</sup> All the rest, therefore, was + his own. But, to remove all possible doubt, we have the still + more complete and exact information furnished by him in 1670, + Milton then still alive and in the first fame of his <i>Paradise + Lost</i>. In that year there appeared from the Cambridge + University Press a volume entitled <i>Petri Molinæi P. F. [Greek: + Parerga]: Poematum Libelli Tres</i>. It was a collection of Dr. + Peter Du Moulin's Latin Poems, written at various times of his + life, and now arranged by him in three divisions, separately + title-paged, entitled respectively "Hymns to the Apostles' + Creed," "Groans of the Church" (<i>Ecclesiæ Gemitus</i>), and + "Varieties." In the second division were reprinted the two Latin + Poems that had originally formed part of the <i>Regii Sanguinis + Clamor</i>, with their full titles as at first: to wit, the + "Eucharistic Ode," to the great Salmasius for his <i>Defensio + Regia</i>, and the set of scurrilous Iambics "To the Bestial + Blackguard John Milton, Parricide and Advocate of the Parricide." + With reference to the last there are several explanations for the + reader in Latin prose at different points in the volume. At one + place the reader is assured that, though the Iambics against + Milton, and some other things in the volume, may seem savage, + zeal for Religion and the Church, in their hour of sore trial, + had been a sufficient motive for writing them, and they must not + be taken as indicating the private character of the author, as + known well enough to his friends. At another place (pp. 141-2 of + the volume) there is, by way of afterthought or extension, a + larger and more express statement about the Iambics against + Milton, which must here be translated in full: "Into what danger + I was thrown," says Du Moulin, "by the first appearance of this + Poem in the <i>Clamor Regii Sanguinis</i> would not seem to me + worthy of public notice now, were it not that the miracle of + divine protection by which I was kept safe is most worthy of the + common admiration of the good and the praise of the Supreme + Deliverer. I had sent my manuscript sheets to the great + Salmasius, who entrusted them to the care of that most learned + man, Alexander Morus. This Morus delivered them to the printer, + and prefixed to them an Epistle to the King, in the Printer's + name, exceedingly eloquent and full of good matter. When that + care of Morus over the business of printing the book had become + known to Milton through the spies of the Regicides in Holland, + Milton held it as an ascertained fact that Morus was the author + of the <i>Clamor;</i> whence that most virulent book of Milton's + against Morus, entitled <i>Defensio Secunda pro Populo + Anglicano</i>. It had the effect, moreover, of making enemies for + Morus in Holland; for at that time the English Tyrants were very + much feared in foreign parts. Meanwhile I looked on in silence, + and not without a soft chuckle, at seeing my bantling laid at + another man's door, and the blind and furious Milton fighting and + slashing the air, like the hoodwinked horse-combatants in the old + circus, not knowing by whom he was struck and whom he struck in + return. But Morus, unable to stand out against so much ill-will, + began to cool in the King's cause, and gave Milton to know who + the author of the <i>Clamor</i> really was (<i>Clamoris authorem + Miltono indicavit</i>). For, in fact, in his Reply to Milton's + attack he produced two witnesses, of the highest credit among the + rebels, who might have well known the author, and could divulge + him on being asked. Thus over me and my head there hung the most + certain destruction. But that great Guardian of Justice, to whom + I had willingly devoted both my labour and my life, wrought out + my safety through Milton's own pride, as it is customary with His + Wisdom to bring good out of evil, and light out of darkness. For + Milton, who had gone full tilt at Morus with his canine + eloquence, and who had made it almost the sole object of his + <i>Defensio Secunda</i> to cut up the life and reputation of + Morus, never could be brought to confess that he had been so + grossly mistaken: fearing, I suppose, that the public would make + fun of his blindness, and that grammar-school boys would compare + him to that blind Catullus in Juvenal who, meaning to praise the + fish presented to Domitian, + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p class="i8"> + "'Made a long speech, + </p> + <p> + Facing the left, while on his right there lay + </p> + <p> + The actual turbot.' + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: <i>Gentleman's Magazine</i> for 1773, as in last note. + </p> + </div> + <p> + "And so, Milton persisting in his blundering charge against Morus + for that dangerous service to the King, the other Rebels could + not, without great damage to their good patron, proceed against + any other than Morus as guilty of so great a crime. And, as + Milton preferred my getting off scatheless to being found in a + ridiculous position himself, I had this reward for my pains, that + Milton, whom I had treated so roughly, turned out my patron and + sedulous body-guard. Don't laugh, reader; but give best thanks, + with me, to God, the most good, the most great, and the most + wise, deliverer." + </p> + <p> + This final version of the story of Du Moulin (in 1670, remember) + seems to have become current among those who, after the + Restoration, retained any interest in the subject. Thus, Aubrey, + in his notes for Milton's life, written about 1680, has a + memorandum to this effect, giving "Mr. Abr. Hill" as his + authority: "His [Milton's] sharp writing against Alexander More + of Holland, upon a mistake, notwithstanding he [Morus] had given + him [Milton], by the ambassador, all satisfaction to the + contrary, viz. that the book called <i>Clamor</i> was writ by + Peter Du Moulin. Well, that was all one [said Milton]; he having + writ it [the <i>Defensio Secunda</i>], it should go into the + world: one of them was as bad as the + other.'"—<i>Bentrovato</i>; but there is at least one vital + particular in which neither Du Moulin's amusing statement in 1670 + nor Aubrey's subsequent anecdote seems to be consistent with the + exact truth as already before us in the documents. The secret of + the real authorship of the <i>Regii Sanguinis Clamor</i> had been + better and longer kept than Du Moulin's statement would lead us + to suppose. Even Ulac in 1654, as we have seen, while declaring + that Morus was not the author, could not tell who else he was. + Morus himself did then know, having been admitted into the + secret, probably from the first; and several others then knew, + having been told in confidence by Salmasius, Morus, or Du Moulin. + Charles II. himself seems to have been informed. But that Morus + had refrained from divulging the secret generally, or + communicating it in a precise manner to Milton, even at the + moment when he was frantically trying to avert Milton's wrath and + stop the publication of the <i>Defensio Secunda</i>, seems + evident, and must go to his credit. In the remonstrance with + Thurloe, in May 1654, through the Dutch ambassador Nieuport, + intended to stop the publication when, it was just leaving the + press, we hear only of the denial of Morus that he was the + author—nothing of any information from him that Du Moulin + was the real author; and, though Durie had about the same time + informed Milton in a letter from the Hague that he had heard the + book attributed, on private authority from Morus, to "a certain + French minister," no name was given. Farther, in the <i>Fides + Publica</i>, published some months afterwards, Morus was still + almost chivalrously reticent. While declaring that the real + author was "alive and well," and while describing him negatively + so far as to say that he was not in Holland, nor within the + circle of Morus's own acquaintances, he still avoids naming him, + and only appeals to himself to come forward and own his + performance. And so, as late as August 1655, when Milton replied + to Morus in his <i>Pro Se Defensio</i>, the evidence still is + that, though he had more correct ideas by that time as to the + amount and nature of Morus's responsibility for the book, and was + aware of some other author at the back of Morus, he had not yet + ascertained who this other author was, and still thought that the + defamatory Iambics against himself, as well as the Dedicatory + Epistle to Charles II., might be Morus's own. It seems to me + possible that not till after the Restoration did Milton know that + the alleged "French Minister" at the back of Morus in the + <i>Regii Sanguinis Clamor</i> was Dr. Peter Du Moulin, or at all + events that not till then did he know that the defamatory + Iambics, as well as the main text, were that gentleman's. The + only person who could have put an end to the mystery completely + was Du Moulin himself, and not till after the Restoration, as we + have seen, was it convenient, or even safe, for Du Moulin to avow + his handiwork. + </p> + <p> + Yet all the while, as Du Moulin himself hints in his confession + of 1670, he had been, if we may so express it, close at Milton's + elbow. In 1652, when the <i>Regii Sanguinis Clamor</i> appeared, + Du Moulin, then fifty-two years of age, and knows as a + semi-naturalized Frenchman, the brother of Professor Lewis Du + Moulin of Oxford, had been going about in England as an ejected + parson from Yorkshire, the very opposite of his brother in + politics. He had necessarily known something of Milton already; + and, indeed, in the book itself there is closer knowledge of + Milton's position and antecedents than would have been easy for + Salmasius, or Morus, or any other absolute foreigner. The author + had evidently read Milton's <i>Tenure of Kings and + Magistrates</i> and his <i>Eikonoklastes</i>, as well as his + <i>Defensio Prima</i>; he was aware of the significance given to + the first of these treatises by the coincidence of its date with + the King's Trial, and could represent it as actually a cause of + the Regicide; he had gone back also upon Milton's Divorce + Pamphlets and Anti-Episcopal Pamphlets, and had collected hints + to Milton's detriment out of the attacks made upon him by Bishop + Hall and others during the Smectymnuan controversy. All this + acquaintance with Milton, the phrasing being kept sufficiently + indefinite, Du Moulin could show in the book without betraying + himself. That, as he has told us, would have been his ruin. The + book, though shorter than the <i>Defensio Regia</i> of Salmasius, + was even a more impressive and successful vilification of the + Commonwealth than that big performance; and not even to the son + of the respected European theologian Molinaeus, and the brother + of such a favourite of the Commonwealth as Dr. Lewis Du Moulin, + could Parliament or the Council of State have shown mercy after + such an offence. As for Milton, the attack on whom ran through + the more general invective, not for "forty thousand brothers" + would <i>he</i> have kept his hands off Dr. Peter had he known. + Providentially, however, Dr. Peter remained <i>incognito</i>, and + it was Morus that was murdered, Dr. Peter looking on and "softly + chuckling." Rather, I should say, getting more and more alarmed, + and almost wishing that the book had never been written, or at + all events praying more and more earnestly that he might not be + found out, and that Morus, murdered irretrievably at any rate, + would take his murdering quietly and hold his tongue. For the + Commonwealth had firmly established itself meanwhile, and had + passed into the Protectorate; and all rational men in Europe had + given up the cause of the Stuarts, and come to regard pamphlets + in their behalf as so much waste paper; and was it not within the + British Islands after all, ruled over though they were by Lord + Protector Cromwell, that a poor French divine of talent, tied to + England already by various connexions, had the best chances and + outlooks for the future? So, it appears, Du Moulin had reasoned + with himself, and so he had acted. "After Ireland was reduced by + the Parliamentary forces," we are informed by Wood, "he lived + there, some time at Lismore, Youghal, and Dublin, under the + patronage of Richard, Earl of Cork. Afterward, going into + England, he settled in Oxon (where he was tutor or governor to + Charles, Viscount Dungarvan, and Mr. Richard Boyle his brother); + lived there two or more years, and preached constantly for a + considerable time in the church of St. Peter in the + East."<sup>1</sup> His settlement at Oxford, near his brother Dr. + Lewis, dates itself, as I calculate, about 1654; and it must have + been chiefly thence, accordingly, that he had watched Milton's + misdirected attentions to poor Morus, knowing himself to be "the + actual turbot." There is proof, however, as we shall find, that + he was, from that date onwards, a good deal in London, and, what + is almost startlingly strange, in a select family society there + which must have brought him into relations with Milton, and + perhaps now and then into his company. Du Moulin could believe in + 1670 that Milton even then knew his secret, and that he owed his + escape to Milton's pride and unwillingness to retract his blunder + about Morus. We have seen reason to doubt that; and, indeed, + Milton, had, in his second Morus publication, put himself + substantially right with the public about the extent of Morus's + concern in the <i>Regii Sanguinis Clamor</i>, and had scarcely + anything to retract. What he could do in addition was Du Moulin's + danger. He could drag a new culprit to light and immolate a + second victim. That he refrained may have been owing, as we have + supposed most likely, to his continued ignorance that the Dr. Du + Moulin now going about in Oxford and in London, so near himself, + was the original and principal culprit; or, if he did have any + suspicions of the fact, there may have been other reasons, in and + after 1655, for a dignified silence. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Wood's Fasti, II. 195. + </p> + </div> + <p> + In proceeding from the month of August 1655, when Milton + published his <i>Pro Se Defensio</i>, to his life through the + rest of Oliver's Protectorate, it is as if we were leaving a + cluster of large islands that had detained us long by their size + and by the storms on their coasts, and were sailing on into a + tract of calmer sea, where the islands, though numerous, are but + specks in comparison. The reason of this is that we are now out + of the main entanglement of the Salmasius and Morus controversy. + Milton had taken leave of that subject, and indeed of controversy + altogether for a good while. + </p> + <p> + In the original memoirs of Milton due note is taken of this calm + in his life after his second castigation of Morus. "Being now + quiet from state adversaries and public contests," says Phillips, + "he had leisure again for his own studies and private designs"; + and Wood's phrase is all but identical: "About the time that he + had finished these things, he had more leisure and time at + command." Both add that, in this new leisure, he turned again at + once to those three labours which had been occupying him, at + intervals, for so many years, and which were, in fact, always in + reserve as his favourite hack-employments when he had nothing + else to do—his compilations for his intended <i>Thesaurus + Linguæ Latinæ</i>, his <i>History of Britain</i>, and his <i>Body + of Biblical Theology</i>. The mere mention of such works as again + in progress in the house in Petty France in the third or fourth + year of Milton's blindness confirms conclusively the other + evidences that he had by this time overcome in a remarkable + manner the worst difficulties of his condition. One sees him in + his room, daily for hours together, with his readers and + amanuenses, directing them to this or that book on the shelves, + listening as they read the passages wanted, interrupting and + requiring another book, listening again, interrupting again, and + so at length dictating his notes, and giving cautions as to the + keeping of them. His different sets of papers, with the volumes + most in use, are familiar now even to his own touch in their + places on the table or the floor; and, when his amanuenses are + gone, he can sit on by himself, revising the day's work mentally, + and projecting the sequel. And so from day to day, with the + variation of his afternoon exercise in the garden, or the walk + beyond it in some one's company into the park or farther, or an + occasional message from Thurloe on office-business, or calls from + friends singly or two or three together, and always, of course, + at intervals through the day, the pleased contact of the blind + hands with the stops of the organ. + </p> + <p> + Among the inmates of the house in Petty France in the latter part + of 1655, besides the blind widower himself, were his three little + orphan girls, the eldest, Anne, but nine years of age, the + second, Mary, but seven, and the youngest, Deborah, only three. + How they were tended no one knows; but one fancies them seeing + little of their father, and left very much to the charge of + servants. Two women-servants, with perhaps a man or boy to wait + on Milton personally, may have completed the household, unless + Milton's two nephews are to be reckoned as also belonging to it. + </p> + <p> + That the nephews still hovered about Milton, and resided with him + occasionally, together or by turn, giving him their services as + amanuenses, appears to be certain. Edward Phillips was now + twenty-five years of age, and John Phillips twenty-four; but + neither of them had taken to any profession, or had any other + means of subsistence than private pedagogy, with such work for + the booksellers as could be obtained by their own ability or + through their uncle's interest. The younger, as we know, had made + some name for himself by his <i>Joannis Philippi, Angli, + Responsio</i> of 1652, written in behalf of his uncle, and under + his uncle's superintendence; and it is probable that both the + brothers had in the interval been doing odds and ends of literary + work. There are verses by both among the commendatory poems + prefixed to the first two parts of Henry Lawes's <i>Ayres and + Dialogues for one, two, or three Voices</i>, published in 1653, + as a sequel to that previous publication of 1648, entitled + <i>Choice Psalmes put into musick for three Voices</i>, which had + contained Milton's own sonnet to Lawes; and in the <i>Divine + Poems</i> of Thomas Washbourne, a Gloucestershire clergyman, + published in 1654, there are "Verses to his friend Thomas + Washbourne" by Edward Phillips. In this latter year, I find, John + Phillips must have been away for some time in Scotland, for in a + letter to Thurloe dated "Wood Street, Compter, 11th April, 1654", + the writer—no other than Milton's interesting friend Andrew + Sandelands, now back from Scotland himself—mentions + Phillips as there instead. Sandelands had not ceased, under the + Protectorate, to try to make himself useful to the Government, + and so get restored to his Rectory; and, as nothing had come of + his grand proposal about the woods of Scotland, he had interested + himself in a new business: viz. "the prosecution of that + information concerning the Crown Lands in Scotland which his + Highness and the late Council of State did refer to the + Commissioners at Leith." Assuring Thurloe that he had been + diligent in the affair, he says, "I have employed Mr. John + Phillips, Mr. Milton's kinsman, to solicit the business, both + with the Judges at Edinburgh and with the Commissioners at Leith; + who by <i>his last letter</i> promiseth to give me a very good + account very speedily." Whether this means that Sandelands had + himself sent Phillips from London to Scotland on the business, or + only that, knowing Phillips to be already in Scotland, he had put + the business into his hands, in either case one discerns an + attempt on Milton's part to find some public employment, other + than clerkship under himself, for the unsteady Phillips. The + attempt, however, must have failed; for in 1655 Phillips was back + in London, still a Bohemian, and apparently in a mood that boded + ill for his ever being anything else.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Wood's Ath. IV. 760-769 and 212; Lawes's <i>Ayres and + Dialogues</i>; Thurloe, II. 226-227.—At the date of the + letter to Thurloe (April 11, 1654) Sandelands was still in + great straits. He had been arrested for debt and was then in + prison. He reminds Thurloe of his attempts to be useful for the + last year or more, not forgetting his project, in the winter of + 1652-3, of timber and tar from the Scottish woods. The "stirs + in Scotland" since, it appears, had obstructed that design + after it had been lodged, through Milton, with the Committee of + the Admiralty; but Sandelands hopes it may be revived, and + recommends a beginning that summer in the wood of Glenmoriston + about Loch Ness, where the English soldiers are to be plentiful + at any rate. "Sir," he adds, "if a winter journey into Scotland + to do the State service, and my long attendance here, hath not + deserved a small reward, or at least the taking off of the + sequestration from my parsonage in Yorkshire, I hope ere long I + shall merit a far greater, when by my means his Highness's + revenues shall be increased."—Milton, I may mention, had, + about this time, several old acquaintances in the Protector's + service in Scotland. One was the ex-licencer of pamphlets, + Gilbert Mabbot. I find him, in June 1653, in some official + connexion with Leith (Council Order Book, June 3). + </p> + </div> + <p> + On the 17th of August, 1655, or just nine days after the + publication of Milton's <i>Pro Se Defensio</i>, there appeared + anonymously in London, in the form of a small quarto pamphlet of + twenty-two pages, a poem in rhyming heroics, entitled <i>A Satyr + against Hypocrites</i>. In evidence that it was the work of a + scholar, there were two mottoes from Juvenal on the title-page, + one of them the well known "Si natura negat, facit indignatio + versum." Of the performance itself there can be no more exact + description than that of Godwin. "It is certainly written," he + says, "with considerable talent; and the scenes which the author + brings before us are painted in a very lively manner. He + describes successively a Sunday, as it appeared in the time of + Cromwell, a christening, a Wednesday, which agreeably to the + custom of that period was a weekly fast, and the profuse and + extravagant supper with which, according to him, the fast-day + concluded. The christening, the bringing home the child to its + mother, who is still in confinement, and the talk of the gossips, + have a considerable resemblance to the broadest manner of + Chaucer." This last remark Godwin at once qualifies. Whereas in + Chaucer, he says, we have sheer natural humour, with no ulterior + end, the <i>The Satyr against Hypocrites</i> "is an undisguised + attack upon the National Religion, upon everything that was then + visible in this country and metropolis under the name of + Religion." In other words, it is in a vein of anti-Puritanism, or + even anti-Cromwellianism, quite as bitter as that of any of the + contemporary Royalist writers, or as that of Butler and the + post-Restoration wits, with a decided tendency also to indecency + in ideas and expression, Of the more serious parts this is a + specimen:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Oh, what will men not dare, if thus they dare + </p> + <p> + Be impudent to Heaven, and play with prayer, + </p> + <p> + Play with that fear, with that religious awe, + </p> + <p> + Which keeps men free, and yet is man's great law! + </p> + <p> + What can they but the worst of Atheists be + </p> + <p> + Who, while they word it 'gainst impiety, + </p> + <p> + Affront the throne of God with their false deeds? + </p> + <p> + Alas! this wonder in the Atheist breeds. + </p> + <p> + Are these the men that would the age reform, + </p> + <p> + That <i>Down with Superstition</i> cry, and swarm + </p> + <p> + This painted glass, that sculpture, to deface, + </p> + <p> + But worship pride and avarice in their place? + </p> + <p> + <i>Religion</i> they bawl out, yet know not what + </p> + <p> + Religion is, unless it be to prate!" + </p> + </div> + <p> + That such "a smart thing," as Wood calls it, should have appeared + in the middle of Cromwell's Protectorate, and that, its + anti-Cromwellianism being implied in its general anti-Puritanism + rather than explicitly avowed, it should have had a considerable + circulation, need not surprise us. What is surprising is that the + author should have been Milton's younger nephew, who had been + brought up from his very childhood under his uncle's roof, and + educated wholly and solely by his uncle's own care. It would add + to the surprise if the thing had been actually written in + Milton's house; and even for that there is, as we shall find, + something like evidence. Altogether, I should say, Mr. John + Phillips had, of late, got quite beyond his uncle's control, and + had taken to courses of his own, not in very good company. Among + new acquaintances he had forsworn his uncle's politics, and was + no longer perfectly at ease with him.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: <i>A Satyr against Hypocrites</i>, 1655 (Thomason copy for + date of publication); Godwin's <i>Lives of the Phillipses</i>, + 49-51; Wood's Ath. IV. 764.—The <i>Satyr against + Hypocrites</i> is ascribed in some book-catalogues to Edward + Phillips; nay, I have found it ascribed, by a singular + absurdity, to Milton himself. That it passed at the time as + Edward Phillips's seems proved by the entry of it in the + Stationers' Registers under date March 14, 1654-5: "<i>A Satyr + against Hypocrites by Edward Phillips, Gent</i>," the + publisher's name being given as "Nathaniel Brooke." I cannot + explain this; but John Phillips was certainly the author. Wood + alone would be good authority; but it appears from one of + Bliss's notes to Wood that the piece was afterwards claimed by + John Phillips, and in Edward Phillips's <i>Theatrum + Poetarum</i>, published in 1675, the piece is ascribed by name + to his brother John, in evidence of his "vein of burlesque and + facetious poetry" (Godwin, Lives of the Phillipses, p. 158). It + was a rather popular piece when first published, and was twice + reprinted after the Restoration. + </p> + </div> + <p> + During the whole time of Milton's residence in Petty France, his + elder nephew tells us, "he was frequently visited by persons of + quality, particularly my lady Ranelagh (whose son for some time + he instructed), all learned foreigners of note (who could not + part out of this city without giving a visit to a person so + eminent), and lastly by particular friends that had a high esteem + for him: viz. Mr. Andrew Marvell, young Lawrence (the son of him + that was President of Oliver's Council), ... Mr. Marchamont + Needham, the writer of <i>Politicus</i>, but above all Mr. + Cyriack Skinner." To these may be added Hartlib, Durie (when he + was not abroad), Henry Oldenburg, and others of the Hartlib-Durie + connexion. Altogether, the group is an interesting one, and it is + precisely in and about 1655 that we have the means of seeing all + the individuals of it in closest proximity to Milton and to each + other. As one's curiosity is keenest, at this point, about Lady + Ranelagh, she may have the precedence. + </p> + <p> + On her own account she deserves it. We have already seen (ante + Vol. III. 658-660) who she was,—by marriage the Viscountess + Ranelagh, wife of Arthur Jones, second Viscount Ranelagh in the + Irish Peerage, but by birth Catharine Boyle, daughter of the + great Richard Boyle, first Earl of Cork, with the four surviving + sons of that Earl for her brothers, and his five other surviving + daughters for her sisters.—Of her four brothers, the + eldest, Richard Boyle, second Earl of Cork, lived generally in + Ireland, looking after his great estates there; and indeed it was + in Ireland that most of the family had their chief properties. + But the second brother, Roger Boyle, Lord Broghhill, already + known to us for his services in Ireland under Cromwell, and for + his conspicuous fidelity to Cromwell ever since, was now in + Scotland, as President of Cromwell's Council there. <i>He</i> may + be called the literary brother; for, though his chief activity + hitherto had been in war and politics, he had found time to write + and publish his long romance or novel called <i>Parthenissa</i>, + and so to begin a literary reputation which was to be increased + by poems, tragedies, comedies, &c., in no small profusion, in + coming years. His age, at our present date, was about + thirty-four. Two years younger was Francis Boyle, the third + brother, afterwards Lord Shannon, and four years younger still + was the philosophical and scientific brother, Mr. Boyle, or "the + Honourable Mr. Robert Boyle." When we last saw this extraordinary + young man, after his return from his travels, i.e. in 1645-48, he + was in retirement at Stalbridge in Dorsetshire, absorbed in + studies and in chemical experiments, but corresponding eagerly + with Hartlib and others in London, and sometimes coming to town + himself, when he would attend those meetings of the <i>Invisible + College</i>, the germ of the future Royal Society, about the + delights of which Hartlib was never tired of writing to him. This + mode of life he had continued, with the interruption of a journey + or two abroad, till 1652. "Nor am I here altogether idle," he + says in one of his latest letters to Hartlib from Stalbridge; + "for I can sometimes make a shift to snatch from the importunity + of my affairs leisure to trace such plans, and frame such models, + as, if my Irish fortune will afford me quarries and woods to draw + competent materials from to construct after them, will fit me to + build a pretty house in Athens, where I may live to Philosophy + and Mr. Hartlib." The necessity of looking after the Irish + fortune of which he here speaks had since then taken him to + Ireland and kept him there for the greater part of two years. He + found it, he says, "a barbarous country, where chemical spirits + were so misunderstood, and chemical instruments so unprocurable, + that it was hard to have any Hermetic thoughts in it;" and he had + betaken himself to "anatomical dissections" as the only kind of + scientific pastime that Irish conditions favoured. On returning + to England, in 1654, he had settled in Oxford, to be in the + society of Wilkins, Wallis, Goddard, Ward, Petty, Bathurst, + Willis, and other kindred scientific spirits, most of them + recently transferred from London to posts in the University, and + so forming the Oxford offshoot of the <i>Invisible College</i>, + as distinct from the London original. But still from Oxford, as + formerly from Stalbridge, the young philosopher made occasional + visits to London; and always, when there, he was to be found at + the house of his sister, Lady Ranelagh.—What property + belonged to Lady Ranelagh herself, or to her husband, lay also + mainly in Ireland; but for many years, in consequence of the + distracted state of that country, her residence had been in + London. "In the Pall Mall, in the suburbs of Westminster," is the + more exact designation. Her Irish property seems, for the + present, to have yielded her but a dubious revenue; and though + she had a Government pension of £4 a week on some account or + other, she seems to have been dependent in some degree on + subsidies from her wealthier relatives. It also appears, though + hazily, that there was some deep-rooted disagreement between her + and her husband, and that, if he was not generally away in + Ireland, he was at least now seldom with her in London. She had + her children with her, however. One of these was her only son, + styled then simply Mr. Richard Jones, though modern custom would + style him Lord Navan. In 1655 he was a boy of fifteen years of + age, Lady Ranelagh herself being then just forty. The education + of this boy, and of her two or three girls, was her main anxiety; + but she took a deep interest as well in the affairs of all the + members of the Boyle family, not one of whom would take any step + of importance without consulting her. She corresponded with them + all, but especially with Lord Broghill and the philosophical + young Robert, both of them her juniors, and Robert peculiarly her + <i>protegé</i>. In his letters to her, all written carefully and + in a strain of stately and respectful affection, we see the most + absolute confidence in her judgment; and it is from her letters + to him, full of solicitude about his health, and of interest in + his experiments and speculations, that we obtain perhaps the best + idea of that combination of intellectual and moral excellencies + to which her contemporaries felt they could not do justice except + by calling her "the incomparable Lady Ranelagh." For that name, + which was to be hers through an entire generation more, was + already as common in talk about her beyond the circle of her own + family as the affectionate one of "Sister Ranelagh" was within + that circle. Partly it was because she was one of the + best-educated women of her time, with the widest tastes and + sympathies in matters literary and philosophical, and with much + of that genius of the Boyles, though in feminine form, which was + represented by Lord Broghill and Robert Boyle among her brothers. + Just before our present date we find her taking lessons in Hebrew + from a Scotch teacher of that language then in London, who + afterwards dedicated his <i>Gate to the Holy Tongue</i> to her, + with much respect for her "proficiency in so short a time," and + "amidst so many abstractions as she was surrounded with." And so + in things of greater grasp. In writing to her brother Robert her + satisfaction with the new Experimental Philosophy which he and + others are trying to institute can express itself as a belief + that it will "help the considering part of mankind to a clearer + prospect into this great frame of the visible world, and therein + of the power and wisdom of its great Maker, than the rough draft + wherein it has hitherto been represented in the ignorant and + wholesale philosophy that has so long, by the power of an + implicit faith in the doctrine of Aristotle and the Schools, gone + current in the world has ever been able to assist them towards." + But it was not merely by variety of intellectual culture that + Lady Ranelagh was distinguished. One cannot read her letters + without discerning in them a deep foundation of piety in the best + sense, real wisdom, a serious determination with herself to make + her own life as actively useful as possible, and a disposition + always to relate herself to what was sterling around her. "Though + some particular opinions might shut her up in a divided + communion," said Burnet of her long afterwards, "yet her soul was + never of a party. She divided her charities and friendships, her + esteem as well as her bounty, with the truest regard to merit and + her own obligations, without any difference made upon the account + of opinion." This was true even at our present date, when she was + an Oliverian in politics, like her brother Broghill, though + perhaps more moderately so, and in religious matters what may be + called a very liberal Puritan.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Birch's Life of Robert Boyle, prefixed to edition of Boyle's + Works, pp. 27-33; Letters of Boyle to Lady Ranelagh and of Lady + Ranelagh to Boyle in Vol. V. of his Works; Notes by Mr. + Crossley to his edition of <i>Worthington's Diary and + Correspondence</i> for the Chetham Society, I. p. 164-165, and + 366. Mrs. Green's Calendar of State-Papers for 1651, p. 574. + </p> + </div> + <p> + How long Lady Ranelagh had known Milton is uncertain; but, as her + nephew, the young Earl of Barrimore, had been one of Milton's + pupils in his house in the Barbican, and as we had express + information that he had been sent there by his aunt, the + acquaintance must have begun as early as 1646 or 1647. And now, + it appears, through all the intermediate eight years of Milton's + changes of residence and fortune, including his six in the Latin + Secretaryship, the acquaintanceship has been kept up, and has + been growing more intimate, till, in 1655, in his widowerhood and + blindness in his house in Petty France, there is no one, and + certainly no lady, that more frequently calls upon him, or whose + voice, on the staircase, announcing who the visitor is, he is + more pleased to hear. They were close neighbours, only St. + James's Park between their houses; and his having taught her + nephew, the young Earl of Barrimore, was not now the only link of + that kind between themselves. She had not been satisfied till she + had contrived that her own son should, to some extent, be + Milton's pupil too. "My Lady Ranelagh, whose son for some time he + instructed" are Phillips's words on this point; and, though we + included Lady Ranelagh's son, Mr. Richard Jones, afterwards third + Viscount and first Earl of Ranelagh, in our general enumeration + of Milton's pupils, given under the year 1647, when the Barbican + establishment was complete, it was with the intimation that this + particular pupil, then but seven years old, could hardly have + been one of the Barbican boys, but must have had the benefit of + lessons from Milton in some exceptional way afterwards. The fact, + on the likeliest construction of the evidence, seems to have been + that Milton, to oblige Lady Ranelagh, had quite recently allowed + the boy to come daily, or every other day, from his mother's + house in Pall Mall to Petty France, to sit with him for an hour + or two, and read Greek and Latin. To the end of his life Milton + found this easy kind of pedagogy a pleasant amusement in his + blindness, and made it indeed one of his devices for help to + himself in his readings and references to books; and Lady + Ranelagh's son may have been his first experiment in the method. + That he retained an interest in this young Ranelagh of a + semi-tutorial kind, as well as on his mother's account, the + sequel will prove. + </p> + <p> + Strange things do happen in real life; and actually it was + possible that, on the day of one of Lady Ranelagh's visits to + Milton, she might have had a call in her own house from Dr. Peter + Du Moulin. For her ladyship's circle of acquaintance did include + this gentleman. He had been tutor in Ireland to her two nephews, + Viscount Dungarvan and Mr. Richard Boyle, sons of her eldest + brother, the Earl of Cork, and he had come with them, still in + that capacity, to Oxford (ante p. 224), and so had been + introduced into the whole Boyle connexion.<sup>1</sup> What + amount of awkwardness there may have been in a possible meeting + between Du Moulin and Milton themselves through this common + social connexion of theirs in London has been already discussed. + The Ranelagh circle, for the rest, included all those, or most of + them, that were Milton's friends independently, and could + converse about him in her ladyship's own spirit. The family of + Lord President Lawrence, for example, were in high esteem with + Lady Ranelagh; and the President's son, Mr. Henry Lawrence, + Milton's young friend, and presumably one of his former pupils of + the Barbican days, seems to have been about this time much in the + company of her ladyship's nephew, the Earl of Barrimore. That + young nobleman, we may mention, had become a married man, shortly + after he had ceased to be Milton's pupil in the Barbican, and was + now leading a gallant and rather idle life about London, but not + quite astray from his aunt's society, or perhaps from Milton's + either.<sup>2</sup> Then there were Hartlib, Durie, Haak, and + other lights of the London branch of the <i>Invisible + College</i>, friends of Robert Boyle for years past, and + corresponding with him and the other luminaries of the Oxford + colony of the <i>College</i>. Hartlib, in particular, who now + lived at Charing Gross, and who had found a new theme of interest + in the wonderful abilities and wonderful experiments of Mr. + Clodius, a German chemist, who had recently become his + son-in-law, was still in constant correspondence with Boyle, and + was often at Lady Ranelagh's on some occasion or + other.<sup>3</sup> Nor must Milton's new German friend, Henry + Oldenburg, the agent for Bremen, be forgotten. He also, as we + shall find, had been drawn, in a special manner, into the Boyle + and Ranelagh connexion, and was, in fact, entering, by means of + this connexion, on that part of his interesting career for which + he is remembered in the annals of English science. He was to + marry Durie's only daughter, and be retained by that tie, as well + as by others, in the Hartlib-Durie cluster of Milton's friends. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Dr. Peter Du Moulin was one of Robert Boyle's friends and + correspondents both before and after the Restoration. It was at + Boyle's request that Du Moulin translated and published in 1658 + a little book called <i>The Devil of Mascon</i>, a French story + of well-authenticated spirit-rapping; and the book was + dedicated by Dumoulin to Boyle, and Boyle contributed an + introductory letter to it. Moreover, it was to Boyle that Du + Moulin in 1670 dedicated the first part of his <i>Parerga</i> + or Collection of Latin Poems, the second part of which + contained his reprint of the Iambics against Milton from the + <i>Regii Sanguinis Clamor</i>.—See Birch's Life of Boyle, + p. 60, and four letters of Du Moulin to Boyle in Boyle's Works, + Vol. V (pp 594-596). In three of these letters, all written + after the Restoration, Du Moulin presents his respectful + services to "My Honourable Lady Ranelagh" in terms implying + long-established acquaintanceship. But there are other + scattered proofs of Du Moulin's long intimacy with the whole + Boyle family. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: The young Earl had married, hastily and against his mother's + will, in 1649, shortly after he had been Milton's pupil. See a + letter of condolence on the subject from Robert Boyle to his + sister, the young Earl's mother (Boyle's Works, V. 240). For + the intimacy between the young Earl of Barrimore and young + Henry Lawrence see a letter of Hartlib's to Boyle. (Ibid. V. + 279). + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 3: Letters of Hartlib to Boyle in Vol. V. of Boyle's Works. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Marvell, Needham, and Cyriack Skinner are not certainly known to + have been among Lady Ranelagh's acquaintances. <i>Their</i> + visits to Milton, therefore, have to be imagined apart. + Marvell's, if he were still domiciled at Eton, can have been but + occasional, but must have been always welcome. Needham's cannot + have been, as formerly, on business connected with the + <i>Mercurius Politicus</i>; for Milton had ceased for some years + to have anything to do with the editorship of that journal. The + duty of licensing it and its weekly double, <i>The Public + Intelligencer</i>, also edited by Needham and published by + Newcome, was now performed regularly by the omnipotent Thurloe. + Both journals would come to Milton's house, to be read to him; + and Needham, in his visits, would bring other gossip of the town, + and be altogether a very chatty companion. "Above all, Mr. + Cyriack Skinner" is, however, Phillips's phrase in his + enumeration of those of his uncle's friends who were most + frequently with him about this time. The words imply that, since + June 1654, when this old pupil of Milton's had again "got near" + him (Vol. IV. pp. 621-623), his attention to Milton had been + unremitting, so that Milton had come to depend upon it and to + expect him almost daily. On that understanding it is that we may + read most luminously four private Sonnets of Milton, all of the + year 1655, two of them addressed to Cyriack Skinner, and one to + young Lawrence. The remaining sonnet, standing first of the four + in the printed editions, is addressed to no one in particular; + but the four will be read best in connexion. In reading them + Cyriack Skinner is to be pictured as about twenty-eight years of + age, and Lawrence as a youth of two and twenty:— + </p> + <p> + (1) + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + When I consider how my light is spent + </p> + <p> + Ere half my days in this dark world and wide, + </p> + <p> + And that one talent which is death to hide + </p> + <p> + Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent + </p> + <p> + To serve therewith my Maker, and present + </p> + <p> + My true account, lest He, returning, chide, + </p> + <p> + "Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?" + </p> + <p> + I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent + </p> + <p> + That murmur, soon replies:—"God doth not need + </p> + <p> + Either man's work or his own gifts. Who best + </p> + <p> + Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state + </p> + <p> + Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed, + </p> + <p> + And post o'er land and ocean without rest: + </p> + <p> + They also serve who only stand and wait." + </p> + </div> + <p> + (2) + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + Cyriack, this three years' day these eyes, though clear, + </p> + <p> + To outward view, of blemish or of spot, + </p> + <p> + Bereft of light, their seeing have forgot; + </p> + <p> + Nor to their idle orbs doth sight appear + </p> + <p> + Of sun, or moon, or star, throughout the year, + </p> + <p> + Or man, or woman. Yet I argue not + </p> + <p> + Against Heaven's hand or will, nor bate a jot + </p> + <p> + Of heart or hope, but still bear up and steer + </p> + <p> + Right onward. What supports me, dost thou ask? + </p> + <p> + The conscience, friend, to have lost them overplied + </p> + <p> + In Liberty's defence, my noble task, + </p> + <p> + Of which all Europe talks from side to side. + </p> + <p> + This thought might lead me through the world's vain masque + </p> + <p> + Content, though blind, had I no better guide. + </p> + </div> + <p> + (3) + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + Lawrence, of virtuous father virtuous son, + </p> + <p> + Now that the fields are dank, and ways are mire, + </p> + <p> + Where shall we sometimes meet, and by the fire + </p> + <p> + Help waste a sullen day, what may be won + </p> + <p> + From the hard season gaining? Time will run + </p> + <p> + On smoother, till Favonius reinspire + </p> + <p> + The frozen earth, and clothe in fresh attire + </p> + <p> + The lily and rose, that neither sowed nor spun. + </p> + <p> + What neat repast shall feast us, light and choice, + </p> + <p> + Of Attic taste, with wine, whence we may rise + </p> + <p> + To hear the lute well touched, or artful voice + </p> + <p> + Warble immortal notes and Tuscan air? + </p> + <p> + He who of those delights can judge, and spare + </p> + <p> + To interpose them oft, is not unwise. + </p> + </div> + <p> + (4) + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + Cyriack, whose grandsire on the royal bench + </p> + <p> + Of British Themis, with no mean applause, + </p> + <p> + Pronounced, and in his volumes taught, our laws, + </p> + <p> + Which others at their bar so often wrench, + </p> + <p> + To-day deep thoughts resolve with me to drench + </p> + <p> + In mirth that after no repenting draws; + </p> + <p> + Let Euclid rest, and Archimedes pause, + </p> + <p> + And what the Swede intend, and what the French. + </p> + <p> + To measure life learn thou betimes, and know + </p> + <p> + Toward solid good what leads the nearest way; + </p> + <p> + For other things mild Heaven a time ordains, + </p> + <p> + And disapproves that care, though wise in show, + </p> + <p> + That with superfluous burden loads the day, + </p> + <p> + And, when God sends a cheerful hour, refrains. + </p> + </div> + <p> + It has been argued that the last two of these Sonnets must be out + of their proper chronological places in the printed editions. + They must have been written, it is said, before Milton lost his + sight: for how are such invitations to mirth and festivity + reconcileable with Milton's circumstances in the third or fourth + year of his blindness? There is no mistake in the matter, + however. In Milton's own second or 1673 edition of his Minor + Poems the sonnets, in the order in which we have printed + them,—with the exception of No. 2, which had then to be + omitted on account of its political point,—come immediately + after the sonnet on the Piedmontese Massacre; and there are other + reasons of external evidence which assign Nos. 1, 3, and 4, + distinctly to about the same date as No. 2, the + opening—words of which date <i>it</i> near the middle of + 1655. But, indeed, we should miss much of the biographic interest + of the last two sonnets by detaching them from the two first. In + No. 1 we have a plaintive soliloquy of Milton on his blind and + disabled condition, ending with that beautiful expression of his + resignation to God's will in which, under the image of the + varieties of service that may be required by some great monarch, + he contrasts his own stationariness and inactivity with the + energy and bustle of so many of his contemporaries. In No. 2, + addressed to Cyriack Skinner, he treats of the same topic, only + reverting with pride, as he had done several times in prose, to + the literary labour that had brought on his calamity. In both the + intimation is that he has disciplined himself to live on as + cheerfully as possible, taking daily duties, and little pleasures + too, as they come. What more natural, therefore, than that, some + little while after those two affecting sonnets on his blindness + had been written, there should be two others, in which not a word + should be said of his blindness, but young Lawrence and Cyriack + Skinner should find themselves invited, in a more express manner + than usual, to a day in Milton's company? For that is the proper + construction of the Sonnets. They are cards of invitation to + little parties, perhaps to one and the same little party, in + Milton's house in the winter of 1655-6. It is dull, cold, + weather; the Parks are wet, and the country-roads all mire; and + for some days Milton has been baulked of his customary walk out + of doors, tended by young Lawrence or Cyriack. To make amends, + there shall be a little dinner in the warm room at home—"a + neat repast" says Milton temptingly, adding "with wine," that + there may be no doubt in that particular—to be followed by + a long talk and some choice music. So young Lawrence is informed + in the metrical missive to <i>him</i>; and the same day (unless, + as we may hope, the little dinner became a periodical institution + in Milton's house), Cyriack is told to come too. Altogether they + are model cards of invitation.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: More detailed reasons for the dating of Sonnets 1, 3, and 4 + (for Sonnet 2 dates itself) will be found in the Introductions + to those Sonnets in the Cambridge Edition of Milton. In line 12 + of No. 2 I have substituted the word "talks" for the word + "rings," now always printed in that place. "Of which all Europe + rings from side to side," is the reading in the copy of the + Sonnet as first printed by Phillips in 1694 at the end of his + memoir of Milton; but that copy is corrupt in several places. + The original dictated draft of the Sonnet among the Milton MSS. + at Cambridge is to be taken as the true text; and there the + word is "talks." Phillips had doubtless the echo of "rings" in + his ear from the Sonnet to Fairfax. The more sonorous reading, + however, has found such general acceptance that an editor + hardly dares to revert to "talks." + </p> + </div> + <p> + We are now in the winter of 1655-6, and we have seen no + Secretarial work from Milton since his letters and other + documents in the business of the Piedmontese Protestants in May, + June, and July, 1655. Officially, therefore, he had had another + relapse into idleness. Not, however, into total idleness. + "<i>Scriptum Dom. Protectoris Reipublicæ Anglicæ, Scotiæ, + Hiberniæ, &c., ex Consensa atque Sententia Concilii Sui + Edictum, in quo Hujus Reipublicæ Causa contra Hispanos justa esse + demonstratur</i>, 1655" ("Manifesto of the Lord Protector of the + Commonwealth of England, Scotland. Ireland, &c., put forth by + the consent and advice of his Council, in which the justice of + the cause of this Commonwealth against the Spaniards is + demonstrated, 1655"), is the title of a Latin document, of the + length of about twenty such pages as the present, now always + included in editions of Milton's prose-writings, on the + probability, though not quite the certainty, that it was Milton's + performance. If so, it was the third great document in the nature + of a Declaration of War furnished by Milton for the Commonwealth, + the two former having been his Latin version of the Declaration + of the Causes of War against the Scots in June 1650 (IV. 228) and + his similar version of the Declaration against the Dutch in July + 1652 (IV. 482-483). The present manifesto was perhaps a more + difficult document to draft than either of those had been, + inasmuch as Cromwell had to justify in it his recent attack upon + the Spanish possessions in the West Indies. Accordingly, the + manifesto had been prepared with some pains. It passed the + Council finally on the 26th of October, 1655, four days after the + Spanish ambassador Cardenas had left England, and two days after + the Treaty between Cromwell and France had been + signed;<sup>1</sup> and the Latin copies of it were out in London + on the 9th of November.<sup>2</sup> Unlike the previous + Declarations against the Scots and the Dutch, which had been + printed in several languages, it appears to have been printed in + Latin only. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Council Order Book of date. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Dated copy among the Thomason Pamphlets. + </p> + </div> + <p> + A general notion of the document will be obtained from, an + extract or two in translation. The opening is as follows:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "That the causes that induced us to our recent attack on + certain Islands in the West Indies, now for some time past in + the possession of the Spaniards, are just and in the highest + degree reasonable, there is no one but will easily understand + if only he will reflect in what manner that King and his + subjects have always conducted themselves towards the English + nation in that tract of America ... Whenever they have + opportunity, though without the least reason of justice, and + with no provocation of injury, they are incessantly killing, + murdering, nay butchering in cold blood, our countrymen there, + as they think fit, seizing their goods and fortunes, destroying + their plantations and houses, capturing any of their vessels + they may meet on those seas, and treating their crews as + enemies and even pirates. For they call by that opprobrious + name all of any nation, themselves alone excepted, who dare to + navigate those waters. Nor do they profess to have any other or + better right for this than reliance on some ridiculous donation + of the Pope, and the fact that they were the first discoverers + of some parts of that western region ... Certainly it would + have been disgraceful and unworthy in us, in possession as we + were, by God's bounty, of so many ships, furnished, equipped, + and ready for every use of maritime warfare, to have chosen to + let them rot idly at home, rather than employ them in those + parts in avenging the blood of the English, so unjustly, so + inhumanly, and so often, shed by the Spaniards + there,—nay, the blood too of the Indians, inasmuch as God + 'hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all + the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before + appointed, and the bounds of their habitation' [Acts xvii. 26] + ... Our purpose, however, is to show the right and equity of + the transaction itself, rather than to state all our several + reasons for it. And, that we may do this the more clearly, and + explain general assertions by particulars, it will be proper to + cast our eyes back a little into the past, and to run strictly + over the transactions between the English and the Spaniards, + observing the state of affairs on both sides, as far as mutual + relations were concerned, from the time of the first discovery + of the West Indies and of the Reformation of Religion. For + those two great events, as they were nearly contemporary, + occasioned everywhere in the world vast changes, but especially + as between the English and the Spaniards; which two nations + have from that time followed diverse and almost opposite + methods and principles in the management of their affairs." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + The manifesto, accordingly, then reviews the history of the + relations between Spain and England from the time of Henry VIII., + appending at last a long list of more recent outrages by the + Spaniards on English ships and settlements in the West Indies, + the dates all duly given, with the names of the ships and their + captains, and the values of the cargoes. After which, returning + to more general considerations, it discusses the two pretexts of + the Spaniards for their sole sovereignty in the West + Indies,—the Papal donation, and the right of first + discovery. Both are dismissed as absurd; and the document ends + with an appeal to the common interests of Protestantism + throughout Europe. Even the recent massacre of the Vaudois + Protestants is brought into the plea. Thus:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "If meanwhile we suffer such grievous injuries to be done to + our countrymen in the West Indies without any satisfaction or + vengeance; if we consent to be all excluded from that so + important part of the world; if we permit our bitter and + inveterate enemy (especially now that peace has been made with + the Dutch) to carry home unmolested those huge treasures from + the West Indies, by which he can repair his present losses, and + restore his affairs to such a condition that he shall be able + again to betake himself to that deliberation of his in 1588 + 'whether it would be more prudent to begin with England for the + recovery of the United Provinces of Holland, or to begin with + them for the subjugation of England';—beyond a doubt he + will find for himself not fewer, but even more reasons, why the + beginning should now be made with England. And, should God + permit him ever to carry out these designs, then we should have + good grounds for expecting that on us first, but eventually on + all Protestants wheresoever, there would be wreaked the residue + of that most brutal massacre suffered lately by our brothers in + the Alpine valleys: which massacre, if credit is to be given to + the published complaints of those poor orthodox Christians, was + originally schemed and appointed in the secret councils of the + Spanish Court, through the agency of those paltry friars whom + they call missionaries (<i>per illos fraterculos missionarios + quos vacant Hispanicæ aulæ consiliis intimis informata primitus + ac designata erat</i>)." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + How far Milton's hand helped in this important document of the + Protectorate may fairly be a question. The substance was probably + drafted by the Council and Thurloe, and only handed to Milton for + re-expression and translation; nay, it is possible that even in + the work of translation, to save time, Milton and Meadows may + have been partners. All in all, however, as the proofs are all + but certain that Milton's hand was to <i>some</i> extent employed + in the document, it may mark his return to ordinary official work + in Oct.-Nov. 1655, after three months of renewed exemption from + such work, following his batch of state-letters on the subject of + the Massacre in Piedmont.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: The <i>Scriptum Domini Protectoris contra Hispanos</i> was + reprinted, as indubitably Milton's, in 1738, and again in 1741, + to assist in rousing British feeling afresh against Spain; and + Birch and all succeeding editors of Milton have agreed in + regarding it as his. Godwin, however (<i>Hist. of + Commonwealth</i>, IV. 217-219, footnote), suggests doubts. + </p> + </div> + <p> + What adds to the probability that Cromwell's Manifesto against + Spain, dated Oct. 26, 1655, and published Nov. 9, was partly of + Milton's composition, is the fact, to which we have now to + request attention, that he did about this time resume ordinary + office-work to an extent beyond expectation. The following is a + list of Letters to Foreign States and Princes written by him for + Cromwell from Dec. 1655 to May 1656 inclusively. Two or three of + them are important Cromwellian documents, and require + elucidation:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LXV.) TO THE DOGE OF VENICE, <i>Dec. 1655</i>:—His + Highness congratulates the Venetians upon their recent naval + victory over the Turks, but brings to their notice the fact + that among the ships they had taken in that victory there was + an English one, called <i>The Great Prince</i>, belonging to + William and Daniel Williams and Edward Beal, English merchants. + She had been pressed by the Turks at Constantinople, and + employed as a transport for Turkish soldiers and provisions to + Crete. The crew had been helpless in the affair, and the owners + blameless; and his Highness does not doubt that the Doge and + Senate will immediately give him a token of their friendship by + causing the ship to be restored.—The naval victory of the + Venetians was, doubtless, that which Morus had celebrated In + the Latin poem for which he received his gold chain (ante pp. + 212-213). + </p> + <p> + (LXVI.) To LOUIS XIV. OF FRANCE, Dec. 1655:—Samuel Mico, + William Cockain, George Poyner, and other English merchants + have petitioned his Highness about a ship of theirs, called + <i>The Unicorn</i>, which had been seized in the Mediterranean + as long ago as 1650 by the Admiral and Vice-Admiral of the + French fleet, with a cargo worth £34,000. The capture was + originally unfair, as there was then peace between England and + France, and express promises had been recently given by + Cardinal Mazarin and the French Ambassador, M. de Bordeaux, + that amends would be made as soon as the Treaty with France was + complete. That happily being now the case, his Highness expects + from his Majesty the indemnification of the said merchants as + "the first-fruits of the renewed friendship and recently formed + alliance." + </p> + <p> + (LXVII.) To LOUIS XIV. OF FRANCE, <i>Jan.</i> + 1655-56:<sup>1</sup>—His Highness has been informed of + very extraordinary conduct on the part of the French Governor + of Belleisle in the Bay of Biscay. On the 10th of December + last, or thereabouts, he not only admitted into his port one + Dillon, a piratic enemy of the English Commonwealth, and + assisted him with supplies, but also prevented the recapture of + a merchant ship from the said Dillon by Captain Robert Vessey + of the <i>Nightingale</i> war-ship, and further secured + Dillon's escape when Vessey had fought him and had him at his + mercy. All this is, of course, utterly against the recent + Treaty: and his Majesty will doubtless take due notice of the + Governor's conduct and give satisfaction. + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Not in the Printed Collection nor in Phillips; but in the + Skinner Transcript (No. 46 there), and printed thence in + Hamilton's Milton Papers (p. 4). + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LXVIII.) TO THE EVANGELICAL SWISS CANTONS, <i>Jan.</i> 1655-6. + To understand this important letter it is necessary to remember + that in 1653 there had broken out, for the second or third + time, a Civil War of Religion among the Swiss. The Popish + Cantons of Schwytz, Uri, Zug, Unterwalden, Luzern, &c., had + quarrelled with the Protestant or Evangelical Cantons of + Zurich, Basel, Schaffhausen, Bern, Glarus, Appenzell, &c.; + and, as the Popish Cantons trusted to help from surrounding + Catholic powers, the Confederation and Swiss Protestantism were + in peril. It had been to watch events and proceedings in this + struggle that Cromwell had sent into Switzerland, early in + 1654, Mr. John Pell and Mr. John Durie, as his agents (ante p. + 41). Durie had remained only about a year; but Pell was still + there, reinforced now by Morland, who, after his special + mission to the Duke of Savoy on the business of the Piedmontese + Massacre of April 1655, had taken up his abode in Geneva to + superintend the distributing of the money collected for the + Piedmontese Protestants. That massacre had been ominous to the + Swiss, and had complicated the strife between the Popish and + the Evangelical Cantons. In the Popish Cantons, especially that + of Schwytz, there had been severe persecutions of Protestant + Dissenters; the union of these Cantons among themselves and + their Anti-Protestant temper had become stronger; and + altogether the news from Switzerland was bad. Application had + been made by the Evangelical Cantons, through Pell, for help + from Cromwell, similar application being made at the same time + to the Dutch; and the following is Cromwell's + answer:—"Both from your public acts transmitted to us by + our Commissioners at Geneva [Pell and Morland], and from your + letter dated at Zürich, Dec. 27, we understand abundantly in + what condition your affairs are.—too abundantly, since it + is none of the best. Wherein, though we grieve to find your + peace at an end and so lasting a Confederacy ruptured, yet, as + it appears that this has happened by no fault on your part, we + trust that hence, from the very iniquity and obstinacy of your + adversaries, there is again being furnished you only so much + new occasion for displaying your courage and your long-known + constancy in the Evangelical Faith. For what the Schwytz + Cantoners are driving at in their resolution to make it a + capital offence in any one to embrace our Religion, and who + they are that have instigated them to proceedings of such a + hostile spirit to the Orthodox Faith, no one can avoid knowing + who has not yet forgotten that foul slaughter of our brethren + in Piedmont. Wherefore, well-beloved friends, as you always + have been, be still, by God's help, brave; do not yield your + rights and federate privileges, nay, Liberty of Conscience and + Religion itself, to be trampled on by worshippers of idols; and + so prepare yourselves that you may not only appear the + champions of your own liberty and safety, but may be able also + to succour and stand by your neighbouring brethren by all means + in your power, especially those most sorrow-stricken + Piedmontese: firmly persuaded of this, that the intention was + to have opened a passage to your persons over their bodies and + deaths. For my part, be assured [the expression in the + singular: <i>de me scitote</i>] that your safety and prosperity + are no less my care and anxiety than if this fire had broken + out in this our own Commonwealth, or than if those axes of the + Schwytz Cantoners had been sharpened, and their swords drawn + (as they veritably are, for all the Reformed are concerned), + for our own necks. No sooner, therefore, have we been informed + of the state of your affairs, and the obdurate temper of your + enemies, than, taking counsel with some very honourable + persons, and some ministers of the Church of highest esteem for + their piety, on the subject of the assistance it might be + possible to send you consistently with our own present + requirements, we have come to those resolutions which our agent + Pell will communicate to you. For the rest, we cease not to + commend to the favour of Almighty God all your plans, and the + protection of this most righteous cause of yours, whether in + peace or in war."—From a private letter of Thurloe's to + Pell, of the same date as this official one, we learn that the + persons consulted by Cromwell on the occasion were the + Committee for the Piedmontese Collection (ante pp. 40-41), his + Highness regarding the Piedmontese business and the Swiss + business as radically identical, and desiring to prepare the + public mind for exertions, if necessary, in behalf of Swiss + Protestantism as extraordinary as those that had been made for + the Piedmontese. The conferences on the subject were very + earnest, with the result that his Highness instructed Pell to + offer the Cantons of Zürich and Bern a subsidy of £20,000, at + the rate of £5000 a month, on security for repayment—the + first £5000, however, to be sent immediately, without waiting + for such security.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: See Thurloe's Letter in Vaughan's <i>Protectorate</i>, I, + 334-337. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LXIX.) To CHARLES X., KING OF SWEDEN, <i>Feb.</i> + 1655-6:<sup>1</sup>—This letter also is very important, + though less in itself than in its circumstances; and it + requires introduction.—Charles X., or Charles Gustavus + (Karl Gustav), the successor of Queen Christina on the Swedish + throne, was proving himself a man of energy. Chancellor + Oxenstiern, so long the leading statesman of Sweden, had died + in Aug. 1654, just after the accession of Charles; and under + the new King, with the younger Oxenstiern for his Chancellor, + Sweden had entered on a career of war, which was to continue + through his whole reign, and the aim of which was little less + than the extension of Sweden into an Empire across the Baltic. + He had begun with Poland, between which and Sweden there was an + old feud, and the King of which then was John Casimir. Other + powers, however, had been immediately stirred by the war. + Denmark, Russia, and the German empire generally, were + interested in saving Poland, and therefore tended to an + alliance against Karl Gustav; while, on the other hand, the + Great Elector of Brandenburg, Friedrich-Wilhelm, found it + convenient for the present, in the interests of his Prussian + possessions, to be on the side of Sweden. Cromwell had not been + likely at first to interfere directly in such a complicated + continental quarrel; and, indeed, as we have seen from a + previous letter of his to the Swedish King (ante p. 166), his + first feeling on hearing of the Swedish movements on the + Continent had been that of regret at the disturbance of the + Peace of Westphalia. Still Sweden was a power which commanded + Cromwell's respect. Nor was Charles X., on his side, less + anxious to retain the friendship of the great English + Protector. On succeeding Christina he had accepted and ratified + her Treaty with Cromwell—"Whitlocke's Treaty," as it may + be called; he had sent a Mr. PETER COYET to be Swedish Resident + in London; and, after he had begun his Polish war, there was + nothing he desired more than some yet closer partnership + between himself and Cromwell, that might unite Sweden and + England in a common European policy. Accordingly, in July 1655, + Charles X. being then in camp in Poland, there had arrived in + London a splendid Swedish embassy extraordinary, consisting of + COUNT CHRISTIERN BUNDT, and other noblemen and gentlemen, with + attendants, to the number of two hundred persons in all, + "generally proper handsome men and fair-haired." Whitlocke, who + was naturally called in by the Protector on this occasion, + describes with unusual gusto the reception of the Embassy. + There was a magnificent torchlight procession of coaches, most + of them with six horses, to convey the Ambassador and his suite + from Tower Wharf, where they landed, to Sir Abraham Williams's + house in Westminster; there were feastings and other + entertainments, at the Lord Protector's charge, for three days; + and at length on the third day Count Bundt had audience in the + Banqueting House at Whitehall, in the midst of a great + assembly, with ladies in the galleries. It was difficult to say + whether in this audience the Ambassador or the Protector + acquitted himself best. "The Ambassador's people," says + Whitlocke, "were all admitted into the room, and made a lane + within the rails in the midst of the room. At the upper end, + upon a footpace and carpet, stood the Protector, with a chair + of state behind him, and divers of his Council and servants + about him. The Master of the Ceremonies [still Sir Oliver + Fleming] went before the Ambassador on the left side; the + Ambassador, in the middle, betwixt me and Strickland, went up + in the open lane of the room. As soon as they [the Ambassador + and his immediate suite] came within the room, at the lower end + of the lane, they put off their hats, the Ambassador a little + while after the rest; and, when he was uncovered, the Protector + also put off his hat, and answered the Ambassador's three + salutations in his coming up to him; and on the foot-pace they + saluted each other as friends usually do; and, when the + Protector put on his hat, the Ambassador put on his as soon as + the other. After a little pause, the Ambassador put off his + hat, and began to speak, and then put it on again; and, + whensoever in his speech he named the King his master, or + Sweden, or the Protector, or England, he moved his hat: + especially if he mentioned anything of God, or the good of + Christendom, he put off his hat very low; and the Protector + still answered him in the like postures of civility." The + speech, which was in Swedish, but immediately translated into + Latin by the Ambassador's secretary, was to the effect that the + King of Sweden desired to propound to His Highness some matters + for additional treaty. Cromwell's reply, delivered in English, + which the Ambassador understood, was to the effect that he was + very willing to enter into "a nearer and more strict alliance" + with the King of Sweden and would nominate some persons to hear + Count Bundt's proposals.—All this had been in the last + days of July 1655; but, though there had been subsequent + audiences of the Ambassador, and banquets given to him and the + other chief Swedes by the Protector himself at Hampton Court, + August had passed, and September, and October, and November, + and still the actual Treaty had been avoided. Other things + engrossed the Protector—the Treaty with France, the + West-India Expedition, the beginning of the War with Spain, + &c. But in Count Bundt there had been sent to Cromwell + perhaps the most high-tempered ambassador he had ever seen. + Immediately after the first audience, Dorset House, in Fleet + Street, taken and furnished at the Ambassador's own expense, + had become the head-quarters of the Embassy; and here, as month + after month had passed without approach to real business, his + impatience had flashed into fierceness. It broke out in his + talk to Whitlocke, who took every opportunity of being with + him, the rather because other "grandees" held aloof. "No + Commissioners being yet come to the Swedish Ambassador," writes + Whitlocke, under date Dec. 1655, "he grew into some high + expressions of his sense of the neglect to his master by this + delay; which I did endeavour to excuse, and acquainted the + Protector with it, who thereupon promised to have it mended." + In truth, the warlike Swedish King had become by this time a + man whose embassy compelled attention. "<i>Letters of the + success of the Swedes in Poland and Lithuania," "Letters of the + Swedes' victory against the Muscovites," "The Swedes had good + success in Poland and Moscovia," "An Agreement made between the + King of Sweden and the Elector of Brandenburg:</i>" such had + been pieces of foreign news recently coming in. Accordingly, in + January 1655-6, Whitlocke, Fiennes, Strickland, and Sir Gilbert + Pickering, had been empowered, on the Protector's part, to + treat with Count Bundt, and the Treaty had begun.—There + were preliminary difficulties, however. Cromwell wanted a + Treaty that should include the Dutch and the King of Denmark, + and be, in fact, a League of the chief Protestant Powers of + Europe in behalf of general Protestant interests; Count Bundt, + on the other hand, pressed that special League between England + and Sweden which he had come to propound, arguing that, while + it would be more advantageous to both countries in the + meantime, it might be extended afterwards. For a while there + was danger of wreck on this preliminary difference; and + Cromwell even talked of transferring the Treaty to Stockholm + and sending Whitlocke thither for the second time as + Ambassador-Plenipotentiary—greatly to Whitlocke's horror, + who had no desire for another such journey, and a good deal to + Count Bundt's displeasure, who thought himself and his mission + slighted. At length, the Ambassador having signified that he + had received new instructions from his master, which would + enable him to meet Cromwell's views in some points, he was + allowed to have his own way in the main; and in February 1655-6 + the Treaty was on foot, both in the Council meetings at + Whitehall, and in meetings of Whitlocke and the other English + Commissioners with the Ambassador at Dorset House. "A long + debate touching levies of soldiers and hiring of ships in one + another's dominions;" "long debates touching contraband goods, + in which list were inserted by the Council corn, hemp, pitch, + tar, money, and other things:" such are Whitlocke's + descriptions of the Dorset House meetings. The Treaty, in fact, + was partly commercial and partly political, pointing to new + advantages for England, but also to new responsibilities, all + round the Baltic and throughout Germany. In the debates no one + more resolute, no one more clear-headed, no one more + contemptuous when he pleased, than Count Bundt; and he had, it + appears, a very able second in his subordinate, the Swedish + Resident in ordinary, Mr. Coyet.—In the midst of these + laborious debates over the Treaty news had arrived of the birth + at Stockholm of a son and heir to the Swedish King. The birth + of this Prince, afterwards Charles XI. of Sweden, occasioned a + grand display of loyalty at the Swedish Embassy in London. + "Feb. 20," writes Whitlocke, "the Swedish Ambassador kept a + solemnity this evening for the birth of the young Prince of + Sweden. All the glass of the windows of his house, which were + very large, being new-built, were taken off, and instead + thereof painted papers were fitted to the places, with the arms + of Sweden upon them, and inscriptions in great letters + testifying the rejoicing for the birth of the young Prince: on + the inside of the papers in the rooms were set close to them a + very great number of lighted candles, glittering through the + painted papers: the arms and colours and writings were plainly + to be discerned, and showed glorious, in the street: the like + was in the staircase, which had the form of a tower. In the + balconies on each side of the house were trumpets, which + sounded often seven or eight of them, together. The company at + supper were the Dutch Ambassador, the Portugal and Brandenburg + Residents, Mynheer Coyet, Resident for Sweden, the Earls of + Bedford and Devon, the Lords St. John, Ossory, Bruce, Ogilvie, + and two or three other young lords, the Count of Holac (a + German), the Lord George Fleetwood, and a great many knights + and gentlemen, besides the Ambassador's company. It was a very + great feast, of seven courses. The Swedish Ambassador was very + courteous to me; but the Dutch and others were reserved towards + me, and I as much to them."—Milton's Letter to the + Swedish King in Cromwell's name relates itself to this last + incident. The King had written specially to Cromwell announcing + the happy news of the birth of his son and heir; and Cromwell + replies in this fashion:—"As it is universally understood + that all concerns of friends, whether adverse or prosperous, + ought to be of mutual and common interest among them, the + performance by your Majesty of the most agreeable duty of + friendship, by vouchsafing to impart to us your joy by express + letters from yourself, cannot but be extremely gratifying to + us, in regard that it is a sign of singular and truly kingly + civility in you, indisposed as you are to live merely for + yourself, so to be indisposed even to keep a joy to yourself, + without feeling that your friends and allies participate in the + same. We duly rejoice, therefore, in the birth of a Prince, to + be the son of so excellent a King, and the heir, we hope, of + his father's valour and glory; and we congratulate you on the + same happy coincidence of domestic good fortune and success in + the field with which of old that King of renowned fortitude, + Philip of Macedon, was congratulated—the birth of whose + son Alexander and his conquest of the powerful nation of the + Illyrians are said to have been simultaneous. For we make no + question but the wresting of the Kingdom of Poland by your arms + from the Papal Empire, as it were a horn from the head of the + Beast, and your Peace made with the Duke of Brandenburg, to the + great satisfaction of all the pious, though with growls from + your adversaries, will be of very great consequence for the + peace and profit of the Church. May God grant an end worthy of + such signal beginnings; may He grant you a son like his father + in virtue, piety, and achievements! All which we truly expect + and heartily pray of God Almighty, already so propitious to + your affairs,"—It is clear that Cromwell desired to be + all the more polite to the Swedish monarch because of the long + delay of the Treaty with Count Bundt. That Treaty was going on + slowly; and we shall hear more of Milton in connexion with + it.<sup>2</sup> + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: So dated in Printed Collection, Phillips, and Skinner + Transcript. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Whitlocke, IV. 208-227; i.e. from July 1655 to Feb. 20, + 1655-6. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LXX.) To FREDERICK III., KING OF DENMARK, <i>Feb.</i> + 1655-6(?)<sup>1</sup>:—John Freeman, Philip Travis, and + other London merchants, have represented to his Highness that a + ship of theirs was seized and detained by the Danish + authorities in March 1653 because the Captain tried to slip + past Elsinore without paying the toll. He was a Dutchman and + had done this dishonestly on his own account, that he might + pocket the money. There had been negotiations on the subject + with the Danish Ambassador when there had been one in London, + and redress had been promised; but, though the merchants had + since sent an agent to Copenhagen, the only effect had been to + add expense to their loss. By the Danish law it is the master + of a ship that is punishable for the offence of evading toll, + and the ship may be condemned, but not the goods. The offender + in this case is now dead, but left a confession; the sum evaded + was small; the cargo detained was worth £3000; will his Majesty + see that the goods are restored, with reparation? + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Quite undated in Printed Collection, Phillips, and Skinner + Transcript, but conjecturally of about this date. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LXXI.) TO THE STATES GENERAL OF THE UNITED PROVINCES, + <i>April</i> 1, 1656:—A complaint in behalf of Thomas + Bussel, Richard Beare, and other English merchants. A ship of + theirs, called <i>The Edmund and John</i>, on her voyage from + Brazil to Lisbon, was seized long ago by a privateer of + Flushing, commanded by a Lambert Bartelson. The ship itself and + the personal property of the sailors had been restored; but not + the goods of the merchants. The Judges in Holland had not done + justice in their case; and now, after long litigation, an + appeal is made to the chief authority. + </p> + <p> + (LXXII.) To Louis XIV. OF FRANCE, <i>April</i> 9, 1656 (?): + This is the Credential Letter of LOCKHART, going on his embassy + to the French King. As Lockhart was by far the most eminent of + the Protector's envoys, it may be translated entire: "WILLIAM + LOCKHART, to whom We have given this letter to be carried to + your Majesty, is a Scot by nation, of an honourable house, + beloved by us, known for his very great fidelity, valour, and + integrity of character. He, that he may reside in France, and + be with you, so as to be able assiduously to signify to you my + singular respect for your Majesty, and my desire not only for + the preservation of peace between us but also for the + perpetuation of friendship, has received from us the amplest + instructions. We request, therefore, that you will receive him + kindly, and give him gracious audience as often as there may be + occasion, and place absolutely the same trust in whatsoever may + be said and settled by him in our name as if the same things + had been said and settled by Ourselves in person. We shall hold + them all as ratified. Meanwhile we pray all peace and + prosperity for your Majesty and your kingdom." + </p> + <p> + (LXXIII.) To CARDINAL MAZARIN, <i>April</i> 9, 1656 + (?):—A Letter accompanying the above, and introducing + LOCKHART specially to the Cardinal. It is also worth + translating entire: "Seeing the affairs of France most happily + administered by your counsels, and daily increasing in + prosperity to such a degree that your high popularity and high + authority in government are justly increased and enlarged + accordingly, I have thought it fit, when sending an ambassador + to your King with letters and instructions, to recommend him + also most expressly to your Eminence: to wit, WILLIAM LOCKHART, + a man of honourable family, closely related to us, and + respected by us besides for his singular trustworthiness. + Wherefore your Eminence may receive as our own whatsoever shall + be communicated by him in our name, and may also freely commit + and entrust to him in my confidence whatever you shall think + fit to communicate in return. From him too you will learn more + at large, what I now again profess, as more than once already, + how high is my feeling of your great services to France, and + what a well-wisher I am to your reputation and + dignity."<sup>1</sup> + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Neither of these Letters about Lockhart is in the Printed + Collection or in Phillips; but both are in the Skinner + Transcript (Nos. 110 and 111 there), whence they have been + printed by Mr. Hamilton in his <i>Milton Papers</i> (pp. 9-10). + He dates them both, as in the Transcript, "<i>West., Aug.</i> + 1658;" but that is clearly a mistake, and the letters are out + of their proper places in the Transcript. Lockhart was + nominated for the Embassy in Dec. 1655, and he "took ship at + Rye on the 14th of April, 1656, on his way to France" (see a + letter of Thurloe's to Pell in Vaughan's <i>Protectorate</i>, + I. 376-377). I have ventured to affix the exact date "April 9, + 1656" to the two letters, because it is on that day that I find + Lockhart's departure on his embassy definitely settled in the + Council Order Books. Before "Aug. 1658" Lockhart had known + Louis XIV. and the Cardinal intimately for more than two years + and needed no introduction. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LXXIV.) To CHARLES X., KING OF SWEDEN, <i>April</i> 17, + 1656:—Another extremely polite letter of the Protector to + his Swedish Majesty, marking a farther stage in the proceedings + of the Swedish Treaty.—That Treaty had been going on at + Dorset House, the Swedish Ambassador and the Swedish Resident, + continuing their colloquies with Whitlocke. Fiennes, and + Strickland, about pitch, tar, hemp, mutual privileges of trade + between England and Sweden, trade also with Prussia, Poland, + and Russia, and all the other items of the Treaty, and the + Ambassador always pushing on the business and chafing at the + slow progress made. Again and again he had taken serious + offence at something. Once it was because, waiting on the + Protector at Whitehall, he had been kept half-an-hour before + the Protector appeared. It was with difficulty he was prevented + from going away without seeing his Highness; "he durst not for + his head," he said, "admit of such dishonour to his master"; he + had to be pacified by an apology. Then, when he did see the + Protector, he had fresh cause for dissatisfaction. The + propositions of the Treaty, as agreed upon so far between the + Commissioners and the Ambassador, having been reported to the + Council, and there having been a discussion on them there, + Thurloe taking a chief part, new hesitations and difficulties + had arisen, so that, when Cromwell conversed with Count Bundt, + the Count was amazed to find his Highness cooler about the + Treaty altogether than he had expected, and again harping on + Protestant interests and the necessity of including the Dutch. + The Count seems then to have broken bounds in his talk about + the Protector to Whitlocke and others. In his own country, + Sweden, he said, "when a man professed sincerity, they + understood it to be plain and clear dealing"; if a man meant + <i>Yea</i> he said <i>Yea</i>, and if he meant <i>No</i> he + said <i>No</i>; but in England it seemed to be different. The + explanations and soft words of Whitlocke and the rest having + calmed him down again, the Treaty proceeded.—One of the + most important meetings at Dorset House, by Whitlocke's + account, was on the 8th of April. Mr. Jessop, as one of the + Clerks of the Council, was there by appointment, and read "the + new Articles in English as they were drawn up according to the + last resolves of the Council." A long debate on the Articles + followed. The Ambassador begged "to be excused if he should + mistake anything of the sense of them, they being in English, + which he could not so well understand as if they had been in + Latin, which they must be put into in conclusion; but he did + observe," &c. In fact, he restated his objections to making + pitch, tar, hemp, flax, and sails, contraband, as they were the + staple produce of Sweden. Lord Fiennes, in reply, premised: + "that the Articles were brought in English for the saving of + time, and they should be put in Latin when his Excellency + should desire," and then discussed the main subject. Whitlocke + followed, and the Ambassador again, and Fiennes again, all in + English; and "Mynheer Coyet then spake in Latin, that pitch, + tar, and hemp were not in their own nature, nor by the law of + nations, esteemed contraband goods," &c. Strickland said a + few words in reply, and then Whitlocke made a longer and more + lawyer-like answer to Mynheer Coyet,—also, as he takes + care to tell us, speaking in Latin. The discussion, which was + long protracted, and extended to other topics, was closed by + the Ambassador; who said "he desired a copy of these Articles + now debated, and, if they pleased, that he might have it in + Latin, which he would consider of." This was + promised.—The meeting so described was nearly the last in + which the Swedish Resident, M. Coyet, took part. He was on the + eve of his departure from England, leaving his principal, Count + Bundt, to finish the Treaty; and the present brief letter of + Milton for Cromwell to his Swedish Majesty has reference to + that fact. "Peter Julius Coyet," it begins, "having performed + his mission to us, and so performed it that he ought not to be + dismissed by us without the distinction of justly earned + praise, is on the point of returning to your Majesty"; and in + three sentences more very handsome testimony is borne to + Coyet's ability and fidelity in the discharge of his duty, and + his Swedish Majesty is again assured of the Protector's high + regard for himself. "A constant course of victories against all + enemies of the Church" is the Protector's wish for + him.—Evidently, again, Cromwell, whatever might be the + issue of the Treaty, was anxious to stand well with the + Scandinavian; in corroboration of which we have this special + paragraph in Whitlocke under date May 3: "This day the + Protector gave the honour of knighthood to MYNHEER COYET, the + King of Sweden's Resident here, who was now SIR PETER COYET, + and gave him a fair jewel, with his Highness's picture, and a + rich gold chain: it cost about £400." Coyet, therefore, had + remained in London a fortnight after the date of Milton's + letter.<sup>1</sup> Indeed he remained a few days longer, + assisting in the Treaty to the last. + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Whitlocke, IV. 227-255: i.e. from Feb. 20, 1655-6, to May 3, + 1656. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LXXV.) To Louis XIV. OF FRANCE, <i>May</i> 14, + 1656:<sup>1</sup>—John Dethicke, Merchant, at present + Lord Mayor of the City of London, and another merchant, named + William Wakefield, have represented to his Highness that, as + long ago as October 1649, a ship of theirs, called <i>The Jonas + of London</i>, was taken at the mouth of the Thames by one + White of Barking, acting under a commission from the son of the + late King, and taken into Dunkirk, then governed for the French + King by M. L'Estrades. They had applied for satisfaction at the + time, but had received a harsh answer from the governor. + Perhaps his French Majesty, on receipt of this letter, will + direct justice to be done. + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Not dated in Printed Collection, Phillips, or Skinner + Transcript; but dated by reference to it in a subsequent + letter. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LXXVI.) TO THE STATES-GENERAL OF THE UNITED PROVINCES, + <i>May</i> 1656:—Also about a ship, but this time for the + recovery of insurance on one. She was <i>The Good Hope of + London</i>, belonging to John Brown, Nicholas Williams, and + others; she had been insured in Amsterdam; she had been taken + by a ship of the Dutch East India Company on her way to the + East Indies; the insurers had refused to pay the sum insured + for; and for six years the poor owners had been hopelessly + fighting the case in the Dutch courts. It is a case of real + hardship. + </p> + <p> + (LXXVII.) TO THE SAME, <i>May</i> 1656:—Three times + before letters have been written to the States-General in the + interest of Thomas and William Lower, who had been left + property in Holland by their father's will, but have been + unjustly kept out of the same by powerful persons there, and + tossed from law-court to law-court. This fourth application, it + is hoped, may be more successful. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + These thirteen State Letters, were there nothing else, would + prove that in and after the winter of 1655-6 Milton's services + were again in request for ordinary office-work. But they do not + represent the whole of his renewed industry in that employment. + </p> + <p> + The tremendous Swedish ambassador, Count Bundt, whose energy in + his master's interests had swept through Whitehall like a storm, + searching out flaws, waking up Thurloe and the Council, and + obliging Cromwell himself to be more circumspect, had made his + influence felt, it seems, even in the house of the blind + Secretary-Extraordinary. It was on the 8th of April, 1656, as we + have just learnt from Whitlocke, that the Ambassador, in one of + his conferences with Whitlocke, Fiennes, and Strickland, in + Dorset House, M. Coyet also being present, had rather objected to + the fact that the new Articles of the Treaty, drafted for his + consideration by the Council, and brought to the conference by + Mr. Jessop, had been brought in English, and not in Latin, as + would have been business-like. Latin or English, as the + Commissioners knew, it would have been all the same to Count + Bundt, inasmuch as it was the matter of the Articles that + displeased him; but they had promised that he should have them in + Latin, and Whitlocke had judiciously taken the opportunity of + speaking in Latin, in reply to some of M. Coyet's observations in + the same tongue, as if to show the Ambassador that Latin was by + no means so scarce a commodity as he seemed to suppose about the + Protector's Court. There had been delay, however, in furnishing + the promised Latin translation; and Count Bundt, glad of that new + occasion for fault-finding, did not let it escape him. "The + Swedish Ambassador," relates Whitlocke under date May 6, 1656, + "again complained of the delays in his business, and that, when + he had desired to have the Articles of this Treaty put into + Latin, according to the custom in Treaties, it was fourteen days + they made him stay for that translation, and sent it to one MR. + MILTON, a blind man, to put them into Latin, who, he said, must + use an amanuensis to read it to him, and that amanuensis might + publish the matter of the Articles as he pleased; and that it + seemed strange to him there should be none but a blind man + capable of putting a few Articles into Latin: that the Chancellor + [the late Oxenstiern] with his own hand penned the Articles made + at Upsal [in Whitlocke's Treaty], and so he heard the Ambassador + Whitlocke did for those on his part. The employment of MR. MILTON + was excused to him, because several other servants of the + Council, fit for that employment, were then absent."<sup>1</sup> + If this is exact, Count Bundt, having been promised the Latin + translation on the 8th of April, did not receive it till about + the 22nd, and he had been nursing his wrath on the subject for a + fortnight more before it exploded. In the delay itself he had + certainly good ground for complaint. There was reason also in the + complaint that important secret documents had gone to a blind + man, who must employ an amanuensis, unless the Commissioners + could have replied that the Protector and the Council had + thoroughly seen to that matter, and that Milton's amanuensis on + such occasions was always a sworn clerk from the Whitehall + office. On the whole, the Commissioners seem to have taken more + easily than became their places, or than the Protector would have + liked, the insinuation of the imperious Count that the + Protector's official retinue must be a ragged and undisciplined + rout, not to be compared with Karl Gustav's. May not Whitlocke + himself, however, thinking at that moment of his own Latin + sufficiency, have sharpened the point of the + insinuation?<sup>2</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Whitlocke, IV. 257. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Whitlocke, from his interest in Swedish affairs, had taken + ample notes of the negotiations with Count Bundt; and his story + of them is unusually minute. One observes that more than once + in the course of it he dwells on the fact that, though employed + by the Protector in this business, and taking the lead in it, + he was still <i>not</i> one of the Council. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The excuse of the Commissioners to Count Bundt for having sent + the Articles to Milton for translation was that "several other + servants of the Council, fit for that employment, were then + absent." They mast have referred, in particular, to Mr. Philip + Meadows, the Latin Secretary in Ordinary. He had, we find, taken + some part in the negotiation in its earlier stage;<sup>1</sup> + but, before it had proceeded far, he had been selected for a + service which took him out of England. In December 1655 it had + been resolved to send a special agent to Portugal; and on the + 19th of February, 1655-6, at a Council meeting at which Cromwell + himself was present, Meadows, thought of from the first, was + formally nominated as the fit person. It was a great promotion + for Meadows; for, whereas his salary hitherto in the Latin + Secretaryship had been £200 a year, his allowance for the + Portuguese agency was to be £800 a year or more. On the 21st of + February he had £300 advanced to him for his outfit; on the 28th + he was voted £100, being for two quarters of his Secretarial + salary due to him, with £50 more for the quarter then current but + not completed; and within a few days afterwards he was on his way + to Lisbon.<sup>2</sup> His departure, I should say—preceded + perhaps by a week or two of cessation from office duty in + preparation for it—was the real cause of the re-employment + of Milton at this time in such routine work as we have seen him + engaged in. All or most of his former letters for the Protector, + it may have been noticed, e.g. those on the Piedmontese business, + had been on important occasions, such as might justify resort to + the Latin Secretary Extraordinary; but in the batch written since + Dec. 1655, when Meadows's Portuguese mission had been resolved + on, the ordinary and the extraordinary come together, and Milton, + in writing letters about ships, as well as in translating draft + articles, does work that would have been done by Meadows. And + this arrangement, we may add, was to continue henceforth. For, + despite the sneers of Count Bundt as to the poverty of the + Protector's official staff, the Protector and Council, we shall + find, were in no hurry to fill up the place left vacant by + Meadows, but were quite satisfied that Mr. Milton should go on + doing his best alone, with Thurloe to instruct him, and with the + help of such underlings in Latin as Thurloe could put at his + disposal. My belief is that Milton was pleased at this trust in + his renewed ability for ordinary business. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Whitlocke, IV. 218; where it is mentioned that in Dec. 1655 + Meadows communicated with Whitlocke on the subject of the + Treaty by Thurloe's orders. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Council Order Books of dates. It is curious that Whitlocke, + noting the new appointment of Meadows, under March 1655-6, + enters it thus: "Mr. Meadows was going for <i>Denmark</i>, + agent for the Protector." Meadows did go to Denmark, but not + till a good while afterwards; and the blunder of <i>Denmark</i> + at this date for <i>Portugal</i> is one of the many proofs that + Whitlocke's memorials are not all strictly contemporary, but + often combinations of reminiscences and afterthoughts with the + materials of an actual diary. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Among the matters that occupied the attention of the Protector's + Government about this time was the state of Popular Literature. + </p> + <p> + It is a fact, easily explained by the laws of human nature, and + capable of being proved statistically, that since the strong + government of Cromwell had come in, and something like calm and + leisure had become possible, there had been a return of people's + fancies to the lighter Muses. Nothing strikes one more, in + turning over the Registers of the old London Book-trade, than the + steady increase through the Protectorate of the proportion of + books of secular and general interest to those of controversy and + theology. One feels oneself still in the age of Puritanism, it is + true, but as if past the densest and most stringent years of + Puritanism and coming once more into a freer and merrier air. + Poems, romances, books of humour, ballads and songs, reprints of + Elizabethan tragedies and comedies, reprints of such pieces as + Shakespeare's <i>Venus and Adonis</i>, collections of facetious + extracts from the wits and poets of the reigns of James and + Charles I., are now not uncommon. Humphrey Moseley, Milton's + publisher of 1645, faithful to his old trade-instinct for poetry + and the finer literature generally, was still at the head of the + publishers in that line; but Henry Herringman, who had published + Lord Broghill's <i>Parthenissa</i>, had begun to rival Moseley, + and there were other caterers of amusing and humorous books. + Publishers imply authors; and so in the London of the + Protectorate, apart from stray survivors from among the wits of + King Charles's reign, there were men of a younger sort, bred amid + the more recent Puritan conditions, but with literary zests that + were Bohemian rather than Puritan, Among these, as we have + hinted, and as we may now state more distinctly, were Milton's + nephews, Edward and John Phillips.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: My notes from the Stationers' Registers, from 1652 to 1656. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Such Popular Literature as we have described had been left + perfectly free. Indeed Censorship or Licensing of books + generally, as distinct from newspapers, had all but ceased. Since + Bradshaw's Press-Act of 1649, it had been rather rare for an + author or bookseller to take the trouble, in the case of a + non-political book, to procure the imprimatur of any official + licenser in addition to the ordinary trade-registration; and in + this, as an established custom, Cromwell's Government had + acquiesced. Only in one particular, apart from politics, was + there any disposition to interfere with the liberty of printing. + This was where popular wit, humour, or poetry might pass into the + ribald, profane, or indecent. Vigilance against open immorality + had from the first appeared to Cromwell one of the chief duties + of his Government; and he seems to have been unusually attentive + to this duty in 1655-6, when he had just put the country under + the military police of his Major-Generals and their subordinates. + Then it is that we hear most of the suppressing of horse-races + and the like, and that we are least surprised at encountering + such a piece of information as that "players were taken in + Newcastle and whipped for rogues." Now, though by this time there + had already, by previous care on the part of Government, been a + considerable cleansing of the Popular Literature of London, yet + something or other in the state of the book-world about 1655-6 + seems to have occasioned new and more special interference. I + believe it to have been the increased frequency of ballads, + facetiæ, and reprints, of higher literary character than the + coarse pamphlets that had been suppressed, but objectionable on + the same moral grounds. At all events, all but simultaneously + with the Order of the Protector and his Council, of Sept. 5, + 1655, concentrating the whole newspaper press in the hands of + Needham and Thurloe (see ante pp. 51-52), there had been a new + general Ordinance "against Scandalous Books and Pamphlets and for + the Regulation of Printing" (Aug. 18, 1655), and it was not long + before this Ordinance was put in operation in one or two cases of + the kind indicated. Here are some extracts from the Order Books + of the Council in April and May 1656:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + <i>Tuesday, April</i> 1656:—"That it be referred to the + Earl of Mulgrave, Colonel Jones, and Lord Strickland, or any + two of them, to examine the business touching the book entitled + <i>Sportive Wit or the Muses' Merriment</i>, and to send for + the author and printer, and report the same to the Council." + </p> + <p> + <i>Friday, April</i> 25, 1656:—Present: the Lord + President Lawrence, the Earl of Mulgrave, Lord Lambert, Sir + Gilbert Pickering, Colonel Sydenham, Colonel Jones, the Lord + Deputy of Ireland (Fleetwood), Lord Viscount Lisle, Mr. Rous, + Major-General Skippon, and Lord Strickland. "Colonel Jones + reports from the Committee of the Council to whom was referred + the consideration of a book entitled <i>Sportive Wit or the + Muses' Merriment</i>, that the said book contains in it much + scandalous, lascivious, scurrilous, and profane matter. + <i>Ordered</i> by his Highness the Lord Protector, by and with + the advice of the Council, That the Lord Mayor of the City of + London and the rest of the Committee for the regulation of + Printing do cause all such [copies] of the said book as are not + already seized to be forthwith seized on, wherever they shall + be found, and cause the same, together with those already + seized, to be delivered to the Sheriffs of London and + Middlesex, who are to cause the same to be forthwith publicly + burnt.—He further reports that Nathaniel Brookes, + Stationer, at the Angel in Cornhill, caused the said book to be + printed; that the printers thereof were John Grismond, living + in Ivy Lane, and James Cotterill, living in Lambeth Hill; and + that JOHN PHILLIPS, of Westminster, was the author of the + Epistle Dedicatory. <i>Ordered</i>, That it be referred to Sir + John Barkstead, Knight, Lieutenant of the Tower [and + Major-General for Westminster and Middlesex], to cause the + fines to be levied on the said persons according to law: [also] + that the said persons do attend the Council on Tuesday + next."—Milton's younger nephew, therefore, had been the + editor of the offending volume. Of the eleven members of + Council present when this fact came out, six were among those + friends of Milton whom he had specially mentioned in his + <i>Defensio Secunda</i>: viz. Fleetwood, Lambert, Lawrence, + Pickering, Sydenham, and Strickland. + </p> + <p> + <i>Saturday, April</i> 26, 1656:—His Highness the Lord + Protector approves of a great many recent Orders of Council + presented to him all at once by Mr. Scobell, the Clerk of the + Council. Among them is the order "for burning the book called + <i>Sportive Wit</i>." + </p> + <p> + <i>Friday, May</i> 9, 1656:—His Highness the Lord + Protector present in person, with Lord President Lawrence, + Lambert, Fleetwood, Sir Gilbert Pickering, Strickland, + Sydenham, and Jones:—<i>Ordered</i>, &c. "That the + Lord Mayor of the City of London and the rest of the Committee + for regulating Printing do cause all the books entitled + <i>Choice Droliery, Songs and Sonnets</i> (being stuffed with + profane and obscene matter, tending to the corruption of + manners), to be seized wherever the same shall be found, and + cause the same to be delivered to the Sheriffs of London and + Middlesex, who are required to give order that the same be + burnt." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Copies of the second of the two books thus condemned by Cromwell + and his Council have, I believe, survived the burning, The + publisher was a John Sweeting, who had duly registered the book + on the 9th of February 1655-6, shortly after which date it had + appeared with this full title, <i>Choice Drollery, Songs and + Sonnets: being a Collection of Divers Eminent Pieces of Poetry of + several Eminent Authors, never before printed</i>. I have not + seen any copy of the other book bearing the precise title + <i>Sportive Wit, or the Muses' Merriment</i>; but there are + surviving copies of what may be the same with an alternative + title, viz. <i>Wit and Drollery: Jovial Poems, never before + printed, by Sir J.M., Jas. S., Sir W.D., J.D., and other + admirable wits</i>. It had been out in London since. Jan. 18, + 1655-6, had been registered on the 30th of that month, and is a + respectably printed little book of 160 pages, with the motto + "<i>Ut nectar ingenium</i>" under the title, and with, the + imprint <i>London. Printed for Nath. Brook, at the Angel in + Cornhill</i>, 1656. It contains moreover a Dedication "To the + truly noble Edward Pepes, Esq.," and an Epistle "To the Courteous + Reader," both signed with the initials J.P. Either, therefore, + this is the same book as the <i>Sportive Wit or the Muses' + Merriment</i> which, figures in the Orders of the Council, or + John Phillips had edited simultaneously for Nathaniel Brooke (who + had been the publisher of his <i>Satyr against Hypocrites</i> in + the preceding August) two books of the same general character. + Even on the latter supposition, <i>Wit and Drollery,</i> in the + absence of <i>Sportive Wit,</i> may serve as a representative of + that production of the same editor and the same publisher. The + substance of Phillips's Epistle to the Reader in <i>Wit and + Drollery</i> is as follows:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "Reader,—To give thee a broadside of plain dealing, this + <i>Wit</i> I present thee with is such as can only be in + fashion, invented purposely to keep off the violent assaults of + melancholy, assisted by the additional engines and weapons of + sack and good company... What hath not been extant of Sir J. + M., of Ja. S., of Sir W. D., of J. D., and other miraculous + muses of the times, are here at thy service; and, as Webster, + at the end of his play called <i>The White Devil,</i> + subscribes that the action of Perkins crowned the whole play, + so, when thou viewest the title, and readest the sign of 'Ben + Jonson's Head, in the backside of the Exchange, and the Angel + in Cornhill,' where they are sold, enquire who could better + furnish thee with such sparkling copies of wit." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Among the included pieces are the younger Alexander Gill's + lampoon on Ben Jonson for his <i>Magnetic Lady</i> and Ben + Jonson's reply to the same (ante Vol. I. pp. 528-529); there are + also several pieces of Suckling; but, for the rest, as the + title-page bears, the volume consists chiefly of specimens of + <i>"Sir J. M."</i> (Sir John Mennes), <i>"Jas. S."</i> (James + Smith), <i>"Sir W. D"</i> (Sir William Davenant), and <i>"J. + D."</i> (Dr. Donne), professing not to have been before in print. + Whether this was so, and whether the pieces were all + authentically by these poets, need not here concern us. It is + enough to say that many of the pieces are decidedly, and some + very grossly, of the improper kind. The reader will not expect to + have this proved by extract; but of the more innocent "drollery" + the following stanzas from a poem entitled <i>"Nonsense"</i> may + be a sample:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + O that my lungs could bleat like buttered pease! + </p> + <p> + But bleating of my lungs hath caught the itch, + </p> + <p> + And are as mangy as the Irish seas, + </p> + <p> + That doth engender windmills in a bitch. + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + I grant that rainbows, being lulled asleep, + </p> + <p> + Snort like a woodknife in a lady's eyes; + </p> + <p> + Which makes her grieve to see a pudding creep; + </p> + <p> + For creeping puddings only please the wise. + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + Note that a hard-roed herring should presume + </p> + <p> + To swing a tithe-pig in a catskin purse, + </p> + <p> + For fear the hailstones which did fall at Rome + </p> + <p> + By lessening of the fault should make it worse. + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + For 'tis most certain winter woolsacks grow, + </p> + <p> + Till that the sheepshorn planets give the hint, + </p> + <p> + From geese to swans, if men could keep them so, + </p> + <p> + And pickle pancakes in Geneva print. + </p> + </div> + </div> + <p> + At worst, the volume was but a catchpenny collection of pieces of + a kind of which there was plenty already dispersed in print under + the names of the same authors, or of others as classical; and, if + this was the same book as the <i>Sportive Wit,</i> or at all like + that book, it may have been some mere accident of the moment that + brought Government censure upon Phillips's volume, while others, + as had, escaped. But how annoying the whole occurrence to + Milton!<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Thomason copy of <i>Wit and Drollery</i> in the British + Museum, dated Jan. 18, 1655-6.—I failed to find a book + with the title <i>The Sportive Wit</i> in the Thomason + Collection, and hence my hypothesis that there was but one + book, with alternative titles. I am rather inclined to believe, + however, that there were two, and have a vague recollection of + having seen two books, one with one of the titles and the other + with the other, advertised in a contemporary newspaper list of + books on sale by the publisher Brooke. In Lowndes's Bibliog. + Manual by Bohn, <i>sub voce</i> "Wit," the two books are given + as distinct; but then <i>Sportive Wit or the Muses' + Merriment</i> is there dated 1656, while there is no notice of + an edition of <i>Wit and Drollery, Jovial Poems,</i> till 1661. + Though I leave the matter in doubt, some collector of Facetiac + may know all about it. In any case, if <i>Wit and Drollery</i> + was not the identical book condemned, it is of interest to us + as being one of Phillips's editing at the same + moment.—Donne, who figures so strangely in <i>Wit and + Drollery,</i> had been dead twenty-five years, but was + accessible in various editions and reprints of his Poems. The + other three poets named in the title-page as the chief authors + of the pieces—Sir John Mennes, James Smith, and + Davenant—were still alive and publishing for themselves. + Indeed the <i>Musarum Delitice, or Muses' Recreation,</i> + consisting of pieces by Mennes and Smith, had been published by + Herringman only the year before (1655), and was in its second + edition in 1658; and it may have been the success of this and + Smith in it. Mennes, a stout book that led to Phillips's + publication and to the use of the names of Mennes Royalist + sea-captain, who had served with Prince Rupert, and was in + exile at our present date, became Chief Comptroller of the Navy + after the Restoration and lived to 1670. Smith was a Devonshire + clergyman, of Royalist antecedents, who had complied with the + existing powers and retained his living. After the Restoration + he had promotion in the Church: and he died in 1667. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Less unsatisfactory to Milton, must hare been the literary + appearances about the same time of his elder nephew, Edward + Phillips. On the same day on which the stationer Nathaniel Brooke + had registered <i>Wit and Drollery</i> edited by John Phillips, + i.e. on Jan. 30, 1655-6, he had registered two tales or small + novels called "<i>The Illustrious Shepherdess</i>" and "<i>The + Imperious Brother</i>" both "written originally in Spanish and + now Englished by Edward Phillips, Gent."<sup>1</sup> The first of + these translations, both from the Spanish of Juan Perez de + Montalvan (1602-1638), is dedicated by Phillips to the + Marchioness of Dorchester, in what Godwin calls "an extraordinary + style of fustian and bombast."<sup>2</sup> With the exception, of + such affectation in style, which Phillips afterwards threw off, + there is nothing ill to report of these early performances of + his; and two translations from the Spanish were a creditable + proof of accomplishment. But still more interesting was another + literary performance of Edward Phillips's of the same date. This + was his edition of the Poems of Drummond of Hawthornden. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Stationers' Registers of date. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Godwin's <i>Lives of the Phillipses</i>, 138-139. I know the + translations only from Godwin's account of them. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Drummond had died in 1649, leaving in manuscript, at Hawthornden + or in Edinburgh, not only his <i>History of Scotland from 1423 to + 1542, or through the Reigns of the Five Jameses</i>, but also + various other prose-writings, and a good deal of verse in + addition to what he had published in his life-time. Drummond's + son and heir being under age, the care of the MSS. had devolved + chiefly on Drummond's brother-in-law, Sir John Scot of + Scotstarvet, a well-known Scottish judge, antiquary, and + eccentric. Hitherto the troubles in Scotland had prevented the + publication by Sir John of these remains of his celebrated + relative, the only real Scottish poet of his generation. With the + other Scottish dignitaries and officials who had resisted the + English invasion, Sir John himself had been turned out of his + public posts, heavily fined, and remitted into private life (Vol. + IV. p. 561). Gradually, however, as Scotland had become + accustomed to her union with England, things had come round again + for the old ex-Judge, as well as for others. There is reason to + believe that he was in London for some time in 1654-5, soliciting + the Protector and the Council for favour in the matter of his + fine, if not for restoration to one of his former offices, the + Director of the Scottish Chancery. The case of Scot of + Scotstarvet, at all events, <i>was</i> then under discussion in + the Council, with the result that his fine, which had been + originally £1500, but had been reduced to £500, was first reduced + farther to £300, and next, apparently by Cromwell's own + interposition, altogether "discharged and taken off, in + consideration of the pains he hath taken and the service he hath + done to the Commonwealth."<sup>1</sup> If Scotstarvet himself, + then seventy years of age, had come to London on the business, he + must have brought Drummond's MSS., or copies of them, with him. + On the 16th of January 1854-5 there had been registered at + Stationers' Hall, as forthcoming, Drummond's <i>History of + Scotland through the Reigns of the Five Jameses</i>, with a + selection of other prose-writings of his, chiefly of a political + kind; and the volume did appear immediately, as a handsome small + folio, bearing date 1655, and "printed by Henry Hills for Rich. + Tomlins and himself." As Henry Hills was one of the printers to + his Highness and the Council, the appearance from his press of a + volume so full of conservative doctrine, inculcating so strongly + the duty of submission to kingly prerogative and to constituted + authority, may not be without significance. Another interesting + circumstance about it is that it had appeared under the charge of + a London editor, "Mr. Hall of Gray's Inn,"—i.e., unless I + am mistaken, that Mr. John Hall whom we saw brought in, at £100 a + year, to do pieces of literary hackwork for the Council under + Milton as long ago as May 1649, and who had been in some such + employment for the Council, at least occasionally, ever since + (ante p. 177). Accidental or not, the fact that the editor of + Drummond's Prose Writings, selected by Scotstarvet or by the + printer Hills, should have been a servant of the Council of + State, and a kind of underling of Milton in that capacity, is at + least curious. But it becomes more curious when taken in + connexion, with the fact that the editor of the companion volume, + containing the first professedly complete edition of Drummond's + Poems, was Milton's elder nephew. This volume, though announced + by Mr. Hall in his Introduction to the Prose Volume, did not + appear till about a year afterwards, and then as an octavo of 224 + pages, with this title, <i>"Poems by that most famous Wit, + William Drummond of Hawthornden ... London, Printed for Rickard + Tomlins, at the Sun and Bible, neare Pye-Corner,</i> 1656." The + volume is dedicated to Sir John Scot of Scotstarvet, and includes + about sixty small pieces of Drummond never before published, + which Sir John had supplied from the Hawthornden MSS. Apart from + revision of the proofs, Phillips's editorship consisted in a + prose preface, signed "E.P.," and a set of commendatory verses, + signed in full "Edward Phillips." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Council Order Books, March 9 and March 19, 1654-5. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Drummond's Poetry had long been known to Milton in the + fragmentary state in which alone it had been till then + accessible, i.e. in the successive instalments of it published by + Drummond himself in Edinburgh between 1613 and 1638. There might + be proof also that Drummond was one of Milton's favourites, and + regarded by him as one of the sweetest and truest poets that + there had been in Great Britain through that age of miscellaneous + metrical effort, much of it miscalled Poetry, which included the + whole of the laureateship of Ben Jonson and the beginning of that + of Davenant. Accordingly, it is not difficult to suppose that + phrases about Drummond from Milton's own mouth were worked by + Phillips into his prose preface to the London edition of the + Poems of Drummond. There is a little hyperbolism in that preface; + but the opening definition of Drummond's genius is exact, and the + fitness of some of the phrases quite admirable. Thus:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "To say that these Poems are the effects of a genius the most + polite and verdant that ever the Scottish nation produced, + although it he a commendation not to be rejected (for it is + well known that that country hath afforded many rare and + admirable wits), yet it is not the highest that may be given + him; for, should I affirm that neither Tasso, nor Guarini, nor + any of the most neat and refined spirits of Italy, nor even the + choicest of our English Poets, can challenge to themselves any + advantage above him, it could not be judged any attribute + superior to what he deserves ... And, though he hath not had + the good fortune to be so generally famed abroad as many + others, perhaps of less esteem, yet this is a consideration + that cannot diminish, but rather advance, his credit; for, by + breaking forth of obscurity, he will attract the higher + admiration, and, like the sun emerging from a cloud, appear at + length with so much the more forcible rays..." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Milton's interesting German friend, Henry Oldenburg, had recently + removed from London to Oxford. "In the beginning of this year," + says Wood in his <i>Fasti</i> for 1656, "studied in Oxon, in the + condition of a sojourner, HENRY OLDENBURG, who wrote himself + sometimes GRUBENDOL [anagram of OLDENBUBG]; and in the month of + June he was entered a, student by the name of <i>'Henricus + Oldenburg, Bremensis, Nobilis Saxo'</i>: at which time he was + tutor to a young Irish nobleman, called Henry O'Bryen [son of + Henry, Earl of Thomond], then also a student there."<sup>1</sup> + As we construe the case, Oldenburg, having been for some years in + England as agent for Bremen, had begun to see that he was likely + to remain in England permanently; and he had gone to Oxford for + the benefit of a year of study there with readings in the + Bodleian, and the society more especially of Robert Boyle, + Wilkins, Wallis, Petty, and the rest of the Oxford colony or + offshoot from the <i>Invisible College</i> of London. Desirable + on its own account, this migration to Oxford had been made easier + to him financially, if it had not been, occasioned, by the + arrangement that he should be tutor there to the young Irish + nobleman whom Wood names. But this young nobleman was not to be + Oldenburg's only pupil at Oxford. Though Wood does not mention + the fact, there went with him thither, or there speedily followed + him thither, to be also under his charge, another young Irish + nobleman. This was no other than, our own Richard Jones, son of + Viscount and Lady Ranelagh, the Benjamin among Milton's pupils. + Whatever had been the nature of Milton's recent instructions of + the youth, they had now ceased, and Oldenburg was to be + thenceforward the youth's more regular tutor. It does not seem to + have been intended that young Ranelagh should formally enter a + college, so as to receive the usual education at the University, + but only that he should obtain some acquaintance with Oxford and + its ways, and be for a while in the society of his uncle Boyle, + and of his two cousins, Viscount Dungarvan and Mr. Richard Boyle. + If these two sons of the Earl of Cork were still under the + tutorship of Dr. Peter Du Moulin, Oldenburg and Jones at Oxford + must have come necessarily also into constant intercourse with + that very secret admirer of Milton. Oxford, we do gather, was + still Du Moulin's head-quarters; but he was so much on the wing + thence that Oldenburg might expect to succeed him in the + tutorship of at least one of the young Boyles. Oldenburg was then + thirty years of age, and young Ranelagh about sixteen. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Wood's Fasti, II. 197. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Among four letters to young Jones or Ranelagh included in + Milton's Latin Familiar Epistles one is undated. It is put second + of the four in the printed collection, but it ought to have been + put first. It is Milton's first letter to the youth in his new + position at Oxford under Henry Oldenburg's charge. The date may + be in or about May 1636:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "To the Noble Youth, RICHARD JONES. + </p> + <p> + "I received your letter much after its date,—not till it + had lain, I think, fifteen days, put away somewhere, at your + mother's. Most gladly at last I recognised in it your continued + affection for me and sense of gratitude. In truth my goodwill + to you, and readiness to give you the most faithful + admonitions, have never but justified, I hope, both your + excellent mother's opinion of me and confidence in me, and your + own disposition. There is, indeed, as you write, plenty of + amenity and salubrity in the place where you now are; there are + books enough for the needs of a University: if only the amenity + of the spot contributed as much to the genius of the + inhabitants as it does to pleasant living, nothing would seem + wanting to the happiness of the place. The Library there, too, + is splendidly rich; but, unless the minds of the students are + made more instructed by means of it in the best kinds of study, + you might more properly call it a book-warehouse than a + Library. Most justly you acknowledge that to all these helps + there must be added a spirit for learning and habits of + industry. Take care, and steady care, that I may never have + occasion to find you in a different state of mind; and this you + will most easily avoid if you diligently obey the weighty and + friendly precepts of the highly accomplished Henry Oldenburg + beside you. Farewell, my well-beloved Richard; and allow me to + exhort and incite you to virtue and piety, like another + Timothy, by the example of that most exemplary woman, your + mother. + </p> + <p> + "Westminster." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + In this letter one observes the rather strict tone of Mentorship + assumed towards young Ranelagh, as if Milton was aware of + something in the youth, that needed checking, or as if Lady + Ranelagh, with her motherly knowledge, had given Milton a hint + that the strict tone with him would be generally the best. The + tendency to a depreciation of Oxford, which is also visible in + the letter, is no surprise from Milton. + </p> + <p> + The Anti-Oxonian feeling, if that is not too strong a name for it + after all, is even more apparent in Milton's next letter, + addressed not to young Ranelagh, but to his tutor. Young + Ranelagh, it appears, not long after the receipt of the + foregoing, had run up to London on a brief visit to his mother, + and had brought Milton a letter from Oldenburg. To this Milton + replies as follows:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "To HENRY OLDENBURG, Agent for Bremen with the English + Government. + </p> + <p> + "Your letter, brought by young Ranelagh, has found me rather + busy; and so I am forced to be briefer than I should wish. You + have certainly kept <i>your</i> departing promise of writing to + me, and that with a punctuality surpassed. I believe, by no one + hitherto in the payment of a debt. I congratulate you on your + present retirement, to my loss though it be, since it gives + pleasure to you; I congratulate you also on that happy state of + mind which enables you so easily to set aside at once the + ambition and the ease of city-life, and to lift your thoughts + to higher matters of contemplation. What advantage that + retirement affords, however, besides plenty of books, I know + not; and those persons you have found there as fit associates + in your studies I should suppose to be such rather from their + own natural constitution than from the discipline of the + place,—unless perchance, from missing you here, I do less + justice to the place for keeping you away. Meanwhile you + yourself rightly remark that there are too many there whose + occupation it is to spoil divine and human things alike by + their frivolous quibblings, that they may not seem to be doing + absolutely nothing for those many endowments by which they are + supported so much to the public detriment. All this you will + understand better for yourself. Those ancient annals of the + Chinese from the Flood downwards which you say are promised by + the Jesuit Martini<sup>1</sup> are doubtless very eagerly + expected on account of the novelty of the thing; but I do not + see what authority or confirmation they can add to the Mosaic + books. Our Cyriack, whom you bade me salute, returns the + salutation. Farewell. + </p> + <p> + "Westminster: June 25, 1656." + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Martin Martini, Jesuit Missionary to China, was born 1614 + and died 1661. + </p> + </div> + <p> + That Count Bundt's remonstrance on the employment of a blind man + in the Protector's diplomatic business had had no effect will be + proved by the following list of state-letters written by Milton + immediately after that remonstrance. We bring the list down to + Sept. 1656, the month in which the Second Parliament of the + Protectorate met: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LXXVIII.) To KINGS AND FOREIGN STATES GENERALLY, <i>June</i> + 1656:<sup>1</sup>—This is a Passport by the Protector in + favour of PETER GEORGE ROMSWINCKEL, Doctor of Laws. He had been + born and bred in the Roman Catholic Church, and had held high + offices in that Church at Cologne, but had become an ardent + Protestant, and had been for some time in England. He was now + on his way back to Germany, to assume the post of Councillor to + the widowed Duchess of Symmeren (?); and the Protector desires + all English officers, consuls, agents, &c., and also all + foreign Governments, to give him free passage and handsome + treatment. The tone of the letter is even haughtily Protestant. + On the ground that "most people think in Religion with easy + acquiescence in exactly what they have received from their + forefathers, and not what they themselves, after imploring + divine help, have learnt to be true by their own perception and + knowledge," the case of Romswinckel is represented as + peculiarly interesting; and such phrases as "the Papal + superstition" are not spared. The passport was probably + expected to come only into Protestant hands. + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: This Letter is not given in the Printed Collection or in + Phillips; it is in the Skinner Transcript, and has been printed + by Mr. Hamilton in his <i>Milton Papers</i> (pp. 5-6). + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LXXIX.) To CHARLES X., KING OF SWEDEN, <i>June</i> + 1656:<sup>1</sup>—A special recommendation of the above + Romswinckel to the Swedish King, in the same high Protestant + tone. + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Not in Printed Collection or Phillips, but in Skinner + Transcript, and printed by Hamilton (<i>Milton Papers</i>, + 6-7). + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LXXX.) TO THE KING OF PORTUGAL, <i>July</i> 1656:—The + Portuguese merchants of the Brazil Company owe certain English + merchants a considerable sum of money on shipping accounts + since 1649 and 1650. The English merchants, understanding that, + by recent orders of his Portuguese Majesty, they are likely to + lose the principal of the debt, and be put off with the bare + interest, have applied to the Protector. He thinks it a hard + case, and begs the King to let the debt be paid in full, + principal and five years of interest. + </p> + <p> + (LXXXI.) To CHARLES X., KING OF SWEDEN, <i>July</i> + 1656:—After more than two months of farther debating + between Count Bundt and the English Commissioners, in the + course of which there had been frequent new displays of the + Count's high temper, the Treaty between the Protector and + Charles Gustavus had at last been happily finished on the 17th + of July. On that day, Whitlocke tells as, he and Lords Fiennes + and Strickland had their long final meeting over the Treaty + with the Ambassador, ending; in formal signing and sealing on + both sides. The main difficulty had been got over thus: + "Concerning the carrying of pitch, tar, &c. to Spain, + during our war with them [the Spaniards], there was a single + Article, that the King of Sweden should be moved to give order + for the prohibiting of it, and a kind of undertaking that it + should be done." On the whole, the Protector was satisfied; + and, as he had contracted some admiration and liking for the + Ambassador, precisely on account of his unusual spirit and + stubbornness, he marked the conclusion of the Treaty by special + compliments and favours. "The Swedish Ambassador," says + Whitlocke under date July 25, "having taken his leave of the + Protector, received great civilities and respects from him, and + afterwards dined with him at Hampton Court, and hunted with + him. The Protector bestowed the dignity of knighthood upon one + of his [the Ambassador's] gentlemen, Sir Gustavus Duval, the + mareschal." The present Latin letter by Milton, accordingly, + was the letter of honourable dismissal which the Swede was to + take back to his master. Perhaps the Swede knew that even this + was written by the Protector's blind Latinist.—"Oliver, + Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, Ireland, + &c., to the most Serene Prince, Charles Gustavus, King of + the Swedes, Goths, and Vandals, &c." is the heading of the + letter; which proceeds thus:—"Most Serene King,—As + we have justly a very high regard for the friendship of so + great a Prince as your Majesty, one so famous for his + achievements, so necessarily should that most illustrious Lord, + CHRISTIERN BUNDT, your Ambassador Extraordinary, by whose + endeavours a Treaty of the closest alliance has just been + ratified between us, have been to as, were it but on this + pre-eminent account, an object of favour and good report. We + have accordingly judged it fit that he should be sent back to + you after his most praiseworthy performance of this Embassy: + but not without the highest acknowledgment at the same time of + his other excellent merits, to the end that one who has been + heretofore in esteem and honour with you may now feel that he + is indebted to this our commendation for yet more abundant + fruits of his assiduity and prudence. As for the transactions + that yet remain, we have resolved shortly to send to your + Majesty a special Embassy for those; and meanwhile may God + preserve your Majesty safe, to be a pillar in His Church's + defence and in the affairs of Sweden!—From our Palace of + Westminster,—July 1656. Your Majesty's most affectionate, + OLIVER, Protector &c."—Count Bundt, we may add, + remained in England a month more after all, receiving farther + attentions and entertainments; and not till Aug. 23 did he + finally depart, taking with him not only Milton's Letter, but + also a present from the Protector of £1200 worth of "white + cloth" and a magnificent jewel. It was because this jewel could + not be got ready at once that he had staid on; and it was worth + waiting for. "The jewel was his Highness's picture in a case of + gold, about the bigness of a five-shillings piece of silver, + set round the case with sixteen fair diamonds, each diamond + valued at £60: in all worth about £1000." The Count wore the + jewel tied with a blue ribbon to his breast so long as he was + in sight, barging down the Thames.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Whitlocke, IV. 257-273. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LXXXII.) To the King of Portugal, <i>Aug.</i> 1656:—Mr. + Philip Meadows has been in Lisbon since March, busy in the + duties of his mission, and sending letters and reports home. + There was still danger, however, in being an agent for the + English Commonwealth in a Roman Catholic country; and Meadows + had nearly shared the fate of Dorislaus and Ascham. On the 11th + of May, as he was returning at night to his lodgings in Lisbon, + carried in a litter, he was attacked by two horsemen, who + "discharged two pistols into the litter and shot him through + the left hand."<sup>1</sup> The wound was not serious; but the + King of Portugal was naturally in great concern. He offered a + large reward for the discovery of the criminals; and, in a + Latin letter to Cromwell, dated "Alcantara, May 26, N.S.," he + professed his desire to have them punished, whether they were + English refugees or native Portuguese.<sup>2</sup> The present + Letter by Milton is the Protector's reply. Though there has + been some interval since the receipt of his Majesty's letter, + his Highness has not yet heard that the criminals have been + apprehended; and he insists that there shall be a vigorous + prosecution of the search and recommends that it should be put + into the hands of "some persons of honesty and sincerity, + well-wishers to both nations." + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Thurloe to Pell, June 26, Vaughan's <i>Protectorate</i>, I. + 432. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: See Letter itself in Thurloe, V. 28. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (LXXXIII.) To Louis XIV. of France, <i>Aug.</i> + 1656:—Again about a ship, but this time in a peremptory + strain.—Richard Baker and Co. of London have complained + to the Protector that a ship of theirs, called <i>The + Endeavour</i>, William Jopp master, laden at Teneriffe with 300 + pipes of rich Canary wine, had, in November last, been seized + by four French privateer vessels under command of a Giles de la + Roche, who had carried ship, cargo, and most of the crew away + to the East Indies, after landing fourteen of the crew on the + Guinea coast. For this daring act he had pleaded no excuse, + except that his own fleet wanted provisions and that he + believed the owners of his fleet would make good the loss. The + Protector now demands that £16,000 be paid to Messrs. Baker and + Co., and also that Giles de la Roche be punished. It concerns + his French Majesty's honour to see to this, after that recent + League with the English Commonwealth to which his royal oath is + pledged. Otherwise all faith in Leagues will be at an end. + </p> + <p> + (LXXXIV.) TO CARDINAL, MAZARIN, <i>Aug.</i> 1656:—On the + same subject as the last. While writing to the King about such + an outrage, the Protector cannot refrain from imparting the + matter also to his Eminence, as "the sole and only person whose + singular prudence governs the most important affairs of the + French and the chief business of the kingdom, with equal + fidelity, counsel, and vigilance." + </p> + <p> + (LXXXV.) TO THE STATES-GENERAL OF THE UNITED PROVINCES, + <i>Aug.</i> 1656. A Letter of some length, and very important. + "We doubt not," It begins, "but all will bear us this + testimony—that no considerations have ever been stronger + with us in contracting foreign alliances than, the duty of + defending the Truth of Religion, and that we have never + accounted anything more sacred than the union and + reconciliation of those who are either the friends and + defenders of Protestants, or at least not their enemies." With + what grief, then, does his Highness hear of new dissensions + breaking out among Protestant powers, and especially of signs + of a rupture between the United Provinces and Sweden! Should + there be war between those two great Protestant powers, how the + common enemy will rejoice! "To the Spaniard the prospect has + already brought such an access of spirit and confidence that he + has not hesitated, through his Ambassador residing with you, to + obtrude most audaciously his counsels upon you, and that about + the chief concerns of your Republic: daring even partly to + terrify you by throwing in threats of a renewal of war, partly + to solicit you by setting forth a false show of expediency, to + the end that, abandoning by his advice your old and most + faithful friends, the French, the English, and the Swedes, you + would be pleased to form a close alliance with your former + enemy and tyrant, pacified now forsooth, and, what is most to + be feared, quite fawning." The Protector earnestly adjures + their High Mightinesses the States to be on their guard. "We + are not ignorant that you, in your wisdom, often revolve in + your minds the question of the present state of Europe in + general, and especially the condition of the Protestants: how + the Cantons of the Swiss following the orthodox faith are kept + in suspense by the expectation from day to day of new + commotions to be stirred up by their countrymen following the + faith of the Pope, and this while they have hardly emerged from + that war which, plainly on account of Religion, was blown and + kindled by the Spaniard, who gave their enemies leaders and + supplied the money; how for the inhabitants of the Alpine + Valleys the designs of the Spaniards are again contriving the + same slaughter and destruction which they most cruelly + inflicted on them last year; how the German Protestants are + most grievously troubled under the rule of the Kaiser, and + retain their paternal homes with difficulty; how the King of + Sweden, whom God, as we hope, has raised up as a valiant + champion of the Orthodox Religion, is carrying on with the + whole strength of his kingdom a doubtful and most severe war + with the most powerful enemies of the Reformed Faith; how your + own Provinces are threatened by the ominous league lately + struck up among your Papist neighbours, of whom a Spaniard is + the Prince; how we here, finally, are engaged in a war declared + against the Spanish King." What an aggravation of this + condition of things if there should be an actual conflict + between their High Mightinesses and Sweden! Will not their High + Mightinesses lay all this to heart, and come to a friendly + arrangement with Charles Gustavus? The Protector hardly + understands the causes of the disagreement; but, if he can be + of any use between the two powers, he will spare no exertion. + He is about to send an embassy to the Swedish King, and will + convey to him also the sentiments of this letter.—That + the preparation of this Letter to the States-General had been + very careful appears from the following minute relating to it + in the Council Order-Books for Tuesday Aug. 19:—"Mr. + Secretary [Thurloe] reports the draft of a letter to the + States-General of the United Provinces; which was read, and + committed to Sir Charles Wolseley, with the assistance of the + Secretary, to amend the same, in pursuance of the present + debate, and report it again to the Council." Cromwell was + himself present at this meeting of the Council, with Lawrence, + Lambert, Wolseley, Strickland, Rous, Jones, Skippon, and + Pickering. The draft read was most probably the English that + was to be turned into Latin by Milton: but this does not + preclude the idea that the document itself was substantially + Milton's. Thurloe can hardly have drafted <i>such</i> a + document. He may have gone to Milton first. + </p> + <p> + (LXXXVI.) To The King of Portugal, <i>Aug.</i> 1656:—The + Protector has received his Portuguese Majesty's Ratification of + the Peace negotiated in London by his Extraordinary Ambassador + Count Sa in 1654, and also of the secret and preliminary + articles of the same; and he has received letters from Philip + Meadows, his agent at Lisbon, informing him that the + counterpart Ratification on the English side had been duly + delivered to his Majesty. There being now therefore a firm and + settled Peace between the two nations, dating formally from + June 1656, the Protector salutes his Majesty with all + cordiality. As to his Majesty's letters of June 24th, + mentioning some clauses of the League a slight alteration of + which would be convenient for Portugal, the Protector is + willing to have these carefully considered, but suggests that + the whole Treaty may be perilled by tampering with any part of + it. + </p> + <p> + (LXXXVII.) To THE COUNT OF ODEMIRA, <i>Aug.</i> + 1656:—This is a letter to the Prime Minister of Portugal, + to accompany the foregoing to the King. The Protector + acknowledges the Count's zeal and diligence in promoting the + Peace now concluded, and takes the opportunity of pressing upon + him, rather than again upon the King, relentless inquiry into + the late attempt to assassinate Meadows. + </p> + <p> + (LXXXVIII.) To CHARLES X., KING OF SWEDEN, <i>Aug.</i> + 1656:—A letter very much in the strain of that just sent + to the States-General of the United Provinces. Although, + knowing what a champion the Protestant Faith has in his Swedish + Majesty, the Protector cannot but rejoice in the news of his + successes, there is one drawback. It is the accompanying news + of the misunderstanding between his Majesty and the Dutch, now + come to such a pass, he hears, that open conflict is likely, + especially in the Baltic. The Protector is in the dark as to + the causes, but ventures to press on his Majesty the views he + had been pressing, but a few days ago, upon the Dutch. Let him + think of the perils of Protestantism; let him think of + Piedmont, of Austria, of Switzerland! "Who is ignorant that the + counsels of the Spaniards and of the Roman Pontiff have, for + two years past, filled all those places with conflagrations, + slaughters, and troubles to the orthodox? If to these evils, so + many already, there shall be added an outbreak of bad feeling + among Protestant brethren themselves, and especially between + two powers in whose valour, resources, and constancy lies the + greatest safeguard of the Reformed Churches, so far as human + means avail, the Reformed Religion itself must be endangered + and brought to an extreme crisis. On the other hand, were all + of the Protestant name to cultivate perpetual peace with that + brotherly unanimity which becomes them, there will be no reason + at all to be very much afraid of inconvenience to us from all + that the arts or force of our enemies can do." O that his + Majesty may see his way to a pacific settlement of his + differences with the Dutch! The Protector will gladly do + anything to secure that result. + </p> + <p> + (LXXXIX.) TO THE STATES OF HOLLAND, <i>Sept.</i> + 1856:—William Cooper, a London minister, has represented + to the Protector that his father-in-law, John le Maire of + Amsterdam, invented, about thirty-three years ago, a certain + device by which much revenue was brought in to the States of + Holland, without any burden to the people. It was the settling + of a certain small seal or stamp to be used in the Provinces + ("<i>id autem erat parvi sigilli in Provinciis + constitutio</i>"). For the working this invention he had taken + into partnership one John van den Brook; and the States of + Holland had promised the partners 3000 guilders yearly, equal + to about £300 English, for the use of the thing. Not a + farthing, however, had they ever received, though the States + had benefited so much; and now, as they are both tired out, + they have transferred their right to William Cooper, who means + to prosecute the claim. The States are prayed to look into the + matter, and to pay Cooper the promised annual pension, with + arrears. + </p> + <p> + (XC.) To LOUIS XIV. of FRANCE, <i>Sept.</i> 1656:—His + Highness is sorry to trouble his Majesty so often; but the + grievances of English subjects must be attended to. Now a + London merchant, called Robert Brown, who had bought 4000 + hides, part of the cargo of a Dieppe ship, legally taken before + the League between France and Britain, had sold about 200 of + them to a currier in Dieppe, but; instead of receiving the + money, had found it attached and stopped in his factor's hands. + He could have no redress from the French court of law to which + the suit had been referred; and the Protector now desires his + Majesty to bring the matter before his own Council. If acts + done before the League are to be called in question, Leagues + will be meaningless; and it would be well to make an example or + two of persons causing trouble of this kind. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Six of these thirteen State-Letters, it ought to be observed, + belong to the single month of August 1656. They form Milton's + largest contribution of work of this kind in any one month since + the very beginning of his Secretaryship, with the exception of + his burst of letters on the news of the Piedmontese Massacre in + May 1655. Nor ought it to escape notice that some of the letters + of Aug. 1656 are particularly important, and that two of them are + manifestos of that passionate Protestantism of the Protector + which had prompted his bold stand in the matter of the + Piedmontese Persecution, and which had matured itself politically + since then into the scheme of an express League or Union of all + the Protestant Powers of Europe. It cannot be by mere accident + that, when Cromwell wanted letters written in the highest strain + of his most characteristic passion, they should have always been + supplied by Milton. Whatever might be done by the office people + that Thurloe had about him, it must have been understood that, + for things of this sort, there was always to be recourse to the + Latin Secretary Extraordinary. + </p> + <p> + A little item of recent Council-business of which Milton may have + heard with some interest appears as follows in the Council + Order-Books under date Aug. 7, 1656:—"Upon consideration of + the humble petition of Peter Du Moulin, the son, Doctor of + Divinity, and a certificate thereunto subscribed, being presented + to his Highness, and by his Highness referred to the Council, + <i>Ordered</i> ... That the said Dr. Peter Du Moulin, the + petitioner, be permitted to exercise his ministerial abilities, + the late Proclamation [of Nov. 24, 1655: see ante pp. 61-62], or + any orders or instructions given to the Major-Generals and + Commissioners in the several counties, notwithstanding." And so + even the author of the <i>Regii Sanguinis Clamor</i> was now an + indulged man, and might look forward to being a Vicar or a + Rector, or something higher still, in Cromwell's Established + Church. <i>Can</i> his secret have possibly been then known? + <i>Can</i> the Council have known that the man who petitioned the + Protector for indulgence, and to whom they now advised the + Protector to grant it, was the author of the most vehement and + bitter book that had ever been written on the Royalist side, the + man who had abused the Commonwealth men as "robbers, traitors, + parricides" and "plebeian scoundrels," who had written of + Cromwell "Verily an egg is not liker an egg than Cromwell is like + Mahomet," and who had capped all his other politenesses about + Milton by calling him "more vile than Cromwell, damned than + Ravaillac"?<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Dr. Peter du Moulin did become a Vicar in Cromwell's + Established Church. He was inducted into the Vicarage of + Bradwell, in Bucks, Oct. 24, 1657, but quitted it in a few + days, apparently for something better (Wood's Fasti, II. 195: + Note by Cole). + </p> + </div> + <h3> + <a name="Ac2s3" id="Ac2s3">SECTION III</a>: FROM SEPTEMBER 1656 + TO JUNE 1657, OR THROUGH THE FIRST SESSION OF OLIVER'S SECOND + PARLIAMENT. + </h3> + <p> + ANOTHER LETTER FROM MILTON TO MR. RICHARD JONES: DEPARTURE OF + LADY RANELAGH FOR IRELAND: LETTER FROM MILTON TO PETER HEIMBACH: + MILTON'S SECOND MARRIAGE: HIS SECOND WIFE, KATHARINE WOODCOCK: + LETTER TO EMERIC BIGOT: MILTON'S LIBRARY AND THE BYZANTINE + HISTORIANS: M. STOUPE: TEN MORE STATE-LETTERS BY MILTON FOR THE + PROTECTOR (NOS. XCI.-C.): MORLAND, MEADOWS, DURIE, LOCKHART, AND + OTHER DIPLOMATISTS OF THE PROTECTOR, BACK IN LONDON: MORE + EMBASSIES AND DISPATCHES OVER LAND AND SEA: MILTON STANDING AND + WAITING: HIS THOUGHTS ABOUT THE PROTECTORATE GENERALLY. + </p> + <p> + Not much altogether is recoverable of Milton's life through that + section of the Protectorate which coincides with the first + Session of the Second Parliament (Sept. 17, 1656-June 26, 1657). + What is recoverable will connect itself with (1) Three Private + Epistles of his dated in these nine months, and (2) The series of + his State-letters in the same period. To Richard Jones, + <i>alias</i> young Ranelagh, still at Oxford with Oldenburg, + Milton, four days after the meeting of the Parliament, addressed + another letter in that tone of Mentorship which he seems to have + thought most suitable for the youth:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "To the Noble youth, RICHARD JONES. + </p> + <p> + "Preparing again and again to reply to your last letter, I was + first prevented, as you know, by some sudden pieces of + business, of such a kind as are apt to be mine; then I heard + you were off on an excursion to some places in your + neighbourhood; and now your most excellent mother, on her way + to Ireland—whose departure ought to be a matter of no + ordinary regret to both of us (for to me also she has stood in + the place of all kith and kin: <i>nam et mihi omnium, + necessitudinum loco fuit</i>)—carries you this letter + herself. That you feel assured of my affection for you, right + and well; and I would have you feel daily more and more assured + of it, the more of good disposition and of good use of your + advantages you give me to see in you. Which result, by God's + grace, I see you not only engage for personally, but, as if I + had provoked you by a wager on the subject, give solemn pledge + and put in bail that you will accomplish,—not refusing, + as it were, to abide judgment, and to pay the penalty of + failure if judgment should be given against you. I am truly + delighted with this so good hope you have of yourself; which + you cannot now be wanting to, without appearing at the same + time not only to have been faithless to your own promises but + also to have run away from your bail. As to what you write to + the effect that you do not dislike Oxford, you adduce nothing + to make me believe that you have got any good there or been + made any wiser: you will have to shew me that by very different + proofs. Victories of Princes, which you extol with praises, and + matters of that sort in which force is of most avail, I would + not have you admire too much, now that you are listening to + Philosophers [Robert Boyle and his set?]. For what should be + the great wonder if in the native land of <i>wethers</i> there + are born strong horns, able to <i>ram</i> down most powerfully + cities and towns? [<i>Quid enim magnopere mirandum est si + vervecum, in patria valida nascantur cornua quæ urbes et oppida + arietare valentissime possint?</i> Besides the pun, there is + some geographical allusion, or allusion of military history, + which it is difficult to make out.] Learn you, already from + your early age, to weigh and discern great characters not by + force and animal strength, but by justice and temperance. + Farewell; and please to give best salutations in my name to the + highly accomplished Henry Oldenburg, your chamber-fellow. + </p> + <p> + "Westminster: Sept. 21, 1656." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + If the date of this letter, as published by Milton himself, is + correct, it was written on a Sunday. Yet there can have been no + particular haste; for Lady Ranelagh, who was to carry the letter + to her son at Oxford on her way to Ireland, did not leave London + for at least another fortnight. The pass for "Lady Catharine, + Viscountess of Ranelagh, and her two daughters," with their + servants, eight horses, &c., to go into Ireland, was granted, + I find, by the Protector's Council, Oct. 7, 1656, on the motion + of Lord President Lawrence.<sup>1</sup> She was to be away in + Ireland for some years, occupied with family business of various + kinds; and Milton was thinking with regret of the blank in his + life that would be caused by her absence. For she had been to + him, he says, "in the place of all kith and kin." How much that + phrase involves! Though we have no letters from Milton to Lady + Ranelagh, or from Lady Ranelagh to Milton, and though the fact of + their friendship has been left by Milton unrecorded in that + poetical form, whether of sonnet or of idyll, which has preserved + for us so finely other incidents and intimacies of his life, this + one phrase, duly interpreted, ought to make up for all. Perhaps + in no part of any eminent man's life, especially if he is bereft + domestically, is there wanting this benefit of some supreme + womanly interest wakened in his behalf. Twice in Milton's life, + so unfortunate domestically hitherto, we have seen something of + the kind. Twelve years ago, in the old Aldersgate days of his + desertion by his wife, it seemed to be the Lady Margaret Ley that + was paramount. More recently, through the Westminster years of + blindness and widowerhood, the real ministering angel, if there + had been any such, had been that Lady Ranelagh whom English + History remembers at any rate as the incomparable sister of Lord + Broghill and of Robert Boyle. Let there be restored to her + henceforth the honour also of having been Milton's friend. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Council Order-Books of date. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The next extant Epistle of Milton, written when the Second + Parliament of the Protectorate had sat nearly two months, is also + quite of a private nature. Of the German or Dutch youth to whom + it is addressed, Peter Heimbach, I have ascertained only that he + had been residing for some time in London, perhaps originally + brought thither in the train of some embassy or agency, and that + he had recently published in London a Latin letter of eulogy on + Cromwell,<sup>1</sup> extremely enthusiastic and somewhat + juvenile. Milton's letter suggests farther that he had been much + about Milton, as amanuensis or what not, but was now on a visit + to Holland. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: The Letter, which is in thirty-five pages of small folio, is + entitled "<i>Petri ab Heimbach, G.F., ad Serenissimum + Potentissimumque Principem Olivarium, D. G. Magnæ Brittaniæ + Protectorem, veræ Fidei Defensorem, Pium, Felicem, Invictum, + Adlocutio Gralulatoria: Londini, Ex Typographia Jacobi + Cottrellii</i>, 1656." The praise of Cromwell is boundless; and + his conduct in the Piedmontese business, and his care of + learning and the Universities, are especially noticed. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + "To the very accomplished youth, PETER HEIMBACH. + </p> + <p> + "Most amply, my Heimbach, have you fulfilled your promises and + all the other expectations one would have of your goodness, + with the exception, that I have still to long for your return. + You promised that it would be within two months at farthest; + and now, unless my desire to have you back makes me misreckon + the time, you have been absent nearly three. In the matter of + the Atlas you have abundantly performed all I requested of you; + which was not that you should procure me one, but only that you + would find out the lowest price of the book. You write that + they ask 130 florins; it must be the Mauritanian mountain + <i>Atlas</i>, I think, and not a book, that you tell me is to + be bought at so huge a price. Such is now the luxury of + Typographers in printing books that the furnishing of a library + seems to have become as costly as the furnishing of a villa. + Since to me at least, on account of my blindness, painted maps + can hardly be of use, vainly surveying as I do with blind eyes + the actual globe of the earth, I am afraid that the bigger the + price at which I should buy that book the greater would seem to + be my grief over my deprivation. Be good enough, pray, to take + so much farther trouble for me as to be able to inform me, when + you return, how many volumes there are in the complete work, + and which of the two issues, that of Blaeu or that of Jansen, + is the larger and more correct. This I hope to hear from + yourself personally, on your speedy return, rather than by + another letter. Meanwhile farewell, and come back to us as soon + as you can. + </p> + <p> + "Westminster: Nov. 8, 1656." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + One guesses from this letter that Heimbach was then in Amsterdam. + It was there, at all events, that the two Atlases about which + Milton enquired had been published or were in course of + publication. That of John Jansen, called <i>Novus Atlas</i>, when + completed in 1658, consisted of six folio volumes; the yet more + magnificent <i>Geographia Blaeviana</i>, or Atlas of the + geographer and printer John Blaeu, was not perfect till 1662, and + then consisted of eleven volumes of very large folio. But various + Atlases, or collections of maps in anticipation of the complete + Atlas, had been on sale by Blaeu for ten or twelve years + previously: e.g., from his own trade-catalogue in 1650, "Atlas, + four volumes illuminated, bound after the best fashion, will cost + 150 guldens," and "Belgia Foederata and Belgia Regia, two vols., + white [uncoloured], 70 guldens, or illuminated 140 guldens." The + gulden or Dutch florin was equal to 1<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> + English, so that the price of Blaeu's four volume Atlas of 1650 + was £12 10<i>s.</i> To Milton in 1656 the price of the same, or + of whatever other Atlas he had in view, was to be twenty florins + less, i.e. about £11. It was much as if one were asked to give + £38 for a book now; and no wonder that Milton + hesitated.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: The information about the prices of Blaeu's general Atlas in + 1650 and his special Atlas of the two Belgiums in the same year + is from a curious letter in the <i>Correspondence of the Earls + of Ancram and Lothian</i>, edited for the Marquis of Lothian, + in 1875, by Mr. David Laing (II. 256). + </p> + </div> + <p> + Just four days after the date of the letter to Heimbach, i.e. on + the 12th of November, 1656, there took place an event of no less + consequence to the household in Petty France than Milton's second + marriage, after four years of widowerhood. It was performed, as + the Marriage Act then in force required, not by a clergyman, but + by a justice of the peace, and is registered thus in the books of + the parish of St. Mary Aldermanbury, London, under the year 1656: + "The agreement and intention of marriage between JOHN MILTON, + Esq., of the Parish of Margaret's in Westminster, and MRS. + KATHARINE WOODCOCKE, of the Parish of Mary's in Aldermanbury, was + published three several market-days in three several weeks, viz. + on Wednesday the 22nd and Monday the 27th of October, and on + Monday the 3rd of November; and, no exceptions being made against + their intention, they were, according to the Act of Parliament, + married the 12th of November by Sir John Dethicke, Knight and + Alderman, one of the Justices of Peace for this City of + London."<sup>1</sup> Of this KATHARINE WOODCOCK (the "Mrs." + before whose name does not mean that she had been married before) + we learn farther, from Phillips, that she was "the daughter of + Captain Woodcock of Hackney"; and that is nearly all that we know + of her family. A Captain John Woodcock, who is found giving a + receipt for £13 8<i>s.</i> to the Treasurer-at-War on Oct. 6, + 1653, on the disbanding of his troop, may possibly have been her + father, as no other Captain Woodcock of the time has been + discovered.<sup>2</sup> There is reason to believe that Milton + had not been acquainted with the lady before his blindness, and + so that, literally, he had never <i>seen</i> her. Not the less, + for the brief space of her life allotted to their union, she was + to be a light and blessing in his dark household. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Given in Gentleman's Magazine for June, 1840; but I owe my + copy to the kindness of Colonel Chester, who took it direct + from the Register of St. Mary, Aldermanbury; and who supplies + me with the following information in connexion with it: "It is + generally said that the marriage took place in that church; but + this, I think, may be doubted. I noticed, in several instances, + that, when the religious ceremony was performed after the civil + one, the fact was recorded; but it is not so in this case. I + think that the City marriages at that period usually took place + in the Guildhall, where a magistrate sat daily; though I + believe they were sometimes solemnized at the residence of one + of the parties." + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Phillips; Hunter's <i>Milton Gleanings</i>, p. 35. Colonel + Chester tells me that, although Katharine Woodcock is described + in the Register as "of the parish of Mary's in Aldermanbury," + he found no trace of her family in that parish at the time. + "There were Woodcocks there at a much earlier period (say 100 + years before); but about this time I found only one burial, + that of Michael Woodcock, whose will I have since looked at, + but which does not mention her." The conjecture that Mr. + Francis Woodcock, minister of St. Olave's, Southwark, was a + relative, receives no support from what is known of his + principles (see Vol. III, 184). A contemporary Puritan divine, + Thomas Woodcock, for some time minister of St. Andrew + Undershaft, is found living at Hackney after the Restoration. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The household better ordered; the three young orphan girls of the + first marriage better tended; more of lightsomeness and + cheerfulness for Milton himself among his books; continuance, + under new management, of the little hospitalities to the learned + foreigners who occasionally call, and to the habitual visitors: + so, we are to imagine, pass away at home those winter months of + 1656-7 during which the great topics of interest outside were the + war with Spain, Sindercombe's plot against the Protector's life, + the debates in Parliament over the case of James Nayler, and the + proceedings there for amending the system of the Protectorate, + whether by converting it into Kingship or otherwise. Not, + however, till the last day of March 1656-7, or three months and a + half after the marriage with Katharine Woodcock, have we another + distinct glimpse of Milton in his private life. On that day he + dictated, in Latin, the following letter:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "To the most accomplished EMERIC BIGOT. + </p> + <p> + "That on your coming into England I had the honour of being + thought by you more worth visiting and saluting than others was + truly and naturally gratifying to me; and that now you renew + your salutation by letter, even at such an interval, is + somewhat more gratifying still. For in the first instance you + might have come to me perhaps on the inducement of other + people's opinion; but you could hardly return to me by letter + save at the prompting of your own judgment, or, at least, good + will. On this surely I have ground to congratulate myself. For + many have made a figure by their published writings whose + living voice and daily conversation have presented next to + nothing that was not low and common: if, then, I can attain the + distinction of seeming myself equal in mind and manners to any + writings of mine that have been tolerably to the purpose, there + will be the double effect that I shall so have added weight + personally to my writings, and shall receive back by way of + reflection from them credit, how small soever it may be, yet + greater in proportion. For, in that case, whatever is right and + laudable in them, that same I shall seem not more to have + derived from authors of high excellence than to have fetched + forth pure and sincere from the inmost feelings of my own mind + and soul. I am glad, therefore, to know that you are assured of + my tranquillity of spirit in this great affliction of loss of + sight, and also of the pleasure I have in being civil and + attentive in the reception of visitors from abroad. Why, in + truth, should I not bear gently the deprivation of sight, when + I may hope that it is not so much lost as revoked and retracted + inwards, for the sharpening rather than the blunting of my + mental edge? Whence it is that I neither think of books with + anger, nor quite intermit the study of them, grievously though + they have mulcted me,—were it only that I am instructed + against such moroseness by the example of King Telephus of the + Mysians, who refused not to be cured in the end by the weapon + that had wounded him. As to that book you possess, <i>On the + Manner of Holding Parliaments</i>, I have caused the marked + passages of it to be either amended, or, if they were doubtful, + confirmed, by reference to the MS. in the possession of the + illustrious Lord Bradshaw, and also to the Cotton MS., as you + will see from your little paper returned herewith. In + compliance with your desire to know whether also the autograph + of this book is extant in the Tower of London, I sent one to + inquire of the Herald who has the custody of the Deeds, and + with whom I am on familiar terms. His answer is that no copy of + that book is extant among those records. For the help you offer + me in return in procuring literary material I am very much + obliged. I want, of the Byzantine Historians, <i>Theophanis + Chronographia</i> (folio: Greek and Latin), <i>Constantini + Manassis Breviarium Historicum</i>, with <i>Codini Excerpta de + Antiquitatibus Constantinopolitanis</i> (folio: Greek and + Latin), <i>Anastasii Bibliothecarii Historia et Vitæ Romanorum + Pontificum</i> (folio); to which be so good as to add, from the + same press, <i>Michael Glycas</i>, and <i>Joannes Cinnamus</i>, + the continuator of Anna Comnena, if they are now out. I do not + ask you to get them as cheap as you can, both because there is + no need to put a very frugal man like yourself in mind of that, + and because they tell me the price of these books is fixed and + known to all. MR. STOUPE has undertaken the charge of the money + for you in cash, and also to see about the most convenient mode + of carriage. That you may have all you wish, and all you aspire + after, is my sincere desire. Farewell. + </p> + <p> + "Westminster: March 24, 1656-7." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Of the French scholar to whom this letter was addressed there is + an excellent notice in Bayle. "EMERIC BIGOT," says Bayle, "one of + the most learned and most honest men of the seventeenth century, + was a native of Rouen, and of a family very distinguished in the + legal profession. He was born in 1626. The love of letters drew + him aside from public employments; his only occupation was in + books and the acquisition of knowledge; he augmented marvellously + the library which had been left him by his father. Once every + week there was a meeting at his house for talk on matters of + erudition. He kept up literary intercourse with a great number of + learned men; his advices and information were useful to many + authors; and he laboured all he could for the good and advantage + of the Republic of Letters. He published but one book [a Life of + St. Chrysostom]; but apparently he would have published others + had he lived to complete them. M. Ménage in France, and Nicolas + Heinsius among foreigners, were his two most intimate friends. He + had none of the faults that accompany learning: he was modest and + an enemy to disputes. In general, one may say he was the best + heart in the world. He died at Rouen Dec. 18, 1689, aged about + sixty-four years." How exactly this description of Bigot for his + whole life tallies with the notion we should have of him, at the + age of thirty-two, from Milton's letter! He had been in England + some time ago, it appears, and had there, like other foreigners, + paid his respects to Milton. And now, either from Rouen, or more + probably from Paris, he had reopened the communication, quite in + the style of a man such as Bayle paints him. The immediate object + of his letter seems to have been to ask Milton to have some + doubtful passages in a book "On the Manner of Holding + Parliaments" compared with MS. authorities in London; but he had + taken occasion to express also his vivid recollection of Milton, + his interest in Milton's present condition, and his desire to be + of use to him in the quest or purchase of foreign books. + </p> + <p> + Milton, who had evidently performed very punctually Bigot's + immediate commission,<sup>1</sup> did, it will be observed, send + him a commission in return. It deserves a little + explanation:—There was then in course of publication at + Paris, under the auspices and at the expense of Louis XIV., the + first splendid collective edition of the Byzantine Historians, + i.e. of that series of Historians, Chroniclers, Antiquarians, and + Memoir-writers of the Eastern or Greek Empire from the 6th + century to the 15th in whose works lies imbedded all our + information as to the History of the East through the Middle + Ages. The publication, which was to attain to the vast size of + thirty-six volumes folio, containing the Greek Texts with Latin + Translations and Notes, was not to be completed till 1711; but it + had been begun in 1645. Now, in Milton's library, it appears, the + Byzantine Historians were already pretty well represented, either + in the shape of the earlier volumes of this Parisian collection, + or in that of separate prior editions of particular writers. + There were some gaps, however, which he wanted to fill up. He + wanted the <i>Chronographia</i> of Theophanes Isaacius, a + chronicle of events from A.D. 277 to A.D. 811; also the + <i>Brevarium Historicum</i> of Constantine Manasses, a metrical + chronicle of the world from the Creation to A.D. 1081; also the + book of Georgius Codinus, the compiler of the fifteenth century, + entitled <i>Excerpta de Originibus Constantinopolitanis</i>; also + that of Anastasius Bibliothecarius on the <i>Lives of the + Popes</i>. The Parisian editions of these, or of the first three, + were now out (all in 1655). At the same time there might be sent + him the Parisian editions, if they had appeared, of the Annals of + <i>Michael Glycas</i>, bringing the History of the World from the + Creation to A.D. 1118, and the valuable Lives of John and Manuel + Comnenus by <i>Joannes Cinnamus</i>, the imperial notary of the + 12th century.—As the Parisian edition of Michael Glycas (by + Labbe) did not appear till 1660, and that of Joannes Cinnamus (by + Du Cange) not till 1670, Bigot can have forwarded to Milton only + the first-mentioned Byzantine books. One may imagine the arrival + of the parcel of learned folios in the neat new tenement which + Milton inhabited in Petty France; and it gives one a stronger + idea than we have yet had of Milton's passion for books, and of + his indomitable perseverance and ingenuity in the use of them in + his blind state, that he should have taken such pains, at our + present date, to supply himself with copies of some of the rare + Byzantine Historians. Connecting this purchase, through Bigot, + with the recent inquiry, through Heimbach, about the price of + Blaeu's great Atlas, may we not also discern some increased + attention to the furnishing of the house occasioned by the second + marriage? + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: It seems to me possible, though I would not be too sure, + that the book about which Bigot wrote to Milton was one + entitled <i>Modus tenendi Parliamentum apud Anglos</i>, by + Henry Elsynge, Clerk of the House of Lords, and father of the + Henry Elsynge who was Clerk of the Commons In the Long + Parliament (Wood, Ath. III. 363-4). The book, which had been + sent forth under Parliamentary authority in 1641, was a + standard one; and manuscript copies of it, or drafts for it, + more complete than itself, may well have been extant in such + places as the Cotton Library or Bradshaw's. Actually Elsynge's + autograph of the book, dated 1626, was extant in London at the + date of Milton's letter, though not in the Tower. An edition of + the book, "enriched with a large addition from the author's + original MS.," was published in 1768; and the MS. itself is now + in the British Museum (Bonn's <i>Lowndes</i>, Article + "Elsynge"). + </p> + </div> + <p> + The Herald in charge of the Records in the Tower, mentioned in + Milton's letter as one of his acquaintances, was, I believe, + WILLIAM RYLEY, Norroy King-at-arms. He had been Clerk of the + Records, under the Master of the Rolls, for some years, and was + to continue in the post till after the Restoration. A more + interesting person was the "MR. STOUPE" who took charge of the + cash to Bigot for the Byzantine volumes, and was to see to their + conveyance to London.—He was no common character. A Grison + by birth, he had settled in London as minister of the French + Church in the Savoy; but he had left that post to be one of + Thurloe's travelling-agents and political intelligencers or + spies. For two years or more he had been employed in secret + missions to France and Switzerland, chiefly for negotiation in + the interests of the continental Protestants; and his success in + this kind of employment, often at considerable personal risk, and + his talent for collecting information in London itself by means + of correspondence from abroad, had gradually recommended him to + the Protector. Burnet, who knew him well in after life, when he + was more a frantic Deist than either a Protestant or "Christian," + had more anecdotes about Cromwell from him than from any other + man. The anecdotes he liked best to tell were those in which his + own intriguing ability figured. Thus it was Stoupe, according to + his own account, that knew of Cromwell's design on the Spanish + West Indies before all the rest of the world. One day, late in + 1654, having been called into the Protector's room on business, + he had noticed him very intent upon a map and measuring distances + on it. Information being Stoupe's trade, he contrived to see that + the map was one of the Bay of Mexico, and drew his inference. + Accordingly, when the fleet of Penn and Venables was ready to + sail, but nobody knew its destination, "Stoupe happened to say in + a company he believed the design was on the West Indies. The + Spanish Ambassador, hearing that, sent for him very privately, to + ask him upon what ground he said it; and he offered to lay down + £10,000 if he could make any discovery of that. Stoupe owned to + me that he had a great mind to the money, and fancied he betrayed + nothing if he did discover the grounds of these conjectures, + since nothing had been trusted to him; but he expected greater + matters from Cromwell, and said only that in a diversity of + conjectures that seemed to him more probable than any others." + Another of Stoupe's stories to Burnet was even more curious. + Having learnt by a letter from Brussels that a certain refugee + had come over to assassinate Cromwell, and was lodged in King + Street, Westminster, he had hurried to Whitehall, and sent in a + note to Cromwell, then in Council, saying he had something to + communicate. Cromwell, supposing it might be one of Stoupe's + ordinary pieces of intelligence, had sent out Thurloe to him. + Though "troubled at this," Stoupe had no option but to show + Thurloe the letter. To his surprise, Thurloe had made light of + the matter, saying that they had rumours of that kind by the + score, and it was not for a great man like the Protector to + trouble himself about them. Stoupe, who had hoped his fortune + would be made, went away "much cast down," to write to Brussels + for surer evidence. He mentioned the matter, however, to Lord + Lisle; and so, when Sexby's or Sindercombe's Plot was discovered + a while afterwards, Lisle, talking of it with the Protector, and + not doubting that the Protector knew all about Stoupe's previous + revelation, said <i>that</i> must be the man Stoupe had spoken + of. "Cromwell seemed amazed at this, and sent for Stoupe, and in + great wrath reproached him for his ingratitude in concealing a + matter of such consequence to him. Stoupe upon this shewed him + the letters he had received, and put him in mind of the note he + had sent in to him, which was immediately after he had the first + letter, and that he had sent out Thurloe to him. At that Cromwell + seemed yet more amazed, and sent for Thurloe, to whose face + Stoupe affirmed the matter; nor did he deny any part of it, but + only said that he had many such advertisements sent him, in which + till this time he had never found any truth. Cromwell replied + sternly that he ought to have acquainted <i>him</i> with it, and + left <i>him</i> to judge of the importance of it. Thurloe desired + to speak in private with Cromwell. So Stoupe was dismissed, and + went away, not doubting but Thurloe would be disgraced." What was + his surprise, however, to find not only that Thurloe was not + disgraced, but that he himself was thenceforth less in favour? + Thurloe, in justifying himself, had told Cromwell more about + Stoupe than he previously knew, and "possessed Cromwell with such + an ill opinion of him that after that he never treated him with + any confidence."<sup>1</sup> If the story is true, Stoupe's loss + of favour dates from Jan. 1656-7, or two months before Milton's + letter to Bigot. It would seem, however, that he was still + employed in some way as one of Thurloe's agents; and hence + Milton's use of him to convey the cash to France.<sup>2</sup> + That Milton knew Stoupe would have been certain without this + evidence; but the evidence is interesting.<sup>3</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Burnet's <i>Hist. of his Own Time</i>, Book I. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Of the £2000 sent from London to Geneva in June 1655 as the + first instalment of relief for the Piedmontese Protestants + (Cromwell's own subscription) £500 had been sent through + Stoupe. See ante p. 190. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 3: Stoupe might make a good character in any historical novel + of the time of the Protectorate. His career did not end then. + He was to be "a brigadier-general in the French armies," and + one knows not what else, before Burnet made his acquaintance. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Of the following State-Letters of Milton, all belonging to our + present section of his life, five bear date before his second + marriage, and five after. Those after the marriage come at longer + intervals than those before:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + (XCI.) TO THE KING OF PORTUGAL, <i>Oct.</i> 1656:—Peace + with Portugal being happily ratified, the Protector is + despatching THOMAS MAYNARD to be his consul in that country. + This letter is to introduce him and bespeak access for him to + his Majesty. + </p> + <p> + (XCII.) TO THE KING OF SWEDEN, <i>Oct.</i> 1656:—A + soldierly knight, Sir William Vavasour, who has been in + England, is now returning to his military duty under the + Swedish King. The Protector need hardly recommend back to his + Majesty a servant so distinguished, but ventures to do so, and + to suggest that he should be paid his arrears. + </p> + <p> + (XCIII.) TO THE KING OF PORTUGAL, <i>Oct.</i> 1656:—An + English ship-master, called Thomas Evans, is going to Lisbon to + prosecute his claim for £7000 against the Brazil Company, being + damages sustained by the seizure of his ship, the + <i>Scipio</i>, six years before, by the Portuguese Government, + while he was in the Company's service. The Treaty provides for + such claims; and, though the Protector has written before on + the subject generally, he cannot but write specially in this + case. + </p> + <p> + (XCIV.) TO THE SENATE OF HAMBURG, <i>Oct. 16, + 1656:</i>—Long ago, in the time of King Charles, two + brothers, James and Patrick Hays, being the lawful heirs of + their brother Alexander, who had died intestate in Hamburg, had + obtained a decree in their favour in the Hamburg Court, + assigning them all the said Alexander's property, except dower + for his widow. From that day to this, however, chiefly by the + influence of Albert van Eizen, a man of consequence in Hamburg, + they have been kept out of their rights. They are in extreme + poverty and have applied to the Protector. As he considers it + the first duty of his Protectorate to look after such cases, he + writes this letter. It is to request the Hamburg Senate to see + that the two brothers have the full benefit of the old decision + of the Court. Further delay has been threatened, he hears, in + the form of an appeal to the Chamber of Spires. That such an + appeal is illegal will appear by the signed opinions of English + lawyers which he forwards. "But, if entreaty is of no avail, it + will be necessary, and that by the common right of nations, to + resort to measures of retaliation." His Highness hopes this may + be avoided by the prudence of the Senate. + </p> + <p> + (XCV.) TO LOUIS XIV. OF FRANCE, <i>Nov. 1656:</i>—No + answer has yet been received to his Highness's former letter, + of May 14, on the subject of the claim of Sir John Dethicke, + then Lord Mayor of London, and his partner William Wakefield, + on account of the capture of a ship of theirs in 1649 by a + pirate acting for Charles Stuart, and the insolent detention of + the same by M. L'Estrades, the French Governor of Dunkirk (see + the Letter, ante p. 253). Perhaps the delay had arisen from the + fact that M. L'Estrades was then away with the army in + Flanders; but "now he is living in Paris itself, or rather + fluttering about with impunity in city and court enriched with + the spoils of our people." His Highness now imperatively + demands immediate and strict attention to the matter. It is one + of positive obligation by the Treaty; and the honour and good + faith of His French Majesty are directly concerned.—It is + a curious coincidence that within a day or two of the writing + of this strong letter by Milton in behalf of Sir John Dethicke, + that knight should have solemnised Milton's marriage with + Katharine Woodcock. Nov. 12 was the date of the marriage; and, + as Dethicke is spoken of in this letter as no longer in his + Mayoralty, it must have been written after Lord Mayor's day, + i.e. after Nov. 9, 1656. + </p> + <p> + (XCVI.) TO FREDERICK III., KING OF DENMARK, <i>Dec. + 1856:</i>—This is another of Cromwell's fervid Protestant + letters, very much in the strain of those four months before to + the States-General of the United Provinces and Charles Gustavus + of Sweden, and indeed, with identical expressions. First he + acknowledges letters from his Danish Majesty, of date Feb. 16, + received through the worthy Simon de Pitkum, his Majesty's + agent. They have been so gratifying, and the matter of them is + so important, that his Highness has been looking about for a + suitable person to be sent as confidential minister to + Copenhagen. Such a person he hopes to send soon: meanwhile a + letter may convey some thoughts about the state of Europe that + are much occupying his Highness. The dissensions among + Protestant States are causing him profound grief. Especially he + is grieved by the jealousies and misunderstandings that + separate two such important Protestant States as Denmark and + Sweden. Can they not be removed? Sweden and the United + Provinces, with both of which his Highness had taken the + liberty of remonstrating to the same effect, have been coming + to a happy accommodation: why should Denmark keep aloof? Let + his Danish Majesty lay this to heart. Let him think of the + persecutions of Protestants in Piedmont, in Austria, and in + Switzerland; and let him imagine the eternal machinations of + the Spaniard behind all. These surely are inducements + sufficient to a reconciliation with Sweden, if it can be + brought about. The Protector's good offices towards that end + shall not be wanting if required. He has the highest esteem for + the King of Denmark, and would cultivate yet closer alliance + with him.—Relating to this letter is a minute of Council + of the date Tuesday, Dec. 2: "The draft of a letter from his + Highness to the King of Denmark was this day read, and after + read by parts; and the several clauses thereof, being put to + the question, were, with some amendments, agreed; and, the + whole being so passed, it was offered to his Highness as the + advice of the Council that his Highness will please to send the + same." The letter, therefore, was deemed important. Was the + draft read in English or in Latin? On the first supposition it + may still have come from Milton, though it had to go back to + him. + </p> + <p> + (XCVII.) To WILLIAM, LANDGRAVE OF HESSE, <i>March + 1656-7</i>:—After an apology to the Landgrave for not + having sooner answered a letter of his received nearly twelve + months ago, the Protector here also plunges into the subject of + Union among Protestants. He is glad that the Landgrave + appreciates the exertions in this behalf that have been made in + Britain and elsewhere. "We have particularly desired the same + peace for the Churches of all Germany, where dissension has + been too sharp and of too long continuance; and through our + DURIE, labouring at the same fruitlessly now for many years, we + have heartily offered any possible service of ours that might + contribute thereto. We remain still in the same mind; we desire + to see the same brotherly love to each other among those + Churches: but how hard a business this is of settling a peace + among those sons of peace, as they pretend themselves, we + understand, to our great grief, only too abundantly. For it is + hardly to be hoped that those of the Reformed and those of the + Augustan confession will ever coalesce into the communion of + one Church; they cannot without force be prevented from + severally, by word and writings, defending their own beliefs; + and force cannot consist with ecclesiastical tranquillity. + This, at least, however, they might allow one to + entreat—that, as they do differ, they would differ more + humanely and moderately, and love each other nevertheless." It + is a great pleasure to the Protector to exchange sentiments on + this subject with a Prince of such distinguished Protestant + ancestry. + </p> + <p> + (XCVIII.) TO THE DUKE OF COURLAND, <i>March + 1657</i>:—After thanking this potentate of the Baltic for + his hospitality, some time ago, to an English agent passing + through to Muscovy, the Protector brings to his notice the case + of one John Jamesone, a Scotchman, master of one of the Duke's + ships. The ship had been wrecked going into port, but not by + Jamesone's fault. The pilot, to whom he had intrusted it, + according to rule and custom, had been alone to blame. Jamesone + has been a faithful servant of the Duke for seven years; he is + in great distress; and his Highness hopes the Duke will not + stop his pay. + </p> + <p> + (XCIX.) TO THE CONSULS AND SENATE OF DANTZIG, <i>April + 1657</i>:—The Dantzigers, for whom the Protector has a + great respect, have unfortunately sided with the Poles against + the King of Sweden. Would that, for the sake of Religion, and + in the spirit of their old commercial amity with England, they + had chosen otherwise, or would yet change their views! That, + however, is rather beyond the immediate business of this + letter; which is to request them either to release the noble + Swede, Count Konigsmarck, who has become their prisoner by + treachery, or at least make his captivity easier. + </p> + <p> + (C.) TO THE EMPEROR OF RUSSIA, <i>April 1657</i>:—On the + throne of this vast, chaotic, semi-Asiatic Empire at this time + was Alexis, the son and successor of Michael Romanoff, the + founder of that new dynasty under which Russia was to enter on + her era of greatness. He had come to the throne, as a young + man, in 1645, and had since then, in the despotic Czarish way, + continued his father's policy for the civilization of his + subjects by cultivating commerce with the neighbouring European + states, and bringing in foreigners for service in his armies or + otherwise. On the execution of Charles I., however, he had + broken utterly with the Regicide Island, and had ordered out of + his dominions all English adherents of the Parliament. He alone + of European Sovereigns had at once taken this high stand + against the English Republic. But events, Russian interests, + and communications from the Protector, had gradually brought + him round. Since 1654, when a certain WILLIAM PRIDEAUX had been + sent to Russia as agent for the Protector, the trade with + Russia, through Archangel, had resumed its former dimensions, + under rules permitting English merchants to sell and buy goods + at Archangel, and have a factory there, but "not to go up in + the country for Moscow or any other city in + Russia."<sup>1</sup> The envoy himself, however, had visited + Moscow; and his long letters thence, or from Archangel, had + thrown much light on the internal condition of that strange + outlandish Muscovy, as Russia was then generally called, about + which there had been hitherto more of curiosity than knowledge. + The immense wealth of the Emperor, his vast military forces, + the barbaric splendours of his Court, the Oriental + submissiveness of the people and their oddities of dress and + manners, the peculiarities of the Greek Religion, the great + resources of Russia, and the obstructions yet existing in the + way of trade with her, had all become topics of English gossip. + But, in fact, Alexis had become a considerable personage in + general European politics. By wars with Poland, and other + populations about him, he had greatly enlarged his territories, + adopting new titles of sovereignty to signify the same; and in + the general imbroglio of North-Eastern Europe, involving + Sweden, Denmark, Poland, the United Provinces, and even + Germany, he had come to be a power whose movements and + embassies commanded attention. It had been resolved, therefore, + by the Protector and his Council to send a more special envoy + to "the Great Duke of Muscovia"; and, on the 12th of March + 1656-7, RICHARD BRADSHAW, ESQ., so long Resident for the + Commonwealth at Hamburg, was recommended by the Council to his + Highness as the proper person.<sup>2</sup> The present letter + of Milton, accordingly, is the Letter of Credence which + Bradshaw was to take with him.—The Letter is addressed to + his Russian Majesty, as punctually as possible, by all his + chaos of titles, thus: "Oliver, Protector of the Commonwealth + of England, Scotland, Ireland, &c., to the Most Serene and + most powerful Prince and Lord, the Emperor and Great Duke of + all Russia, Lord of Volodomeria, Moscow, and Novgorod, King of + Kazan, Astracan, and Siberia, Lord of Vobscow, Great Duke of + Smolensk, Tuerscow, and other places, Lord and Great Duke of + Novograda, and of the lower countries of Czernigow, Rezanscow, + &c., Lord of all the Northern Clime, and also Lord of + Everscow, Cartalinska, and many other lands."<sup>3</sup> After + referring to the old commercial intercourse between Russia and + England, the Protector says he is moved to seek closer + communication, with his most august Imperial Majesty by that + extraordinary worth, far outshining that of all his ancestors, + by which he has won himself so good an opinion among all + neighbouring Princes, Then he introduces and highly recommends + BRADSHAW, who will duly reveal his instructions. + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Thurloe, II. 562. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Council Order Book of date. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 3: Compare this address with that which the Envoy of the United + Provinces was instructed by the States-General to be most + punctual in using in his addresses to his Czarish Majesty + nearly six years before (Aug. 1651: see Thurloe, I. + 196):—"Most illustrious, most potent great Lord, Czar and + Grand Duke Alexey Michaelowitz, Autocrator of all both the + Greater and Lesser Russia, Czar of Kiof, Wolodomiria, Novgorod, + Czar of Kazan, Czar of Astracan, Czar of Siberia, Lord of + Plescow, and Grand Duke of Smolensko, Tweer, Jugonia, Permia, + Weatka, Bolgaria, Lord and Grand-Duke of Novagrada and the low + lands of Zenigow, Resan, Polotzko, Rostof, Yareslav, + Belooseria, Udoria, Obdoria, Condinia, Wietepsky, M'Stitslof, + Lord of all the Northern Lands, Lord of the Land of Iversky, + Czar of Cartalinsky and Grusinsky, and of the Land of + Cardadinsky, Prince of the Circasses and Gorshes, heir of his + Father and Grand-father, and Lord and Sovereign of many other + Easterly, Westerly, and Northerly Lordships and Dominions." + Milton, for the Protector, is somewhat more economical and uses + <i>Rex</i> for <i>Czar</i>. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The mission of BRADSHAW to Russia was not the only incident in + the Protector's diplomatic service about this time in which + Milton, as Foreign Secretary Extraordinary, may have felt an + interest. MORLAND, after having been in Switzerland for about a + year and a half on the business that had grown out of his + original Piedmontese mission, had been at length recalled, + leaving the Swiss agency, as before, in the hands of PELL by + himself. He had been back in London since Dec. 1656, had attended + the Council several times to give full and formal report of his + proceedings, and had also appeared before the great Committee for + the Collection for the Piedmontese Protestants, and presented his + accounts of the moneys received and expended. All that he had + done met with high approbation; and, by way of reward in kind, it + was voted by the Council, May 5, 1657, that he should have £700 + for 'the charge of paper, printing, and cutting of the maps, for + 2000 copies of his History,' and the whole of the profits of that + book. Morland's <i>History of the Evangelical Churches of + Piemont</i>, which appeared in the following year, was therefore + a State publication the copyright of which was made over to the + author. More munificent still was the reward of the services of + MEADOWS in Portugal. His special mission having been successfully + accomplished, and ordinary consular duty in Lisbon having been + put into good hands, he too had returned to London, but only to + be designated at once (Feb. 24, 1656-7) for another mission of + importance. This was that mission to the King of Denmark which + Cromwell had promised in his letter to the King of Dec. 1656, but + for which a suitable person had not then been found. To Meadows, + fresh from Portugal, the appointment to Denmark was in itself a + high compliment; but there were very substantial accompaniments. + His allowance in his new mission was to be £1000 a year; a + special sum of £400 was voted for the expense of his journey; and + it was ordered that, for his able discharge of his Portuguese + mission, £100 a year should be settled on him and his for + ninety-nine years—a vote partly commuted a few days + afterwards (March 19) into a present money-payment of £1000. For + DURIE, who was also now back in England, and indeed close to + Milton in Westminster, after another of his roving missions, + first through Switzerland, and then in other parts, there was to + be no employment so distinguished as that found for Meadows. It + was enough that he should be at hand for any farther service of + propagandism in behalf of his life-long idea of a Pan-Protestant + Union. Of two new diplomatic appointments that were soon to be + made, both above Durie's mark, we shall hear in time. The most + splendid diplomatic appointment of all in the Protector's service + had, as we already know (ante p. 114), just received an increase + of dignity. The Scottish COLONEL WILLIAM LOCKHART, the husband of + Cromwell's niece, and his Ambassador at the Court of France since + April 1656, had been back on a visit in the end of the year to + attend Parliament and to consult with Cromwell; and now, knighted + by Cromwell, he had returned to France as SIR WILLIAM LOCKHART, + with his great allowance of £100 a week, or £5200 a + year.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Council Order Books of dates Jan. 1, 27, Feb. 3, 24, March + 5, 12, 19, 1656-7, and May 5, 1657; Letter of Durie, dated + "Westminster, May 28, 1657," in Vaughan's Protectorate (II. + 173). + </p> + </div> + <p> + At no time, indeed, since the beginning of the Protectorate, had + there been such activity in that foreign and diplomatic + department of the Protector's service to which Milton belonged. + Cromwell's alliance offensive and defensive with France against + Spain (March 23, 1656-7), leading immediately to the transport of + an English auxiliary army under General Reynolds to co-operate + with the French in Flanders (ante pp. 140-141), would in itself + have caused an increase of such activity; but, in addition to + this, and inextricably involved with this in Cromwell's general + Anti-Spanish policy, was that idea of a League or Union of the + Protestant States of Europe which had first perhaps been roused + in his mind by the Piedmontese massacre of 1655, but had + gradually, as so many of Milton's subsequent State-Letters prove, + assumed firmer form and wider dimensions. The Dutch, the + Protestant Swiss, the Protestant German princes and cities, the + Danes, the Swedes, the Protestants of Transylvania and other + eastern parts, perhaps even the Russians, all, so far as + Cromwell's influence could go, were to be brought to a common + understanding for the promotion of Protestant interests + throughout the world and the defiance of all to the contrary. It + was Durie's old dream of Pan-Protestantism redreamt by a man + whose state was kingly, and who had the means of turning his + dreams into realities. Now, consequently, in the service of that + dream, as in his service generally, + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p class="i8"> + "Thousands at his bidding speed, + </p> + <p> + And post o'er land and ocean without rest." + </p> + </div> + <p> + While so many were thus coming and going, at £800 a year, £1000 a + year, or £5000 a year, blind Milton, with his £200 a year, could + only "stand and wait," the stationary Latin drudge. The return of + his old assistant Meadows from Portugal may again have relieved + him of somewhat of the drudgery; for, though Meadows was + designated for the new mission to Denmark Feb. 24, 1656-7, he did + not actually set out for Denmark till the following August, and + there is something like proof that in the interval, envoy though + he now was, he resumed secretarial duty at Whitehall under + Thurloe. His renewed presence in London may account for the + comparative rarity of Milton's State-Letters from Dec. 1656 to + April 1657, and also for the fact that then there follows a total + blank of four months in the series, bringing us precisely to + August, when Meadows was preparing to go away again. What passed + during these months we already know. The great question of + Kingship or continued Protectorship, which had been in suspense + during those months of March and April in which Milton had + written his last four letters, had been brought to a close May 8, + when Cromwell at last decisively refused the Crown; and the First + Session of his Second Parliament had accordingly ended, June 26, + not in his coronation, as had been expected, but in his + inauguration in that Second Protectorship the constitution of + which had been framed by the Parliament in their so-called + <i>Petition and Advice</i>.—What may have been Milton's + thoughts on the Kingship question we can pretty easily + conjecture. Almost to a certainty, he was one of the private + "<i>Contrariants</i>," one of those Oliverians who, with Lambert, + Fleetwood, and most of the Army-men, objected theoretically to a + return to Kingship, feared it would be fatal, and were glad + therefore when Cromwell declined it and accepted the + constitutionalized Protectorship instead. But, indeed, by this + time, it is possible that Milton, though still Oliverian in the + main, still a believer in Cromwell's greatness and goodness, was + not so devotedly an Oliverian as he had been when he had written + his panegyric on the Protector and the Protectorate in his + <i>Defensio Secunda</i>. Even then he had made his reserves, and + had ventured to express them in advices and cautions to Cromwell + himself. He can hardly have professed that in those virtues of + the avoidance of arbitrariness and self-will, the avoidance of + over-legislation and over-restriction, which he had especially + recommended to Cromwell, the rule of the Protector through the + last three years had quite satisfied his ideal. Many of the + so-called "arbitrary" measures, and even the temporary device of + the Major-Generalships, he may have excused, as Cromwell himself + did, on the plea of absolute necessity; all the measures + distinctly for repression of Royalist risings and conspiracies + must have had his thorough approbation; and, in the great matter + of liberty of speculation and speech, Cromwell had certainly + shown more sympathy with the spirit of Milton's + <i>Areopagitica</i> than most of his Councillors or either of his + Parliaments. Nor, as we have sufficiently seen, did Milton's + notions of Public Liberty, any more than Cromwell's, formulate + themselves in mere ordinary constitutionalism, or the doctrine of + the rightful supremacy of Parliaments elected by a wide or + universal suffrage, and a demand that such should be sitting + always. He had more faith perhaps, as Cromwell had, in a good, + broad, and pretty permanent Council, acting on liberal + principles, and led by some single mind. But there <i>had</i> + been disappointments. What, for example, of the frequent + questionings and arrests of Bradshaw, Vane, and other high-minded + Republicans whom Milton admired, and what especially of the + prolonged disgrace and imprisonment of his dear friend Overton? + Or, even if the plea of necessity or supposed necessity should + cover such cases too (for Cromwell's informations through Thurloe + might reach farther than the public knew, and the good Overton, + at all events, had gone into devious and dangerous courses), what + about the Protector's grand infatuation on the subject of an + Established Church? He had preserved the abomination of a + State-paid ministry; he had made that institution the very pride + of his Protectorate; he was actually fattening up over again a + miscellaneous State-clergy, in place of the old Anglicans, by + studied encouragements and augmentations of stipend. So Milton + thought, and very much in that language; and here, above all, + must have been his dissatisfaction with Cromwell's Government. + But what could be done? What other Government could there be? + What would the Commonwealth have been without Cromwell, and in + what condition would it be if he were removed? On the whole, what + could a blind private thinker do but, in his occasional + interviews with the great Protector on business, or his rarer + presences perhaps in a retired place at one of the Protector's + musical entertainments at Whitehall, keep all such thoughts to + himself, reserving frank expression of them for his intimates, + and meanwhile behaving as a loyal Oliverian and performing his + duty? In such a state of mind, as I believe, did Milton pass from + the First Protectorate into the Second. + </p> + <h3> + BOOK II. + </h3> + <h3> + JUNE 1657-SEPTEMBER 1658. + </h3> + <h3> + <i>HISTORY</i>:—OLIVER'S SECOND PROTECTORATE. + </h3> + <h3> + <i>BIOGRAPHY</i>:-MILTON'S LIFE AND SECRETARYSHIP THROUGH THE + SECOND PROTECTORATE. + </h3> + <h2> + <a name="Bc1s1" id="Bc1s1">CHAPTER I.</a> + </h2> + <h3> + OLIVER'S SECOND PROTECTORATE: JUNE 26, 1657—SEPT. 3, 1658. + </h3> + <p> + REGAL FORMS AND CEREMONIAL OF THE SECOND PROTECTORATE: THE + PROTECTOR'S FAMILY: THE PRIVY COUNCIL: RETIREMENT OF LAMBERT: + DEATH OF ADMIRAL BLAKE: THE FRENCH ALLIANCE AND SUCCESSES IN + FLANDERS: SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF MARDIKE: OTHER FOREIGN RELATIONS + OF THE PROTECTORATE: SPECIAL ENVOYS TO DENMARK, SWEDEN, AND THE + UNITED PROVINCES: AIMS OF CROMWELL'S DIPLOMACY IN NORTHERN AND + EASTERN EUROPE: PROGRESS OF HIS ENGLISH CHURCH-ESTABLISHMENT: + CONTROVERSY BETWEEN JOHN GOODWIN AND MARCHAMONT NEEDHAM: THE + PROTECTOR AND THE QUAKERS: DEATH OF JOHN LILBURNE: DEATH OF + SEXBY: MARRIAGE OF THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM TO MARY FAIRFAX: + MARRIAGES OF CROMWELL'S TWO YOUNGEST DAUGHTERS: PREPARATIONS FOR + ANOTHER SESSION OF THE PARLIAMENT: WRITS FOR THE OTHER HOUSE: + LIST OF CROMWELL'S PEERS.—REASSEMBLING OF THE PARLIAMENT, + JAN. 20, 1657-8: CROMWELL'S OPENING SPEECH, WITH THE SUPPLEMENT + BY FIENNES: ANTI-OLIVERIAN SPIRIT OF THE COMMONS: THEIR + OPPOSITION TO THE OTHER HOUSE: CROMWELL'S SPEECH OF REMONSTRANCE: + PERSEVERANCE OF THE COMMONS IN THEIR OPPOSITION: CROMWELL'S LAST + SPEECH AND DISSOLUTION OF THE PARLIAMENT, FEB. 4, + 1657-8.—STATE OF THE GOVERNMENT AFTER THE DISSOLUTION: THE + DANGERS, AND CROMWELL'S DEALINGS WITH THEM: HIS LIGHT DEALINGS + WITH THE DISAFFECTED COMMONWEALTH'S MEN: THREATENED SPANISH + INVASION FROM FLANDERS, AND RAMIFICATIONS OF THE ROYALIST + CONSPIRACY AT HOME: ARRESTS OF ROYALISTS. AND EXECUTION OF + SLINGSBY AND HEWIT: THE CONSPIRACY CRUSHED: DEATH OF ROBERT RICH: + THE EARL OF WARWICK'S LETTER TO CROMWELL, AND HIS DEATH: MORE + SUCCESSES IN FLANDERS: SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF DUNKIRK: SPLENDID + EXCHANGES OF COMPLIMENTS BETWEEN CROMWELL AND LOUIS XIV.: NEW + INTERFERENCE IN BEHALF OF THE PIEDMONTESE PROTESTANTS, AND + PROJECT OF A PROTESTANT COUNCIL <i>DE PROPAGANDA FIDE</i>; + PROSPECTS OF THE CHURCH ESTABLISHMENT: DESIRE OF THE INDEPENDENTS + FOR A CONFESSION OF FAITH: ATTENDANT DIFFICULTIES: CROMWELL'S + POLICY IN THE AFFAIRS OF THE SCOTTISH KIRK: HIS DESIGN FOR THE + EVANGELIZATION AND CIVILIZATION OF THE HIGHLANDS: HIS GRANTS TO + THE UNIVERSITIES OF EDINBURGH AND GLASGOW; HIS COUNCIL IN + SCOTLAND: MONK AT DALKEITH: CROMWELL'S INTENTIONS IN THE CASES OF + BIDDLE AND JAMES NAYLER; PROPOSED NEW ACT FOR RESTRICTION OF THE + PRESS: FIRMNESS AND GRANDEUR OF THE PROTECTORATE IN JULY 1658: + CROMWELL'S BARONETCIES AND KNIGHTHOODS: WILLINGNESS TO CALL + ANOTHER PARLIAMENT: DEATH OF LADY CLAYPOLE: CROMWELL'S ILLNESS + AND LAST DAYS, WITH THE LAST ACTS AND INCIDENTS OF HIS + PROTECTORSHIP. + </p> + <p> + Whether Cromwell's Second and Constitutionalized Protectorship + was as agreeable to himself as his First had been may be doubted. + He had accepted it, however, and meant to try it in all good + faith. If, on the one hand, it was more limited, on the other it + was attended with more of grandeur and dignity. Inasmuch as the + actual Kingship had been offered him, and the new constitution + was exactly that which would have gone with the Kingship, his + Protectorship now, in the eyes of all the world, was equivalent + to Kingship. When inducted into his First Protectorship, stately + though the ceremonial had been, he had worn but a black velvet + suit, with a gold band round his hat, and the chief symbol of his + investiture had been the removal of his own military sword and + substitution of the civil sword presented to him by Lambert. He + had come into this Second Protectorship robed in purple, and + holding a sceptre of massy gold. In heraldry, as well as in + reality, he had taken his place among the Sovereigns of Europe. + </p> + <p> + Round about Cromwell, even through the First Protectorate, there + had been, as we have abundantly seen, much of the splendour and + equipage of sovereignty. The phrases "His Highness's Court" and + "His Highness's Household" had become quite familiar. On all + public occasions he was attended and addressed most + ceremoniously; when he rode out in state it was with life-guards + about him, outriders in front, and coaches following; and the + Order-Books of the Council prove that his relations to the + Council were regulated by careful etiquette, and that his + personal attendance at any of their meetings was regarded as a + distinction. One observes also, as with Cromwell's approval, and + in evidence of the conservatism that had been growing upon + himself, a retention or even multiplication of aristocratic forms + in his court and government. He had conferred knighthoods less + sparingly than at first, though still rather + sparingly;<sup>1</sup> in mentions of any of the old nobility, + whether those that had become Oliverian and were to be seen at + Whitehall, or those who lived in retirement, their old titles + were scrupulously preserved,—e.g. "The Marquis of + Hertford," "The Earl of Warwick," "The Earl of Mulgrave," "The + Lord Viscount Lisle," "The Right Honourable the Lord Broghill"; + and not only were official or courtesy titles still recognised, + as by calling Fleetwood "My Lord Deputy," Whitlocke "Lord + Commissioner Whitelocke," Fiennes "Lord Commissioner Fiennes," + and Lawrence "Lord President Lawrence," but there had been a + curious extension of usage in this last particular. The + Protector's sons had become respectively "The Lord Richard + Cromwell" and "The Lord Henry Cromwell" in the newspapers and in + public correspondence; and, for some reason or other, probably on + account of places held in his Highness's Household or Ministry + apart from the Council, at least two of the Councillors had of + late received similar courtesy-promotion. From the beginning of + 1655 Lambert had ceased to be called "Major-General Lambert," and + had become "Lord Lambert," and from the beginning of 1656 "Mr. + Strickland" had passed into "Lord Strickland." They are so named + both in the Council Order-Books and in the Journals of the First + Session of the Second Parliament. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Here is a list of Cromwell's Knights of the First + Protectorate, so far as I have ascertained them:—Lord + Mayor Thomas Viner (Feb. 8, 1653-4); John Copleston (June 1, + 1655); Colonel John Reynolds (June 11, 1655); Lord Mayor Sir + Christopher Pack (Sept. 20, 1655); Colonel Thomas Pride, of + 'Pride's Purge' celebrity (Jan. 17, 1655-6); Major-General John + Barkstead, Lieutenant of the Tower (Jan. 19, 1655-6); M. Coyet, + of the Swedish Embassy (April 15, 1656); Richard Combe (Aug. + 1656); Lord Mayor Dethicke and George Fleetwood, Esq. of Bucks + (both Sept. 15, 1656); Ambassador Lockhart, Lord Mayor Robert + Tichbourne, Sheriff James Calthorpe, and Lislebone Long, Esq., + Recorder of London (all Dec. 10, 1656); Colonel James + Whitlocke, a son of Bulstrode Whitlocke (Jan. 6, 1656-7); + Thomas Dickson, of York (March 3, 1656-7); Richard Stayner + (June 11, 1657). + </p> + </div> + <p> + If there had been so much of sovereign and aristocratic form in + the First Protectorate, there was a natural increase of such in + the Second. In the first place, the family of the Protector now + lived in the reflection of that dignity of the purple which had + been formally thrown round himself. The Protector's very aged + Mother having died in honour and peace at Whitehall, Nov. 16, + 1654, blessing him with her last words<sup>1</sup>, the family, + in the Second Protectorate, was as follows:— + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: At "ninety-four years of age" according to a letter of + Thurloe's the day after her death (Thurloe to Pell, Nov. 17, + 1654, in Vaughan's <i>Protectorate</i>, I. 79-81); but Colonel + Chester (<i>Westminster Abbey Registers, 521, Note</i>) sees + reason for believing she had been baptized at Ely, Oct. 28, + 1565, and was therefore only in her ninetieth year at her + death. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + HIS HIGHNESS, OLIVER, LORD PROTECTOR: <i>ætat. 58.</i> + </p> + <p> + HER HIGHNESS, ELIZABETH, LADY PROTECTRESS. + </p> + <p> + Children and Children-in-Law. + </p> + <p> + 1. THE LADY BRIDGET: <i>ætat. 33</i>: Ireton's widow, married + to Fleetwood since 1652. FLEETWOOD, though he had been recalled + from Ireland in the middle of 1655, and had been in London + since then, retained his nominal Lord-Deputyship till Nov. + 1657. + </p> + <p> + 2. THE LORD RICHARD CROMWELL: <i>ætat.</i> 31: married since + 1649 to DOROTHY MAYOR, daughter of Richard Mayor, Esq., of + Hursley, Hants, who had been member for Hants in the Long + Parliament, a fellow-Colonel with Cromwell in the Civil War, + and afterwards in some of the Councils of the Commonwealth, in + the Little Parliament, and in the Council of the + Protectorate.—Though Lord Richard's tastes were all for a + quiet country-life, with "hawking, hunting, and horse-racing," + he had been in both the Parliaments of the Protectorate, and + had taken some little part in the Second. His father now + brought him more forward. On the 3rd of July, 1657, when the + Second Protectorate was but a week old, the Lord Protector + resigned his Chancellorship of the University of Oxford; and on + the 18th Lord Richard was elected in his stead. He was + installed at Whitehall, July 29. He was also made a Colonel, + and at length he was brought into the Council. The fact is thus + minuted in the Council's Books under date Dec. 31, + 1657:—"The Lord Richard Cromwell did this day take the + oath of a Councillor, the same being administered unto him by + the Earl of Mulgrave and General Desborough, in virtue of his + Highness's Commission under the Great Seal." He was immediately + put on all Committees of the Council; and generally after that, + when he did attend, his name was put next after the President's + in the <i>sederunt</i>. + </p> + <p> + 3. THE LORD HENRY CROMWELL: <i>ætat. 29</i>: in the Army since + his boyhood; Colonel since 1649; Major-General and chief + Commander in Ireland since the middle of 1655. At the beginning + of the Second Protectorate he was still in the Government of + Ireland with his military title only; but on the 24th of + November 1657 he was sworn into the full Lord Deputyship in + succession to Fleetwood. He had been married since 1653 to a + daughter of Sir Francis Russell, of Chippenham, Cambridgeshire. + </p> + <p> + 4. THE LADY ELIZABETH: <i>ætat. 28</i>: married in her + seventeenth year to JOHN CLAYPOLE, ESQ., of a Northamptonshire + family. He had been made the Lord Protector's "Master of + Horse," and had therefore been known for some time by the + courtesy-title of "Lord Claypole." He had been in the Second + Parliament of the Protectorate; and, as Master of Horse, had + figured prominently in the ceremonial of the late Installation. + Lord and Lady Claypole were established in the household of the + Lord Protector, at Whitehall, or at Hampton Court; and Lady + Claypole was a very favourite daughter. + </p> + <p> + 5. THE LADY MARY: <i>ætat. 21</i>. She was unmarried when the + Second Protectorate began, though Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper is + said to have sought her hand, and to have turned against the + Protector on being refused it; but on the 18th of November 1657 + she became the second wife of THOMAS BELLASIS, VISCOUNT + FALCONBRIBGE, one of the old nobility. He was about thirty + years of age, had been abroad, had been sounded by Lockhart in + Paris as to his inclinations to the Protectorate, had given + every satisfaction in that matter, and had been certified by + Lockhart to the Protector as "a person of extraordinary parts." + On his own account, and also because he was of an old Royalist + family, his marriage with Lady Mary was thought an excellent + match. + </p> + <p> + 6. THE LADY FRANCES: <i>ætat. 19</i>. This, the youngest of + Cromwell's children, was also unmarried at the beginning of the + Second Protectorate. The fond dream of the wealthy old + Gloucestershire squire, Mr. John Dutton, that his nephew and + Cromwell's ward, Mr. William Dutton, Andrew Marvell's pupil at + Eton with the Oxenbridges, might become the husband of the Lady + Frances, as had been arranged between him and Cromwell (vol. + IV. pp. 616-619), had not been fulfilled; and, the old squire + himself being now dead, young Dutton was left to find another + wife for himself in due time.<sup>1</sup> For the Lady Frances, + his Highness's youngest daughter, there might well be greater + destinies. There had been vague whispers, indeed, of a + suggestion in certain quarters that Charles II. himself should + propose for her and negotiate for a restoration, or a + succession to Cromwell, accordingly; but for more than a year + there had been more authentic talk of her marriage with Mr. + ROBERT RICH, the only son of Lord Rich, and grandson and (after + his father) heir-apparent of the Earl of Warwick. That this + great and popular old Parliamentarian and Presbyterian Earl had + been won round at last to the Protectorate, and that he had + graced the late Installation conspicuonsly by his presence, + were no unimportant facts; and the projected family-alliance + was by no means indifferent to Cromwell. There were + difficulties, not on the part of the young people; but at + length, Nov. 11, 1657, just a week before the marriage of the + elder sister to Lord Falconbridge, Lady Frances did become the + wife of Mr. Rich. In the fourth month of the marriage, however. + Feb. 16, 1657-8, the husband died, leaving the Lady Frances, + not yet twenty years of age, a widow. She married again, and + did not die till Jan. 1720-1. + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: The will of John Dutton, Esq., of Sherborne, + Gloucestershire, was proved June 30, 1657, just four days after + the beginning of the Second Protectorate; and young Mr. William + Dutton married a widow eventually—"Mary, daughter of + John, Viscount Scudamore, and relict of Thomas Russell of + Worcestershire, Esq." (Noble's Cromwell, I, pp 153-154). + </p> + </div> + <p> + OTHER RELATIVES + </p> + <p> + Worth noting among the Relatives of Cromwell alive in the Second + Protectorate, were the following;—(1) The Protector's + eldest surviving sister, ELIZABETH CROMWELL, <i>ætat. 64</i>, + living at Ely, unmarried, and receiving occasional presents from + her brother. She lived to 1672. (2) The Protector's sister + CATHERINE, <i>ætat.</i> 61, first married to a Roger Whetstone, a + Parliamentarian officer, and afterwards to COLONEL JOHN JONES, + member of the Long Parliament for Monmouthshire, and one of the + Regicides. He had been a member of the first and second Councils + of the Commonwealth, had been for some time in Ireland as one of + Fleetwood's Council, and was now a member of the Protector's + Second Parliament. (3) The Protector's youngest sister ROBINA, + formerly the wife of a Peter French, D.D., but now the wife of + DR. JOHN WILKINS, Warden of Wadham College, Oxford. Wilkins held + the Wardenship by dispensation from Cromwell, his marriage in the + office being against Statute. The only child of Mrs. Wilkins, by + her first marriage, became afterwards the wife of Archbishop + Tillotson. (4) The Protector's niece, ROBINA, daughter of his + deceased sister Mrs. Anna Sewster, and now wife of SIR WILLIAM + LOCKHART. (5) The Protector's brother-in-law COLONEL VALENTINE + WALTON, who had been member for Huntingdonshire in the Long + Parliament, one of the Regicides, and a member of all the + Councils of the Commonwealth; His first wife; Oliver's sister + Margaret, being dead, he had married a second, and had for some + time been less active politically and less Oliverian. (6) The + Protector's brother-in-law JOHN DESBOROUGH, known as an officer + of horse through the Civil Wars, and latterly as one of + Cromwell's stoutest adherents through his Interim Dictatorship + and Protectorate, a member of both his Parliaments, one of his + Councillors, and one of his Major-Generals, though opposed to the + Kingship. He was now a widower by the recent death of his wife, + Cromwell's sister Jane. (7) The Protector's cousin, or father's + sister's son, EDWARD WHALLEY, Colonel in the Civil Wars, one of + the Regicides, and latterly member of both Parliaments of the + Protectorate and one of the Major-Generals. (8) The Protector's + aunt, or father's sister, Mrs. ELIZABETH HAMPDEN, mother of the + famous Hampden, and now a very aged widow, living about + Whitehall, with another son alive, besides grandchildren by her + famous dead son, the eldest of whom, Richard Hampden, was a + member of the present Parliament. (9) The Protector's cousin's + son, COLONEL RICHARD INGOLDSBY, a Recruiter in the Long + Parliament, one of the signers of Charles's death-warrant, and + one of the members for Buckinghamshire in both Parliaments of the + Protectorate. More distant kindred of the Protector were the + DUNCHES of Berkshire, and the MASHAMS of Essex, the head of whom, + Sir William Masham, Bart., had been member for that county in the + Long Parliament, and a member of all the Councils of the + Commonwealth and of the first Parliament of the Protectorate. The + poet WALLER was connected with the Protector by his cousinship + with the Hampdens.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Among authorities for the facts in this compilation, besides + Council Order Books, and the whole narrative heretofore, are + Carlyle's three genealogical Notes (I. 16, 20-21, and 54-55), + Wood's Fasti, II. 155-8, various passages in Codwin, and two + "Narratives" in <i>Harl. Misc</i> III. 429-468. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The Protector's new Privy Council for his Second Protectorate was + not constituted till Monday, July 13, 1657, more than a fortnight + after his installation. Then, his Highness being present, there + were sworn in, according to the new oath of fidelity provided by + the <i>Petition and Advice</i>, Lord President Lawrence, General + Desborough, Lord Commissioner Fiennes, the Earl of Mulgrave, Lord + Viscount Lisle, Mr. Rous, Lord Deputy Fleetwood, Lord Strickland, + and Mr. Secretary Thurloe. This last took his seat at the board + as full Councillor by special nomination of his Highness. In the + course of the next few meetings there came in Colonel Sydenham, + Major-General Skippon, Sir Gilbert Pickering, and Sir Charles + Wolseley, raising the number to thirteen; which completed the + Council for some time, though Colonel Philip Jones and Admiral + Montague afterwards took their seats, and Lord Richard Cromwell, + as we have seen, was added Dec. 31. On comparing the total list + with that of the Council of the First Protectorate (Vol. IV. p. + 545), it will be seen that Cromwell retained all that were alive + of his former Council, except Lambert, Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, + and Mr. Richard Mayor. Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper had been a + deserter from the former Council as early as Dec. 1654, and had + since then been so conspicuous in the opposition that he had been + one of the ninety-three excluded from the House at the opening of + the Second Parliament. Mr. Mayor, Richard Cromwell's + father-in-law, though still nominally in the Council, seems to + have been now in poor health and in retirement. The one + extraordinary omission was that of Lambert. He had taken all but + the chief part in the foundation of the First Protectorate; why + was he absent from the Government of the Second? His + Oliverianism, it appears, had evaporated in the late debates + about the Kingship and the new constitution. Certain it is that + he did not present himself at the first meeting of the new + Council, and that, after an interview with Cromwell in + consequence, he surrendered his two regimental colonelcies, his + major-generalship, and £10 a day which he had for the last, and + withdrew into private life. Still called "Lord Lambert," and with + a pension of £2000 a year granted him by Cromwell, he retired to + Wimbledon, where his chief amusement was the cultivation of + tulips.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Council Order Books of July 13, 1657, and thenceforward; + Ludlow, 593-594; Godwin, IV. 446-447. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The new Council having been constituted, and having begun to hold + its meetings twice or thrice a week, the administration of + affairs, home and foreign, was free to go on, in his Highness's + hands and the Council's, without farther Parliamentary + interruption till Jan. 20, 1657-8. Foreign affairs may here have + the precedence. + </p> + <p> + Blake's grand blow at the Spaniard in Santa Cruz Bay was still in + all people's minds, and they were looking for the return of that + hero, recalled as he had been, June 10, either for honourable + repose in his battered and enfeebled state after three years at + sea, or for further employment nearer home in connexion with the + French-English alliance and the Flanders expedition. He was + never, alas! to set foot in England. Off Plymouth, as his fleet + was touching the shores, he died, utterly worn out with scurvy + and dropsy, Aug. 7, 1657, aged fifty-eight. As the news spread, + there was great sorrow; and on the 13th of August it was ordered + by the Council, "That the Commissioners for the Admiralty and + Navy do forthwith give order for the interment of General Blake + in the Abbey Church at Westminster, and for all things requisite + to be prepared for the funeral of General Blake in such sort as + was done for the funeral of General Deane, and that they give + direction for the preparing of Greenwich House for the reception + of the body of General Blake, in order to his funeral." The body, + having been embalmed, lay at Greenwich till Sept. 4, when it was + brought up the Thames with all funereal pomp, mourning hangings + on the barges and the wherries all the way, and so buried in + Henry the Seventh's chapel, the Council, the great Army officers, + the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, and other dignitaries standing + round, while a multitude thronged outside. It was observed that + Lord Lambert had made a point of being present, as if to signify + that the great sailor and he had always understood each other. + How Blake would have farther comported himself had he lived no + one really knows. At sea he had made it a principle to abstain + from party-politics. "When news was brought him of a + metamorphosis in the State at home, he would then encourage the + seamen to be most vigilant abroad; for, said he, 'tis not our + duty to mind State-affairs, but to keep foreigners from fooling + us." The idea among the ultra-Republicans of using Blake's + popularity to undermine Cromwell had long come to + nothing.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Council Order Books, Aug. 13, 1657: Godwin, IV. 420-421; + Wood's Fasti, I. 371. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Blake gone, the naval hope of England now was Admiral Montague. + Since August 11 he had been cruising up and down the Channel with + his fleet under general orders. The interest of the war with + Spain now lay chiefly in Flanders, where the Protector's army of + 6000 foot under General Reynolds was co-operating with the larger + French army of Louis XIV. commanded by Turenne. Here Cromwell + had, again to complain of Mazarin's wily policy. By the Treaty + the great object of the expedition was to be the reduction of the + coast-towns, Gravelines, Mardike, and Dunkirk; but these sieges + had been postponed, and Turenne had been campaigning in the + interior, the English troops obliged to attend him hither and + thither, and complaining much of their bad accommodation and bad + feeding. Mazarin, in fact, was studying French interests only, A + peremptory communication from Cromwell through Ambassador + Lockhart, Aug. 31, changed the state of matters. "I pray you tell + the Cardinal from me," he said, "that I think, if France desires + to maintain its ground, much more to <i>get</i> ground, upon the + Spaniard, the performance., of his Treaty with us will better do + it than anything appears yet to me of any design he hath." He + offered 2000 more men from England, if necessary; but he added in + a postscript, "If indeed the French be so false to us as that + they would not have us have any footing on that side the water, + then I desire ... that all things may be done in order to the + giving us satisfaction, and to the drawing-off of our men. And + truly, Sir, I desire you to take boldness and freedom to yourself + in your dealing with the French on these accounts." The Cardinal + at once succumbed, and the siege of Mardike by land and sea was + begun Sept. 21. The place was taken in a few days, and, in terms + of the Treaty, given into the possession of General Reynolds for + the English. A little while afterwards, a large Spanish force + under Don John of Austria, the Duke of York serving in it with + four regiments of English and Irish refugees, attempted a + recapture of the place; but, by the desperate fighting of the + garrison and Montague's assisting fire from his ships, the + attempt was foiled. The Protector had thus obtained at least one + place of footing on the Continent; and, with English valour to + assist the military genius of Turenne, there was prospect, late + in 1657, of still more success in the Spanish Netherlands. + Lockhart was again in London for consultation with Cromwell Oct. + 15, and Montague was back Oct. 24, on which day he took his oath + and place in the Council.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Carlyle, III. 306-315 (including two Letters of Cromwell to + Lockhart); Godwin, IV. 543-544; Guizot, II. 379-381; + <i>Cromwelliana</i>, 168; Council Order Books, Oct. 24, 1657. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Various other matters of foreign concern occupied the Protector + and his Council in the first months of the new Protectorate. + There is an order in the Council Books, July 28, 1657, for the + despatch of £1000 more to the Piedmontese Protestants, and for + certain sums to be paid to Genevese and other ministers for + trouble they had taken in that matter; and, as late as Nov. 25, + there is an order for another despatch of £1500. There were, + indeed, to be farther collections for the Piedmontese sufferers, + and new interposition in their behalf with the Duke of Savoy. + Nay, by this time, the generosity of his Highness in the + Piedmontese business had led to applications from distressed + Protestants in other parts of Europe. Thus, Nov. 4, his Highness + being himself present in the Council, and having communicated "a + petition from the pastors of several churches of the Reformed + Religion in Higher Poland, Bohemia, &c., now scattered abroad + through persecution in those parts, desiring some relief, and + also a petition from Adam Samuel Hartmann and Paul Cyril, + delegates from these exiles, together with a narrative of their + condition and sufferings," it was ordered that the matter should + be referred to the Committee for the Piedmontese Protestants and + preparations made for another collection of money. All the while, + of course, there had been the more usual and regular diplomatic + business between the Protector and the various agencies of + foreign powers in London. One hears especially of the arrival, + Aug. 1657, of a new Ambassador-Extraordinary from Portugal, Don + Francisco de Mello, of entertainments to him, and of audiences + granted to him; also of much intercourse between his Highness and + the Dutch Ambassador Lord Nieuport, now so long resident in + England and so much regarded there. But the latter half of 1657 + is also remarkable for the despatch by his Highness of three + special Envoys of his own to the northern Protestant Powers. MR. + PHILIP MEADOWS, appointed Envoy to Denmark as long ago as Feb. + 24, 1656-7 (ante p. 294), but detained meanwhile in London, set + out on his mission at last, Aug. 31; and at the same time + MAJOR-GENERAL WILLIAM JEPHSON, distinguished for his services in + Ireland, and returned as member for Cork and Youghal to both + Parliaments of the Protectorate, set out as Envoy to his Swedish + Majesty. He had been chosen for the important post Aug. 4. + Finally, on the 18th of December, partly in consequence of the + departure of the Dutch Ambassador Nieuport in the preceding + month, for some temporary stay at home on private affairs, GEORGE + DOWNING, ESQ. (ante pp. 43 and 191) was appointed to follow him + in the capacity of Resident for his Highness in the United + Provinces.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Council Order Books of dates; Whitlocke, IV. 311-313; and + <i>Cromwelliana</i>, 168-169. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The general purport of these three missions of Cromwell in 1657 + requires explanation. Not commercial interests merely, but also + zeal for union among the Protestant Powers, had all along moved + his diplomacy; and now the state of things in the north of Europe + was so extraordinary that, on the one hand, the cause of + Protestant union seemed in fatal peril, but, on the other hand, + if it could be retrieved, it might be retrieved perhaps in a + definite and magnificent form. The prime agency in bringing about + this state of things had been the vast energy of the young + Swedish King, Charles X. or Karl-Gustav. Cromwell had by this + time contracted an especial admiration of this prince, and had + begun to regard him as a kindred spirit and the armed champion of + Continental Protestantism. To see him succeed to the last in his + Polish enterprise, and then turn himself against Austria and her + Roman Catholic clientage in the Empire, had come to be Cromwell's + desire and the desire in Great Britain generally. For a time that + had seemed probable. In the great Battle of Warsaw, fought July + 28-30, 1656, Charles-Gustavus and his ally the Elector of + Brandenburg routed the Poles disastrously; and, Ragotski, Prince + of Transylvania, also abetting and assisting the Swede, "<i>actum + jam videbatur de Polonia</i>" as an old annalist says: "it seemed + then all over with Poland." But a medley of powers, for diverse + reasons and interests, had been combining themselves for the + salvation of Poland, or at least for driving back the Swede to + his own side of the Baltic. Not merely the Austrians and the + German Catholic princes were in this combination, but also the + Muscovites or Russians, and, most unnatural of all, the Danes, + with countenance even from the more distant Dutch. Nay, the + prudent Elector of Brandenburg, hitherto the ally of the Swede, + was drawn off from that alliance. This was done by a treaty, + dated Nov. 10, 1656, by which the Polish King, John Casimir, + yielded to the Elector the full sovereignty of Ducal Prussia or + East Prussia, till then held by the Elector only by a tenure of + homage to the Polish Crown. All being ready, the Danish King, + Frederick III., gave the signal by declaring war against Sweden + and invading part of the Swedish territories. When the news + reached Cromwell, which it did Aug. 13, 1657, it affected him + profoundly. He had previously been remonstrating, as we have + seen, both with the Danes and the Dutch, by letters of Milton's + composition (ante pp. 272-3 and 290), trying to avert such an + unseemly Protestant intervention in arrest of the Swedish King's + career. And now, having his two envoys, MEADOWS and JEPHSON, + ready for the emergency, he despatched them at once to the scene + of that new Swedish-Danish war in which what had hitherto been + the Swedish-Polish war was to be at once engulphed. For + Karl-Gustav had turned back out of Poland to deal directly with + the Danes, and the interest was now concentrated on the struggle + between these two powers—the Poles, the German Catholics, + the Muscovites, the Elector of Brandenburg, the Dutch, and other + powers, looking on more or less in sympathy with the Danes, and + some of them ready to strike in. To end the war, if possible, by + reconciling Charles X. and Frederick III, was Cromwell's first + object; and, with that aim in view, Jephson was to attach himself + more particularly to Charles X., whatever might be his war-track, + and Meadows more particularly to Frederick III. But they might + cross each other's routes, deal with other States along these + routes, and work into each other's hands. RICHARD BRADSHAW, + likewise, who had been sent as Envoy to the Czar of Muscovy in + the beginning of the year (ante pp. 292-294), would be moving + about usefully on the east of the Baltic. And, if a + reconciliation between Sweden and Denmark should by any means be + brought about, what then should be aimed at but a repair of the + rupture between the Elector of Brandenburg and the Swedish King, + so as to save the Elector from the threatened vengeance of the + Swede, and then farther the aggregation of other Protestant + German States, and of the Dutch, round this nucleus of a + Swedish-Danish-Brandenburg alliance, for common action against + Poland, Austria, and German Catholicism? Even the Muscovites, as + of the Greek Church, might be brought in, or at least they might + be rendered neutral. All this was in contemplation, as a tissue + of ideal possibilities, when MEADOWS and JEPHSON were despatched + in August, and the mission of DOWNING four months later to the + United Provinces was partly in the same great interest. It may + seem matter for wonder that a man of Cromwell's practical + sagacity, already so deeply implicated on the Continent by his + Flanders enterprise and his alliance with France, should have had + such a passion for farther interference as thus to insert his + hands into the apparently measureless entanglement in northern + and eastern Europe. But, in the first place, his practical + sagacity was not at fault. Precisely that it should not be an + entanglement, but a marshalling of powers in two sets according + to their true religions and political affinities, was the essence + of his aspiration; there were deep tendencies towards that + result; sagacity consisted in perceiving these, and practicality + in promoting them. Cromwell's aspiration in connexion with the + Swedish-Danish war was also, it could be proved, that of other + thoughtful Protestants then contemplating the war and speculating + on its chances. But, in the second place, the business of the + French alliance and the Flanders enterprise was vitally + inter-connected with the so-called entanglement in the north and + east. The German Emperor Ferdinand III. had died in April 1657; + the Empire was vacant; Mazarin had set his heart on obtaining + that central European dignity for his young master, Louis XIV., + and was intriguing with the Electors for the purpose; it was + still uncertain whether, when the time came, a majority of the + Electoral College would vote for Louis XIV. or would retain the + Imperial dignity in the House of Austria by choosing the late + Emperor's son Leopold. The future of Germany and of Protestantism + in Germany was concerned deeply in that issue; and, whatever may + have been Cromwell's feelings in the special prospect of the + election of his ally Louis XIV. to the Empire, he was bound to + prefer that to the election of another incarnation of Austrian + Catholicism.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Studied from scattered documents in Thurloe and from those + of Milton's State-Letters for Cromwell that appertain to Sweden + and Denmark and the missions of 1657, with help from a very + luminous passage in Baillie's Letters (III. 370-371), and with + facts and dates from the excellent abridged History forming the + Supplement to the <i>Rationarium Temporum</i> of the Jesuit + Petavius (edit. 1745, I. 562-564), and from Carlyle's + <i>History of Frederick the Great</i>, I. 222-223. + </p> + </div> + <p> + At home meanwhile things went on smoothly. Cromwell had by this + time brought his Established Church into a condition highly + satisfactory to himself. The machinery of the <i>Ejectors</i> and + the <i>Triers</i> was still in full operation; and, on reports + from the <i>Trustees for the Maintenance of Ministers</i>, his + Highness and the Council still had the pleasure, from time to + time, of ordering new augmentations of clerical stipends. The + Voluntaryism which still existed in wide diffusion through the + English mind had become comparatively silent; and indeed open + reviling of the Established Church had been made punishable by + Article X. of the <i>Petition and Advice</i>. Perhaps the + plainest speaker now against the principle of an Established + Church, or at least against the constitution of the present one, + was the veteran John Goodwin of Coleman Street. "<i>The Triers + (or Tormentors) tried and cast by the Laws of God and Men</i>" + was the title of a pamphlet of Goodwin's, which had been out + since May 1657, assailing the Commission of Triers. Goodwin was + too eminent a Commonwealth's man, and too fair a + controversialist, to be treated as a mere reviler; and it was + left to the Protector's journalist, Marchamont Needham, to reply + through the press. "<i>The Great Accuser cast down, or a Public + Trial of Mr. John Goodwin of Coleman Street, London, at the Bar + of Religion and Right Reason</i>," was a pamphlet by Needham, + published July 31. It was dedicated "To His Most Serene Highness, + Oliver, Lord Protector," &c., in such terms as + these:—"Sir, It is a custom in all countries, when any man + hath taken a strange creature, immediately to present it to the + Prince: whereupon I, having taken one of the strangest that (I + think) any part of your Highness's dominions hath these many + years produced, do, with all submissiveness, make bold to present + him, bound hand and foot with his own cords (as I ought to bring + him), to your Highness. He need not be sent to the Tower for his + mischievousness: there is no danger in him now, nor like to be + henceforth, as I have handled him." In a prefixed Epistle to the + Reader there is a good deal of scurrility against Goodwin. He is + described as "worse than a common nuisance." He is taxed also + with inconsistency, inasmuch as he had been one of those who, in + Feb. 1651-2, had signed the famous <i>Proposals of Certain + Ministers to the Committee for the Propagation of the Gospel</i>, + in which the principle of an Established Church had been assumed + and asserted (ante, IV. 392). In the body of the pamphlet Needham + maintains that principle. "Christ left no such rules and + directions," he says, "nor was it his intention to leave such, + for propagating the Gospel, as exclude the Magistrate from using + his wisdom and endeavours in order thereunto." He defends the + Commission of Triers and the Commission of Ejectors, and more + than once twits Goodwin with having taken up at last the extreme + crotchets of Roger Williams the American. "<i>A Letter of Address + to the Protector occasioned by Mr. Needham's Reply to Mr. + Goodwin's Book against Triers</i>" appeared Aug. 25; but we need + not follow the controversy farther. It had come to be Mr. John + Goodwin's fate to be the severest public critic of Cromwell's + Established Church; it had come to be Mr. Marchamont Needham's to + be the most prominent defender of that institution.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Thomason Pamphlets, and Catalogue of the same for dates. + </p> + </div> + <p> + More likely than such men as John Goodwin to be classed as open + revilers of the Established Church were the Quakers. They were + now very numerous, going about in England, Scotland, Ireland, and + everywhere else, as before, and mingling denunciations of every + form of the existing ministry with their softer and richer + teachings. They were still liable, of course, to varieties of + penal treatment, according to the degrees of their aggressiveness + and the moods of the local authorities; but the disposition at + head-quarters was decidedly towards gentleness with them. Hardly + had the new Council of State been constituted when, Cromwell + himself present, three of the most eminent London physicians, Dr. + Wright, Dr. Cox, and Dr. Bates, were instructed "to visit James + Nayler, prisoner in Bridewell, and to consider of his condition + as to the state both of his mind and body in point of health"; + and, from that date (July 16, 1657), his farther detention seems + to have been merely for his cure. George Fox, whose circuits of + preaching took him as far as Edinburgh and the Scottish + Highlands, could never be in London without addressing a pious + letter or two to Cromwell, or even going to see him; and another + Quaker, Edward Burrough, was so drawn to Cromwell that he was + continually penning letters to him and leaving them at Whitehall. + During and after the Kingship question these letters were + particularly frequent, the Quakers being all <i>Contrariants</i> + on that point. "O Protector, who hast tasted of the power of God, + which many generations before thee have not so much since the + days of apostasy from the Apostles, take heed that thou lose not + thy power; but keep Kingship off thy head, which the world would + give to thee:" so had Fox written in one letter, ending, "O + Oliver, take heed of undoing thyself by running into things that + will fade, the things of this world that will change; be subject + and obedient to the Lord God." There was something in all this + that really reached Cromwell's heart, while it amused him; and, + though he would begin by bantering Fox at an interview, sitting + on a table and talking in "a light manner," as Fox himself tells + us, he would end with some serious words. Both to Fox personally, + and to the letters from him and other Quakers, his reply in + substance uniformly was that they were good people, and that, for + himself, "all persecution and cruelty was against his mind." + Cromwell was only at the centre, however, and could not regulate + the administration of the law everywhere.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Council Order Books of date; and Sewel's <i>History of the + Quakers</i>, I. 210-233. + </p> + </div> + <p> + John Lilburne once more, but now for the last time, and in a + totally new guise! Committed to prison in 1653 by the government + of the Barebones Parliament, acting avowedly not by law but + simply "for the peace of this nation" (ante, IV. 508), he had + been first in the Tower, then in a castle in Jersey, and then in + Dover Castle. In this last confinement, which had been made + tolerably easy, a Quaker had had access to him, with very marked + effects. "Here, in Dover Castle," Lilburne had written to his + wife, Oct. 4, 1655, "through the loving-kindness of God, I have + met with a more clear, plain, and evident knowledge of God, and + myself, and His gracious outgoings to my soul, than ever I had in + all my lifetime, not excepting my glorying and rejoicing + condition under the Bishops." Again, in a later letter: "I + particularly can, and do hereby, witness that I am already dead + or crucified to the very occasions and real grounds of outward + wars, and carnal sword-fightings, and fleshly bustlings and + contests, and that therefore confidently I now believe that I + shall never hereafter be a user of the temporal sword more, nor a + joiner with those that do. And this I do here solemnly declare, + not in the least to avoid persecution, or for any politic ends of + my own, or in the least for the satisfaction of the fleshly wills + of any of my great adversaries, or for satisfying the carnal will + of my poor weak afflicted wife, but by the special movings and + compulsions of God now upon my soul ... and that thereby, if yet + I must be an imprisoned sufferer, it may from this day forward be + for the truth as it is in Jesus, which truth I witness to be + truly professed and practised by the savouriest of people, called + Quakers." This had not at once procured his release, for he + remained in Dover Castle through at least part of 1656. At + length, however, after some proposal to let him go abroad again, + or to send him and his wife to the Plantations, security had been + accepted for his good behaviour, and he had been allowed to live + as he liked at Eltham in Kent. Here, and elsewhere, he sometimes + preached, and was in much esteem among the Quakers; and here, on + Saturday the 29th of August, 1657, he died. On the following + Monday his corpse was removed to London and conveyed to the house + called "The Bull and Mouth" at Aldersgate, the chief + meeting-place of the London Quakers. "At this place, that + afternoon, assembled a medley of people, among whom the Quakers + were most eminent for number; and within the house a controversy + Was whether the ceremony of a hearse-cloth should be cast over + his coffin; but, the major part, being Quakers, not assenting, + the coffin was about five o'clock in the evening brought forth + into the street. At its coming out, there stood a man on purpose + to cast a velvet hearse-cloth over the coffin, and he endeavoured + to do it; but, the crowd of Quakers not permitting it and having + gotten the body on their shoulders, they carried it away without + further ceremony, and the whole company conducted it into + Moorfields, and thence into the new churchyard adjoining to + Bedlam, where it lieth interred." Lilburne at his death was but + thirty-nine years of age. He was popular to the last with the + Londoners, and there were notices of him, comic and serio-comic, + long after his death. By order of Council, Nov. 4, his Highness + himself present, payment of the arrears of an allowance he had of + 40<i>s.</i> a week, with continuation of the same allowance + thenceforward, was granted to his wife, Elizabeth.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Sewel's <i>History of the Quakers</i>. I. 160-163 (where, + however, there is an error as to the date of Lilburne's death); + Wood's Ath. III. 357; <i>Cromwelliana</i>, 168; Council Order + Books of Nov. 4, 1657. + </p> + </div> + <p> + When the subdued Lilburne thus went to his grave among the + Quakers, his unsubdued successor in the trade of Anti-Cromwellian + conspiracy, the Anabaptist ex-Colonel Sexby, was in the Tower, + waiting his doom. He had been arrested, July 24, in a mean + disguise and with a great over-grown beard, on board a ship that + was to carry him back to Flanders after one of his visits to + London on his desperate design of an assassination of Cromwell, + to be followed by a Spanish-Stuartist invasion. What <i>would</i> + have been his doom can be but guessed. He became insane in the + Tower, and died there in that state Jan. 13, 1657-8. He had + previously confessed to Barkstead, the Lieutenant of the Tower, + that he had been the real mover of the Sindercombe Plot, that he + had been in the pay of Spain, and also, apparently, that he was + the author of <i>Killing no Murder</i>.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: <i>Merc. Pol.</i> of dates, as quoted in + <i>Cromwelliana</i>, 167-170. + </p> + </div> + <p> + So quiet and even was the course of home-affairs through the + first seven months of the new Protectorate that such glimpses and + anecdotes of particular persons have to suggest the general + history. Yet one more of the sort. + </p> + <p> + In the parish register of Bolton Percy in Yorkshire there is this + entry: "George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, and Mary, the + daughter of Thomas, Lord Fairfax, Baron of Cameron, of + Nunappleton within this Parish of Bolton Percy, were married the + 15th day of September <i>anno Dom</i>. 1657." This was, in fact, + the marriage of the great Fairfax's only child, Marvell's former + pupil, now nineteen years of age, to the Royalist Duke of + Buckingham, aged thirty. The poet Cowley, who had known the Duke + since their Cambridge days together, acted as his best man at the + wedding, which was celebrated with great festivities at + Nunappleton, Cowley contributing a poem. But surely it was a most + extraordinary marriage, and, though there had been rumours of + such a possibility for several years, it was heard of with + surprise. The only child and heiress of the great Parliamentarian + General, one of the founders of the Commonwealth, married to this + Royalist of Royalists, the handsome young insurgent in the Second + Civil War of 1648, the boon-companion of Charles II. for some + time abroad, his boon-companion and buffoon all through his + dreary year of Kingship among the Scots, his fellow-fugitive from + the field of Worcester, and ever since, though less in Charles's + company than before, and serving as a volunteer in the French + army, yet a main trump-card in Charles's lists! How had it + happened? Easily enough. The great Fairfax, with ample wealth of + his own, had made most honourable and chivalrous use of the + accessions to that wealth that had come in the shape of + Parliamentary grants to him out of the confiscated estates of + Royalists. Now, one such grant, in lieu of a money pension of + £4000 a year, had been a portion of the confiscated property of + the young Duke of Buckingham, including an estate in Yorkshire + and York House in the Strand. The young Duke, stripped of his + revenues of £25,000 a year, had been living meanwhile on the + proceeds of a great collection of pictures, Titians and what not, + that had been made by his father, and which had been quietly + conveyed abroad for sale. But Fairfax had not forgotten the + splendid young man, and had every wish to retrieve his fortunes + for him. There had probably been communications to that end, not + only with Buckingham himself, but even with Charles II.; and the + result had been the Duke's return to England and appearance in + Yorkshire, early in 1657, to woo Mary Fairfax or to complete the + wooing. Who could resist him? It might have been better for Mary + Fairfax had she died in her girlhood, fresh from Marvell's + teaching; but now she was Duchess of Buckingham. York House and + the estate in Yorkshire had been restored to her husband by gift, + and Nunappleton and other Fairfax estates were to be settled on + him and her for their lives, and on their heirs should there be + any.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Markham's Life of Fairfax, 364-372. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Naturally, the Protector might have something to say to the + arrangement. The great Fairfax was a man to whom anything in + reason would be granted; and, though Cromwell had no reason to + believe that Fairfax favoured his Protectorate, and there had + been even reports from Thurloe's foreign agents of correspondence + between Fairfax and Charles II.,<sup>1</sup> no one could + challenge Fairfax's honour or doubt his passive allegiance. But a + son-in-law like Buckingham about him altered the case. Little + wonder, therefore, that the marriage at Nunappleton was discussed + at the Council in London. On the 9th of October, his Highness and + eight more being present, it was ordered that a warrant should + issue for arresting, and confining in the Isle of Jersey, George, + Duke of Buckingham, who had been "in this nation for divers + months without licence or authority." This led, of course, to + earnest representations from Fairfax. Accordingly, Nov. 17, "His + Highness having communicated to the Council that the Lord Fairfax + hath made addresses to him, with some desires on behalf of the + Duke of Buckingham," it was ordered "That the Resolves and Act of + Parliament in the case of the said Duke be communicated to the + Lord Fairfax as the grounds of the Council's proceedings touching + the said Duke, and that there be withal signified to the Lord + Fairfax the Council's civil respects to his Lordship's own + person." The message was to be conveyed by the Earl of Mulgrave, + Lord Deputy Fleetwood, and Lord Strickland. Fairfax and the young + couple must have made farther appeal; for, Dec. 1, his Highness + "delivered in to the Council a paper containing an offer of some + reasons in reference to the Duke of Buckingham his liberty," + whereupon it was minuted "That the Council do declare it as their + opinion that it is not consistent with their duty to advise his + Highness to grant the Duke of Buckingham his liberty as is + desired, nor consistent with his Highness's trust to do the + same." Lord Strickland and Sir Charles Wolseley were to + communicate the minute to Fairfax. Probably Fairfax had come up + to town on the business. The young couple would seem to have + remained in the country; nor do I find that the order for the + arrest of the Duke was yet actually enforced.<sup>2</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: As early as Nov. 1654 Charles II. had written to Fairfax, + begging him to "wipe out all he had done amiss" by such + services to the Royal cause as he might yet render (Macray's + Calendar of the Clarendon State Papers, II. 426). + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Council Order Books of dates. + </p> + </div> + <p> + What may have disposed Cromwell not to be too harsh about the + marriage was the fact that he had just celebrated the marriages + of his own two youngest daughters. Lady Frances, the youngest, + became Mrs. Rich on the 11th of November, and Lady Mary became + Viscountess Falconbridge on the 18th. + </p> + <p> + The drift of public interest was now towards the reassembling of + the adjourned Parliament on the 20th of January 1657-8. + Especially there was great curiosity as to the persons that would + be called by his Highness to form the Second or Upper House. That + was satisfied in the course of December by the issue of his + Highness's writs under the great seal (quite in regal style, with + the phrases "We," "ourself," "our great seal," &c.) to the + following <i>sixty-three</i> persons, the asterisks to be + explained presently:— + </p> + <p> + *Lord Richard Cromwell (<i>Councillor</i>, &c.). Lord Henry + Cromwell (<i>Lord Deputy of Ireland</i>). + </p> + <p> + Of the Titular Nobility. + </p> + <ul> + <li>The Earl of Warwick. + </li> + <li>The Earl of Manchester. + </li> + <li>The Earl of Mulgrave (<i>Councillor</i>). + </li> + <li>The Earl of Cassilis (Scotch). + </li> + <li>William, Viscount Say and Sele. + </li> + <li>*Thomas, Viscount Falconbridge (<i>son-in-law</i>). + </li> + <li>*Philip, Viscount Lisle (<i>Peer's son and Councillor</i>). + </li> + <li>*Charles, Viscount Howard (raised to this rank by Cromwell, + July 20, 1657). + </li> + <li>Philip, Lord Wharton. + </li> + <li>*George, Lord Eure. + </li> + <li>*Roger, Lord Broghill (<i>Peer's son</i>). + </li> + <li>*John, Lord Claypole (<i>son-in-law and "Master of our + Horse"</i>). + </li> + </ul> + <p> + Great Army and Navy Officers. + </p> + <ul> + <li>*Lieutenant-General Charles Fleetwood (<i>son-in-law and + Councillor</i>). + </li> + <li>*Admiral, or "General of our Fleet," John Desborough + (<i>brother-in-law and Councillor</i>: made Admiral in suecession + to Blake). + </li> + <li>*Admiral, or "General of our Fleet," Edward Montague + (<i>Councillor, and one of the Lords Commissioners of the + Treasury</i>). + </li> + <li>*Commissary-General of Horse, Edward Whalley (<i>cousin</i>). + </li> + <li>Commander-in-Chief in Scotland, General George Monk. + </li> + </ul> + <p> + Great State and Law Officers. + </p> + <ul> + <li>*Nathaniel Fiennes (<i>Councillor</i>). + </li> + <li>Lord Commissioner of the Great Seal. + </li> + <li>*John Lisle, ditto. + </li> + <li>*Bulstrode Whitlocke, one of the Lords Commissioners of the + Treasury. + </li> + <li>*William Sydenham (<i>Councillor</i>), ditto. + </li> + <li>*Henry Lawrence (<i>Lord President of the Council</i>). + </li> + <li>Oliver St. John, Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. + </li> + <li>*John Glynne, Lord Chief Justice of the Upper Bench. + </li> + <li>*William Lenthall, Master of the Rolls. + </li> + <li>William Steele, Lord Chancellor of Ireland. + </li> + </ul> + <p> + Baronets. + </p> + <ul> + <li>Sir Gilbert Gerrard. + </li> + <li>Sir Arthur Hasilrig. + </li> + <li>*Sir John Hobart. + </li> + <li>*Sir Gilbert Pickering (<i>Councillor and Chamberlain to the + Household</i>). + </li> + <li>*Sir Francis Russell (<i>Henry Cromwell's father-in-law</i>). + </li> + <li>*Sir William Strickland. + </li> + <li>*Sir Charles Wolseley (<i>Councillor</i>). + </li> + </ul> + <p> + Knights. + </p> + <ul> + <li>*Sir John Barkstead (knighted by Cromwell Jan, 19, 1655-6). + </li> + <li>Sir George Fleetwood (knighted by Cromwell Sept. 15, 1656). + </li> + <li>*Sir John Hewson (<i>Colonel</i>, knighted by Cromwell Dec. + 5, 1657). + </li> + <li>*Sir Thomas Honeywood. + </li> + <li>Sir Archibald Johnstone of Warriston (Scotch). + </li> + <li>Sir William Lockhart (<i>Ambassador</i>, knighted by Cromwell + Dec. 10, 1656). + </li> + <li>*Sir Christopher Pack (<i>Alderman</i>, knighted by Cromwell + Sept. 20, 1656). + </li> + <li>*Sir Richard Onslow. + </li> + <li>*Sir Thomas Pride (Colonel Pride, knighted by Cromwell Jan, + 17, 1655-6). + </li> + <li>*Sir William Roberts. + </li> + <li>*Sir Robert Tichbourne (<i>Alderman</i>, knighted by Cromwell + Dec. 10, 1656). + </li> + <li>Sir Matthew Tomlinson (<i>Colonel</i>, knighted in Dublin by + Lord Henry Cromwell. Nov. 25, 1657). + </li> + </ul> + <p> + Others. + </p> + <ul> + <li>*James Berry (<i>the Major-General</i>). + </li> + <li>John Clerke (<i>Colonel</i>). + </li> + <li>*Thomas Cooper (<i>Colonel</i>). + </li> + <li>John Crewe. + </li> + <li>*John Fiennes. + </li> + <li>*William Goffe (<i>the Major-General</i>). + </li> + <li>*Richard Ingoldsby (<i>Cousin's son and Colonel</i>). + </li> + <li>*John Jones (<i>brother-in-law and Colonel</i>). + </li> + <li>*Philip Jones (<i>Councillor and Colonel</i>, and now + "<i>Comptroller of our Household</i>"). + </li> + <li>*Richard Hampden (son of the great Hampden). + </li> + <li>William Pierrepoint. + </li> + <li>Alexander Popham. + </li> + <li>*Francis Rous (<i>Councillor and Provost of Eton</i>). + </li> + <li>*Philip Skippon (<i>Councillor and Major-General</i>). + </li> + <li>*Walter Strickland (<i>Councillor</i>). + </li> + <li>*Edmund Thomas.<sup>1</sup> + </li> + </ul> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: In compiling the list I have used the enumerations in Parl. + Hist. III. 1518-1519, Whitlocke, IV. 313-314, and Godwin. IV. + 469-471 (the last two not perfect): also a Pamphlet of April + 1659 called <i>A Second Narrative of the Late Parliament</i>. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Such were "Oliver's Peers or Lords," remembered by that name now, + and so called at the time, not because they were Peers or Lords + in the old sense, but because they were to be members of that + "Other House" which, by Article V. of the <i>Petition and + Advice</i>, was to exercise some of the functions of the old + House of Lords. The selection was various enough, and probably as + good as could be made; but there must have been great doubts as + to the result. Would those of the old English hereditary nobility + whom it had been deemed politic to summon condescend to sit as + fellow-peers with Hewson, once a shoemaker, Pride, once a + brewer's drayman, and Berry, once a clerk in some iron works? + What of Manchester, recollecting his deadly quarrel with Cromwell + as long ago as 1644-5, and what of Say and Sele, who had remained + sternly aloof from the Protectorate from the very first, the + pronounced Oliverianism of two of his sons notwithstanding? Then + would Anti-Oliverian Commoners like Hasilrig and Gerrard, hating + the Protector with their whole hearts, take it as a compliment to + be removed from the Commons, where they could have some power in + opposition, to a so-called Upper House where they would be lost + in a mass of Oliverians? Farther, of the Oliverians who would + have willingly taken their seats and been useful, several of the + most distinguished, such as Henry Cromwell, Monk, Lockhart, and + Tomlinson, were at a distance, and could not appear immediately. + Finally, if, after all these deductions, a sufficient House + should be brought together, it would be at the expense of a + considerable weakening of the Government party in the Commons by + the withdrawal of leading members thence, and this at a time when + such weakening was most dangerous. For, by the <i>Petition and + Advice</i>, were not the Anti-Oliverians excluded from last + session, to the number of ninety or more, to take their seats in + the Commons now, without farther let or hindrance from the + Protector? + </p> + <p> + Cromwell had, doubtless, foreseen that one of the difficulties of + his Second Protectorate would be the transition from the system + of a Single-House Parliament, now nine years in use, to a revived + form of the method of Two Houses. The experiment, however, had + been, of his own suggestion and was still to his liking, Could + the Second House take root, it might aid him, on the one hand, in + that steady and orderly domestic policy which, he desired in + general, and it might increase his power, on the other hand, to + stand firmly on his own broad notion of religious toleration. At + all events, the time had now come when the difficulty must be + faced. + </p> + <p> + On Wednesday. Jan. 20, 1657-8; the members of the two Senses, + such of them at least as had appeared, were duly in their places. + Those of the new House were assembled in what tad formerly been + the House of Lords, Of the sixty-three that had been summoned + forty-three had presented themselves and had been sworn in by the + form of oath prescribed in the <i>Petition and Advice</i>, They + were the forty-three whose names are marked by asterisks in the + preceding list of those summoned. When it is considered that from + seven to ten of those not asterisked there (e.g. Henry Cromwell, + Monk, Steele, Lockhart, and Tomlinson) would certainly have taken + their places but for necessary and distant absence, and might + take them yet, the House mast be called, so far, a very + successful one. It had failed most conspicuously, as had been + expected, in one of its proposed ingredients. Of the old English + Peers there had come in only Visconnt Falconbridge and Lord Eure; + Warwick, Manchester, Say and Sele, Wharton, even Mulgrave, were + absent. More ominous still was the absence of the Anti-Oliverian + commoner Sir Arthur Hasilrig, He had not yet come to town, and + there was much speculation what course he would take if he did + come. Would he regard himself as still member for Leicester in + the Commons House, though he had been excluded thence in + September 1656, as he had before been driven from the same seat + in the First Parliament of the Protectorate; and would he reclaim + that seat now rather than go into the Upper House? Meanwhile for + most of those who had been excluded in Sept. 1658 along with + Hasilrig there was no such dilemma; and, accordingly, they had + mustered, in pretty large number, to claim their seats in the + Commons, The only formality with which they had to comply now was + the prescribed oath of the <i>Petition and Advice</i>, by which + they, as well as the members of the Upper House, were to swear, + among other things, "to be true and faithful to the Lord + Protector," &c., and not to "contrive, design, or attempt + anything against his person or lawful authority." It is evident + that Cromwell trusted a good deal to the effects of this oath; + for he had taken care that there should be stately commissioners + in the lobby of the Commons from a very early hour in the morning + to swear the members as they came in. As many as 150 or 180 + members in all, the formerly excluded and the old sitters + together, seem to have been in the House, thus sworn, about the + time when the forty-three were assembled in the adjacent Other + House. The Commons had then resumed business, on their own + account, as met after regular adjournment. They had appointed a + Mr. John Smythe to be their Clerk, in lieu of Mr. Henry Scobell, + now made general "Clerk of the Parliament" and transferred to the + Other House, and they had fixed that day week as a day of prayer + for divine assistance, when the Usher of the Black Rod appeared + to summon them to meet his Highness in the Other House. Arranging + that the Sergeant-at-Arms should carry the mace with him, and + stand by the Speaker with the mace at his shoulder through the + whole interview with his Highness, the House obeyed the + summons.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals, Jan. 20, 1657-8, et seq.; Ludlow, 596-597; + List of the 43 who sat in the Upper House in pamphlet of 1659 + already cited, called <i>A Second Narrative</i>, &c. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Cromwell's speech to the two Houses (Speech XVI.) opened + significantly with the words "<i>My Lords, and Gentlemen of the + House of Commons</i>." It was a very quiet speech, somewhat + slowly and heavily delivered, with "peace" for the key-word. He + represented the nation as now in such a nourishing state, + especially in the possession of a settled and efficient Public + Ministry of the Gospel, and at the same time of ample religious + liberty for all, that nothing more was needed than oblivion of + past differences, and a hearty co-operation of the two Houses + with each other, and with himself. Apologizing for being too ill + to discourse more at length, he asked Lord Commissioner Fiennes + to do so for him. The speech of Fiennes was essentially a + continuation in the same strain, but with a gorgeousness and + variety of metaphor, Biblical and poetical, in description of the + new era of peace and its duties, utterly beyond the bounds of + usual Parliamentary oratory even then, and to which Cromwell and + the rest, with all their experience of metaphor from the pulpit, + must have listened with astonishment. "Jacob, speaking to his son + Joseph, said <i>I had not thought to have seen thy face, and lo! + God hath showed me thy seed, also:</i> meaning his two sons, + Ephraim and Manasseh. And may not many amongst us well say some + years hence <i>We had not thought to have seen a Chief Magistrate + again among us, and lo! God hath shown us a Chief Magistrate in + his Two Houses of Parliament?</i> Now may the good God make them + like Ephraim and Manasseh, that the Three Nations may be blessed + in them, saying <i>God made thee like these Two Houses of + Parliament, which two, like Leah and Rachel, did build the House + of God!</i> May you do worthily in Ephrata, and be famous in + Bethlehem!" There was more of the same kind, including a + comparison of the new constitution of the <i>Petition and + Advice</i> to the perfected eduction of the orderly universe out + of chaos. It was the speech of a Puritan Jean Paul.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Carlyle, III. 320-326; Commons Journals Jan. 21 and Jan. 25, + 1657-8. Fiennes's speech is given in full under the last date, + and must have much talked of. Whitlocke also prints it, IV. + 315-329. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Which of the two Houses was Ephraim and which Manasseh in + Fiennes's own fancy does not appear; but the Commons had already + voted themselves to be Ephraim, and the Other House to be the + questionable Manasseh. The Anti-Oliverians among them, now in the + majority or nearly so, had resolved that their best policy, bound + as they were by oath to the Protectorate and the new Constitution + of the <i>Petition and Advice</i> generally, would be to question + the powers of the new House as defined in the constituting + document. The definition had been rather vague. The meaning had + certainly been that the new House should be a legislative House, + standing in very much the same relation to the Commons as the old + House of Lords had done, and not merely a Judicial High Court for + certain classes of cases, with general powers of advice to the + Commons in the conduct of weighty affairs. This, however, was + what the Anti-Oliverians in the Commons contended; and on this + contention, if possible, they were to break down the Other House + and so make a gap in the new Constitution. They had made a + beginning even in the small matter of the relative claims of Mr. + Smythe, their own new Clerk, and Mr. Scobell, as general "Clerk + of the Parliament," to the possession of certain documents; but + they found a better opportunity when, at their third sitting + (Jan. 22, afternoon), they were informed that "some gentlemen + were at the door with a message from the Lords." The message was + merely a request that the Commons would join the Lords in an + address to his Highness asking him to appoint a day of + humiliation throughout the three nations; but, purporting to be + from "the Lords," it cut very deep. By a majority of seventy-five + to fifty-one it was resolved "That this House will send an answer + by messengers of their own," i.e. that they would take time to + consider the subject. Two more days passed, the House transacting + some miscellaneous business, but nursing its resolution for a + split; and, on Monday the 25th, lo! Sir Arthur Hasilrig among + them, standing up prominently and insisting on being sworn and + admitted to his seat. He had disdained the summons to the Other + House, and his proper place was <i>here!</i> With some + hesitation, he was duly sworn, and so was added to the group of + Anti-Oliverian leaders already in the House. He, Thomas Scott, + Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, John Weaver, Sergeant Maynard, and one + or two others, were thenceforth to head the opposition within + doors. Outside there were in process of signature certain great + petitions to the Commons House intended to widen the difference + between it and the Protector.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates; Godwin, IV. 479-495; Carlyle, + III. 328. + </p> + </div> + <p> + At this point the Protector interposed. On the afternoon of the + same day on which Hasilrig had taken his seat (Jan. 25) the + Commons were summoned to the Banqueting House in Whitehall, to + listen to another speech from his Highness (Speech XVII.), + addressed to them and the Other House together. It opened with + the phrase "<i>My Lords and Gentlemen of thee Two Houses of + Parliament</i>," to obviate any objections there might be to the + form of opening in the speech of five days before; and it was + conceived in the same spirit of respectfulness to both Houses and + anxiety for their support. But it expounded, more strongly and at + more length than the former speech, the pressing reasons for + unanimity now. It surveyed, first, the state of Europe generally, + dwelling on the ominous combination of Roman Catholic interests + everywhere, and the perils to the Protestant Cause from the + disputes among the Protestant Powers, and especially from the + hostility of the Danes and the Dutch to the heroic King of + Sweden, who had "adventured his all against the Popish Interest + In Poland." It declared the vital concern of Great Britain in all + this, if only because an invasion of Great Britain in behalf of + the Stuarts was a settled part of the Anti-Protestant programme. + "You have accounted yourselves happy in being environed with a + great Ditch from all the world beside. Truly, you will not be + able to keep your Ditch, nor your shipping, unless you turn your + ships and shipping into troops of horse and companies of foot, + and fight to defend yourselves on <i>terra firma</i>." Then, + turning to the state of affairs at home, he insisted on the + necessity of a general union in defence of the existing + settlement. One Civil War more, he said, would throw the nation + into a universal confusion, with or without a restoration of the + Stuarts, and, if <i>with</i> such a restoration, then with + consequences to some that they did not now contemplate. He made + no express reference to the proceedings in the Commons of the + last few days, but implored both Houses to abstain from + dissensions, stand on the basis to which he and they had sworn, + and join with him in real work.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Carlyle, III. 329-347. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The appeal to the Commons was in vain. After three or four more + meetings, they resumed, Jan. 29, the subject of the answer to be + returned to the message of the 22nd from the Other House. By a + vote of eighty-four to seventy-eight they resolved to go into + Grand Committee on the subject. This having been done, they + resolved, Jan. 30, "That the first thing to be debated shall be + the Appellation to be given to the persons to whom the answer + shall be made." On this one point there was a protracted debate + of four days, the oppositionists insisting that the appellation + should be simply "The Other House," as in the <i>Petition and + Advice</i>, and the Oliverians contending that that was no name + at all, that it had been employed in the <i>Petition and + Advice</i> only as a blank to be afterwards filled up, and that + the proper name would be "The House of Lords." In one of two + divisions on Feb. 3 the votes were eighty-seven against + eighty-six; in the other they were ninety-three against + eighty-seven. These divisions, however, were merely incidental, + and the debate was still going on fiercely on Thursday, Feb. 4. + Scott had spoken and was trying to speak again in defiance of + rule, with Hasilrig backing him, when "Mr. Speaker informed the + House that the Usher of the Black Rod was at the door with a + message from his Highness." Hasilrig seems to have been still on + his feet when the Black Rod, having been admitted, delivered his + message: "Mr. Speaker, His Highness is in the Lords House, and + desires to speak with you." Thither they adjourned, and there his + Highness briefly addressed the two Houses once again (Speech + XVIII.). Or rather he addressed both Houses only through about + half of his speech; for, at a particular point, he turned + deliberately to the Commons and proceeded thus: "I do not speak + to these Gentlemen, or Lords, or whatsoever you will call them; I + speak not this to <i>them</i>, but to <i>you</i>. You advised me + to come into this place [the Second Protectorship], to be in a + capacity by your advice. Yet, instead of owning a thing, some + must have I know not what; and you have not only disjointed + yourselves but the whole Nation, which is in likelihood of + running into more confusion in these fifteen or sixteen days that + you have sat than it hath been from the rising of the last + session to this day. Through the intention of devising a + Commonwealth again, that some people might be the men that might + rule all! And they are endeavouring to engage the Army to carry + that thing. And hath that man been true to this Nation, whosoever + he be, especially that hath taken an oath, thus to prevaricate? + These designs have been made among the Army, to break and divide + us. I speak this in the presence of some of the Army: that these + things have not been according to God, nor according to truth, + pretend what you will. These things tend to nothing else but the + playing of the King of Scots' game (if I may so call him); and I + think myself bound before God to do what I can to prevent it. + That which I told you in the Banqueting House was true: that + there are preparations of force to invade us, God is my witness, + it hath been confirmed to me since, not a day ago, that the King + of Scots hath an Army at the water's side, ready to be shipped + for England. I have it from those who have been eyewitnesses of + it. And, while it is doing, there are endeavours from some who + are not far from this place to stir up the people of this town + into a tumulting—what if I said into a rebellion? And I + hope I shall make it appear to be no better, if God assist me. It + hath been not only your endeavour to pervert the Army while you + have been sitting, and to draw them to state the question about a + Commonwealth; but some of you have been listing of persons, by + commission of Charles Stuart, to join with any insurrection that + may be made. And what is like to come upon this, the enemy being + ready to invade us, but even present blood and confusion? And, if + this be so, I do assign it to this cause: your not assenting to + what you did invite me to by your <i>Petition and Advice,</i> as + that which might prove the Settlement of the Nation. And, if this + be the end of your sitting, and this be your carriage, I think it + high time that an end be put to your sitting. And I DO DISSOLVE + THIS PARLIAMENT. And let God be judge between you and + me!"<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates; and Carlyle, III. 348-353. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Thus, after a second session of only sixteen days, the Second + Parliament of the Protectorate was at an end. Cromwell's + explanation of his reasons for dissolving it is perfectly + accurate. Through the first session the Parliament, as a Single + House Parliament, had, by the exclusion of about ninety of those + returned to it, been a thoroughly Oliverian body, and its chief + work had been a reconstitution of the Protectorate on a definite + basis; but through the second session this Parliament, though + nominally the same, had been split into two Houses, the House of + Lords wholly Oliverian, but the House of Commons, by the loss of + a number of its former members and the readmission of the + excluded, turned into an Anti-Oliverian conclave. Fourteen folio + pages of the <i>Commons Journals</i> are the only remaining + formal records of the short and unfortunate Session. Oliver's + Lords can have had little more to do than meet and look at each + other. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + There was to be no Parliament more while Cromwell lived. For + seven months onwards from Feb. 4, 1657-8, he was to govern, one + may say, more alone than ever, more as a sovereign, and with all + his energies in performance of the sovereignty more tremendously + on the strain. + </p> + <p> + There was still, of course, the Council, now essentially a Privy + Council, meeting twice or thrice a week, or sometimes on special + summons, and with this novelty in the public style and title of + the councillors, that those of them who had been in the Upper + House of the late Parliament retained the name of "Lords." Lord + President Lawrence, Lord Richard Cromwell, Lord Fleetwood, Lord + Montague, Lord Commissioner Fiennes, Lord Desborough, Lord + Viscount Lisle, the Earl of Mulgrave, Lord Rous, Lord Skippon, + Lord Pickering (<i>alias</i> "The Lord Chamberlain"), Lord + Strickland, Lord Wolseley, Lord Sydenham, Lord Jones + (<i>alias</i> "Mr. Comptroller"), and Mr. Secretary Thurloe: such + would have been the minute of a complete <i>sederunt</i> of the + Council when, it resumed duty after the dissolution of the + Parliament. There never was such a complete <i>sederunt:</i> ten + out of the sixteen was the average attendance, rising sometimes + to twelve. Occasionally Cromwell came to one of their meetings; + but generally they transacted business among themselves to his + order, and communicated with him privately. A few of the + Councillors were more closely in his confidence than the rest; + Whitlocke, though not of the Council, was often consulted about + special affairs; and the man-of-all-work, closeted with his + Highness daily, was Mr. Secretary Thurloe. His Highness had, + moreover, a private secretary, Mr. William Malyn, who had been + with him already for several years.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Council Order Books from Feb. 1857-8 onwards; Thurloe, II. + 224. + </p> + </div> + <p> + As Cromwell had intimated in his Dissolution Speech, his first + labour after the dissolution was to attack that vast complication + of dangers of which he had already sure knowledge, and which he + declared to have been caused, or brought to a head, by the + wretched conduct of the Commons through their sixteen days of + session, and by the positive treason of some of their number. He + had described the dangers as gathering from two quarters, though + they were already interrelated and would run together at last. + There was "the King of Scots' game," or the plot of a Royalist + commotion in conjunction with a threatened invasion of the + Spanish-Stuartist Army; and there was the design of a great + insurrection of Old Commonwealth's men for a subversion of the + Protectorate and a return to the pure Single-House Republic. Of + the first danger he had said, "I think myself bound before God to + do what I can to prevent it"; the second he had denounced as + rebellion, saying, "I hope I shall make it appear to be no + better, if God assist me." For three or four months he was to be + engaged in making good these words; but he had begun already. On + February 6, at a great meeting of the Army-officers in the + Banqueting House, he had discoursed to them impressively for two + hours, abashing two or three that had been tampered with, and + receiving from the rest assurances of their eternal fidelity. + Ludlow says that, for several nights successively, before or + after this meeting, Cromwell himself took the inspection of the + watch among the soldiers at Whitehall.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: 2 Ludlow, 598-600; Godwin. IV. 496-7. + </p> + </div> + <p> + As always, Cromwell's tenderness towards the Republicans or Old + Commonwealth's men appeared now in his dealings with the new + commotion on that side. Colonel Packer and Captain Gladman, two + disaffected officers in his own regiment of horse, appear to have + been merely dismissed from their commands; and one hears besides + of but a few arrests, with no farther consequences than + examination before the Council and temporary imprisonment. + Harrison was again arrested, the Fifth-Monarchy men having, of + course, lent themselves to the agitation, and Harrison having + this time, Whitlocke says, been certainly "deep in it." Among the + others arrested were Mr. John Carew, the Regicide and Councillor + under the Commonwealth, John Portman, who had been secretary to + Blake in the Fleet, a Hugh Courtney, and John Rogers, a preacher. + There seems to have been no thought of any proceedings against + Hasilrig, Scott, Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, and the other + Anti-Cromwellian leaders in the late Parliament. This, however, + is less remarkable than that, with information in Cromwell's + possession that some of the members of the Parliament, nominally + Commonwealth's men, had actually commissions from Charles II. and + were enlisting persons under such commissions for any possible + insurrection whatever, he had contented himself with announcing + the fact in his Dissolution Speech and so merely signifying to + the culprits that their lives were in his hands.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Ludlow, 599-600; Whitlocke, IV. 330; Godwin, IV. 502-503. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The Royalist project and its ramifications were really very + formidable. A Spanish Army of about 8000 men, with Charles II. + and his refugees among them, <i>was</i> gathered about Bruges, + Brussels, and Ostend, with vessels of transport provided; and the + burst of a great Royalist Insurrection at home, in Sussex, + London, and elsewhere, <i>was</i> to coincide with the invasion + from abroad. The Duke of Ormond himself had come to London in + disguise, to observe matters and make preparations. He was in + London for three weeks, living in the house of a Roman Catholic + surgeon in Drury Lane, till Cromwell, who knew the fact, + generously sent Lord Broghill to him with a hint to be gone. This + was early in March, some days after a proclamation "commanding + all Papists and other persons who have been of the late King's + party or his son's to depart out of the cities of London and + Westminster," and another proclamation forbidding such persons + living in the country to stir more than five miles from their + fixed places of abode. On the 12th of that month the Lord Mayor, + Aldermen, and Common Council of the City of London met his + Highness and the Army-officers by appointment at Whitehall, where + his Highness explained to them at length the nature of the + crisis, informed them particularly of the strength of the + Flanders army of invasion, Ormond's visit, &c., and solemnly + committed to them the safety of the City. The response of the + City authorities was extremely loyal.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Godwin, IV. 507-508; Carlyle, III. 353-354; <i>Merc. + Pol.</i>, of March 11-18, 1657-8, quoted in + <i>Cromwelliana</i>, pp. 170-171. The Proclamation ordering + Papists and other Royalists out of London and Westminster, and + that ordering such persons in the country to keep near home, + are both dated Feb. 25, 1657-8. There are copies at the end of + one of the volumes of the Council's minutes. + </p> + </div> + <p> + On the principle that the country could not afford for ever this + periodical trouble of a Royalist Conspiracy, and that some + examples of severity might make the present upheaving the last of + the kind, Cromwell had resolved on a few such examples. His + information, through Thurloe and otherwise, was unerring. He + knew, and had known for some time, who were the members of the + so-called "Sealed Knot," i.e. that secret association of select + Royalists resident in England who were in closest correspondence + with Hyde and the other Councillors of Charles abroad, and were + chiefly trusted by them for the management of the cause at home, + Indeed, Sir Richard Willis, one of the chiefs of the "Sealed + Knot," had for some time been in understanding with Cromwell, + pledged to him by a peculiar compact, and revealing to him all + that passed among the Royalists. Hence, before the end of April, + some of the members of the "Sealed Knot," and a number of leading + Royalists besides, had been lodged in the Tower. Among them were + Colonel John Russell (brother of the Earl of Bedford), Colonel + John White, Sir William Compton, Sir William Clayton, Sir Henry + Slingsby (a prisoner in Hull since the Royalist rising of 1654-5, + but negotiating there desperately of late to secure the officers + and the town itself for Charles), Sir Humphrey Bennett, Mr. John + Mordaunt (brother of the Earl of Peterborough), Dr. John Hewit (a + London Episcopal clergyman), Mr. Thomas Woodcock, and a Henry + Mallory. It was part of the understanding with Willis that + several of the prisoners, Willis's particular friends, should be + ultimately released. For trial were selected Slingsby, Clayton, + Bennett, Mordaunt, Woodcock, Mallory, and Dr. Hewit. The trials + were in Westminster Hall, in May and June, before a great High + Court of Justice, consisting of all the judges, some of the great + state officers, and a hundred and thirty commissioners besides, + all in conformity with an Act of the late Parliament prescribing + the mode of trial for such prime offences. Five of the seven were + either acquitted or spared: only Slingsby and Dr. Hewit were + brought to the scaffold. They were beheaded on Tower Hill, June + 8. Much influence was exerted in behalf of Hewit; but, besides + that he had been deeply implicated, he had been contumacious in + the Court, challenging its competency, and refusing to plead. + Prynne had stood by him, and prepared his demurrer.—From + the evidence collected in Dr. Hewit's case it appeared that he, + if not Ormond, had been calculating on the co-operation of + Fairfax, Lambent, Sir William Waller, and a great many other + persons of name, up and down the country, not included among + those whom Cromwell had seen fit to arrest. As Thurloe distinctly + says, "It's certain Sir William Waller was fully engaged," the + omission, of that veteran commander from the number must have + been an act of grace. About Lambert the speculation seems to have + been absurd; and, though Cromwell must have known that Fairfax + was now inclining generally towards a Restoration, he cannot have + believed anything stronger at present in his case. There was no + public reference to such high personages; nor, with the exception + of some friendly expostulation by the Protector with a young Mr. + John Stapley of Sussex (son of Stapley the Regicide and + Councillor of the Commonwealth), who <i>had</i> been lured into + the business, was any account taken of the other miscellaneous + persons in Hewit's list of reputable sympathisers. It was enough + for Cromwell to know who had swerved so far, and to have made + examples of Hewit himself and Slingsby.—These two would + have been the only victims but for a wild sub-conspiracy in the + City of London while the trials of Hewit and Slingsby were in + progress. A few desperate cavaliers about town, the chief of whom + were a Sir William Leighton, a Colonel Deane, and a Colonel + Manley, holding commissions from Charles, had met several times + at the Mermaid Tavern and elsewhere, and had arranged for a + midnight tumult on Saturday the 15th of May. They were to attack + the guard at St. Paul's, seize the Lord Mayor, raise a + conflagration near the Tower, &c. The hour had come, and the + conspirators were in the Mermaid Tavern for their final + arrangements, when lo! the trainbands on the alert all round them + and Barkstead riding through the streets with a train of five + small cannon. A good many were arrested, thirty of them London + prentices. Six of the principals were condemned July 2, of whom + one was hanged, two were hanged, drawn, and quartered, and three + were reprieved. For the prentices there was all + clemency.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Clarendon, 869-870; Godwin, IV. 508-527; <i>Merc. Pol</i>, + May 13-20, 1658, quoted in <i>Cromwelliana</i>, 171-172; + Thurloe, VII. 25, 65-69, 88-90, 100, and 147-8; Whitlocke, IV. + 334. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Though the prosecutions of the Royalist plotters were not + concluded till the beginning of July, all real danger from the + plot itself had been over in March or April, when Ormond was back + in Bruges with the report that his mission had been abortive and + that Cromwell was too strong. We must go back, therefore, for the + other threads of our narrative. + </p> + <p> + The death of Mr. Robert Rich, Cromwell's son-in-law since the + preceding November, had occurred Feb. 16, 1657-8, only twelve + days after the dissolution of the Parliament. Cromwell, saddened + by the event himself, had found time even then to write letters + of condolence and comfort to the young man's grandfather, the + Earl of Warwick. The Earl's reply, dated March 11, is extant. "My + pen and my heart," it begins, "were ever your Lordship's + servants; now they are become your debtors. This paper cannot + enough confess my obligation, and much less discharge it, for + your seasonable and sympathising letters, which, besides the + value they deserve from so worthy a hand, express such faithful + affections, and administer such Christian advice, as renders them + beyond measure welcome and dear to me." Then, after pious + expression at once of his grief and of his resignation, he + concludes with words that have a historical value. "My Lord," he + says, "all this is but a broken echo of your pious counsel, which + gives such ease to my oppressed mind that I can scarce forbid my + pen being tedious. Only it remembers your Lordship's many weighty + and noble employments, which, together with your prudent, heroic, + and honourable managery of them, I do here congratulate as well + as my grief will give me leave. Others' goodness is their own; + yours is a whole country's, yea three kingdoms'—for which + you justly possess interest and renown with wise and good men: + virtue is a thousand escutcheons. Go on, my Lord; go on happily, + to love Religion, to exemplify it. May your Lordship long + continue an instrument of use, a pattern of virtue, and a + precedent of glory!" On the 19th of April 1658, or not six weeks + after the letter was written, the old Earl himself died. By that + time the louring appearances had rolled away, and Cromwell's + "prudent, heroic, and honourable managery" had again been widely + confessed.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Godwin, IV. 527-531, where Warwick's beautiful letter is + quoted in full, but where his death is postdated by a month. + See Thurloe, VII. 85. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Through all the turmoil of the proceedings against the plotters + Cromwell had not abated his interest in his bold enterprise in + Flanders, or in his alliance with the French generally. That + alliance having been renewed for another year (March 28, 1658), + reinforcements were sent to the English auxiliary army to fit it + for farther work in the Netherlands. Sir John Reynolds, the first + commander of that army, having been unfortunately drowned in + returning to England on a short leave of absence (Dec. 5, 1657), + the Governorship of Mardike had come into the hands of + Major-General Morgan, while the command in the field had been + assigned to Lockhart, hitherto the Protector's Ambassador only, + though soldiering had been formerly his more familiar business. + In conjunction with Turenne, Lockhart had been pushing on the + war, and at length (May 1658) the two armies, and Montagu's + fleet, were engaged in the exact service which Cromwell most + desired, and Lockhart had been always urging. This was the siege + of Dunkirk, with a view to the possession of that town, as well + as Mardike, by the English. To be near the scene of such + important operations, Louis XIV. and Cardinal Mazarin had taken + up their quarters at Calais; and, not to miss the opportunity of + such near approach of the French monarch to the shores of + England, Cromwell despatched his son-in-law Viscount Falconbridge + on a splendid embassy of compliment and congratulation. He landed + at Calais on the 29th of May, was received by both King and + Cardinal with such honours as they had never accorded to an + ambassador before, and returned on the 3rd of June to make his + report. The very next day there was a tremendous battle close to + Dunkirk between the French-English forces under Turenne and + Lockhart and a Spanish army which had come for the relief of the + besieged town under Don John of Austria and the Prince of Condé, + with the Dukes of York and Gloucester in their retinue. Mainly by + the bravery of Lockhart's "immortal six thousand," the victory of + the French and English was complete; and, though the Marquis of + Leyda, the Spanish Governor of Dunkirk, maintained the defence + valiantly, the town had to surrender on the 14th of June, two + days after the Marquis had been mortally wounded in a sally. Next + day, according to the Treaty with Cromwell, the town was at once + delivered to Lockhart, Louis XIV. himself, who was on the spot, + handing him the keys. Already, while that event was unknown, and + merely to reciprocate the compliment of Falconbridge's embassy to + Calais, there had been sent across the Channel, in the name of + Louis XIV., the Duke de Crequi, first Gentleman of his + Bedchamber, and M. Mancini, the nephew of Cardinal Mazarin, + "accompanied by divers of the nobility of France and many + gentlemen of quality." Met at Dover by Fleetwood and an escort, + they arrived in London June 16, and remained there till the 21st, + having audiences with his Highness, delivering to him letters + from Louis and the Cardinal, and entertained by him with all + possible magnificence. While they were there, a special envoy + joined them, announcing the capture of Dunkirk; and so the joy + was complete. There was nothing the French King would not do to + show his regard for the great Protector; and, but for his + Majesty's illness at that moment from small-pox, the Cardinal + himself would have come over instead of sending his nephew. And + why should there not be a renewal of the Treaty after the expiry + of the present term, to secure another year or two of that + co-operation of the English Army and Fleet with Turenne which had + led already to such excellent results? What if Ostend, as well as + Dunkirk and Mardike, were to be made over to the Protector? These + were suggestions for the future, and meanwhile new successes + <i>were</i> added to the capture of Dunkirk. Town after town in + Flanders, including Gravelines at last, yielded to Turenne, or + other generals, and received French garrisons, and through the + summer autumn the Spaniards were so beset in Flanders that an + expedition thence for the invasion of England in the interest of + Charles Stuart, or in any other interest, was no longer even a + possibility.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Godwin, IV. 544-551; where, however, the digest of facts + does not seem accurate in every point. Compare Thurloe, VII. + 173-177 and-192-3, and <i>Merc. Pol.</i> June 10-17 and June + 17-24, 1658 (as quoted in <i>Cromwelliana</i>, 172-173), and + Guizot, II 380-388. + </p> + </div> + <p> + While thus turning to account the alliance with the only Catholic + power with which there could be safe dealing, the Protector clung + firmly to his idea of a League among the Protestant Powers + themselves. If Burnet's information is correct, it was about this + time that he contemplated the institution in London of "a Council + for the Protestant Religion in opposition to the Congregation + <i>De Propaganda</i> <i>Fide</i> at Rome." It was to sit at + Chelsea College: there were to be seven Councillors, with a large + yearly fund at their disposal; the world was to be mapped out + into four great regions; and for each region there was to be a + Secretary at £500 a year, maintaining a correspondence with that + region, ascertaining the state of Religion in it, and any + exigency requiring interference. That remained only a project; + but meanwhile there was the agency of Jephson with the King of + Sweden, of Meadows with the King of Denmark, of Downing with the + United Provinces, and of other Envoys here and there, all working + for peace among the Protestant States and joint action against + the common enemy. In the Council Order Books for May 1658 one + comes also upon new considerations of the old subject of the + Protestants of the Piedmontese valleys, with a fresh remittance + of £3000 for their relief, and an advance at the same time of + £500 out of the Piedmontese Fund for the kindred purpose of + relieving twenty distressed Bohemian families. Indeed in that + month his Highness was again at white heat on the subject of his + favourite Piedmontese. The Treaty of Pignerol, by which the + persecuting Edict of 1655 had been recalled and liberty of + worship again yielded to the poor Vaudois (ante pp. 43-44), had + gradually been less and less regarded; there were new troubles to + the Vaudois from the House of Savoy; there were even signs of a + possible repetition in the valleys of all the former horrors. How + to prevent that was a serious thought with Cromwell amid all his + other affairs; and he made his most effective stroke by an + immediate appeal to the French King. On the 26th of May there + went to his Majesty one of Milton's Latin State Letters in the + Protector's name, adjuring him, by his own honour and by the + faith of their alliance, to save the poor Piedmontese and secure + the Treaty which had been made in their behalf by former French + intervention; and on the same day there went a letter to Lockhart + urging him to his utmost diligence in the matter, and suggesting + that the French King should incorporate the Piedmontese valleys + with his own dominion, giving the Duke of Savoy some bit of + territory with a Catholic population in exchange. Reaching Louis + XIV. and Lockhart at the moment of the great success before + Dunkirk, these letters accomplished their object. The will of + France was signified at Turin, and the Protestants of the Valleys + had another respite.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Burnet (ed. 1823), I. 133; Letters of Downing, &c. in + Thurloe, Vol. VII.; Council Order Books of date; Carlyle, III. + 357-365. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Were one asked what subject of home concern had the first place + in Cromwell's attention through all the events and transactions + that have hitherto been noticed, the answer must still be the + same for this as for all the previous portions of his + Protectorate. It was "The Propagation of the Gospel," with all + that was then implied in that phrase as construed by himself. + </p> + <p> + As regarded England and Wales, the phrase meant, all but + exclusively, the sustenance, extension, and consolidation of + Cromwell's Church Establishment. The <i>Trustees for the better + Maintenance of Ministers</i>, as well as the <i>Triers</i> and + <i>Ejectors</i>, were still at work; and in the Council minutes + of the summer of 1658, just as formerly, there are orders for + augmentations of ministers' stipends, combinations of parishes + and chapelries, and the like. Substantially, the Established + Church had been brought into a condition nearly approaching + Cromwell's ideal; but he had still notions of more to be done for + it in one direction or another, and especially in the direction + of wider theological comprehension. He did not despair of seeing + his great principle of concurrent endowment yet more generally + accepted among those who were really and evangelically + Protestant. Much would depend on the nature of that Confession of + Faith which Article XI. of the <i>Petition and Advice</i> had + required or promised as a standard of what should be considered + qualifying orthodoxy for the Church of the Protectorate. For such + a purpose the Westminster Confession of Faith, even though its + doctrinal portions might stand much as they were, could hardly + suffice as a whole. That Confession was to be recast, or a new + one framed. So the <i>Petition and Advice</i> had provided or + suggested; but it may be doubted whether Cromwell was very + anxious for any such formal definition of the creed of his + Established Church. He preferred the broad general understanding + which all men had, with himself, as to what constituted sound + Evangelical Christianity, and he had more trust in administration + in detail through his Triers and Ejectors than in the application + of formulas of orthodoxy. Here, however, Owen and the other + Independent divines most in his confidence appear to have + differed from him. They felt the want of some such confession and + agreement for Association and Discipline as might suit at least + the Congregationalists of the Established Church, and be to them + what the Westminster Confession was to the Presbyterians. "From + the first, all or at least the generality of our churches," they + said, "have been in a manner like so many ships, though holding + forth the same general colours, yet launched singly, and sailing + apart and alone on the vast ocean of these tumultuous times, and + exposed to every wind of doctrine, under no other conduct than + that of the word and spirit, and their particular elders and + principal brethren, without association among themselves, or so + much as holding out common lights to others to know where they + were." A petition to this effect, though not in these terms, + having been presented to his Highness, he reluctantly yielded. He + allowed a preliminary meeting of representatives of the + Congregational churches in and about London to be held on June + 21, 1658, and circular letters to be sent out to all the + Congregational churches in England and Wales convoking a Synod at + the Savoy on the 29th of September. The Confession of Faith, if + any, to be drawn up by this Synod was not, of course, to be the + comprehensive State Confession foreshadowed in Article XI. of the + <i>Petition and Advice</i>, but only the voluntary agreement of + the Congregationalists or Independents for themselves. In fact, + to all appearance, if the harmonious comprehension of moderate + Anglicans, Presbyterians, Independents, and Baptists, within one + and the same Church, was to be signified by written symbols as + well as carried out practically, this could be done only by a + plan of concurrent confessions justifying the concurrent + endowments. Even for that, it would seem, Cromwell was now + prepared. Yet he was a little dubious about the policy of the + coming Synod, and certainly was as much resolved as ever that + Synods and other ecclesiastical assemblies should be only a + permitted machinery for the denominations severally, and that the + Civil Magistrate should determine what denominations could be + soldered together to make a suitable State-Church, and should + supervise and make fast the junctions.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Council Order Books of May 1658; Neal's Puritans, IV. 188 et + seq.; Orme's Life of Owen, 230-232. + </p> + </div> + <p> + There is very striking evidence of Cromwell's attention at this + time to the spiritual needs of Scotland in + particular.—Early in 1657 we left Mr. James Sharp in London + as agent for the Scottish Resolutioner clergy, and Principal + Gillespie of Glasgow, Mr. James Guthrie, Mr. James Simpson, and + Johnstone of Warriston, with the Marquis of Argyle in the + background, opposing the clever Sharp, and soliciting his + Highness's favour for the Scottish Protesters or Remonstrants + (ante pp. 115-116). Both deputations had remained on in London + perseveringly, Sharp making interest with the Protector through + Broghill; Thurloe, and the London Presbyterian ministers, while + Owen, Lockyer, and the rest of the Independent ministers, with + Lambert and Fleetwood, took part rather with the agents of the + Protesters. Wearied with listening to the dispute personally, + Cromwell had referred it to a mixed committee of twelve English + Presbyterians and Independents, and at length had told both + parties to "go home and agree among themselves." Sharp, Simpson, + and Guthrie had, accordingly, returned to Scotland before the + autumn of 1657; and, though Gillespie, Warriston, and Argyle were + left behind, it was difficult to say that either party had won + the advantage. Baillie, indeed, writing from Glasgow after + Sharp's return, could report that the Protesters had, on the + whole, been foiled, and chiefly by the instrumentality of "that + very worthy, pious, wise, and diligent young man, Mr. James + Sharp." But, on the other hand, the Protesters had obtained some + favours. As far as one can discern, Cromwell's judgment as + between the two parties of Scottish Kirkmen had come to be that + they were to be treated as a Tory majority and a pugnacious Whig + minority, whose differences would do no harm if they were both + kept under proper control, and that both together formed such a + Presbyterian body as might suitably possess, and yet divide, the + Church of Scotland. For, as has been remarked already, Cromwell, + in his conservatism, had come, on the whole, to be of opinion + that the national clergy of Scotland must be left massively + Presbyterian, and that it would not do to weld into the Scottish + Establishment, as into the English, Baptists, or even ordinary + professing Independents, in any considerable number. This would + be bad news for those Scottish Independents and Baptists who had + naturally expected encouragement under Cromwell's rule, but had + already been disappointed. It would be the common policy of the + Resolutioners and Protesters to keep or drive such erratic + spirits out of the Kirk.<sup>1</sup>—Whether because the + long stay of the Scottish deputations in London had turned much + of Cromwell's thoughts towards Scotland, or simply because his + own anxiety for the "Propagation, of the Gospel" everywhere in + his dominions, had led his eyes at last to that portion of Great + Britain, we have now to record one of Cromwell's designs for + Scotland worthy of strong mark even in the total history of his + Protectorate. On Thursday, April 15, 1658, there being present In + the Council the Lord President Lawrence, Lord Richard Cromwell, + the Earl of Mulgrave, and Lords Meetwood, Wolseley, Sydenham, + Lisle, Strickland and Jones, the following draft was agreed + to:—"Oliver, by the grace of God Lord Protector of the + Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the Dominions + and Territories thereunto belonging, To our well-beloved Council + in Scotland greeting: Whereas for about the space of one hundred + years last past the Gospel, blessed be God! hath been plentifully + preached in the Lowlands of the said nation, and competent + maintenance provided for the ministers there, yet little or no + care hath been taken for a very numerous people inhabiting in the + Highlands by the establishing of a ministry or + maintenance,—where the greatest part have scarce heard + whether there be an Holy Ghost or not, though there be some in + several parts, as We are informed, that hunger and thirst after + the means of salvation,—and that there is a concealed + maintenance detained in unrighteousness, and diverted from the + right ends to the sole benefit of particular persons; And being + also informed that there hath been much revenue for many years + together in the late King's time and since concealed and detained + from Us by such persons as have no right or title thereunto, and + that some ministers that were acquainted with the Highland + language have in a late summer season visited those parts and + been courteously used by many professing there breathings after + the Gospel: We do therefore, in consideration of their sad + condition, the great honour and glory of God, and the good that + may redound to the souls of many poor ignorant creatures, Will + and Require you, with all care, industry and conveniency, to find + out a way and means for the Planting of the Gospel in those + parts, and that, in pursuance thereof and the better carrying on + of so pious a work, our Barons of our Exchequer in Scotland do + search and find out <i>£600 per annum</i> of concealed estates + and revenues belonging to Us, or that may belong to Us and our + Successors, and issue forth and pay the same unto such person or + persons as by our said Council shall be nominated and appointed, + out of such concealed rents or any other concealed revenues + whatsoever, quarterly or half-yearly as there shall be cause, by + and with their assent and approbation, to the only use and end + aforesaid. For which so doing this shall be your and their + warrant. Witness Ourself at our Palace at Westminster the + —— day —— 1658." This does not seem to + have sufficed for his Highness; for on Tuesday, May 4, the + Council returned to the subject and prepared another draft, + beginning, "Forasmuch as We, taking into consideration the sad + condition of our People in Scotland living in the Highlands, for + want of the Preaching of the Gospel and Schools of Learning for + training up of youth in Learning and Civility, whereby the + inhabitants of those places in their lives and whole demeanour + are little different from the most savage heathens," and ending + with instructions that £1200 a year, or double the sum formerly + proposed, should be set apart out of still recoverable rents and + revenues of alienated Chaplaincies, Deaneries, &c. of the old + Popish and Episcopal Church of Scotland, and applied to the + purposes of preaching and education in the Highlands. The sum, in + the Scotland of that time, might go as far as £7000 or £8000 a + year now, though in England it would have been worth only about + £4200 of present value. Spent on an effective Gaelic mission of + travelling pastors, and on a few well-planted schools, it might + have accomplished a good deal.<sup>2</sup>—Since the + beginning of the Protectorate there had been some care in finding + new funds for the Scottish Universities as well as for the + English. Principal Gillespie of Glasgow had procured a grant for + the University of that city (Vol. IV. p. 565), and something had + been done for University-reform in Aberdeen. Accordingly, that + Edinburgh might not complain, it was now agreed, at a meeting of + Council, July 15, 1658, his Highness himself present; to issue an + order beginning, "Know ye that We, taking into our consideration + the condition of the University of Edinburgh, and that (being but + of late foundation, viz. since the Reformation of Religion in + Scotland) the rents thereof are exceedingly small," and + concluding by putting £200 a year at the disposal of the Town + Council of Edinburgh, "being the founders and undoubted patrons + of the said University," to be applied for University purposes + with the advice and consent of the Masters and Regents. The gift, + it appears, had been promised to Principal Leighton, when he had + been in London, some time before, on one of his yearly journeys + for his own bookish purposes, and certainly neither as + Resolutioner nor Protester. "Mr. Leighton does nought to count + of, but looks about him in his chamber," is Baillie's + characteristic fancy-sketch of Leighton when he was back in + Edinburgh and the £200 a year had become a certainty; but he adds + that the saint had shown more temper than usual at finding that + Mr. Sharp had contrived that £100 of the sum should go to Mr. + Alexander Dickson (son of the Resolutioner David Dickson) who had + been recently appointed to the Hebrew Professorship, and whom + Leighton did not like. Indeed Baillie makes merry over the + possibility that the poor £200 a year for Edinburgh might never + be forthcoming, any more than the richer "flim-flams" Mr. + Gillespie had obtained for Glasgow, though in <i>them</i> he + confessed a more lively interest.<sup>3</sup>—Whether + Scotland should ever actually handle the new endowments for her + Universities, or the more important £1200 a year for the + civilization of the Highlands, depended on the energy and ability + of his Highness's Scottish Council in finding out ways and means. + Broghill being still absent in England, but on the wing for + Ireland, and Lockhart and others being also absent, the most + active of the Councillors now left in Scotland, in association + with Monk, seem to have been Lord Keeper Desborough, Swinton of + Swinton, and Colonel Whetham. Since August 1656, by the + Protector's orders, <i>three</i> had been a sufficient quorum of + the Council. Monk, of course, was the real Vice-Protector. + Scotland had become his home. He had lived for some years in the + same house at Dalkeith, "pleasantly seated in the midst of a + park," occupying all his spare time "with the pleasures of + planting and husbandry"; he had buried his second son, an infant, + in a chapel near; and to all appearance he might expect to spend + the rest of his days where he was, a wealthy English + soldier-farmer naturalized among the Scots, acquiring estates + among them, and keeping them under quiet command.[4 + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Baillie, III, 836-874 and 577-582; Blair's Life, 333-334; + Council Order Books, Feb. 12 and March 5, 1656-7, and Sept. 18, + 1657; and a pamphlet published in London in July 1659 with the + title "<i>The Hammer of Persecution, or the Mystery of Iniquity + in the Persecution of many good people in Scotland under the + Government of Oliver, late Lord Protector, and continued by + others of the same spirit, disclosed with the Remedies thereof, + by Robt. Pitilloh, Advocate.</i>" The Persecution complained of + by Mr. Pitilloh, a Scottish lawyer who had left + Presbyterianism, was simply the discouragement under the + Protectorate of such Scottish ministers as had turned + Independents and Baptists. The names of some such are given: + e.g. Mr. John Row, Principal of the College of Old Aberdeen; + Mr. Thomas Charters, Kilbride; Mr. John Menzies, Aberdeen; Mr. + Seaton, Old Aberdeen; Mr. Youngston, Durris; Mr. John Forbes, + Kincardine. "As soon as Oliver was lift up to the throne," says + the writer, "some of the Presbyterian faction were sent for; + and, to ingratiate himself with them, intimating tacitly that + it was his law no minister in Scotland should have allowance of + a livelihood but a National Presbyterian, he ordered that none + should have stipends as ministers ... but such as had + certificates from some four of a select party, being thirty in + all, ... of the honest Presbyterian party." + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Council Order Books of dates. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 3: Council Order Books of date, and Baillie, III. 356 and + 365-366. Another interesting item of Scottish History under + Cromwell's rule may have a place here, though it belongs + properly to the First Protectorate. In the Council Order Books + under date Feb. 17, 1656-7, is this minute:—"On + consideration of a report from his Highness's Attorney General, + annexed to the draft of a Patent prepared by his High Counsel + learned, in pursuance of the Council's order of the 13th of + January last, according to the purport of an agreement in + writing presented to the Council under the hand of the Provost + of Edinburgh on behalf of that city and of Dr. Purves on behalf + of the Physicians of Scotland, the same being for erecting a + College of Physicians in Scotland: <i>Ordered</i>, That it be + offered to his Highness as the advice of the Council that his + Highness will be pleased to issue his warrant for Mr. Attorney + General to prepare a Patent for his Highness's signature + according to the said Draft." + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 4: Council Order Books, Aug. 14, 1656. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Next to the Propagation of the Gospel by an Established Ministry + everywhere, the fixed idea of Cromwell for his Home-Government, + as we have had again and again to explain, was toleration of all + varieties of religious opinion. Under this head little that is + new presents itself in the part of his Protectorate with which we + are now concerned. The Anti-Trinitarian Mr. John Biddle, who had + been in custody in the Isle of Scilly since Oct. 1655 (ante p. + 66), had moved for a writ of habeas corpus, and had been brought + to London, apparently with an intention on Cromwell's part to set + him at liberty. Nor had Cromwell lost sight of the poor demented + Quaker, James Nayler. There is extant a long and confidential + letter to his Highness from his private secretary Mr. William + Malyn, giving an account of a visit Malyn had paid to Nayler in + Bridewell expressly by his Highness's command. It is to the + effect that he had found Nayler well enough in bodily health, but + so mulishly obstinate or mad that he could not be coaxed in a + long interview to speak even a single word, and that therefore, + though Malyn did not like to "dissuade" his Highness from "a work + of tenderness and mercy," he could hardly yet advise Nayler's + release, but would carefully apply the money he had received from + his Highness for Nayler's comfort. For the Quakers generally + there was, we fear, no more specific protection than Cromwell's + good-nature when a case of cruelty was distinctly brought within + his cognisance. What shall we say, however, of one order or + intention of Cromwell's Council in June 1658, which, if not + against liberty of conscience in the general sense, was decidedly + retrograde in respect of the specific liberty of the press? On + the 22nd of that month, nine members being present, though not + his Highness, it was agreed, on a report by Mr. Comptroller, i.e. + by Lord Jones, from a Committee that had been appointed on the + subject, to recommend to his Highness to issue a warrant with + this preamble, "Whereas there are divers good laws, statutes, + acts, and ordinances of Parliament in force, which were + heretofore made and published against the printing of unlicensed, + seditious, and scandalous books and pamphlets, and for the better + regulating of printing, wherein several provisions are contained, + sufficient to prevent the designs of persons disaffected to the + State and Government of this Commonwealth, who have assumed to + themselves and do continually take upon them a licentious + boldness to write, print, publish, and disperse many dangerous, + seditious, blasphemous, Popish, and scandalous pamphlets, books, + and papers, to the high dishonour of God, the scorn and contempt + of the Laws and of all good Order and Government; and forasmuch + as it nearly concerns Us, in respect of the public peace and + safety, to take care for a due execution of the said laws." What + followed was a special charge to the Master and Wardens of the + Stationers' Company, together with Henry Hills and John Field, + his Highness's Printers, to see to the strict enforcement in + future of the restrictions of certain cited Press Acts,—to + wit, the ordinance of the Long Parliament of June 14, 1643 (that + against which Milton had written his <i>Areopagitica</i>), the + similar ordinance of the same Parliament of date Sept. 28, 1647, + the Act of the Rump Parliament of Sept. 20, 1649 (Bradshaw's + Press Act of the first year of the Commonwealth), and the renewal + of the same Jan. 7, 1652-3. Had this been all, one might have + inferred nothing more than one of those occasional panics about + Press licentiousness from the recurrence of which even Milton's + reasoning had never been able to free the Government with which + he was connected. But at the same meeting it was referred to Lord + Fleetwood, Lord Wolseley, Lord Pickering, Lord Jones, Lord + Desborough, Lord Viscount Lisle, and Lord Strickland, or to any + two of them, "to consider of fit persons to be added for + licensing of books and to report the names of such persons to the + Council." This was distinctly retrogressive; and the regret of + Milton must have been none the less because four of the Committee + that were to find the new licensers were men he had named in his + <i>Defensio Secunda</i> as heroes of the Commonwealth, and + because, as appears from a marginal jotting to the minute as it + stands in the Council Order Books, the man thought of at once for + one of the new licensers, or as the person fittest to be first + consulted in the business, was Marchamont Needham. After all, it + may have been, like some of the previous movements for + press-regulation, only a push from Paternoster Row in defence of + the legitimate book-trade, and the main intention of the Council + itself may have been against pamphlets like <i>Killing no + Murder</i> or publications of the indecent order.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Council Order Books of dates, and Nickolis's <i>Milton State + Papers</i>, 143-144 (the last for Malyn's Letter about Nayler). + For previous Press Acts referred to by the Council, see ante + Vol. III. 266-271, and Vol. IV. 116-118. + </p> + </div> + <p> + O how stable and grand seemed the Protectorate in the month of + July 1658! Rebellion at home in all its varieties quashed once + more, and now, as it might seem, for ever; the threatened + invasion of the Spaniards and Charles Stuart dissipated into + ridicule; a footing acquired on the Continent, and 6000 + Englishmen stationed there in arms; Foreign Powers, with Louis + XIV. at their head, obeisant to the very ground whenever they + turned their gaze towards the British Islands, and dreading the + next bolt from the Protector's hands; those hands evidently + toying with several new bolts and poising them towards the parts + of Europe for which they were intended; great schemes, besides, + for England, Scotland, Ireland, and the Colonies, in that + inventive brain! All this, we say, in July 1658, by which time + also it was known that the Protector, so far from fearing to face + a new Parliament, was ready to call one and would take all the + chances. His immediate necessity, of course, was money. His + second Parliament, at the close of its first and loyal session in + June 1657, had provided ordinary supplies for three years; but + there had been no new revenue-arrangements in the short second + session, and the current expenses for the Flanders expedition, + the various Embassies, the Court, and the whole conduct of the + Government, far outran the voted income. The pay of the armies in + England, Scotland, and Ireland was greatly in arrears; on all + hands there were straits for money; and, whatever might be done + by expedients and ingenuity meanwhile, the effective extrication + could only be by a Parliament. Not for subsidies only, however, + was Cromwell willing to resort again to that agency, with all its + perils. He believed that, in consequence of what had passed since + the Dissolution in January, any Parliament that should now meet + him would be in a different mood towards himself from that he had + recently encountered. Then might there not be proposals, in which + he and such a Parliament might agree, for constitutional changes + in advance of the Articles of the <i>Petition and Advice</i>, + though in the same direction of orderliness and settled and + stately rule? Was there not wide regret among the civilians that + he had not accepted the Kingship; had his refusal of it been + really wise; might not that question be reopened? With that + question might there not go the question of the succession, + whether by nomination for one life only as was now fixed, or by + perpetual nomination, or by a return to the hereditary and + dynastic principle which the lawyers and the civilians thought + the best? Nor could the Second House of Parliament remain the + vague thing it had been so far fashioned. It must be amended in + the points in which its weakness had been proved; and all the + evidence hitherto was that it must be made truly and formally a + House of Lords, if even with the reinstitution of a peerage as + part and parcel of the legislative system. Whether such a peerage + should be hereditary or for life only might be in doubt; but + there were symptoms that, even if the Legislative Peerage should + be only for life, Cromwell had convinced himself of the utility, + for general purposes, of at least a Social Peerage with, + hereditary rank and titles. In his First Protectorate he had made + knights only; in his Second he created a few baronets. Nay, + besides favouring the courtesy appellation of "lords," as applied + to all who had sat in the late Upper House and to the great + officers of State, he had added at least two peers of his own + making to the hereditary peerage as it had come down from the + late reign.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: In continuation of a former note giving a list of the + Knighthoods of Cromwell's First Protectorate so far as I have + ascertained them (ante p. 303), here is a list of the + Knighthoods of the Second:—William Wheeler (Aug. 26, + 1657); Edward Ward, of Norfolk (Nov. 2, 1657); Alderman Thomas + Andrews (Nov. 14, 1657); Colonel Matthew Tomlinson (Nov. 25, + 1657, in Dublin, by Lord Henry Cromwell as Lord Deputy for + Ireland); Alderman Thomas Foot, Alderman Thomas Atkins, and + Colonel John Hewson (all Dec. 5, 1657); James Drax, Esq., a + Barbadoes merchant (Dec. 31, 1657); Henry Bickering and Philip + Twistleton (Feb. 1, 1657-8); John Lenthall, Esq., son of + Speaker Lenthall (March 9, 1657-8); Alderman Chiverton and + Alderman John Ireton (March 22, 1857-8); Colonel Henry Jones + (July 17, 1658, for distinguished bravery at the siege of + Dunkirk).-Baronetcies conferred by Cromwell were the + following:—John Read, of Hertfordshire (Juae 25. 1657); + the Hon. John Claypole, father of Lord Claypole (July 20, + 1657); Thomas Chamberlain (Oct. 6, 1657); Thomas Beaumont, of + Leicestershire (March 5, 1657-8); Colonel Henry Ingoldsby, John + Twistleton, Esq., and Henry Wright, Esq., son of the physician + Dr. Wright (all April 10, 1658); Griffith Williams, of + Carnarvonshire (May 28, 1658); Attorney General Edmund Prideaux + and Solicitor General William Ellis (Aug. 13, 1668); William + Wyndham, Esq., co. Somerset (Aug. 28, 1658). The Baronetcies, + being rare, seem to have been much prized; and that of Henry + Ingoldsby raised jealousies (see letter of Henry Cromwell in + Thurloe, VII. 57).—<i>Peerages</i> conferred by Cromwell + were not likely, any more than his Knighthoods and Baronetcies, + to be paraded by their possessors after the Restoration. But + Cromwell's favourite, Colonel Charles Howard, a scion of the + great Norfolk Howards, was raised to the dignity of Viscount + Howard of Morpeth and Baron Gilsland in Cumberland; Cromwell's + relative, Edmund Dunch, of Little Wittenham, Berks, was created + Baron Burnell, April 20, 1658; and Cromwell, just before his + death, made, or wanted to make, Bulstrode Whitlocke a Viscount. + </p> + </div> + <p> + As early as April the new Parliament had been thought of, and + since June there had been a select committee of nine, + precognoscing the chances, considering the questions to be + brought up, and feeling in every way the public pulse. The nine + so employed were Lords Fleetwood, Fiennes, Desborough, Pickering, + Philip Jones, Whalley, Cooper, and Goffe, and Mr, Secretary + Thurloe. There are a few glimpses of their consultations in the + Thurloe correspondence, where also there is a hint of some hope + of the compliance at last even of such old Republicans as Vane + and Ludlow. But July 1658 had come, and no one yet knew when the + Parliament would meet. It could not be expected then before the + end of the year.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Thurloe, VII. 99, 151-152, et seq. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Before that time Oliver Cromwell was to be out of the world. + Though but in his sixtieth year, and with his prodigious powers + of will, intellect, heart, and humour, unimpaired visibly in the + least atom, his frame had for some time been giving way under the + pressure of his ceaseless burden. For a year or two his + handwriting, though statelier and more deliberate than at first, + had been singularly tremulous, and to those closest about him + there had been other signs of physical breaking-up. Not till late + in July, however, or early in August, was there any serious cause + for alarm, and then in consequence of the terrible effects upon + his Highness of his close attendance on the death-bed of his + second daughter, the much-loved Lady Claypole. She had been + lingeringly ill for some time, of a most painful internal + disease, aggravated by the death of her youngest boy, Oliver. + Hampton Court had received her as a dying invalid, tortured by + "frequent and long convulsion-fits"; and here, through a great + part of July, the fond father had been hanging about her, + broken-hearted and unfit for business. For his convenience the + Council had transferred its meetings from Whitehall to Hampton + Court; but, though he was present at one there on July 15, he + avoided one on July 20, another on July 22, and a third on July + 27. On the 29th, which was the fifth meeting at Hampton Court, he + did look in again and take his place. Next day Lord and Lady + Falconbridge arrived at Hampton Court, where already, besides the + Protestor and the Lady Protectress, there were Lord Richard + Cromwell, the widowed Lady Frances, and others of the family, all + round the dying sufferer. After that meeting of the Council of + July 29 which he had managed to attend, and an intervening + meeting at Whitehall without him, the Council was again at + Hampton Court on Thursday the 5th of August. At this meeting one + of the resolutions was "That Mr. Secretary be desired to make a + collection of such injuries received by the English from the + Dutch as have come to his cognisance, and to offer the same to + the Council on this day seven-night." This was a very important + resolution, significant of a dissatisfaction with the conduct of + the Dutch, and a desire to call them to account again, which had + for some time been growing in Cromwell's mind; and there can be + no doubt that he had suggested the subject to the Council. But + his Highness did not appear in the meeting himself, and next day + Lady Claypole lay dead. Before her death his grief had passed + into an indefinite illness, described as "of the gout and other + distempers"; and, though he was able to come to London on the + 10th of August, on which night Lady Claypole's remains were + interred in a little vault that had been prepared for them in + Henry VIIth's Chapel in Westminster Abbey, he returned to Hampton + Court greatly the worse. But, after four or five days of + confinement, attended by his physicians—on one of which + days (the 13th) Attorney General Prideaux and Solicitor General + Ellis were made baronets—he was out again for an hour on + the 17th; and thence till Friday the 20th he seemed so much + better that Thurloe and others thought the danger past. From the + public at large the fact of his illness had been hitherto + concealed as much as possible; and hence it may have been that on + two or three of those days of convalescence he showed himself as + usual, riding with his life-guards in Hampton Court Park. It was + on one of them, most probably Friday the 20th, that George Fox + had that final meeting with him which he describes in his + Journal. The good but obtrusive Quaker had been writing letters + of condolence and mystical religious advice to Lady Claypole in + her illness, and had recently sent one of mixed condolence and + rebuke to Cromwell himself; and now, not knowing of Cromwell's + own illness, he had come to have a talk with him about the + sufferings of the Friends. "Before I came to him, as he rode at + the head of his life-guard," says Fox, "I saw and felt a waft of + death go forth, against him; and, when I came to him, he looked + like a dead man." Fox, nevertheless, had his conversation with + the Protector, who told him to come again, but does not seem to + have mentioned the inquiry he had been making, through his + secretary Mr. Malyn, about the state of Fox's fellow-Quaker, poor + James Nayler. Next day, Saturday, Aug. 21, when Fox went to + Hampton Court Palace to keep his appointment, he could not be + admitted. Harvey, the groom of the bedchamber, told him that his + Highness was very ill, with his physicians about him, and must be + kept quiet. That morning his distemper had developed itself + distinctly into "an ague"; which ague proved, within the next few + days, to be of the kind called by the physicians "a bastard + tertian," i.e. an ague with the cold and hot shivering fits + recurring most violently every third day, but with the intervals + also troublesome. Yet it was on this first day of his ague that + he signed a warrant for a patent to make Bulstrode Whitlocke a + Viscount. Whitlocke himself, though he afterwards declined the + honour as inconvenient, is precise as to the date. The physicians + thinking the London air better for the malady than that of + Hampton Court, his Highness was removed to Whitehall on Tuesday + the 24th. That was one of the intervals of his fever, and he + seems to have come up easily enough in his coach, and to have + been quite able to take an interest in what he found going on at + Whitehall. Six days before (Aug. 18) the Duke of Buckingham, who + had been for some time in London undisturbed, living in his + mansion of York House with his recently wedded wife, and with + Lord and Lady Fairfax in their society, had been apprehended on + the high-road some miles from Canterbury; and, whether on the old + grounds, or from new suspicions, the Council, by a warrant issued + on the 19th, doubtless with Cromwell's sanction intimated from + Hampton Court, had committed him to the Tower. On the very day of + Cromwell's return to Whitehall this business of the Duke was + again before the Council, in consequence of a petition from the + young Duchess that he might be permitted to remain at York House + on sufficient security. Fairfax himself had gone to Whitehall to + urge his daughter's request and to tender the security, and + Cromwell, though unable to be in the Council-room, gave him a + private interview. According to the story in the Fairfax family, + it must have been an unpleasant one. Cromwell could be stern on + such a subject even at such a time and to his old commander, and + so Fairfax "turned abruptly from him in the gallery at Whitehall, + cocking his hat, and throwing his cloak under his arm, as he used + to do when he was angry." Nor was this the last piece of public + business of which the Protector, though never more in the + Council-room, must have been directly cognisant. Whitlocke says + he visited him and was kept to dine with him on the 26th, and + that he was then able to discourse on business; but, as Whitlocke + makes Hampton Court the place, there must be an error as to the + day. The last baronetcy he conferred was made good on Saturday + the 28th, four days after the interview with Fairfax; and even + after that, between his fever-fits, he kept some grasp of + affairs, and received and sent messages. But that Saturday of the + last baronetcy was a day of marked crisis. The ague had then + changed into a "double tertian," with two fits in the twenty-four + hours, both extremely weakening. So Sunday passed, with prayers + in all the churches; and then came that extraordinary Monday + (Aug. 30, 1658) which lovers of coincidence have taken care to + remember as the day of most tremendous hurricane that ever blew + over London and England. From morning to night the wind raged and + howled, emptying the streets, unroofing houses, tearing up trees + in the parks, foundering ships at sea, and taking even Flanders + and the coasts of France within its angry whirl. The storm was + felt, within England, as far as Lincolnshire, where, in the + vicinity of an old manor-house, a boy of fifteen years of age, + named Isaac Newton, was turning it to account, as he afterwards + remembered, by jumping first with the wind, and then against it, + and computing its force by the difference of the distances. + Through all this storm, as it shuddered round Whitehall, shaking + the doors and windows, the sovereign patient had lain on, passing + from fit to fit, but talking in the intervals with the Lady + Protectress or with his physicians, while Owen, Thomas Goodwin, + Sterry, or some other of the preachers that were in attendance, + went and came between the chamber and an adjoining room. A + certain belief that he would recover, which he had several times + before expressed to the Lady Protectress and others, had not yet + left him, and had communicated itself to the preachers as an + assurance that their prayers were heard. Writing to Henry + Cromwell at nine o'clock that night, Thurloe could say, "The + doctors are yet hopeful that he may struggle through it, though + their hopes are mingled with much fear." Even the next day, + Tuesday, Aug. 31, Cromwell was still himself, still consciously + the Lord Protector. Through the storm of the preceding day Ludlow + had made a journey to London from Essex on family-business, + beaten back in the morning by a wind against which two horses + could not make way, but contriving late at night to push on as + far as Epping. "By this means," he says, "I arrived not at + Westminster till Tuesday about noon, when, passing by Whitehall, + notice was immediately given to Cromwell that I was come to town. + Whereupon he sent for Lieutenant General Fleet wood, and ordered + him to enquire concerning the reasons of my coming at such haste + and at such a time." If Cromwell could attend to such a matter + that day, he must have been able also to prompt the resolution of + his Council in Whitehall the same day in the case of the Duke of + Buckingham. It was that the Duke, on account of his health, might + be removed from the Tower to Windsor Castle, but must continue in + confinement. At the end of the day, Fleetwood, writing to Henry + Cromwell, reported, "The Lord is pleased to give some little + reviving this evening: after few slumbering sleeps, his pulse is + better." As near as can be guessed, it was that same night that + Cromwell himself uttered the well-known short prayer, the words + of which, or as nearly as possible the very words, were preserved + by the pious care of his chamber-attendant Harvey. It is to the + same authority that we owe the most authentic record of the + religious demeanour of the Protector from the beginning of his + illness. Very beautifully and simply Harvey tells us of his "holy + expressions," his fervid references to Scripture texts, and his + repetitions of some texts in particular, such repetitions + "usually being very weighty and with great vehemency of spirit." + One of them was "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of + the living God." Three times he repeated this; but the texts of + promise and of Christian triumph had all along been more + frequently on his lips. All in all, his single short prayer, + which Harvey places "two or three days before his end," may be + read as the summary of all that we need to know now of the dying + Puritan in these eternal respects. "Lord," he muttered, "though I + am a miserable and wretched creature, I am in covenant with Thee + through grace, and I may, I will, come to Thee. For Thy people, + Thou hast made me, though very unworthy, a mean instrument to do + them some good, and Thee service; and many of them have set too + high a value upon me, though others wish and would be glad of my + death. But, Lord, however Thou dost dispose of me, continue and + go on to do good for them. Give them consistency of judgment, one + heart, and mutual love; and go on to deliver them, and with the + work of reformation; and make the name of Christ glorious in the + world. Teach those who look too much upon Thy instruments to + depend more upon Thyself; pardon such as desire to trample upon + the dust of a poor worm, for they are Thy people too; and pardon + the folly of this short prayer, even for Jesus Christ's sake; and + give us a good night, if it be Thy pleasure." Wednesday, Sept. 1, + passes unmarked, unless it may be for the delivery to the Lady + Protectress, in her watch over Cromwell, of a letter, dated that + day, and addressed to her and her children, from the Quaker + Edward Burrough. It was long and wordy, but substantially an + assurance that the Lord had sent this affliction upon the + Protector's house on account of the unjust sufferings of the + Quakers. "Will not their sufferings lie upon you? For many + hundreds have suffered cruel and great things, and some the loss + of life (though not by, yet in the name of, the Protector); and + about a hundred at this present day lie in holes, and dungeons, + and prisons, up and down the nation." The letter, we may suppose, + was not read to Cromwell, and the Wednesday went by. On Thursday, + Sept. 2, there was an unusually full Council-meeting close to his + chamber, at which order was given for the removal of Lords + Lauderdale and Sinclair from Windsor Castle to Warwick Castle, to + make more room at Windsor for the Duke of Buckingham. That night + Harvey sat up with his Highness and again noted some of his + sayings. One was "Truly, God is good; indeed He is; He will + not—" He did not complete the sentence. "His speech failed + him," says Harvey; "but, as I apprehended, it was 'He will not + leave me.' This saying, that God was good, he frequently used all + along, and would speak it with much cheerfulness and fervour of + spirit in the midst of his pain. Again he said, 'I would be + willing to live to be farther serviceable to God and His people; + but my work is done.' He was very restless most part of the + night, speaking often to himself. And, there being something to + drink offered him, he was desired to take the same, and endeavour + to sleep; unto which he answered, 'It is not my design to drink + or to sleep, but my design is to make what haste I can to be + gone.' Afterwards, towards morning, using divers holy + expressions, implying much inward consolation and peace, among + the rest he spake some exceeding self-debasing words, + annihilating and judging himself." This is the last. The next + day, Friday, was his twice victorious Third of September, the + anniversary of Dunbar and Worcester. That morning he was + speechless; and, though the prayers in Whitehall, and in all + London and the suburbs, did not cease for him, people in the + houses and passers in the streets knew that hope was over and + Oliver at the point of death. For several days there had been + cautious approaches to him on the subject of the nomination of + his successor, and either on the stormy Monday or later that + matter had been settled somehow.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Council Order Books from July 8 to Sept. 2, 1658, giving + minutes of fifteen meetings at Whitehall or Hampton Court, + Cromwell present at the two first, viz. July 8 (Whitehall), + July 15 (Hampton Court), and at the sixth, viz. July 29 + (Hampton Court), but at no other; Thurloe, VII. 309, 320, 323, + 340, 344, 354-356, 362-364, 366-367, 369-370; <i>A Collection + of Several Passages concerning his late Highness, Oliver + Cromwell, in the Time of his Sickness</i> (June 9, 1659, + "London, Printed for Robert Ibbetson, dwelling in Smithfield, + near Hosier Lane"); <i>Cromwelliana</i>, 174-178 (including an + abridgment of the last tract); Whitlocke, IV. 334-335; + Markham's Life of Fairfax, 373-374; Ludlow, 610; Godwin, IV. + 564-575; Carlyle, III. 367-376 (which may well be read again + and again); Sewel's History of the Quakers, 1. 242-245; Life of + Newton by Sir David Brewster (1860), I. 14. + </p> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="Bc2s1" id="Bc2s1">CHAPTER II.</a> + </h2> + <h3> + MILTON'S LIFE AND SECRETARYSHIP THROUGH THE SECOND PROTECTORATE. + </h3> + <p> + MILTON STILL IN OFFICE: LETTER TO MR. HENRY DE BRASS, WITH + MILTON'S OPINION OF SALLUST: LETTERS TO YOUNG RANELAGH AND HENRY + OLDENBURG AT SAUMUR: MORUS IN NEW CIRCUMSTANCES: ELEVEN MOBE + STATE-LETTERS OF MILTON FOR THE PROTECTOR (NOS. CI.-CXI.): ANDREW + MARVELL BROUGHT IN AS ASSISTANT FOREIGN SECRETARY AT LAST (SEPT. + 1657): JOHN DRYDEN NOW ALSO IN THE PROTECTOR'S EMPLOYMENT: BIRTH + OF MILTON'S DAUGHTER BY HIS SECOND WIFE: SIX MORE STATE-LETTERS + OF MILTON (NOS. CXII.-CXIII.): ANOTHER LETTER TO MR. HENRY DE + BRASS, AND ANOTHER TO PETER HEIMBACH: COMMENT ON THE LATTER: + DEATHS OF MILTON'S SECOND WIFE AND HER CHILD: HIS TWO NEPHEWS, + EDWARD AND JOHN PHILLIPS, AT THIS DATE: MILTON'S LAST SIXTEEN + STATE-LETTERS FOR OLIVER CROMWELL (NOS. CXVIII.-CXXXIII.), + INCLUDING TWO TO CHARLES GUSTAVUS OF SWEDEN. TWO ON A NEW ALARM + OF A PERSECUTION OF THE PIEDMONTESE PROTESTANTS, AND SEVERAL TO + LOUIS XIV. AND CARDINAL MAZARIN: IMPORTANCE OF THIS LAST GROUP OF + THE STATE-LETTERS, AND REVIEW OF THE WHOLE SERIES OF MILTON'S + PERFORMANCES FOR CROMWELL: LAST DIPLOMATIC INCIDENTS OF THE + PROTECTORATE, AND ANDREW MARVELL IN CONNEXION WITH THEM: + INCIDENTS OF MILTON'S LITERARY LIFE IN THIS PERIOD: YOUNG + GUNTZER'S <i>DISSERTATIO</i> AND YOUNG KECK'S PHALAECIANS: + MILTON'S EDITION OF RALEIGH'S <i>CABINET COUNCIL</i>: RESUMPTION + OF THE OLD DESIGN OF <i>PARADISE LOST</i> AND ACTUAL COMMENCEMENT + OF THE POEM: CHANGE FROM THE DRAMATIC POEM TO THE EPIC: SONNET IN + MEMORY OF HIS DECEASED WIFE. + </p> + <p> + Through the Second Protectorate Milton remained in office just as + before. He was not, however, as had been customary before at the + commencement of each new period of his Secretaryship, sworn in + afresh. Thurloe was sworn in, both as General Secretary and as + full Councillor, and Scobell and Jessop were sworn in as + Clerks;<sup>1</sup> but we hear of no such ceremony in the case + of Milton. His Latin Secretaryship, we infer, was now regarded as + an excrescence from the Whitehall establishment, rather than an + integral part of it. An oath may have been administered to him + privately, or his old general engagement may have sufficed. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Council Order Books, July 13 and 14, 1657. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Our first trace of Milton after the new inauguration of Cromwell + is in one of his Latin Familiar Epistles, addressed to some young + foreigner in London, of whom I know nothing more than may be + learnt from the letter itself:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "To the Very Distinguished MR. HENRY DE BRASS. + </p> + <p> + "I see, Sir, that you, unlike most of our modern youth in their + surveys of foreign lands, travel rightly and wisely, after the + fashion of the old philosophers, not for ordinary youthful + quests, but with a view to the acquisition of fuller erudition + from every quarter. Yet, as often as I look at what you write, + you appear to me to be one who has come among strangers not so + much to receive knowledge as to impart it to others, to barter + good merchandise rather than to buy it. I wish indeed it were + as easy for me to assist and promote in every way those + excellent studies of yours as it is pleasant and gratifying to + have such help asked by a person of your uncommon talents. + </p> + <p> + "As for the resolution you say you have taken to write to me and + request my answers towards solving those difficulties about + which for many ages writers of Histories seem to have been in + the dark, I have never assumed anything of the kind as within + my powers, nor should I dare now to do so. In the matter of + Sallust, which you refer to me, I will say freely, since you + wish me to tell plainly what I do think, that I prefer Sallust + to any other Latin historian; which also was the almost uniform + opinion of the Ancients. Your favourite Tacitus has his merits; + but the greatest of them, in my judgment, is that he imitated + Sallust with all his might. As far as I can gather from what + you write, it appears that the result of my discourse with you + personally on this subject has been that you are now nearly of + the same mind with me respecting that most admirable writer; + and hence it is that you ask me, with reference to what he has + said, in the introduction to his <i>Catilinarian + War</i>—as to the extreme difficulty of writing History, + from the obligation that the expressions should be proportional + to the deeds—by what method I think a writer of History + might attain that perfection. This, then, is my view: that he + who would write of worthy deeds worthily must write with mental + endowments and experience of affairs not less than were in the + doer of the same, so as to be able with equal mind to + comprehend and measure even the greatest of them, and, when he + has comprehended them, to relate them distinctly and gravely in + pure and chaste speech. That he should do so in ornate style, I + do not much care about; for I want a Historian, not an Orator. + Nor yet would I have frequent maxims, or criticisms on the + transactions, prolixly thrown in, lest, by interrupting the + thread of events, the Historian should invade the office of the + Political Writer: for, if the Historian, in explicating + counsels and narrating facts, follows truth most of all, and + not his own fancy or conjecture, he fulfils his proper duty. I + would add also that characteristic of Sallust, in respect of + which he himself chiefly praised Cato,—to be able to + throw off a great deal in few words: a thing which I think no + one can do without the sharpest judgment and a certain + temperance at the same time. There are many in whom you will + not miss either elegance of style or abundance of information; + but for conjunction of brevity with abundance, i.e. for the + despatch of much in few words, the chief of the Latins, in my + judgment, is Sallust. Such are the qualities that I think + should be in the Historian that would hope to make his + expressions proportional to the facts he records. + </p> + <p> + "But why all this to you, who are sufficient, with the talent + you have, to make it all out, and who, if you persevere in the + road you have entered, will soon be able to consult no one more + learned than yourself. That you do persevere, though you + require no one's advice for that, yet, that I may not seem to + have altogether failed in replying correspondingly with the + value you are pleased to put upon my authority with you, is my + earnest exhortation and suggestion. Farewell; and all success + to your real worth, and your zeal for acquiring wisdom. + </p> + <p> + "Westminster: July 15, 1657." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Henry Oldenburg, and his pupil Richard Jones, <i>alias</i> young + Ranelagh, had left Oxford in April or May 1657, after about a + year's stay there, and had gone abroad on a tour which was to + extend over more than four years. It was an arrangement for the + farther education of young Ranelagh in the way most satisfactory + to his mother, Lady Ranelagh, and perhaps also to his uncle, + Robert Boyle, neither of whom seems to have cared much for the + ordinary University routine; and particulars had been settled by + correspondence between Oldenburg at Oxford and Lady Ranelagh in + Ireland.<sup>1</sup> Young Ranelagh, I find, took with him as his + servant a David Whitelaw, who had been servant to Durie in his + foreign travels: "my man, David Whitelaw," as Durie calls + him.<sup>2</sup> The ever-convenient Hartlib was to manage the + conveyance of letters to the travellers, wherever they might + be.<sup>3</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Letter of Oldenburg to Boyle, dated April! 5, 1657, given in + Boyle's Works (V. 299). + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Letters of Durie in <i>Vaughan's Protectorate</i> (II. 174 + and 195). + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 3: Letter of Oldenburg in Boyle's Works (V. 301). + </p> + </div> + <p> + They went, pretty directly, to Saumur in the west of France, a + pleasant little town, with a college, a library, &c., which + they had selected for their first place of residence, rather than + Paris. An Italian master was procured to teach young Jones + "something of practical geometry and fortification"; and, for the + rest, Oldenburg himself continued to superintend his studies, + directing them a good deal in that line of physical and + economical observation which might be supposed congenial to a + nephew of Boyle, and which had become interesting to himself. "As + for us here," wrote Oldenburg to Boyle from Saumur, Sept. 8, + 1657, "we are, through the goodness of God, in perfect health; + and, your nephew having spent these two or three months we have + been here very well and in more than ordinary diligence, I cannot + but give him some relaxation in taking a view of this province of + Anjou during this time of vintage; which, though it be a very + tempting one to a young appetite, yet shall, I hope, by a careful + watchfulness, prove unprejudicial to his health."<sup>1</sup> A + good while before Oldenburg wrote this letter to Boyle both he + and his pupil had written to Milton, and Milton's replies had + already been received. They are dated on the same day, but we + shall put that to young Ranelagh first. It will be seen that + Oldenburg must have had a sight of it from his pupil before he + wrote the above to Boyle:— + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Boyle's Works, V. 299. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + "To the noble youth, RICHARD JONES. + </p> + <p> + "That you made out so long a journey without inconvenience, and + that, spurning the allurements of Paris, you have so quickly + reached your present place of residence, where you can enjoy + literary leisure and the society of learned persons, I am both + heartily glad, and set down to the credit of your disposition. + There, so far as you keep yourself in bounds, you will be in + harbour; elsewhere you would have to beware the Syrtes, the + Rocks, and the songs of the Sirens. All the same I would not + have you thirst too much after the Saumur vintage, with which + you think to delight yourself, unless it be also your intention + to dilute that juice of Bacchus, more than a fifth part, with + the freer cup of the Muses. But to such a course, even if I + were silent, you have a first-rate adviser; by listening to + whom you will indeed consult best for your own good, and cause + great joy to your most excellent mother, and a daily growth of + her love for you. Which that you may accomplish you ought every + day to petition Almighty God, Farewell; and see that you return + to us as good as possible, and as cultured as possible in good + arts. That will be to me, beyond others, a most delightful + result. + </p> + <p> + "Westminster: Aug. 1, 1657." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + The letter to Oldenburg contains matter of more interest:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "To HENRY OLDENBURG. + </p> + <p> + "I am glad you have arrived safe at Saumur, the goal of your + travel, as I believe. You are not mistaken in thinking the news + would be very agreeable to me in particular, who both love you + for your own merit, and know the cause of your undertaking the + journey to be so honourable and praiseworthy. + </p> + <p> + "As to the news you have heard, that so infamous a priest has + been called to instruct so illustrious a church, I had rather + any one else had heard it in Charon's boat than you in that of + Charenton; for it is mightily to be feared that whoever thinks + to get to heaven under the auspices of so foul a guide will be + a whole world awry in his calculations. Woe to that church + (only God avert the omen!) where such ministers please, mainly + by tickling the ears,—ministers whom the Church, if she + would truly be called <i>Reformed</i>, would more fitly cast + out than desire to bring in. + </p> + <p> + "In not having given copies of my writings to any one that does + not ask for them, you have done well and discreetly, not in my + opinion alone, but also in that of Horace:— + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Err not by zeal for us, nor on our books + </p> + <p> + Draw hatred by too vehement care. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + "A learned man, a friend of mine, spent last summer at Saumur. + He wrote to me that the book was in demand in those parts; I + sent only one copy; he wrote back that some of the learned to + whom he had lent it had been pleased with it hugely. Had I not + thought I should be doing a thing agreeable to them, I should + have spared you trouble and myself expense. But, + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "If chance my load of paper galls your back, + </p> + <p> + Off with, it now, rather than in the end + </p> + <p> + Dash down the panniers cursing. + </p> + </div> + <p> + "To our Lawrence, as you bade me, I have given greetings in your + name. For the rest, there is nothing I should wish you to do or + care for more than see that yourself and your pupil get on in + good health, and that you return to us as soon as possible with + all your wishes fulfilled. + </p> + <p> + "Westminster: Aug. 1, 1657." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + The books mentioned in the third paragraph as having been sent by + Milton to Saumur in Oldenburg's charge must have been copies of + the <i>Defensio Secunda</i> and of the <i>Pro Se Defensio</i>. + The person mentioned with such loathing in the second paragraph + was the hero of those performances, Morus. The paragraph requires + explanation. For Morus, uncomfortable at Amsterdam, and every day + under some fresh discredit there, a splendid escape had at length + presented itself. He had received an invitation to be one of the + ministers of the Protestant church of Charenton, close to Paris. + This church of Charenton was indeed the main Protestant church of + Paris itself and the most flourishing representative of French + Protestantism generally. For the French law then obliged + Protestants to have their places of worship at some distance from + the cities and towns in which they resided, and the village of + Charenton was the ecclesiastical rendezvous of the chief + Protestant nobility and professional men of the capital, some of + whom, in the capacity of lay-elders, were associated in the + consistory of the church with the ministers or pastors. Of these, + in the beginning of 1657, there had been five, all men of + celebrity in the French Protestant world—viz. Mestrezat, + Faucheur, Drelincourt, Daillé, and Gaches; but the deaths of the + two first in April and May of that year had occasioned vacancies, + and it was to fill up one of these vacancies that Morus had been + invited from Amsterdam. Oldenburg, as we understand, had heard + this piece of news, when passing through Paris on his way to + Saumur, probably in June. He had heard it, seemingly, on board + the Charenton boat—i.e. as we guess, on board the boat + plying on the Marne between Paris and Charenton. Hence the + punning phraseology of Milton's reply. He would rather that such + a piece of news had been heard by anybody on board + <i>Charon's/</i> boat than by Oldenburg on board the + <i>Charenton</i> wherry. Altogether the idea that Morus should be + admitted as one of the pastors of the most important Protestant + church in France was, we can see, horrible to him; and he hoped + the calamity might yet be averted.—For the time it seemed + likely that it would be. There had been ample enough knowledge in + Paris of the coil of scandals about the character of Morus; and + copies of Milton's two Anti-Morus pamphlets had been in + circulation there long before Oldenburg took with him into France + his new bundle of them for distribution. Accordingly, though + there was a strong party for Morus, disbelieving the scandals, + and anxious to have him for the Charenton church on account of + his celebrity as a preacher, there were dissentients among the + congregation and even in the consistory itself. One hears of + Sieur Papillon and Sieur Beauchamp, Parisian advocates, and + elders in the church, as heading the opposition to the call. The + business of the translation of Morus from Amsterdam was, + therefore, no easy one. In any case it would have brought those + Protestant church courts of France that had to sanction the + admission of Morus at Charenton into communication about him with + those courts of the Walloon Church in Holland from whose + jurisdiction he was to be removed; and one can imagine the + peculiar complications that would arise in a case so + extraordinary and involving so much inquiry and discussion. In + fact, for more than two years, the business of the translation of + Morus from Amsterdam to Paris was to hang notoriously between the + Dutch Walloon Synods, who in the main wanted to disgrace and + depose him before they had done with him, and the French + Provincial Synods, now roused in his behalf, and willing in the + main to receive him back into his native country as a man not + without his faults, but more sinned against than + sinning.<sup>1</sup>—And so for the present (Aug. 1657) + Morus was still in his Amsterdam professorship, longing to be in + France, but uncertain whether his call thither would hold. How + the case ended we shall see in time. Meanwhile it is quite + apparent that Milton was not only willing, but anxious, that + <i>his</i> influence should be imported into the affair, to turn + the scale, if possible, against the man he detested. As he had + not heard of the call of Morus to Charenton till the receipt of + Oldenburg's letter, his motives originally for despatching a + bundle of his Anti-Morus pamphlets into France with Oldenburg can + have been only general; but one gathers from his reply to + Oldenburg that he thought the pamphlets might now be of use + specifically in the business of the proposed translation. Indeed, + one can discern a tone of disappointment in Milton's letter with + Oldenburg's report of what he had been able to do with the + pamphlets hitherto. He might have spared himself the expense, he + says, and Oldenburg the trouble. Oldenburg, as we know (Vol. IV. + pp. 626-627), had never been very enthusiastic over Milton's + onslaughts on Morus, The distribution of the Anti-Morus + publications, therefore, may not have been to his taste. Milton + seems to hint as much. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Bayle, Art. Morus; Brace's Life of Morus, 204 et + seq.—It was deemed of great importance by the English + Royalists that they should be able to report of Charles II., + when Paris was his residence, that he attended the church at + Charenton. There is a letter to him of April 17, 1653, saying + his non-attendance there was "much to his prejudice." (Macray's + Cal. of Clarendon Papers, II. 193). + </p> + </div> + <p> + In August 1657 Milton, after three months of total rest, so far + as the records show, from the business of writing foreign Letters + for the Protector, resumed that business. We have attributed his + release from it for so long to the fact that his old assistant + MEADOWS was again in town, and available in the Whitehall office, + in the interval between his return from Portugal and his + departure on his new mission to Denmark; and the coincidence of + Milton's resumption of this kind of duty with the precise time of + Meadows's preparations for his new absence is at least curious. + Though it had been intended that he should set out for Denmark + immediately after his appointment to the mission in February, he + had been detained for various reasons; and now in August, the + great war between Denmark and Sweden having just begun, he was to + set out in company with another envoy: viz. MAJOR-GENERAL WILLIAM + JEPHSON, whom Cromwell had selected as a suitable person for a + contemporary mission, to the King of Sweden (ante p. 312). It + will be observed that eight of the following ten Letters of + Milton, all written in August or September 1657, and forming his + first contribution of letters for the Second Protectorate, relate + to the missions of Jephson and Meadows:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + (CI.) To CHARLES X., KING OF SWEDEN, <i>August</i> + 1657:—His Highness has heard with no ordinary concern + that war has broken out between Sweden and Denmark. [He had + received the news August 13: see ante p. 313.] He anticipates + great evils to the Protestant cause in consequence. He sends, + therefore, the most Honourable WILLIAM JEPHSON, General, and + member of his Parliament, as Envoy-extraordinary to his Majesty + for negotiation in this and in other matters. He begs a + favourable reception for Jephson. + </p> + <p> + (CII.) TO THE COUNT OF OLDENBURG, <i>August</i> 1657:—On + his way to the King of Sweden, then in camp near Lubeck, + JEPHSON would have to pass through several of the German + states, and first of all through the territories of this old + and assured friend of the English Commonwealth and of the + Protector (see Vol. IV. pp. 424, 480-1, 527, 635-6). Cromwell, + therefore, introduces JEPHSON, and requests all furtherance for + him. + </p> + <p> + (CIII.) TO THE CONSULS AND SENATE OF BREMEN, <i>August</i> + 1657:—Also to introduce and recommend JEPHSON; who, on + his route from Oldenburg eastwards, would pass through Bremen. + </p> + <p> + (CIV.) TO THE CONSULS AND SENATE OF HAMBURG, <i>August</i> + 1657:—Still requesting attention to JEPHSON on his + transit. + </p> + <p> + (CV.) TO THE CONSULS AND SENATE OF LUBECK, <i>August</i> + 1657:—Still recommending JEPHSON; who, at Lubeck, would + be near his destination, the camp of Charles Gustavus. + </p> + <p> + (CVI.) TO FREDERICK-WILLIAM, MARQUIS OF BRANDENBURG, + <i>August</i> 1657:—At first this Prince, better known + now as "The Great Elector, Friedrich-Wilhelm of Prussia," had + been on the side of Sweden against Poland; and, in conjunction + with Charles Gustavus, he had fought that great Battle of + Warsaw (July 1656) which had nearly ruined the Polish King, + John Casimir. Having been detached from his alliance with + Sweden, however, in a manner already explained (ante p. 313), + he had now a very difficult part to play in the + Swedish-Polish-German-Danish entanglement.—As Jephson had + instructions to treat with this important German Prince, as + well as with the King of Sweden, Cromwell begs leave to + introduce him formally. "The singular worth of your Highness + both in peace and in war, and the greatness and constancy of + your spirit, being already so famed over the whole world that + almost all neighbouring Princes are eager for your friendship, + and no one could desire for himself a more faithful and + constant friend and ally, in order that you may understand that + we also are in the number of those that have the highest and + strongest opinion of your remarkable services to the Christian + Commonweal, we have sent to you the most Honourable WILLIAM + Jephson," &c.: so the note opens; and the rest is a mere + request that the Elector will hear what Jephson has to + say.—The relations between the Elector and the Protector + had hitherto been rather indefinite, if not cool; and hence + perhaps the highly complimentary strain of this letter. + </p> + <p> + (CVII.) TO THE CONSULS AND SENATE OF HAMBURG, <i>August</i> + 1657:—All the foregoing, for Jephson, must have been + written between August 13, when the news of the proclamation of + war between Sweden and Denmark reached London, and August 29, + when Jephson set out on his mission. MEADOWS left London, on + his distinct mission, two days afterwards.<sup>1</sup> His + route was not to be quite the same as Jephson's; but he also + was to pass through Hamburg. He is therefore recommended + separately, by this note, to the authorities of that city. His + letters of credence to the King of Denmark had, doubtless, + already been made out,—possibly by himself. They are not + among Milton's State-letters. + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Whitlocke, under Aug. 1657. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (CVIII.) To M. DE BORDEAUX, AMBASSADOR EXTRAORDINARY FOR THE + FRENCH KING, <i>August</i> 1657:—There has been presented + to the Lord Protector a petition from Samuel Dawson, John + Campsie, and John Niven, merchants of Londonderry, stating + that, shortly after the Treaty with France in 1655, a ship of + theirs called <i>The Speedwell</i> ("name of better omen than + the event proved"), the master of which was John Ker, had been + seized, on her return voyage from Bordeaux to Derry, by two + armed vessels of Brest, taken into Brest harbour, and sold + there with her cargo. The damages altogether are valued at + £2,500. The petitioners have not been able to obtain redress in + France. The matter has been referred by the Protector to his + Council. They find that the petitioners have a just right + either to the restitution of their ship and cargo or to + compensation in money. "I therefore request of your Excellency, + and even request it in the name of the most Serene Lord + Protector, that you will endeavour your utmost, and join also + the authority of your office to your endeavours, that as soon + as possible one or other be done." The wording shows that the + letter was not signed by the Protector himself, but only by + Lawrence as President of the Council. It was probably not in + rule for the Protector personally to write to an Ambassador in + such a case. + </p> + <p> + (CIX.) TO THE GRAND-DUKE OF TUSCANY, <i>Sept.</i> 1657:—A + letter of rather peculiar tenor. A William Ellis, master of a + ship called <i>The Little Lewis</i>, had been hired at + Alexandria by the Pasha of Memphis, to carry rice, sugar, and + coffee, either to Constantinople or Smyrna, for the use of the + Sultan himself; instead of which the rascal, giving the Turkish + fleet the slip, had gone into Leghorn, where he was living on + his booty. "The act is one of very dangerous example, inasmuch + as it throws discredit on the Christian name and exposes to the + risk of robbery the fortunes of merchants living under the + Turk." The Grand-Duke is therefore requested to be so good as + to arrest Ellis, keep him in custody, and see to the safety of + the ship and cargo till they are restored to the Sultan. + </p> + <p> + (CX.) TO THE DUKE OF SAVOY (undated)<sup>1</sup>:—This + letter to the prince on whom the Piedmontese massacre has + conferred such dark celebrity is on very innocent and ordinary + business. The owners of a London ship, called The Welcome, + Henry Martin master, have Informed his Highness that, on her + way to Genoa and Leghorn, she was seized by a French vessel of + forty-six guns having letters of marque from the Duke, and + carried into his port of Villafranca. The cargo is estimated at + £25,000. Will the Duke see that ship and cargo are restored to + the owners, with damages? He may expect like justice in any + similar case in which he may have to apply to his Highness. + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Not in Printed Collection nor in Phillips; but in the + Skinner Transcript as No. 120 with the title <i>Duci + Subaudiæ</i>, and printed thence by Mr. Hamilton in his + <i>Milton Papers</i> (pp. 11-12). No date is given in the + Skinner Transcript; and the insertion of the letter here is a + mere guess. The place where it occurs in the Skinner Transcript + suggests that it came rather late in the Protectorate, perhaps + even after the present point. The years 1656 and 1657 seem the + likeliest. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (CXI.) TO THE MARQUIS OF BRANDENBURG, <i>Sept.</i> + 1657:—This is an important letter. "By our last letter to + your Highness," it begins, "either already delivered or soon to + be delivered by our agent WILLIAM JEPHSON, we have made you + aware of the legation intrusted to him; and we could not but + there make some mention of your high qualities and + signification of our goodwill towards you. Lest, however, we + should seem only cursorily to have touched on your superlative + services in the Protestant cause, celebrated so highly in + universal discourse, we have thought it fit to resume that + subject, and to offer you our respects, not indeed more + willingly or with greater devotion, but yet somewhat more at + large. And justly so, when news is brought to our ears every + day that your faith and constancy, though tempted by all kinds + of intrigues, solicited by all contrivances, yet cannot by any + means be shaken, or diverted from the friendship of the brave + King your ally,—and that too when the affairs of the + Swedes are in such a posture that, in preserving their + alliance, it is manifest your Highness is led rather by regard + to the common cause of the Reformed Religion than by your own + interests; when we know too that, though surrounded on all + sides, and all but besieged, either by hidden or nearly + imminent enemies, you yet, with your valiant but far from large + forces, stand out with such firmness and strength of mind, such + counsel and prowess of generalship, that the sum and weight of + the whole business seems to rest, and the issue of this war to + depend, mainly on your will." The Protector goes on to say + that, in such circumstances, he would consider it unworthy of + himself not to testify in a special manner his sympathy with + the Elector and regard for him. He apologizes for delay + hitherto in treating with the Elector's agent in London, JOHN + FREDERICK SCHLEZER, on the matters about which he had been + sent; and he closes with fervent good wishes.—Evidently, + the recognition of the importance of the Elector, and anxiety + as to the part he might take in the war now involving Sweden, + Denmark, Poland, and part of Germany, had been growing stronger + in Cromwell's mind within the last few weeks. From the language + of the letter one would infer either that Cromwell did not yet + fully know of that treaty of Nov. 1656 by which the Polish King + had bought off the Elector from the Swedish alliance by ceding + to him the full sovereignty of East Prussia, or else that since + then the Elector had been oscillating back to the + alliance.—SCHLEZER had been in London since 1655, and had + lodged at Hartlib's house in the end of that year.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Letter of Hartlib's in Worthington's Diary and + Correspondence, edited by Crossley (I, 66). + </p> + </div> + <p> + Ten Latin State-letters nearly all at once, implying as they do + consultations with Thurloe, if not also interviews with the + Protector and the Council, argue a pretty considerable demand + upon Milton at this date for help again in the Foreign + Secretaryship. + </p> + <p> + It would seem, however, that it had occurred to the Protector and + the Council that they were again troubling Mr. Milton too much or + left too dependent on him, and that, with the increase of foreign + business now in prospect in consequence of the Swedo-Danish war + and its complications, it would be well to have an assistant to + him, such as Meadows had been. Accordingly, at a meeting of the + Council on Tuesday Sept. 8, 1657, Cromwell himself present, with + Lawrence, Fleetwood, Lord Lisle, Strickland, Pickering, Sydenham, + Wolseley, and Thurloe, there was this minute: "Ordered by his + Highness the Lord Protector, by and with the advice of the + Council, that MR. STERRY do, in the absence of Mr. Philip + Meadows, officiate in the employment of Mr. Meadows under Mr. + Secretary [Thurloe], and that a salary of 200 merks <i>per + annum</i> be allowed him for the same."<sup>1</sup> Whether this + Mr. Sterry was the preacher Mr. Peter Sterry, already employed + and salaried as one of the Chaplains to the Council, or only a + relative of his, I have not ascertained; but it is of the less + consequence because the appointment did not take effect. The + person actually appointed was MR. ANDREW MARVELL at last. We say + "at last," for had he not been recommended for the precise post + by Milton four years and a half before under the Rump Government? + Milton may have helped now to bring him in, or it may have been + done by Oliver himself in recognition of Marvell's merits in his + tutorship of young Dutton and of his Latin and English Oliverian + verses. There seems to be no record of Marvell's appointment in + the Order Books; but he tells us himself it was in the year 1657. + "As to myself," he wrote in 1672, "I never had any, not the + remotest, relation to public matters, nor correspondence with the + persons then predominant, until the year 1657, when indeed I + entered into an employment for which I was not altogether + improper." When Marvell wrote this, he was oblivious of some + particulars; for, though it is true that he was in no public + employment under the Protectorate till 1657, it can hardly be + said that he had not "the remotest relation" till then to public + matters, nor any "correspondence with the persons then + predominant." Enough for us that, from the year he specifies, and + precisely from September in that year, he was Milton's colleague + in the Foreign or Latin Secretaryship. "<i>Colleague</i>" we may + call him, for his salary was to be £200 a year (not 200 merks, as + had been proposed for Sterry), the same as Milton's was, and the + same as Meadows's had been; and yet not <i>quite</i> "colleague," + inasmuch as Milton's £200 a year was a life-pension, and also + inasmuch as, in stepping into Meadows's place, Marvell became one + of Thurloe's subordinates in the office, while something of the + original honorary independence of the Foreign Secretaryship still + encircled Milton.—Just as Marvell had for some time been + wistful after a place in the Council Office, suitable for a + scholar and Latinist, so there was another person now in the same + condition of outside waiting and occasional looking-in. "Received + then of the Right honble. Mr. Secretary Thurloe the sume of fifty + pounds: £50: <i>by mee</i>, JOHN DRIDEN" is a receipt, of date + "19 October 1657," among Thurloe's papers in the Record + Office—the words "<i>by mee</i>, JOHN DRIDEN" in a neat + slant hand, different from the body of the receipt. The poet + Dryden, it may be remembered, was the cousin and client of Sir + Gilbert Pickering, one of the most important men in the Council + and one of the most strongly Oliverian. The poet left Cambridge, + his biographers tell us, without his M.A. degree, "about the + middle of 1657," and it was a taunt against him afterwards that + he had begun his London life as "clerk" to Sir Gilbert. As he + cannot have got the £50 from Thurloe for nothing, the probability + is that he had been employed, through Sir Gilbert, to do some + clerkly or literary work for the Council. No harm, at all events, + in remembering the ages at this date of the three men of letters + thus linked to the Protectorate at its centre. Milton was in his + forty-ninth year, Marvell in his thirty-eighth, Dryden in his + twenty-seventh.<sup>2</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Council Order Books of date. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Marvell's <i>Rehearsal Transprosed</i> (in Mr. Grosart's + edition of Marvell's Prose Works), I. 322; Receipt in Record + Office as quoted; Christie's Memoir of Dryden prefixed to Globe + edition of Dryden's Poetical Works.—That Marvell was + appointed Milton's colleague or assistant precisely in + September 1657 is proved by the fact that his first quarter's + salary appears in certain accounts as due in the following + December (see Thurloe, VII. 487). + </p> + </div> + <p> + On the day on which Dryden received his fifty pounds from Thurloe + there was this entry in the birth-registers of the parish of St. + Margaret's, Westminster: "October 19, 1657, <i>Katherin Milton, + d. to John, Esq., by Katherin</i>." The entry may be still read + in the book, with these words appended in an old hand some time + afterwards: "<i>This is Milton, Oliver's Secretary</i>." It is + the record of the birth of a daughter to Milton by his second + wife, Katharine Woodcock, in the twelfth month of their marriage. + The little incident reminds us at this point of the domestic life + in Petty France; but it need not delay us. We proceed with the + Secretaryship. + </p> + <p> + Whatever share of the regular work of the Foreign Department may + have been now allotted to Marvell, an occasional letter was still + required from Milton. The following Latin dispatches were written + by him between September 1657 and Jan. 1657-8, when the + Protector's Second Parliament reassembled for its second session, + as a Parliament of two Houses:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + (CXII.) TO M. DE BORDEAUX, THE FRENCH AMBASSADOR, <i>Oct.</i> + 1657:—This is not in the Protector's name, but in that of + the President of the Council. It is about the case of a Luke + Lucy (<i>Lucas Lucius</i>) a London merchant. A ship of his, + called <i>The Mary</i>, bound from Ireland to Bayonne, had been + driven by tempest into the port of St. Jean de Luz, seized + there at the suit of one Martin de Lazon, and only discharged + on security given to abide a trial at law of this person's + claim. Now, his claim was preposterous. It was founded on an + alleged loss of money as far back as 1642 by the seizure by the + English Parliament of goods on board a ship called <i>The Santa + Clara</i>. He was not the owner of the goods, but only agent, + with a partner of his, called Antonio Fernandez, for the real + owners; there had been a quarrel between the partners; and the + Parliament had stopped the goods till it should be decided by + law who ought to have them. Fernandez was willing to try the + action in the English Courts; but De Lauzon had made no + appearance there. And now De Lauzon had hit on the + extraordinary expedient of seizing Lucy's ship and dragging the + totally innocent Lucy into an action in the French Courts. All + which having been represented to the Protector by Lucy's + petition, it is begged that De Lauzon may be told he must go + another way to work. + </p> + <p> + (CXIII.) TO THE DOGE AND SENATE OF VENICE, <i>Oct.</i> + 1657:—A rather long letter, and not uninteresting. First + the Protector congratulates the Venetians on their many + victories over the Turks, not only because of the advantage + thence to the Venetian State, but also because of the tendency + of such successes to "the liberation of all Christians under + Turkish servitude." But, under cover of this congratulation, he + calls to their attention again the case of a certain brave + ship-captain, Thomas Galilei (<i>Thomam Galileum</i>). He had, + some five years ago, done gallant service for the Venetians in + his ship called <i>The Relief</i>, fighting alone with a whole + fleet of Turkish galleys and making great havoc among them, + till, his own ship having caught fire, he had been taken and + carried away as a slave. For five years he had been in most + miserable captivity, unable to ransom himself because he had no + property in the world besides what might be owing to him for + his ship and services by the Venetian Government. He had an old + father still alive, "full of grief and tears which have moved + Us exceedingly"; and this old man begs, and His Highness begs, + that the Doge and Senate will arrange for the immediate release + of the captive. They must have taken many Turkish prisoners in + their late victories, and it is understood that those who + detain the captive are willing to exchange him for any Turk of + equal value. Also his Highness hopes the Doge and Senate will + pay at once to the old man whatever may be due to his captive + son. This, his Highness believes, had been arranged for after + his former application on the subject; but probably, in the + multiplicity of business, the matter had been overlooked. May + the Republic of Venice long flourish, and God grant them + victories over the Turks to the very end! + </p> + <p> + (CXIV.) TO THE HIGH AND MIGHTY LORDS, THE STATES GENERAL OF THE + UNITED PROVINCES, <i>Nov.</i> 1657:—This is a letter of + commendation of the Dutch Ambassador William Nieuport on his + temporary return home on private affairs (see ante p. 312). + Through the "several years" of His Highness's acquaintance with + him, he had found him of "such fidelity, vigilance, prudence, + and justice, in the discharge of his office" that he could not + desire a better Ambassador, or believe their High Mightinesses + could find a better one. He cannot take leave of him, though + but for a short time, without saying as much. Throughout his + embassy, his aim had been, "without deceit or dissimulation," + to preserve the peace and friendship that had been established; + and, so long as he should be Dutch Ambassador in London, his + Highness did not see "what occasion of offence or scruple could + rankle or sprout up" between the two States. At the present + juncture he should regret his departure the more if he were not + assured that no man would better represent to their High + Mightinesses the Protector's goodwill to them and the condition + of things generally. "May God, for His own glory and the + defence of the Orthodox Church, grant prosperity to your + affairs and perpetuity to our friendship!"—In writing + this letter, Milton must have remembered Nieuport's + interference in behalf of Morus, for the suppression at the + last moment, if possible, of the <i>Defensio Secunda</i>. He + had not quite relished that interference, or the manner of it. + See Vol. IV, pp. 631-633, and ante p. 202-203. + </p> + <p> + (CXV.) TO THEIR HIGH MIGHTINESSES THE STATES GENERAL OF THE + UNITED PROVINCES, <i>Dec.</i> 1657:—A fit sequel to the + foregoing, for it is the Letter Credential to GEORGE DOWNING, + just selected to be his Highness's Resident at the Hague, and + so the counterpart of Nieuport (ante p. 312). "GEORGE DOWNING," + it begins, "a gentleman of rank, has been for a long time now, + by experience of him in many and various transactions, + recognised and known by Us as of the highest fidelity, probity, + and ability." He is, accordingly, recommended in the usual + manner; and there is intimation, though not in language so + strong as that of Lockhart's credentials to France, that + "communications" with him will be the same as with his Highness + personally. "Communications" only this case, Downing not being + a plenipotentiary like Lockhart.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Downing's father was Emanuel Downing, a settler in + Massachusetts, and his mother was a sister of the celebrated + Governor John Winthrop. Though born in this country (in or near + Dublin in 1623), their son had grown up in New England, much + under the charge of Hugh Peters, who was related to him. He + graduated at Harvard University in 1642. Thence he had come to + England, and, from being a preacher in Okey's regiment of + dragoons in the New Model (1645), had passed gradually into + other employments. He had been Scoutmaster-General to the Army + in Scotland (1653), but had been attached since 1655 to + Thurloe's office, and employed, as we have seen, in diplomatic + missions. His appointment to be Cromwell's minister at the + Hague was a great promotion. His salary in the post was to be + £1100 a year, worth nearly £4000 a year now. (Sibley's + <i>Biographical Sketches of Graduates of Harvard + University</i>. I. 28-53, with corrections at p. 583.) + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (CXVI.) TO THE PROVINCIAL STATES OF HOLLAND, <i>Dec.</i> + 1657:—While recommending DOWNING to the States General, + his Highness cannot refrain from recommending him also + specially to the States of Holland, self-governed as they are + internally, and "so important a part of the United Provinces" + besides. + </p> + <p> + (CXVII.) TO FERDINAND, GRAND DUKE OF TUSCANY, <i>Dec.</i> + 1657:—The Protector's last letter to the Grand Duke (ante + 372) had produced immediate effect. The rascally Englishman + Ellis, who, to the discredit of English and Christian good + faith, had run off with the cargo of rice, sugar, and coffee, + belonging to the Sultan of Turkey, had been arrested in + Leghorn. So the Grand Duke had informed Cromwell in a letter + dated Nov. 10. The present is a reply to that letter, and is + very characteristic. "We give you thanks for this good office; + and now we make this farther request,—that, as soon as + the merchants have undertaken that satisfaction shall be made + to the, Turks, the said Master be liberated from custody, and + the ship and her lading be forthwith let off, lest perchance we + should seem to have made more account of the Turks than of our + own citizens. Meanwhile we relish so agreeably your Highness's + singular, conspicuous, and most acceptable good-will towards us + that we should not refuse the brand of ingratitude if we did + not eagerly desire a speedy opportunity of gratifying you in + return by the like promptitude, by means of which we might + prove to you in very deed our readiness also in returning good + offices. Your Highness's most affectionate OLIVER." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + To the same month as the last three of these Latin State-Letters + belong two more of Milton's Latin Familiar Epistles. The persons + to whom they are addressed are already known to us: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "To the very distinguished MR. HENRY DE BRASS. + </p> + <p> + "Having been hindered these days past by some occupations, + illustrious Sir, I reply later than I meant. For I meant to do + so all the more speedily because I saw that your present + letter, full of learning as it is, did not so much leave me + room for suggesting anything to you (a thing which you ask of + me, I believe, out of compliment to me, not for your own need) + as for simple congratulation. I congratulate myself especially + on my good fortune in having, as it appears, so suitably + explained Sallust's meaning, and you on your so careful perusal + of that most wise author with so much benefit from the same. + Respecting him I would venture to make the same assertion to + you as Quintilian made respecting Cicero,—that a man may + know himself no mean proficient in the business of History who + enjoys his Sallust. As for that precept of Aristotle's in the + Third Book of his Rhetoric [Chap. XVII] which you would like + explained—'Use is to be made of maxims both in the + narrative of a case and in the pleading, for it has a moral + effect'—I see not what it has in it that much needs + explanation: only that the <i>narration</i> and the + <i>pleading</i> (which last is usually also called the + <i>proof</i>) are here understood to be such as the Orator + uses, not the Historian; for the parts of the Orator and the + Historian are different whether they narrate or prove, just as + the Arts themselves are different. What is suitable for the + Historian you will have learnt more correctly from the ancient + authors, Polybius, the Halicarnassian, Diodorus, Cicero, + Lucian, and many others, who have handed down certain stray + precepts concerning that subject. For me, I wish you heartily + all happiness in your studies and travels, and success worthy + of the spirit and diligence which I see you employ on + everything of high excellence. Farewell. + </p> + <p> + "Westminster: December 16, 1657." + </p> + </blockquote> + <blockquote> + <p> + "To the highly accomplished PETER HEIMBACH. + </p> + <p> + "I have received your letter dated the Hague. Dec. 18 [foreign + reckoning: the English would be Dec. 8], which, as I see it + concerns your interests, I have thought I ought to answer on + the very day it has reached me. After thanking me for I know + not what favours of mine,—which, as one who desires + everything good for you, I would were really of any + consideration at all,—you ask me to recommend you, + through Lord Lawrence, to our Minister appointed for Holland + [DOWNING, whose credential letters Milton had drawn up only a + day or two before]. I really regret that this is not in my + power, both because of my very few intimacies with the men of + influence, almost shut up at home as I am, and as I prefer to + be (<i>propter paucissimas familiaritates meas cum gratiosis, + qui domi fere, idque libenter, me contineo</i>), and also + because I believe the gentleman is now embarking and on his + way, and has with him in his company the person he wishes to be + his Secretary—the very office about him you seek. But the + post is this instant going, Farewell. + </p> + <p> + "Westminster: December 18, 1657." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Too much is not to be made of certain phrases in this note. + Milton was declining, in as civil terms as possible, a request + which might perhaps have been troublesome even if the + Secretaryship to Mr. Downing had been vacant; and, though it + would have been enough, as far as Heimbach's present application + was concerned, to tell him that Mr. Downing was already provided, + the other reason may have been thrown in by way of discouragement + of such applications in future. We have had proof that Milton + liked Heimbach; but we do not know what estimate he had formed of + Heimbach's abilities. Still, any words used by Milton about + himself are always to be taken as in correspondence with fact; + and hence we are to suppose that, at the time he wrote, he did + keep himself as much aloof as possible from the magnates of the + Council, performing the pieces of work required of him in his own + house, rather than making them occasions for visits and + colloquies. His old and intimate friend Fleetwood, and his friend + Lord President Lawrence, with Desborough, Pickering, Strickland, + Montague, and Sydenham, all of whom had been mentioned by him + with more or less of personal regard in the <i>Defensio + Secunda</i> in 1654, were still Councillors, and formed indeed + more than half the Council; but his intercourse with some of + these individually may have been less since his blindness. Then, + of the rest, Thurloe was the real man of influence, the real + <i>gratiosus</i> who could carry or set aside a request like + Heimbach's; and, though Milton's communications with Thurloe must + necessarily have been more frequent than with any other person of + the Council, one has an indefinable impression that Thurloe had + never taken cordially to Milton or Milton to Thurloe. At the date + of Milton's note to Heimbach, too, <i>gratiosi</i> were becoming + plentiful all round the Council. Cromwell's sixty-three writs for + the new Upper House had gone out, or were going out, and in a + week or two many more "lords" were to be seen walking in couples + in any street in Westminster. Milton, in <i>his</i> quiet retreat + there, may have had something of all this in his mind when he + wrote to young Mr. Heimbach. + </p> + <p> + The short second session of the Parliament, with its difficult + experiment of the two Houses once more, and the angry dispute of + the Commons whether the name of "Lords" <i>should</i> be allowed + to the Other House, had come and gone (Jan. 20—Feb. 4, + 1657-8), and of Milton or his thoughts and doings through that + crisis we have no trace whatever. Our next glimpse of him is just + after the moment of the abrupt dissolution of the Parliament, + when Cromwell was addressing himself again, single-handed, to the + task of grappling with the double danger of anarchy within and a + threatened invasion from without. The glimpse is a very sad one. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Feb.</i> 10, 1657-8, <i>Mrs. Katherin Milton</i>," and again + "<i>March</i>, 20, 1657-8, <i>Mrs. Katherin Milton</i>," are two + entries, within six weeks of each other, in the burial registers + of St, Margaret's, Westminster. They are the records of the + deaths of Milton's second wife and the little girl she had borne + him only in October last. Which entry designates the mother and + which, the child we should not know from the entries themselves; + but a sentence in Phillips's memoir of his uncle settles the + point. "By his second wife; Katharine, the daughter of Captain + Woodcock of Hackney," says Phillips, "he had only one daughter, + of which the mother, the first year after her marriage, died in + childbed, and the child also within a month after." The first + entry, therefore, is for the mother, and the second for the + child. The mother died exactly at the time of the dissolution of + the Parliament, and not in child-birth itself, but nearly four + months after child-birth; and the little orphan, outliving the + mother a short while, died at the age of five months. And so + Milton was again left a widower, with his three daughters by the + first marriage, the eldest in her twelfth year. His private life, + for eighteen years now, had certainly not been a happy one; but + this death of his second wife seems to have been remembered by + him ever afterwards with deep and peculiar sorrow. She had been + to him during the short fifteen months of their union, all that + he had thought saintlike and womanly, very sympathetic with + himself, and maintaining such peace and order in his household as + had not been there till she entered it. And now once more it was + a dark void, in which he must grope on, and in which things must + happen as they would. + </p> + <p> + Small comfort at this time can Milton have had from either of his + nephews. Not that they had openly separated themselves from him, + or even ceased to be deferential to him and proud of the + relationship, but that they had more and more gone into those + courses of literary Bohemianism those habits of mere facetious + hack-work and balderdash, which he must have noted of late as an + increasing and very ominous form of protest among the clever + young Londoners against Puritanism and its belongings. The + <i>Satyr against Hypocrites</i> by his younger nephew in 1655 had + been, in reality, an Anti-Puritan and Anti-Miltonic production; + and, since the censure of that younger nephew by the Council in + 1656 for his share in <i>The Sportive Wit or Muses' + Merriment</i>, he had naturally stumbled farther and farther in + the same direction. By the year 1658, I should say, John Phillips + had entirely given up his uncle's political principles, and was + known among his tavern-comrades as an Anti-Oliverian. We have no + express publications in his name of this date, but he seems to + have been scribbling anonymously. Of the literary industry of his + more sedate and likeable elder brother, Edward, there is + authentic evidence. <i>A New World of Words, or a General + Dictionary, containing the Terms, Etymologies, Definitions, and + Perfect Interpretations, of the proper Significations of hard + English words throughout the Arts and Sciences</i>: such is the + title of a folio volume published by him in 1657, and for the + purposes of which he was afterwards accused of having plagiarized + largely from the <i>Glossographia</i> of one Thomas Blount, + published in the preceding year. In this piece of labour, which + was doubtless a bookseller's commission, he must have had, the + question of plagiarism apart, his uncle's thorough good-will; but + it cannot have been the same with his <i>Mysteries of Love and + Eloquence: or the Arts of Wooing and Complimenting, as they are + managed in the Spring Garden, Hide Park, the New Exchange, and + other eminent Places</i>. That performance, which appeared in + August 1658, with a Preface "To the Youthful Gentry," and which + must have been in progress at our present date, was much more in + the vein of his brother John, and indeed was done to the order of + Nathaniel Brooke, the bookseller who had published John's + <i>Satyr against Hypocrites</i>, and also the more questionable + <i>Sportive Wit or the Muses' Merriment</i>. "The book," says + Godwin, "is put together with conspicuous ingenuity and + profligacy, and is entitled to no insignificant rank among the + multifarious productions which were at that time issued from the + press to debauch the manners of the nation and bring back the + King. It consists of imaginary conversations and forms of address + for conversation, poems, models of letters, questions and + answers, an Art of Logic with examples from the poets, and + various instructions and helps to the lover for the composition + of his verses; and, if we could overlook the gross provocations + to libertinism and vice which everywhere occur in the book, it + might be mentioned as no unentertaining illustration of the + manners of the men of wit and gallantry in the time when it was + published." To Godwin's description we may add that the book + includes a Rhyming Dictionary, "useful for that pleasing pastime + called Crambo," also a collection of parlour-games, and a number + of other clever things. The poems and songs interspersed with the + prose were mostly old ones reprinted, some of them chosen with + fine taste; but one or two were Phillips's own. Of the model + phrases or set expressions which form one of the prose parts of + the volume, by way of instruction in the language of gallantry + and courtship, specimens are these,—"With your ambrosiac + kisses bathe my lips;" "You are a white enchantress, lady, and + can enchain me with a smile;" "Midnight would blush at this;" + "You walk in artificial clouds and bathe your silken limbs in + wanton dalliance." What could Milton do, so far as such a + production came within his knowledge, but shake his head and + mingle smiles with a frown? Clearly the elder nephew too had + slipped the Miltonic restraints. He had not lapsed, however, so + decidedly as his brother; and we may partly retract in his case + the statement that Milton could have little comfort from him. He + still went and came about Milton, very attentively.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Godwin's <i>Lives of the Phillipses</i> (1815), 49-57, and + 139-140; Wood's <i>Ath.</i> IV. 760-769. I have not myself + examined Phillips's <i>New World of Words</i>; but I have + looked at the Thomason copy of his <i>Mysteries of Love and + Eloquence</i>, where the date of publication is given. Perhaps + Godwin is a little too severe in his account of it. + </p> + </div> + <p> + During the month immediately preceding his wife's death, and the + two months following it, there is a break in the series of + Milton's State-Letters for Cromwell. But he resumed the familiar + occupation on the 30th of March, 1658; and thenceforward to the + end of the Protectorate the series is again pretty continuous. + Indeed, of this period of Milton's life we know little more than + may be inferred from, or associated with, the following morsels + of his continued Secretaryship:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + (CXVIII.) To CHARLES X., KING OF SWEDEN, <i>March</i> 30, + 1658:—The occasion of this letter was the receipt of news + at last of the climax of the Swedish-Danish war in a great + triumph of the Swedes. "In January 1658 Karl Gustav marches his + army, horse, foot, and artillery, to the amount of twenty + thousand, across the Baltic ice, and takes an island without + shipping,—Island of Fünen, across the Little Belt; three + miles of ice; and a part of the sea <i>open</i>, which has to + be crossed on planks. Nay, forward from Fünen, when he is once + there, he achieves ten whole miles more of ice; and takes + Zealand itself—to the wonder of mankind." Such, in Mr. + Carlyle's summary (<i>History of Frederick the Great, i. 223, + edit.</i> 1869), was the feat of the Swedish warrior against + his Danish enemy. It was followed almost immediately by a Peace + between the two Powers, called <i>The Peace of Roeskilde</i>, + by which Sweden acquired certain territories from Denmark, but + very generous terms on the whole were granted to the Danes. Of + all this there had been news to Cromwell, not only from his own + correspondents, but also in an express letter from Charles + Gustavus; and it is to this letter that Milton now replies in + Cromwell's name:—"Most serene and potent King, most + invincible Friend and Ally,—The Letter of your Majesty, + dated from the Camp in Zealand, Feb. 21, has brought Us all at + once many reasons why, both privately on our own account, and + on account of the whole Christian Commonwealth, we should be + affected by no ordinary joy. In the first place, because the + King of Denmark (made your enemy, I believe, not by his own + will or interests, but by the arts of the common foes) has + been, by your sudden advent into the heart of his kingdom, and + without much bloodshed, reduced to such a pass that he has at + length, as was really the fact, judged peace more advantageous + to him than the war undertaken against you. Next, because, when + he thought he could in no way sooner obtain such a peace than + by using Our help long ago offered him for a conciliation, your + Majesty, on the prayer merely of the letters of our Envoy, + deigned to show, by such an easy grant of peace, how much value + you attached to Our friendship and interposed good-will, and + chose that it should be My office in particular, in this pious + transaction, to be myself nearly the sole adviser and author of + a Peace which is speedily to be, as I hope, so salutary to + Protestant interests. For, whereas the enemies of Religion + despaired of being able to break your combined strength + otherwise than by engaging you against each other, they will + now have cause, as I hope, thoroughly to fear that this + unlooked-for conjunction of your arms and hearts will turn into + destruction for themselves, the kindlers of this war. Do you, + meanwhile, most brave King, go on and prosper in your + conspicuous valour, and bring it to pass that, such good + fortune as the enemies of the Church have lately admired in + your exploits and course of victories against the King now your + ally, the same they may feel once more, with God's help, in + their own crushing overthrow."<sup>1</sup> From this letter it + will be seen that the missions of Meadows and Jephson, but + especially that of Meadows, had been of use. The immediate + object of the missions, a reconciliation of Sweden and Denmark, + had been accomplished; and what remained farther was, as + Cromwell hints, the association of the other Continental + Protestant powers with these two Scandinavian kingdoms in a + league against Austria and Spain. How exactly this idea + accorded with reflective Protestant sentiment everywhere + appears from a few sentences in one of Baillie's letters, + commenting on the very occurrences that occasioned Cromwell's + present despatch. "I am glad," writes Baillie, "that by a + Peace, however extorted, the Swedes are free to take course + with other enemies. I wish Brandenburg may return to his old + posture, and not draw on himself next the Swedish armies; which + the Lord forbid! for, after Sweden, we love Brandenburg next + best.... Our wish is that the Muscoviter, for reforming of his + churches, civilizing of his people, and doing some good upon + the Turks and Tartars, were more straitly allied with Sweden, + Brandenburg, the Transylvanian, and other Protestant princes. + We should rejoice if, on this too good a quarrel against the + Austrians ... he [Charles Gustavus] would turn his victorious + army upon them and their associates, with the assistance of + France and a good Dutch league. It seems no hard matter to get + the Imperial Crown and turn the Ecclesiastic Princes into + Secular Protestants."<sup>2</sup> Very much in the direction of + Baillie's hopes were Cromwell's envoys, Meadows, Jephson, + Bradshaw, and Downing, to labour for the next few months. Of + their journeys hither and thither, their expectations and + disappointments, there are glimpses in successive letters in + <i>Thurloe</i>; from which also it appears that Meadows and + Downing gave most satisfaction, and that, after a while, + Jephson was relieved of the main business of the Swedish + mission, and that mission was conjoined with the Danish in the + hands of Meadows (Thurloe, VII. 63-64). + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: The translation of this letter by Phillips is unusually + careless. It jumbles the tenses in such a manner that the Peace + between Sweden and Denmark does not seem to have yet taken + place, but only to be hoped for by Cromwell. In fact, + Phillips's translation robs the letter of all its meaning and + interest. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Baillie, III. 371. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (CXIX.) TO THE GRAND-DUKE OF TUSCANY, <i>April</i> 7, + 1658:—A John Hosier, master of a ship called <i>The + Lady</i>, had been swindled in April 1656 by an Italian named + Guiseppe Armani, who has moreover possessed himself + fraudulently of 6000 pieces of eight belonging to one Thomas + Clutterbuck. There is a suit against Armani at Leghorn; but + Hosier, after going to great expenses, is deterred from + appearing there by threats of personal violence. "We therefore + request your Highness both to relieve this oppressed man, and + also to restrain the insolence of his adversary, according to + your accustomed justice." + </p> + <p> + (CXX.) TO LOUIS XIV. OF FRANCE, <i>May</i> 26, + 1658:<sup>1</sup>—This is a very momentous letter. It is + Cromwell's appeal to the French King in behalf once more of the + poor Piedmontese Protestants:—"Most serene and potent + King, most august Friend and Ally,—Your Majesty may + remember that, at the time when there was treaty between us for + the renewing of our League [April 1655]—the highly + auspicious nature of which transaction is now testified by many + resulting advantages to both nations and much damage to the + common enemy—there fell out that miserable massacre of + the People of the Valleys, whose cause, forsaken on all hands + and sorely beset, we commended, with all ardour of heart and + commiseration, to your pity and protection. Nor do we think + that your Majesty, of yourself, was wanting in a duty so pious, + nay so human, in as far as, by your authority or by the respect + due to your person, you could prevail with the Duke of Savoy. + We, certainly, and many other Princes and States, were not + wanting, in the matter of embassies, letters, interposed + entreaties, on the subject. After a most bloody slaughter of + both sexes and of every age, Peace was at last granted, or + rather a kind of more guarded hostility clothed with the name + of Peace: the conditions of the Peace were settled in your town + of Pignerol—hard conditions indeed, but in which wretched + and poor people that had suffered all that was dreadful and + brutal might easily acquiesce, if only, hard and unjust as they + are, they were to be stood to. They are <i>not</i> stood to; + for the promise of each and all of them is eluded and violated + by false interpretation and various asides: many are thrown out + of their ancient abodes; many are interdicted from their native + religion; new tributes are exacted; a new citadel is hung over + their heads, whence soldiers frequently break forth, plundering + or murdering all they meet: in addition to all which, new + forces of late are secretly being got ready against them, and + those among them who profess the Roman Religion have warning + orders to remove for a time, so that all things now again seem + to point to an exterminating onslaught on those most miserable + creatures who were left over from that last butchery. That you + will not allow this to be done I beseech and conjure you, Most + Christian King, by that right hand of yours which sealed + alliance and friendship with Us, by that most sacred ornament + of the title of <i>Most Christian</i>; that you will not permit + such a license of furious raging, I do not say to any prince + (for such furious raging cannot possibly come upon any prince, + much less upon the tender age of that Prince, or into the + womanly mind of his Mother), but to those most holy assassins, + who, while they profess themselves the servants and imitators + of our Saviour Christ, Him who came into this world to save + sinners, abuse His most meek name and institutes for savage + slaughters of innocents. Snatch, thou who art able, and who in + such a towering station art worthy to be able, so many + suppliants of yours from the hands of homicides, who, drunk + with gore recently, thirst for blood again, and consider it + most advisable for themselves to lay at the doors of princes + the odium of their own cruelty. Do not thou, while thou + reignest, suffer thy titles or the territories of thy realm, or + the most merciful Gospel of Christ, to be defiled by that + scandal. Remember that these very Vaudois submitted themselves + to your grandfather Henry, that great favourer of Protestants, + when the victorious Lesdiguières, through those parts where + there is even yet the most convenient passage into Italy, + pursued the yielding Savoyard across the Alps. The instrument + of that Surrender is yet extant among the Public Acts of your + Kingdom; in which, among other things, it is expressly provided + and precautioned that the Vaudois should thenceforth be handed + over to no one unless with those same conditions on which, by + that instrument, your most invincible grandfather received them + into his protection. This protection the suppliants now + implore; as pledged by the grandfather, they demand it from + you, the grandson. They would prefer and desire to be your + subjects rather than his to whom they now belong, even by some + exchange, if that could be managed; but, if that cannot be + managed, to be yours at least in as far as your patronage, + pity, and shelter can make them so. There are even reasons of + state which might exhort you not to drive back Vaudois fleeing + to you for refuge; but I would not, such a great King as you + are, think of you as moved to the defence of those lying under + calamity by other considerations than the promise of your + ancestors, piety, and kingly benignity and greatness of soul. + So the praise and glory of a most beautiful deed will be yours + unalloyed and entire, and through all your life you will find + the Father of Mercy, and His Son, King Christ, whose name and + doctrine you will have vindicated from a wicked atrocity, more + favouring and propitious to yourself. May God Almighty, for His + own glory, the safeguard of so many innocent Christian human + beings, and your true honour, dispose your Majesty to this + resolution!" The letter was sent to Ambassador Lockhart, then + commanding the English auxiliaries at Dunkirk, with very + precise instructions to deliver it to his French Majesty, and + to follow it up energetically by his own counsels.<sup>2</sup> + It may have been delivered to Louis XIV. at or near Calais. It + had, as we have seen, full effect. All in all, it is one of the + most eloquent of the Milton series; and Milton must have + exerted himself in the composition. + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: The exact day of the month is not given either in the + Printed Collection or in the Skinner Transcript; but it is + determined by a letter of Cromwell's to Ambassador Lockhart on + the same business. The two letters went together (see Carlyle, + III. 357-365). + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Letter of Cromwell to Lockhart of date May 25, 1658, printed + by Mr. Carlyle, <i>loc. cit.</i>, from the Ayscough MSS. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (CXXI.) TO THE EVANGELICAL SWISS CANTONS, <i>May</i> 26, + 1658:<sup>1</sup>—On the same great business as the + last.—"Illustrious and most honourable Lords, most dear + Friends:—Concerning the Vaudois, your most afflicted + neighbours, what grievous and intolerable things they have + suffered from their Prince for Religion's sake, besides that + the mind almost shrinks from remembering them because of the + very atrocity of the facts, we have thought it superfluous to + write to you what must be much better known to yourselves. We + have also seen copies of the letters which your Envoys, who a + good while since were the advisers and witnesses of the Peace + of Pignerol, have written to the Duke of Savoy and the + President of his Council in Turin; in which they show and prove + in detail that all the conditions of the Peace have been + broken, and have been rather a snare for those miserable people + than a security. Which violation of the conditions, continued + from the very date of the Peace even to this day, and every day + growing more grievous, unless they endure patiently, unless + they prostrate themselves and lie down to be trampled on and + pushed into mud, their Religion itself forsworn, there impends + over them the same calamity, the same havoc, which harassed and + desolated them, with their wives and children, in so miserable + a manner three years ago, and which, if it is to be undergone + again, will wholly extirpate them. What can the poor people do? + They have no respite, no breathing-time, as yet no certain + refuge. They have to deal with wild beasts or with furies, to + whom the recollection of the former slaughters has brought no + remorse, no pity for their fellow-countrymen, no sense of + humanity or satiety in shedding blood. These things are clearly + not to be borne, whether we have regard to our Vaudois + brethren, cherishers of the Orthodox Religion from of old, or + to the safety of that Religion itself. We, for our part, + removed though we are by too great an interval of space, have + heartily performed all we could in the way of help, and shall + not cease to do the like. Do you, who are close not only to the + torments and almost to the cries of your brethren, but also to + the fury of the same enemies, consider prospectively, in the + name of Immortal God, and that betimes, what is now <i>your</i> + duty; on the question of what assistance, what protection, you + can and ought to give to your neighbours and brothers, + otherwise speedily to perish, consult your own prudence and + piety, but your valour also. It is identity of Religion, be + sure, that is the cause why the same enemies would see you + likewise destroyed, nay why they would, at the same time, in + the same by-past year, <i>have</i> seen you destroyed by an + intestine war against you by members of your Confederacy. Next + to the Divine aid it seems simply to be with you to prevent the + very oldest branch of the purer Religion from being cut down in + that remnant of the primitive faithful: and, if you neglect + their safety, now brought to the extreme crisis of peril, see + that the next turn do not, a little while after, visit + yourselves. While we advise thus fraternally and freely, we are + meanwhile not idle on our own part: what alone it is allowed to + us at such a distance to do, whether for securing the safety of + those who are endangered, or for succouring the poverty of + those who are in need, we have taken all pains in our power to + do, and shall yet take all pains, God grant to us both such + tranquillity and peace at home, such a settled condition of + things and times, that we may be able to turn all our resources + and strength, all our anxiety, to the defence of His Church + against the fury and madness of His enemies!" + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: The day of the month not given either in the Printed + Collection or in the Skinner Transcript; but we may date by the + last letter. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (CXXII.-CXXV.) TO LOUIS XIV. AND CARDINAL MAZARIN: end of + <i>May</i> 1658:<sup>1</sup>—This is a group of four + letters, two to the King and two to the Cardinal, all + appertaining to the splendid embassy of compliment on which + Cromwell despatched his son-in-law, Viscount Falconbridge, in + the end of May 1658, when he heard that the French Court had + come so near England as Calais (ante pp. 340-341):—(1.) + TO LOUIS XIV. "Most serene and potent King, most august Friend + and Ally,—Thomas, Viscount Falconbridge, my son-in-law, + being on the point of setting out for France, and desiring to + come into your presence, to kiss your royal hand and testify + his veneration and the respect which he cherishes for your + Majesty, though, on account of the great pleasantness of his + society, I am unwilling to part with him, yet, as I do not + doubt but, from the Court of so great a King, in which so many + most prudent and valiant men have their resort, he will shortly + return to us much more accomplished for all honourable + occupations, and in a sense finished, I have not thought it + right to oppose his mind and wish. And, though he is one, if I + mistake not, who may seem to bring his own sufficient + recommendations with him wherever he goes, yet, if he should + feel himself somewhat more acceptable to your Majesty on my + account, I shall likewise consider myself honoured and obliged + by that same kindness. May God keep your Majesty safe, and long + preserve our fast friendship for the common good of the + Christian world."—(2.) TO CARDINAL MAZARIN. As his + son-in-law Lord Falconbridge is going into France, recommended + by a letter to the French King, Cromwell cannot but inform his + Eminence of the fact, and give Lord Falconbridge an + introduction to his Eminence also. "Whatever benefit he may + receive from his stay amongst you (and he hopes it will not be + small) he is sure to owe most of it to your favour and + kindness, whose mind and vigilance almost singly sustain and + guard such great affairs in that kingdom." (3.) To LOUIS XIV. + "Most serene and potent King, most august Friend and + Ally,—As soon as news had arrived that your Majesty was + come into camp, and was besieging with so great forces that + infamous town and asylum of pirates, Dunkirk, I conceived a + great joy, and also a sure hope that now in a short time, by + God's good assistance, the sea will be less infested with + robbers and more safely navigable, and that your Majesty will + soon by your warlike prowess avenge those frauds of the + Spaniard,—one commander corrupted by gold to betray + Hesden, another treacherously taken at Ostend. I therefore send + to you the most noble Thomas, Viscount Falconbridge, my + son-in-law, both to congratulate your arrival in a camp so + close to us, and also to explain personally with what affection + we follow your Majesty's achievements, not only by the junction + of our forces, but with all wishes besides that God Almighty + may keep your Majesty's self safe and long preserve our fast + friendship for the common good of the Christian world." (4.) To + CARDINAL MAZARIN. As he is sending his son-in-law Viscount + Falconbridge to congratulate the arrival of his French Majesty + in the camp near Dunkirk, he has commanded him to convey also + salutations and thanks to his Eminence, "by whose fidelity, + prudence, and vigilance, above all, it has been brought about + that French business is so prosperously managed against the + common enemy in so many different parts, and especially in + neighbouring Flanders." It is clear that all these letters + cannot have been sent, but only two of them. The closing words + of the two letters to the King, for example, are identical to + an extent incompatible with the idea that they were both + delivered. It may be guessed by the suspicious that at first + the intention was that Lord Falconbridge should seem to be + visiting France for his own curiosity or pleasure, the + Protector only taking advantage of his whim, and that letters 1 + and 2 were then drafted, but that afterwards it was thought + better to send Lord Falconbridge on an avowed embassy of + congratulation in Cromwell's own name, and letters 3 and 4 were + then substituted. Perhaps, however, there was no duplicity in + the affair at all, and the idea of the embassy did actually + originate in a whim of Lord Falconbridge. Anyhow all the notes + were written by Milton, and he kept copies of those not used. + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Exact day not given either in Printed Collection or in + Skinner Transcript; but the occasion fixes the time pretty + closely. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (CXXVI.) To THE GRAND DUKE OF TUSCANY, <i>May</i> + 1658:—This is in a very different tone from recent + letters of the Protector to the same Italian Prince (ante p. + 372 and p. 378).—His Highness has been informed of + various acts of discourtesy of late to his Fleet off Leghorn, + utterly inconsistent with the terms of friendship on which he + had supposed himself to stand with the Grand Duke. + Accommodation to the ships has been refused, out of deference + to Spain; restrictions have been put on their supplies of fresh + water; English merchants resident in Leghorn, and even the + English Consul, have not been permitted to go on board; shots + have actually been fired; &c. If these things had been done + by the Governor of the Town without orders, let him be + punished; but, if otherwise, "let your Highness consider that, + as we have always very highly valued your good-will, so we have + learnt to distinguish open injuries from-good-will." + </p> + <p> + (CXXVII.-CXXX.) To LOUIS XIV. AND CARDINAL MAZARIN. <i>June</i> + 1658:—On the 16th of June there had arrived in London, in + rapid return for the embassy of Viscount Falconbridge to + Calais, the splendid counter-embassy to Cromwell of the Duke de + Crequi and M. Mancini, the Cardinal's nephew (ante pp. + 340-341). That in itself would have been an incident calling + for some special acknowledgment from the Protector; but hardly + had the embassy arrived when there came news of the great event + which both Louis XIV. and Cromwell had for some time been + intently expecting—the capture of Dunkirk. On the 15th of + June the keys of the captured town had been handsomely + delivered to Sir William Lockhart by Louis XIV. himself, so + that the Treaty with Cromwell had been fully kept in that + particular. Louis had sent a special Envoy with letters to + announce the event to Cromwell formally; and this Envoy shared + in the magnificent hospitalities which Cromwell showered upon + the Duke de Crequi, M. Mancini, and their retinue. The four + following letters all relate to this glorious occasion, and + date themselves between June 16, when the French ambassadors + arrived in London, and June 21, when they took their departure. + (1.) To Louis XIV. "Most serene and potent King, most august + Friend and Ally,—That your Majesty has so speedily, by + the illustrious embassy you have sent, repaid my mission of + respect with interest, besides that it is a proof of your + singular graciousness and magnanimity, comes as a manifestation + also of the degree of your regard for my honour and dignity, + not to myself only, but to the whole English People; on which + account, in their name, I duly return your Majesty my most + cordial thanks. Over the most happy victory which God gave to + our conjoint forces against the enemy [in the Battle near + Dunkirk on June 3, ten days before the surrender of the town: + ante p. 340], I rejoice along with you; and it is very + gratifying to me that in that battle our men were not wanting + either to their duty to you, or to the warlike glory of their + ancestors, or to their own valour. As for Dunkirk, your + Majesty's hopes for the near surrender of which are expressed + in your letter, I have the additional joy of being able so soon + to write back that the surrender has now actually taken place; + and my hopes are that the Spaniard will presently pay for his + double treachery by the loss not of one city only,—the + effecting of which result by the capture of the other town + [Bergen, near Dunkirk, now also besieged] I would that your + Majesty may have it in your power to report as quickly. As to + your Majesty's farther promise that my interests shall be your + care, in that matter I have no mistrust, the promise coming + from a King of such worth and friendliness, and having the + confirmation of the word of his Ambassador, the most excellent + and accomplished Duke de Crequi. That Almighty God may be + propitious to your Majesty and to the French State, at home and + in war, is my sincere wish." (2.) To CARDINAL MAZARIN. As we + have already seen in Cromwell's correspondence with France, + letters to the King and the Cardinal then almost always went in + pairs, for Louis XIV. was but beginning his long career of + <i>Grand Monarque</i> at the age of twenty, while the Cardinal, + at the age of fifty-six, still retained that ministerial + ascendancy which he had exercised all through the minority of + Louis, and indeed since the death of Richelieu in 1642. This + letter of Cromwell's to the Cardinal is even more interesting + than that to the King, and may be given in full:—"Most + Eminent Lord,—While I am thanking by letter your most + Serene King, who has sent such a splendid embassy to return + respects and congratulations and to communicate to me his joy + over the recent most noble victory, I should be ungrateful if I + did not at the same time pay by letter the thanks due also to + your Eminence, who, to testify your good-will towards me, and + your regard for my honour in all possible ways, have sent with + the embassy your most worthy and highly accomplished young + nephew, and even write that, if you had any one nearer akin to + you or dearer, you would have sent that person in + preference,—adding a reason which, coming from the + judgment of so great a man, I consider no mean tribute of + praise and distinction: to wit, your desire that those nearest + to you in blood should imitate your Eminence in honouring and + respecting me. Well, they will perhaps, at least, in your love + for me, have had no stinted example of politeness, candour, and + friendliness: of worth and prudence at their highest there are + other far more brilliant examples in you, by which they may + learn how to administer kingdoms and the greatest affairs with + glory. With which that your Eminence may long and prosperously + conduct affairs, for the common good of the French kingdom, yea + of the whole Christian Republic, a distinction properly yours, + I promise that my wishes shall not be wanting." (3.) To LOUIS + XIV.<sup>1</sup> A more formal letter than the last, + acknowledging the French King's own intimation that Dunkirk had + been taken, and given into the possession of Lockhart. "That + Dunkirk had surrendered to your Majesty, and that it had been + by your orders immediately put in our possession, we had + already heard by report; but with what a willing and glad mind + your Majesty did it, to testify your good-will towards me in + this matter, I have been especially informed by your royal + letter, and have had abundantly confirmed by the gentleman in + whom, from the tenor of that letter, I have all + confidence,—the master in ordinary of your Palace. In + addition to this testimony, though it needs no farther weight + with me, our Ambassador with you [Lockhart], in discharge of + his duty, writes to the same effect, and there is nothing that + he does not ascribe to your most firm steadiness in my favour. + Let your Majesty be assured in turn that there shall be no want + of either care or integrity on our part in performing all that + remains of our agreement with the same faith and diligence as + hitherto. For the rest, I congratulate your Majesty on your + successes and on the very near approach of the capture of + Bergen; and may God Almighty grant that there may be as + frequent exchanges as possible of such congratulations between + us." (4.) TO CARDINAL MAZARIN<sup>2</sup>. This is on the same + occasion and in the same strain. One sentence will suffice. + "With what faith and expression of the highest good-will all + was performed by you, though your Eminence's own assurance + fully satisfied me, yet, that I should have nothing more to + desiderate, our Ambassador, in carefully writing to me the + details, had omitted nothing that could either serve for my + information or answer your opinion of him."—It is + curious, after these two last letters, to turn to those letters + of Lockhart's to which Cromwell refers. They quite confirm his + words, though they contain expressions, about both the King and + the Cardinal, of which Cromwell would not perhaps have sent + them literal copies. Thus, in a letter to Thurloe, of June 14, + the day before the delivery of Dunkirk to the English, but when + all the arrangements for the delivery had been made, Lockhart, + speaking of the difficulties he anticipated in so arduous and + delicate a post as the Governorship of Dunkirk, especially with + his small supplies and great lack of money, + adds,—"Nevertheless I must say I find him [the Cardinal] + willing to hear reason; and, though the generality of Court and + Army are even mad to see themselves part with what they call + <i>un si bon morceau</i>, so delicate a bit, yet he is still + constant to his promises, and seems to be as glad in the + general, notwithstanding our differences in little particulars, + to give this place to his Highness as I can be to receive it: + the King is also exceeding obliging and civil, and hath more + true worth in him than I could have imagined." Next day + Lockhart wrote a brief note to Thurloe announcing himself as + actually in possession, "blessed be God for this great mercy, + and the Lord continue his protection to his Highness"; and + there were subsequent longer letters both to Thurloe and to + Cromwell himself<sup>3</sup>. Dunkirk was called "The Key of + Spanish Flanders"; and the conquest of this place for the + Protectorate was, it is to be remembered, among the last of + Cromwell's great acts. + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: This Letter is not to be found in the Printed Collection or + in Phillips; but it is in the Skinner Transcript (No. 102 + there), and has been printed by Mr. Hamilton in his <i>Milton + Papers</i>, 7-8. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Neither is this Letter in the Printed Collection. It stands + as No. 103 in the Skinner Transcript, and has been printed by + Hamilton, p. 8. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 3: Thurloe, VII. 173 et seq. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (CXXXI.) TO CHARLES GUSTAVUS, KING OF SWEDEN, <i>June</i> + 1658:—Since Cromwell's last letter by Milton to this + heroic Scandinavian (March 30), congratulating him on his + generous Peace with Denmark, and urging the policy of a League + of all the northern Protestant Powers for conjoint action + against Austria, Poland, and Catholicism universally, the + movements of the Swede had been most perplexing. Now he had + been turning against the Poles and Austrians; but again + Denmark, or even the Dutch, seemed to be the object of his + resentment, while there was very quarrelsome negotiation + between him and the Elector Marquis of Brandenburg, and every + appearance that the Elector might have to bear the next full + burst of his wrath. All this did not seem favourable to the + prospects of a Protestant League, and Cromwell's envoys, + Meadows, Jephson, Bradshaw, and Downing, had been going to and + fro with their wits on the stretch. Such, in general, was the + condition of affairs when Milton for Cromwell wrote as + follows:—"Most serene and potent King, most dear Friend + and Ally,—As often as we look upon the ceaseless plots + and various artifices of the common enemies of Religion, so + often our thought with ourselves is how necessary it is for the + Christian world, and how salutary it would be, for the easier + frustration of the attempts of these adversaries, that the + Potentates of Protestantism should be conjoined in the + strictest league among themselves, and principally your Majesty + with our Commonwealth. How much, and with what zeal, that has + been furthered by Us, and how agreeable latterly it would have + been to us if the affairs of Sweden and our own had been in + such a condition and position that the League could have been + ratified heartily by us both, and with all fit aid the one to + the other, We have testified to your agents from the time when + they first treated of the matter with Us. Nor, truly, were they + wanting to their duty; but, as was their custom in other + things, in this matter also they displayed prudence and + diligence. But we have been so exercised at home by the perfidy + of wicked citizens, who, though several times received back + into trust, do not yet cease to form new conspiracies, and to + repeat their already often shattered and routed plots with the + exiles, and even with the Spanish enemy, that, occupied in + beating off our own dangers, we have not hitherto been able, as + was our wish, to turn our whole attention and entire strength + to the guardianship of the common cause of Religion. What was + possible, however, to the full extent of our power, we have + already studiously performed; and, whatever for the future in + this direction shall seem to conduce to your Majesty's + interests, we shall not desist not only to desire, but also to + co-operate with you with all our strength in accomplishing + where they may be opportunity. Meanwhile we congratulate, and + heartily rejoice in, your Majesty's most prudent and most + valiant actions, and desire with assiduous prayers that God may + will, for the glory of his own Deity, that the same course of + prosperity and victory may be a very long one."—So far as + Milton's state-letters show, this is the last of the relations + between Oliver Cromwell and Karl-Gustav of Sweden. But, in + <i>Thurloe</i> and elsewhere, there are farther traces of the + great Swede in connexion with Cromwell, and of the interest + which the two kindred souls felt in each other. Passing over + some weeks of still uncertain movement of the Swede hither and + thither in his complications with Austria, Poland, Denmark, + Muscovy, Brandenburg, and the Dutch, we may note the sudden + surprise of all Europe when, early in August, he tore up his + brief Peace with Denmark, re-invaded Zealand, and marched + straight upon Copenhagen. His reasons for this extraordinary + act he thought it right to explain to Cromwell in a long letter + dated from his quarters near Copenhagen, August 18, 1658. The + letter can have reached Cromwell only on his death-bed; and, on + the whole, Cromwell had to leave the world with the + consciousness that the League of Protestant Powers for which he + had prayed and struggled was apparently as far off as ever. The + election to the vacant Emperorship had already taken place at + last, July 8, 1658, at Frankfort-on-the-Main, and it was the + Austrian Leopold, King of Hungary, and not the French Louis + XIV., after all, that had been proclaimed and saluted + <i>Imperator Romanorum</i>.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Thurloe, VII., at various points from the beginning, but + especially pp. 338, 342, and 257. Foreign dates in Thurloe have + to be rectified. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (CXXXII.) TO THE KING OF PORTUGAL, <i>August</i> 1658:—A + John Buffield, merchant of London, has been wronged by the + detention of property of his by a Portuguese mercantile firm, + and has been tossed about in Portuguese law-courts. The + Protector requests his Portuguese Majesty to look into the + matter and see justice done. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + So ends the series of Milton's Letters for Oliver. As there had + been eighty-eight such in all (XLV.-CXXXII.) during the four + years and nine months of the Protectorate, whereas there had been + but forty-four (I.-XLIV.) similar letters during the preceding + four years and ten months of the Commonwealth proper and Interim + Dictatorship, it will be seen that Milton's industry in this + particular form of his Secretaryship had been just twice as great + for Oliver as for the Governments before the + Protectorate.<sup>1</sup> That fact in itself is rather + remarkable, when we remember that Milton came into the + Protector's service totally blind. Of course, whoever had been in + the post would have had more to do in the way of letter-writing + for the Protector than had been required by the preceding + Councils of State in their comparatively thin relations with + foreign powers; but that a blind man in the post should have been + so satisfactory for the increased requirements says something for + the employer as well as for the blind man. Thurloe and others had + relieved Milton of much of the secretarial work; there had also + been many breaks in Milton's secretaryship even in the + letter-writing department, occasioned by ill-health, + family-troubles, or occupation with literary tasks which were + really public commissions and were credited to him as such; and + at such times the dependence had been on Meadows or some one else + for the Latin letters necessary. Always, however, when the + occasion was very important, as when there had to be the burst of + circular letters about the Piedmontese massacre, the blind man + had to be sent to, or sent for. And what is worthy of notice now + is that this had continued to be the case to the last. At no time + in the Secretaryship had there been a series of more important + letters from Milton's pen than those just inventoried, written + for the Protector in the last five months of his life, and mostly + in the months of May and June, 1658. Two or three of them are + about ships or other small matters, showing that, even with + Marvfell now; at hand for such drudgery, Milton did not wholly + escape it; but the rest are on the topics of highest interest to + Cromwell and closest to his heart. The poor Piedmontese + Protestants are again in danger. Who must again sound the alarm? + Milton. Cromwell's son-in-law, the gallant Falconbridge, starts + on his embassy to Calais. Who must write the letters that are to + introduce him to King Louis and the Cardinal? Milton. The + gorgeous return embassy of the Duke de Crequi and M. Mancini has + to be acknowledged, and the bells rung for the fall of Dunkirk; + and with the congratulations to be conveyed across the Channel on + that event there have to be interwoven Cromwell's thanks to the + King and the Cardinal for having so punctually kept their faith + with him by the delivery of the town to Lockhart. Who shall + express the complex message? None but Milton. Finally, Cromwell + would stretch his hand eastward across the seas to grasp that of + the Swedish Charles Gustavus struggling with <i>his</i> peculiar + difficulties, to give him brotherly cheer in the midst of them, + brotherly hope also that they two, whoever else in a generation + of hucksters, may yet live to lead in a glorious Protestant + League for the overthrow of Babylon and the woman blazing in + scarlet. Who interprets between hero and hero? Always and only + the blind Milton. Positively, in reading Milton's despatches for + Cromwell on such subjects as the persecutions of the Vaudois and + the scheme of a Protestant European League, one hardly knows + which is speaking, the secretary or the ruler. Cromwell melts + into Milton, and Milton is Cromwell eloquent and + Latinizing.<sup>2</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: With one exception, all the State-letters of Milton, from + the beginning of his Secretaryship to the death of Cromwell, + that have been preserved either in the Printed Collection or in + the Skinner Transcript, have now been inventoried, and, as far + as possible, dated and elucidated in the text of these volumes. + The exception is a brief scrap thrown in at the end of the + Letters for Cromwell both in the Printed Collection and in the + Skinner Transcript, but omitted by Phillips in his translation + as not worthwhile. It was not written for Cromwell or his + Council, but only for the Commissioners of the Great + Seal—whether for those under the Protectorate, or for + their predecessors, does not appear, though perhaps that might + be ascertained. The scrap may be numbered at this point, though + inserted only as a note:—(CXXXIII.) "We, Commissioners of + the Great Seal of England, &c., desire that the Supreme + Court of the Parliament of Paris will, on request, take such + steps that Miles, William, and Maria Sandys, children of the + lately deceased William Sandys and his wife Elizabeth Soame, + English by birth and minors, may be able, from Paris, where + they are now under protection of the said Court, to return to + us forthwith, and will deliver the said children into the + charge of the Scotchman James Mowat, a good and honest man, to + whom we have delegated this charge, that he may receive them + where they are and bring them to us; and we engage that, on + opportunity of the same sort offered, there will be a return + from this Court of the like justice and equity to any subjects + of France." + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: The uniformly Miltonic style of the greater letters for the + Protector, the same style as had been used in the more + important letters for the Commonwealth, utterly precludes the + idea that Milton was only the translator of drafts furnished + him. In the smaller letters, about ships wrongfully seized and + other private injuries, the case may have been partly so, + though even there Milton must have had liberty of phraseology, + and would imbed the facts in his own expressions. But there was + not a man about the Council that could have furnished the + drafts of the greater letters as we now have them. My idea as + to the way in which they were composed is that, on each + occasion, Milton learnt from Thurloe, or even in a preappointed + interview with the Council, or with Cromwell himself, the sort + of thing that was wanted, and that then, having himself + dictated and sent in an English draft, he received it back, + approved or with corrections and suggested additions, to be + turned into Latin. Special Cromwellian hints to Milton for the + letter to Louis XIV, on the alarm of a new persecution of the + Piedmontese (ante pp. 387-9) must have been, I should say, the + causal reference to a certain pass as the best military route + yet into Italy from France, and the suggestion of an exchange + of territories between Louis and the Duke of Savoy so as to + make the Vaudois French subjects. The hints may have been given + to Milton beforehand, or they may have been [n]otched in by + Cromwell in revising Milton's English draft. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The last letters to Louis XIV., Mazarin, and Charles Gustavus of + Sweden, bring us to within about two months of Cromwell's death, + and the last one of all, that to the King of Portugal, to within + less than a single month of the same. We have yet a farther trace + of the diplomacies proper to Milton's office round the dying + Protector. Here, however, it is not Milton that comes into view, + but his colleague or assistant, Andrew Marvell. + </p> + <p> + The Dutch Lord-Ambassador Nieuport, after having been absent in + Holland since November 1657, had been sent back by their High + Mightinesses, the States-General, to resume his post. The + complication of affairs in northern Europe by the movements of + Charles Gustavus, and the menacing attitude of that King not only + pretty generally all round the Baltic, but also towards the Dutch + themselves, had rendered Nieuport's renewed presence in London + very necessary. Newly commissioned and instructed, he made his + voyage, and was in the Thames on the night of the 23rd of July, + though too late to reach Gravesend that night. The arrival of an + ambassador being then an affair of much punctilio, he sent his + son up the river in a shallop, to inform Mr. Secretary Thurloe + and Sir Oliver Fleming, the master of the ceremonies, and to + deliver to Thurloe a letter requesting that the pomp of a public + reception might be waived and he might be permitted to take up + his quarters quietly in the Dutch Embassy, still furnished and + ready, just as he had left it. Young Mynheer Nieuport, coming to + London on this errand, found things there in unexpected + confusion,—the Lord Protector at Hampton Court, attending + the death-bed of his daughter Lady Claypole, and leaving business + to itself, and Secretary Thurloe also out of town. Fortunately, + Thurloe was not then at Hampton Court, but only at his own + country-house two miles off. Thither young Nieuport rode at once. + He met Thurloe coming in his coach to Whitehall; whereupon + Thurloe, after all proper salutations, informed him that his + Highness had already heard of his father's arrival and had given + orders for his suitable reception. Meanwhile, would young Mr. + Nieuport come into the coach, so that they might drive back to + Whitehall together? Arrived at Whitehall, Thurloe immediately + gave orders for the preparation of one of his Highness's barges + to be sent down to Gravesend, "with a gentleman called Marvell, + who is employed in the despatches for the Latin tongue." + Apparently this gentleman was on the spot, and was at once + introduced by Thurloe to young Nieuport. Then young Nieuport went + down the river by himself, rejoining his father at Gravesend, and + bringing him a letter from Thurloe, to the effect that his + Highness was very anxious that his reception should be in all + points such as became the respect due to himself and his office, + but that Mr. Marvell would come expressly to discuss and arrange + particulars and that whatever Lord Nieuport should finally judge + fitting should also be satisfactory to his Highness. That was on + the night of Saturday, the 24th. Next day, Sunday the 25th, + Marvell was duly down at Gravesend in the barge, actually before + morning-sermon, as the Ambassador himself informs us, bidding the + Ambassador formally welcome in the Lord Protector's name, and + sketching out for him "a public reception, with barges and + coaches, and also an entertainment, such as is usually given to + the chiefest Ambassadors." Lord Nieuport still preferring less + bustle on his own account, and thinking also that a great public + reception would be unseemly at a time when "the Lord Protector + and the whole Court were in great sadness for the mortal + distemper of the Lady Claypole," Marvell remained in waiting on + him at Gravesend that day, and in the night brought him up to + town in his barge <i>incognito</i>. It was thought that his + Highness might possibly be able to come from Hampton Court to + Whitehall the next day or the next; but, that chance having + passed, it was arranged that the Ambassador should himself go to + Hampton Court, and have an audience with the Protector at three + o'clock in the afternoon of Thursday the 29th. Accordingly, at + eleven o'clock on that day the master of the ceremonies was at + the Dutch Embassy, with three six-horse coaches; and, having been + driven to Hampton Court, the Ambassador was received by Thurloe + "at the second gate of the first court," and taken to his + Highness's room. After interchange of compliments, his Highness + expressed his regret "that his own indisposition, and other + domestic inconveniencies, had hindered him from coming to + London"; and then, the general company having been dismissed, and + only Lord President Lawrence, Lord Strickland, and Thurloe, + remaining in the room, there was some talk on business. Various + matters were mentioned, but only generally, Nieuport not thinking + it fit to trouble his Highness with "a large discourse," and his + Highness indeed intimating that he did not find himself well + enough to talk much. But all was very amicable, and at the end of + the interview Cromwell, saying he hoped to be in London next + week, insisted on conducting the Ambassador to the door of the + antechamber, leaving Lawrence, Strickland, and Thurloe, to do the + rest by attending him through the galleries back to the coaches. + On that same day there had been a Council-meeting at Hampton + Court, the last at which Cromwell was present. Possibly Dutch + business was discussed there, and also at the next meeting of + Council, which was at Whitehall on the 3rd of August, and without + Cromwell. On the 5th, at all events, when the Council again met + at Hampton Court, Cromwell not present, there was, as we have + seen (ante, p. 355), a minute on Dutch business of a very ominous + character. Cromwell's heart was now with the magnanimous Swede + rather than with the merchandizing Dutch; and, in all + probability, had he lived longer, Ambassador Nieuport would have + had to send home news that might not have been pleasant to their + High Mightinesses. But the next day (August 6) Lady Claypole was + dead; and from that day, through the remaining four weeks of + Cromwell's life, the concerns of the foreign world grew dimmer + and dimmer in his regards. Perhaps to the last moment of his + consciousness what did most interest him in that foreign world + was the great new commotion round the Baltic in which his Swedish + brother was the central figure, and in which both the Dutch and + the Brandenburg Elector were playing anti-Swedish parts, the + Elector avowedly, the Dutch more warily, "The King of Sweden hath + again invaded the Dane, and very probably hath Copenhagen by this + time," wrote Thurloe from Whitehall to Henry Cromwell at two + o'clock in the morning of August 27. Cromwell, therefore, had + learnt that fact before his death, and it must have mingled with + his thoughts in his dying hours. In these very hours, we find, + not only was Ambassador Nieuport close at hand again, for Dutch + negotiations in which the fact would naturally be of high moment, + but Herr. Schlezer also, the London agent of the Brandenburg + Elector, was at the doors of the Council office, with express + letters from the Elector, which he was anxious to deliver to + Thurloe himself, in case even at such a time some answer might be + elicited. Thurloe choosing to be inaccessible, he had left the + letters with Mr. Marvell. Thus, twice in the last weeks of + Oliver's Protectorate we have a distinct sight of Marvell in his + capacity of substitute for Milton. He barges down the Thames very + early on a Sunday morning to salute an Ambassador in the name of + the Protector and bring him up to town in a proper manner; and he + receives in the Whitehall office a troublesome diplomatic agent, + who has come with important despatches.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Thurloe, VII 286 and 298-299 (Letters of Nieuport to the + States-General), 362 (Letter of Thurloe to Henry Cromwell), and + 373-374 (Latin letter of Schlezer to Thurloe, two days after + Cromwell's death). + </p> + </div> + <p> + Thirty-three Latin State-Letters and five Latin Familiar Epistles + are the productions of Milton's pen we have hitherto registered + as belonging to the Second Protectorate of Oliver. Two or three + incidents, appertaining more properly to his Literary Biography, + have yet to be noticed before we leave the period. + </p> + <p> + Here is the title of a little foreign tract of which I have seen + a solitary, and perhaps unique, copy:-"<i>Dissertationis ad + quoedam loca Miltoni Pars Posterior; quam, adspirante Deo, + Præsids Dn. Jacobo Schallero, S.S, Theol. Doct, et Philos. Pract. + Prof., ad. h.t. Facult. Phil. Decano, solenniter defendet die[17] + mens. Septemb. Christophorus Güntzer, Argentorat. Argentorati, + Typis Friderici Spoor, 1657</i>" ("Second Part of a Dissertation, + on certain Passages of Milton; which, with God's favour, and + tinder the presidency of James Schaller, Doctor of Divinity and + Professor of Practical Philosophy, acting as Dean of the Faculty + of Philosophy for the occasion, Christopher Güntzer of Strasburg + will solemnly defend on the 17th of September. Strasburg, Printed + by Frederic Spoor, 1657"). Of the Schaller here mentioned we have + heard before in connexion with a publication of his in 1653, also + entitled <i>Dissertatio ad loca quædam Miltoni</i>, and appended + then to certain <i>Exercitationes</i> concerning the English + Regicide by the Leipsic jurist Caspar Ziegler (Vol. IV. pp. + 534-535). He seems to have retained an interest in the subject, + and to have kept it up among those about him; for here, four + years after his own Dissertation, he is to preside at the + academic defence of another on the same subject by a Christopher + Güntzer, who was probably one of his pupils. Young Güntzer, it + seems, had been trying his hand on the subject already; for this + is but the "second part" of his performance. The "first part" I + have not seen, though it seems to have been published. The + "second part" is a thin quarto, paged 45-92, as if to be bound + with the first. It is in a juvenile and dry style of quotation + and academic reasoning, modelled after Schaller's older + Dissertation, and not worth an abstract. More interesting than + itself are eleven pieces of congratulatory Latin verse prefixed + to it by college friends of the disputant. In more than one of + these Milton is mentioned; but the liveliest mention of him is in + a set of Phalæcians signed "Christianus Keck." Phalæcians are not + to be attempted in English; but, as the semi-absurd relish of the + thing would be lost in prose, the first few lines may run into a + kind of equivalent doggrel:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "What Salmasius, he whom all men hailed as + </p> + <p> + Learning's prodigy, Phoenix much too big for + </p> + <p> + His own late generation, ay or any old one, + </p> + <p> + Wrote so bravely against the sin of Britain, + </p> + <p> + Then all wet with the royal bloodshed in her, + </p> + <p> + Milton answered with pen that, be it granted, + </p> + <p> + Showed vast genius, nor a mind without some + </p> + <p> + Real marks of artistic cultivation, + </p> + <p> + Though, O shame! patronizing such an outrage. + </p> + <p> + Milton's pen is refuted next by Schaller's,— + </p> + <p> + Quite a different pen and more respected." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Young Keck then goes on to assure his fellow-students that, if + their eminent Professor Schaller's Dissertation of 1653 in reply + to Milton had been duly read and pondered in Great Britain, it + would have been of far more use towards a restoration of the + Stuarts than camps and cannon; and he ends by congratulating the + world on the fact that now young Güntzer, the accomplished young + Güntzer, has placed himself by the side of the learned Professor, + to wave the same inextinguishable torch of + truth.<sup>1</sup>—In all probability, Milton never heard + of such a trifle. It illustrates, however, the kind of rumour of + himself and his writings that was circling, in the year 1657, in + holes and corners of German Universities. Strasburg, with Elsatz + generally, was then within the dominions of Austria; and it was + naturally less in Austrian Germany than in other parts of the + Continent that there was that especial admiration of Milton which + had been growing since the publication of his <i>Defensio + Prima</i>, but which, as Aubrey tells us, had reached its height + under the Protectorate. "He was mightily importuned," says + Aubrey, "to go into France and Italy. Foreigners came much to see + him, and much admired him, and offered to him great preferments + to come over to them; and the only inducement of several + foreigners that came over into England was chiefly to see O. + Protector and Mr. J. Milton; and [they] would see the house and + chamber where he was born. He was much more admired abroad than + at home." This corresponds with all our own evidence hitherto, + though we have heard nothing of those invitations and offers of + foreign preferment of which Aubrey speaks. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: The copy I have seen of Güntzer's <i>Dissertatio</i> is in + the British Museum Library. The figure "17" is inserted in MS. + after the word "<i>die</i>" in the title-page. + </p> + </div> + <p> + In May 1658, three or four months before Cromwell's death, there + was published in London a little volume of about 200 pages, with + this title-page: "<i>The Cabinet Council; Containing the chief + Arts of Empire, and Mysteries of State; Discabineted in Political + and Polemical Aphorisms, grounded, on Authority, and Experience; + And illustrated with the choicest Examples and Historical + Observations. By the Ever-renowned Knight, Sir Walter Raleigh, + published by John Milton Esq.</i>-Quis Martem tunicâ tectum + Adamantinâ digne scripserit?-<i>London, Printed by Tho. Newcomb + for Tho. Johnson at the sign of the Key in St. Pauls Churchyard, + near the West-end, 1658."</i> Prefixed to the body of the volume, + which is divided into twenty-six chapters, is a note "<i>To the + Reader,"</i> as follows: "Having had the manuscript of this + Treatise, written by Sir Walter Raleigh, many years in my hands, + and finding it lately by chance among other books and papers, + upon reading thereof I thought it a kind of injury to withhold + longer the work of so eminent an author from the public: it being + both answerable in style to other works of his already extant, as + far as the subject would permit, and given me for a true copy by + a learned man at his death, who had collected several such + pieces.-JOHN MILTON."<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: There were subsequent reprints of Raleigh's <i>Cabinet + Council</i> from this 1658 edition by Milton, with changes of + title. See Bohn's Lowndes under <i>Raleigh</i> + </p> + </div> + <p> + By far the most interesting fact, however, in Milton's literary + life under the Second Protectorate is that he had certainly, + before its close, resumed his design of a great English poem, to + be called Paradise Lost. Phillips's words might even imply that + he had resumed this design before the end of the First + Protectorate. For, after having mentioned that, in the + comparative leisure in which he was left by the conclusion of his + controversy with Morus (Aug. 1655), he resumed those two + favourite hack-occupations on which he always fell back when he + had nothing else to do,—his History of England and his + compilations for a Latin Dictionary,—Phillips adds, "But + the highth of his noble fancy and invention began now to be + seriously and mainly employed in a subject worthy of such a muse: + viz. a Heroic Poem, entitled <i>Paradise Lost</i>, the noblest," + &c. In this passage, however, Phillips is throwing together, + in 1694, all his recollections of the four years of his uncle's + life between Aug. 1655 and Aug. 1659; and Aubrey's earlier + information (1680), originally derived from Phillips himself, is + that <i>Paradise Lost</i> was begun "about two years before the + King came in," i.e. about May 1658. This would fix the date + somewhere in the two or three months immediately following the + death-of Milton's second wife. In such a matter exact certainty + is unattainable; and it is enough to know for certain that the + resumption of <i>Paradise Lost</i> was an event of the latter + part of Cromwell's Second Protectorate, and that some portion of + the poem was actually written in the house in Petty France, + Westminster, while Milton was in communication with Cromwell and + writing letters for him. In the rooms of that house, or in the + garden that stretched from the house into St. James's Park across + part of what is now the ground of Wellington Barracks, the + subject of the epic first took distinct shape in Milton's mind, + and here he began the great dictation. + </p> + <p> + Eighteen years had elapsed since Milton, just settled in London + after his return from Italy, had first fastened on the subject, + preferred it by a sure instinct to all the others that occurred + in competition with it, and sketched four plans for its treatment + in the form of a sacred tragedy, one with the precise title + <i>Paradise Lost</i>, and another with the title <i>Adam + Unparadised</i> (Vol. II. pp. 106-108, and 115-119). Through all + the distractions of those eighteen years the grand subject had + not ceased to haunt him, nor the longing to return to it and to + his poetic vocation. Nay there had hung in his memory all this + while certain lines he had actually written and destined for the + opening of the intended tragedy. They were the ten lines that now + form lines 32-41 of the fourth book of our present <i>Paradise + Lost</i>. He had imagined, for the opening of his tragedy, Satan + already arrived within our Universe out of Hell, and alighted on + our central Earth near Eden, and gazing up to Heaven and the Sun + blazing there in meridian splendour. He had imagined Satan, in + this pause of his first advent into the Universe he was to ruin, + thus addressing the Sun as its chief visible + representative:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "O thou that with surpassing glory crowned, + </p> + <p> + Look'st from thy sole dominion like the god + </p> + <p> + Of this new World,—at whose sight all the stars + </p> + <p> + Hide their diminished heads,—to thee I call, + </p> + <p> + But with no friendly voice, and add thy name, + </p> + <p> + O Sun, to tell thee how I hate thy beams, + </p> + <p> + That bring to my remembrance from what state + </p> + <p> + I fell, how glorious once above thy sphere, + </p> + <p> + Till pride and worse ambition threw me down, + </p> + <p> + Warring in Heaven against Heaven's matchless King!" + </p> + </div> + <p> + And now, after eighteen years, the poem having been resumed, but + with the resolution, made natural by Milton's literary + observations and experiences in the interval, that the dramatic + form should be abandoned and the epic substituted, these ten + lines, written originally for the opening of the Drama, were to + be the nucleus of the Epic.<sup>1</sup> With our present + <i>Paradise Lost</i> before us, we can see the very process of + the gradual reinvention. In the epic Satan must not appear, as + had been proposed in the drama, at once on our earth or within + our universe. He must be fetched from the transcendental regions, + the vast extra-mundane spaces, of his own prior existence and + history. And so, round our fair universe, newly-created and + wheeling softly on its axle, conscious as yet of no evil, + conscious only of the happy earth and sweet human life in the + midst, and of the steady diurnal change from day and light-blue + sunshine into spangled and deep-blue night, Milton was figuring + and mapping out those other infinitudes which outlay and + encircled his conception of all this mere Mundane Creation. Deep + down beneath this MUNDANE CREATION, and far separated from it, he + was seeing the HELL from which was to come its woe; all round the + Mundane Creation, and surging everywhere against its outmost + firmament, was the dark and turbid CHAOS out of which its orderly + and orbicular immensity had been cut; and high over all, radiant + above Chaos, but with the Mundane Universe pendent from it at one + gleaming point, was the great EMPYREAN or HEAVEN of HEAVENS, the + abode of Angels and of Eternal Godhead. Not to the mere Earth of + Man or the Mundane Universe about that Earth was Milton's + adventurous song now to be confined, representing only + dramatically by means of speeches and choruses those transactions + in the three extramundane Infinitudes that might bear on the + terrestrial story. It must dare also into those infinitudes + themselves, pursue among them the vaster and more general story + of Satan's rebellion and fall, and yet make all converge, through + Satan's scheme in Hell and his advent at last into our World, + upon that one catastrophe of the ruin of infant Mankind which the + title of the poem proclaimed as the particular theme. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Phillips's words in quoting these lines are, "In the Fourth + Book of the Poem there are six [he says <i>six</i>, but quotes + all the <i>ten</i>] verses which, several years before the Poem + was begun, were shown to me and some others as designed for the + very beginning of the said Tragedy." These words, if the Epic + was begun in 1658, might carry us back at farthest to about + 1650 as the date when the ten lines were in existence; but, + besides that Phillips's expression is vague, we have Aubrey's + words in 1680 as follows:—"In the [4th] Book of + <i>Paradise Lost</i> there are about six verses of Satan's + exclamation to the Sun which Mr. E. Phi. remembers about + fifteen or sixteen years before ever his Poem was thought of; + which verses were intended for the beginning of a Tragoedie, + which he had designed, but was diverted from it by other + business." This, on Phillips's own authority, would take the + lines back to 1642 or 1643; and that, on independent grounds, + is the probable date. Hardly after 1642 or 1643 can Milton have + adhered to his original intention of writing <i>Paradise + Lost</i> in a dramatic form. + </p> + </div> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Of Man's first disobedience, and the fruit + </p> + <p> + Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste + </p> + <p> + Brought death into the World, and all our woe, + </p> + <p> + With loss of Eden, till one greater Man + </p> + <p> + Restore us and regain the blissful seat, + </p> + <p> + Sing, Heavenly Muse"— + </p> + </div> + <p> + Such might be the simple invocation at the outset; but, knowing + now all that the epic was really to involve, and how far it was + to carry him in flight above the Aonian Mount, little wonder that + he could already promise in it + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme." + </p> + </div> + <p> + It may have been in one of the nights following a day of such + meditation of the great subject he had resumed, and some + considerable instalment of the actual verse of the poem as we now + have it may have been already on paper, or in Milton's memory for + repetition to himself, when he dreamt a memorable dream. The + house is all still, the voices and the pattering feet of the + children hushed in sleep, and Milton too asleep, but with his + waking thoughts pursuing him into sleep and stirring the mimic + fancy. Not this night, however, is it of Heaven, or Hell, or + Chaos, or the Universe of Man with its luminaries, or any other + of the objects of his poetic contemplation by day, that dreaming + images come. Nor yet is it the recollection of any business, + Piedmontese, Swedish, or French, last employing him officially, + that now passes into his involuntary visions. His mind is wholly + back on himself, his hard fate of blindness, and his again vacant + and desolate household. But lo! as he dreams, that seems somehow + all a mistake, and the household is <i>not</i> desolate. A + radiant figure, clothed in white, approaches him and bends over + him. He knows it to be his wife, whom he had thought dead, but + who is not dead. Her face is veiled, and he cannot see that; but + then he had never seen that, and it was not so he could + distinguish her. It was by the radiant, saintlike, sweetness of + her general presence. That is again beside him and bending over + him, the same as ever; and it was certainly she! So for the few + happy moments while the dream lasts; but he awakes, and the spell + is broken. So dear has been that dream, however, that he will + keep it as a sacred memory for himself in the last of all his + Sonnets:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Methought I saw my late espoused saint + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Brought to me like Alcestis from the grave, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Whom Jove's great son to her glad husband gave, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Rescued from Death by force, though pale and faint. + </p> + <p> + Mine, as whom washed from spot of child-bed taint + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Purification in the Old Law did save, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + And such as yet once more I trust to have + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Full sight of her in Heaven without restraint, + </p> + <p> + Came vested all in white, pure as her mind. + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Her face was veiled; yet to my fancied sight + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Love, sweetness, goodness, in her person shined + </p> + <p> + So clear as in no face with more delight. + </p> + <p class="i2"> + But oh! as to embrace me she inclined, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + I waked, she fled, and day brought back my night."<sup>1</sup> + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: We do not know the exact date of this Sonnet; but the + internal evidence decidedly is that it was written not very + long after the second wife's death, and probably in 1658. The + manuscript copy of it among the Milton MSS. at Cambridge is in + the hand of a person who was certainly acting as amanuensis for + Milton early in 1660 and afterwards. + </p> + </div> + <p> + BOOK III. + </p> + <p> + SEPTEMBER 1660—MAY 1660. + </p> + <p> + <i>HISTORY</i>:—THE PROTECTORATE OF RICHARD CROMWELL, THE + ANARCHY, MONK'S MARCH AND DICTATORSHIP, AND THE RESTORATION. + </p> + <p> + RICHARD'S PROTECTORATE: SEPT. 3, 1658—MAY 25, 1659. + </p> + <p> + THE ANARCHY:— + </p> + <p> + STAGE I.:—THE RESTORED RUMP: MAY 25, 1659—OCT. 13, + 1659. + </p> + <p> + STAGE II.:—THE WALLINGFORD-HOUSE GOVERNMENT: OCT. 13, + 1659—DEC. 26, 1659. + </p> + <p> + STAGE III.:—SECOND RESTORATION OF THE RUMP, WITH MONK'S + MARCH FROM SCOTLAND: DEC. 26, 1659—FEB. 21, 1659-60. + </p> + <p> + MONK'S DICTATORSHIP, THE RESTORED LONG PARLIAMENT, AND THE + RESTORATION. + </p> + <p> + <i>BIOGRAPHY</i>:—MILTON'S LIFE AND SECRETARYSHIP THROUGH + RICHARD'S PROTECTORATE, THE ANARCHY, AND MONK'S DICTATORSHIP. + </p> + <h2> + <a name="Cc1s1" id="Cc1s1">CHAPTER I.</a> + </h2> + <h3> + <i>First Section.</i> + </h3> + <h3> + THE PROTECTORATE OF RICHARD CROMWELL: SEPT. 3, 1658—MAY 25, + 1659. + </h3> + <p> + PROCLAMATION OF RICHARD: HEARTY RESPONSE FROM THE COUNTRY AND + FROM FOREIGN POWERS: FUNERAL OF THE LATE PROTECTOR: RESOLUTION + FOR A NEW PARLIAMENT.—DIFFICULTIES IN PROSPECT: LIST OF THE + MOST CONSPICUOUS PROPS AND ASSESSORS OF THE NEW PROTECTORATE: + MONK'S ADVICES TO RICHARD: UNION OF THE CROMWELLIANS AGAINST + CHARLES STUART: THEIR SPLIT AMONG THEMSELVES INTO THE COURT OR + DYNASTIC PARTY AND THE ARMY OR WALLINGFORD-HOUSE PARTY: CHIEFS OF + THE TWO PARTIES: RICHARD'S PREFERENCE FOR THE COURT PARTY, AND + HIS SPEECH TO THE ARMY OFFICERS: BACKING OF THE ARMY PARTY + TOWARDS REPUBLICANISM OR ANTI-OLIVERIANISM: HENRY CROMWELL'S + LETTER OF REBUKE TO FLEETWOOD: DIFFERENCES OF THE TWO PARTIES AS + TO FOREIGN POLICY: THE FRENCH ALLIANCE AND THE WAR WITH SPAIN: + RELATIONS TO THE KING OF SWEDEN.—MEETING OF RICHARD'S + PARLIAMENT (JAN. 27, 1658-9): THE TWO HOUSES: EMINENT MEMBERS OF + THE COMMONS: RICHARD'S OPENING SPEECH: THURLOE THE LEADER FOR + GOVERNMENT IN THE COMMONS: RECOGNITION OF THE PROTECTORSHIP AND + OF THE OTHER HOUSE, AND GENERAL TRIUMPH OF THE GOVERNMENT PARTY: + MISCELLANEOUS PROCEEDINGS OF THE + PARLIAMENT.—DISSATISFACTION OF THE ARMY PARTY: THEIR CLOSER + CONNEXION WITH THE REPUBLICANS: NEW CONVENTION OF OFFICERS AT + WALLINGFORD-HOUSE: DESBOROUGH'S SPEECH: THE CONTENTION FORBIDDEN + BY THE PARLIAMENT AND DISSOLVED BY RICHARD: WHITEHALL SURROUNDED + BY THE ARMY, AND RICHARD COMPELLED TO DISSOLVE THE + PARLIAMENT.—RESPONSIBLE POSITION OF FLEETWOOD, DESBOROUGH, + LAMBERT, AND THE OTHER ARMY CHIEFS: BANKRUPT STATE OF THE + FINANCES: NECESSITY FOR SOME KIND OF PARLIAMENT: PHRENZY FOR "THE + GOOD OLD CAUSE" AND DEMAND FOR THE RESTORATION OF THE RUMP: + ACQUIESCENCE OF THE ARMY CHIEFS: LENTHALL'S OBJECTIONS: FIRST + FORTNIGHT OF THE RESTORED RUMP; LINGERING OF RICHARD IN + WHITEHALL: HIS ENFORCED ABDICATION. + </p> + <p> + OLIVER was dead, and Richard was Protector. He had been + nominated, in some indistinct way, by his father on his + death-bed; and, though there was missing a certain sealed + nomination paper, of much earlier date, in which it was believed + that Fleetwood was the man, it was the interest of all parties + about Whitehall at the moment, Fleetwood himself included, to + accept the death-bed nomination. That having been settled through + the night following Oliver's death, Richard was proclaimed in + various places in London and Westminster on the morning of + September 4, amid great concourses, with firing of cannon, and + acclamations of "<i>God save His Highness Richard Lord + Protector!</i>" It was at once intimated that the Government was + to proceed without interruption, and that all holding his late + Highness's commissions, civil or military, were to continue in + their appointments. + </p> + <p> + Over the country generally, and through the Continent, the news + of Oliver's death and the news that Richard had succeeded him ran + simultaneously. For some time there was much anxiety at Whitehall + as to the response. From all quarters, however, it was + reassuring. Addresses of loyal adhesion to the new Protector + poured in from towns, counties, regiments, and churches of all + denominations; the proclamations in London and Westminster were + repeated in Edinburgh, Dublin, and everywhere else; the Armies in + England, Scotland, and Ireland were alike satisfied; the Navy was + cordial; from Lockhart, as Governor of Dunkirk, and from the + English Army in Flanders, there were votes of confidence; and, in + return for the formal intimation made to all foreign diplomatists + in London of the death of the late Protector and the accession of + his son, there came mingled condolences on the one event and + congratulations on the other from all the friendly powers. + Richard himself, hitherto regarded as a mere country-gentleman of + simple and jolly tastes, seemed to suit his new position better + than had been expected. In audiences with deputations and with + foreign ambassadors he acquitted himself modestly and + respectably; and, as he had his father's Council still about him, + with Thurloe keeping all business in hand in spite of an + inopportune illness, affairs went on apparently in a satisfactory + course.—A matter which interested the public for some time + was the funeral of the late Protector. His body had been + embalmed, and conveyed to Somerset House, there to lie in open + state, amid banners, escutcheons, black velvet draperies and all + the sombre gorgeousness that could be devised from a study of the + greatest royal funerals on record, including a superb effigy of + his Highness, robed in purple, ermined, sceptred, and diademed, + to represent the life; and not till the 23rd of November was + there an end to these ghastly splendours by a great procession + from Somerset House to Westminster Abbey to deposit the effigy in + the chapel of Henry VII., where the body itself had already been + privately interred.—A week after this disappearance of the + last remains of Oliver (Nov. 29, 1658) it was resolved in Council + to call a Parliament. This, in fact, was but carrying out the + intention formed in the late Protectorate; but, while the cause + that had mainly made another Parliament desirable to Oliver was + still excruciatingly in force,—to wit, the exhaustion of + funds,—it was considered fitting moreover that Richard's + accession should as soon as possible pass the ordeal of + Parliamentary approval. Thursday, Jan. 27, 1658-9, was the day + fixed for the meeting of the Parliament. Through the intervening + weeks, while all the constituencies were busy with the canvassing + and the elections, the procedure of Richard and his Council at + Whitehall seemed still regular and judicious. There was due + correspondence with foreign powers, and there was no interruption + of the home-administration. The Protector kept court as his + father had done, and conferred knighthoods and other honours, + which were thankfully accepted. Sermons were dedicated to him as + "the thrice illustrious Richard, Lord Protector." In short, + nearly five months of his Protectorship passed away without any + tumult or manifest opposition.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: <i>Merc. Pol.</i>, from Sept. 1658 to Jan. 1658-9, as quoted + in <i>Cromwelliana</i>, 178-181; Thurloe, VII. 383-384, <i>et + seq.</i> as far as 541; Whitlocke, IV. 335-339; Phillips (i.e. + continuation of Baker's Chronicle by Milton's nephew, Edward + Phillips), ed. 1679, pp. 635-639; <i>Peplum Olivarii</i>, a + funeral sermon on Oliver, dated Nov. 17, 1658, among Thomason + Pamphlets.—Knights of Richard's dubbing in the first five + months of his Protectorate were—General Morgan (Nov. 26), + Captain Beke (Dee. 6), and Colonel Hugh Bethel (Dee. 26). There + may have been others. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Appearances, however, were very deceptive. The death of Cromwell + had, of course, agitated the whole world of exiled Royalism, + raising sunk hopes, and stimulating Charles himself, the + Queen-Mother, Hyde, Ormond, Colepepper, and the other refugees + over the Continent, to doubled activity of intrigue and + correspondence. And, though that immediate excitement had passed, + and had even been succeeded by a kind of wondering disappointment + among the exiles at the perfect calm attending Richard's + accession, it was evident that the chances of Charles were + immensely greater under Richard than they had been while Oliver + lived. For one thing, would the relations of Louis XIV. and + Mazarin to Richard's Government remain the same as they had been + to Oliver's? There was no disturbance of these relations as yet. + The English auxiliaries in Flanders were still shoulder to + shoulder with Turenne and his Frenchmen, sharing with them such + new successes as the capture of Ypres, accomplished mainly by the + valour of the brave Morgan. But who knew what might be passing in + the mind of the crafty Cardinal? Then what of the Dutch? In the + streets of Amsterdam the populace, on receipt of the news of + Cromwell's death, had gone about shouting "The Devil is dead"; + the alliance between the English Commonwealth and the United + Provinces had recently been on strain almost to snapping; what + if, on the new opportunity, the policy of the States-General + should veer openly towards the Stuart interest? All this was in + the calculations of Hyde and his fellow-exiles, and it was their + main disappointment that the quiet acceptance and seeming + stability of the new Protectorate at home prevented the spring + against it of such foreign possibilities. "I hope this young man + will not inherit his father's fortune," wrote Hyde in the fifth + month after Richard's accession, "but that some confusion will + fall out which must make open a door for us." The speculation was + more likely than even Hyde then knew. Underneath the great + apparent calm at home the beginnings of a confusion at the very + centre were already at work.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Thurloe, VII. 405 and 414; Guizot's <i>Richard Cromwell and + the Restoration</i> (English edition of 1856), I. 6-11. + </p> + </div> + <p> + It will be well at this point to have before us a list of the + most conspicuous props and assessors of the new Protectorate. The + name <i>Oliverians</i> being out of date now, they may be called + <i>The Cromwellians</i>. We shall arrange them in groups:— + </p> + <p> + I. THE COUNCIL. + </p> + <ul> + <li>Lord President Lawrence. + </li> + <li>Lord Lieutenant-General Fleetwood (his Highness's + brother-in-law). + </li> + <li>Lord Major-General Desborough (his Highness's uncle-in-law). + </li> + <li>Lord Sydenham (Colonel). + </li> + <li>Lord Pickering (<i>Chamberlain of the Household</i>). + </li> + <li>Lord Strickland. + </li> + <li>Lord Skippon. + </li> + <li>Lord Fiennes (<i>one of the Commissioners of the Great + Seal</i>). + </li> + <li>Lord Viscount Lisle. + </li> + <li>Lord Admiral Montague. + </li> + <li>Lord Wolseley. + </li> + <li>Lord Philip Jones (<i>Comptroller of the Household</i>). + </li> + <li>Mr. Secretary Thurloe.<sup>1</sup> + </li> + </ul> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: On comparing this list of Richard's Council with the list of + the Council in Oliver's Second Protectorate (ante p. 308) two + names will be missed—those of the EARL of MULGRAVE and + old FRANCIS ROUS. The Earl of Mulgrave had died Aug. 28, 1658, + five days before Cromwell himself. The venerable Rous only just + survived. He died Jan. 7, 1658-9, and is hardly to be counted + in the present list. Richard's father-in-law, RICHARD MAYOR, + though still alive and nominally in the Council, had retired + from active life. + </p> + </div> + <p> + II. NEAR ADVISERS, NOT OF THE COUNCIL. + </p> + <ul> + <li>Lord Viscount Falconbridge (his Highness's brother-in-law). + </li> + <li>Lord Viscount Howard (Colonel). + </li> + <li>Lord Richard Ingoldsby (Colonel). + </li> + <li>Lord Whitlocke (still a much respected Cromwellian, and + conjoined with Fiennes and Lisle in the Commission of the Great + Seal, Jan. 22, 1658-9). + </li> + <li>Lord Commissioner John Lisle. + </li> + <li>Lord Chief Justice Glynne. + </li> + <li>Lord Chief Justice St. John. + </li> + <li>William Pierrepoint. + </li> + <li>Sir Edmund Prideaux (<i>Attorney General</i>). + </li> + <li>Sir William Bills (<i>Solicitor General</i>). + </li> + <li>Sir Oliver Fleming (<i>Master of the Ceremonies</i>). + </li> + <li>Sir Richard Chiverton (<i>Lord Mayor of London</i>). + </li> + <li>Dr. John Wilkins (his Highness's uncle-in-law). + </li> + <li>Dr. John Owen. + </li> + <li>Dr. Thomas Goodwin. + </li> + </ul> + <p> + III. CHIEF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ARMY IN OR NEAR + LONDON:—Fleetwood and Desborough, besides being + Councillors, were the real heads of the Army; and Skippon, + Sydenham, and Montague, though of the Council too, with Viscount + Howard and Ingoldsby, among the near advisers out of the Council, + might also rank as Army-chiefs. But, in addition to these, there + were many distinguished officers, tied to the Cromwellian + dynasty, as it might seem, by their antecedents. Among these were + Edward Whalley, William Goffe, Robert Lilburne, Sir John + Barkstead, James Berry, Thomas Kelsay, William Butler, Tobias + Bridges, Sir Thomas Pride, Sir John Hewson, Thomas Cooper, John + Jones, and John Clerk. These were now usually designated, in + their military capacity, as merely <i>Colonels;</i> but the first + eight had been among Cromwell's "Major-Generals," three of the + thirteen had their knighthoods from him, and nine of the thirteen + (Whalley, Goffe, Barkstead. Berry, Pride, Hewson, Cooper, Jones, + and Clerk) had been among his Parliamentary "Lords."—We + have mentioned but the chiefs of the Army, called "the Army + Grandees;" but, since Richard's accession, and by his consent or + summons, Army-officers of all grades had flocked to London to + form a kind of military Parliament round Fleetwood and + Desborough, and to assist in launching the new Protectorate. They + held weekly meetings, sometimes to the number of 200 or more, in + Fleetwood's residence of WALLINGFORD HOUSE, close to Whitehall + Palace; and, as at these meetings, as well as at the smaller + meetings of "the Army Grandees" in the same place, all matters + were discussed, WALLINGFORD HOUSE was, for the time, a more + important seat of deliberation than the Council-Room itself. + There were also more secret meetings in Desborongh's house. + </p> + <p> + IV. WEIGHTY CROMWELLIANS AWAY FROM LONDON. (1) GENERAL GEORGE + MONK, <i>Commander-in-Chief in Scotland;</i> with whom may be + associated such members of the Scottish Council as Samuel + Desborough, Colonel Adrian Scroope, Colonel Nathaniel Whetham, + and Swinton of Swinton. (2) LORD HENRY CROMWELL, <i>Lord Deputy + of Ireland</i> hitherto, but now, by his brother's commission, + <i>Lord Lieutenant of Ireland</i> (Sept. 1658); with whom may be + associated such of the Irish Council or military staff as + Chancellor Steele, Chief Justice Pepys, Colonel Sir Hardress + Waller, Colonel Sir Matthew Tomlinson, Colonel William Purefoy, + Colonel Jerome Zanchy, and Sir Francis Russell. Also in Ireland + at this time, and nominally in retirement, but a Cromwellian of + the highest magnitude, was LORD BROGHILL. (3) Abroad the most + important Cromwellian by far was SIR WILLIAM LOCKHART, <i>Lord + Ambassador to France, General, and Governor of Dunkirk;</i> with + whom may be remembered George Downing, Resident in the United + Provinces, and Meadows and Jephson, Envoys to the Scandinavian + powers. Lockhart managed to be in England on a brief visit in + December 1658. + </p> + <p> + These fifty or sixty persons, one may say, were the men on whom + it mainly depended, in the first months of Richard's + Protectorate, whether that Protectorate should succeed or should + founder. It has been customary, in general retrospects of the + time, to represent some of them as already tired of the + Commonwealth in any possible form, and scheming afar off for the + restoration of the Stuarts. This, however, is quite a + misconstruction.—Monk, who is chiefly suspected, and who + did now, from his separate station in the north, watch events in + an independent manner, had certainly as yet no thought of the + kind imagined. He had sent Richard a paper of advices showing a + real desire to assist him at the outset. He advised him, + substantially, to persevere in the later or very conservative + policy of his father, but with certain differences or additions, + which would be now easy. He ought, said Monk, at once to secure + the affections of the great Presbyterian body, by attaching to + himself privately some of the most eminent Presbyterian divines, + and by publicly calling an Assembly of Divines, in which Moderate + Presbyterians and Moderate Independents together might agree on a + standard of orthodoxy, and so stop the blasphemy and profaneness + "too frequent in many places by the great extent of Toleration." + Then, when a Parliament should meet, he ought to bring a number + of the most prudent and trustworthy of the old nobility and the + wealthy country gentry into the House of Lords. For retrenchment + of expense the chief means would be a reduction of the Armies in + England, Scotland, and Ireland, by throwing two regiments + everywhere into one, and so getting rid of unnecessary officers; + nor let his Highness think this advice too bold, for Monk could + assure him "There is not an officer in the Army, upon any + discontent, that has interest enough to draw two men after him, + if he be out of place." On the other hand, the Navy ought to be + strengthened, and many of the ships + re-officered<sup>1</sup>—Such were Monk's advices; and, + whatever may be thought of their value, they were certainly given + in good faith. And so with those others to whom, from their + subsequent conduct, similar suspicions have been attached. At our + present date there was no ground for these suspicions. To some in + the list, either ranking among the actual Regicides or otherwise + deeply involved in the transactions of the late reign and their + immediate consequences, the idea of a Restoration of the Stuarts + may have been more horrible, on personal grounds, than it need + have been to others, conscious only of later participation and + lighter responsibility; but not a man in the list yet dreamt of + going over to the Royalist cause. The dissensions were as to the + manner and extent of their adhesion to Richard, and the policy to + be recommended to him or forced upon him. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Thurloe, VII. 387-388. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Cromwell's death having removed the one vast personal ascendency + that had so long kept all in obedience, jealousies and selfish + interests had sprung up, and were wrangling round his successor. + From certain mysterious letters in cipher from Falconbridge to + Henry Cromwell it appears that the wrangle had begun even round + Cromwell's death-bed, "Z. [Cromwell] is now beyond all + possibility of recovery" Falconbridge had written on Tuesday, + Aug. 31: "I long to hear from A. [Henry Cromwell] what his + intentions are. If I may know, I'll make the game here as fair as + may be; and, if I may have commission from A., I can make sure of + Lord Lockhart and those with him." One might imagine from this + that Falconbridge would have liked to secure the succession for + Henry; but it rather appears that what he wanted was to + counteract a cabal against the interests of the family generally, + which he had reported as then going on among the officers. + Certain it is that, after Richard had been proclaimed and Henry + had most loyally and affectionately put all his services at the + disposal of his elder brother, Falconbridge continued in cipher + letters to inform Henry of the proceedings of the same cabal. + Gradually, in these letters and in other documents, we come to a + clear view of the main fact. It was that the wrangle of + jealousies and personal interests round the new Protector had + taken shape in a distinct division of his adherents and + supporters into two parties. First there was what may be called + the <i>Court Party</i> or <i>Dynastic Party,</i> represented by + Falconbridge himself, and by Admiral Montague, Fiennes, Philip + Jones, Thurloe, and others in the Council, with Howard, + Whitlocke, and Ingoldsby, out of the Council, and with the + assured backing of Henry Cromwell, Broghill, and Lockhart, if not + also of Monk. What they desired was to make Richard's + Protectorate an avowed continuation of his father's, with the + same forms, the same powers, and the permanence of the + <i>Petition and Advice</i> as the instrument of the Protectoral + Constitution in every particular. In opposition to this party was + the <i>Army Party,</i> or <i>Wallingford-House Party,</i> led by + Fleetwood and Desborough, with a following of others in the + Council and of the Army-officers almost in mass. While + maintaining the Protectorate in name, they were for such + modifications of the Protectoral Constitution as might consist + with the fact that the chief magistrate was now no longer Oliver, + but the feeble and unmilitary Richard. In especial, they were for + limiting the Protectorship by taking from Richard the control of + the Army, and re-assuming it for the Army itself in the name of + the Commonwealth. It was their proposal, more precisely, that + Fleetwood should be Commander-in-chief independently, and so a + kind of military co-ordinate with the Protector.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Falconbridge's Letters (deciphered) in Thurloe, VII. 365-366 + et seq., with other Letters in Thurloe and Letters of the + French Ambassador, M. de Bordeaux, chiefly to Mazarin, appended + to Guizot's <i>Richard Cromwell and the Restoration,</i> I. 231 + <i>et seq.</i> + </p> + </div> + <p> + For nearly five months there had been this tug of parties at + Whitehall round poor Richard. Naturally, all his own sympathies + were with the Dynastic Party; and he had made this apparent. He + had proposed to bring Falconbridge and Broghill, perhaps also + Whitlocke, into the Council; and, when he found that the Army + party would not consent, he had declined to bring in Whalley, + Goffe, Berry, and Cooper, proposed by that party in preference. + In the matter of the limitation of his Protectorship by the + surrender of his headship of the Army he had been even more firm. + The matter having come before him formally by petition from the + Council of Officers, after having been pressed upon him again and + again by Fleetwood and Desborough in private, he had, in a + conference with all the officers then in town (Oct, 14). + Fleetwood at their head, explained his sentiments fully. The + speech was written for him by Thurloe. After some gentle + preliminaries, with dutiful references to his father, it came to + the main subject. "I am sure it may be said of me," said Richard, + "that not for my wisdom, my parts, my experience, my holiness, + hath God chosen me before others: there are many here amongst you + who excel me in all these things: but God hath done herein as it + pleased Him, and the nation, by His providence, hath put things + this way. Being then thus trusted, I shall make a conscience, I + hope, in the execution of this trust; which I see not how I + should do if I should part with any part of the trust which is + committed to me unto any others, though they may be better men + than myself." He then instanced the two things which he + understood to be demanded of him by the Army. "For instance," he + said, "if I should trust it to any one person or more to fill up + the vacancies of the Army otherwise than it is in the <i>Petition + and Advice</i>—which directs that the commanders-in-chief + of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the other field-officers, + should be from time to time supplied by me, with the consent of + the Council, leaving all other commissioned officers only to my + disposal—I should therein break my trust and do otherwise + than the Parliament intended. It may as well be asked of me that + I would commit it to some other persons to supply the vacancies + in the Council, in the Lords' House, and all other magistracies. + I leave it to any reasonable man to imagine whether this be a + thing in my power to do.... There hath also been some discourse + about a Commander-in-chief. You know how that stands in the + <i>Petition</i> and <i>Advice</i>, which I must make my rule in + my government, and shall through the blessing of God stick close + to that. I am not obliged to make <i>any</i> Commander-in-chief: + that is left to my own liberty, as it was in my father's; only, + if I will make any, it must be done by the consent of the + Council. And by the Commander-in-chief can be meant no other than + the person who <i>under me</i> commands the whole Army, call him + what you will—'Field-Marshal,' 'Commander-in-chief,' + 'Major-General,' or 'Lieutenant-General.' ... Commander-in-chief + is the genus; the others are the species. And, though I am not + obliged to have any such person besides myself to command all the + forces, yet I <i>have</i> made one: that is, I have made my + brother Fleetwood Lieutenant-General of all the Army, and so by + consequence commander-in-chief [<i>under me</i>]; and I am sure I + can do nothing that will give him more influence in the Army than + that title will give him, unless I should make him General + [<i>instead of me</i>]; and I have told you the reasons why I + cannot do that." Altogether, the speech, and the modesty with + which it was delivered, produced very considerable effect for the + moment upon the officers. Whalley, Goffe, Berry, and others are + understood to have shown more sympathy with Richard in + consequence; there was respect for his firmness among people + generally when it came to be known; and, though the meetings at + Wallingford House and Desborough's house were continued, action + was deferred. One effect, however, had been to rouse the dormant + Anti-Cromwellianism of the Army-men, and to bring out, more than + Fleetwood and Desborough intended, that leaven of pure + Republicanism, or affection for the "good old cause" of + 1648-1653, which had not ceased, through all the submission to + the Protectorate, to lurk in the regiments in combination with + Anabaptistry, Fifth-Monarchism, and other extreme forms of + religious Independency. In the meetings round Fleetwood and + Desborough there had been reflections on the late Protector's + memory far from respectful. Henry Cromwell in Ireland had heard + of this; and among many interesting letters of his to various + correspondents on the difficulties of his brother's opening + Protectorate, all showing a proud and fine sensitiveness, with + some flash of his father's intellect, there is one (Oct. 20) of + rebuke to his brother-in-law Fleetwood on account of <i>his</i> + conjunction with the malcontents, "Pray give me leave to + expostulate with you. How came those 200 or 300 officers + together? ... If they were called, was it with his Highness's + privity? If they met without leave in so great a number, were + they told their error? I shall not meddle with the matter of + their petition, though some things in it do unhandsomely reflect + not only on this present, but his late, Highness, I wish with all + my heart you were Commander-in-chief of all the forces in the + three nations; but I had rather have it done by his Highness's + especial grace and mere motion than put upon you in a tumultuary + soldierly way. But, dear brother, I must tell you (and I cannot + do it without tears) I hear that dirt was thrown upon his late + Highness at that great meeting. They were exhorted to stand up + for that 'good old cause which had long lain asleep,' &c. I + thought my dear father had pursued it to the last. He died like a + servant of God, and prayed for those that desired to trample upon + his dust, for <i>they</i> also were God's people. O dear brother! + ... whither do these things tend? Surely God hath a controversy + with us. What a hurly-burly is there made! A hundred Independent + ministers called together" [the Savoy Synod of the + Congregationalists, with Owen, Thomas Goodwin, Nye, Caryl, and + others, at their head, convoked Sept. 29, 1658, for framing a + Confession of Faith, by permission from the late Protector: see + ante p. 844]. "a Council, as you call it, of 200 or 300 officers + of a judgment! Remember what has always befallen imposing + spirits. Will not the loins of an imposing Independent or + Anabaptist be as heavy as the loins of an imposing Prelate or + Presbyter? And is it a dangerous error that dominion is founded + on grace when it is held by the Church of Rome, and a sound + principle when it is held by the Fifth Monarchy? ... O dear + brother, my spirit is sorely oppressed with the consideration of + the miserable estate of the innocent people of these three poor + nations. What have these sheep done that <i>their</i> blood + should be the price of <i>our</i> lust and ambition? Let me beg + of you to remember how his late Highness loved you, how he + honoured you with the highest trust in the world by leaving the + sword in your hand which must defend or destroy us; and his + declaring his Highness his successor shows that he left it there + to preserve <i>him</i> and <i>his</i> reputation. O brother, use + it to curb extravagant spirits and busybodies; but let not the + nations be governed by it. Let us take heed of arbitrary power. + Let us be governed by the known laws of the land, and let all + things be kept in their proper channels; and let the Army be so + governed that the world may never hear of them unless there be + occasion to fight. And truly, brother, you must pardon me if I + say God and man may require this duty at your hand, and lay all + miscarriages in the Army, in point of discipline, at <i>your</i> + door." Fleetwood could answer this (Nov. 9) but very lamely: "I + do wonder what I have done to deserve such a severe letter from + you," &c. Fleetwood was really a good-hearted gentleman, + meaning no desperate harm to Richard or his Protectorate, though + desiring the Commandership-in-chief for himself, and perhaps (who + knows domestic secrets?) a co-equality of public status for his + wife, Lady Bridget, with the Lady-Protectress Dorothy. In fact, + however, Lieutenant-General Fleetwood and Major-General + Desborough between them had let loose forces that were to defy + their own management. Meanwhile, the phenomenon observable in the + weeks preceding the meeting of the Parliament which Richard had + called was that of a violent division already among the + councillors and assessors of the Protectorate. There was the + <i>Court Party</i> or <i>Dynastic Party,</i> taking their stand + on the <i>Petition and Advice,</i> and advocating a strictly + conservative and constitutional procedure, in the terms of that + document, on the lines laid down by Oliver. There was also the + <i>Army Party</i> or <i>Wallingford-House Party,</i> led by + Fleetwood and Desborough, with an immediate retinue of + Cromwellian ex-Major-Generals and Colonels purposely in London, + and a more shadowy tail of majors, captains, and inferior + officers, coiled away among the regiments.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Thurloe, VII. 447-449, 454-455, and 498; Phillips, 639; + Guizot, I. 13-19, with Letters of M. de Bordeaux appended to + the volume. + </p> + </div> + <p> + More than questions of home-administration was involved in this + division of parties. It involved also the future foreign policy + of the Protectorate. The desire of Richard himself and of the + Court Party was to prosecute the foreign policy which Oliver had + so strenuously begun. Now, the great bequests from the late + Protectorate in the matter of foreign policy had been two: + (1)<i>The War with Spain, in alliance with France.</i> The Treaty + Offensive and Defensive with France against Spain, originally + formed by Cromwell March 23, 1656-7, and renewed March 28, 1658, + was to expire on March 28, 1659. Was it to be then again renewed? + If not, how was the war with Spain to be farther conducted, and + what was to become of Dunkirk, Mardike, and other English + conquests and interests in Flanders? Mazarin was really anxious + on this topic. The alliance with England had been immensely + advantageous for France; and could it not be continued? In + frequent letters, since Cromwell's death, to M. de Bordeaux, the + French Ambassador in London, Mazarin had pressed for information + on this point. The substance of the Ambassador's replies had been + that the new Protector and his Council, especially Mr. Secretary + Thurloe, were too much engrossed with home-difficulties to be + very explicit with him, but that he had reason to believe a loan + from France of £50,000 would aid the natural inclinations of the + Court-party to continue the alliance. This was more than Mazarin + would risk on the chance, though he was willing to act on the + suggestion of the ambassador that a present of Barbary horses + should be sent to Lord Falconbridge, or a jewel to Lady + Falconbridge, to keep <i>them</i> in good-humour. There can be no + doubt that Falconbridge, Thurloe, Lockhart, and the Court Party + generally, did hope to preserve the close friendship with France + and the hold acquired by England on Flanders. Lockhart + particularly had at heart the hard, half-starved condition of his + poor Dunkirk garrison and the other forces in Flanders. On the + other hand, there were signs that public feeling might desert the + Court Party in their desire to carry on Oliver's joint-enterprise + with France against the Spaniards. Dunkirk and Mardike were + precious possessions; but might it not be better for trade to + make peace with Spain, even if Jamaica should have to be given + back and there should have to be other sacrifices? This idea had + diffused itself, it appears, pretty widely among the pure + Commonwealth's men, and was in favour with some of the + Wallingford-House party. Why be always at war with Spain? True, + she was Roman Catholic, and the more the pity; but what did that + concern England? Was there not enough to do at home?<sup>1</sup> + (2) <i>Assistance to the King of Sweden</i>. A great surprise to + all Europe just before Cromwell's death had been, as we know, the + sudden rupture of the Peace of Roeskilde between Sweden and + Denmark, with the reinvasion of Zealand by Charles Gustavus, and + his march on Copenhagen (ante p. 396). Had Cromwell lived, there + is no doubt that, with whatever regret at the new rupture, he + would have stood by his heroic brother of Sweden. For was not the + Swedish King still, as before, the one real man of mark in the + whole world of the Baltic, the hope of that league of Protestant + championship on the Continent which Cromwell had laboured for; + and was he not now standing at bay against a most ugly and + unnatural combination of enemies? Not only were John Casimir and + his Roman Catholic Poles, and the Emperor Leopold and his Roman + Catholic Austrians, and Protestant Brandenburg and some other + German States, all in eager alliance with the Danes for the + opportunity of another rush against <i>him</i>; the Dutch too + were abetting the Danes for their own commercial interests? + Actually this was the state of things which Richard's Government + had to consider. Charles Gustavus was still besieging Copenhagen; + a Dutch fleet, under Admiral Opdam, had gone to the Baltic to + relieve the Danes (Oct. 1658): was Cromwell's grand alliance with + the Swede, were the prospects of the Protestant League, were + English interests in the Baltic, to be of no account? + Applications for help had been made by the Swedish King; Mazarin, + through the French ambassador, had been urging assistance to + Sweden; the inclinations of Richard, Thurloe, and the rest, were + all that way. Here again, however, the perplexity of + home-affairs, the want of money, the refusal of Mazarin himself + to lend even £50,000, were pleaded in excuse. All that could be + done at first was to further the despatch to the Baltic of Sir + George Ayscough, an able English Admiral who had for some years + been too much in the background, but of whom the Swedish Count + Bundt had conceived a high opinion during his embassy to England + in 1655-6, and who had consequently been invited by the Swedish + King to enter his service, bringing with him as many English + officers and seamen as he could. This volunteer expedition of + Ayscough Richard and his Council did at once countenance. Nay, + when news came (Nov. 8) of a great defeat of Opdam's Dutch fleet + by the Swedish Admiral Wrangel, the disposition to help the Swede + became stronger. On the 13th of that month a special envoy from + the Swedish King, who had been in London for some weeks, took his + departure with some satisfaction; and within a few days + Vice-Admiral Lawson and his fleet of some twenty or twenty-one + ships in the Downs had orders to sail for the Sound, for + mediation at least, but for the support of Charles Gustavus if + necessary. The fleet did put to sea, but with hesitations to the + last and the report that it was "wind-bound."<sup>2</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Letters between Mazarin and M. de Bordeaux in Guizot, I. + 231-286, and II. 441-450; Thurloe, VII. 466-467. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Letters between Mazarin and M. de Bordeaux last cited, with. + Guizot, I. 23-26; Thurloe, VII. 412, 509, 529; Whitlocke for + Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. 1658, also for Aug. 1656; Phillips, + 638. + </p> + </div> + <p> + "Wind-bound" was the exact description of the state of Richard's + Government itself. All depended on what should blow from the + Parliament that had been called. In the writs for the elections + to the Commons there had been a very remarkable retrogression + from the practice of Oliver for his two Parliaments. For those + two Parliaments there had been adopted the reformed electoral + system agreed upon by the Long Parliament, reducing the total + number of members for England and Wales to about 400, instead of + the 500 or more of the ancient system, and allocating the 400 + among constituencies rearranged so as to give a vast proportion + of the representation to the counties, while reducing that of the + burghs generally and disfranchising many small old burghs + altogether. The <i>Petition and Advice</i> having left this + matter of the number of seats and their distribution open for + farther consideration, Richard and his Council had been advised + by the lawyers that it would be more "according to law" and + therefore more safe and more agreeable to the spirit and letter + of the <i>Petition and Advice</i>, to abandon the late temporary + method, though sanctioned by the Long Parliament, and revert to + the ancient use and wont. Writs had been issued, therefore, for + the return of over 500 members from England and Wales by the old + time-honoured constituencies, besides additions from Scotland and + Ireland. Thus, whereas, for the last two Protectoral Parliaments, + some of the larger English counties had returned as many as six, + eight, nine, or twelve members each, all were now reduced alike + to two, the large number of seats so set free, together with the + extra hundred, going back among the burghs, and reincluding those + that had been disfranchised. London also was reduced from six + seats to four. It seems amazing now that this vast retrogression + should have been so quietly accepted. It seems even to have been + popular; and, at all events, it roused no commotion. It had been + recommended by the lawyers, and it was expected to turn out + favourable to the Government.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Ludlow, 615-619; and compare the List of Members of this + Parliament of Richard (<i>Part. Hist.</i> III. 1530-1537) with + the lists of Oliver's two Parliaments <i>(Part. Hist.</i> + 1428-1433, and 1479-1484). + </p> + </div> + <p> + On Thursday, Jan. 27, 1658-9, the two Houses assembled in + Westminster. In the Upper House, where Lord Commissioner Fiennes + occupied the woolsack, were as many of Cromwell's sixty-three + "Lords" (ante pp. 323-324) as had chosen to come. All the + Council, except Thurloe, being in this House, and the others + having been, for the most part, carefully selected Cromwellians, + it might have been expected that Government would be strong in + the House. As it included, however, Fleetwood, Desborough, and + all the chief Colonels of the Wallingford-House party, it is + believed that in such attendances as there were (never more than + forty perhaps) that party may have been stronger than the Court + party. But it was the composition of the Commons House that was + really of consequence, and here appearances promised well for + Richard. The total number of the members, by the returns, was + 558, of whom 482 were from English counties and burghs, 25 from + Wales, 30 from Ireland, and only 21 from Scotland. Some fifty of + the total number were resolute pure Republicans, among whom may + be noted Bradshaw (Cheshire), Vane (Whitchurch in Hants), Scott + (Wycombe), Hasilrig (Leicester), Ludlow (Hindon), Henry Neville + (Reading), Okey (Bedfordshire), and Weaver (Stamford); and there + was a considerable sprinkling of Anti-Cromwellians of other + colours besides, including Lord Fairfax (Yorkshire), Lambert + (Pontefract), Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper (Wilts), and + Major-General Browne (London). But Thurloe was there to represent + the Government in chief (returned by Cambridge University, but by + several other places also); and he could count about a hundred + sure English adherents on the benches; among whom were Sir Edmund + Prideaux (Saltash), Sir William Ellis (Grantham), together with + his own subordinate in the Council-office, William Jessop + (Stafford), and Milton's assistant in the Foreign Secretaryship, + Andrew Marvell (Hull). There were not a few Army-officers of the + Wallingford-House party; but, on the whole, this element did not + seem to be particularly strong in the House. Among the members + for Scottish constituencies were the Marquis of Argyle + (Aberdeenshire), Samuel Desborough (Midlothian), the Earl of + Tweeddale (East Lothian), Colonel Adrian Scroope (Linlithgow + group of Burghs), Swinton of Swinton (Haddingtonshire), Colonel + Whetham (St. Andrews, &c.), and Monk's brother-in-law, Dr. + Thomas Clarges (Aberdeen, Banff, and Cullen). Ireland had + returned, among her thirty, Sir Hardress Waller (Kerry, &c.), + Sir Jerome Zanchy (Tipperary and Waterford), Sir Charles Coote + (Galway and Mayo), and two Ingoldsbys. The Scottish and Irish + representatives were, almost to a man, Government nominees. + Altogether, Thurloe's anxiety must have been about the yet + unknown mass of 300 or so, some scores of them lawyers, others + country-gentlemen, and many of them young, that formed the + neutral stuff to be yet operated upon. Among these, in spite of + the oath of fidelity to the Lord Protector, there were + indubitably not a few who were Stuartists at heart; but most + wavered between Republicanism and the Protectorate, and it was + hopeful for Thurloe in this respect that so much of the mass was + Presbyterian. Ludlow, who did not at first take his seat, tells + us that he at last contrived to do so furtively without being + sworn, and seems to hint that Vane did the same. There was + negligence on the part of the doorkeepers, or they were confused + by the multitude of strange faces; for a stray London madman, + named King, sat in the House for some time, in the belief that, + as one of that name had been elected for some place, he might + possibly be the person.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: List in <i>Parl. Hist.</i> III. 1530-1537; Ludlow, 619 et + seq. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Richard's opening speech was in a good strain. It assumed loyalty + to the memory of his father and to the <i>Petition and + Advice</i>, and recommended immediate attention to the arrears of + the Army and to other money-exigencies, with zealous prosecution + of the war with Spain, and consideration of what might be done + for the King of Sweden, the cause of European Protestantism, and + English interests in the Baltic. The speech was delivered in the + Lords, only a few of the Commons attending. They were busy with + swearing in their members, and with the election of a Speaker. + Mr. Chaloner Chute, a lawyer, one of the members for Middlesex, + was unanimously chosen; but, short as the session was to be, the + House was to have three Speakers in succession. Mr. Chute acted + till March 9, when his health broke down, and Sir Lislebone Long, + one of the members for Wells, was appointed his substitute. Sir + Lislebone died only seven days afterwards (March 16), and Mr. + Thomas Bampfield, one, of the members for Exeter, succeeded him. + Chute having died also, Bampfield became full Speaker. April 15, + 1659.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: <i>Parl. Hist.</i> III. 1537-1540, and Commons Journals of + dates. + </p> + </div> + <p> + A day or two having been spent in preliminary business, and the + House presenting the spectacle, long unknown in Westminster, of + no fewer than between 300 and 400 members in daily attendance, + Thurloe, on the 1st of February, boldly threw down the gage by + bringing in a bill for recognising Richard's right and title to + be Lord Protector. Hasilrig and the Republicans were taken by + surprise, and could only protest that the motion was unseasonable + and that other matters ought to have precedence. The bill having + been read the first time that day, Thurloe consented that the + second reading should be deferred to the 7th. On that day, + accordingly, there began a debate which lasted for seven + successive days, and was a full trial of strength between the + Government and the Republicans. Hasilrig, Neville, Scott, Vane, + Ludlow, and others, exerted themselves to the utmost, Hasilrig + leading, and making one speech three hours long. It was evident, + however, that the Republicans knew themselves to be but a + minority, and used the debate only for re-opening the question of + a Republic. They did not attack the direct proposal of the Bill; + on the contrary they vied with the Cromwellians in language of + respect for Richard. "I confess I do love the person of the Lord + Protector; I never saw nor heard either fraud or guile in him." + said Hasilrig. "I would not hazard a hair of his present + Highness's head," said Scott; "if you think of a Single Person, I + would have him sooner than any man alive." They did not want, + they said, to pull down the Protectorate; they only objected to + Thurloe's high-handed method for committing the House to a + foregone conclusion. But Thurloe beat. On Monday the 14th, the + question having been finally put "that it be part of this Bill to + recognise and declare his Highness Richard, Lord Protector, to be + the undoubted Lord Protector and Chief Magistrate," it was + carried by 191 votes to 168 to retain the words "recognise and," + and so to accept Richard's accession as valid already. On a + proposal to leave out the word "undoubted" Thurloe did not think + a division worth while, but made the concession. He did oppose a + resolution, suddenly brought forward, to the effect that the vote + just passed should not be binding until the House should have + settled the clauses farther defining the powers of the Lord + Protector; but that resolution, having caught the fancy of the + House, passed with his single dissent. On the whole, he had + succeeded in his first great battle with the + Republicans.—Nor was he less successful in the second. The + Protectorship having been voted, it was Thurloe's policy to push + next the question of the recognition of the Other House, whereas + the Republicans desired to avoid that question as long as + possible, so as to keep the Other House a mere nonentity, while + the Commons proceeded, as the substantial and sovereign House, to + define the powers of the Protector. On the 18th of February, the + Republicans, having challenged a settlement of this difference by + moving that the question of the negative voice of the Protector + in passing laws should have precedence of the question of the + Other House, were beaten overwhelmingly by 217 votes to 86; and + then for more than a month the question of the Other House was + the all-engrossing one. It involved other questions, some of them + apparently independent. Thus, on the 8th of March, the debate + took a curiously significant turn. Indignant at the very notion + that there should be anything in England calling itself "The + House of Lords," the Republican speakers had played on this + supposed horror with every variety of sarcasm, sneering at the + existing "Other House," with its shabby equipment of old colonels + and other originally mean persons. If there was to be a House of + Lords, Hasilrig and others now said imprudently, why should it + not be a real one, why should not the old nobility, so many of + them honourable men, resume their places? "Why not?" was the + instant retort from some independent members, with the instant + applause of many in the House. Hasilrig saw his mistake, of which + Thurloe did not fail to take advantage. "The old Peers," said + Thurloe, "are not excluded by the <i>Petition and Advice</i>: + divers are called,—others may be"; and the occasion was + taken to pass a resolution expressly reserving for such of the + old peers as had been faithful the privilege of being summoned to + the Other House, should the issue of the debate be in favour of + the existence of that institution. The divisions on this + incidental resolution were the largest recorded in the Journals + of the House—the previous question for putting the + resolution being carried by 203 to 184, and the resolution itself + by 195 to 188. Though the majority was but small, the gain to the + Court Party was precious, because on an unexpected point. But the + Republicans had done themselves no good by their style in the + main discussion, A miscellaneous assembly always resents the + ungenerous, and the sneers at the existing composition of the + Other House had seemed ungenerous. "They have gone through wet + and dry, hot and cold, fire and water; they are the best officers + of the best army in the world; their swords are made of what + Hercules's club was made of": such were the terms in which one + speaker defended the military veterans of the Other House; and + they were received with cheers. Nor did the next step of the + Republicans improve their position. Having observed what a + considerable proportion of Thurloe's majorities consisted of the + members from Scotland and Ireland, Cromwellians nearly to a man, + they tried to sweep these from the House in anticipation of + future votes. First, they raised the question about the Scottish + members, contending that their presence in an English Parliament + was unconstitutional, that the <i>de facto</i> incorporation of + Scotland with the Commonwealth had never been legally + consummated, &c. On this subject, the House having first + negatived the proposal that the Scottish members should withdraw + during the debate, it was decided, March 21, by a majority of 211 + (Thurloe one of the tellers) to 120 (Vane one of the tellers), + "That the members returned for Scotland shall continue to sit as + members during this present Parliament," A like vote, March 23, + retained the Irish members. The Republicans had again lost + character by this piece of tactics. Not only was it offensive to + Scotland and Ireland; but to many disinterested English members + it seemed a mean attempt to depreciate, for a mere party purpose, + those great achievements of recent years which had made the + British Islands, as if by miracle, one body-politic at last. On + the 28th of March the principal debate came to an end in this + two-claused Resolution: "That this House will transact with the + persons now sitting in the Other House, as an House of + Parliament, during the present Parliament; and that it is not + hereby intended to exclude such Peers as have been faithful to + the Parliament from their privilege of being duly summoned to be + members of that House." The final division was 198 to 125; but + there had been a preceding division on the question whether the + words "when they shall be approved by this House" should be + inserted after the word "Parliament" in the first clause. This + very ingenious amendment of the Anti-Cromwellians had been + rejected by 183 votes to 146, the tellers for the Cromwellian + majority being the Marquis of Argyle and Thurloe, and for the + minority Lord Fairfax and Lord Lambert.—Thus, at the end of + the second month of the Parliament, the victory was clearly with + Thurloe and the Government. The Protectorship had been + recognised; and the Other House also had been recognised, rather + grudgingly indeed, and not by the desired name of "The House of + Lords," but with a proviso that seemed to put that and more + within reach. It had also been ascertained in general that, in a + House of Commons larger than had been seen in Westminster for + many years, Richard's Government was stronger, on vital + questions, than the Republicans and all other Anti-Cromwellians + together. For there had been discussions affecting the foreign + policy of the Protectorate, and in these the Republicans and + Anti-Cromwellians had been equally beaten. It had been, carried, + for example, on Thurloe's representation, to persevere in the + despatch of a strong fleet to the Baltic in the interest of the + Swedish King; and such a fleet, now under Admiral Montague's + command, had actually sailed before the end of March. It was in + the Sound early in April.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates, and Guizot, I. 46-72 (where the + extracts from speeches are from <i>Burton's Diary</i>); also + Commons Journals of Feb. 21 and 24; and Thurloe, VII. 636-637 + and 644-645. + </p> + </div> + <p> + In minor matters the House had shown some independence. On the + 23rd of February they had ordered the release of the Duke of + Buckingham from the imprisonment to which he had been committed + by Oliver, accepting the Duke's own word of honour, and Fairfax's + bail of £20,000, that he would not abet the enemies of the + Commonwealth. So, on the 16th of March, they had released + Milton's friend, the Republican Major-General Overton, from his + four years' imprisonment, declaring Cromwell's mere warrant for + the same to have been insufficient and illegal. This was a most + popular act, and the liberated Overton was received in London + with enthusiastic ovations. Other political prisoners of the late + Protectorate were similarly released, and, on the whole, the + majority of the House, though with all reverence for Oliver's + memory, were ready to take any occasion for signifying that his + more "arbitrary" acts must be debited to himself only. There were + also distinct evidences of a disposition in the House, due to the + massive representation of the Presbyterians in it, to question + the late Protector's liking for unlimited religions toleration. + They approved heartily, it appears, of his Established Church, + and even of its breadth as including Presbyterians and + Independents; but, like preceding Parliaments, they were for a + more rigorous care for Church-orthodoxy, and more severe dealings + with "heresies and blasphemies." Quakers, Anti-Trinitarians, and + Jews were especially threatened. Here, indeed, the House meant + rather to indicate its good-will to the Protectorate than the + reverse; for, though. Richard and Henry Cromwell inherited their + father's religious liberality, and others of the Cromwellians + agreed with them, not a few were disposed, like Monk, to make a + compact with the Presbyterians for heresy-hunting part of the + very programme of Richard's Protectorate. The Toleration tenet, + indeed, was perhaps more peculiarly a tenet of the Republicans + than of any other political party, and not without strong reasons + of a personal kind, people said, on the part of some of them. Had + not Mr. Henry Neville, for example, been heard to say that he was + more affected by some parts of Cicero than by anything in the + Bible? If heathenism like that infected the Republican + opposition, what could any plain honest Christian do but support + the Protectorate?<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates given, and of Feb. 26 and April 2; + Guizot, I. 103-104. + </p> + </div> + <p> + April 1659 was the third month of the Parliament. About a hundred + of the members hitherto in attendance had then withdrawn, and the + attendances had sunk to between 150 and 270. This was the more + ominous because the struggle had now ceased to be one between the + Protector's Government and the Opposition, and had become one + between the Court Party and the Army or Wallingford-House Party + for the farther use of Thurloe's victories. + </p> + <p> + The Republicans, foiled in their own measures, had entered into + relations with the Wallingford-House magnates. True, these were + not, for the nonce, Republicans. On the contrary, they were still + one wing of the declared supporters of Richard's Protectorship, + and their chiefs all but composed that Other House the rights of + which Thurloe had vindicated so manfully against the Republicans, + and which was now therefore a working part of the Legislature. + But might there not be ways and means of breaking down the + allegiance of the Wallingford-House men to the Protectorate, + their present implication with it notwithstanding? They were + primarily Army-chiefs, and only secondarily politicians for the + Protectorate; behind them was the Army itself, charged with + Republican sentiments from of old, and with not a few important + officers in it who were Republicans re-avowed; and, besides, they + were politicians for the Protectorate in an interest of their own + which quite separated them from the Court Party. Might not these + differences between the Court Party and the Wallingford-House + Party be so operated upon as to force the Court Party into open + antagonism to the Army, and so leave the Wallingford-House men no + option but to fall back upon Army Republicanism and make the Army + an agent, in spite of themselves, for the "good Old Cause"? How + well-founded was this calculation will appear if we remember one + or two facts. Cessation of Army-domination in politics, and + reliance on massive public feeling and on constitutional methods, + were now fixed principles of the Court Party. Monk had expressed + them when he advised Richard to reduce the Army and get rid of + superfluous officers, assuring him that the most disaffected + officer, once discharged, would be a very harmless animal. Henry + Cromwell had expressed the same in that letter to Fleetwood in + which he sighed for the happy time when the Army would never be + heard of except when it was fighting. Thurloe, Broghill, + Falconbridge, and the rest, were of the same general opinion; and + parts of the Army itself, they believed, had been schooled into + docility. Monk could answer for the troops and officers in + Scotland, Henry Cromwell for those in Ireland, and Lockhart for + those in Flanders. But then there was the great body of soldiers + and officers in England, with London for their rendezvous. To + them abnegation of direct influence in politics was death. It was + not only their arrears that they saw endangered, but that Army + privilege of debating and theorizing which had been asserted by + Cromwell in the Civil War, and which Cromwell afterwards, while + regulating and checking it, had never abolished. Were they to + meet no more, agitate no more? Was the great Army of the + Commonwealth to be degraded, for the benefit of this new + Protector, into a mere collection of men paid for bestriding + horses and handling pikes and ramrods? So reasoned the rank and + file and the subalterns; but the chiefs, while sharing the + general feeling, had additional alarms of their own. They had + left actions behind them, done in their major-generalcies or + other commands for Cromwell, for which they might be called to + account under a civilian Protectorate, or other merely + constitutional Government. There had actually been signs in the + present Parliament of a tendency to the re-investigation of cases + of military oppression and the impeachment of selected culprits. + Were the Army-men to consent, in such circumstances, to give up + their powers of self-defence and corporate action? No! Oliver's + son might deserve consideration; but Oliver's Army had prior + claims. + </p> + <p> + Hitherto, Fleetwood, Desborough, and the rest of the + Wallingford-House Party, had been content with private + remonstrances with Richard on Army grievances in general, or + particular grievances occasioned by his own exercise of + Army-patronage. A saying of Richard's in one of these conferences + had been widely reported and had given great offence. In reply to + a suggestion that he was doing wrong in appointing any but + "godly" officers, he had said, "Here is Dick Ingoldsby, who can + neither pray nor preach, and yet I will trust him before ye all." + As nothing was to be made of Richard in this private way, the + Army party had resolved on another great convention of officers + in London, nominally for the consideration of Army affairs, but + really to constrain both Richard and the Parliament. Ludlow, who + had hitherto been the medium of communication between the + Republicans and the Wallingford-House men, was informed of this + proposal; and he and the other Republicans looked on with the + keenest interest. Would Richard, with his recent experience, + allow the officers to reassemble in general council? To the + horror of Broghill, Falconbridge, Thurloe, and the rest of the + Court party, it was found that, in a moment of weakness, cajoled + privately by Fleetwood and Desborough, he <i>had</i> given the + permission, without even consulting his Council. Nothing could be + done but let the convention meet, taking care that as many + officers as possible of the Court party should be present in it. + Accordingly, on the 5th of April 1659, there were about 500 + officers of all ranks at Wallingford House, Fleetwood and + Desborough at the head of one Protectoral party, and Broghill, + Viscount Howard, Falconbridge, with Whalley and Goffe, + representing the other, while among the general body there were + no one knew how many pure Republicans. The meeting having been + solemnly opened with prayer by Dr. Owen, there was a vehement + speech from Desborough. The essence of the speech was that + "several sons of Belial" had crept into the Army, corrupting its + former integrity, and that therefore he would propose that every + officer should be cashiered that would not "swear that he did + believe in his conscience that the putting to death of the late + King, Charles Stuart, was lawful and just." Amid the cheers that + followed, Lords Howard and Falconbridge (two of the denounced + "sons of Belial"?) left in disgust; but Broghill remained and + opposed bravely. He disliked all tests; but, if there was to be a + test, he would propose that it should be simply an oath "to + defend the Government as it is now established under the + Protector and Parliament." If the present meeting insisted on a + test, and did not adopt that one, he would see that it should be + moved in Parliament. This, supported by Whalley and Goffe, calmed + the meeting somewhat; and, after much more speaking, in which the + necessity of a separation of the military power from the civil + was a prominent topic, the result was "<i>A Humble Representation + and Petition of the Officers of the Armies of England, Scotland, + and Ireland</i>," expressed in general and not unrespectful + terms, but conveying sufficiently the Army's demands. Presented + to Richard in Whitehall on the 6th of April, this petition was + forwarded by him to the Commons on the 8th, with a letter to the + Speaker. For more than a week no notice was taken by the House; + but, the petition having been circulated in print, with other + petitions and documents more fierce for "the good old cause," and + the general council of officers still continuing the meetings at + Wallingford House, with the excitement of sermons and prayers + added to that of their debates, the House was driven at last into + that attitude of direct antagonism to the Army in the name of the + Protectorate on which both Royalists and Republicans had + calculated. Thurloe would fain have avoided this, and had almost + longed for some Cavalier outbreak to occupy the two conflicting + Protectoral parties and reunite them. But the numerous Cavaliers + in London had been well instructed and lay provokingly still; and + the management of the crisis for Richard had passed from Thurloe + to the House itself. On Monday the 18th of April, in a House of + 250, with shut doors to prevent any from leaving, it was + resolved, by 163 votes to 87, "That, during the sitting of the + Parliament there shall be no general council or meeting of the + officers of the Army without the direction, leave, and authority + of his Highness the Lord Protector and both Houses of + Parliament"; and it was also resolved, "That no person shall have + or continue any command or trust in any of the Armies or Navies + of England, Scotland, or Ireland, or any of the Dominions or + Territories thereto belonging, who shall refuse to subscribe, + That he will not disturb nor interrupt the free meetings in + Parliament of any of the members of either House of Parliament, + or their freedom in their debates and counsels." The concurrence + of the Other House was desired in these votes; and the Commons, + who had noted with surprise that Hasilrig, Ludlow, Scott, and + Vane, rather took part with the Army in the debate, proceeded to + the serious consideration of the arrears of pay due to the + officers and soldiers, and of other real military grievances, in + order to reconcile the Army, if possible, to their strong + Resolutions.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Ludlow, 633-638; Commons Journals of dates; Guizot, I. + 112-120; Phillips, 641; Thurloe, VII. 657-658; Letters of M. de + Bordeaux to Mazarin, in Guizot, I. 361-365. + </p> + </div> + <p> + That was not possible. Richard, urged by Broghill and others, and + strengthened by the votes of the Commons, summoned up courage to + go to the council of officers at Wallingford House next day, and, + after listening to their debates for a while, declare their + meetings dissolved. The only effect was that they dispersed + themselves then, to meet from day to day just as before, Dr. Owen + and other preachers still among them. Meanwhile, the concurrence + of the Other House with the Resolutions having been purposely + delayed and all but refused, the Commons adopted what farther + measures they could for securing Richard's control of the + militia. Richard was advised by those around him to empower them + to seize Fleetwood and Desborough, and also Lambert, whose + conjunction with the Wallingford-House party was now notorious. + He hesitated. He had never done harm to anybody, he said, and he + would not have a drop of blood shed on his poor account. The + question now was between a forced dissolution of the + Wallingford-House council of officers and a dissolution of the + Parliament itself. That, in spite of Richard's objection to + violence, seemed on the eve of being decided by a murderous + battle in the streets of London. Fleetwood, summoned to Whitehall + to see the Protector, neglected the summons; and through the + night between Wednesday the 20th and Thursday the 21st of April + there was a rendezvous in and round St. James's, by Fleetwood's + order, of all the regiments in town. A counter-rendezvous, in + Richard's name, was attempted at Whitehall; but Whalley, Goffe, + and Ingoldsby, who would have commanded here and done their best, + found that they had no soldiers to command, the bulk of their own + regiments, with some of Richard's guards, having preferred the + other rendezvous. What then happened is told by Ludlow in a + single sentence. "About noon," says the sturdy democrat, "Colonel + Desborough went to Mr. Richard Cromwell at Whitehall, and told + him that, if he would dissolve his Parliament, the officers would + take care of him, but that, if he refused to do so, they would do + it without him, and leave him to shift for himself." There was + some consultation, in which Broghill, Fiennes, Thurloe, Wolseley, + and Whitlocke, took part. Whitlocke, as he tells us, was against + a dissolution even in that extremity; but most of the others + thought it inevitable. Richard, therefore, reluctantly yielded; + but, as he declined to dissolve the Parliament in person, a + commission for the purpose, directed to Lord Commissioner + Fiennes, the Speaker of the Upper House, was drawn up by Thurloe, + and delivered in the night to Fleetwood and Desborough. Next day, + Friday the 22nd, when the message came to the Commons by the + Black Rod to attend in the House of Lords, there was the utmost + possible confusion. Some members who had gone out were recalled; + all were ordered to remain in their places; there was a wild + hubbub of motions and speeches, Fairfax conspicuous for his + indignation; and, at length, the House, without paying attention + to the summons of the Black Rod, adjourned itself to Monday + morning at eight o'clock. The Dissolution, therefore, had to be + effected by published proclamation, and by padlocking and + guarding the doors of the House.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Ludlow, 639-641; Whitlocke under date April 21, 1659; + Commons Journals of April 22; Phillips, 641-642; Guizot, I. + 120-128, with Letters of M. de Bordeaux to Mazarin appended at + pp. 366-375. + </p> + </div> + <p> + A week before the Dissolution the Parliament had estimated the + public debt, as it would stand at the end of the year then + current, at a total of £2,222,090, besides what might be due to + the forces in Flanders. Of this sum £1,747,584 was existing debt + in arrears, £393,883 was debt of the Navy running on for the + year, and £80,623 was the calculated deficit for the year by the + excess of the ordinary expenditure in England, Scotland, and + Ireland over the revenues from these countries. It is interesting + to note the particulars of this last item. The annual income from + England was £1,517,275, and the annual expenses in England + £1,547,788, leaving a deficit for England of £30,513; the annual + income from Scotland was £143,652, but the outlay £307,271 (more + than double the income), leaving a deficit for Scotland of + £163,619; the annual income from Ireland was £207,790, and the + outlay £346,480, leaving a deficit for Ireland of £138,690. This + would have made the total deficit, for the ordinary + administration, civil and military, of the three nations, + £332,823; but, as £252,200 of this sum would be met by special + taxes on England for the support of the Armies in Scotland and + Ireland, the real deficit was £80,623, as above. How to meet + that, and the £393,883 running on for the Navy, and the arrears + of £1,747,584 besides, and the unknown amount that might be due + to the Army in Flanders, was the financial problem to be solved. + Two millions and a half, it may be said roughly, were required to + set the Commonwealth clear.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals, April 16, 1659. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The late Parliament having stated the problem, but having had no + time to attempt the solution, the responsibility had descended to + those who had turned them out. It was but one form of the + enormous and most complex responsibility they had undertaken; but + it was the particular form of responsibility that had most to do + in determining their immediate proceedings. Had it been merely + the administration that had come into their hands, with the + defence of the Commonwealth against the renewed danger of a + Royalist outburst at home and inburst from abroad to take + advantage of the political crash, the Wallingford-House chiefs + would probably have thought it sufficient to constitute + themselves into a military Oligarchy for maintaining and carrying + on Richard's Protectorate. Fleetwood, Desborough, and Lambert + would have been a Triumvirate in Richard's name, and the only + deliberative apparatus would have been the general council of + officers continued, or a more select Council of their number + associated with a few chosen civilians. The Triumvirs might have + given such a form to the constitution as, while securing the real + power for themselves, and not abolishing Richard, would have + satisfied or beguiled for the moment the so-called Republicanism + now again rampant among the inferior Army-men. But there was no + money; Government in any form was at a deadlock until money could + be raised; and how was that to be effected? The Wallingford-House + magnates did meditate for an instant whether they should not try + to raise money by their own authority, but concluded that the + experiment would be too desperate, and that, for this reason, if + for no other, some kind of Parliament must be at once set + up.—But what Parliament? Here they had not far to seek. For + the last month or more, placards on all the walls of London, the + very cries of news-boys in the streets, had been telling them + what Parliament. We have several times quoted the phrase "The + Good Old Cause," as coming gradually into use after Oliver's + death, and passing to and fro in documents and speeches. But no + one can describe now the force and frequency of that phrase in + London and throughout England in April 1659 and for months + afterwards. If two men passed you in the street, you heard the + words "the good old cause" from one of them; every second or + third pamphlet in the booksellers' shops had "The Good Old Cause" + on its title-page or running through its text; veterans rolled + out the phrase sonorously in their nightly prayers, or went to + sleep mumbling it. One notes constantly in the history of any + country this phenomenon of the expression of a great wave of + feeling in some single popular phrase, generally worn out in a + few months; but the present is a peculiarly remarkable instance. + The phrase, in itself, was ambiguous. One might have supposed + "the good old cause" to be the cause of Royalty and the Stuarts. + This was an ironical advantage; for the phrase was a Republican, + and even a Regicide, invention. It meant, as we have passingly + explained, the pure Republican constitution which had been + founded on the Regicide and which lasted till Cromwell's + dissolution of the Rump on the 20th of April, 1653. It proclaimed + that Cromwell's Interim Dictatorship and Protectorate had been an + interruption of the natural course of things, dexterously leaving + it an open question whether that interruption had been necessary + or justifiable, but calling on all men, now that Oliver was dead + and his greatness gone with him, to regard his rule as + exceptional and extraordinary, and to revert to the old + Commonwealth. It involved, therefore, a very exact answer to the + question which the Wallingford-House magnates were now pondering. + A Parliament was wanted: what other Parliament could it be than + the Rump restored? Let that very Assembly which Cromwell had + dissolved on the 20th of April, 1653, resume their places now, + treat the six years of interval as a dream, and carry on the + Government.—With this course prescribed to them by the very + clamours that were in the air, and pressed upon them by Ludlow, + Vane, Hasilrig, and the more strenuously Republican men of the + Army-Council itself, Fleetwood, Desborough, and the other + magnates still faltered. They hardly liked to descend from their + own elevation; such Republicanism as they had learnt of late to + profess was not the old Republicanism of Ludlow and Vane, but one + admitting the supreme magistracy of a Single Person; and they had + obligations of honour, moreover, to the present Richard. They + pleaded that it was impossible to restore the Rump, inasmuch as + there were not survivors enough from that body to make a House. + Hereupon Dr. Owen, who seems to have been extremely active in + this crisis, produced in Wallingford House a list, which he had + obtained from Ludlow, of about 160 persons who had been duly + qualified (i.e. non-secluded) members of the Rump between 1648 + and 1653, and were believed to be still alive. There were then + meetings for consultation at Sir Henry Vane's house, with farther + differences over some demands of the Army-magnates. They demanded + the payment of Richard's debts, ample provision for his + subsistence and dignity, and some recognition of his + Protectorship; and they also demanded that, besides the + Representative House, there should be a Select Senate or Other + House. To these demands for a continuation of the Protectorate in + a limited form the Republicans could not yield, though Ludlow, to + remove obstructions, was willing to concede a temporary Senate + for definite purposes. The differences had not been adjusted when + the Wallingford-House men intimated that they were prepared for + the main step and would join with the Republicans in restoring + the Rump. This was finally arranged on the 6th of May, when there + was drawn up for the purpose "A Declaration of the Officers of + the Army," signed by the Army Secretary "by the direction of the + Lord Fleetwood and the Council of Officers," and when two + deputations, one of Army-chiefs with the Declaration in their + hands, and the other of independent Republicans, waited on old + Speaker Lenthall at his house in Covent Garden. It was for + Lenthall, as the Speaker of the Rump at its dissolution, to + convoke the surviving members.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Ludlow, 644-649; Parl. Hist. III. 1546-7; Thomason + Pamphlets, and Chronological Catalogue of the same. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Ludlow becomes even humorous in describing the difficulties they + had with old Lenthall. To the deputation of Republicans, which + arrived first, "he began to make many trifling excuses, pleading + his age, sickness, inability to sit long," the fact being, as + Ludlow says, that he had been one of Oliver's and Richard's + courtiers, and was now thinking of his Oliverian peerage, which + would be lost if the Protectorate lapsed into a Republic. When + the military deputation arrived, and Lambert opened the subject + fully, Lenthall was still very uneasy. "He was not fully + satisfied that the death of the late King had not put an end to + the Parliament." That objection having been scouted, and the + request pressed upon him that he would at once issue invitations + to such of the old members as were in town to meet him next + morning and form a House, "he replied that he could by no means + do as we desired, having appointed a business of far greater + importance to himself, which he would not omit on any account, + because it concerned the salvation of his own soul. We then + pressed him to inform us what it might be: to which he answered + that he was preparing himself to participate of the Lord's + supper, which he was resolved to take on the next Lord's day. + Upon this it was replied that mercy is more acceptable to God + than sacrifice, and that he could not better prepare himself for + the aforesaid duty than by contributing to the public good." As + he was still obdurate, the deputations told him they would do + without him. The list of members was divided among such clerks as + were at hand, and the circulars were duly sent out.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Ludlow, 649-650. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Next morning, Saturday May 7, 1659, about thirty of the members + of the old Rump were shaking hands with each other in the House + of Lords, waiting anxiously till as many more should drop in as + would make the necessary quorum of forty, before marching into + the Commons. Army officers and other spectators were in the + lobbies, equally anxious. Time passed, and a few more did drop + in, including Henry Marten, luckily remembered as in jail for + debt near at hand, and fetched thence in triumph. At length, + about thirty-seven having mustered, old Lenthall, who had spies + on the spot, thought it best to come in; and, about twelve + o'clock, he led a procession of exactly forty-two persons into + the Commons House, the officers and other spectators attending + them to the doors with congratulations. The House, having been + constituted, entered at once on business, framing a Declaration + for the public suitable for the occasion, and appointing several + committees. They set apart next day, Sunday the 8th, for special + religious services, with a re-inauguration sermon by Dr. + Owen.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Ludlow, 651-652; Commons Journals, May 7, 1659; Parl Hist. + III. 1547-1550. + </p> + </div> + <p> + On Monday, May 9, the small new House had to re-encounter a + difficulty which had troubled them somewhat at their first + meeting on Saturday. On that day, besides the forty-two members + of the Rump who had answered the summons, there had come to the + lobbies fourteen persons who had been members of the Long + Parliament before it became the Rump, i.e. before that famous + Pride's Purge of Dec. 6-7, 1648, which excluded 143 of the + Presbyterians and other Royalists from their seats, and so + converted the Long Parliament into the more compact body wanted + for the King's Trial and the formation of the Republic (Vol. III. + pp. 696-698). The fourteen, among whom were the Presbyterians Sir + George Booth and William Prynne, had insisted on being admitted, + but had been kept out by the officers after some altercation. But + now, on Monday, several of them were back, to see the issue of a + protest that had been meanwhile sent to the Speaker on behalf of + 213 members of the Long Parliament who were in the same general + predicament of "Secluded Members"—to wit, the 143 excluded + by Pride's Purge and seventy more who had been excluded at + various times before for Royalist contumacy. Finding the doors + open, three of these unwelcome visitors went in, of whom two came + out again and were not re-admitted, but one remained. That one + was William Prynne. He sat like a ghoul among the Rumpers. No + persuasion on earth could induce him to leave. Hasilrig stormed + at him, and Vane coaxed him; but there he sat, and there he would + sit! He was a member of the Long Parliament, and no other + Parliament was or could be rightfully in existence but that; if + they turned him out, it should only be by carrying him out by his + feet and shoulders! Unwilling to resort to that method, those + present got rid of the intruder by postponing their meeting to a + later hour, and taking care that, when Prynne reappeared, he + should be turned back. The House that day passed an order that + none should sit in it but genuine Rumpers, appointing a committee + to ascertain who these were and to report on dubious cases; and + the order was affixed to the doors outside. For a day or two + Prynne and others still haunted the lobbies; but at length they + desisted, Prynne taking his revenge by at once printing <i>The + Republicans' and Others' spurious Old Cause briefly and truly + anatomized</i>, and then <i>One Sheet, or, if you will, a Winding + Sheet, for the Good Old Cause</i>.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Guizot, I. 138-141; Commons Journals, May 9, 1659; Catalogue + of Thomason Pamphlets. The first of the two named pamphlets of + Prynne appeared, with his name in full, May 13; the second, "by + W.P.," May 30.—Prynne continued, in subsequent pamphlets, + to attack the Rumpers for the wrong done to him and the other + secluded members in still debarring them from their seats. One + was entitled <i>A True and Perfect Narrative of what was done, + spoken, by and between Mr. Prynne, the old and newly-forcibly + late Secluded Members, the Army Officers, and those now sitting + both in the Commons Lobby, House, and elsewhere, on Saturday + and Monday last (the 7 and 9 of this instant May)</i>. Though + so entitled, it did not appear till June 13. It contained this + passage against the Bumpers:—"Themselves in divers of + their printed Declarations, and their instruments in sundry + books (as JOHN GOODWIN, MARKHAM NEEDHAM, MELTON, and others), + justified, maintained, the very highest, worst, treasonablest, + execrablest, of all Popish, Jesuitical, Unchristian, tenets, + practices, treasons, as the murthering of Christian Protestant + Kings." This is a sample at once of Prynne's style and of his + accuracy. He does not take the trouble to know the names of the + persons he writes about, but plods, on like a rhinoceros in + blinkers. + </p> + </div> + <p> + For eighteen days after the resuscitation of the Rump, and + notwithstanding their distinct announcement in their public + declaration that they were to "endeavour the settlement" of the + Commonwealth "without a Single Person, Kingship, or House of + Peers," Richard still lingered in Whitehall and his Protectorship + remained nominally in existence. But the Republicans made what + haste they could to put an end to that anomaly. Their difficulty + lay in their yet unadjusted differences with the Army-officers + conjoined with them in the Restoration of the Rump. Towards the + removal of these differences something was done on the 13th of + May, when the House appointed Fleetwood "Lieutenant-General and + Commander-in-chief of the land-forces in England and Scotland" + (Ireland reserved), and associated with him Lambert, Desborough, + Berry, Ludlow, Hasilrig, and Vane, in a commission of seven + empowered to nominate, for approval by the Parliament, the + commissioned officers of the whole Army. Even with, this + arrangement, however, the Army-magnates were not satisfied; and + it left other differences over, which were restated that very day + in a petition and address from the whole Council of Officers. + This Petition and Address, presented to the House by a deputation + of eighteen chief officers, headed by Lambert and Desborough, + consisted of fifteen Articles, the last three of which contained + the points of most vital debate with the pure Republicans. In + Article XIII. it was petitioned that, for the Legislative, there + should be, in addition to the Popular or Representative House, "a + select Senate, co-ordinate in power." Article XIV. required also, + for the Executive; a separate Council of State. Article XV. + concerned the Cromwell family. It did not demand a continuation + of the Protectorate, but It demanded the payment by the State of + all debts contracted by Oliver or Richard in their Protectorates, + the settlement of £10,000 a year on Richard and his heirs for + ever, the settlement of a farther £10,000 a year on Richard for + his life, and the settlement of £8,000 a year for life on "his + honourable mother," the Protectress-dowager,—all this to + the end that there might remain to posterity "a mark of the high + esteem this nation hath of the good service done by his father, + our ever-renowned General." The House was not then prepared to + answer the demands of Articles XIII. and XV., but only that of + Article XIV. after a certain fashion. It was agreed that day that + there should be an executive Council of State, to consist of + thirty-one persons, ten of them not members of Parliament, the + Council to hold office till Dec. 1 next ensuing; and at that + meeting and the two next the thirty-one Councillors were duly + chosen. Then, on the 21st of May, various addresses of confidence + in the new Government having by this time come in from London and + other parts, the Republicans felt themselves strong enough to + discuss the petition of the officers, article by article, + accepting most of them, but postponing the three last and + another. Without saying what they meant to do for the Cromwell + family, they had In the Interim (May 16) appointed a committee to + "take into consideration the present condition of the eldest son + of the late Lord-General Cromwell, and to inform themselves what + his estate is, and what his debts are, and how they have been + contracted, and how far he doth acquiesce in the government of + this Commonwealth." There were interviews with Richard in + Whitehall accordingly, with the result that there was brought to + the House on the 25th of May a paper signed by him, together with + a schedule of his means and debts. The paper was, in fact, an + abdication, In these terms: "Having, I hope, in some degree, + learnt rather to reverence and submit to the hand of God than to + be unquiet under it, and, as to the late providences that have + fallen out amongst us, however, in respect of the particular + engagements that lay upon me, I could not be active in making a + change in the government of these nations, yet, through the + goodness of God, I can freely acquiesce in it, being made." He + promised, in conclusion, to live peaceably under the new + government, and to do all in his power to induce those with whom + he had any interest to do the same. From the accompanying + schedule it appeared that his debts, incurred by his father or + himself in the Protectorship, amounted to £29,640, and that his + own clear revenue, after deduction of annuities to his mother and + others of the family, was but £1299 a year, and that encumbered + by a private debt of £3000. The House accepted the abdication, + undertook the discharge of the debts as stated, voted £2000 at + once to Mr. Richard, referred it to a committee to consider what + more could be, done towards his "comfortable and honourable + subsistence," and, for the rest, requested him to retire from + Whitehall, and "dispose of himself as his private occasions shall + require." He lingered still a little, fearing arrest by his + creditors, but did at length retire to Hampton Court, and thence + into deeper and deeper privacy, to live fifty-three years more + and become very venerable, though the more rude of the + country-people would persist in calling him "Tumble-Down Dick." + In the week of his abdication there was on the London book-stalls + a rigmarole poem on the subject, called <i>The World in a Maze, + or Oliver's Ghost</i>. It opened with this dialogue between + father and son:— + </p> + <p> + <i>Oliver P.</i>: Richard.!. Richard! Richard! + </p> + <p> + <i>Richard</i>: Who calls "Richard"? 'Tis a hollow voice; + <br /> + And yet perhaps it may be mine own thoughts. + </p> + <p> + <i>Oliver</i>: No: 'tis thy father risen from the grave; + <br /> + Nor—would I have thee fooled, nor yet turn knave. + </p> + <p> + <i>Richard</i>: I could not help it, father.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates; Parl. Hist. III. 1551-1557; + Pamphlet, of given title, dated May 21 in MS. in the Thomason + copy. + </p> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="Cc1s2" id="Cc1s2">CHAPTER I.</a> + </h2> + <h3> + <i>Second Section.</i> + </h3> + <h3> + THE ANARCHY, STAGE I.: OR THE RESTORED BUMP: + </h3> + <p> + MAY 25, 1859-OCT. 13, 1659. + </p> + <p> + NUMBER OF THE RESTORED RUMPERS AND LIST OF THEM: COUNCIL OP STATE + OF THE RESTORED RUMP: ANOMALOUS CHARACTER AND POSITION OP THE NEW + GOVERNMENT: MOMENTARY CHANCE OF A CIVIL WAR BETWEEN THE + CROMWELLIANS AND THE RUMPERS: CHANCE AVERTED BY THE ACQUIESCENCE + OF THE LEADING CROMWELLIANS: BEHAVIOUR OF RICHARD CROMWELL, MONK, + HENRY CROMWELL, LOCKHART, AND THURLOE, INDIVIDUALLY: BAULKED + CROMWELLIANISM BECOMES POTENTIAL ROYALISM: ENERGETIC PROCEEDINGS + OF THE RESTORED RUMP: THEIR ECCLESIASTICAL POLICY AND THEIR + FOREIGN POLICY: TREATY BETWEEN FRANCE AND SPAIN: LOCKHART AT THE + SCENE OF THE NEGOTIATIONS AS AMBASSADOR FOR THE RUMP: REMODELLING + AND RE-OFFICERING OF THE ARMY, NAVY, AND MILITIA: CONFEDERACY OF + OLD AND NEW ROYALISTS FOR A SIMULTANEOUS RISING: ACTUAL RISING + UNDER SIR GEORGE BOOTH IN CHESHIRE: LAMBERT SENT TO QUELL THE + INSURRECTION: PECULIAR INTRIGUES ROUND MONK AT DALKEITH: SIR + GEORGE BOOTH'S INSURRECTION CRUSHED: EXULTATION OF THE RUMP AND + ACTION TAKEN AGAINST THE CHIEF INSURGENTS AND THEIR ASSOCIATES: + QUESTION OF THE FUTURE CONSTITUTION OF THE COMMONWEALTH: CHAOS OF + OPINIONS AND PROPOSALS: JAMES HARRINGTON AND HIS POLITICAL + THEORIES: THE HARRINGTON OR ROTA CLUB: DISCONTENTS IN THE ARMY: + PETITION AND PROPOSALS OF THE OFFICERS OF LAMBERT'S BRIGADE: + SEVERE NOTICE OF THE SAME BY THE RUMP: PETITION AND PROPOSALS OF + THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF OFFICERS: RESOLUTE ANSWERS OF THE RUMP: + LAMBERT, DESBOROUGH, AND SEVEN OTHER OFFICERS, CASHIERED: + LAMBERT'S RETALIATION AND STOPPAGE OF THE PARLIAMENT. + </p> + <p> + The Restored Rump, which had met on the 7th of May, 1659, only + forty-two strong, had very sensibly increased its numbers by the + 25th, the day of Richard's abdication. In obedience to a summons + sent out to Rumpers in the country, between forty and fifty more + had by that time come in, raising the number in attendance to + nearly ninety. In subsequent months still others and others + dropped in, till the House could reckon about 122 altogether as + belonging to it. The following is the most complete list I have + been able to draw out for the whole of our present term of the + existence of the Restored House. Marks are added to each name, to + signify the political course or resting-place of its owner from + his first connexion with the Long Parliament to his present + reappearance:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + The asterisk prefixed to a name denotes a <i>Regicide</i>, i.e. + an actual signer of the Death-Warrant of Charles I. (Vol. III. + 720). The contraction <i>Rec.</i> prefixed signifies that the + person was not an original member of the Long Parliament when + it met in Nov. 1640, but one of the <i>Recruiters</i> who came + in at various times afterwards to supply vacancies. Most of + these came in between Aug. 1645 and the end of 1646 (Vol. III. + 401-402); but there were stray Recruiters through 1647 and + 1648; nay, about <i>eight</i> persons were added by the Rump to + itself by new writs issued after the institution of the + Commonwealth. <i>R</i> added to a name signifies a member of + the Barebones Parliament of 1653; <i>O<sup>1</sup></i> a member + of Oliver's First Parliament of Sept. 1654-Jan. 1654-5; + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i> a member of Oliver's Second Parliament of + Sept. 1656-Feb. 1657-8. The addition † in the last case + denotes that the person was one of the Anti-Oliverians secluded + at the beginning of the first Session, but restored at the + beginning of the second. <i>R</i> denotes a member of the + Commons in Richard's late Parliament, just dissolved; and + <i>L</i> denotes that the person had been one of Oliver's and + Richard's Lords. Other marks might have indicated the + distinction of having belonged to one, or more, or all of the + Councils of State of the Commonwealth, or to the Council of the + Protectorate; but in most cases there will be sufficient + recollection of this distinction by the reader, and references + to the lists of the Councils already given will be easy where + particulars are wanted. Aristocratic courtesy-designations of + Oliverian origin are now stripped off, so as to present the + names in the form thought correct by the restored Republic. + </p> + </blockquote> + <ul> + <li> + <i>Speaker</i>: William Lenthall (<i>ætat.</i> 68), + <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>L</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Andrews, Robert <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Anlaby, John <i>B</i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Ash, James <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Atkins, Alderman + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Baker, James <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>Barker, Col. John + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Bennett, Col. Robert <i>B</i>, + <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Bingham, Col. John <i>B</i>, <i>0<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Birch, Col. John <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup>†</i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>*<i>Rec.</i> Blagrave, Daniel <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Boone, Thomas <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>*<i>Rec.</i> Bourchier, Sir John + </li> + <li>Brereton, Sir Wm., Bart. + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Brewster, Robert <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>* Carew, John <i>B</i> + </li> + <li>* Cawley, William <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>*<i>Rec.</i> Challoner, Thomas <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Corbet, John + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Crompton, Thomas <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Darley, Henry <i>O<sup>2</sup>†</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Darley, Richard <i>O<sup>2</sup>†</i> + </li> + <li>*<i>Rec.</i> Dixwell, Col. John <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Dormer, John + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Dove, John + </li> + <li>*<i>Rec.</i> Downes, Col. John + </li> + <li>Dunch, Edmund <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, <i>O<sup>2</sup></i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Earle, Serjeant Erasmus + </li> + <li>Ellis, Sir William <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Eyre, Col. William <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Fagg, John <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Fielder, Col. John <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Fleetwood, Lieut.-Gen, Charles + </li> + <li> + <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>L</i> + </li> + <li>*<i>Rec.</i> Garland, Augustine <i>O<sup>1</sup></i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Gold, Nicholas <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>Goodwin, Robert <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>Goodwyn, John <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup>†</i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Gurdon, Brampton + </li> + <li>Gurdon, John <i>O<sup>1</sup></i> + </li> + <li>Hallows, Nathaniel + </li> + <li>Harby, Edward + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Harrington, Sir James <i>O<sup>1</sup></i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Harvey, Col. Edward <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup>†</i> + </li> + <li>Hasilrig, Sir Arthur, Bart. <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, <i>O <sup> + 2</sup>†</i>, <i>R</i>, <i>L</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Hay, William <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>Heveningham, William + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Hill, Roger <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>Holland, Cornelius <i>O<sup>1</sup></i> + </li> + <li>*<i>Rec.</i> Hutchinson, Col. John + </li> + <li>*<i>Rec.</i> Jones, Col. John (Cromwell's brother-in-law) <i> + O<sup>2</sup>†</i>, <i>L</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Jones, Col. Philip <i>B</i>, <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>L</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Leman, William + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Lechmere, Nicholas <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Lenthall, Sir John <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>Lisle, Lord Commissioner <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>L</i> + </li> + <li>Lisle, Viscount Philip <i>B</i>, <i>L</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Lister, Thomas <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup>†</i> + </li> + <li>*<i>Rec.</i> Livesey, Sir Michael + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Love, Nicholas <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>Lowry, John <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Lucy, Sir Richard, Bart., <i>B</i>, + <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, <i>O<sup>2</sup>†</i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Ludlow, Lieut.-Gen. Edmund <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>* Marten, Henry + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Martin, Christopher <i>B</i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>*<i>Rec.</i> Mayne. Simon + </li> + <li>Mildmay, Sir Henry <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup>†</i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>*<i>Rec.</i> Millington, Gilbert + </li> + <li>Monson, Viscount (Irish Peer) + </li> + <li>Morley, Col. Herbert <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Nelthorpe, James + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Neville, Henry <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>Nicholas, Robert + </li> + <li>Nutt, John + </li> + <li>Oldworth, Michael + </li> + <li>Palmer, Dr. John + </li> + <li>Pembroke, the Earl of (Earl since 1650) + </li> + <li>Pennington, Alderman Isaac + </li> + <li>Pickering, Sir Gilbert, Bart. <i>B</i>, <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Pigott, Gervase + </li> + <li>Prideaux, Sir Edmund <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>* Purefoy, Col. William <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>Pury, Thomas, Senr. <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Pury, Thomas, Junr. + </li> + <li>Pyne, Col. John <i>B</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Raleigh, Carew (son of the great Raleigh) <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>Reynolds, Robert <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Rich, Col. Charles <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Robinson, Luke <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i> + </li> + <li>St. John, Chief Justice <i>L</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Salisbury, the Earl of <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup>†</i> + </li> + <li>Salway, Major Richard <i>B</i> + </li> + <li>*<i>Rec.</i> Say, William + </li> + <li>*<i>Rec.</i> Scott, Thomas <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, <i>O + <sup>2</sup>†</i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Skinner, Capt. Augustine <i>O<sup>1</sup></i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Skippon, Major-Gen. <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>L</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Sidney, Col. Algernon + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Smith, Philip + </li> + <li>*<i>Rec.</i> Smyth, Henry + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Strickland, Walter <i>B</i>, <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>L</i> + </li> + <li>Strickland, Sir William <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>L</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Sydenham, Col. Wm. <i>B</i>, <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>L</i> + </li> + <li>*<i>Rec.</i> Temple, James + </li> + <li>*<i>Rec.</i> Temple, Peter + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Thompson, Col. George <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Thorpe, Serjeant Francis <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup>†</i> + </li> + <li>Trenchard, John <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, + <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>Trevor, Sir John <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, + <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>Vane, Sir Henry <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Wallop, Robert <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>Walsingham, Sir Thomas + </li> + <li>* Walton, Col. Valentine (Cromwell's brother-in-law) + </li> + <li>*<i>Rec.</i> Wayte, Col. Thomas + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Weaver, Edmund + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Wentworth, Sir Peter + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> West, Edmund + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Weston. Benjamin <i>R</i> + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> White, Col. William + </li> + <li>Whitlocke, Lord Commissioner <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, <i>O <sup> + 2</sup></i>, <i>L</i> + </li> + <li>Widdrington, Sir Thomas <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i> + </li> + <li>*<i>Rec.</i> Wogan, Thomas + </li> + <li> + <i>Rec.</i> Wroth, Sir Thomas <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>Wylde, Chief Baron <i>R</i><sup>1</sup> + </li> + </ul> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: I may explain the manner in which the list has been + prepared:—(1) I have gone over the Journals of the House + through the five months of its sittings—<i>Commons + Journals</i>, Vol. VII. pp. 644-797—and collected the + names appearing in the lists of Committees. This certifies + actual or assumed attendance, more or less, and at one time or + another. (2) I have compared the result with a list in <i>Parl. + Hist.</i>, III. 1547-8. It is much less complete than my own, + giving only ninety-one names; but it helped me once or twice. + (3) For the political antecedents of the members I have + referred to Mr. Carlyle's Revised List of the Long Parliament, + appended to Vol. II. of his <i>Cromwell</i>, and to the Lists + of the Barebones Parliament, Oliver's two Parliaments, and + Richard's Parliament in Vol. III. of the <i>Parl. + Hist.</i>—With all my care, I may have left errors. Once + or twice, where there are several persons of the same surname, + I was doubtful as to the Christian name. The Journals often + omit that.—I have seen, since writing the above, a folio + fly-leaf, published in London in March 1660, giving what it + calls "a perfect list of the Rumpers." It includes 121 names, + and nearly corresponds with mine, but not + quite—containing one or two names not given in mine (e.g. + Sir Francis Russell), and omitting one or two I give. + Effectively, I believe my own list the more authentic. + </p> + </div> + <p> + From this list it will be seen, in the first place, that, if + Ludlow was correct in his estimate that there were 160 old + Rumpers still alive, a good many of them did not now reappear in + that capacity at Westminster. It will be seen, farther, that + nearly two-thirds of those who did re-appear were not original + members of the Long Parliament, but Recruiters. But this is not + all. While about one-third of the total number that re-appeared, + including fifteen out of the twenty-three Regicides on the list, + had been in retirement during the intervening governments from + 1653 to 1659, about two-thirds had not kept themselves so + immaculate in that interval, but had served in the Barebones + Parliament or in the Parliaments of the Protectorate. A good many + of these, indeed—e.g. Birch, John Goodwyn, Harvey, + Hasilrig, Lister, Lucy, Mildmay, Scott, and Thorpe had done so + avowedly with Republican motives; but, on the other hand, + some—e.g. Colonel Philip Jones, Pickering, Prideaux, St. + John, Skippon, the two Stricklands, Sydenham, and + Whitlocke—had merged their Republicanism in Oliverianism, + had been courtiers of Cromwell, and had taken honours from him. + The Restored Rump could be described as unanimously a Republican + body, therefore, only in the sense that many in it had never + swerved from pure Republican principles, and that the rest were + willing now to go back to such. Be it observed, finally, that the + number 122 represents the hypothetical strength of the Restored + House rather than its real strength. In the only division in the + House before the day of Richard's abdication the Journals show + but forty-four as present and voting; nor do the records of + divisions through the whole duration of the House ever show more + than seventy six as thus effectively present at any one sitting. + Only five or six times are as many as sixty noted as present and + voting. One infers that many of the members, after having begun + attending, ceased to do so, from indifference, or from dislike to + what was going on.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of May 13, 1659, with the recorded + divisions in the Journals for the whole session. + </p> + </div> + <p> + A very considerable proportion of the effective attendance in the + House must have been furnished by the presence in it of those + members who were members also of the Council of State. This body, + appointed by the House, May 13-16, to be an executive for the + restored Rump Government, consisted of twenty-one Parliamentary + and ten non-Parliamentary members. They were as follows, the + asterisks again denoting Regicides:— + </p> + <p> + Parliamentary Members + <br /> + (In the order of the number of votes they obtained in the + ballot). + </p> + <ul> + <li>*Sir Arthur Hasilrig, Bart. + </li> + <li>Sir Henry Vane Colonel + </li> + <li>*Lieut.-General Ludlow + </li> + <li>Lieut.-General Fleetwood + </li> + <li>Major Richard Salway + </li> + <li>Colonel Herbert Morley + </li> + <li>*Thomas Scott Colonel + </li> + <li>Robert Wallop + </li> + <li>Sir James Harrington + </li> + <li>*Colonel Valentine Walton + </li> + <li>*Colonel John Jones + </li> + <li>Colonel William Sydenham + </li> + <li>Algernon Sidney + </li> + <li>Henry Neville + </li> + <li>*Thomas Challoner + </li> + <li>*Colonel John Downes + </li> + <li>Lord Chief Justice St. John + </li> + <li>George Thompson + </li> + <li>Lord Commissioner Whitlocke + </li> + <li>*Colonel John Dixwell + </li> + <li>Robert Reynolds + </li> + <li>Non-Parliamentary Members. + </li> + </ul> + <p> + <i>Seven</i> appointed without ballot. + </p> + <ul> + <li>Thomas, Lord Fairfax <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>Major-General Lambert <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>Colonel John Desborough <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>L</i> + </li> + <li>Colonel James Berry <i>O<sup>2</sup></i>, <i>L</i> + </li> + <li>*John Bradshaw <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, + <i>O<sup>2</sup>†</i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, Bart. <i>B</i>, + <i>O<sup>1</sup></i>, <i>O<sup>1</sup>†</i>, <i>R</i> + </li> + <li>Sir Horatio Townshend <i>R</i> + </li> + </ul> + <p> + <i>Three</i> chosen, by ballot. + </p> + <ul> + <li>Josiah Berners <i>O<sup>1</sup></i> + </li> + <li>Sir Archibald Johnstone, of Warriston <i>L</i> + </li> + <li>Sir Robert Honeywood <i>R</i> + </li> + </ul> + <p> + Fairfax was put among the non-Parliamentary ten because, though + he had been a member of the Rump (a very late Recruiter, elected + Feb. 1648-9), he had retired from it before its dissolution. His + nomination now to a seat in the Council was but a compliment, for + he withdrew into Yorkshire. An exceptional appointment was that + of the Scottish Sir Archibald Johnstone of Warriston. The + Restored Rump was avowedly an English Parliament only, treating + the union with Scotland as a business yet to be consummated. The + election of a single Scotchman among the non-Parliamentary + members of the Council was like a pledge that Scottish interests + should not meanwhile be neglected. His election was by the + recommendation of his friend Vane, who probably knew that + Johnstone was by this time a <i>bonâ fide</i> Republican. More + questionable appointments, from the Republican point of view, + were those of Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper and Sir Horatio + Townshend. The second, a cousin of Fairfax, and one of the + wealthiest men in Norfolk, was in secret communication with + Charles II., and had express permission from him to accept the + present appointment.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals, May 13-16, 1659; Markham's Fairfax, 375; + Baillie's Letters, III. 430; Guizot, I. 153. + </p> + </div> + <p> + There was one fatal absurdity in the position of the Restored + Rump Government. It came together in the name of "the good old + cause," or a pure and absolute Republic; and yet it stood there + itself in glaring contradiction to what is usually regarded, and + to what itself put forth, as the very root-principle of a pure + Republic—to wit, the Sovereignty of the People. Richard's + House of Commons had been as freely elected as any House of + Commons since that of the Long Parliament, and, as far as England + and Wales were concerned, by the same constituencies; it + represented no past mood of the community, but precisely their + mood in January 1658-9; and the attendances in the House, when it + did meet, were unusually numerous. Well, in a series of debates + and votes, in which there was no concussion, this Parliament had + declared, in the main, for a continuation of the Protectorate and + the Protectoral Constitution as settled by Oliver's Second + Parliament. Hardly had this been done when, by a combination in + London between the disappointed Republicans and the Army + malcontents, the Parliament was abruptly dissolved. What then + stepped in to take its place? A small body, effectively about + eighty strong at the utmost, having no pretence of representing + the community at that time, or of being anything else than the + casual surviving rag of a Parliament of 500, the members of which + had been elected at various times, and irregularly, between 1640 + and 1649. Nay, it was not even the surviving rag of that + Parliament itself, but the rag of a stump to which that + Parliament had been already reduced in 1649 by prior military + hacking and carving. What pinch of representative virtue, for the + England, Scotland, and Ireland of May 1659, or even for the + non-Royalist portions of their populations, was there in the + Restored Rump? Many of them had not been in contact with their + original constituencies for ten years or more; those who had gone + back to their original constituencies, or to others, for election + to the Protectorate Parliaments, or to any of them, had by that + fact treated the rights of the Long Parliament, in its integrity + or in its last stump, as lapsed and defunct, and had appealed to + the community afresh. When that appeal had gone against them, + when the last and fullest Parliament had represented it as the + will of the people that the Protectoral system should be + continued, was it not odd that about forty of the defeated + minority of that Parliament, without consulting their + constituencies, should associate themselves with a number of + others, then quite astray from any constituencies, and with no + other title than that of being Old Rumpers too, and this for the + purpose of instituting the very form of Government just + ascertained to be unpopular? It was odd <i>theoretically</i>; + for, though there were then Republicans—Milton for + one—who had adopted the principle (essentially Cromwell's + too) that the government of States cannot and ought not to go by + mere multitudinous suffrage, but may be dictated and compelled by + the proper few, the Rumpers did not profess to be Republicans of + this sort. The supremacy of the People through a Single + Representative House was the deepest theoretical tenet of most of + the men who had now met to oppose the will of the People as + declared in the fullest Representative House within memory. But, + though odd theoretically, the contradiction is of a kind common + enough in History. The ultra-Republicans of the Restored Rump, + whose very definition of the right Republican system was that + there ought to be nothing in it <i>a priori</i> whatever, were + yet believers in the indefeasible and <i>a priori</i> authority + of that Republican system itself. In other words, so important + was it that there should be no government except by the people + themselves through a Representative House that, if the people + would not govern themselves by a Representative House in a + certain particular manner, they must not be allowed to govern + themselves by a Representative House, but must be governed by a + non-representative House till they came to their senses! + </p> + <p> + These remarks are not made speculatively, but because they + express the sentiments common throughout the British Islands at + the time, and explain what followed. + </p> + <p> + The first expectation after the usurpation of the Restored Rump + had been that there would be a civil war between the + Protectoratists and the Rumpers. For, though Fleetwood, + Desborough, and the other Army-officers at the centre, had been + the agents in Richard's downfall and had joined with the + Republicans in restoring the Rump, the chances of the + Protectorate were by no means exhausted by <i>their</i> + defection. While Richard lingered at Whitehall, his Protectorship + could not be said to be extinct, and whatever of Cromwellianism + survived anywhere apart from the central English Army might be + rallied for the rescue. There was Henry Cromwell and the Army in + Ireland; there was Monk and the Army in Scotland; there was + Lockhart and the Army in Flanders; there was the fleet under + Admiral Montague, a man marked even among Cromwellians for the + ardour of his devotion to Cromwell and his family; and there were + other Cromwellians of influence, dispersed from London by the + recent events, and carrying their resentment with them wherever + they went. Broghill and Coote were back in Ireland; Ingoldsby was + on a visit to Ireland to consult with Henry Cromwell; + Falconbridge was in country-seclusion; and the Marquis of Argyle + (a Londoner and client of the Protectorate for some years) was + back furtively in Scotland, to avoid arrest for his debts, and + try new scheming. Then, if there could be a combination of such + elements, what masses of diffused material on which to work! + There was the great body of the English Presbyterians, reconciled + to Oliver's rule completely before his death, and desiring + nothing better now than a continuation of the Protectoral system; + there were the orderly and conservative classes generally, + including many Anglicans who had ceased to be Royalists; and + there were one knows not how many scattered Cromwellians, whether + in civil life or in the Army, whose Cromwellianism was, like + Montague's, less a political creed than a passionate private + hero-worship. Nor was this all. Louis XIV, and Mazarin were + Cromwellians too for the nonce, faithful to the memory of the + great man whose alliance they had courted, and ready to lend the + armed aid of France, if necessary, to the support of his dynasty. + No one had been watching the course of events in England more + coolly than M. de Bordeaux, the French Ambassador in London; and + through. May and part of June 1659 his letters to Mazarin show + amply the nature of his communications with Richard and Thurloe. + "I have frequently renewed my offers of the King's assistance," + he wrote to the Cardinal on the 16th of May, nine days after the + first meeting of the Restored Rump and eleven days before + Richard's abdication; and again, more distinctly, on the 19th, + "Having yesterday contrived to get an interview with him + [Thurloe] in the country, I assured him that the King would spare + neither money nor troops in order to re-establish the Protector, + if there were any likelihood of success," The Ambassador, it is + true, had conceived the bold private idea that Louis XIV, and the + Cardinal might do better by using such a fine opportunity for an + invasion and conquest of England by France on her own account; + and he had hinted as much to the Cardinal. The idea was not + encouraged; and so the position of M. de Bordeaux in London + remained that of a secret partisan of the Cromwellians, offering + them all help from France if they should engage in a civil war + with the Rumpers.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Guizot, I. 141-146, with Letters of M. de Bordeaux in the + Appendix to the volume (where the dates are by the French + reckoning)—especially Letters 46, 47, 48, and 49 (pp, + 381-402); Baillie, III. 430; Phillips, 647-648. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Before the middle of June it was evident that such a Civil War + was not to be feared. Richard himself had been quite inert in + Whitehall, and his abdication was a signal to all his partisans + to give up the cause. Even after that there were efforts or + protests in his behalf here and there, but they died + away.—Monk, about whose conduct in the crisis there had + been great anxiety among the Rumpers, and who had sulkily wanted + to know at first what this "Good Old Cause" was that they were so + enthusiastic about in London, had already sounded the Army in + Scotland sufficiently to find that they would not oppose their + English brethren. A letter of adhesion to the Restored + Commonwealth by Monk and the Scottish Army had, accordingly, been + received May 18, and read in the House with great joy; and, + though there were still signs that Monk would stand a good deal + on his independence, his adhesion on any terms was an immense + gain.—Lockhart also, looking about him in Flanders, and + considering what would be best for English interests altogether, + had given up all thoughts of a revolt from the Rump by the + Continental forces, and had returned to England, early in June, + to render his accounts. The Council of the Rump, on their side, + considering what was best in the circumstances, with Dunkirk and + the other results of Cromwell's Flanders enterprise still on + their hands, were glad to retain Lockhart's services in the post + of Ambassador to Louis XIV. and sent him back, after a week or + two, with re-credentials in that post from the new + Government.—There had been more uncertainty about Henry + Cromwell in Ireland. His great popularity and the conditions of + the country itself made a Cromwellian revolt there more likely + than anywhere else. But there was to be no such thing. Left by + his inert brother without direct communications, and receiving + intelligence, as he says, "only from common fame," Henry had very + bravely held out to the last, ascertaining the temper of his + officers and the Army. Not till the 15th of June was he clear as + to his duty; but on that day, having fully made up his mind, he + addressed to the Speaker of the Rump a letter worthy of himself + and of the occasion. "All this while," he wrote, "I expected + directions from his Highness, by whose authority I was placed + here, still having an eye to the common peace, by preventing all + making of parties and divisions either among the people or Army. + But, hearing nothing expressly from him, and yet having credible + notice of his acquiescing in what Providence had brought forth as + to the future government of these nations, I now think it time, + lest a longer suspense should beget prejudicial apprehensions in + the minds of any, to give you this account: viz, that I acquiesce + in the present way of government, although I cannot promise so + much, affection, to the late changes as others very honestly may. + For my own part, I can say that I believe God was present in many + of your administrations before you were last interrupted [i.e. + before his Father's dissolution of them in April 1653], and may + be so again; to which end I hope that those worthy persons who + have lately acknowledged such their interrupting you in the year + 1653 to have been their fault will by that sense of their + impatience be henceforth engaged to do so no more, but be the + instruments of your defence whilst you quietly search out the + ways of peace. .... Yet I must not deny but that the free + submission which many worthy, wise, and conscientious persons + yielded to the late Government under a Single Person, by several + ways as well real as verbal, satisfied me also in that frame. + And, whereas my Father (whom I hope you yet look upon as no + inconsiderable instrument of these Nations' freedom and + happiness), and since him my Brother, were constituted chief in + those administrations, and that the returning to another form + hath been looked upon as an indignity to those my nearest + relations, I cannot but acknowledge my own weakness as to the + sudden digesting thereof, and my own unfitness to serve you in + the carrying on your further superstructures upon that basis. + And, as I cannot promote anything which infers the diminution of + my late Father's honour and merit, so I thank the Lord for that + He hath kept me safe in the great temptation wherewith I have + been assaulted to withdraw my affection from that Cause wherein + he lived and died." Thus beautifully and honourably did the real + head of the Cromwells then living draw down the family flag. He + was in London on the 4th of July, to attend the pleasure of the + House; on which day they ordered that it should be referred to + the Council to hear his report on Irish affairs, and then that + "Colonel Henry Cromwell have liberty to retire himself into the + country, whither he shall think fit, on his own occasions." The + same day there was an arrangement for paying the mourning + expenses of Cromwell's funeral; and on the 16th the subject of a + retiring provision for Richard Cromwell was resumed. His debts, + as by former assurance, were to be discharged for him; he was to + have a protection from trouble from his creditors meanwhile; and + farther inquiry was directed into the state of his resources, + with the understanding that his income should receive such an + increase as should raise it to £10,000 a year in all.—Monk, + Lockhart, and the Cromwells themselves, having adhered to the new + Government, there could be no separate action by Montague even if + he could have won the Baltic Fleet to his will. Nor, of course, + could Louis XIV. and Mazarin do otherwise now than treat the + Protectoratist cause as extinct, and re-instruct M. de Bordeaux + accordingly. He received credentials as Ambassador from France to + the new Government.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Thurloe, VII. 669-671, and 683-684; Letters of M. de + Bordeaux, in Guizot, I. 409-413; Commons Journals, June 13 and + July 2, 1659. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The Cromwellians or Protectoratists being thus no longer a party + militant, the struggle was to be a direct one between the Bumpers + and the cause of Charles II. Here, however, one has to note a + most extraordinary phenomenon. The cause of Charles II., by no + exertion on its own part, but by the mere whirl of events between + May and July, had received an enormous accession of strength. + Baulked of their own. natural purpose of a preserved Protectorate + constitutionally defined and guaranteed afresh, and resenting the + outrage done to their latest suffrages for that end, what could + many of the Cromwellians do but cease to call themselves by that + now inoperative name and melt into the ranks of the Stuartists? + For the veteran Cromwellians, implicated in the Regicide and its + close accompaniments, this was, of course, impossible. To the + last breath <i>they</i> must strive to keep out the King; and, as + they could do so no longer as Protectoratists, they must fall in + with the pure Republicans or Restored Rumpers, But for the great + body of the Cromwellians, not burdened by overwhelming + recollections of personal responsibility, there was no such + compulsion. What mattered it to the Presbyterians, or to that + younger part of the entire population which had grown into + manhood since the death of Charles I., whether Kingship, which + they would willingly enough have seen Oliver assume, should now + come back to them with the old dynasty? + </p> + <p> + All this Charles and Hyde had been observing. From May 1659 it + had been their policy to enter into communications with the more + eminent of the disappointed or baulked Cromwellians, and to + assure them not only of indemnity for the past, but of rewards + and honours to any extent, if they would now become Royalists. + Monk, Montague, Howard, Falconbridge, Broghill, and Lockhart, had + all been thought of. Applications had been made even to the two + Cromwells themselves, and particularly to Henry Cromwell. There + seems to be a reference to that fact in the close of his fine + letter to the Rump Parliament. He thanked God that he had been + able to resist temptation to a course which in <i>him</i>, at all + events, would have been infamous; and, though, he could not serve + the Republican Parliament in <i>their</i> "further + superstructures," he could wish them well on the whole, and so + feel that he was remaining as true as he could be, in such + perplexed circumstances, to the cause wherein his father had + lived and died. Monk, without any such reservation, had already + adhered to the Parliament, and Charles's letter, when it did + reach him, was not even to remain in his own pocket till he + should see his way more clearly. Falconbridge and Howard, those + two "sons of Belial" in Desborongh's esteem, had meanwhile, I + believe, let it be known that they might be reckoned on by + Charles, Montague and Broghill tended that way, but were in no + such haste. Lockhart had deemed it best to enter the service of + the Restored Rump, and would act honourably for them while he + remained their servant. Thurloe also, though not yet safe from + prosecution by the new Government, thought it only fair to assist + them with advices and information.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Phillips, 650-651; Guizot, I. 177-178. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Meanwhile the new Government had been stoutly at work. The spirit + of the "good old cause" was strong in the two or three scores of + members most regularly in attendance, among whom were Vane, + Marten, Ludlow, Hasilrig, Scott, Salway, Weaver, Neville, + Raleigh, Lister, Walton, Say, Downes, Morley, and John Jones. + Remembering the great days of the Commonwealth between 1649 and + 1653, and not inquiring how much of the greatness of those days + had been owing to the fact that the politicians at the centre had + then a Cromwell marching over the map for them, and winning them + the victories that gave them great work to do, they set + themselves, with all their industry, courage, and ability, to + prove to the world that those great days might be renewed without + a Cromwell. The Council generally held its meetings early in the + morning, so that the Council-business might not interfere with + their attendance in the House. Johnstone of Warriston, though a + non-Parliamentary member of the Council, at once acquired high + influence in it. He, Vane, and Whitlocke, were most frequently in + the chair. + </p> + <p> + A new great seal; new Commissioners for the same (Bradshaw, + Tyrrell, and Fountain); new Judges; state of the public debts; + orders for the sale of Hampton Court and Somerset House; + suspension of the sale of Hampton Court; votes for pay of the + Army and Navy; an Act of Indemnity and Oblivion; a Bill for + settling the Union with Scotland; re-declarations of a Free + Commonwealth, without Single Person, Kingship, or House of Peers; + Irish affairs; a Vote for ending the present Parliament on the + 7th of May ensuing: these mere headings will indicate much of the + miscellaneous activity of the Council, or of the House, or of + committees of the House, as far as to the end of July. One may + glance more closely at their proceedings and intentions in two + departments: (1) <i>Church and Religion</i>, On the 27th of June, + In reply to a petition from "many thousands of the free-born + people of this Commonwealth" for the abolition of Tithes, the + House voted that "the payment of Tithes shall continue as now + they are, unless this Parliament shall find out some other and + more equal and comfortable maintenance." Evidently, therefore, + the Restored Rumpers were not yet prepared to interfere + materially with the Church-Establishment as it had been left by + Oliver. The petition, however, which drew from them this + declaration, is itself significant. In the opinion of many over + the country absolute Voluntaryism in Religion was part and parcel + of "the good old cause," and ought to be re-proclaimed as such, + at once. Nor, though the Rumpers now refused to admit that, was + sympathy with the demand wanting within their own body. The + majority of the Parliament and of its Council were, indeed, + orthodox Independents or Semi-Presbyterians, approving of + Cromwell's Church policy, and anxious to support the existing + public ministry. But Vane and some other leading Rumpers were men + of mystic and extreme theological lights, pointing in the + direction of Fifth-Monarchyism, Quakerism, and all other + varieties of that fervency for Religion itself which would + destroy mere state-paid machinery in its behalf, while a few, on + the other hand, such as Neville, were cool freethinkers, + contemptuous of Church and Clergy as but an apparatus for the + prevalent superstition. For the present, it had been thought + impolitic perhaps to divide counsels in that matter, or to give + offence to the sober majority of the people by reviving the + question, so much agitated between 1649 and 1653, whether pure + Republicanism in politics did not necessarily involve absolute + Voluntaryism in Religion; but the probability is that the + question was only adjourned. In the connected question of + Religious Toleration the new Government was more free at once to + give effect to strong views; and, though it was not formally + announced that unlimited Toleration was to be the rule of the + Restored Republic, this was substantially the understanding. On + the whole, Cromwell's policy in Church-matters was merely + continued. (2) <i>Relations with Foreign Powers</i>. In this + matter the rule of the new Government was a very simple one. It + was to withdraw, as speedily as possible, from all foreign + entanglements. No longer now could Charles Gustavus of Sweden + calculate on help from England. Montague's Fleet, indeed, was + still in the Baltic; Meadows was re-commissioned as + envoy-in-ordinary to the Kings of Denmark and Sweden; envoys from + Sweden had audiences in London; and at length, early in July, the + importance of the Baltic business was fully recognised by the + despatch of Algernon Sidney and Sir Robert Honeywood, two of the + members of the Council of State, and Mr. Boone, a member of the + House, to act as plenipotentiaries with Montague for the + settlement of the differences between Sweden and Denmark and + between Sweden and the Dutch. The instructions, however, were to + compel the Swedish King to a pacification, and to co-operate with + the Dutch and the Danes in that interest. As regarded the Dutch + themselves, among whom Downing was grudgingly continued as + Resident, there was the most studious care for a friendly + intercourse. There was no revival now of that imperious project + of the old Commonwealth Government for a union of the two + Republics which had alarmed the Dutch and led to the great naval + war with them. It was enough that the English should mind their + own affairs, and the Dutch theirs. But the determination to have + no more of Cromwell's "spirited foreign policy" was most signally + manifested in the business of the French alliance and the war + with Spain. That peace should be made with Spain was a foregone + conclusion, and circumstances were favourable. The Spaniards, + crippled by their losses in Flanders, had for some time been + making overtures of peace to the French Court; these had been + received the more willingly at last because of the uncertainties + in which Louis XIV. and Mazarin were left by Cromwell's death; + negotiations had been cleverly on foot since the beginning of the + year for a treaty between the two Catholic Powers, to include the + marriage of Louis XIV. with the Spanish Infanta, Maria Theresa; + and, though the treaty had not been concluded, preliminaries had + been so far arranged that, since May 1659, there had been a + cessation of hostilities. Thus relieved already from the trouble + of carrying on military operations in Flanders, the Restored + Rumpers took steps to get themselves included in the Treaty in + progress between the two Kings, or, if they should fail in that, + to secure peace with Spain independently. This was the main + business on which Lockhart had been re-commissioned as ambassador + to the French Court, From Paris he went to St. Jean de Luz, at + the foot of the Pyrenees, where Mazarin and the Spanish Prime + Minister Don Luis de Haro were then holding their consultations. + He arrived there on the 1st of August, in such ambassadorial pomp + as he thought likely to credit his difficult mission. The + business of that mission, was to undo the work he had done for + Cromwell. Such was the will of his new masters. Dunkirk and the + rest of Cromwell's acquisitions on the Continent were only a + trouble; and, if any decent arrangement could be made for selling + them either to France or back to Spain, why not be satisfied? War + with Continental Papacy and championship of Continental + Protestantism were but expensive moonshine.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Whitlocke, from May to the end of July 1659; Parl. Hist. for + same term; Commons Journals of dates; Guizot, I. 165-172. + </p> + </div> + <p> + In nothing was the Republican energy of the new Rumpers more + conspicuous than in their determination to subject all forms of + the public service to direct Parliamentary control. They would + have all rigorously in the grasp of the little Restored House + itself, until the power should be handed over to a duly + constituted successor. Hence their precaution, while nominating + Fleetwood Lieutenant-General and Commander-in-chief of the Forces + in England and Scotland, of not giving him supreme power in + appointing his officers, but making him only one of a Commission + of Seven for recommending officers to the House (May 13). + Persevering in this policy, and becoming even more stringent in + it, notwithstanding the complaints of the Army-magnates that it + showed want of confidence in their integrity, the House + proceeded, May 28, to a vast remodelling of the entire Armies of + England. Scotland, and Ireland. Fleetwood was confirmed in the + Commandership-in-Chief for England and Scotland by a special + Bill, passed June 7; and by another Bill, passed June 8, + reconstituting the Commissioners for nominations of officers, it + was secured not only that such nominations should require + Parliamentary approval, but also that each commission to an + officer should be signed by the Speaker in the name of the + Parliament, and delivered, if possible, to the officer personally + from the Speaker's own hands. Accordingly, on the 9th of June, + Fleetwood himself was solemnly presented with a signed transcript + of the Act appointing him Commander-in-Chief in England and + Scotland; and from that day, on through the rest of June, the + whole of July, and even into August and September, much of the + business of the House consisted in passing commissions to the + officers recommended, sometimes with a rejection or substitution, + and in seeing the officers come up in batches to the Speaker to + receive their commissions one by one, each with a lecture on his + duty. As each foot-regiment, consisting of ten companies, had its + colonel, its lieutenant-colonel, its major, and its + quartermaster, with seven captains besides, and twenty + subalterns, and as each horse-regiment, consisting of six troops, + had its colonel, its major, four captains besides, six + lieutenants, six cornets, and six quartermasters, one may guess + the tediousness of this process of approving nominations and + delivering commissions. About 1200 persons had to be approved and + commissioned, or, if we throw in chaplains, surgeons, &c., + about 1400 in all. Nevertheless, with certain arrangements for + delivering commissions to officers at a distance, the process was + carried so far that one can make out from the Journals of the + House not only the general plan of the Remodelling, but even the + names of a large proportion of the actually appointed officers. + The essence of the scheme was, of course, that all very + pronounced Cromwellians,—e.g. Falconbridge, Howard, + Ingoldsby, Whalley, Barkstead, Goffe, and Pride,—should be + thrown out of their commands, and men of the right stamp + substituted. It is to be noticed also, however, that there were + to be now properly but two <i>Generals</i>, and that the highest + officers under these, whatever had been their previous + designations, were all, with a certain courtesy exception in + favour of Lambert and Monk, to rank on one level as merely + <i>Colonels</i>. As far as to these Colonels, the result was as + follows: + </p> + <p> + I. ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. + </p> + <p> + <i>Commander-in-Chief</i>: LIEUTENANT-GENERAL, CHARLES FLEETWOOD. + </p> + <p> + I. FOR, SERVICE IN ENGLAND AND WALES: 1. <i>Colonels of Horse + Regiments</i>: John Lambert (with Richard Creed for his Major), + John Desborough, James Berry (with Unton Crooke for his Major), + Robert Lilburne, Francis Hacker, John Okey, William Packer (with + John Gladman for his Major), Nathaniel Rich, Thomas Saunders, and + Herbert Morley. 2. <i>Colonels of Foot-Regiments</i>: + Lieutenant-General Fleetwood, Lambert, Robert Overton, Matthew + Alured, John Hewson (with John Duckinfield for his + Lieutenant-Colonel), John Biscoe, William Sydenham, Edward + Salmon, Richard Mosse, Richard Ashfield, Sir Arthur Hasilrig, + Thomas Kelsay, John Clerk, Robert Gibbon, Robert + Barrow.—One finds, besides, certain Colonels appointed to + garrison commands: e.g. Colonel Thomas Fitch to be Governor of + the Tower, Colonel Nathaniel Whetham to be Governor of + Portsmouth, Colonel Mark Grimes to be Governor of Cardiff Overton + was Governor of Hall as well as Colonel of a Foot-Regiment; and + Alured had charge of the Life-Guard of the House and the Council + at Westminster,—All these appointments were actually made; + other colonelcies probably stood over for consideration.—In + the <i>Journals</i> Lambert is styled "Major-General Lambert," + but that was only by courtesy. He had no commission with that + title; and Ludlow makes a point of marking this by always calling + him "Colonel Lambert" only. His distinction was in holding two + colonelcies together, one of Foot and one of Horse. + </p> + <p> + II. FOR SERVICE IN SCOTLAND:—Here, probably because of + Monk's passive resistance, the reorganization was less completely + carried out; but the intention seems to have been that Monk, + though in courtesy he might still be called "General Monk," + should have only, by actual commission, the same distinction of + double colonelcy that Lambert had in England. He had a Regiment + of Foot and also one of Horse; and among the other Colonels were, + or were to be, Thomas Talbot (at Edinburgh), Timothy Wilkes (at + Leith), Ralph Cobbet (at Glasgow), Roger Sawrey (at Ayr), Charles + Fairfax (at Aberdeen), Thomas Read (at Stirling, with John + Clobery for his Lieutenant-Colonel), Henry Smith (at Inverness), + John Pierson (at Perth), the veteran Thomas Morgan of Flanders + celebrity (a Dragoon Regiment), and Philip Twistleton (a Horse + Regiment). One or two of these were substitutions for officers + whom Monk preferred. + </p> + <p> + II. IRELAND. + </p> + <p> + <i>Commander-in-Chief</i>: LIEUTENANT-GENERAL EDMUND LUDLOW. + </p> + <p> + Ludlow, after having been commissioned to an English Colonelcy of + Foot, was removed to this higher post, in succession to Henry + Cromwell, July 4, not with the title of Lord Lieutenant of + Ireland, but with the military title of "Lieutenant-General of + Horse." For the Civil Government of Ireland there were associated + with him, under the title of Commissioners, Colonel John Jones, + William Steele, Robert Goodwyn, Colonel Matthew Tomlinson, and + Miles Corbet. Ludlow did not go to Ireland till late in July or + early in August; and he had stipulated, in accepting the Irish + command-in-chief, that he should be at liberty to return to + England on occasion. + </p> + <p> + Probably because Ludlow's recommendations from Ireland were + waited for, fewer commissions were actually issued for Ireland + than for England and Scotland. Ludlow himself, with Lambert and + Monk, had the distinction of a Colonelcy of Horse and one of Foot + together; and other Colonels appointed were Thomas Cooper, + Richard Lawrence, Alexander Brayfield, Thomas Sadler, and Henry + Markham, for Foot-Regiments, and Jerome Zanchy, Peter Wallis, and + Daniel Axtell, for Horse-Regiments. Sir Hardress Waller, Sir + Charles Coote, Theophilus Jones, and others to be heard of in + Ludlow's memoirs, were still on duty in their old Colonelcies + when he arrived in Ireland. + </p> + <p> + In exactly the same way was the Navy to be brought within + Parliamentary grasp. John Lawson, an assured Commonwealth's man, + having been appointed Vice-Admiral and Commander-in-Chief in the + narrow seas (to counterbalance the Cromwellian Montague), + received his commission from the Speaker's hands on the 8th of + June; such captains and other officers for Lawson's Fleet as were + at hand received their commissions in the same manner; and + commissions signed by the Speaker were sent out to the + flag-officers, captains, and lieutenants in Montague's Baltic + Fleet.—More a matter of wonder still was the + re-organization of the Militia of the Cities and Counties of all + England and Wales. The regular Army could not but remark the + extreme attention of the Parliament to the recruiting and + re-officering of this vast civilian soldiery. A Bill for settling + the Militia, brought in on the 2nd of July, passed on the 26th; + and from that time there was a stream of Militia officers from + the counties, just as of the Regulars, to receive their + commissions from the Speaker. Old Skippon was re-appointed in his + natural position as Major-General of the Militia for the City of + London (July 27) and Commander-In-Chief of all the Forces within, + the Weekly Bills (Aug. 2); and Lord Mayor John Ireton was one of + the City Colonels.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: I have compiled these lists of names, with some labour, from + the Commons Journals of May-Sept. 1659, aided by references to + Ludlow's Memoirs and other authorities for some particulars. + There may be one or two omissions in the lists of actually + appointed Colonels. Possibly also the distribution of the + regiments between England and Scotland, or between Great + Britain and Ireland, may not be absolutely correct. Perhaps + that is hardly possible; for there were shiftings of regiments + between England and Ireland within the few months under notice, + and shiftings of regiments, or of parts of regiments, between + England and Scotland. I have put Overton among the Colonels in + England, because he was made Governor of Hull; but the larger + part of the regiment to which he was appointed was with Monk in + Scotland, and Overton's former military experience in high + command had been chiefly in Scotland. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The energetic little Rump and its Council were in the midst of + all this re-organizing and re-officering of the Forces of the + Commonwealth when a demand suddenly burst upon them for the + actual service of a portion of those forces, such as they were. + </p> + <p> + After a long period of judicious quiet, Hyde and the other + Councillors of Charles abroad, in advice with the Royalists at + home, had resolved on testing the King's improved chances by a + general insurrection. The arrangements had been made chiefly by + Mr. John Mordaunt (see ante p. 337), Sir John Greenville, Sir + Thomas Peyton, Mr. Arthur Annesley, and Mr. William Legge. These + five had been the authorized commissioners for the King in + England since March last in place of the former secret + commissioners of the Sealed Knot; and Mordaunt had been in + Brussels to consult with Charles. In idea at least the + arrangements had been most formidable. The conspiracy had its + network through all England and Wales, and included not only the + old Royalists, but also the more numerous Presbyterians and other + baulked Cromwellians, now known collectively as "new Royalists." + Mordaunt himself, with other friends, had undertaken Surrey; Sir + George Booth was to lead in Lancashire and Cheshire, where his + influence with the Presbyterians was boundless; old Sir Thomas + Middleton was to head the rising in Shrepshire and Flintshire; + the Earl of Stamford that in Leicestershire; Lord Willoughby of + Parham that in Suffolk; Colonel Egerton that in Staffordshire; + Colonel Rossiter that in Lincolnshire; Lord Herbert and + Major-General Massey were to rouse Worcestershire, + Gloucestershire, and the Welsh border; and there were commissions + from Charles to known persons in other counties, with blank + commissions besides. The Duke of Buckingham, the Earls of + Manchester, Derby, Northampton, and Oxford, Lord Fairfax, Lord + Bruce, Lord Falkland, Lord Falconbridge, Sir William Waller, + Colonel Popham, Colonel Ingoldsby, Mr. Edmund Dunch, and many + others, were all implicated, or reported as implicated. + Major-General Browne had been sounded, with a view to a rising of + the London Presbyterians. Moreover, there had been communications + from Charles himself to Admiral Montague in the Baltic, begging + him to declare for the cause, and bring his fleet, or at least + his own ship, home for use. There had been special devices also + for bringing Monk into the confederacy. "I am confident that + George Monk can have no malice in his heart against me, nor hath + he done anything against me which I cannot easily pardon," + Charles had written to Sir John Greenville on the 21st of July, + authorizing him to treat with Monk, who was a distant relative of + Greenville's, and to offer him whatever reward in lands and + titles he might himself propose as the price of his adhesion. + With this letter there had gone one to be conveyed by Greenville + to Monk. "I cannot think you will decline my interest," Charles + there said, adding various kind expressions, and offering to + leave the time and manner of Monk's declaring for him entirely to + Monk's own judgment. The letter had not yet been delivered, but + much was expected from it. Meanwhile, as it was deemed essential + to the success of the insurrection that Charles himself should + come to England, he, Ormond, the Earl of Bristol, and one or two + others, went, with all possible privacy, from Brussels to Calais. + The Duke of York was to follow them thither, or to Boulogne; and + all were to embark together.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Clarendon, 868-870; Phillips, 640 and 619-651; Guizot, + 191-204. + </p> + </div> + <p> + As usual, there was great bungling. On the one hand, Thurloe's + means of intelligence being still wonderfully goods, if only + because the Royalist traitor Sir Richard Willis still maintained + with him the curious compact made with Cromwell, and Thurloe's + information being at the disposal of the Rump Government, there + had been time for some precautions on their part, Through the + whole of July 30 and July 31 the Council, with Whitlocke for + President, were busy with examinations. On the other hand, and + chiefly through the agency of Willis himself, doubts and + hesitations had already arisen among the confederates. It had all + along been Willis's good-natured policy to balance his treachery + in revealing the Royalist plans by preventing his friends from + running upon ruin by executing those plans; and this policy he + had again been pursuing. Now, though Charles had by this time + been made aware of Sir Richard's long course of treachery, and + had privately informed Mordaunt of the extraordinary discovery, + the fact had been too little divulged to destroy the effects of + Sir Richard's counsels of wariness and delay, agreeable as these + naturally were to men fearing for their lives and estates and + remembering the failure of all previous insurrections. In short, + whatever was the cause, August 1, which had been the day fixed + for a simultaneous rising in many places, passed with far less + demonstration than had been promised. Mordaunt and a few of his + friends tried a rendezvous in Surrey, only to find it useless; in + several other places those who straggled together dispersed + themselves at once; in Gloucestershire, where Major-General + Massey, Lord Herbert, and their associates, did appear more + openly, the affair ended in the arrest or surrender of the + leaders, Massey escaping after having been taken. Only in + Cheshire, where Sir George Booth was the leader, did a + considerable body rise in arms. Booth, the Earl of Derby, Colonel + Egerton, and a number of others, having met at Warrington, issued + a proclamation in which no mention was made of the King, but it + was merely declared that certain "Lords, Gentlemen, and Citizens, + Freeholders and Yeomen, in this once happy nation," tired of the + existing anarchy and tyranny, had resolved to do what they could + to recover liberty and free Parliamentary Government. Hundreds + and hundreds flocking to their standard, they marched on Chester + and took the city without opposition, though the castle held out. + The agitation then extended itself into Flintshire, where the + aged Sir Thomas Middleton distinguished himself by brandishing + his sword in the market-place of Wrexham and proclaiming the + King. Various castles and garrisons in the two counties fell in, + and Presbyterian Lancashire was also in commotion. Sir George + Booth found himself at the head of between 4000 and 5000 men, and + it remained to be seen whether the movement he had begun so + boldly in Cheshire, Flintshire, and Lancashire, might not spread + itself northwards, eastwards, and southwards, and so do the work + of the universal rising originally projected. It was hoped that + his Majesty himself, instead of landing in the south of England, + as had been proposed, would appear soon in the district that had + so happily taken the initiative.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Clarendon, 869-871; Whitlocke, IV. 355-356; Phillips, + 649-652 (where Booth's Proclamation is given). + </p> + </div> + <p> + After some hesitations among the Rumpers in London on the + question what officer should be sent against Sir George Booth, it + was resolved to send Lambert. He set out on the 6th of August, + with three regiments of horse, three of foot, one of dragoons, + and a train of artillery; and orders were sent for other forces + to join him on his march, and for bringing two regiments from + Ireland and three from Flanders. Communications were to be kept + up between Lambert and the Council at Westminster by messengers + twice or thrice every day. Such incessant communication was very + necessary. Over England, Scotland, and Ireland, the talk was of + Sir George Booth's Insurrection, with much exaggeration of its + dimensions, and speculation as to its chances. Old and new + Royalists everywhere, and men who had not yet declared themselves + Royalists, were waiting for news that might determine their + course.—Above all, Monk at Dalkeith was looking southwards + with interest, and timing the arrival of each post-bag In + Edinburgh. He had then a visitor at Dalkeith, in the person of + his brother, the Rev. Mr. Nicholas Monk, minister of Kilhampton + parish in Cornwall, This gentleman had come to take home his + daughter, who had been living with Monk, a suitable husband + having now been found for her in England. But he had come on a + little piece of business besides. His Cornish living had been + given him, about a year before, by Sir John Greenville; and Sir + John had thought him the very man to be employed in bringing + round Monk to the King's interest. He had, accordingly, gone from + Cornwall to London, had seen Greenville there and received + instructions, and had also consulted Dr. Thomas Clarges, Monk's + brother-in-law, and his trusty agent in London, Clarges, without + committing himself on the special subject of the mission, easily + procured a passage to Scotland by sea for Mr. Nicholas Monk. He + sailed for Leith, Aug. 5. He had not run the risk of carrying + with him the King's letters to Monk and Greenville; but he had + got their substance by heart. And so, having first sounded Monk's + domestic chaplain, Dr. John Price, who was of Royalist + proclivities too, he had opened to Monk the fact that his sole + purpose In coming was not to bring back his daughter. He told him + of the King's commission to Greenville to treat with him, of the + King's letter to himself, of the extent of the confederacy for + the King in England, and of the hopes that Sir George Booth's + rising in Cheshire would yet bring out the confederacy in its + full strength. This was late at night in Dalkeith House, when the + two brothers were by themselves. "The thinking silent General," + we are told, listened and asked a few questions, but, as usual, + said not a word expressing either assent or dissent. Through the + next few days he and Dr. Price, with Dr. Thomas Gumble, the + Presbyterian chaplain to the Council in Edinburgh, and Dr. Samuel + Barrow, chief physician to the Army in Scotland, were much + together in private over a Remonstrance or Declaratory Letter, to + be sent to the ruling Junto in Westminster, "the substance of + which was to represent to them their own and the nation's + dissatisfaction at the long and continued session of this + Parliament, desiring them to fill up their members, and to + proceed in establishing such rules for future elections that the + Commonwealth Government might be secured by frequent and + successive Parliaments." The letter had been drafted by Dr. + Price, agreed to at a meeting in Dr. Price's room on Sunday after + evening sermon, and signed by the four and by Adjutant Jeremiah + Smith; and Adjutant Smith was waiting for his horse to go into + Edinburgh, taking the letter with him for the signatures of other + likely officers, when Monk returned to the room and said it would + be better to wait for the next post from England. Next day the + post came, with such news that the letter was burnt and all + concerned in it were enjoined to secrecy.—The news was that + Sir George Booth's Insurrection had been totally and easily + crushed by Lambert (August 17-19). Colonel Egerton and other + prisoners of importance had been taken; Sir Thomas Middleton had + capitulated; Sir George Booth himself and the Earl of Derby had + escaped, but only to be taken a few days afterwards.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Whitlocke, IV. 356-359; Phillips, 652; Skinner's Life of + Monk, 90-104; Wood's Ath., IV. 815; Phillips, 652-653. + </p> + </div> + <p> + At Westminster, where the good news was received Aug. 20, and + more fully Aug. 22 and Aug. 23, all was exultation. A jewel worth + £1000 was voted to Lambert, and there were to be rewards to his + officers and soldiers out of the estates of the delinquents. + Since Lambert had gone, there had been farther searches after + delinquents; and, through the rest of August and the whole of + September, both the Council and the House proceeded with + inquiries and examinations relating to the Insurrection. Among + those committed to the Tower, besides Sir George Booth and Lord + Herbert, were the Earl of Oxford, Sir William Waller ("upon + suspicion of high treason," aggravated by his refusal to pledge + his honour not to act against the Government), Lord Falconbridge + (discharged on bail of £10,000, Oct. 8), and Sir Thomas + Leventhorpe. The Earl of Derby, the Earl of Chesterfield, and + Lord Willoughby of Parham, in custody in the country, were to be + brought to London; proclamations were out against Mordaunt and + Massey; and the Duke of Buckingham, Sir Henry Yelverton, the poet + Davenant, the Earl of Stamford, Denzil Holies, and many others, + including some Presbyterian ministers, were under temporary + arrest or otherwise in trouble. Vane and Hasilrig conducted the + inquiries as cautiously as possible, and with every desire not to + multiply prosecutions too much. Thus, Admiral Montague, who had + suddenly left the Baltic with his whole fleet, against the will + and in spite of the remonstrances of his + fellow-plenipotentiaries, Sidney, Honeywood, and Boone, and who + arrived off the English coast Sept. 10, only to know that the + Royalist revolt was at an end, and that any intentions he may + have had in connexion with it must be concealed, was not called + in question for his strange conduct. He came boldly to London, + reported himself to the Council of State, explained that he had + come back for provisions, &c., and was more or less + believed.—For, in fact, the Council itself, and the House + itself, contained more open culprits. Sir Horatio Townshend had + shown himself in his true colours, and had been among the first + apprehended; and, though the wily Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper + cleared himself before a committee of the Council appointed to + investigate a charge against him, strong suspicions remained. On + the 8th of August, just after Lambert had marched against Booth, + there had been a call of the House with the result that Mr. Peter + Brooke and Mr, Edmund Dunch, two members who had never attended + and about whom there were evil reports, were fined £100 each; and + on the 13th of September, while Dunch's fine was remitted on + explanations given, Brooke, who had actually been in arms with + Booth, was brought to the bar of the House in custody, disabled + from sitting in Parliament, and sent to the Tower on a charge of + high treason. Again, on the 30th of September, there was a call + of the House, when fines of £100 were inflicted on Henry + Arthington (<i>Rec., O²</i>), John Carew (*<i>Rec., B</i>), + Thomas Mackworth (<i>Rec., O¹, O², R</i>), Alexander Popham + (<i>O<sup>1</sup>, O<sup>2</sup>, R</i>), Richard Norton + (<i>Rec., B, O<sup>1</sup>, O<sup>2</sup>, R</i>), and John + Stephens (<i>Rec., R</i>). These six, I imagine, were so punished + as having never attended the House, and as notoriously + contumacious or disaffected. But the House took the opportunity + of punishing with smaller fines, ranging from £5 to £40, + twenty-five members who had been attending of late too + negligently; among whom were Lord Chief Justice St. John, + Viscount Lisle, Lord Commissioner Lisle, Colonel Hutchinson, and + Colonel Philip Jones. At the same time they made an example of + Major-General Harrison (*<i>Rec., O<sup>1</sup>, R</i>). He, of + course, had never attended in the Restored Rump, for the very + good reason that he had been Cromwell's chief aider and abettor + in the dissolution of the Rump in April 1653. Remembering that + fact, the House now ejected him altogether, and declared him + incapable of ever sitting in a Parliament. There was, of course, + no suspicion of <i>his</i> complicity with the Royalists, nor of + the complicity of many that had been fined £5 or £20. The House, + in its hour of triumph, was merely settling all scores + together.—In what high spirits Lambert's victory had put + the Rumpers appears from the fact that the House ordered the + release of the Quaker James Nayler at last (Sept. 8), and from + such half-jocular entries in the Order Books of the Council (Aug. + 22 <i>et seq.</i>) as that Colonel Sydenham, Mr. Neville, or some + other member of the Council, or Mr. Brewster, a member of the + Parliament, should "have a fat buck of this season" out of the + New Forest, Hampton Court Park, or some other deer-preserve of + the Commonwealth. The attendances in the Council through August + and September averaged from twelve to sixteen, and generally + included Whitlocke, Vane, Bradshaw, Hasilrig, Scott, Johnstone of + Warriston, Neville, Salway, Walton, Berry, and Sydenham. + Fleetwood and Desborough were more rarely present.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates and of Aug. 25 and Sept. 14 + (Ashley Cooper); Whitlocke, IV. 355-362; Thurloe, VII. 731-734 + (about Montague); and Order Books of Council of State from Aug. + 11 to the end of September 1659. There is a gap in the series + of the Order Books, as preserved in the Record Office, between + Sept. 2, 1658, the day before Oliver's death and Aug. 11, 1659. + After Oct. 25, 1659, there is again a gap. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Precisely in this time of triumph after Lambert's success did the + Rumpers find leisure to address themselves to the question of the + Form of Government they were to set up in the Commonwealth before + retiring from the scene themselves. It was on the 8th of + September that, after some previous debates in the House, it was + referred to a committee of twenty-nine "to prepare something to + be offered to the House in order to the settlement of the + Government of this Commonwealth." The Committee was to sit from + day to day, and to report on or before the 10th of October. Vane + was named first on the Committee, which included also Hasilrig, + Whitlocke, Marten, Neville, Fleetwood, Sydenham, Salway, Scott, + Chief Justice St. John, Downes, Strickland, and Sir Gilbert + Pickering. What a work for a Committee! It was predetermined, of + course, that the Constitution they were to concoct was to be one + suitable for a Free Commonwealth or Republic, without King, + Single Person of any other denomination, or House of Lords; but, + even within that prelimitation, what a range of possibilities! + Nor were the Committee to be perplexed only by the varieties of + their own inventiveness in the art of constitution-making. All + the theorists and ideologists of England, Scotland, and Ireland, + were on the alert to help them, Ludlow's summary of the various + proposals made within the Committee itself, or pressed upon it + from the outside, is worth quoting. "At this time," he says, "the + opinions of men were much divided concerning a Form of Government + to be established amongst us. The great officers of the Army, as + I said before, were for a Select Standing Senate, to be joined to + the Representative of the People. Others laboured to have the + supreme authority to consist of an Assembly chosen by the People, + and a Council of State to be chosen by that Assembly, to be + vested with executive power, and accountable to that which should + next succeed, at which time the power of the said Council should + determine. Some were desirous to have a Representative of the + People constantly sitting, but changed by a perpetual rotation. + Others proposed that there might be joined to the Popular + Assembly a select number of men in the nature of the Lacedæmonian + Ephori, who should have a negative in things wherein the + essentials of the Government should be concerned, such as the + exclusion of a Single Person, touching Liberty of Conscience, + alteration of the Constitution, and other things of the last + importance to the State. Some were of opinion that it would be + most conducive to the public happiness if there might be two + Councils chosen by the People, the one to consist of about 300, + and to have the power only of debating and proposing laws, the + other to be in number about 1000, and to have the power finally + to resolve and determine—every year a third part to go out + and others to be chosen in their places." There were differences, + Ludlow adds, as to the proper composition of the body that should + consider and frame the new Constitution. Some were for referring + the deliberation to twenty Parliament men and ten representatives + of the Army, and proposed that, when these had agreed on a model, + it should be submitted first to the whole Army in a grand + rendezvous. Parliament, however, had settled the method of + procedure so far by appointing the present Committee.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of Sept. 8, 1659; Thomason Catalogue of + Pamphlets; Ludlow, 674-676. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Of the varieties of political theorists glanced at by Ludlow the + most famous at this time were the Harringtonians or Rota-men. + Some account of them is here necessary. + </p> + <p> + Their chief or founder was James Harrington, quite a different + person from the "Sir James Harrington" now of the Council of + State. He was the "Mr. James Harrington" who had been one of the + grooms of the bedchamber to Charles I. in his captivity at Holmby + and in the Isle of Wight (Vol. III. p. 700). Even then he had + been a political idealist of a certain Republican fashion, and it + had been part of the King's amusement in his captivity to hold + discourses with him and draw out his views.—After the + King's death, Harrington, cherishing very affectionate + recollections of his Majesty personally, had lived for some years + among his books, writing verses, translating Virgil's Eclogues, + and dreaming dreams. Especially he had been prosecuting those + speculations in the science of politics which had fascinated him + since his student days at Oxford. He read Histories; he studied + and digested the political writings of Aristotle, Plato, + Macchiavelli, Bacon, Hobbes, and others; he added observations of + his own, collected during his extensive travels in France, + Germany, and Italy; he admired highly the constitution of the + Venetian Republic, and derived hints from it; and, altogether, + the result was that he came forth from his seclusion with a more + perfect theory and ideal of a body-politic, as he believed, than + had yet been explained to the world. He had convinced himself + "that no government is of so accidental or arbitrary an + institution as people are apt to imagine, there being in + societies natural causes producing their necessary effects, as + well as in the earth or the air"; and one of these natural causes + he had discovered in the great principle or axiom "that Empire + follows the Balance of Property." The troubles and confusions In + England for the last few ages were to be attributed, he thought, + not so much to faults in the governors or in the governed as to a + change in the balance of property, dating from the reign of Henry + VII., which had gradually shifted the weight of affairs from the + King and Lords to the Commons. But all could be put right by + adopting a true model. It must not be an arbitrary monarchy, or a + mixed monarchy, or a mere democracy as vulgarly understood, or + any other of the make-shift constitutions of the past, but + something worthy of being called a Free and Equal Commonwealth, + and yet conserving what was genuine and natural in rank or + aristocracy. The basis must be a systematic classification of the + community in accordance with facts and needs, and the + arrangements such as to give full liberty to all, while + distributing power among all in such ways and proportions as to + keep the balance eternally even and make factions and contests + impossible. These arrangements, as he had schemed them out, were + to be very numerous and complicated, every kind of social + assemblage or activity, from the most local and parochial to the + most general and national, having an exact machinery provided for + it; but two all-pervading principles were to be election by + Ballot and rotation of Eligibility.—Harrington's ideal had + been set forth in a thin folio volume, entitled <i>The + Commonwealth of Oceana</i>, published in 1656, and dedicated to + Cromwell. The book was in the form of a political romance, with + high-flown dialogues, and a very fantastic nomenclature for his + proposed dignities and institutions, throwing the whole into the + air of poetic or literary whimsy. There was, however, an + elaborate exposition of the system and process of the Ballot. + Though too fantastic for direct effect, the book had been a good + deal talked of, and had procured for the author not only a + considerable reputation, but also some following of disciples. + One of these, and his intimate friend, was the Republican + free-thinker Henry Neville. There had also been some criticisms + by opponents, Royalist and Republican; in answer to which + Harrington, in 1658, had published a second treatise, called + <i>The Prerogative of Popular Government</i>, re-interpreting and + vindicating the doctrines of the <i>Oceana</i>, but more in a + style of direct dissertation.—The Harringtonians were by + this time pretty numerous. Besides Neville there were perhaps six + or eight of them among the Rumpers themselves. Why, then, should + there not be an effort to impregnate the "Good Old Cause," sadly + in need of new impregnation of some kind, with a few of the + essential Harringtonian principles? By Neville's means the effort + had been actually made in the Parliament. On the 6th of July + there had been presented a petition from "divers well-affected + persons," to which the petitioners "might have had many thousand + hands" besides their own, had they not preferred relying on the + inherent strength of their case. The answer of the House, through + the Speaker, had been most gracious. They perceived that this was + a petition "without any private ends and only for public + interest"; and they assured the petitioners that the business to + which the petition referred, viz. the settlement of a + Constitution for the Commonwealth, was one in which the House + intended "to go forward." There is nothing in the Journals to + indicate the nature of the petition; but it had been drawn up by + Harrington and may be read in his Works. It abjured, in the + strongest terms, Kingship or Single-Person Sovereignty in any + form, and particularly "the interest of the late King's son"; but + it represented the existing state of things as chaotic, and urged + the adoption of a definite Constitution for England, the + legislative part of which should consist of two Parliamentary + Houses, both to be elected by the whole body of the People. One + was to contain about 300 members, and was to have the power of + debating and propounding laws; the other was to be much larger, + and was to pass or reject the laws so propounded. Great stress + was laid on Rotation in the elections to both. "There cannot," + said the petitioners, "be a union of the interests of a whole + nation in the Government where those that shall sometimes govern + be not also sometimes in the condition of the governed"; and + hence they proposed that annually a third part of each of the two + Houses should wheel out of the House, not to be re-eligible for a + considerable period, and their places to be taken by newly + elected members. Thus every third year the stuff of each House + would be entirely changed.—Not content with petitioning + Parliament, the Harringtonians disseminated their ideas + vigorously through the press. <i>A Discourse showing that the + spirit of a Parliament with a Council in the intervals is not to + be trusted for a Settlement, lest it introduce Monarchy</i>, was + a pamphlet of Harrington's, published July 28; another, published + Aug. 31, was entitled <i>Aphorisms Political</i>, and consisted + of a series of brief propositions: e.g. "Nature is of God," "The + Union with Scotland, as it is vulgarly discoursed of, is + destructive both to the hopes of a Commonwealth and to Liberty in + Scotland." There were to be other and still other publications, + by Harrington or his disciples, through the rest of the year, + including, for popular effect, a copper engraving of an Assembly + in full session, watching the dropping of noble voting-balls into + splendid urns. But this was not all. The Harringtonians set up + their famous debating club, called <i>The Rota</i>. "In 1659, in + the beginning of Michaelmas term," says Anthony Wood, "they had + every night a meeting at the then Turk's Head in the New Palace + Yard at Westminster (the next house to the stairs where people + take water), called Miles's coffee-house—to which place + their disciples and virtuosi would commonly then repair: and + their discourses about Government and of ordering of a + Commonwealth were the most ingenious and smart that ever were + heard, for the arguments in the Parliament House were but flat to + those. This gang had a balloting box, and balloted how things + should be carried, by way of <i>tentamens</i>; which being not + used or known in England before upon this account, the room every + evening was very full. Besides our author and H. Neville, who + were the prime men of this club, were Cyriack Skinner, ... (which + Skinner sometimes held the chair), Major John Wildman, Charles + Wolseley of Staffordshire, Rog. Coke, Will. Poulteney, afterwards + a knight (who sometimes held the chair), Joh. Hoskyns, Joh. + Aubrey, Maximilian Pettie of Tetsworth in Oxfordshire, a very + able man in these matters, ... Mich. Mallet, Ph. Carteret of the + Isle of Guernsey, Franc. Cradock a merchant, Hen. Ford, Major + Venner, ... Tho. Marriett of Warwickshire, Henry Croone a + physician, Edward Bagshaw of Christ Church, and sometimes Rob. + Wood of Linc. Coll., and James Arderne, then or soon afterwards a + divine, with many others, besides antagonists and auditors of + note whom I cannot now name. Dr. Will. Petty was a Rota-man, and + would sometimes trouble Ja. Harrington in his Club; and one + Stafford, a gent. of Northamptonshire, who used to be an auditor, + did with his gang come among them one evening very mellow from + the tavern, and did much affront the junto, and tore in pieces + their orders and minutes. The soldiers who commonly were there, + as auditors and spectators, would have kicked them down stairs; + but Harrington's moderation and persuasion hindered them. The + doctrine was very taking, and the more because as to human + foresight there was no possibility of the King's return. The + greatest of the Parliament men hated this design of rotation and + ballotting, as being against their power. Eight or ten were for + it." By Wood's dating in this passage, the Harrington or Rota + Club must have been in full operation shortly after the + appointment, Sept. 8, of the great Committee of Parliament on the + new Constitution. Neville was one of that Committee, and the + popularity of the Club among the soldiers and citizens must have + strengthened his hands in the Committee. Indeed for five months + the Rota Club was to be one of the busiest and most attractive + institutions in London, yielding more amusement of an + intellectual kind than any such meetings as those of the few + physicists left in London to be the nucleus of the future Royal + Society. It is worthy of remark that Harrington and the chief + Harringtonians looked with contempt on these physical + philosophers. What were <i>their</i> occupations over drugs, + water-tubs, and the viscera of frogs, compared with great + researches into human nature and plans for the government of + states? Dr. William Petty, who belonged to both bodies, seems to + have taken pleasure in troubling the Rota with his doubts and + interrogatives.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Harrington's Works (large folio, 1727), with Toland's Life + of Harrington (1699) prefixed; Wood's Ath., III. 1115-1126; + Commons Journals, July 6, 1659; Catalogue of the Thomason + Pamphlets (for dates), with inspection of first editions of + some of Harrington's Pamphlets in the Thomason Collection. + </p> + </div> + <p> + While the Rota was holding its first meetings, the Rump and the + Wallingford-House Party were again in deadly quarrel. More and + more the resolute proceedings of the pure Republicans for + subjecting the Army completely to the Parliament had alienated + the Army magnates. The reviewing by Parliament of all nominations + for commissions, the discharging of this officer and the bringing + in of that, the delivering out of the commissions by the Speaker + to the officers individually, were brooded over as insults. What + was the intrinsic worth of this little so-called Parliament, what + were its rights, that it should so treat the Army that had set it + up, and one company of which could turn it out of doors in five + minutes? Though brooding thus, the Army chiefs had contented + themselves with rare attendance in the House or the Council, and + had made no active demonstration. They were perhaps doubtful + whether the spirit of submission to the Parliament might not be + now pretty general among the inferior officers, all with their + bran-new commissions from the Speaker himself. But the + insurrection of Sir George Booth, and the march of Lambert's + brigade into Cheshire to quell it, and the quick and signal + success of that enterprise, had given them the opportunity of + testing the Army's real feelings. Had not the Array now again a + title to remember that it ought to be something more than a mere + instrument of the existing civil authority? Was it not still the + old English Army, always doing the real hard work of the State, + and entitled therefore to some real voice in State-affairs? Where + would the Rump have been, where would the Republic have been, but + for this service of Lambert's brigade? These were the questions + asked in Lambert's brigade itself, more free to put such + questions and to discuss them because of the distance from + London; but there were communications between Lambert's brigade + and the centre at Wallingford House, with arrangements for + concerted action. + </p> + <p> + As was fitting, the first bolt came from Lambert's brigade. At a + meeting of about fifty officers of that brigade, held at Derby on + the 16th of September, it was agreed, after discussion, to + appoint a small committee to draw up the sense of the meeting in + due form. Lambert himself then came quietly to London, where he + was on the 20th, with several of his leading officers. The issue + of the committee left at Derby was a petition to Parliament in + the name of "the Officers under the command of the Right + Honourable the Lord Lambert in the late northern expedition." The + petition was to be presented to Parliament when fully signed; but + meanwhile a copy of it was sent up to Colonel Ashfield, Colonel + Cobbet, and Lieutenant-Colonel Duckinfield, then in London, to be + given, with a letter, to Fleetwood as Commander-in-chief, that so + it might be brought before the General Council of Officers. On + the 22nd the House, having heard of the nature of the Petition, + required that the original document should be forthcoming for + inspection, and that Fleetwood should at once produce his copy. + The copy sufficed for all purposes of information. The Petition + consisted of a Preamble and five Articles. It was full of a + spirit of dissatisfaction, with complaints of the prevalence + everywhere of "apostates, malignants, and neuters"; but its + specific demands were two. One was that the semi-Cromwellian + petition of the General Council of Officers at Wallingford House + of date May 12, 1659 (ante pp. 449-450), "may not be laid asleep, + but may have fresh life given unto it." The other was that + Fleetwood, whose term of office was just expiring, should be + fixed in the Commandership-in-chief, that Lambert should be made + general officer and chief commander next under him, that + Desborough should be third as chief officer of the Horse, and + Monk fourth as chief commander of the Infantry. On the 23rd these + demands, and the attitude which they signified, were discussed in + the House, with shut doors, and in great excitement, Hasilrig + leading the fury. Here was latent Cromwellianism, or threatened + single-person Government over again, the soft Fleetwood to stop + the gap meanwhile, but Lambert, once he was made general officer + and nominally second, to emerge as the new Cromwell! This was + what was felt, if not said; and it was resolved "That this House + doth declare that to have any more general officers in the Army + than are already settled by the Parliament is needless, + chargeable, and dangerous to the Commonwealth." A motion for + censoring the Petition was negatived by thirty-one to twenty-five + (Neville and Scott telling for the minority); but it was ordered + that Fleetwood should communicate the Resolution to the officers + of the Army and admonish them of their irregular + proceedings.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates; Parl. Hist., III. 1562; Phillips, + 654-656 (where the Petition itself is given). + </p> + </div> + <p> + Wallingford House itself now took up the controversy, There were + meetings and meetings of the General Conncil of the officers, + cautious at first, but gradually swelling into a chorus of anger + over the indignity put upon their brethren of Lambert's northern + expedition. There were dissenters who wanted to wait and have + Monk's advice, but they were overborne. On the 5th of October + Desborough and some others were in the House with a petition + signed by 230 officers then about London. It consisted of a long + preamble and nine proposals. The preamble complained generally of + the misrepresentation, by some, "to evil and sinister ends," of + the petition and proposals of the faithful officers of Lambert's + brigade, and avowed the continued fidelity of the Army officers + to Commonwealth principles, their repudiation of single-person + Government, and their desire to be at one with the Parliament. + The articles did not repeat the exact demands of the petition of + the Lambert brigade, but asked for an immediate settlement + somehow of the Commandership-in-chief, for justice in all ways to + the Army, and especially for a guarantee that no officer or + soldier should be cashiered "without a due proceeding at a + court-martial." The debate on this Petition was begun on the 8th + of October. The House was still in a most resolute mood. They had + received assurances from Monk of his decided sympathies with them + rather than with the Wallingford-House Council, and they believed + still in the disinclination of many of the officers in England to + follow Lambert and Desborough to extremities. Accordingly, taking + up the proposals of the Petition one by one, they formulated + answers to the first and second on Oct. 10, and answers to the + next three on the 11th, all in a strain of high Parliamentary + authority. At this point, however, the House interrupted its + consideration of the Petition to hurry through a Bill of very + vital consequence at such a juncture. It was a Bill annulling, + from and after May 7, 1659, all Acts, Orders, or Ordinances + passed by any Single Person and His Council, or by any pretended + Parliament or other pretended authority between the 19th of April + 1653 (the day before Cromwell's dissolution of the Rump) and the + 7th of May 1659 (the day of the Restoration of the Rump), except + in so far as these had been confirmed by the present Parliament, + and farther declaring it high treason for any person or persons, + after Oct. 11, 1659, to assess, levy, collect, or receive, any + tax, impost, or money contribution whatsoever, on or from the + subjects of the Commonwealth, without their consent in + Parliament, or as by law might have been done before Nov. 3, + 1640. This comprehensive Act, calculated to overawe the Army + Magnates by debarring them from all power of money-raising, had + been hurried through because of signs that nothing less would + avail, if even that would now suffice. Not only had copies of the + Army Petition of the 5th been circulated in print, but there had + been letters, with copies of the Petition, to various important + officers away from London, Monk in chief, urging them to obtain + subscriptions in their regiments, and forward the same + immediately to Wallingford House. One such letter, signed by + Lambert, Desborough, Berry, Kelsay, Ashfield, Cobbet, Packer, + Barrow, and Major Creed, had been misdelivered by chance to + Colonel Okey, now on the side of the Parliament; and Okey gave it + to Hasilrig. The letter itself was one on which action might be + taken, and an incident determined the House to very decisive + action indeed. Precisely on that 11th of October when the House + had formulated their answers to the Army Petition as far as to + the fifth Article, and when they also passed the Bill so + comprehensively asserting and guarding their own sole + prerogative, Mr. Nicholas Monk arrived in London from Scotland, + with powers from his brother to Dr. Clarges to let the Parliament + know that he would stand by them against the Wallingford-House + party, and would, if necessary, march into England for their + support. Next morning, Oct. 12, this news was buzzed among the + Republican leaders of the House, and with prodigious effect. The + misdelivered letter was read and discussed; and, after a + division, on the previous question, of fifty (Mildmay and Lister + tellers) against fifteen (Colonel Rich and Alderman Pennington + tellers), it was resolved "That the several commissions of these + several persons, viz. Colonel John Lambert, Colonel John + Desborough, Colonel James Berry, Colonel Thomas Kelsay, Colonel + Richard Ashfield, Colonel Ealph Cobbet, Major Richard Creed, + Colonel William Packer, and Colonel William Barrow, who have + subscribed the said Letter, shall be, and are hereby, made null + and void, and they and every of them be, and are hereby, + discharged from all military employment." The House then vested + the entire government of the Army in a commission of + seven,—to wit, Fleetwood, Ludlow, Monk, Hasilrig, Colonel + Walton, Colonel Morley, and Colonel Overton, any three to be a + quorum; and, having ordered the regiments of Morley and Okey, and + a part of that of Colonel Mosse, to be on guard in Westminster + through the night, they rose with the consciousness of a bold + day's work.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates; Parl. Hist., III. 1562-8; + Phillips, 656-660; Skinner's Life of Monk, 111-113. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Next day, Thursday Oct. 13, there was no House at all. An entry + in the Journals of the House, subsequently inserted, explains + why. "This day," runs the entry, "the late Principal Officers of + the Army, whose commissions were vacated, drew up forces in and + about Westminster, obstructed all passages both by land and + water, stopped the Speaker on his way, and placed and continued + guards upon and about the doors of the Parliament House, and so + interrupted the members from coming to the House and attending + their service there." This is a very correct summary of the + incidents of more than twelve hours. Lambert had resolved to do + the feat, and he managed it in the manner described. Morley's + regiment and Mosse's regiment were faithfully on guard round the + House as ordered, and Okey would have been there too had not his + men deserted him; but the House was to remain empty. Lambert had + taken care of that by posting regiments in an outer ring round + Morley's and Mosse's, so as to block all accesses. Speaker + Lenthall, trying to pass in his coach, was stopped by + Lieutenant-Colonel Duckinfield, and turned back with civility to + his house in Covent Garden; and so with the members generally. A + few did break through and get in, among whom was Sir Peter + Wentworth, who had come by water with a stout set of boatmen. + This was in the morning; and through the rest of the day Lambert + was riding about, coming up now and then to Morley's men or + Mosse's and haranguing them. Would they suffer nine of their old + officers to be disgraced and ruined? There were waverings and + slidings-off towards Lambert, perhaps a general tendency to him; + but for some hours the opposed masses stood within pistol-shot of + each other, Morley and Mosse refusing to yield their trust, and + neither side willing to begin a battle. The citizens of London + and Westminster waited the issue and had no desire to interfere. + The Council of State, however, had met in Whitehall; all stray + members of the House, though not of the Council, had been invited + to join them; and there was thus a sufficient gathering of both + parties to negotiate an agreement. Not till the evening was this + finally arranged; but then orders were sent out, in the name of + the Council of State, to the regiments on both sides to go + peaceably to their quarters. The orders were most gladly obeyed. + The information that went forth to the citizens, and that was + circulated over the country in letters, was that the Council of + Officers "had been necessitated to obstruct the sitting of the + Parliament for the present," but would themselves take all + necessary charge of the public peace till there should be a more + regular authority. In fact, the Rump had been dissolved a second + time after a restored session, of five months.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of date; Phillips, 661; Whitlocke, IV. + 364-365; Ludlow, 711 and 723-726. + </p> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="Cc1s2c1" id="Cc1s2c1">CHAPTER I.</a> + </h2> + <h3> + <i>Second Section (continued).</i> + </h3> + <h3> + THE ANARCHY, STAGE II.: OR THE WALLINGFORD-HOUSE INTERREGNUM: + OCT. 13, 1659-DEC. 26, 1659. + </h3> + <p> + THE WALLINGFORD-HOUSE GOVERNMENT: ITS <i>COMMITTEE OF SAFETY</i>: + BEHAVIOUR OF LUDLOW AND OTHER LEADING REPUBLICANS: DEATH OF + BRADSHAW.—ARMY-ARRANGEMENTS OF THE NEW GOVERNMENT: + FLEETWOOD, LAMBERT, AND DESBOROUGH THE MILITARY CHIEFS: DECLARED + CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE RUMP BY MONK IN SCOTLAND: NEGOTIATIONS OPENED + WITH MONK, AND LAMBERT SENT NORTH TO OPPOSE HIM: MONK'S MOCK + TREATY WITH LAMBERT AND THE WALLINGFORD-HOUSE GOVERNMENT THROUGH + COMMISSIONERS IN LONDON: HIS PREPARATIONS MEANWHILE IN SCOTLAND: + HIS ADVANCE FROM EDINBURGH TO BERWICK: MONK'S ARMY AND + LAMBERT'S.—FOREIGN RELATIONS OF THE WALLINGFORD-HOUSE + GOVERNMENT: TREATY BETWEEN FRANCE AND SPAIN: LOCKHART: CHARLES + II. AT FONTARABIA: GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT OF HIS CHANCES IN + ENGLAND.—DISCUSSIONS OF THE WALLINGFORD-HOUSE GOVERNMENT AS + TO THE FUTURE CONSTITUTION OF THE COMMONWEALTH: THE VANE PARTY + AND THE WHITLOCKE PARTY IN THESE DISCUSSIONS: JOHNSTONE OF + WARRISTON, THE HARRINGTONIANS, AND LUDLOW: ATTEMPTED + CONCLUSIONS.—MONK AT COLDSTREAM: UNIVERSAL WHIRL OF OPINION + IN FAVOUR OF HIM AND THE RUMP: UTTER DISCREDIT OF THE + WALLINGFORD-HOUSE RULE IN LONDON: VACILLATION AND COLLAPSE OF + FLEETWOOD: THE RUMP RESTORED A SECOND TIME. + </p> + <p> + For about a fortnight after Lambert's <i>coup d'état</i>, the + Council of State of the Rump, having become in a manner a party + to that action, still continued to sit in Whitehall, on an + understanding with the General Council of the Officers meeting in + Wallingford House. There are preserved minutes of their sitting's + to the 25th of October, from which it appears that the Laird of + Warriston was in the chair once or twice, but Whitlocke + principally. Bradshaw, who was then a dying man, had appeared at + one meeting, but only to protest that, "being now going to his + God," he must leave his testimony against a compromise founded on + perjury to the Republic. But on the 26th of October, after much + consultation, the Council of State gave place to a new Supreme + Executive, chosen by the Wallingford—House officers, and + called <i>The Committee of Safety.</i> It consisted of + twenty-three persons, as follows:— + </p> + <p> + Whitlocke (made also <i>Lord Keeper of the Great Seal</i>, Nov. + 1). + </p> + <ul> + <li>Colonel Robert Bennett + </li> + <li>Colonel James Berry + </li> + <li>Henry Brandreth + </li> + <li>Colonel John Clerk + </li> + <li>Desborough + </li> + <li>Fleetwood + </li> + <li>Sir James Harrington + </li> + <li>Colonel Hewson + </li> + <li>Cornelius Holland + </li> + <li>Alderman Ireton + </li> + <li>Sir Archibald Johnstone of Wariston + </li> + <li>Lambert + </li> + <li>Henry Lawrence + </li> + <li>Colonel Robert Lilburne + </li> + <li>Ludlow + </li> + <li>Major Salway + </li> + <li>William Steele (Chancellor of Ireland) + </li> + <li>Walter Strickland + </li> + <li>Colonel William Sydenham + </li> + <li>Robert Thompson + </li> + <li>Alderman Tichbourne + </li> + <li>Sir Henry Vane. + </li> + </ul> + <p> + The combination of persons is curious. Some were mere inserted + ciphers, and others would not act. Whitlocke, who was earnestly + pressed by the officers to give to the body the weight and + reputation of his presence, had very considerable hesitations, + but did consent, chiefly on the ground, as he tells us, that he + might be able to counteract the extravagant communistic + tendencies of Vane and Salway, and so prevent mischief. It is + perhaps stranger to find Vane and Salway themselves on the list. + Of late, however, Vane had been detaching himself from the group + of more intense Parliamentarians and seeing prospects for his + ideas from conjunction, rather with the Army-men. So with Salway, + Ludlow had been nominated on the new body at a venture. Thinking + he might be wanted to help the Rump in their struggle with the + Army, he had returned from Ireland, leaving Colonel John Jones as + his <i>locum tenens</i> there; and he had not heard the + astonishing news of Lambert's action till his landing on the + Welsh coast. He had then wavered for a while between going back + to Ireland and coming on to London, but had decided for the + latter. Before his arrival in town he had heard of his nomination + to the Committee of Safety and resolved not to accept it. He was + more willing than usual, however, to make the best of + circumstances; he consented even to shake hands with Lambert when + he first met him; and, though not concealing his opinion that + Lambert's act had been utterly unjustifiable, and that a + restitution of the Rump even yet was the only proper amends, he + would not go entirely with those friends of his who were working + for that end, as he thought, too wildly and boisterously, and too + much with a view to mere revenge. These were Hasilrig, Scott, + Neville, Morley, Walton, and their followers, among whom it is no + surprise to find Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper. They, of course, had + been left out of the new Committee of Safety, as the open and + irreconcileable enemies of the system of things Lambert had + brought in. Bradshaw, who would have been with them, died on the + 31st of October, five days after the constitution of the + Committee, leaving surely a most troubled world.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Council Order Books from Oct. 13 to Oct. 25, 1659; Ludlow, + 706-713, 716-718, and 729-731; Whitlocke, IV. 365-368; + Phillips, 662. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Military arrangements had been made already (October 14-17) by + the Wallingford-House Council. Fleetwood had been named + Commander-in-chief of all the Armies; Lambert Major-General of + the Forces in England and Scotland; Desborough Commissary-General + of the Horse; and these three, with Vane, Berry, and Ludlow, were + to be the Committee for nominations of all Army-officers. Though + this, with the omission of Hasilrig, was the very committee the + Rump had appointed for the same business, Ludlow could not make + up his mind to act on it. Disaffected officers, such as Okey, + Morley, and Alured, had been removed from their commands; + Articles of War for maintaining discipline everywhere had been + drawn out; and the Committee of nominations was to see that the + officers throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland should be men + under engagement to the newly-established order.—It was + foreseen that in this there would be great difficulties. Even + within England and Wales there might be many officers, besides + those already discharged, whose adhesion to the Wallingford-House + policy was dubious; and these had to be found out. There was + still greater uncertainty about Ireland, where Ludlow had for + some months been master for the Rump. Thither, accordingly, there + was despatched Colonel Barrow, to be an agent for the + Wallingford-House policy with Ludlow's deputy Colonel John Jones, + and with the officers of the Irish Army. But it was from Scotland + that the hurricane was expected. Monk, having offered to stand by + the Rump against the Wallingford-House party while yet the two + were in struggle, had necessarily been omitted from that fourth + Generalship, after Fleetwood, Lambert, and Desborough, to which + he would doubtless have been appointed, in conformity with one of + the proposals of the Lambert Brigade Petition of the preceding + month, but for that predeclaration of his hostility. It had been + suggested, indeed, that such an honour might pacify him; but it + had been thought best to wait for farther evidences of his state + of mind, and merely to despatch Colonel Cobbet to Scotland to + give explanations to Monk himself and to probe also the feelings + of his officers and soldiers.—They had not to wait long. No + sooner had Monk heard of Lambert's <i>coup d'état</i> than he + repeated his former determination most emphatically, both by + energetic procedure on his own Scottish ground and by letters to + all the four winds. "I am resolved, by the grace and assistance + of God, as a true Englishman," he wrote to Speaker Lenthall from + Edinburgh October 20, "to stand to and assert the liberty and + authority of Parliament; and the Army here, praised be God, is + very courageous and unanimous." There were letters to the same + effect to Fleetwood and Lambert, to Ludlow and his substitutes in + Ireland, to the commanders of the Fleet, and to many private + persons. Colonel Gobbet was not allowed to enter Scotland, but + was seized at Berwick and put in prison. In short, before October + 28, when the new Committee of Safety met for the first time in + Whitehall, it was clear that Monk had constituted himself the + antagonist-in-chief of their government, and the armed champion + of the dismissed Rump. Hasilrig, Scott, Neville, and their + comrades, were in exultation accordingly.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Whitlocke, IV. 366-367; Ludlow, 710-712 and 728-729; + Phillips, 663-666; Skinner's Life of Monk, 117-128; Guizot, II. + 18-22. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Two resolutions were immediately taken by the Committee of + Safety. It was resolved to attempt even then a negotiation with + Monk; and it was resolved to send Lambert north with a large + force to prevent Monk's march into England if the negotiation + should fail. On the night of the 28th of October, Monk's + brother-in-law Dr. Clarges, and Colonel Talbot, one of Monk's + favourite officers, then in London, were sent for by the + Committee, and asked to undertake the mission of peace. They + willingly consented, and set out on the 29th, to be followed + within a few days by six other missionaries for the same + purpose—Colonels Whalley and Goffe for the + Wallingford-House officers, a Mr. Dean specially for Fleetwood, + and three Independent ministers, Caryl, Barker, and Hammond, on a + religious account. There were letters in plenty also from + Fleetwood and others. Monk was to be reasoned with from all + points of view. But, on the 3rd of November, Lambert also set out + for York, to join Colonel Robert Lilburne there, and gather + forces to block the north of England against the possibility of + Monk's invasion.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Whitlocke, IV. 368-369; Phillips, 663; Skinner, 131, 140, + and 142-143; Guizot, II. 27-29. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Monk, on his part, when Clarges and Talbot arrived in Edinburgh + (Nov. 2), and Clarges had held his first long private discourse + with him, was very willing to <i>seem</i> to negotiate, and gave + Clarges his reasons. Though he had represented his Army as + unanimously with him, that was hardly the case. The re-modelling + operations of the late Rump had perturbed his Army considerably, + displacing or degrading officers he liked, and inserting or + promoting officers he did not want. Fortunately, most of the new + officers had not yet come to their posts, and the old ones were + still available. But the regiments, or parts of regiments, in all + their dispersed stations, at Edinburgh, Leith, Dalkeith. + Stirling, Perth, Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, Ayr, Inverness, and + the remoter Highland outposts, had to be manipulated, weeded of + oppositionists, and pulled gradually together; and, as it turned + out, there were about 140 oppositionists among Monk's own + approved officers of all ranks. To get rid of these, and + otherwise to shape the Army to his mind, would take six weeks at + least. Then, as he told Clarges, he should be ready. His total + force would consist of ten regiments of foot (his own, Talbot's, + Wilkes's, Read's, Daniel's, Fairfax's, and those now called + Overton's, Cobbet's, Sawrey's, and Smith's), with two regiments + of horse (his own and Twistleton's) and one of dragoons (that of + the redoubted Morgan, now absent in England). By recent careful + economy, he had £70,000 in the bank: his credit with the Scots + was such that he could have more on demand; he had but to give + permission, and the Scots themselves would flock in arms to his + standard. He had resolved, however, that the performance should + be in substance wholly an English one, and that the Scots should + be involved in it but indirectly and sparingly. Additional + reasons for delay were furnished by the fact that the sympathy + with Monk which he knew to exist in England and Ireland, had not + yet had due development, In short, Monk and Clarges agreed that + it would be best to fall in with the offer of negotiation, in + order to gain time; and next day (Nov. 3), at a meeting of Monk's + officers, Colonel Wilkes, Lieutenant-Colonel Clobery, and Major + Knight, were deputed to go into England as Commissioners for a + Treaty. They had certain instructions given them, in which Monk + himself "invented matter to confound their debates." They were to + insist on the restoration of the Rump, or, if the Rump would not + be restored, then on a full and free new Parliament.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Phillips, 663-667, and Skinner, 133-136. Phillips's + information about Monk and his proceedings in Scotland is very + full and minute; indeed his whole account of Monk's enterprise + henceforward to the Restoration, though in form only part of a + continuation of <i>Baker's Chronicle</i>, is a contribution of + original history rather than a mere compilation. He was + permitted, as he tells us, the use of Monk's papers and those + of his agents. This part of the book, in fact, looks like a + literary commission executed for Monk. + </p> + </div> + <p> + And so, having dispatched the commissioners, Monk continued his + colloquies with Clarges, such privileged persons as the physician + Dr. Barrow and the chaplain Dr. Gumble being admitted to some of + them, but only Clarges fathoming Monk's intentions, and he but in + part. When the Independent ministers and other envoys arrived, + there was a conference at Holyrood House at which they made + speeches, Monk listening, but keeping his own mouth shut. Once, + indeed, when Mr. Caryl warned him that war and bloodshed, if + begun, would be "laid at his door," he burst out against Lambert + and his party, saying <i>they</i> had begun the war, and, if they + continued in their course, he would "lay them on their backs." + While the Independent ministers were yet in Edinburgh, doing + their best, there was a more welcome advent in the person of + Colonel Morgan (Nov. 8). He had been lying ill of gout at York, + but had recovered so far as to be able to come to Edinburgh as a + kind of messenger to Monk from Lambert. He delivered his message + punctually enough, but told Monk he was glad to be with him + again, and would follow him implicitly whatever he did, being "no + statesman" himself. Monk was vastly pleased, looking on Morgan, + it is said, as worth more than all the 140 officers he had lost. + Morgan had, moreover, brought important communications from + Yorkshire, which led Monk to dispatch Clarges and Talbot thither + to establish an understanding with Lord Fairfax.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Phillips, 667-669; Skinner, 138-140. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Meanwhile Monk's three Commissioners had arrived at York and been + in parley with Lambert. Finding that the question of the + restitution of the Rump was involved in their instructions, he + passed them on to London, having stipulated for a truce till the + result should be known. On the 12th of November the Commissioners + were in London; and on the 15th, after three days of consultation + at Wallingford House, a treaty of nine Articles was agreed to, + and signed by them on the part of Monk and the Army in Scotland, + and by Fleetwood on the part of the Wallingford-House Council. + There was great delight in Whitehall over this result, and the + Tower cannon proclaimed the happy reconciliation between Monk and + the Government. But Monk's Commissioners had been too hasty, or + had been outwitted; and Clarges, who arrived in London that day, + had come too late to stop them and spin out the time. A pledge of + both parties against Charles Stuart or any single-person + Government was in the forefront of the Treaty; and the rest of + the Articles simply admitted Monk and the officers of the + Scottish Army to a share in the Government as then going on, and + in certain arrangements which the Committee of Safety and the + Wallingford-House Council had been already devising on their own + account. Monk received the news at Haddington on the evening of + Nov. 18; he returned to Edinburgh next day, "very silent and + reserved"; but that day it was resolved by him, in consultation + with some of his chief officers and with Dr. Barrow, to disown + the Treaty—not, indeed, by actual rejection of any of the + Articles, but on the plea that several things had been omitted + and that there must be farther specification. For this purpose it + was proposed that two Commissioners on Monk's part should be + added to the former three, and that five Commissioners from the + Army in England should meet these and continue the Treaty at + Alnwick or some other indifferent place near Scotland. When this + answer reached London, Whitlocke, who had all along, as he tells + us, protested that Monk's object was delay only and "that the + bottom of his design was to bring in the King," repeated more + earnestly his former advice that Lambert should be pushed on to + immediate action. "His advice was not taken," says Whitlocke, + "but a new Treaty consented to by Commissioners on each part, to + be at Newcastle." From about the 20th of November that was + Lambert's headquarters, while Monk, having left a portion of his + forces behind him for necessary garrison purposes in Scotland, + came on from Edinburgh to establish himself at Berwick with the + rest. He was there before the end of the month. In the beginning + of December 1659, therefore, the two Armies were all but facing + each other,—Monk's consisting now of about 6000 foot and + 1400 horse and dragoons, and Lambert's of between 4000 and 5000 + horse and about 3000 foot: the excess in horse giving Lambert a + great superiority. At Monk's back, moreover, there was no + effective support in case of failure, unless by that arming of + the Scots which he was unwilling to risk, while to back Lambert + there were about 20,000 more regulars in England, besides a + militia of 30,000, not to speak of the forces in Ireland, and the + regiments in Flanders. Between the two Armies all that intervened + to prevent conflict was the Treaty to be resumed at Newcastle. + Monk magnified the importance of that, but took great care to + postpone it. Wilkes, Clobery, and Knight, had not returned from + London, and were rather slow to do so and face Monk after their + blunder; and the two new Commissioners had not yet been + appointed. Meanwhile letters and messages passed between the two + Armies, and there were desertions from the one to the + other.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Skinner, 146-158; Phillips, 670-672; Whitlocke, IV. 373-377. + </p> + </div> + <p> + All this while the London Government of the Committee of Safety + had been attending as well as they could to such general business + as belonged to them in their double capacity of supreme executive + and temporary deliberative. For, at the constitution of the body + on the 26th of October, it had been agreed that they should not + only exercise the usual powers of a Council of State, but should + also prosecute that great question of the future form of the + Government of the Commonwealth which had occupied the late Rump. + They were to prosecute this question in conference, if necessary, + with the chief Army officers and others; and, if they should not + come to a conclusion within six weeks, the question was to return + to the Wallingford-House Council itself.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Letter of M. de Bordeaux to Mazarin of date Nov. 6, 1659 + (i.e. Oct. 28 in English reckoning), in Appendix to Guizot, II. + 274-278. + </p> + </div> + <p> + In the matter of foreign relations the Committee of Safety had + little to do, the arrangements of the late Rump for withdrawing + from foreign entanglements still holding good for the present. + Meadows, who had become tired of his agency with the two + Scandinavian powers, no longer such an inspiring office as it had + been under the Protectorate, had asked the Rump more than once to + recall him. He had remained in the Baltic to as late as October, + but was now back in London, anxious about his own future and + about his arrears of salary. If the present Government should + succeed, there might possibly be a revival of the Cromwellian + policy of co-operation with Charles Gustavus, and then the + services of Meadows might be again in request; but meanwhile + Algernon Sidney and the other plenipotentiaries sent by the Rump + into the Baltic, though checking the heroic Swede and scorned by + him in return, might represent the only policy yet possible. + Downing, though also much exercised by the rapid turns of + affairs, and thinking of scoundrel-like means for securing + himself, does not seem to have been so dissatisfied with his + position at the Hague as Meadows was with his in the Baltic. He + had come to London early in November; a sub-committee of the + Committee of Safety had been appointed to receive his report on + present relations with the United Provinces; and he was waiting + for re-credentials. The Dutch Ambassador Nieuport, we may add, + was still in London, as also the French Ambassador M. de + Bordeaux, and other inferior foreign residents, but all meanwhile + as mere on-lookers.—One inquires with most interest about + Ambassador Lockhart. Since August, he had been at or near St. + Jean de Luz, on the borders between France and Spain, charged, as + Ambassador for the Rump, with the business of endeavouring to + have the English Commonwealth included in the great Treaty then + going on between Mazarin and the Spanish minister Don Luis de + Haro, so that, when peace had been definitely concluded between + France and Spain, there might be peace also between Spain and the + Commonwealth. There he had been received, with the utmost respect + by Mazarin and with all courtesy by Don Luis de Haro, both of + them friendly enough to the purpose of his mission for reasons of + their own. It was found, however, that the Peace between France + and Spain was a matter of sufficient complication and difficulty + in itself; and so, though it was not finally concluded and signed + till the end of November, when it took the name of <i>The Treaty + of the Pyrenees</i>, and secured, among many other things, the + marriage of Louis XIV. with the Spanish Infanta, Lockhart, + knowing all to be settled, had taken his farewell. He was in + London on the 14th of November, in the very crisis of the + negotiation between Monk and the new Government, but remained + only a fortnight. Till Peace with Spain should be concluded by + some means, his true place was at Dunkirk, for the recovery of + which Spain would now certainly wrestle, while France would also + bid high for the acquisition. He left London for Dunkirk on the + 1st of December, the issue between Monk and the new Government + still undecided.—While Lockhart was on the scene of the + great negotiation between Mazarin and Luis de Haro on the Spanish + border, there had been the surprise of the arrival there of no + less a person than Charles II. himself. In August we left him + waiting anxiously at Calais, ready to embark for England on the + due explosion there of the great pre-arranged insurrection of the + old Royalists and new Royalists. He had lingered about the French + coast for some time; but, when the revolt of Sir George Booth had + collapsed, the notion of a new residence in Brussels after + another of his failures had become disagreeable to him. He did go + to Brussels, but only to conceive the idea of a trip, half of + pleasure, half of speculation, to the scene of the great + diplomatic conferences. Might not his interests be considered in + the Treaty? Mazarin, who had no wish to see him at the + conferences, declined to give him a passport; but he risked the + journey <i>incognito</i>, with Ormond, the Earl of Bristol, and + one or two other attendants, going by a long and circuitous + route, and finding much amusement by the way. As they approached + their destination, there was an unlucky separation of the party + into two, Ormond going on ahead for inquiries and appointing a + place for their reunion. But for some days Charles and the Earl + of Bristol were lost. Ormond, who had missed them at the + appointed place, had gone on to Fontarabia, a small frontier town + of Spain, and the residence of Don Luis de Haro during the + Treaty, just as St. Jean de Luz, two or three miles off, but in + the French territory, was the residence of Mazarin. Sir Henry + Bennet, the Ambassador for Charles at the Spanish Court, was + already there; and he, and Ormond, and Don Luis himself, were in + no small anxiety. At length it appeared that the fugitives, on + false information that the Treaty was already concluded, had gone + into Spain on their own account, bound for Madrid itself, and had + got as far as Saragossa. Fetched back to Fontarabia, they were + received with all politeness and state by Don Luis. But, though + they remained some time, the Treaty was so far settled that + Charles found that nothing could be done for his interests + through that means. Mazarin, indeed, resenting his intrusion, and + his passage through France without leave, refused to see him, and + gave orders also that Sir Henry Bennet should not be admitted. + With only general assurances of good wishes from the Spanish + minister, a present of 7000 gold pistoles for "the expenses of + his journey," and promises of farther consideration of his case + when there should be opportunity, Charles returned through France + by Paris, and was back in Brussels in December, just about the + time when Lockhart was back in Dunkirk. They had been crossing + each other's paths and were again near neighbours.—Although + the late Rump Government had taken some alarm at Charles's visit + to Fontarabia, and had made remonstrances on the subject of his + passage through France, it was now known that there was no danger + of action for Charles either by France or by Spain. The danger, + indeed, was of a more subtle and incalculable kind, and within + the Commonwealth itself. We have seen how naturally the baulked + Cromwellianism of the epoch of the dissolution of Richard's + Parliament and the overthrow of his Protectorate tended to + transmute itself into Stuartism, and how much of the strength of + Sir George Booth's insurrection consisted of new Royalism so + produced. What we have now to add is that every baulked or + defeated cause in succession within the Commonwealth yielded in + the same way potential capital for Charles. The cause of Charles + was like an ultimate refuge for all the disappointed and + destitute. Those who had not already been driven into it were + ruefully or gladly looking forward to it. Even among the extreme + Rumpers or pure Republicans, now maddened by Lambert's coup + <i>d'état</i>, there were some, Colonel Herbert Morley for one, + who were feeling cautiously for ways and means of forgiveness at + Brussels. Nay, in the present Committee of Safety and in the + Wallingford-House Council associated with it, there were some + fully prepared, should this experiment also fail, to help in a + restoration of the Stuarts rather than go back into the + Republican grasp of Scott, Neville, and Hasilrig. There was a + vague common cognisance of this convergence of so many separate + currents to one final reservoir. It showed itself in mutual + accusations of that very tendency of which all were conscious. + Every party of Commonwealth's men accused every other party of a + design to bring the King in, and every party so accused + repudiated the charge with such strength of language as to beget + the suspicion, "The Lady protests too much, methinks." On the + other hand, the uneasy common consciousness disposed people to be + practically somewhat tolerant. When no one knew what might happen + to himself, why should he indict his neighbour for treason? On + some such ground it may have been, as well as to try to win grace + with the Presbyterians or new Royalists, that the present + Government did not proceed with the trials of the lords and + gentlemen committed for high treason for their concern in the + late Insurrection, but released all or most of them. Lords + Northampton, Falkland, Herbert, Howard, and others had been + released November 1, and Sir George Booth himself was set at + liberty on the 9th of December.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Thurloe, VII. 708, 727, 743, 753-4, 775, and 802; Whitlocke, + IV. 369, 377, and 378; Clarendon, 872-877; Guizot, I. 211-215; + Letters of M. de Bordeaux, in Appendix to Guizot, II. 288, 294, + and 298; Order Books of Council of State, Aug. 23 and Oct. 13, + 1659. + </p> + </div> + <p> + In the matter of a new Constitution for the future the procedure + of the Committee of Safety had been not uninteresting. On the 1st + of November they had referred the subject to a sub-committee, + consisting of Vane, Whitlocke, Fleetwood, Ludlow, Salway, and + Tichbourne; and on this sub-committee Ludlow did consent to act. + In fact, however, the General Committee and the Wallingford-House + Council kept along with the Sub-Committee in the great + discussion.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Whitlocke, IV. 368-369, and Ludlow, 736. Whitlocke does not + here name himself as one of the sub-committee, though he names + the others; but Ludlow names him distinctly, and Whitlocke's + words afterwards (e.g., p. 376) show him to have been an active + member. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The Kingship of Charles Stuart was, of course, an utterly + forbidden idea in the deliberations. The idea of a revival of any + form of the Protectorship, whether by the recall of Richard, or + by the election of Fleetwood or Lambert, was equally forbidden, + although there had been whispers of the kind about Wallingford + House, and Richard was understood to be hovering near, in case he + should be wanted. "Such a form of Government as may best suit and + comport with a Free State and Commonwealth, without a Single + Person, Kingship, or House of Peers," was what had been solemnly + promised in the first public declaration of the present powers; + and to that all stood pledged. This, of course, involved a + Parliament. But what Parliament or what sort of Parliament? + <i>The late Rump reinstated at once with full authority</i>, + Ludlow was bound to say, and did say; but, as that was out of the + question with all the rest, he could suppose himself outvoted on + that, and go on. <i>Richard's late Parliament</i> had been the + murmur of some outside, perhaps not the least sensible in the + main; but the suggestion passed, as meaningless without Richard + himself. <i>The Long Parliament as it was before it became the + Rump, i.e. with all the survivors of the illegally secluded + members of 1642-1649 restored to their seats</i>, was a third + proposal, of more tremendous significance, that had been heard + outside, and indeed had become a wide popular cry. Inasmuch as + this meant the bringing back of the Parliament precisely as it + had been before the King's trial and the institution of the + Commonwealth, with all those Presbyterians and Royalists in it + that it had been necessary to eject in mass in order to make the + King's trial and a Commonwealth possible, little wonder that the + present junto shuddered at the bare suggestion. <i>A new + Parliament, called by ourselves</i>, was the conclusion in which + they took rest. But here their debates only began. Should it be a + Parliament of one House or of two Houses? If of two Houses, + should the Second House be a select Senate of fifty or seventy, + coordinate with the larger House, as the Army-chiefs had advised + the Rumpers, or should it be a much larger body? What should be + the size of the larger House, and what the powers and relations + of the two? Then, whether of one or of two Houses, how should the + Parliament be elected? To prevent the mere inrush of a Parliament + of the old and ordinary sort, whose first act would probably be + to subvert the Commonwealth, what qualifications should be + established for suffrage and eligibility? Might it not even be + advisable not to permit the people at first full choice of their + representatives, with whatever prescribed qualifications, but to + allow them only choice among nominees sent down to them by a + higher power? Should Harrington's principle of Rotation be + adopted, and, if so, to what extent? Farther, whatever was to be + the structure of the Parliament, were any fundamentals to be laid + down beforehand, as eternal principles of the Commonwealth, which + even the Parliament should be bound not to touch? Must not the + perpetuity of Republican Government itself, or non-return to + Kingship or single Chief Magistracy of any kind, be one of these + fundamentals, and Liberty of Conscience another? Nay, should a + Church Establishment and Tithes be left open questions, or should + there be some absolute pre-determination on that great subject? + Finally, when the Sub-Committee and the Committee of Safety, and + the Army officers round about, should have agreed upon all these + questions, so far as to be able to draw out a Constitution or + Form of Government sufficiently satisfactory to themselves, ought + not that Constitution to be submitted to some wider + representative authority for revision and ratification before + being imposed on the People? If so, what should that intervening + and ratifying authority be?<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: This is not a paragraph of suppositions, but the result of a + study of the actual chaos of opinion at the moment, by the help + of hints from Whitlocke, Ludlow, the letters of M. de Bordeaux, + and information in contemporary Thomason pamphlets. Strangely + enough, some of the most luminous hints come from the letters + of M. de Bordeaux. He was observing all coolly and clearly with + foreign eyes, and reporting twice a week to Mazarin. + </p> + </div> + <p> + One can see that there were two parties among the debaters. Vane, + in his strange position at last after his many vicissitudes, had + come trailing clouds of his peculiar notions with him, and was + regarded as the advocate of wild and impracticable novelties. Not + merely absolute Liberty of Conscience and abolition of Tithes, in + which Ludlow and others went with him, but certain Millenarian or + Fifth Monarchy speculations, pointing to a glorious future over + the trampled ruins of the Church-Establishment and of much + besides, were ideas which he wanted to ingraft in some shape into + the new Constitution. Here he represented a number of enthusiasts + among the subalterns of the Army and among ex-Army men; and, + indeed, it had been with some difficulty that Major-General + Harrison, the head of the Millenarians, had been kept out of the + Committee of Safety at its first formation, and so prevented from + resuming public functions after his five years of disablement. + Not having Harrison by his side, Vane could do little more than + ventilate his Millenarianism, Communism, or whatever it was, + though, as Whitlocke says, he "was hard to be satisfied and did + much stick to his own apprehensions." The leader of the more + moderate party, as against Vane, was Whitlocke himself. He + represented the Lawyers, the Established Clergy, all the more + sober and conservative spirits. Parliamentary use and wont, with + no great new-fangled inventions, but only prudent modifications + and precautions; preservation of the Established Church, the + Universities, and the existing legal system; Liberty of + Conscience certainly, but so guarded as not to give reins to + Quakerism and other Sectarian excesses: these were the + recommendations of Whitlocke. The Laird of Warriston, it appears, + who was not on the Sub-Committee, took up a position of his own + in the General Committee, which was neither Vane's nor + Whitlocke's, but represented what Ludlow calls "the Scottish + interest." One of its principles was that Liberty of Conscience + should be very limited indeed. And so, through November, while + Monk was consolidating his forces in Scotland, the discussion of + the new Constitution had been straggling on in the Sub-Committee + and Committee at Whitehall, and in less authorized assemblies in + the same neighbourhood. Among these, besides a clerical conclave + of Independent ministers, such as Owen and Nye, meeting at the + Savoy and advising Whitlocke on the Church-question, one must + specially remember Harrington's Rota Club at the Turk's Head in + New Palace Yard. That institution was now in its full nightly + glory, discussing all the questions that were discussed in + Whitehall and many more. It had won by this time the crowning + distinction of being a subject of daily jokes and witticisms. In + a London squib of Nov. 12, 1659, laughing at Harrington and his + Rota-men, the public were informed that among the last "decrees + and orders of the Committee of Safety of the Commonwealth of + Oceana" had been these three:—1. "That the politic casuists + of the Coffee Club in Bow Street [had the Rota adjourned thither, + or was this some other debating Club?] appoint some of their + number to instruct the Committee of Safety at Whitehall how they + shall find an invention to escape Tyburn, if ever the law be + restored; 2. That Harrington's <i>Aphorisms</i> and other + political slips be recommended to the English Plantation in + Jamaica, to try how they will agree with that apocryphal + purchase; 3. That a Levite and an Elder be sent to survey the + Government of the Moon, and that Warriston Johnstone and Parson + Peters be the men, as a couple of learned Rabbis in Lunatics." + Heedless of such mockery, the Harringtonians did not cease to put + forth their own pamphlets with all seriousness. <i>Valerius and + Publicola, or the True Form of a Popular Commonwealth extracted e + puris naturalibus</i> is the title of a dialogue of Harrington's, + of Nov. 17, expounding his principles afresh.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Whitlocke, IV. 376 and 379-380; Ludlow, 751-752; Letters of + M. de Bordeaux, in Appendix to Guizot, II. 275, 293, 304; + Thomason Tract of date, entitled <i>Decrees and Orders, + &c.;</i> and Thomason Catalogue. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Two conclusions at least had been arrived at in the Sub-Committee + and Committee, and approved by the Wallingford-House Council of + officers, before the middle of November, when they were actually + embodied in the Treaty with Monk's Commissioners in London. One + was as to the mode of determining Parliamentary qualifications. + That duty was to be entrusted to a body of nineteen persons, ten + of them named (Whitlocke, Vane, Ludlow, St. John, Warriston, + &c.), and the other nine to be chosen by the Armies of + England, Ireland, and Scotland, three by each. A still more + important conclusion was as to the body, intermediate between the + present powers and the People, to which the whole Constitution + should be submitted for revision and ratification before being + imposed upon the People. It was to be a great Representative + Council of the Army and Navy, to be composed of delegates in the + proportion of two commissioned officers from each regiment in + England, Scotland, or Ireland, chosen by the commissioned + officers of the regiments severally, together with ten naval + officers to be chosen by the officers of the Fleet collectively. + To Ludlow, approving only coldly of all that departed from his + fixed idea of sheer restitution of the Rump, this arrangement + seemed, nevertheless, a very fair one. It was settled, in fact, + that the great Representative Council should meet at Whitehall on + the 6th of December, by which time the complete draft of the + Constitution would be ready.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Whitlocke, IV. 374; Phillips. 671-672. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The Army and Navy Council did meet on that day, and it is from + their proceedings that we learn best the nature of the + Constitution submitted to them. The meeting, indeed, was not the + great one that had been expected. The delegates from Ireland had + not arrived; none had come from Monk's army, though due + intimation had been given to him and he was reckoned bound by the + Treaty; and, of course, in the circumstances, delegates could not + be spared from Lambert's. There was, however, a sufficient + gathering, and Ludlow attended, by request, as one representative + from Ireland. In a debate of five or six days all the questions + that had been discussed in the Committee of Safety and its + Sub-Committee were discussed over again, Ludlow and Colonel Rich + fighting for the restitution of the Rump even yet as the one + thing needful, others starting wild proposals even yet for a + restoration of the Protectorate, but Fleetwood, Desborough, and + the majority urging substantially the proposals that had come + from the Committee of Safety, or rather a reduction of those, by + the omission of such portions of them as were Vane's, to the + moderate and conservative core which might be regarded as + Whitlocke's. As Whitlocke himself was permitted to be present and + advise in the Council, he was able to contribute much to this + result by his lawyerly gravity and frequent mentions of the Great + Seal. Altogether the Constitution as it passed the Council may be + considered as his. And what was it? Nothing very alarming. A new + Parliament, of a Single House, to be elected by the people very + much as by use and wont, but in conformity with a well-considered + scheme of "qualifications" for keeping out the dangerous; a + separation, however, of the Executive from the Legislative, by + the appointment, as heretofore, of a Supreme Council of State; + maintenance of the Established Church, and that by Tithes till + some other as ample provision should be devised; Toleration of + Dissent and of free expression of religious belief, but still on + this side of Quakerism and other anomalies, heresies, and + extravagancies: such, after all, was the homely outcome. If Vane + and the theorists of the Harringtonian Club were disappointed, + Ludlow was even in worse despair; and at the last moment he + proposed an extraordinary addition. If the late Rump was not to + be restored, and if they were to adopt a Constitution which + threatened, as he feared, to let in Charles, or to put all back + under the power of the sword, let them at least try to avert such + consequences by defining a few fundamentals which should be + inviolable, and let them appoint, under the name of + <i>Conservators of Liberty</i>, twenty-one men to be guardians of + these fundamentals. He was humoured in this; and, three + fundamentals having been agreed on—to wit, (1) Commonwealth + in perpetuity, without King, Single Person, or House of Peers, + (2) Liberty of Conscience, (3) Unalterability of the Army + arrangements except by the Conservators—the Assembly + proceeded to ballot on a list of persons named by Ludlow as + suitable for the office of Conservators. All went as Ludlow + wished for the first seven or eight on the + list,—dexterously arranged by him so because, being all men + of the Wallingford-House party except Vane and Salway, these two + could hardly in decency be blackballed. But then the order of + voting was broken; and, though Ludlow himself was elected, not + another man of the Parliamentarian party was let in. Actually, + the Laird of Warriston, who had declared publicly against Liberty + of Conscience, and Tichbourne, who had proposed to restore + Richard to the Protectorship, were preferred to such men as + Hasilrig and Neville, and made guardians of fundamentals in which + they did not believe. Ludlow then threw up the entire business in + disgust, and resolved that it was high time for him to be back in + Ireland. Nevertheless, his afterthought of the Fundamentals and + their Conservators was incorporated into Whitlocke's Constitution + as it went back to the Committee of Safety, with the ratification + of the Council of Army and Navy officers, This was on the 14th of + December. The next day the nature of the new Constitution was + known to all who were interested, and there was a proclamation + for a Parliament to meet in February.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Whitlocke, IV. 377-380; Ludlow, 753-769; Letters of M. de + Bordeaux in Guizot, II. 306 and 315. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Monk was now at Coldstream, on the Tweed, about nine miles from + Berwick. On the 13th of December he had taken leave, at Berwick, + of a deputation of Scottish nobles and gentlemen, headed by the + Earls of Glencairn, Tullibardine, Rothes, Roxburgh, and Wemyss, + who had come from Edinburgh with certain propositions and + requests. As he was going into England, leaving Scotland + garrisoned but by a poor residue of his soldiers, would he not + permit the shires to raise small native forces for police + purposes, or would he not at least restore to the Scottish + nobility and gentry the privilege of wearing arms themselves and + having their servants armed? Farther, might he not, a little + while hence, sanction a general arming, so that Scotland might + have the pleasure of putting 6000 foot and 1500 horse at his + disposal? The minor requests were, within certain limits, granted + easily; but against the last Monk was still very wary. To have + granted it would have been to proclaim that he was taking the + Scottish nation with him in his enterprise, and so give + indubitable foundation to those rumours that "the King was at the + bottom of it" which were flying about already, and which it was + his first care to contradict. There must be no general arming of + the Scots: he would march into England with his own little army + only! Still, however, he did not move from Coldstream, but stuck + there, exchanging messages with Lambert respecting the renewal of + the Treaty. It was now dead winter, and the snow lay thick over + the whole region between the two Generals. Monk's personal + accommodations at Coldstream were much worse than Lambert's at + Newcastle. He was quartered in a wretched cottage, with two + barns, where, on the first night of his arrival, he could find + nothing for supper, and had to munch more than his usual + allowance of raw tobacco instead. But he had the means of paying + his men and keeping them in good humour, while bad pay and the + cold weather were demoralising Lambert's.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Skinner's Life of Monk, 161-168; Phillips, 674-675. + </p> + </div> + <p> + For the restitution of the Rump Parliament, Monk's march into + England was to be quite unnecessary. His mere pertinacity in + declaring himself the champion of the Rump and making + preparations for the march had disintegrated all that seemingly + coherent strength of the Wallingford-House party throughout + England and Ireland on which Lambert could rely when he left + London in the beginning of November. All over England and + Ireland, for six weeks now, people had been talking of "Silent + Old George," as Monk's own soldiers called him, though he was but + in his fifty-second year, and speculating on his possible + meaning, and on the chance that even Lambert might find him more + than a match. And such mere gossip and curiosity everywhere, + mingling with previous doubtings in some quarters, and with + relics of positive partisanship with the Rump in others, had + gradually induced a complete whirl of public feeling. By the + middle of December, when the Wallingford-House Government put + forth their proclamation of a new Parliament, this was so + apparent that Whitlocke and his friends at the centre might well + doubt whether that Parliament would ever meet. By that time, at + all events, Lambert had begun to curse his own folly in not + having fallen upon Monk at first, and in having let himself + afterwards be deluded so long by the phantom of a renewed treaty + at Newcastle. For what had been the news, and continued to be the + news, post after post? Colonel Whetham, Governor of Portsmouth, + formerly Monk's associate in the Scottish Council, now in + declared cooperation with him, and holding the town for the Rump; + Hasilrig, Morley, and Walton, gone to Portsmouth to turn the + revolt to account; these and other members of the late Rump, such + as Neville; Scott, and Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, openly resuming + their functions and issuing documents in which they declared + General Monk, "the ablest and most experienced commander in these + nations," to be "warranted in his present actings" by their + express commission; risings or threatenings of risings in various + parts of England, whether Royalist or Republican not known, but + equally troublesome to the existing powers; Admiral Lawson and + his Fleet actually in the Thames with an avowal at length of + allegiance to the late Parliament only, and resisting all Vane's + persuasions the other way; the Army in Ireland, which had seemed + so safe, now in a confused ferment, with Sir Hardress Waller, Sir + Charles Coote, Colonel Theophilus Jones, and others, promoting a + general demonstration in Monk's behalf! Lambert's own Army was + infected. That part of it which was called the Irish Brigade, as + consisting of regiments that had been brought from Ireland at the + time of Sir George Booth's insurrection, sympathised with Monk + openly; the rest were dubious or listless. In the rear of Lambert + in Yorkshire, though he can hardly yet have known the fact, Lord + Fairfax was organising a movement, really with Royalist aims, but + to take the form of a concerted combination with Monk as soon as + Monk should advance. But it was in London itself, close round the + powers at Whitehall, that their weakness had become most + notorious and alarming. For some time the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, + and Common Council had been acting almost as an independent + authority; the citizens were resolute against the payment of + taxes, and had formed associations to resist their collection; + all that was Cavalierish in the city was astir, with all that was + Republican, in daily displays of contempt for the + Wallingford-House junta and their soldiery. Hewson's regiment, + marching through the city, had been jeered at by the apprentices + and pelted with stones. In the centre of these London tumults, + Fleetwood, the Commander-in-chief, and the honorary head of the + Government, had shown himself incapable even of the local + management. Of Fleetwood, all in all, indeed, one knows not, by + this time, what to think. The combination of mild qualities which + Milton had eulogised in him in 1654 did not now suit. Ever since + Richard's fall, to which he had so largely contributed, Fleetwood + had comported himself as a dignified and sweet-mannered man, more + acceptable in the highest place than Lambert, but uneasy in his + mind, and uncomfortable in his relations to Lambert. He was a + deeply religious man, which Lambert was not; and it was observed + that on late occasions in the Council of Officers, when bad news + made some sudden resolution necessary, and Lambert would have + been, ready with one, Fleetwood's one resource had been + "Gentlemen, let us pray." One thinks of Fleetwood's + brother-in-law, poor Henry Cromwell, and what he might have been + in Fleetwood's place. He, the man of real fitness, was in + seclusion in Cambridgeshire, rejected where he was most needed, + and indeed, though he did not yet fully know it, foreclosed + already, at the age of thirty-one, by his own honourable fidelity + to his father's ashes, from all farther career or employment in + any English world.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Phillips, 674-676; Whitlocke, IV. 378-380; Skinner, 170-178; + Thurloe, VII. 797-798 (Letter of Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, + Scott, &c., to Fleetwood); Guizot, II. 54-57; Letters of M. + de Bordeaux in Appendix to Guizot, II. 307-318. + </p> + </div> + <p> + It was close on Christmas, and the anarchy in London had become + indescribable. "I wished myself out of these daily hazards, but + knew not how to get free of them," is Whitlocke's entry in his + diary for Dec. 20; and, under Dec. 22, he writes, "Most of the + soldiery about London declared their judgment to have the + Parliament sit again, in honour, freedom, and safety; and now + those who formerly were most eager for Fleetwood's party became + as violent against them, and for the Parliament to sit again." In + other words, the soldiers of Fleetwood's own London regiments + were tired of being insulted and jeered at, and had come to the + conclusion, with their brethren everywhere else, that Lambert's + <i>coup d'état</i> of Oct. 13 had been a blunder and that the + Rump must be reinstated.—In these circumstances, Whitlocke, + after consultation with Lord Willoughby of Parham, the + Presbyterian Major-General Browne, and others, thought himself + justified in going to Fleetwood with a very desperate project. It + was evident, Whitlocke told him, that Monk's design was to bring + in the King; if so, the King's return was inevitable; and, if the + King should return by Monk's means, the lives and fortunes of all + in the Wallingford-House connexion were at the King's or Monk's + mercy. Would not Fleetwood be beforehand with Monk, and himself + be the agent of the unavoidable restoration? He might adopt + either of two plans, an indirect or a direct. The indirect plan + would be to fraternize with the City, declare for "a full and + free Parliament"—not that Parliament for which Whitlocke + was preparing writs, but the fuller and freer one, unfettered by + Wallingford-House "qualifications," for which the Royalists had + been astutely calling out,—and then either take the field + with his forces under that banner, or else, if the forces he + could rally proved too small, shut himself up in the Tower, and + trust to the City itself till the effect were seen. The other way + would be to dispatch an envoy to the King at once with offers and + instructions. Whitlocke himself was equally willing to go into + the Tower with Fleetwood or to be his envoy to Charles. After + some rumination, Fleetwood, as Whitlocke understood, had + concluded for the latter plan, and Whitlocke was taking leave of + him, with that understanding, to prepare for his journey, when + they found Vane, Desborough, and Berry, in the ante-chamber. At + Fleetwood's request Whitlocke waited there, while the new comers + and Fleetwood consulted in the other room. In less than a quarter + of an hour, says Whitlocke, Fleetwood came out, telling him + passionately "I cannot do it, I cannot do it." The reason he gave + was that he had just been reminded that he was under a pledge to + Lambert to take no such step without his consent. To Whitlocke's + remonstrance that, Lambert being absent, and the matter being one + of life or death, only instant action could prevent ruin to + Fleetwood himself and his friends, the answer was "I cannot help + it"; and so they parted.—This was on Thursday the 22nd of + December. The next day, though Whitlocke had a call from Colonel + Ingoldsby, Colonel Howard, and another, suggesting that, as + Keeper of the Great Seal, he might fitly go to the King on his + own account, he went on sealing writs, he tells us, for the new + Wallingford-House Parliament. Meanwhile, the uproar in the City + being at its maximum, such members of the late Council of the + Rump as were in town met at Speaker Lenthall's house and issued + orders for a rendezvous of Fleetwood's regiments in Lincoln's Inn + Fields under the command of Okey, Alured, Markham, and Mosse. + Fleetwood, applied to for the keys of the Parliament house, + willingly gave them up and resigned all charge. On Saturday the + 24th the mass of the soldiers were gladly at the appointed + rendezvous, and were marched down Chancery Lane, where the + Speaker came out to them at the Rolls, and was received with + shouts of joy and repentance. On Monday the 26th all the members + of the Rump who were at hand met the Speaker in the + Council-Chamber at Whitehall, and walked thence to Westminster + Hall, the mace carried before them, and the soldiers and populace + cheering as they passed. They constituted the House and proceeded + at once to business. They had been excluded two months and + fourteen days.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Whitlocke, IV. 380-384; Phillips, 676; Letter of M. de + Bordeaux to Mazarin of Dec. 28, 1659 (English reckoning), + Guizot, 318-322. + </p> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="Cc1s2c2" id="Cc1s2c2">CHAPTER I.</a> + </h2> + <h3> + <i>Second Section (continued).</i> + </h3> + <h3> + THE ANARCHY, STAGE III.: OR SECOND RESTORATION OF THE RUMP, WITH + MONK'S MARCH FROM SCOTLAND: DEC. 26, 1659—FEB. 21, 1659-60. + </h3> + <p> + THE RUMP AFTER ITS SECOND RESTORATION: NEW COUNCIL OF STATE: + PENALTIES ON VANE, LAMBERT, DESBOROUGH, AND THE OTHER CHIEFS OF + THE WALLINGFORD-HOUSE INTERREGNUM: CASE OF LUDLOW: NEW ARMY + REMODELLING: ABATEMENT OF REPUBLICAN FERVENCY AMONG THE RUMPERS: + DISPERSION OF LAMBERT'S FORCE IS THE NORTH: MONK'S MARCH FROM + SCOTLAND: STAGES AND INCIDENTS OF THE MARCH: HIS HALT AT ST. + ALBAN'S AND MESSAGE THENCE TO THE RUMP: HIS NEARER VIEW OF THE + SITUATION: HIS ENTRY INTO LONDON, FEB. 3, 1659-60: HIS AMBIGUOUS + SPEECH TO THE RUMP, FEB. 6: HIS POPULARITY IN LONDON: PAMPHLETS + AND LETTERS DURING HIS MARCH AND ON HIS ARRIVAL: PRYNNE'S + PAMPHLETS ON BEHALF OF THE SECLUDED MEMBERS: TUMULT IN THE CITY: + TUMULT SUPPRESSED BY MONK AS SERVANT OF THE RUMP: HIS POPULARITY + GONE: BLUNDER RETRIEVED BY MONK'S RECONCILIATION WITH THE CITY + AND DECLARATION AGAINST THE RUMP: ROASTING OF THE RUMP IN LONDON, + FEB. 11, 1659-60: MONK MASTER OF THE CITY AND OF THE RUMP TOO: + CONSULTATIONS WITH THE SECLUDED MEMBERS: BILL OF THE RUMP FOR + ENLARGING ITSELF BY NEW ELECTIONS: BILL SET ASIDE BY THE + RESEATING OF THE SECLUDED MEMBERS: RECONSTITUTION OF THE LONG + PARLIAMENT UNDER MONK'S DICTATORSHIP. + </p> + <p> + The Rump, as restored the second time, never recovered even its + former small dimensions. On a division taken the day after its + restoration there were only thirty-seven present and voting, nor + in any subsequent division did the number exceed fifty-three. + This arose from the fact that Rumpers who had been conspicuous in + the Wallingford-House defection now absented themselves. On the + other hand, the Journals show an accession of at least five + members not visible in the previous session: viz. Colonel + Alexander Popham, Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, Colonel Henry + Markham, Mr. John Lassell, and Mr. Robert Cecil (second son of + the Earl of Salisbury). Ashley Cooper, not an original Rumper, + came in by the recognition, Jan. 7, 1659-60, of his right to sit + for Downton in Wilts. Lassell, whose name is not on the list of + the Long Parliament, may have found a seat in the same way. + Prynne and some others of the secluded members renewed their + attempt to get into the House, but were again + refused.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals (Divisions and Committees) from Dec. 26, + 1659 to Feb. 21, 1659-60. + </p> + </div> + <p> + A new Council of State was, of course, appointed at once. It was + to consist, as before, of <i>twenty-one</i> Parliamentaries and + <i>ten</i> non-Parliamentaries, and to hold office from Jan. 1, + 1659-60 to April 1, 1660. The following is the list, the order in + each section being that of preference as shown by the numbers of + votes obtained in the ballot, and the asterisk again denoting a + Regicide. + </p> + <p> + PARLIAMENTARIES. + </p> + <ul> + <li>Sir Arthur Hasilrig, Bart. + </li> + <li>Colonel Herbert Morley + </li> + <li>Robert Wallop + </li> + <li>*Colonel Valentine Walton + </li> + <li>*Thomas Scott + </li> + <li>Nicholas Love + </li> + <li>Chief Justice St. John + </li> + <li>Colonel William White + </li> + <li>John Weaver + </li> + <li>Robert Reynolds + </li> + <li>Sir James Harrington + </li> + <li>Sir Thomas Widdrington + </li> + <li>Colonel George Thompson + </li> + <li>*John Dixwell + </li> + <li>Henry Neville + </li> + <li>Colonel John Fagg + </li> + <li>John Corbet + </li> + <li>*Thomas Challoner + </li> + <li>*Henry Marten + </li> + <li>*William Say + </li> + <li>Luke Robinson (a tie between him and Carew Raleigh, decided + by lot). + </li> + </ul> + <p> + NON-PARLIAMENTARIES. + </p> + <ul> + <li>Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, Bart. (appointed before his + election as M.P.) + </li> + <li>Josiah Berners + </li> + <li>General Monk + </li> + <li>Vice-Admiral Lawson + </li> + <li>Alderman Love + </li> + <li>Thomas Tyrrell + </li> + <li>Lord Fairfax + </li> + <li>Alderman Foote + </li> + <li>Robert Rolle + </li> + <li>Slingsby Bethell.<sup>1</sup> + </li> + </ul> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals, Dec. 31, 1659 and Jan. 2, 1659-60. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The proceeding's of the House for the first month showed no + diminution of self-confidence by the late interruption. Hasilrig, + who was now the chief man in the Parliament and in the Council, + was in such a state of elevation that his friends were a little + alarmed. Next in activity, and more a man of business, was Scott, + whose merits were acknowledged by his appointment first to an + informal Secretaryship of State (Jan. 10), and then to that + office fully and formally, with charge of the foreign and + domestic intelligence (Jan. 17). He was to be for the Rump + government what Thurloe had been for the Protectorate. + </p> + <p> + A good deal of the first month's business consisted in votes of + approbation for those who had been faithful during the + interruption and votes condemning the Wallingford-House + "usurpers" and their acts. Monk, of course, was the hero among + the faithful. Messages of thanks were sent to him again and + again, and on the 16th of January it was resolved to bestow on + him and his heirs £1000 a year. But there were thanks as well to + Admiral Lawson, Whetham, and Fairfax; to Hasilrig, Scott, + Neville, Morley, Walton, and the other members of the Council of + State who had laboured for the good old cause in the interim; and + to Sir Hardress Waller, Sir Charles Coote, and Colonel Theophilus + Jones, for what they had done in Ireland. In the censure of + delinquents there was nothing very revengeful. The Committee of + Safety was styled "the late pretended Committee of Safety," and + all their doings were voted null; but an indemnity for life and + estate was assured to the men themselves, and to all officers who + had acted under them, on condition of present submission. This + indemnity was not so complete but that a few of the late chief's + might expect some punishment. Accordingly, on the 9th of January + Vane was brought before the House, disabled from sitting there + any longer, and ordered into private life at his estate of Raby + in Durham; and on the same day it was voted that Colonels + Lambert, Desborough, Berry, Ashfield, Kelsay, Cobbet, Barrow, + Packer, and Major Creed, all of whom were still at large, should + seclude themselves in whatever houses of theirs were farthest + from London. Vane, Lambert, and the rest not having complied + sufficiently, there were subsequent votes, with little or no + effect, for apprehending and compelling them; and on the 18th of + January Sydenham and Salway were added to the list of the + reproved, the former by being expelled from the House and the + latter by being suspended. Whitlocke and the Laird of Warriston, + though unanimously regarded as among the prime culprits, escaped + without punishment. Whitlocke even ventured to appear in the + House, but was received so coolly that he soon withdrew into the + country, leaving instructions to his wife to burn a quantity of + his papers and to deliver the great seal to the Speaker. So far + was Fleetwood from being in danger that they were considering + whether he might not be retained as Commander-in-chief. Ludlow, + much to his surprise, found himself among the accused. This, + however, was not because of the middle course he had taken in + London through the late interruption, though he had lost some + credit by that with his Republican friends. He had unfortunately + left London on his way back to Ireland on the very eve of that + happy restitution of the Rump which he had despaired of seeing, + and it was in Ireland that his enemies were most numerous and + violent. He had hardly arrived among them and attempted to resume + his command when he received notice from the House that he and + Colonel John Jones, with Miles Corbet and Matthew Tomlinson, were + required to come over to answer certain charges against them + relating to their Irish government (Jan. 5). Ludlow and the + others obeyed, and found, on their arrival in London in February, + that Sir Charles Coote and other officers in Ireland had lodged + an impeachment against them for nothing less than high + treason.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates, and generally from Dec. 26, 1659 + to Feb. 1659-60; Ludlow, 783-806; Whitlocke, IV. 384-392. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Another business, natural in the circumstances, was the now too + familiar one of "re-modelling." Men not now satisfactory had to + be removed from all departments of the public service and more + proper men substituted. Whitlocke's great seal was given into new + keeping, and there were new judicial appointments. To supply + vacancies caused by the removal of defaulting officers in + regiments, there began again, too, on a considerable scale, that + process of nomination for new commissions and of delivery of the + commissions by the Speaker which had been so wearisome in the + former session of the House. To Whetham, Walton, Morley, Okey, + Mosse, Alured, Hasilrig, Rich, Eyre, Hacker, and others, + retaining their former colonelcies, or promoted to farther + military trusts, there were added Colonels Camfield, Streater, + Smithson, Sanders, &c.; and now, as heretofore, one is + puzzled by the appearance of many persons as "colonels" who had + the title only from their places in the militia of their + counties, or from the courtesy custom of designating a retired + army-man by his former name of honour. Lambert, Desborough, and + the eight others ordered into seclusion, were, of course, among + the discharged; so also was Robert Lilburne; but Hewson seems to + have been forgiven.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals, Dec, 1659 and Jan. 1659-60; Whitlocke as + before. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Through all these proceedings of the first month there had been + signs of a curious abatement of that thorough-going Republican + fervency which had characterized the House in its previous + session. The essential Republican principle had indeed been at + once re-proclaimed. It had been resolved that each member of the + new Council of State, before assuming office, should take an oath + renouncing "the pretended title or titles of Charles Stuart and + the whole line of the late King James, and of every person, as a + single person, pretending or which shall pretend," &c. The + very next day, however, when Hasilrig brought in a Bill enacting + that every member of the House itself, or of any succeeding + House, should take the same oath, a minority, among whom were + Ingoldsby, Colonel Hutchinson, Colonel Fielder, and Colonel Fagg, + opposed very strongly. Not, of course, that they were other than + sound Commonwealth's men; but that oaths were becoming + frightfully frequent, and this one would be "a confining of + Providence," &c.! The first reading of the Bill was carried + only by a majority of twenty-four (Neville and Garland tellers) + against fifteen (Colonel Hutchinson and Colonel Fagg tellers). + The effect was that, after a second reading, the Bill went into + Committee and remained there, the members meanwhile sitting on + without any engagement. About a half of those nominated to the + Council of State, including Fairfax, St. John, Morley, Weaver, + and Fagg, remained out of the Council rather than submit to the + qualification made essential in <i>their</i> case. This was + symptomatic enough; but it was also evident that, on such + important questions as Tithes, an Established Church, and Liberty + of Conscience, the House was in no disposition to persevere in + what had hitherto been believed to be radical and necessary + articles of the Republican policy. The instructions given to a + Committee on the 21st of January indicate very comprehensively + the prevalence of a conservative temper in the House on these and + other questions. The Committee were to prepare a declaration for + the public "That the Parliament intends forthwith to proceed to + the settlement of the government, and will uphold a learned and + pious Ministry of the nation and their maintenance by Tithes: and + that they will proceed to fill up the House as soon as may be, + and to settle the Commonwealth without a King, Single Person, or + House of Peers; and will promote the Trade of the nation; and + will reserve due Liberty to tender consciences: and that the + Parliament will not meddle with the executive power of the Law, + but only in cases of mal-administration and appeals, &c." + Such a declaration was adopted and ordered to be published on the + 23rd. It was of a nature to conciliate the Presbyterian and + Independent clergy of the Establishment and the conservative mass + of the people generally, but to disappoint grievously those + various sectarian enemies of the Church Establishment who had + hitherto been the most enthusiastic exponents of the "good old + cause." The very phrase "the good old cause," one observes, was + now passing into disrepute, and the word "fanatics" as a name for + its extreme supporters was coming into use within the circle of + the Rump politicians themselves. Hasilrig, Neville, and the rest + of the ultra-Republicans, mast have felt the power going from + their hands.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates; Phillips, 678; Ludlow, 807-809; + Letters of M. de Bordeaux, Guizot, II. 325-839. + </p> + </div> + <p> + While much of this cooling of the original Republican fervency + was owing to the recent experience of the public fickleness and + of the necessity of not "confining Providence" too much in the + decision of what to-morrow should bring forth, there was a + special cause in the relations now subsisting between the House + and Monk. + </p> + <p> + The House having been restored by Monk's agency, but without that + march to London which he had proposed for the purpose, the + majority were by no means anxious to see him in London. Monk, on + the other hand, to whom it had been a disappointment that the + House had been restored without his presence to see it done, was + resolved nevertheless that the march should take place. He was + already within England when the news of the premature restitution + of the Rump reached him, having advanced through the snow from + Coldstream to Wooler in Northumberland on the 2nd of January, to + fight Lambert at last. He was at Morpeth on the 4th, and at + Newcastle on the 5th, to find that there was to be no necessity + for fighting Lambert after all. Lambert's army had melted away + with the utmost alacrity on orders from London, leaving their + leader to submit and shift for himself. After remaining three + days at Newcastle, Monk resumed his march, by Durham and + Northallerton, receiving addresses and deputations by the way, + and was at York on the 11th. Here he remained five days, besieged + with more addresses and deputations, but having a conference also + with Lord Fairfax, followed by a visit to his Lordship at his + house of Nunappleton. Fairfax had been in arms to attack + Lambert's rear, in accordance with the understanding he had come + to with Monk; and it was part of Monk's business at York to + reform the wreck of Lambert's forces, incorporating some of them + with his own and putting the rest under the command of officers + who had declared for Fairfax. He arranged also for leaving one of + his own regiments at York and for sending Morgan back with two + others to take charge of Scotland. By these changes his army for + farther advance was reduced to 4000 foot and 1800 horse. Hitherto + his march had been by his own sole authority; but at York he + received orders from the Council of State to come on to London. + Dreading what might happen from his conjunction with the great + Fairfax, and not daring to order him back to Scotland, the Rump + leaders had assented to what they could not avoid. From York, + accordingly, he resumed his advance on the 16th, the country + before him, like that he had left behind, still covered thick + with snow. On the 18th, at Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, he met + Dr. Gumble, whom he had sent on to London about ten days before + with letters to the Parliament and the Council of State, and who + had returned with valuable information. Next day, at Nottingham, + his brother-in-law De Clarges also met him, bringing farther + information for his guidance. On the 22nd, as he was approaching + Leicester, Messrs. Scott and Robinson, who had been sent from + London as Commissioners from the Rump to attend him in the rest + of his march, made their appearance ceremoniously and were duly + received. They had come really as anxious spies on Monk's + conduct, and were very inquisitive and loquacious; but they + relieved him thenceforth of much of the trouble of answering the + deputations and addresses by which he was still beset on his + route. They were with him at Northampton, where he was on the + 24th; at Dunstable, where he was on the 27th; and at St. Alban's, + where he arrived on the 28th. Here, twenty miles from London, he + rested for five days, to see the issue of a very important + message he had been secretly preparing for the Parliament and + which he now sent on by Dr. Clarges. It was a request to the + House to clear London of all but two of the regiments then in it, + on the ground that, having so recently served Fleetwood and the + Wallingford-House party in their usurpation, they were not to be + trusted. The message was of a kind to surprise and perplex the + House, and Monk had purposely reserved it to this late stage of + his march that there might be the less time for discussion. While + waiting at St. Alban's, he had to endure, we are told, "amongst + the rest of his interruptions," a long fast-day sermon from Hugh + Peters, who had come to his quarters, with two other ministers. + Monk's chaplain, Dr. Price, who was present at the sermon, has + left an account of it. The text was Psalm cvii. 7, "And He led + them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of + habitation"; and Peters, in discoursing on this text, drew from + it the assurance of a happy settlement of the Commonwealth at + last. "With his fingers on the cushion," says Dr. Price, "he + measured the right way from the Red Sea, through, the Wilderness, + to Canaan; told us it was not forty days' march, but God led + Israel forty years through the Wilderness before they came + thither; yet this was still the Lord's right way, who led his + people <i>crinkledum cum crankledum</i>." Monk's present march + was to be one of the last of the windings.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Skinner's Life of Monk, 175-199; Phillips, 677-680; Parl. + Hist., III. 1574 (quotation from Dr. Price). + </p> + </div> + <p> + While Monk is at St. Alban's, we may inquire into his real + intentions. They connect themselves with the purport of those + addresses with which he had been troubled along his whole route. + Not only had there been addresses from the inhabitants or + authorities of the towns he passed through; but there had been + letters to him at Morpeth from the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and + Common Council, of the City of London, followed by an address + presented to him on the borders of Northamptonshire by a + deputation of three commissioners from the City, two of them + Aldermen. Now, almost all the addresses had been in one strain. + Thanking Monk for what he had already done, they prayed him to + earn the farther gratitude of his countrymen either by (1) + securing that the present House should be converted into a real + Parliament by the restoration of the secluded members of + 1642-1648 to their seats and the filling up of other vacancies, + or (2) securing that a full and free new Parliament should be + called at once. Both these methods implied the restoration of + Charles, though mention of that consequence, and by some even the + thought of it, was most studiously avoided. A full and free new + Parliament meant, in the present mood of the country, a recall of + Charles rapidly and unhesitatingly. The filling up of the present + Parliament by the restoration of the secluded members, and by new + elections for other vacancies, meant the reconstituting of the + Long Parliament entire, just as it had been while negotiations + with Charles I. were going on, and before the Army, in order to + stop these negotiations and bring in the Republic, ejected the + Royalist and Presbyterian members. Such a reconstituted + Parliament, if time were given it, would also inevitably recall + Charles II., though it might do so after a preliminary compact + with him on the basis of that Treaty of Newport which had been + going on with his father late in 1648, and which might be + regarded as still embodying the views of the Presbyterians + respecting Royalty and its limits. Of the two methods the + Cavaliers or Old Royalists naturally preferred that which would + bring in Charles most speedily and with the fewest conditions; + but, as they were outnumbered by the Presbyterians or New + Royalists, they were willing to accept <i>their</i> method. To + the genuine Rumpers, of course, either proposal was dreadful. To + retain the power themselves, enlarging their House, if at all, + only by new elections permitted by themselves, and not to part + with their power unless to a new Parliament the qualifications + for which should have been carefully pre-determined by + themselves, was the only procedure by which they could hope to + preserve the Commonwealth. Hence, on the one hand, their + willingness to throw overboard all that was not absolutely + essential to a Republican policy; but hence, on the other, their + anxiety to enforce an oath among themselves abjuring Charles and + the Stuarts utterly. It had been to feel Monk's inclinations in + this matter of the abjuration oath, and also to watch his + attitude to the deputations and their requests, that they had + despatched their two commissioners, Scott and Robinson, to be in + attendance on him. He had baffled them by his matchless + taciturnity. Very probaby, his intention, when he first projected + his march to London, had been to restore the Rump and to insist + at the same time on the re-admission of the secluded members; and + this had been recommended to him by Fairfax. But, now that the + Rump was again sitting without the secluded members, and + determined to keep them out, not even to Fairfax had he committed + himself by a definite promise on that point. To the deputations + he would reply only in curt generalities, or indeed, after Scott + and Robinson had joined him, in generalities which would have + been thought crusty and uncivil, had not Gumble, or Price, or the + physician Dr. Barrow, been always at hand to explain privately to + disappointed persons that the General's way was peculiar. Only in + one matter was he explicit himself. He would not permit the least + insinuation that he designed to bring in Charles. At York he had + caned one of his officers for having said something imprudent to + that effect.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Skinner and Phillips <i>ut supra</i>; Letter of M. de + Bordeaux to Mazarin, of date Jan. 21, in Guizot, II. 336-340. + </p> + </div> + <p> + On the 30th of January, with whatever reluctance, the House did + comply with Monk's request, by issuing orders for the removal of + Fleetwood's regiments from London; and on the 1st of February the + way was farther cleared by the appointment of Clarges to be + commissary-general of the musters for England and Scotland. There + was a mutiny among Fleetwood's soldiers on account of the + disgrace put upon them, and also on account of their dislike of + country quarters after the pleasures of London; but the mutiny + only quickened the desire to get rid of them. They were marched + out by their officers; and on Friday the 3rd of February, Monk, + who had come on to Barnet the day before, marched in with his + army, by Gray's Inn Lane, Chancery Lane, and the Strand. They + appeared to the citizens a very rough and battered soldiery + indeed after their month's march through the English snows, the + horses especially lean and ragged. That night, and all Saturday + and Sunday, Monk was in quarters at Whitehall, receiving + distinguished visitors. Though asked to take his seat in the + Council of State on Saturday, he declined to do so till he should + see his way more clearly on the disputed question of the + abjuration oath.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates; Skinner, 199-206; Phillips, + 680-682. + </p> + </div> + <p> + On Monday, Feb. 6, the House was assembled in state to see Monk + introduced into it by Messrs. Scott and Robinson. His designation + among them was only "Commissioner Monk"; for, though he had been + appointed Commander-in-Chief of all the Forces of England, + Scotland, and Ireland, by a secret commission sent him by + Hasilrig and a few other members of the old Council of State + during the late interruption, that commission did not now hold, + and he had really no other authority than that implied by his + appointment before Lambert's <i>coup d'état</i> to be + fellow-commissioner with Fleetwood, Ludlow, Hasilrig, Walton, and + Morley for the regulation of the Army. The last three of these, + as still acting in the commission, were nominally his equals. But + every care was taken to testify to Monk the sense of his + extraordinary services. A chair was set for him opposite the + Speaker; at the back of which, as he declined the invitation to + be seated, he stood while the Speaker addressed him in a harangue + of glowing thanks. Then, with his hand on the chair, he spoke in + return the speech he had carefully conned. "Sir, I shall not + trouble you with large narratives," he said; "only give me leave + to acquaint you that, as I marched from Scotland hither, I + observed the people in most counties in great and earnest + expectations of Settlement, and they made several applications to + me, with numerous subscriptions. The chiefest heads of their + desires were:—for a free and full Parliament, and that you + would determine your sitting; a Gospel Ministry; encouragement of + Learning and Universities; and for admittance of the members + secluded before 1648, without any previous oath or engagement. To + which I commonly answered, That you are now in a <i>free</i> + Parliament, and, if there were any force remaining upon you, I + would endeavour to remove it; and that you had voted to fill up + your House, and then you would be a <i>full</i> Parliament + also...; but, as for those gentlemen secluded in 1648, I told + them you had given judgment in it and all people ought to + acquiesce in that judgment; but to admit any members to sit in + Parliament without a previous oath or engagement to secure the + Government in being, it was never yet done in England. And, + although I said it not to them, I must say it with pardon to you, + that the less oaths and engagements are imposed (with respect had + to the security of the common cause) your settlement will be the + sooner attained to." He was now half through his speech; and the + rest consisted of general recommendations of a policy in + accordance with "the sober interest," with care that "neither the + Cavalier nor Fanatic party" should have a share of the civil or + military power. He ended with a glance at Ireland and Scotland, + bespeaking particular attention to the Scots, as "a nation + deserving much to be cherished," and sure to appreciate the late + declaration in favour of a sober and conservative Church policy, + inasmuch as no nation more dreaded "to be overrun with fanatic + notions." Having thus delivered himself, Monk withdrew, leaving + the House wholly mystified, but also a good deal distempered, by + his ambiguities. It seems to have been on this occasion that + Henry Marten vented that witty description of Monk which is one + of the best even of <i>his</i> good sayings. "Monk," he said, "is + like a man that, being sent for to make a suit of clothes, should + bring with him a budget full of carpenter's tools, and, being + told that such things were not at all fit for the work he was + desired to do, should answer, 'It matters not; I will do your + work well enough, I warrant you.'" Monk was now on the spot with + his budget of carpenter's tools, and he meant to make a tolerable + suit of clothes with them somehow.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: There is a hiatus in the Journals at the point of Monk's + reception and speech in the House; but the speech was printed + separately, and is given in the Parl. Hist. III. 1575-7. The + original authority for Henry Marten's witticism is, I believe, + Ludlow (810-811). + </p> + </div> + <p> + There was no lack of advices for his direction. Through the month + of his march and of the anxious sittings of the House in + expectation of him, the London press had teemed with pamphlets + for the crisis. <i>The Rota, or a Model of a Free State or Equal + Commonwealth</i> was another of Harrington's, published Jan. 9, + when Monk was between Newcastle and York; and on the 8th of + February, when Monk had been five days in London, he was saluted + by <i>The Ways and Means whereby an Equal and lasting + Commonwealth may be suddenly introduced</i>, also by Harrington. + <i>A Coffin for the Good Old Cause</i> was another, in a + different strain; and there were others and still others, some of + them in the form of letters expressly addressed to Monk. From the + moment of his arrival at St. Alban's, indeed, he had become the + universal target for letter-writers and the universal object of + popular curiosity. <i>The Pedigree and Descent of his Excellency + General Monk</i> was on the book-stalls the day before his entry + into London, and his speech to the Parliament was in print the + day after its delivery. All were watching to see what "Old + George" would do. He did not yet know that himself, but was + trying to find out. What occupied him was that question of the + means towards a full and free Parliament which had been pressed + upon him all along his march, and about which he had hitherto + been so provokingly ambiguous. Of all the pamphlets that were + coming out only those that could give him light on this question + can have been of the least interest to his rough common sense. + Now, as it happened, he could be under no mistake, after his + arrival in London, as to the strength and massiveness of that + current of opinion which had set in for a re-seating of the + secluded members. Since the first restoration of the Rump in May + 1659, Prynne had been keeping the case of the secluded members + perpetually before the public in pamphlets; and Prynne, more than + any other man, had created the feeling that now prevailed. + "Conscientious, Serious, Theological and Legal Queries + propounded to the twice dissipated, self-erected, + Anti-Parliamentary Westminster Juncto"; "Six Important Queries + proposed to the Re-sitting Rump of the Long Parliament"; "Seven + Additional Queries in behalf of the Secluded Members"; "Case of + the Old secured, secluded, and twice excluded Members"; "Three + Seasonable Queries proposed to all those Cities, Counties, and + Boroughs, whose respective citizens have been forcibly excluded," + &c.; "Full Declaration of the true state of the Secluded + Members' Case": such are the titles of those of Prynne's + pamphlets, the last of a long series in one and the same strain, + which were delighting or tormenting London when Monk arrived. + Many of the secluded members were in town to await the issue, and + the last-named of Prynne's pamphlets (published Jan. 30) + contained an alphabetical list of the whole body of them. There + were, it appears, 194 secluded members then alive, besides forty + who had died since 1648. If Monk was to do anything at all, was + not Prynne's way the safest and most popular? Practically, at all + events, he could now see that the possible courses had reduced + themselves to two,—(1) The Rump's own way, or + self-enlargement of the present House by new writs, issued with + all Republican precautions; (2) The City's way, or Prynne's way, + which proposed to re-insert the secluded members into the present + House, so as to make it legally the Long Parliament over again, + with its rights and engagements precisely as they had been at the + time of the last negotiations with Charles I. in 1648. For which + of these two courses he should declare himself was the question + Monk had to ponder.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Thomason Pamphlets, and Catalogue of the same; Wood's Ath. + III. 870-871. + </p> + </div> + <p> + He nearly blundered. The Rump, having him and his Army at hand, + had become more firm in their determination to proceed in their + own way. On the 4th of February, the day after Monk's arrival, + they resolved that the present House should be filled up to the + number of 400 members in all for England and Wales, and that the + returning constituencies should be as in 1653; and, having + referred certain details to a Committee, they proceeded on + subsequent days to settle some of the qualifications for voting + or eligibility. The Londoners, tumultuous already, were enraged + beyond bounds by these new signs of the Rump's obstinacy. It was + again debated in the Common Council "whether the City should pay + the taxes ordered by the Government"; influential citizens urged + the Lord Mayor to put himself at the head of a resistance to the + Rump at all hazards; there were riots in the streets and + skirmishes between the militia and the apprentices. Thus, instead + of having time to deliberate, Monk found himself in the midst of + such a clash between the House and the City that instant decision + for the one or the other was imperative.—On the night of + the 8th, two days after his speech in Parliament, he received + orders from the Council of State to go into the City with his + regiments and reduce it to obedience. He was to take away the + posts and chains in the streets, unhinge the City gates, and + wedge the portcullises; he was to use any force necessary for the + purpose; and he was to arrest eleven citizens named, and others + at his discretion. The orders, though addressed nominally to all + the four Army-Commissioners, were really intended for Monk; and + there was the utmost anxiety among the leaders of the Rump to see + whether he would execute them. To the surprise of all, to the + surprise of his own soldiers even, he did execute them. On the + 9th the House had three sittings; and in the second of these it + was announced that Monk had marched his regiments that morning + into the City, that he was then at Guildhall, that he had nine of + the eleven citizens already in custody, and that he had removed + the posts and chains. All being now quiet, and the Lord Mayor and + Aldermen having undertaken to hold a meeting of the Common + Council and give the Parliament every satisfaction, he had + thought it best not to incense the City by the extreme insult of + unhinging the gates and wedging the portcullises. The Rumpers + were in ecstasies. Monk had committed himself, and was + irredeemably theirs. "All is our own: he will be honest," said + Hasilrig to the friends beside him. In their triumph, they rose + once more for a moment to the full height of Republican + confidence. It happened that a deputation of London citizens, + headed by Mr. Praise-God Barebone, had come to the House that day + with a petition and address, signed by some thousands of "lovers + of the good old cause," who were anxious to disclaim all + connexion with the City tumults and with "the promoters of regal + interest" in the City or elsewhere. The petitioners demanded + nothing less than that the House should at once impose an oath + abjuring Charles Stuart upon all clergymen and other persons in + public employment; but even this did not prevent the House from + thanking them cordially. As for the City generally, now that Monk + had brought it to submission, the House would trample it under + foot! The Lord Mayor, having behaved discreetly through the + tumults, was to be thanked; but it was voted that the present + Common Council should be dissolved and a new one elected by such + citizens only as the House should deem worthy of the franchise. + Nor was Monk to hesitate any longer about the city gates and + portcullises. Orders were sent to him, not only to unhinge the + gates and wedge the portcullises, as the Council had already + ordered, but to break them in pieces. The City was to be + overmastered utterly and finally, and Monk was to be the + agent.—Not even yet did Monk rebel. The gates and + portcullises were broken in pieces by his soldiers, and every + other order was punctually carried out. The soldiers were in + indignation over their base employment, and the citizens were + stupefied. In vain were Clarges, Dr. Barrow, and others of Monk's + friends going about and assuring the Lord Mayor and Aldermen that + the General was a man of very peculiar ways and must not be too + hastily judged. "Very peculiar ways indeed," thought the + citizens, mourning for their honours lost, and their broken gates + and portcullises. On the night of Friday, Feb. 10, when Monk + returned to Whitehall, after his two days of rough work in the + city, it was, as it seemed, with his reputation ruined for ever + among the Londoners. A few days before he had been the popular + demigod, the man on whom all depended, and who had all in his + power. Now what was he but the slave and hireling of the + Rump?<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates; Phillips, 684-685; Skinner, + 211-219; Whitlocke, IV. 394-396. + </p> + </div> + <p> + It was afterwards represented by Monk's admirers that his City + proceedings of Feb. 9 and 10 were the effects of consummate + judgment. He could not then have disobeyed the Rump without + resigning his command; Hasilrig and Walton, two of his + fellow-commissioners, would have executed the orders + independently; though by a disagreeable process, he had felt the + temper of his officers and soldiers, and ascertained that they + were as disgusted with the Rump as he was himself! It may be + doubted, however, whether he had not only been handling his + carpenter's tools with too sluggish caution. Certain it is that + he had returned to Whitehall in a sullen mood, and that, after a + consultation overnight with his officers, his conclusion was that + he must at once retrieve himself. That was a night of busy + preparations between him and his officers. A letter was drafted, + to be sent to the House next day; and a copy was taken, that it + might be in the printer's hands before the House had received the + original. + </p> + <p> + Next morning, Saturday Feb. 11, Monk and his regiments were again + in the City, drawn up in Finsbury Fields. He had left the letter + for the House, signed by himself, seven of his colonels, one + lieutenant-colonel, and six majors, to be delivered to the House + by two of the signing colonels, Clobery and Lydcott; and he had + come to make his peace with the City. This was not very easy. The + Lord Mayor, to whom Clarges had been sent to announce the return + of the regiments, and to say that the General meant to dine with + his Lordship that day, was naturally suspicious and distant; but, + having taken counsel with some of the chief citizens, he could do + no less than answer that he would expect the General. At the + early dinner-hour, accordingly, Monk was at his Lordship's house + in Leadenhall Street, coldly received at first, but gradually + with more of curiosity and goodwill as his drift was perceived. + He begged earnestly that his Lordship would send out summonses + for an immediate meeting of the Common Council in Guildhall, + notwithstanding the dissolution of that body by the Rump, saying + he would accompany his Lordship thither and make certain public + explanations. Dinner over, and the Lord Mayor and Common Council + having met in Guildhall about five o'clock, Monk did surprise + them. He apologised for his proceedings of the two preceding + days, declaring that the work was the most ungrateful he had ever + performed in his life, and that he would have laid down his power + rather than perform it, unless he had seen that by such a step he + would only have given advantage to the dominant faction. He was + come now, however, to make amends. He had that morning sent a + letter to the House, requiring them to issue out writs within + seven days for the filling up of vacancies in their ranks, and + also, that being done, to dissolve themselves by the 6th of May + at latest, that they might be succeeded by a full and free + Parliament! Till he should receive ample satisfaction in reply to + these demands and otherwise, he meant to remain in the City of + London with his regiments, making common cause with the faithful + citizens! Guildhall rang with acclamations; and, as the news was + dispersed thence through the City, confirmed by the printed + copies of Monk's letter to the Rump that were by this time in + circulation, the dejection of the two last days passed into a + phrenzy of joy. Housewives ran out to Monk's soldiers, who had + been standing all day under arms, carrying them food and drink + without stint; crowds of apprentices danced everywhere like + delirious demons; the bells of all the churches were set + a-ringing; the houses of several "fanatics" were besieged, and + the windows in Barebone's all smashed; and far into the night and + into the Sunday morning the streets blazed with long rows of + bonfires. Whatever piece of flesh, in butcher's stall or in + family-safe, bore resemblance to a rump, or could be carved into + something of that shape, was hauled to one of these bonfires to + be flung in and burnt; and for many a day afterwards the 11th of + February 1659-60 was to be famous in London as <i>The Roasting of + the Rump</i>.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Phillips, 685-687; Skinner, 219-230; Parl. Hist. III. + 1578-9; Letter of M. de Bordeaux, Guizot, II. 350-351; Pepys's + Diary, Feb. 11, 1659-60. + </p> + </div> + <p> + On receiving Monk's letter early in the forenoon of Saturday the + House had temporized. They had sent Messrs. Scott and Robinson + into the City after Monk, to thank him for his faithful service + of the two previous days, and to assure him "that, as to the + filling up of the House, the Parliament were upon the + qualifications before the receipt of the said letter, and the + same will be despatched in due time." But at an evening sitting, + with candles brought in, the House, informed by that time of + Monk's proceedings in the City, had shown their resentment by + reconstituting the Commission for regulation of the Army. They + did not dare to turn Monk out; but they negatived by thirty + (Marten and Neville tellers) to fifteen (Carew Raleigh and Robert + Goodwyn tellers) a proposal of his partisans to make Sir Anthony + Ashley Cooper one of his colleagues. The colleagues they did + appoint were Hasilrig, Morley, Walton, and Alured; and, in + settling the quorum at three, they rejected a proposal that Monk + should always be one of the quorum.—Through the following + week, however, efforts were still made to come to terms with + Monk. On Monday the 13th the Council of State begged him to + return to Whitehall and assist them with his presence and + counsels. His reply was that, so long as the Abjuration Oath was + required of members of the Council, he would not appear in it, + and that meanwhile there were sufficient reasons for his + remaining in the City. Accordingly, he kept his quarters there, + first at the Glass House in Broad Street, and then at Drapers' + Hall in Throgmorton Street, holding <i>levées</i> of the citizens + and city-clergy, and receiving also visits from Hasilrig and + other members of the House. Even Ludlow, though one of the + complaints in Monk's letter was that the House was allowing + Ludlow to sit in it notwithstanding the charge of high treason + lodged against him from Ireland, ventured to go into the den of + the lion. He was shy at first, Ludlow tells us, but became very + civil, and, when Ludlow had discoursed on the necessity of union + to keep out Charles Stuart, "Yea," said he, "we must live and die + together for a Commonwealth." The interest that was now pressing + closest round Monk, however, was that of the Secluded Members. + The applications on their behalf by the Presbyterians of the City + and of the counties round were incessant. Monk even yet had his + hesitations. On the one hand, to avert, if possible, the + re-seating of the secluded among them, the Rumpers had been + acting through the week in the spirit of their answer to Monk's + letter. They had been pushing on their Bill of Qualifications, so + that there might be no delay in the issue of writs for filling up + their House to the number of 400, as formerly decided. They had, + moreover, tried to pacify Monk in other ways. They had resolved + (Feb. 14) that the engagement to be taken by members of + Parliament should simply be, "I will be true and faithful to the + Commonwealth of England and the Government thereof in the way of + a Commonwealth and Free State, without a King, Single Person, or + House of Lords"; and they had resolved that this simple + declaration should be substituted for the stronger abjuration + oath even for members of the Council of State. They had also + complied with Monk's demands that there should be more severe + reprimand of the late Committee of Safety and especially of Vane + and Lambert. All this was to induce Monk to accept the proffered + <i>Self-Enlargement of the present House</i>, rather than yield + to the popular and Presbyterian demand for <i>the Long Parliament + reconstituted</i>. Nor were there wanting objections to the + latter plan in Monk's own mind. If a House with the secluded + members re-seated in it would confine itself to questions of + present exigency and future political order, there might be no + harm. But would it do so? With a Presbyterian majority in it, + looking on all that had been done since 1648 as the illegal acts + of pretended Governments, might it not be tempted to a revengeful + revision of all those acts? Might it not thus unsettle those + arrangements for the sale, purchase, gift, and conveyance of + property upon which the fortunes of many thousands, including the + Army officers and the soldiery in England, in Scotland, and + especially in Ireland, now depended? Would Monk's own officers + risk such a consequence? To come to some understanding with the + secluded members on these points, Monk himself, and Clarges and + Gumble for him, had been holding interviews with such of the + secluded members as were in London; and matters had been so far + ripened that at length, on Saturday the 18th, by Monk's + invitation, there was a conference at his quarters between about + a dozen of the leading Rumpers and as many representatives of the + Secluded. Hasilrig was one of the Rumpers present; but, as most + of the others were of the Monk party, the conference was not + unamicable. Even the Rumpers who were favourable to the + re-admission of the Secluded, however, could only speak for + themselves, and the representatives of the Secluded could hardly + undertake for their absent brethren; and so there was no definite + agreement.——Monk then took the matter into his own + hands. Having, in the course of the Sunday and Monday, secured + the concurrence of his officers, and made a rough compact in + writing with a few of the secluded members, he marched his Army + out of the City on the morning of Tuesday the 21st; and, the + secluded members having met him by appointment at Whitehall, to + the number of about sixty, he made a short speech to them, caused + a longer "Declaration" which he had taken the precaution of + putting on paper to be read to them, and then sent them, under + the conduct of Captain Miller and a sufficient guard, to the + doors of the Parliament House. The incident had been expected; + there were soldiers all round the House already; and the + procession walked through cheering crowds of spectators. Monk + remained at Whitehall himself, to hold a General Council of his + officers later in the day.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates; Phillips, 687-688; Skinner, + 233-242; Ludlow, 832-836; Letters of M. de Bordeaux in Guizot, + II. 347-365. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The Rump, which had been still busy on Saturday with the Bill of + Qualifications or "Disabling Bill," but whose sitting on Monday + is marked only by a hiatus in the Journals, had not formed the + House on Tuesday morning when the procession of secluded members, + swelled to about eighty by stragglers on the way, entered and + took their seats. A few of the Rumpers, seeing what had occurred, + ruefully left the House, to return no more; but most remained and + amalgamated themselves easily with the more numerous new comers. + The reconstituted House then plunged at once into business + thus:-"PRAYERS: <i>Resolved</i>, &c., That the Resolution of + this House of the 18th of December, 1648, 'that liberty be given + to the members of this House to declare their dissent to the vote + of the 5th of December 1648 that the King's Answer to the + Propositions of both Houses was a ground for this House to + proceed upon for settlement of the Peace of the Kingdom,' be + vacated, and made null and void, and obliterated." In other + words, here was the Long Parliament, like a Rip Van Winkle, + resuming in Feb. 1659-60 the work left off in Dec. 1648, and + acknowledging not an inch of gap between the two dates. There + were seven other similar Resolutions, cancelling votes and orders + standing in the way; and these, with orders for the discharge of + the citizens recently imprisoned by the Rump, and resolutions for + annulling the late new Army Commission of the Rump, and for + appointing Monk to be "Captain-General and Commander-in-Chief, + under the Parliament, of all the land-forces of England, + Scotland, and Ireland," and continuing Vice-Admiral Lawson, in + his naval command, were the sum and substance of the business of + the first sitting.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of date. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Before night Monk and his officers had drafted a Letter to all + the regiments and garrisons of England, Scotland, and Ireland, + explaining to them that, by the grace of God and good London + management, they had passed through another revolution. The + Letter began "Dear Brethren and Fellow-Soldiers," and bore Monk's + signature, followed by those of Colonels Ralph Knight, John + Clobery, Thomas Read, John Hubblethorn, Leonard Lydcott, Thomas + Sanders, William Eyre, John Streater, Richard Mosse, William + Parley, Arthur Evelyn, and sixteen inferior officers. It was + vague, but intimated that the Government was still to be that of + a Commonwealth, and that all disturbances of the peace "in favour + of Charles Stuart or any other pretended authority" were to be + put down. More explicit had been Monk's speech at Whitehall that + morning to the secluded members on their way to the House, + published copies of which were also distributed by Monk's + authority. He had assured the secluded members, "and that in + God's presence," that he had nothing before his eyes "but God's + glory and the settlement of these nations upon Commonwealth + foundations"; and he had pointed out the interest of the + Londoners especially in the preservation of a Commonwealth, "that + Government only being capable to make them, through the Lord's + blessing, the metropolis and bank of trade for all Christendom." + On the Church question he had been very precise. "As to a + Government in the Church," he had said, "the want whereof hath + been no small cause of these nations' distractions, it is most + manifest that, if it be monarchical in the State, the Church must + follow and Prelacy must be brought in—which these nations, + I know, cannot bear, and against which they have so solemnly + sworn; and indeed moderate, not rigid, Presbyterian Government, + with a sufficient liberty for consciences truly tender, appears + at present to be the most indifferent and acceptable way to the + Church's settlement." It is not uninteresting to know that Monk's + chief ecclesiastical adviser at this moment, and probably the + person who had formulated for him the description of the kind of + Church that would be most desirable, was Mr. James Sharp, from + Crail in Scotland. He had followed Monk to London with a + commission from the leaders of the Scottish Resolutioner clergy; + and from his arrival there he had been, Baillie informs us, "the + most wise, faithful, and happy counsellor" Monk had, keeping him + from all wrong steps by his extraordinary Banffshire + sagacity.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Phillips, 688-689; Parl. Hist. III, 1579-1581 (Monk's Speech + and Declaration); Baillie, III. 440-441. How uncertain it was + yet whether Monk would ever desert the Commonwealth, and how + anxious the Royalists were on the subject, appears from a + letter of Mordaunt to Charles, dated Feb. 17, 1659-60, or four + days before the Restoration of the Secluded Members (<i>Clar. + State Papers</i>, III. 683). Speaking of Monk, Mordaunt writes + thus:—"The visible inclination of the people; the danger + he foresees from so many enemies; his particular pique to + Lambert; the provocation of the Anabaptists and Sectaries, with + whom I may now join the Catholics; the want of money to + continue standing armies; the divisions of the chief officers + in those respective armies; the advices of those near + him—I mean, in particular, Clobery and Knight...; the + admonitions daily given him by Mr. Annesley and Alderman + Robinson;—unless God has fed him to the slaughter, cannot + but move him." + </p> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="Cc1s3" id="Cc1s3">CHAPTER I.</a> + </h2> + <h3> + <i>Third Section.</i> + </h3> + <h3> + MONK'S DICTATORSHIP, THE RESTORED LONG PARLIAMENT, AND THE DRIFT + TO THE RESTORATION: FEB. 21, 1659-60—APRIL 25, 1660. + </h3> + <p> + THE RESTORED LONG PARLIAMENT: NEW COUNCIL OF STATE: ACTIVE MEN OF + THE PARLIAMENT: PRYNNE, ARTHUR ANNESLEY, AND WILLIAM MORRICE: + MISCELLANEOUS PROCEEDINGS OF THE PARLIAMENT: RELEASE OF OLD + ROYALIST PRISONERS: LAMBERT COMMITTED TO THE TOWER: REWARDS AND + HONOURS FOR MONK: "OLD GEORGE" IN THE CITY: REVIVAL OF THE SOLEMN + LEAGUE AND COVENANT, THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH, AND ALL + THE APPARATUS OF A STRICT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH-ESTABLISHMENT: + CAUTIOUS MEASURES FOR A POLITICAL SETTLEMENT: THE REAL QUESTION + EVADED AND HANDED OVER TO ANOTHER PARLIAMENT: CALLING OF THE + CONVENTION PARLIAMENT AND ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE SAME: DIFFICULTY + ABOUT A HOUSE OF LORDS: HOW OBVIATED: LAST DAY OF THE LONG + PARLIAMENT, MARCH 16, 1659-60: SCENE IN THE HOUSE.—MONK AND + THE COUNCIL OF STATE LEFT IN CHARGE: ANNESLEY THE MANAGING + COLLEAGUE OF MONK: NEW MILITIA ACT CARRIED OUT: DISCONTENTS AMONG + MONK'S OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS: THE RESTORATION OF CHARLES STILL + VERY DUBIOUS: OTHER HOPES AND PROPOSALS FOR THE MOMENT: THE + KINGSHIP PRIVATELY OFFERED TO MONK BY THE REPUBLICANS: OFFER + DECLINED: BURSTING OF THE POPULAR TORRENT OF ROYALISM AT LAST, + AND ENTHUSIASTIC DEMANDS FOR THE RECALL OF CHARLES: ELECTIONS TO + THE CONVENTION PARLIAMENT GOING ON MEANWHILE: HASTE OF HUNDREDS + TO BE FOREMOST IN BIDDING CHARLES WELCOME: ADMIRAL MONTAGUE AND + HIS FLEET IN THE THAMES: DIRECT COMMUNICATIONS AT LAST BETWEEN + MONK AND CHARLES: GREENVILLE THE GO-BETWEEN: REMOVAL OF CHARLES + AND HIS COURT FROM BRUSSELS TO BREDA: GREENVILLE SENT BACK FROM + BREDA WITH A COMMISSION FOR MONK AND SIX OTHER + DOCUMENTS.—BROKEN-SPIRITEDNESS OF THE REPUBLICAN LEADERS, + BUT FORMIDABLE RESIDUE OF REPUBLICANISM IN THE ARMY: MONK'S + MEASURES FOR PARALYSING THE SAME: SUCCESSFUL DEVICE OF CLARGES: + MONTAGUE'S FLEET IN MOTION: ESCAPE OF LAMBERT FROM THE TOWER: HIS + RENDEZVOUS IN NORTHAMPTONSHIRE: GATHERING OF A WRECK OF THE + REPUBLICANS FOUND HIM: DICK INGOLDSBY SENT TO CRUSH HIM: THE + ENCOUNTER NEAR DAVENTRY, APRIL 22, 1660, AND RECAPTURE OF + LAMBERT: GREAT REVIEW OF THE LONDON MILITIA, APRIL 24, THE DAY + BEFORE THE MEETING OF THE CONVENTION PARLIAMENT: IMPATIENT + LONGING FOR CHARLES: MONK STILL IMPENETRABLE, AND THE DOCUMENTS + FROM BREDA RESERVED. + </p> + <p> + In the nomination of a new Council of State the House adhered to + the now orthodox number of thirty-one. Monk was named first of + all, by special and open vote, on the 21st of February; and the + others were chosen by ballot, confirmed by open vote in each + case, on the 23rd, when the number of members present and giving + in voting-papers was 114. The list, in the order of preference, + was then, as follows:— + </p> + <p> + General GEORGE MONK + </p> + <ul> + <li>William Pierrepoint + </li> + <li>John Crewe + </li> + <li>Colonel Edward Rossiter (Rec.) + </li> + <li>Richard Knightley + </li> + <li>Colonel Alexander Popham + </li> + <li>Colonel Herbert Morley + </li> + <li>Lord Fairfax + </li> + <li>Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, Bart. + </li> + <li>Sir Gilbert Gerrard, Bart. + </li> + <li>Lord Chief Justice St. John + </li> + <li>Lord Commissioner Widdrington + </li> + <li>Sir John Evelyn of Wilts + </li> + <li>Sir William Waller + </li> + <li>Sir Richard Onslow + </li> + <li>Sir William Lewis, Bart. + </li> + <li>Colonel (Admiral) Edward Montague (<i>Rec.</i>) + </li> + <li>Colonel Edward Harley (<i>Sec.</i>) + </li> + <li>Richard Norton (<i>Rec.</i>) + </li> + <li>Arthur Annesley (<i>Rec.</i>) + </li> + <li>Denzil Holles + </li> + <li>Sir John Temple (<i>Rec.</i>) + </li> + <li>Colonel George Thompson (<i>Sec.</i>) + </li> + <li>John Trevor (<i>Rec.</i>) + </li> + <li>Sir John Holland, Bart. + </li> + <li>Sir John Potts, Bart. + </li> + <li>Colonel John Birch (<i>Rec.</i>) + </li> + <li>Sir Harbottle Grimstone + </li> + <li>John Swinfen (<i>Rec.</i>) + </li> + <li>John Weaver (<i>Rec.</i>) + </li> + <li>Serjeant John Maynard. + </li> + </ul> + <p> + With the exception of Monk and Fairfax, who were not members of + the Parliament, and the latter of whom was absent in Yorkshire, + these Councillors are to be imagined as also active in the + business of the House. About nine of them were Residuary Rumpers + who had accepted willingly or cheerfully the return of the + secluded. The proportion of Residuary Rumpers in the whole House + was even larger. Though it had been reported by Prynne that as + many as 194 of the secluded were still alive, and a contemporary + printed list gives the names of 177 as available,<sup>1</sup> the + present House never through its brief session attained to a + higher attendance than 150, the average attendance ranging from + 100 to 120; and I have ascertained by actual counting that more + than a third of these were Residuary Rumpers. It is strange to + find among them such of the extreme Republicans as Hasilrig, + Scott, Marten, and Robinson. They left the House for a time, but + re-appeared in it, whereas Ludlow and Neville and others would + not re-appear—Ludlow, as he tells us, making a practice of + walking up and down in Westminster Hall outside, partly in + protest, partly to show that he had not fled.<sup>2</sup> + Actually six Regicides remained in the House: viz. Scott, Marten, + Ingoldsby, Millington, Colonel Hutchinson, and Sir John + Bourchier. The majority of the Residuary Rumpers, + however,—represented by such men as Lenthall, St. John, + Ashley Cooper, Colonel Thompson, Colonel Fielder, Carew Raleigh, + Attorney-General Reynolds, Solicitor-General Ellis, and Colonel + Morley, and even by two of the Regicides mentioned (Ingoldsby and + Hutchinson),—were now in harmony with the Secluded, and by + no means disposed to abet Hasilrig, Scott, and Marten in any + farther contest for Rump principles. In other words, the House + was now led really by the chiefs of the reinstated members. + Prominent among these, besides Crewe, Knightley, Gerrard, Sir + John Evelyn of Wilts, Sir William Waller, Sir William Lewis, + Arthur Annesley, Sir Harbottle Grimston, and others named as of + the Council, were Prynne, Sir Anthony Irby, Major-General Browne, + Sir William Wheeler, Lord Ancram (member for a Cornish burgh), + William Morrice, and some others, not of the + Council.—Prynne, who ought to have been on the Council, if + courage for the cause of the Secluded and indefatigable assiduity + in pleading it were sufficient qualifications, had not been + thought fit for that honour; but he was a very busy man in the + House. He had taken his place there very solemnly the first day, + with an old basket-hilt sword on; and he was much in request on + Committees.—Of more aristocratic manners and antecedents, + and therefore fitter for the Council, was Arthur Annesley, a man + of whom we have not heard much hitherto, but who, from this point + onwards, was to attract a good deal of notice. The eldest son of + the Irish peer Viscount Valentia and Baron Mountnorris, he had + come into the Long Parliament in 1640 as member for Radnorshire; + he had gone with the King in the beginning of the Civil War; but + he had afterwards done good service for the Parliament in Ireland + during the Rebellion, and had at length conformed to the + Commonwealth and the Protectorate. While the Protectorate lasted + he had been really a Cromwellian; but, like so many other + Cromwellians, he was now a half-declared Royalist. He had been + one of the chief negotiators with Monk for the re-seating of the + Secluded, and he took at once a foremost place among them, both + in the House and in the Council. He was now about forty-fire + years of age.—An accession to the House, after it had sat + for a week or more, was Mr. William Morrice. He was a Devonshire + man, like Monk, to whom he was related by marriage. He had been + sent into the Long Parliament in 1645 as Recruiter for + Devonshire, and had been afterwards secluded; and he had been + returned to Oliver's two Parliaments and to Richard's. Living in + Devonshire as a squire "of fair estate," he had acquired the + character of an able and bookish man of enlightened Presbyterian + principles; he had been of use to Monk in the management of his + Devonshire property; there had been constant correspondence + between them; and there was no one for whom Monk had a greater + regard. Now, accordingly, at the age of about five and fifty, + Morrice had left his books and come from Devonshire to London at + Monk's request, not only to take his place in Parliament, but + also to be a kind of private adviser and secretary to Monk, more + in his intimacy than even Dr. Clarges.—To complete this + view of the composition of the new Government, we may add that on + Feb. 24 Thomas St. Nicholas was made Clerk of the Parliament, and + that on the 27th the House appointed Thurloe and a John Thompson + to be joint-secretaries of State. There was a division on + Thurloe's appointment, but it was carried by sixty-five votes to + thirty-eight. The tellers against Thurloe were Annesley and Sir + William Waller, but he was supported by Sir John Evelyn of Wilts + and Colonel Hutchinson. Thurloe's former subordinate, Mr. William + Jessop, was now clerk to the Council of State.<sup>3</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: A single folio fly-leaf, dated March 26 in the Thomason + copy, and called "<i>The Grand Memorandum: A True and Perfect + Catalogue of the Secluded Members of the House of Commons," + &c.</i> It was printed by Husbands on the professed + "command" of one of the members (Prynne?). + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: The fly-leaf mentioned in last note gives the names of + thirty-three Rumpers who did not sit in the House after the + readmission of the secluded members. Arranged alphabetically + they were:—Anlaby, Bingham, John Carew, Cawley, James + Challoner, Crompton, Darley, Fleetwood, John Goodwyn, Nicholas + Gold, John Gurdon, Sir James Harrington, Hallows, Harvey, + Heveningham, John Jones, Viscount Lisle, Livesey, Ludlow, + Christopher Martin, Neville, Nicholas, Pigott, Pyne, Sir + Francis Russell, the Earl of Salisbury, Algernon Sidney, Walter + Strickland, Sir William Strickland, Wallop, Sir Thomas + Walsingham, and Whitlocke. Compare with the list of the + Restored Rump, ante pp. 453-455. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 3: Commons Journals of dates, and generally from Feb. 21 to + March 16, 1659-60, with examination of the lists of all the + Committees through that period; Ludlow, 845-846; Wood's Ath. + IV. 181 et seq. (Annesley), and III. 1087 et seq. (Morrice); + Clarendon, 891 and 895. + </p> + </div> + <p> + By the rough compact made with Monk, the House was to confine + itself to the special work for which it was the indispensable + instrument, and to push on as rapidly as possible, through that, + to an act for its own dissolution. The majority was such that the + compact was easily fulfilled. Six-and-twenty days sufficed for + all that was required from this reinstated fag-end of the famous + Long Parliament. + </p> + <p> + Naturally much of the work of the House took the form (1) of + redress of old or recent injuries, and (2) of rewards and + punishments. Almost the first thing done by the House was to + restore the privileges of the City of London, release the + imprisoned Common Council men and citizens, and issue orders for + the repair of the broken gates and portcullises. The City and the + Parliament were now heartily at one, and there was a loan from + the City of £60,000 in token of the happy reconciliation. Sir + George Booth, who had been recommitted to the Tower by the Rump, + was finally released, though still on security. There were + several other releases of prisoners and removals of + sequestrations, and at length (Feb. 27) it was referred to a + Committee to consider comprehensively the cases of all persons + whatsoever then in prison on political grounds. On the 3rd of + March particular orders were given for the discharge of the Earl + of Lauderdale, the Earl of Crawford, and Lord Sinclair, from + their imprisonment in Windsor Castle; and thus the last of the + Scottish prisoners from Worcester Battle found themselves free + men once more. Twelve days afterwards the House went to the + extreme of the merciful process by ordering the release of poor + Dr. Matthew Wren, the Laudian ex-Bishop, who had been committed + by the Long Parliament early in 1641 along with Laud and + Strafford, and who had been lying in the Tower, all but + forgotten, through the intervening nineteen years. At the same + time discretionary powers were given to the Council of State to + discharge any political prisoners that might be still + left.—In the article of <i>punishments</i> the House was + very temperate indeed. Notorious Rumpers were removed, of course, + from military and civil offices, and there were sharper inquiries + after Colonel Cobbet, Colonel Ashfield, Major Creed, and others + too suspiciously at large; but, with one exception, there seemed + to be no thought of the serious prosecution of any for what had + been done either under the Rump Government or during the + Wallingford-House interruption. The exception was Lambert. + Brought before the Council, and unable or unwilling to find the + vast bail of £20,000 which they demanded for his liberty, he was + committed by them to the Tower; and the House, on the 6th of + March, confirmed the act, and ordered his detention for future + trial. While Lambert was thus treated as the chief criminal, the + rewards and honours went still, of course, mainly to Monk. To his + Commandership-in-chief of all the Armies there was added the + Generalship of the whole Fleet, though in this command, to Monk's + disappointment, Montague was conjoined with him (March 2). He was + also made Keeper of Hampton Court; and the £1000 a year in lands + which the Rump had voted him was changed by a special Bill into + £20,000 to be paid at once (March 16), As the Bill was first + drafted, the reward was said to be "for his signal services"; but + by a vote on the third reading the word "signal" was changed into + "eminent." Perhaps Annesley, Sir William Waller, and the other + new chiefs at Whitehall were becoming a little tired of the + praises of so peculiar an Aristides. But he was still a god among + the Londoners. From St. James's, which was now his quarters, he + would go into the City every other day, to attend one of a series + of dinners which they had arranged for him in the halls of the + great companies, and at which he found himself so much at ease in + his morose way that he would hardly ever leave the table "till he + was as drunk as a beast." Ludlow, who tells us so, would not have + told an untruth even about Monk; and Ludlow was then in London, + knowing well what went on. Let us suppose, however, that he + exaggerated a little, and that old George was the victim of + circumstances.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates, and generally from Feb. 21 to + March 16; Ludlow, 855-856. + </p> + </div> + <p> + A large proportion of the proceedings of the House and the + Council may be described as simply a re-establishment of + Presbyterianism. The secluded members being Presbyterians to a + man, there was at once an enthusiastic recollection of the edicts + of the Long Parliament between 1643 and 1648, setting up + Presbytery as the national Religion, with a determination to + revert in detail to those symbols and forms of the Presbyterian + system which the triumph of Independency had set aside during the + Commonwealth, and which had been allowed only partially, and side + by side with their contraries, in the broad Church-Establishment + of the Protectorate. The unanimity and rapidity of the House in + their votes in this direction must have alarmed the Independents + and Sectaries. It was on Feb. 29 that the House appointed a + Committee of twenty-nine on the whole subject of Religion and + Church affairs—Annesley, Ashley Cooper, Prynne, and Sir + Samuel Luke (i.e. Butler's Presbyterian "Sir Hudibras") being of + the number; and on the 2nd of March, on report from this + Committee, the Westminster Assembly's Confession of Faith, as it + had been under discussion in the Long Parliament in 1646 (Vol. + III. p. 512), was again brought before the House, and passed + bodily at once, with the exception of chapter 30, "<i>Of Church + Censures</i>," and chapter 31, "<i>Of Synods and + Councils</i>"—which two chapters it was thought as well to + keep still in Committee. The same day there were other + resolutions of a Presbyterian tenor. But the climax was on March + 5, in this form: "<i>Ordered</i>, That the SOLEMN LEAGUE AND + COVENANT be printed and published, and set up and forthwith read + in every church, and also read once a year according to former + Act of Parliament, and that the said SOLEMN LEAGUE AND COVENANT + be also set up in this House." Thus, when the bones of Alexander + Henderson had been for more than thirteen years in their tomb in + Grey Friars churchyard in Edinburgh, was the great document which + he had drafted in that city in August 1643, as a bond of + religious union for the Three Kingdoms, and only the first + fortunes of which he had lived to see, resuscitated in all its + glory. What more could Presbyterianism desire? That nothing might + be wanting, however, there followed, on the 14th of March, a Bill + "for approbation and admittance of ministers to public benefices + and lectures," one of the clauses of which prescribed means for + the immediate division of all the counties of England and Wales + into classical Presbyteries, according to those former + Presbyterianizing ordinances of the Long Parliament which had + never been carried into effect save in London and Lancashire. The + Universities were to be constituted into presbyteries or inserted + into such; and the whole of South Britain was to be patterned + ecclesiastically at last in that exact resemblance to North + Britain which had been the ideal before Independency burst in. + What measures of "liberty for consciences truly tender" might be + conceded did not yet appear. Anabaptists, Quakers, Fifth Monarchy + enthusiasts, and Monk's "Fanatics" generally, might tremble; and + even moderate and orthodox Independents might foresee difficulty + In retaining their livings in the State Church. Indeed Owen was + already (March 13) displaced from his Deanery of Christ Church, + Oxford, by a vote of the House recognising a prior claim of Dr. + Reynolds to that post.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates; Neal, IV. 224-225. + </p> + </div> + <p> + In the matter of a political settlement the proceedings were + equally rapid and simple. Celerity here was made possible by the + fact that the House considered itself quite precluded from + discussing the whole question of the future Constitution. Had + they entered on that question, the probability is that they would + have decided for a negotiation with Charles II., with a view to + his return to England and assumption of the Kingship on terms + borrowed from the old Newport Treaty with his father, or at all + events on strictly expressed terms of some kind, limiting his + authority and securing the Presbyterian Church-Establishment. + Even this, however, was problematical. There were still + Republicans and Cromwellians in the Parliament, and not a few of + the Presbyterians members had been Commonwealth's men so long + that it might well appear doubtful to them whether a return to + Royalty now was worth the risks, or whether, if there must be a + return to Royalty, it was in the least necessary to fix it again + in the unlucky House of Stuart. Then the difficulties out of + doors! No one knew what might be the effect upon Monk's own army, + or upon the numerous Republican sectaries, of a sudden proposal + in the present Parliament to restore Charles. On the other hand, + the Old Royalists throughout the country had no wish to hear of + such a proposal. <i>They</i> dreaded nothing so much, short of + loss of all chance of the King's return, as seeing him return + tied by such terms as the present Presbyterian House would + impose. It was a relief to all parties, therefore, and a + satisfactory mode of self-delusion to some, that the present + House should abstain from the constitutional question altogether, + and should confine itself to the one duty of providing another + Parliament to which that question, with all its difficulties, + might be handed over.—On the 22nd of February, the second + day of the restored House, it was resolved that a new Parliament + should be summoned for the 25th of April, and a Committee was + appointed to consider qualifications. The Parliament was to be a + "full and free" one, by the old electoral system of English and + Welsh constituencies only, without any representation of Scotland + or Ireland. But what was meant by "full and free"? On this + question there was some light on the 13th of March, when the + House passed a resolution annulling the obligation of members of + Parliament to take the famous engagement to be faithful to "the + Commonwealth as established, without King or House of Lords," and + directing all orders enjoining that engagement to be expunged + from the Journals. This was certainly a stroke in favour of + Royalty, in so far as it left Royalty and Peerage open questions + for the constituencies and the representatives they might choose; + but, taken in connexion with the order, eight days before, for + the revival of the Solemn League and Covenant—in which + document "to preserve and defend the King's Majesty's person and + authority" is one of the leading phrases—it was received + generally as a positive anticipation of the judgment on these + questions. There was yet farther light, however, between March 13 + and March 16, when the House, on report from the Committee, + settled the qualifications of members and electors. All Papists + and all who had aided or abetted the Irish Rebellion were to be + incapable of being members, and also all who, or whose fathers, + had advised or voluntarily assisted in any war against the + Parliament since Jan. 1, 1641-2, unless there had been subsequent + manifestation of their good affections. This implied the + exclusion of all the very conspicuous Royalists of the Civil Wars + and the sons of such; and the present House, as the lineal + representative of the Parliamentarians in those wars, could + hardly have done less, especially as there was a saving-clause of + which moderate Royalists would have the benefit, and as the + electors were sure to interpret the saving-clause very liberally. + For there was not even the same guardedness in the qualifications + of the electors themselves. It was proposed, indeed, by the + Committee to disfranchise all "that have been actually in arms + for the late King or his son against the Parliament or have + compounded for his or their delinquency" with an exception only + in favour of manifest penitents; but this was negatived by the + House by ninety-three votes (Lord Ancram and Mr, Herbert tellers) + to fifty-six votes (Scott and Henry Marten tellers). Thus, active + Royalists of the Civil Wars, if they might not be elected, might + at least elect; and, as another regulation disqualified from + electing or being elected all "that deny Magistracy or Ministry + or either of them to be the Ordinances of God "—viz. all + Fifth Monarchy men, extreme Anabaptists, and Quakers—the + balance was still towards the Royalists. In short, as finally + passed, the Bill was one tending to bring in a Parliament the + main mass of which should consist of Presbyterians, though there + might be a large intermixture of Old Royalists, Cromwellians, and + moderate Commonwealth's men. To such a Parliament it might be + safely left to determine what the future form of Government + should be, whether Commonwealth continued, restored Kingship, or + a renewal of the Protectorate. The present House had not itself + decided anything. It had not decided against a continuance of the + Commonwealth, should that seem best. It had only assumed that + possibly that might not seem the best, and had therefore removed + obstacles to the free deliberation of either of the other + schemes. The revival of the Solemn League and Covenant might seem + to imply more; but the phraseology of a document of 1643 might + admit of re-interpretation in 1660.—A special perplexity of + the present House was in the matter of the Other House or House + of Lords. They were now sitting themselves as a Single House, + notwithstanding that the Long Parliament, of which they professed + themselves to be a continuation, consisted of two Houses. This + was an anomaly in itself, nay an illegality; and there had been a + hot-headed attempt of some of the younger Peers to remove it by + bursting into the House of Lords at the same time that the + secluded members took their seats in the Commons. Monk's soldiers + had, by instructions, prevented that; and, with the full consent + of all the older and wiser peers at hand, the management of the + crisis had been left to the one reconstituted House. The anomaly, + however, had been a subject of serious discussion in that House. + On the one hand, they could not pass a vote for the restitution + of the House of Peers without trenching on that very question of + the future form of Government which they had resolved not to + meddle with. On the other hand, absolute silence on the matter + was impossible. How could the present single House, for example, + even if its other acts were held valid, venture on, an Act for + the dissolution of that Long Parliament whose peculiar privilege, + wrung from Charles I. in May 1641, was that it should never be + dissolved except by its own consent, i.e. by the joint-consent of + the two component Houses? Yet this was the very thing—that + had to be done before way could be made for the coming + Parliament. The course actually taken was perhaps the only one + that the circumstances permitted. When the House, at their last + sitting, on Friday, March 16, did pass the Act dissolving itself + and-calling the new Parliament, it incorporated with the Act a + proviso in these words: "Provided always, and be it declared, + that the single actings of this House, enforced by the pressing + necessities of the present times, are not intended in the least + to infringe, much less take away, the ancient native right which + the House of Peers, consisting of those Lords who did engage in + the cause of the Parliament against the forces raised in the name + of the late King, and so continued until 1648, had and have to be + a part of the Parliament of England." Here again there was not + positive prejudgment so much as the removal of an + obstacle.—It did seem, however, as if the House would not + separate without passing the bounds it had prescribed for itself. + It had already been debated in whose name the writs for the new + Parliament should issue? "In King Charles's" had been the answer + of the undaunted Prynne. He had been overruled, and the + arrangement was that the writs should issue, as under a + Commonwealth, "in the name of the Keepers of the Liberties of + England." At the last sitting of the House, just as the vote for + the dissolution was being put, the Presbyterian Mr. Crewe, + provoked by some Republican utterance of Scott, moved that the + House, before dissolving, should testify its abhorrence of the + murder of the late King by a resolution disclaiming all hand in + that affair. The untimely proposal caused a great excitement, + various members starting up to protest that they at least had + never concurred in the horrid act, while others, who had been + King's judges or regicides, betrayed their uneasiness by + prevarications and excuses. Not so Scott. "Though I know not + where to hide my head at this time," he said boldly, "yet I dare + not refuse to own that not only my hand, but my heart also, was + in that action"; and he concluded by declaring he should consider + it the highest honour of his existence to have it inscribed on + his tomb: "<i>Here lieth one who had a hand and a heart in the + execution of Charles Stuart</i>." Having thus spoken, he left the + House, most of the Republicans accompanying him. The Dissolution + Act was passed, and there was an end of the Long Parliament. + Their last resolution was that the 6th of April should be a day + of general fasting and humiliation.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates; Ludlow, 863-864; Noble's Lives of + the Regicides, II. 169-199 (Life of Scott, with evidence of + Lenthall and others at his trial); Phillips, 694; Guizot, II. + 167-168. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Though the House was dissolved, the Council of State was to sit + on, with full executive powers, till the meeting of the new + Parliament. Annesley was now generally, if not habitually, the + President of the Council, and in that capacity divided the + principal management of affairs with Monk. + </p> + <p> + The Parliament having provided for expenses by an assessment of + £100,000 a month for six months, the Council could give full + attention to the main business of preserving the peace till the + elections should be over. Conjoined with this, however, was the + important duty of carrying out a new Militia Act which the + Parliament had framed. It was an Act disbanding all the militia + forces as they had been raised and officered by the Rump, and + ordering the militia in each county to be reorganized by + commissioners of Presbyterian or other suitable principles. The + Act had given great offence to the regular Army, naturally + jealous at all times of the civilian soldiery, but especially + alarmed now by observing into what hands the Militia was going. + It would be a militia of King's men, they said, and the + Commonwealth would be undone! So strong was this feeling in the + Army that Monk himself had remonstrated with the House, and the + Militia Act, though passed on the 12th of March, was not printed + till the House had removed his objections. This had been done by + pointing to the clause of the Act which required that all + officers of the new Militia should take an acknowledgment "that + the war undertaken by both Houses of Parliament in their defence + against the forces raised in the name of the late King was just + and lawful." When Monk had professed himself satisfied, the + re-organization of the Militia went on rapidly in all the + counties. Monk was one of the Commissioners for the Militia of + Middlesex, and to his other titles was added that of + Major-General and Commander-in-chief of the Militia of London. + Meanwhile the Council had issued proclamations over the country + against any disturbance of the peace, and most of the active + politicians had left town to look after their elections. The + Harringtonian or Rota Club, one need hardly say, was no more in + existence. After having been a five months' wonder, it had + vanished, amid the laughter of the Londoners, as soon as the + secluded members had added themselves to the Rump. Theorists and + their "models" were no longer wanted.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals, March 10-16; Phillips, 694; Whitlocke, IV. + 405-406; Wood's Ath. III. 1120. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Not even yet was there any positive intimation that the + Commonwealth was defunct. No one could declare that + authoritatively, and every one might hope or believe as he liked. + The all but universal conviction, however, even among the + Republicans, was that the Republic was doomed, and that, if the + last and worst consummation in a return of Charles Stuart was to + be prevented, it could only be by consenting to some + single-person Government of a less fatal kind. O that Richard's + Protectorate could be restored! The thing was talked of by St. + John and others, but the possibility was past. But might not Monk + himself be invested with the sovereignty? Hasilrig and others + actually went about Monk with the offer, imploring him to save + his country by this last means; and the chance seemed so probable + that the French ambassador, M. de Bordeaux, tried to ascertain + through Clarges whether Monk's own inclinations ran that way. + Monk was too wary for either the Rumpers or the Ambassador. He + declined the offers of Hasilrig and his friends, allowing Clarges + privately to inform the Council that such had been made; and, + though he received the Ambassador, it was but gruffly. "The + French ambassador visited General Monk, whom he found no + accomplished courtier or statesman," writes Whitlocke + sarcastically under March 24; and the ambassador's own account is + that he could get nothing more from Monk, in reply to Mazarin's + polite messages and requests for confidence, than a reiterated + statement that he had no information to give. And so, a Single + Person being inevitable, and the momentary uncertainty whether it + would be "Charles, George, or Richard again" being out of the + way, the long-dammed torrent had broken loose. And what a + torrent! "King Charles! King Charles! King Charles!" was the cry + that seemed to burst out simultaneously and irresistibly over all + the British Islands. Men had been long drinking his health + secretly or half-secretly, and singing songs of the old Cavalier + kind in their own houses, or in convivial meetings with their + neighbours; openly Royalist pamphlets had been frequent since the + abolition of Richard's Protectorate; and, since the appearance of + the Presbyterian Parliament of the secluded members, there had + been hardly a pretence of suppressing any Royalist demonstrations + whatever. On the evening of the 15th of March, the day before the + Parliament dissolved itself, some bold fellows had come with a + ladder to the Exchange in the City of London, where stood the + pedestal from which a statue of Charles I. had been thrown down, + and had deliberately painted out with a brush the Republican + inscription on the pedestal, "<i>Exit tyrannus, Regum + ultimus</i>," a large crowd gathering round them and shouting + "God bless Charles the Second" round an extemporized bonfire. + That had been a signal; but for still another fortnight, though + all knew what all were thinking, there had been a hesitation to + speak out. It was in the end of March or the first days of April + 1660, when the elections had begun, that the hesitation suddenly + ceased everywhere, and the torrent was at its full. They were + drinking Charles's health openly in taverns; they were singing + songs about him everywhere; they were tearing down the Arms of + the Commonwealth in public buildings, and putting up the King's + instead.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Phillips, 695; Letters of M. de Bordeaux, Guizot, II. + 381-395; Whitlocke, IV. 405; Pepys's Diary, from beginning to + April 11, 1660. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Popular feeling having declared itself so unmistakeably for + Charles, it was but ordinary selfish prudence in all public men + who had anything to lose, or anything to fear, to be among the + foremost to bid him welcome. No longer now was it merely a rat + here and there of the inferior sort, like Downing and + Morland,<sup>1</sup> that was leaving the sinking ship. So many + were leaving, and of so many sorts and degrees, that Hyde and the + other Councillors of Charles had ceased to count, on their side, + the deserters as they clambered up. He received now, Hyde tells + us, "the addresses of many men who had never before applied + themselves to him, and many sent to him for his Majesty's + approbation and leave to sit in the next Parliament." Between + London and Flanders messengers were passing to and fro daily, + with perfect freedom and hardly any disguise of their business. + Annesley, the President of the Council of State, was in + correspondence with the King; Thurloe, now back in the + Secretaryship to the Council, was in correspondence with him, and + by no means dishonourably; and in the meetings of the Council of + State itself, though it was bound to be corporately neutral till + the Parliament should assemble, the drift of the deliberations + was obvious. The only two men whose resistance even now could + have compelled a pause were Monk and Montague. What of + them?——It was no false rumour that Montague, the + Cromwellian among Cromwellians, the man who would have died for + Cromwell or perhaps for his dynasty, had been holding himself + free for Charles. Under a cloud among the Republicans since his + suspicious return from the Baltic in September last, but restored + to command by the recent vote of the Parliament of the secluded + members making him joint chief Admiral with Monk, he was at this + moment (i.e. from March 23 onwards) in the Thames with his fleet, + in receipt of daily orders from the Council and guarding the + sea-passage between them and Flanders. He had on board with him, + as his secretary, a certain young Mr. Samuel Pepys, who had been + with him already in the Baltic, had been meanwhile in a clerkship + in the Exchequer office, but had now left his house in Axe Yard, + Westminster, and his young wife there, for the pleasure and + emoluments of being once more secretary to so kind and great a + master. In cabin talk with the trusty Pepys the Lord Admiral made + no secret of his belief that the King would come in; but it was + only by shrewd observations of what passed on board, and of the + strange people that came and went, that Pepys then guessed what + he afterwards knew to be the fact. "My Lord," as Pepys always + affectionately calls his patron, was pledged to the King, and was + managing most discreetly in his interest.<sup>2</sup>—But + the power of Montague, as Commander-in-chief of the Navy only, + was nothing in comparison with Monk's. How was Monk comporting + himself? Most cautiously to the last. Though it was the policy of + his biographers afterwards, and agreeable to himself, that his + conduct from the date of his march out of Scotland should be + represented as a slow and continuous working on towards the one + end of the King's restoration, the truth seems to be that he + clung to the notion of some kind of Commonwealth longer than most + people, and made up his mind for the King only when circumstances + absolutely compelled him. With the Army, or a great part of it, + to back him, he might resist and impede the restoration of + Charles; but, as things now were, could he prevent it ultimately? + Why not himself manage the transaction, and reap the credit and + advantages, rather than leave it to be managed by some one else + and be himself among the ruined? That he had been later than + others in sending Charles his adhesion was no matter. He had + gained consequence by the very delay. He was no longer merely + commander of an Army in Scotland, but centre and chief of all the + Armies; he was worth more for Charles's purposes than all the + others put together; and Charles knew it! So Monk had been + reasoning for some time; and it was on the 17th of March, the day + after the dissolution of the Parliament of the Secluded Members, + that his ruminations had taken practical effect. Even then his + way of committing himself was characteristic. His kinsman, Sir + John Greenville, the same who had been commissioned to negotiate + with him when he was in Scotland, was again the agent. With the + utmost privacy, only Mr. Morrice being present as a third party, + Monk had received Greenville at St. James's, acknowledged his + Majesty's gracious messages, and given certain messages for his + Majesty in return. He would not pen a line; Greenville was to + convey the messages verbally. They included such recommendations + to his Majesty as that he should smooth the way for his return by + proclaiming a pardon and indemnity in as wide terms as possible, + a guarantee of all sales and conveyances of lands under the + Commonwealth, and a liberal measure of Religious Toleration; but + the most immediate and practical of them all was that his Majesty + should at once leave the Spanish dominions, take up his quarters + at Breda, and date all his letters and proclamations thence. For + the rest, as there were still many difficulties and might be + slips, the agreement between his Majesty and Monk was to be kept + profoundly secret.<sup>3</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: These two of the late public servants of + Oliver—Downing his minister at the Hague, and Morland his + envoy in the business of the Piedmontese massacre of + 1655—had behaved most dishonourably. Both, for some + months past, had been establishing friendly relations with + Charles by actually betraying trusts they still held with the + government of the Commonwealth—Morland by communicating + papers and information which came into his possession + confidentially in Thurloe's office (<i>Clar. Hist.</i> 869), + and Downing by communicating the secrets of his embassy to + Charles, and acting in his interests in that embassy, on + guarantee that he should retain it, and have other rewards, + when Charles came to the throne (<i>Clar. Life</i>, 1116-1117). + There was to be farther proof that Downing was the meaner + rascal of the two. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Pepys's Diary, from beginning to April 11, 1660. Montague + seems to have first positively and directly pledged himself to + Charles in a letter of April 10, beginning "May it please your + excellent Majesty,—From your Majesty's incomparable + goodness and favour, I had the high honour to receive a letter + from you when I was in the Sound last summer, and now another + by the hands of my cousin" (Clar. State Papers). But the cousin + had been already negotiating. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 3: Clarendon, 891-896; Thurloe, VII. 807-898; Skinner, 266-275; + Phillips, 695-696. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Over the seas went Greenville, as fast as ship could carry him, + with the precious messages he bore. At Ostend, where he arrived + on the 23rd of March, he reduced them to writing; and the next + day, and for several days afterwards, Charles, Hyde, Ormond, and + Secretary Nicholas, were in joyful consultation over them in + Brussels. The advice of an instant removal to Breda fitted in + with their own intentions. Neither the Spanish territory nor the + French was a good ground from which to negotiate openly with + England; nor indeed was Spanish territory quite safe for Charles + at a time when, seeing his restoration possible, Spain might + detain him as a hostage for the recovery of Dunkirk and Mardike. + To Breda, accordingly, as Monk advised, the refugees went. They + went in the most stealthy manner, and just in time to avoid being + detained by the Spanish authorities. Before they reached Breda, + however, but when Greenville could say that he had seen them safe + within Dutch territory, he left them, to post back to England + with a private letter to Monk in the King's own hand, enclosing a + commission to the Captaincy-General of all his Majesty's forces, + and with six other documents, which had been drafted by Hyde, and + were all dated by anticipation "<i>At Our Court at Breda, this + 4/14th of April 1660, in the Twelfth Year of Our Reign</i>." One + was a public letter "To our trusty and well-beloved General + Monk," to be by him communicated to the President and Council of + State and to the Army officers; another was to the Speaker of the + House of Commons in the coming Parliament; a third was a general + "Declaration" for all England, Scotland, and Ireland; a fourth + was a short letter to the House of Lords, should there be one; a + fifth was for Admirals Monk and Montague, to be communicated to + the Fleet; and the sixth was to the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and + Common Councilmen of the City of London. Besides the originals, + copies of all were sent to Monk, that he might keep the originals + unopened or suppress any of them.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Clarendon, 896-902; Phillips, 696; Skinner, 276-280. + </p> + </div> + <p> + It could be an affair now only of a few weeks, more or less. + There, at Breda, was his swarthy, witty, good-humoured, utterly + profligate and worthless, young Majesty, with his refugee + courtiers round him; at home, over all Britain and Ireland, they + were ready for him, longing for him, huzzahing for him, Monk and + the Council managing silently in London; and between, as a + moveable bridge, there was Montague and his fleet. When would the + bridge move towards the Continent? That would depend on the + newly-elected Parliament, which was to meet on the 25th. Could + there be any mischance in the meantime? + </p> + <p> + It did not seem so. The late politicians of the Rump were + dispersed and powerless. Hasilrig sat by himself in London, + moaning "<i>We are undone: we are undone</i>"; Scott was in + Buckinghamshire, if perchance they might elect him for Wycombe: + Ludlow hid in Wiltshire and Somersetshire, also nominated for a + seat, but careless about it; the rest absconded one knows not + where. The "Fanatics," as the Republican Sectaries were now + called collectively, were silenced and overwhelmed. Even Mr. + Praise-God Barebone, tired of having his windows broken, was + under written engagement to the Council to keep himself quiet. + The same written engagement had been exacted from Hasilrig and + Scott.—But what of the Army, the original maker of the + Commonwealth, its defender and preserver through good report and + bad report for eleven years, and with strength surely to maintain + it yet, or make a stand in its behalf? The question is rather + difficult. It may be granted that something of the general + exhaustion, the fatigue and weariness of incessant change, the + longing to be at rest by any means, had come upon the Army + itself. Not the less true is it that Republicanism was yet the + general creed of the Army, and that, could a universal vote have + been taken through the regiments in England, Scotland, and + Ireland, it would have kept out Charles Stuart. Nay, so engrained + was the Republican feeling in the ranks of the soldiery, and so + gloomily were they watching Monk, that, could any suitable + proportion of them have been brought together, and could any fit + leader have been present to hold up his sword for the + Commonwealth, they would have rallied round him with + acclamations. Precisely to prevent this, however, had been Monk's + care. One remembers his advice from Scotland to Richard Cromwell + nineteen months ago, when Richard was entering on his + Protectorate. It was to cashier boldly. Not an officer in the + Army, he had said, would have interest enough, if he were once + cashiered, to draw two men after him in opposition to any + existing Government. The very soul of Monk lies in that maxim, + and he had been acting on it himself. Not only, as we have seen, + had he reofficered his own army in Scotland with the utmost pains + before venturing on his march into England; but, since his coming + into England, he had still been discharging officers, and + appointing or promoting others. He had done so while still + conducting himself as the servant of the Restored Rump; and he + had done so again very particularly after he had become + Commander-in-chief for the Parliament of the Secluded Members. + The consequence was most apparent in that portion of the Army + which was more especially his own, consisting of the regiments he + had brought from Scotland, and that were now round him in London. + The officers—Knight, Read, Clobery, Hubblethorn, + &c.—were all men accustomed to Monk, or of his latest + choosing. His difficulty had been greater with the many dispersed + regiments away from London, once Fleetwood's and Lambert's. Not + only was there no bond of attachment between them and Monk; they + were full of bitterness against him, as an interloper from + Scotland who had put them to disgrace, and had turned some of + them out of London to make room for his own men. But with these + also Monk had taken his measures. Besides quartering them in the + manner likeliest to prevent harm, he had done not a little among + them too by discharges and new appointments. One of his own + colonels, Charles Fairfax, had been left at York; Colonel Rich's + regiment had been given to Ingoldsby; Walton's regiment to + Viscount Howard; a Colonel Carter had been made Governor of + Beaumaris, with command in Denbighshire; the Republican Overton + had been removed from the Governorship of Hull; Mr. Morrice had + been converted into a soldier, and made Governor of Plymouth; Dr. + Clarges was Commissary General of the Musters for England, + Scotland, and Ireland; and colonelcies were found for Montague, + Rossiter, Sheffield, and Lord Falconbridge. When it is remembered + that Fleetwood, Lambert, Desborough, Berry, Kelsay, and others of + the old officers, Rumpers or Wallingford-House men, were already + incapacitated, and either in prison or under parole to the + Council of State, it will be seen that the English Army of April + 1660 was no longer its former self. There were actually Royalists + now among the colonels, men in negotiation with the King as Monk + himself was. Still, if Monk and these colonels had even now gone + before most of the regiments and announced openly that they meant + to bring in the King, they would have been hooted or torn in + pieces. Even in colloquies with the officers of his own London + regiments Monk had to keep up the Republican phraseology. + Suspicions having arisen among them, with meetings and + agitations, his plan had been to calm them by general assurances, + reminding them at the same time of that principle of the + submission of the military to the civil authority which he and + they had accepted. On this principle alone, and without a word + implying desertion, of the Commonwealth, he prohibited any more + meetings or agitations, and caused strict orders to that effect + from the Council of State to be read at the head of every + regiment. But an ingenious device of Clarges went further than + such prohibitions. It was that as many of the officers as + possible should be got to sign a declaration of their submission + to the civil authority, not in general terms merely, but in the + precise form of an engagement to agitate the question of + Government no more among themselves, but abide the decision of + the coming Parliament. Many who could not have been brought to + declare for Charles Stuart directly could save their consciences + by signing a document thus conditionally in his interest; and the + device of Clarges was most successful. On the 9th of April a copy + of the engagement signed by a large number of officers in or near + London was in Monk's hands, and copies were out in England, + Scotland, and Ireland, for additional signatures. As to the + response from Scotland there could be little doubt. Morgan, the + commander-in-chief in Scotland, had already reported the complete + submission of the Army there to the order established by the + Parliament of the Secluded Members. Only a single captain had + been refractory, and he far away in the Orkneys. From Ireland, + where Coote and Broghill were now managing, the report was nearly + as good. Altogether, by the 9th of April, Monk could regard the + Republicanism of the Army as but the stunned and paralysed belief + of so many thousands of individual red-coats.—It was no + otherwise with the Navy. Moored with his fleet in the Thames, or + cruising with it beyond, Montague could assure Pepys in private + that he knew most of his captains to be Republicans, and that he + was not sure even of the captain of his own ship; and, studying a + certain list which Montague had given him, Pepys could observe + that the captains Montague was most anxious about were all or + nearly all of the Anabaptist persuasion. Still there was no sign + of concerted mutiny; and it was a great thing at such a time that + Vice-Admiral Lawson, Montague's second in command, and the + pre-eminent Republican of the whole Navy, had shown an example of + obedience.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Phillips, 694-698; Skinner, 263-265; Ludlow, 865-873; + Whitlocke, IV. 405-406; Pepys's Diary, March 28-April 9. + </p> + </div> + <p> + There was to be one dying flash for the Republic after all. + Lambert had escaped from the Tower. It was on the night of April + 9, the very day on which Monk was congratulating himself on the + engagement of obedience signed by so many of his officers. For + some days no one knew where the fugitive had gone, and Monk and + the Council of State were in consternation. Proclamations against + him were out, forbidding any to harbour him, and offering a + reward for his capture. Meanwhile emissaries from Lambert were + also out in all directions, to rouse his friends and bring them + to a place of rendezvous in Northamptonshire. One of these + emissaries, a Major Whitby, found Ludlow in Somersetshire, and + delivered Lambert's message to him. Ludlow was not unwilling to + join Lambert, but wanted to know more precisely what he declared + for. With some passion, Whitby suggested that it was not a time + to be asking what a man declared <i>for</i>; it was enough to + know what he declared <i>against</i>. Ludlow demurred, and said + it was always best to put forth a distinct political programme! + He merely circulated the information; therefore, in Somersetshire + and adjoining counties, and waited for further light. Along many + roads, however, especially in the midland counties, others were + straggling to the appointed rendezvous. Discharged soldiers, + Anabaptists, Republican desperates of every kind, were flocking + to Lambert.—Alas! before many of these could reach Lambert, + it was all over. Hither and thither, wherever there were signs of + disturbance, Monk had been despatching his most efficient + officers; and, on the 18th of April, having received more exact + information as to Lambert's whereabouts, he sent off Colonel + Richard Ingoldsby to do his very best in that scene of action. + There could not have been a happier choice. For this was honest + Dick Ingoldsby, the Cromwellian, of whom his kinsman Richard + Cromwell had said that, though he could neither preach nor pray, + he could be trusted. He was also "Dick Ingoldsby, the Regicide," + who had unfortunately signed the death-warrant of Charles I., to + please Cromwell; and that recollection was a spur to him now. + Since the abdication of Richard, he had been telling people that + he would thenceforth serve the King and no one else, even though + his Majesty, when he came home, would probably cut off his head. + That consequence, however, was to be avoided if possible; and + already, since the restoration of the secluded members, Ingoldsby + had been doing whatever stroke of work for them might help + towards earning his pardon. Now had come his most splendid + opportunity, and he was not to let it slip.—On Sunday, the + 22nd of April, being Easter Sunday, he came up with Lambert in + Northamptonshire, about two miles from Daventry. Lambert had then + but seven broken troops of horse, and one foot company; but + Colonels Okey, Axtell, Cobbet, Major Creed, and several other + important Republican ex-officers, were with him. Ingoldsby had + brought his own horse regiment from Suffolk; Colonel Streater, + with 500 men of a Northamptonshire foot-regiment, had joined him; + the Royalist gentry round were sending in more horse; the country + train-bands were up. The battle would be very unequal; was it + worth while to fight? For some hours the two bodies stood facing + each other, Lambert's in a ploughed field, with a little stream + in his front, to which Ingoldsby rode up frequently, parleying + with such of Lambert's troopers as were nearest, and so + effectively as to bring some of them over. At last, Lambert + showing no signs of surrender, Ingoldsby and Streater advanced, + Ingoldsby ready to charge with his horse, but Streater marching + the foot first with beat of drum to try the effect of a close + approach. There was the prelude of a few shots, which hurt one or + two of Lambert's troopers; but the orders were that the general + fire should be reserved till the musketeers should see the + pikemen already within push of the enemy. Then it was not + necessary. Lambert's men had been wavering all the while; his + troopers now turned the noses of their pistols downwards; one + troop came off entire to Ingoldsby; the rest broke up and fled. + But Lambert himself was Ingoldsby's mark. Dashing up to him, + pistol in hand, he claimed him as his prisoner. There was a kind + of scuffle, Creed and others imploring Ingoldsby to let Lambert + go; and in the scuffle Lambert turned his horse and made off, + Ingoldsby after him at full gallop. They were men of about the + same age, neither over forty, but Ingoldsby the stouter and more + fearless for a personal encounter. The two horses were abreast, + or Ingoldsby's a little ahead, the rider turning round in his + seat, with his pistol presented at Lambert, whom he swore he + would shoot if he did not yield. Lambert pleaded yet a pitiful + word or two, and then reined in and was taken.—On Tuesday, + the 24th of April, Lambert was again in the Tower, with Cobbet, + Creed, and other prisoners, though Okey and Axtell were not yet + among them. There had been a great review of the City Militia + that day in Hyde Park, at which the various regiments, red, + white, green, blue, yellow, and orange, with the auxiliaries from + the suburbs, made the magnificent muster of 12,000 men. The + Parliament was to meet next day, and Monk and the Council of + State had no farther anxiety. Among the measures they had taken + after Lambert's escape had been an order that the engagement, + already so generally signed by the Officers, pledging to + agreement in whatever Parliament should prescribe as to the + future form of government, should be tendered also to the private + soldiers throughout the whole army. In the troops and companies + of Fleetwood's old regiments, as many as a third of the soldiers, + or in some cases a half, were leaving the ranks in consequence; + but in Monk's own regiments from Scotland only two sturdy + Republicans had stepped out.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Phillips, 698-699; Skinner, 286-289; Ludlow, 873-877; Wood's + Fasti, II. 133-134; Whitlocke, IV. 407-409; M. de Bordeaux to + Mazarin, Guizot, II. 415. + </p> + </div> + <p> + So sure was the Restoration of Charles now that the only + difficulty was in restraining impatience and braggartism among + the Royalists themselves. The last argument of the Republican + pamphleteers having been that the Royalists would be implacable + after they had got back the king, and that nothing was to be then + expected but the bloodiest and severest revenges upon all who had + been concerned with the Commonwealth, and some of the younger + Royalists having given colour to such representations by their + wild utterances in private, there had been printed protests to + the contrary by leading Royalists in London and in many of the + counties. They desired no revenges, they said; they reflected on + the past as the mysterious course of an all-wise Providence; they + were anxious for an amicable reunion of all in the path so + wonderfully opened up by the wisdom and valour of General Monk; + they utterly disowned the indiscreet expressions of fools and + "hot-spirited persons"; and they would take no steps themselves, + but would confide in Monk, the Council of State, and the + Parliament, The London "declaration" to this effect was signed by + ten earls, four viscounts, five lords, many baronets, knights, + and squires, with several Anglican clergymen, among whom was + Jeremy Taylor. It was of no small use to Monk, who had equally to + be on his guard against too great haste. They were crowding round + him now, and asking why there should be any more delay, why the + king should not be brought to England at once. His one reply + still was that the Parliament alone could decide what was to be + done, and that he and others were bound to leave all to the + Parliament. Meanwhile Sir John Greenville had been back from his + mission for some time, and had duly delivered to Monk the + important documents from Breda. Monk had kept Charles's private + letter, but had given Greenville back all the rest, including his + own commission to be his Majesty's Captain-General. Not a soul + was to know of their existence till the moment when they should + be produced in the Parliament.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Phillips, 699-701; Skinner, 283-284 and 290-294; Clarendon, + 902. + </p> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="Cc2s1" id="Cc2s1">CHAPTER II.</a> + </h2> + <h3> + <i>First Section.</i> + </h3> + <h3> + MILTON'S LIFE AND SECRETARYSHIP THROUGH RICHARD'S PROTECTORATE: + SEPT. 1658-MAY 1659. + </h3> + <p> + MILTON AND MARVELL STILL IN THE LATIN SECRETARYSHIP: MILTON'S + FIRST FIVE STATE-LETTERS FOR RICHARD (NOS. CXXXIII.-CXXXVII.): + NEW EDITION OF MILTON'S <i>DEFENSIO PRIMA</i>: REMARKABLE + POSTSRCIPT TO THAT EDITION: SIX MORE STATE-LETTERS FOR RICHARD + (NOS. CXXXVIII.-CXLIII.): MILTON'S RELATIONS TO THE CONFLICT OF + PARTIES ROUND RICHARD AND IN RICHARD'S PARLIAMENT: HIS PROBABLE + CAREER BUT FOR HIS BLINDNESS: HIS CONTINUED CROMWELLIANISM IN + POLITICS, BUT WITH STRONGER PRIVATE RESERVES, ESPECIALLY ON THE + QUESTION OF AN ESTABLISHED CHURCH: HIS REPUTATION THAT OF A MAN + OF THE COURT-PARTY AMONG THE PROTECTORATISTS: HIS <i>TREATISE OF + CIVIL POWER IN ECCLESIASTICAL CAUSES</i>: ACCOUNT OF THE + TREATISE, WITH EXTRACTS: THE TREATISE MORE THAN A PLEA FOR + RELIGIOUS TOLERATION: CHURCH-DISESTABLISHMENT THE FUNDAMENTAL + IDEA: THE TREATISE ADDRESSED TO RICHARD'S PARLIAMENT, AND CHIEFLY + TO VANE AND THE REPUBLICANS THERE: NO EFFECT FROM IT: MILTON'S + FOUR LAST STATE-LETTERS FOR RICHARD (NOS. CXLIV.-CXLVII.): HIS + PRIVATE EPISTLE TO JEAN LABADIE, WITH ACCOUNT OF THAT PERSON: + MILTON IN THE MONTH BETWEEN RICHARD'S DISSOLUTION OF HIS + PARLIAMENT AND HIS FORMAL ABDICATION: HIS TWO STATE-LETTERS FOR + THE RESTORED RUMP (NOS. CXLVIII.-CXLIX.). + </p> + <p> + Milton and Marvell continued together In the Latin Secretaryship + through the Protectorate of Richard Cromwell, The following were + the first Letters of Milton for Richard:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + (CXXXIII.) To Louis XIV. OF FRANCE, <i>Sept.</i> 5, + 1658:—"Most serene and most potent King, Friend and + Confederate: As my most serene Father, of glorious memory, + Oliver, Protector of the Commonwealth of England, such being + the will of Almighty God, has been, removed by death on the 3rd + of September, I, his lawfully declared successor in this + Government, though in the depth of sadness and grief, cannot + but on the very first opportunity inform your Majesty by letter + of so important a fact, assured that, as you have been a most + cordial friend to my Father and this Commonwealth, the sudden + intelligence will be no matter of joy to you either. It is my + business now to request your Majesty to think of me as one who + has nothing more resolvedly at heart than to cultivate with all + fidelity and constancy the alliance and friendship that existed + between my most glorious parent and your Majesty, and to keep + and hold as valid, with the same diligence and goodwill as + himself, the treaties, counsels, and arrangements, of common + interest, which he established with you. To which intent I + desire that our Ambassador at your Court [Lockhart] shall be + invested with the same powers as formerly; and I beg that, + whatever he may transact with you in our name, you will receive + it as if done by myself. Finally, I wish your Majesty all + prosperity.—From our Court at Westminster." + </p> + <p> + (CXXXIV.) To Cardinal Mazarin, <i>Sept.</i> <sup>5</sup>, + 1658:—Dispatched with the last, and to the same effect. + Knowing the reciprocal esteem between his late Father and his + Eminence, Richard cannot but write to his Eminence as well as + to the King. + </p> + <p> + (CXXXV.) To Charles Gustavus, King of Sweden. <i>October</i> + 1658:—"Most serene and most potent King, Friend and + Confederate: As I think I cannot sufficiently imitate my + father's excellence unless I cultivate and desire to retain the + same friendships which he sought, and acquired by his worth, + and regarded in his singular judgment as most deserving to be + cultivated and retained, there is no reason for your Majesty to + doubt that it will be my duty to conduct myself towards your + Majesty with the same attentiveness and goodwill which my + Father, of most serene memory, made his rule in his relations + to you. Wherefore, although in this beginning of my Government + and dignity I do not find our affairs in such a position that I + can at present reply to certain heads which your agents have + propounded for negotiation, yet the idea of continuing, and + even more closely knitting, the treaty established with your + Majesty by my Father is exceedingly agreeable to me; and, as + soon as I shall have more fully understood the state of affairs + on both sides, I shall indeed be always most ready, as far as I + am concerned, for such arrangements as shall be thought most + advantageous for the interests of both Commonwealths. Meanwhile + may God long preserve your Majesty, to His own glory and for + the guardianship and defence of the Orthodox Church."—The + peculiar state of the relations between the Swedish King and + the English Government is here to be remembered. The heroic + Swede, by his sudden recommencement of war with Denmark, had + brought a host of enemies again around him; and the question, + just before Oliver's death, was whether Oliver would consider + himself disobliged by the rupture of the Peace with Denmark, + which had been mainly of his own making, or whether he would + stand by his brother of Sweden and think him still in the + right. That the second would have been Oliver's course there + can be little doubt. The question had now descended to Richard + and his Council. They were anxious to adhere to the foreign + policy of the late Protector in the Swedish as in all other + matters; but there were difficulties. + </p> + <p> + (CXXXVI. AND CXXXVII.) To CHARLES GUSTAVUS OF SWEDEN, + <i>Oct.</i> 1659:—Two more letters to his Swedish + Majesty, following close on the last:—(1) In the first, + dated "Oct. 13," Richard acknowledges a letter received from + the King of Sweden through his envoy in London, and also a + letter from the King to Philip Meadows, the English Resident at + the Swedish Court, which Meadows has transmitted. He is deeply + sensible of his Swedish Majesty's kind expressions, both of + sorrowing regard for his great father's memory, and of goodwill + towards himself. There could not be a greater honour to him, or + a greater encouragement in the beginning of his government, + than the congratulations of such a King. "As respects the + relations entered into between your Majesty and Us concerning + the common cause of Protestants, I would have your Majesty + believe that, since I succeeded to this government, though our + Affairs are in such a state as to require the extreme of + diligence, care, and vigilance, chiefly at home, yet I have had + and still have nothing more sacredly or more deliberately in my + mind than not to be wanting, to the utmost of my power, to the + Treaty made by my father with your Majesty. I have therefore + arranged for sending a fleet into the Baltic Sea, with those + commands which our Internuncio [Meadows], whom we have most + amply instructed for this whole business, will communicate to + your Majesty." This was the fleet of Admiral Lawson, which did + not actually put to sea till the following month, and was then + wind-bound off the English coast. See ante p. 428; where it is + also explained that Sir George Ayscough was to go out with + Lawson, to enter the Swedish service as a volunteer.—(2) + The other letter to Charles Gustavus, though dated "Oct." + merely in the extant copies, was probably written on the same + day as the foregoing, and was to introduce this Ayscough. "I + send to your Majesty (and cannot send a present of greater + worth or excellence) the truly distinguished and truly noble + man, George Ayscough, Knight, not only famous and esteemed for + his knowledge of war, especially naval war, as proved by his + frequent and many brave performances, but also gifted with + probity, modesty, ingenuity, and learning, dear to all for the + sweetness of his manners, and, what is now the sum of all, + eager to serve under the banners of your Majesty, so renowned + over the whole world by your warlike prowess." A favourable + reception is bespoken for Ayscough, who is to bring certain + communications to his Majesty, and who, in any matters that may + arise out of these, is to be taken as speaking for Richard + himself. It was not till the beginning of the following year + that Ayscough did arrive in the Baltic. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + These five letters were undoubtedly the most important diplomatic + dispatches of the beginning of Richard's Protectorate. They refer + to the two most momentous foreign interests bequeathed from + Oliver: viz. the French Alliance against Spain, and the + entanglement in Northern Europe round the King of Sweden. Milton, + as having written all the previous state-letters on these great + subjects, was naturally required to be himself the writer of the + five in which Richard announced to France and Sweden his + resolution to continue the policy of his father. Marvell's pen + may have been used, then and afterwards, for minor dispatches. + </p> + <p> + To the month of October 1658, the month after that of Oliver's + death, belongs also a new edition of Milton's <i>Defensio + Prima</i>. It was in octavo size, in close and clear type, and + bore this title: "<i>Joannis Miltonii, Angli, Pro Populo + Anglicano Defensio contra Claudii Anonymi, alias Salmasii, + Defensionem Regiam. Editio correctior et auctior, ab Autore denuo + recognita. Londini, Typis Newcombianis, Anno Dom. 1658</i>" (John + Milton's Defence, &c. "<i>Corrected and Enlarged Edition, + newly revised by the Author</i>" London: from Newcome's press, + &c.).<sup>1</sup> This edition seems to have escaped the + notice to which it is entitled. As far as my examination has + gone, the differences from the original edition through the body + of the work can be but slight. There is, however, a very + important postscript of two pages, which I shall here + translate:— + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Thomason copy in British Museum, with the date + "<i>Octob.</i>" (no day) written on the title-page. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + "Having published this book, some years ago now [April 1651], + in the hurried manner then required by the interests of the + Commonwealth, but with the notion that, if ever I should have + leisure to take it into my hands again, I might, as is + customary, afterwards polish up something in it, or perchance + cancel or add something, this I fancy I have now accomplished, + though with fewer changes than I thought: a monument, as I see, + whosoever has contrived it, not easily to perish. If there + shall be found some one who will defend civil liberty more + freely than here, yet certainly it will hardly be in a greater + or more illustrious example; and truly, if the belief is that a + deed of such arduous and famous example was not attempted and + so prosperously finished without divine inspiration, there may + be reason to think that the celebration and defence of the same + with such applauses was also by the same aid and + impulse,—an opinion I would much rather see entertained + by all than have any other happiness of genius, judgment, or + diligence, attributed to myself. Only this:—Just as that + Roman Consul, laying down his magistracy, swore in public that + the Commonwealth and that City were safe by his sole exertion, + so I, now placing my last hand on this work, would dare assert, + calling God and men to witness, that I have demonstrated in + this book, and brought publicly forward out of the highest + authors of divine and human wisdom, those very things by which + I am confident that the English People have been sufficiently + defended in this cause for their everlasting fame with + posterity, and confident also that the generality of mankind, + formerly deceived by foul ignorance of their own rights and a + false semblance of Religion, have been, unless in as far as + they may prefer and deserve slavery, sufficiently emancipated. + And, as the universal Roman People, itself sworn in that public + assembly, approved with one voice and consent that Consul's so + great and so special oath, so I have for some time understood + that not only all the best of my own countrymen, but all the + best also of foreign men, sanction and approve this persuasion + of mine by no silent vote over the whole world. Which highest + fruit of my labours proposed for myself in this life I both + gratefully enjoy and at the same time make it my chief thought + how I may be best able to assure not only my own country, for + which I have already done my utmost, but also the men of all + nations whatever, and especially all of the Christian name, + that the accomplishment of yet greater things, if I have the + power—and I <i>shall</i> have the power, if God be + gracious,—is meanwhile for their sakes my desire and + meditation." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Perhaps one begins to be a little tired of this high-strained + exultation for ever and ever on the subject of his success in the + Salmasian controversy. The recurrence at this point, however, is + not uninstructive. At the beginning of Richard's Protectorate, we + can see Milton's defences of the English Republic were still + regarded as the unparalleled literary achievements of the age, + and Milton's European celebrity on account of them had not waned + in the least. It was something for the blind man, seated by + himself in his small home in Westminster, and sending his + thoughts out over the world from which for six years now he had + been so helplessly shut in, to know this fact, and to be able to + imagine the continued recollection of him as still alive among + the myriads moving in that vast darkness. This fruit of his past + labours, he says, he would "gratefully enjoy," but with no vulgar + satisfaction. He would not confess it even to be with any + lingering in him now of the last infirmity of a noble mind. In + his fiftieth year, and in his present state, he could feel + himself superior to that, and could describe his consciousness as + something higher. If he had done a great work already, as he + himself believed, and as the voice of all the best of mankind + acknowledged, had it not been because God had chosen and inspired + him for the same, and might he not in that faith send out a + message to the world that perhaps God had not yet done with him, + and they might expect from him, blind and desolate though he was, + something greater and better still? The closing sentence is + exactly such a message, and one can suppose that Milton was there + thinking of his progress in <i>Paradise Lost</i>. + </p> + <p> + Whatever was the amount of Marvell's exertion in the + secretaryship, Milton was not wholly exempted from the duty of + writing even the more ordinary letters for Richard and his + Council. There is a vacant interval of three months, indeed, + after the five last registered and the next; but in January + 1658-9 the series is resumed, and there are six more letters of + Milton for Richard between the end of that month and the end of + February. Richard's Parliament, it is to be remembered, met on + the 27th of January. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + (CXXXVIII.) To CHARLES GUSTAVUS, KING OF SWEDEN, <i>Jan.</i> + 27, 1658-9 (i.e. the day of the meeting of the + Parliament):—Samuel Piggott, merchant of London, has + complained to the Protector that two ships of his—the + <i>Post</i>, Tiddy Jacob master, and the <i>Water-dog</i>, + Garbrand Peters master—are detained somewhere in the + Baltic by his Majesty's forces. They had sailed from London to + France; thence to Amsterdam, where one had taken in ballast + only, but the other a cargo of herrings, belonging in part to + one Peter Heinsberg, a Dutchman; and, so laden, they had been + bound for his Majesty's port of Stettin. Probably the Dutch + ownership of part of the herring cargo was the cause of the + detention of the ships; but Piggott was the lawful owner of the + ships themselves and of the rest of the goods. His Majesty is + prayed to restore them, and so save the poor man from ruin. + </p> + <p> + (CXXXIX.) To THE HIGH AND MIGHTY, THE STATES OF WEST FRIESLAND, + <i>Jan.</i> 27, 1658-9:—A widow, named Mary Grinder, + complains that Thomas Killigrew, a commander in the service of + the States, has for eighteen years owed her a considerable sum + of money, the compulsory payment of which he is trying now to + evade by petitioning their Highnesses not to allow any suit + against him in their Courts for debts due in England. "If I + only mention to your Highnesses that she, whom this man tries + to deprive of nearly all her fortunes, is a widow, that she is + poor, the mother of many little children, I will not do you the + injustice of supposing that with you, to whom I am confident + the divine commandments, and especially those about not + oppressing widows and the fatherless, are well known, any more + serious argument will be needed against your granting this + privilege of fraud to the man's petition."—The Thomas + Killigrew here concerned may have been one of several + well-known Killigrews, then refugee Royalists. Hence perhaps + the earnestness of the letter. + </p> + <p> + (CXL.) To LOUIS XIV. OF FRANCE, <i>Feb.</i> 18, + 1658-9:—"We have heard, and not without grief, that some + Protestant churches in Provence were so scandalously + interrupted by a certain ill-tempered bigot that the matter was + thought worthy of severe notice by the magistrates of Grenoble, + to whom the cognisance of the case belonged by law; but that a + convention of the clergy, held shortly afterwards in, those + parts, has obtained your Majesty's order that the whole affair + shall be brought before your Royal Council in Paris, and that + meanwhile, there being no decision there hitherto, these + churches, and especially that of Aix, are prohibited from + meeting for the worship of God." His Majesty is asked to remove + this prohibition, and to see the author of the mischief + properly censured. Such a missive proves that Richard and his + Council kept to Oliver's rule of interference whenever there + was persecution of Protestants, and also that they did not + doubt their influence with Louis and Mazarin. + </p> + <p> + (CXLI.) To CARDINAL MAZARIN, <i>Feb.</i> 19, + 1658-9:<sup>1</sup>—The Duchess-Dowager of Richmond, with + her son, the young duke, is going into France, and means to + reside there for some time. His Eminence is requested to show + all possible attention to the illustrious lady and her son. + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: So dated in the Skinner Transcript, but "29 Feb." in Printed + Collection and Phillips. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (CXLII.) To CARDINAL MAZARIN, <i>Feb.</i> 22, + 1658-9:<sup>1</sup>—About eight months ago the case of + Peter Pett, "a man of singular probity, and of the highest + utility to us and the Commonwealth by his remarkable skill in + naval affairs," was brought before his Eminence by a letter of + the late Lord Protector (not among Milton's letters). It was to + request that his Eminence would see to the execution of a + decree of his French Majesty's Council, as far back as Nov. 4, + 1647, that compensation should be made to Pett for the seizure + and sale of a ship of his, called the <i>Edward</i>, by one + Bascon, in the preceding year. His Eminence has doubtless + attended to the request; but there is still some impediment. + Will his Eminence see where it lies and remove it?—Since + the time of Queen Mary there had been three Peter Petts in + succession, ship-builders and masters of the Royal Dockyard at + Deptford; and the present Peter was the father of the more + celebrated Sir Peter Pett, who was fellow of the Royal Society + after the Restoration. + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: So dated in Printed Collection and in the Skinner + Transcript; misdated "Feb. 25" in Phillips. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (CXLIII.) To ALFONSO V., KING OF PORTUGAL, <i>Feb.</i> 23, + 1658-9:<sup>1</sup>—Congratulations to his Portuguese + Majesty upon a victory he had recently obtained over "our + common enemy the Spaniard," with acknowledgment of his + Majesty's handsome behaviour, through his Commissioners in + London, in the matter of satisfaction, according to an article + in the League between Portugal and the English Commonwealth, to + those English merchants who had let out their vessels to the + Brazil Company. But there is still one such merchant + unpaid—a certain Alexander Bence, whose ship, <i>The + Three Brothers</i>, John Wilks master, had made two voyages for + the Company. They refuse to pay him, though they have fully + paid others who had made but one voyage; and "why this is done + I do not understand, unless it be that in their estimation a + person is more worthy of his hire who has earned it once than + one who has earned it twice." Will his Majesty see that Bence + receives his due? + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: In the Printed Collection and Phillips, and also, I think, + in the Skinner Transcript, the king's name is given as "John"; + but John IV. of Portugal had died in 1656 and been succeeded by + Alfonso. + </p> + </div> + <p> + These six letters belong to the first month of Richard's + Parliament, with its very large and freely elected House of + Commons representing England, Scotland, and Ireland, and its + anomalous addition or excrescence of another or Upper House, + consisting of the two or three scores of recently-created + Cromwellian "Lords." The battle between the Republicans and the + Protectoratists had begun in the Commons, Thurloe ably leading + there for the Protectoratists; the Republicans had been beaten on + the first great question by the recognition of the Single-Person + principle and of Richard's title to the Protectorship; and the + House had gone on to the question of the continued existence and + functions of the other House, with every prospect that the + Cromwillians would beat the Republicans on that question too. + From January to April, not only in the Parliament, but also over + the country at large, the all-engrossing interest, as we know, + was this controversy between pure old Republicanism, desiring + neither single sovereignty nor aristocracy, and that more + conservative form of Commonwealth which had been set up by the + Oliverian constitution. Over the country, no less than in the + Parliament, the conservative policy was in favour, and the + Cromwellians or Protectoratists, among whom the Presbyterians now + ranked themselves, were far more numerous than the old + Republicans. Royalism, or at least Stuart Royalism, was at its + lowest ebb. Many that had been Royalists heretofore had accepted + the constitutionalized Protectorate as the best substitute for + Royalty that circumstances allowed, and saw no course left them + but to cooperate with the majority of their countrymen in + confirming Richard's rule. + </p> + <p> + How Milton stood related to this controversy is a matter rather + of inference than of direct information. Having been a faithful + adherent and official of Oliver through his whole Protectorate, + and still holding his official place under Richard's Government, + there is little doubt that, if he had been obliged to post + himself publicly on either of the two sides, he would have gone + among the Cromwellians. Nay, if he had been obliged to choose + between the two subdivisions of this body, known as the <i>Court + Party</i> (supporting Richard absolutely) and the + <i>Wallingford-House Party</i> (supporting Richard's civil + Protectorate, but wanting to transfer the military power to the + Army-chiefs), there can be little doubt that he would have gone + with the former. Had he been in the House of Commons, like his + colleague Andrew Marvell, his duty there, like Marvell's, would + have been that of a ministerial member, assisting Thurloe and + voting with him in all the divisions. But for his blindness, we + may here say, the chances are that he <i>would</i> long ere now + have been a known Parliamentary man, and that, after having been + a Cromwellian leader in Oliver's second Parliament, he might have + been now in Thurloe's exact place in Richard's present + Parliament, or beside Thurloe as a strangely different chief. + This, or that other alternative of a foreign ambassadorship or + residency, which must have suggested itself again and again to + the reader in the course of our narrative, might have been the + natural career of Milton through the rule of the Cromwells, had + not blindness disabled him. For, if Meadows, his former mere + assistant in the Foreign Secretaryship, had been for some time in + the one career with increasing distinction, and if an opening had + been easily found for Marvell in the other, why may not + imagination trace either career, or a combination of the two, had + physical infirmity not prevented, for the greater Cromwellian of + whom these were but satellites? It is imagination only, and would + not be worth while, were it not for one important biographical + question which it brings forward. Had Milton remained capable of + any such practical career under the Cromwells, would he have + retained, to the same extent as he had done through his + blindness, the necessary qualification of being an Oliverian or + Cromwellian? How far was his present Cromwellianism the actual + consequence of his blindness, the mere submissiveness of a blind + man to what he had no power to disturb? It is partly an answer to + this question to remember again his <i>Defensio Secunda</i> of + 1654, with its great panegyric on Cromwell. Milton had been but + two years blind when that was published, and had not lost aught + of the vehemence of his Republican convictions. Not without + deliberation, therefore, had he given up the first form of the + Commonwealth, consisting in a single supreme House of Parliament + and an annual Council of State chosen by the same, and accepted + the later or Protectoral form, with Cromwell for its head, a + permanent Council of State round Cromwell, and Parliaments on + occasion. But, underneath this general adhesion to the + Protectorate, there had been even then certain Miltonic reserves, + and especially the reserve of a protest against the continuance + of a State Church. Now, had Milton been in a condition to act the + part of a practical statesman through Oliver's Protectorate, + might not some extraordinary development have been given to those + reserves? With his boundless courage and the non-conforming + habits of his genius, would he ever have been the Parliamentary + servant of a Government from which he differed at all,—from + which he differed so vitally on the question of Church + Establishment? Probably in nothing else had Cromwell wholly + disappointed him. Through the Protectorate there had been all the + toleration of religious differences that could be desired, or + what shortcoming there had been had hardly been by Cromwell's own + fault; the other interferences with liberty had hardly perhaps, + in Milton's estimation, gone beyond the necessities of police; + and in Cromwell's foreign policy, with its magnificent + championship of Protestantism abroad, what man in England was + more ardently at one with him than the draftsman of his great + foreign despatches? At the time of the proposal of Cromwell's + Kingship, and generally at the time of the transition out of his + first Protectorate into his second, with the resuscitation then + of so many aristocratic forms and the attempt to reinstitute a + house of peers, there may have been, as we have already hinted, + an uprising in Milton's mind of democratic objections, and the + effect may have been that Milton before the end of Oliver's + Protectorate was less of an Oliverian than he had been at the + beginning. Still, precluded from any active concern in those + constitutional changes, he may have reconciled himself to them + easily enough, and also to the transmission of the Protectorship + from Oliver to Richard. The one insuperable stumbling-block, I + believe, had been and was Cromwell's Established Church. Even in + his blindness he could theorize on that, and stiffen himself more + and more in his intense Religious Voluntaryism, Conscious of his + irreconcileable dissent from Cromwell's policy in this great + matter, and knowing that Cromwell was aware of the fact, it may + have been a satisfaction to him that he was not called upon to + act a Parliamentary part, in which proclamation of the dissent + and consequent rupture with Cromwell on the ecclesiastical + question would have been inevitable. It may have been some + satisfaction to him that he could go on faithfully and honestly + as a servant of Cromwell in the special business of the Latin + Secretaryship, and for the rest be a lonely thinker and take + refuge in silence. It is worth observing, indeed, that nothing of + a political kind had come from Milton's pen during the last three + or four years of Oliver's Protectorate,—nothing even + indirectly bearing on the internal politics of the Commonwealth + since his <i>Pro Se Defensio</i> against Morus in 1655, and + nothing directly bearing thereon since his <i>Defensio + Secunda</i> of 1654. And so, if we conclude this inquiry by + saying that, at the time of Richard's accession and the meeting + of his Parliament, Milton was still a Cromwellian, but a + Cromwellian with the old Miltonic reserves, and these + strengthened of late rather than weakened, we shall be about + right. To the public, however, in the present controversy between + the Protectoratists and the pure Republicans, he was distinctly a + Protectoratist, a Cromwellian, one of the Court-party, an + official of Richard and his Council. + </p> + <p> + Since Cromwell's death, we have now to add, Milton had been + re-mustering his reserves. Under a new Protector, and from the + new Parliament of that new Protector, might he not have a hearing + on points on which he had for some time been silent? On this + chance, he had interrupted even his <i>Paradise Lost</i>, in + order to prepare an address to the new Parliament. As might be + expected, it was on the subject of the relations of Church and + State. Meditating on this subject, and how it might be best + treated practically at such a time, Milton, had concluded that it + might be broken into two parts. "Two things there be which have + been ever found working much mischief to the Church of God and + the advancement of Faith,—Force on the one side + restraining, and Hire on the other side corrupting, the Teachers + thereof." He would, therefore, write one tract on the effects of + Compulsion or State-restraint in matters of Religion and + Speculation, and another on the effects of Hire or + State-endowments in the same. The two would be interconnected, + and would in fact melt into each other; but they might appear + separately, and it might be well to begin with the first, as the + least irritating. Accordingly, before the meeting of the + Parliament he had prepared, and after it had met there was + published, in the form of a very tiny octavo, a tract with this + title-page: "<i>A Treatise of Civil Power in Ecclesiastical + Causes: Shewing that it is not lawfull for any power on Earth to + compell in matters of Religion. The author J.M. London, Printed + by Tho. Newcomb, Anno</i> 1659." The tract consists of an address + "To the Parlament of the Commonwealth of England with the + Dominions thereof," occupying ten of the small pages, and signed + "John Milton" in full, and then of eighty-three pages of + text.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: The little book was duly registered at Stationers' Hall, + under date Feb. 16, 1658-9, thus: "Mr. Tho. Newcomb entered for + his copy (under the hand of Mr. Pulleyn, warden) a book called + A Treatise of Civil Power in Ecclesiastical Causes by John + Milton." + </p> + </div> + <p> + After intimating that this was but the first of two tracts and + that the other would follow, and also that his argument is to be + wholly and exclusively from Scripture, Milton propounds the + argument itself under four successive heads or + propositions.—The first is that, there being, by the + fundamental principle of Protestantism, "no other divine rule or + authority from without us, warrantable to one another as a common + ground, but the Holy Scripture, and no other within us but the + illumination of the Holy Spirit so interpreting that Scripture as + warrantable only to ourselves and to such whose consciences we + can so persuade," it follows that "no man or body of men in these + times can be the infallible judges or determiners in matters of + religion to any other men's consciences but their own." Having + reasoned this at some length by quotations of Scripture texts and + explanations of the same, he proceeds to "yet another reason why + it is unlawful for the civil magistrate to use force in matters + of Religion: which is, because to judge in those things, though + we should grant him able, which is proved he is not, yet as a + civil magistrate he hath no right." Under this second head, and + also by means of Scripture quotations, there is an exposition of + Milton's favourite idea of the purely spiritual nature of + Christ's kingdom and of the instrumentalities it permits. The + third proposition advances the argument by maintaining that not + only is the civil magistrate unable, from the nature of the case, + to determine in matters of Religion, and not only has he no right + to try, but he also does positive wrong by trying. In arguing + this, still Scripturally, Milton dilates on the meaning of the + "Christian liberty" of the true believer, with the heights and + depths which it implies in the renewed spirit, the superiority to + "the bondage of ceremonies" and "the weak and beggarly + rudiments." The fourth and last reason pleaded, still from + Scripture, against the compulsion of the magistrate in Religion, + is that he must fail signally in the very ends he proposes to + himself; "and those hardly can be other than first the glory of + God, next either the spiritual good of them whom he forces or the + temporal punishment of their scandal to others." Far from + attaining either of these ends, he can but dishonour God and + promote profanity and hypocrisy.—"On these four Scriptural + reasons as on a firm square." says Milton at the close, "this + truth, the right of Christian and Evangelic Liberty, will stand + immoveable against all those pretended consequences of license + and confusion which, for the most part, men most licentious and + confused themselves, or such as whose severity would be wiser + than divine wisdom, are ever aptest to object against the ways of + God." + </p> + <p> + Such is the plan of the little treatise, the literary texture of + which is plain and homely, rather than rich, learned, or + rhetorical. "Pomp and ostentation of reading," he expressly says, + "is admired among the vulgar; but doubtless in matters of + Religion he is learnedest who is plainest." It was, we may + remember, his first considerable English dictation for the press + since his blindness, and what one chiefly notices in the style is + the strong grasp he still retains of his old characteristic + syntax.<sup>1</sup> The following are a few of the more + interesting individual passages or expressions:— + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: I have noted in the Tract one occurrence at least of the + very un-Miltonic word <i>its</i>, as follows:—"As the + Samaritans believed Christ, first for the woman's word, but + next and much rather for his own, so we the Scripture first on + the Church's word, but afterwards and much more for its own as + the word of God." + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + <i>Blasphemy.</i>—"But some are ready to cry out 'What + shall then be done to Blasphemy?' Them I would first exhort not + thus to terrify and pose the people with a Greek word, but to + teach them better what it is: being a most usual and common + word in that language to signify any slander, any malicious or + evil speaking, whether against God or man or anything to good + belonging." + </p> + <p> + <i>Heresy and Heretic</i>:—"Another Greek apparition + stands in our way, 'Heresy and Heretic': in like manner also + railed at to the people, as in a tongue unknown. They should + first interpret to them that Heresy, by what it signifies in + that language, is no word of evil note; meaning only the choice + or following of any opinion, good or bad, in religion or any + other learning." + </p> + <p> + <i>A Wrested Text of Scripture</i>:—"It hath now twice + befallen me to assert, through God's assistance, this most + wrested and vexed place of Scripture [<i>Romans</i> XIII, 'Let + every soul be subject unto the higher powers,' &c.]: + heretofore against Salmasius and regal tyranny over the State; + now against Erastus and State-tyranny over the Church." + </p> + <p> + <i>Are Popery and Idolatry to be Tolerated?</i>—"But, as + for Popery and Idolatry, why they also may not hence plead to + be tolerated, I have much less to say. Their Religion, the more + considered, the less can be acknowledged a Religion, but a + Roman Principality rather, endeavouring to keep up her old + universal dominion under a new name and mere shadow of a + Catholic Religion; being indeed more rightly named a Catholic + Heresy against the Scripture; supported mainly by a civil, and, + except in Rome, by a foreign, power: justly therefore to be + suspected, not tolerated, by the magistrate of another country. + Besides, of an implicit faith, which they profess, the + conscience also becomes implicit, and so, by voluntary + servitude to man's law, forfeits her Christian liberty. Who, + then, can plead for such a conscience as, being implicitly + enthralled to man instead of God, almost becomes no conscience, + as the will not free becomes no will? Nevertheless, if they + ought not to be tolerated, it is for just reason of State more + than of Religion; which they who force, though professing to be + Protestants, deserve as little to be tolerated themselves, + being no less guilty of Popery in the most Popish point. + Lastly, for Idolatry, who knows it not to be evidently against + all Scripture, both of the Old and New Testament, and therefore + a true heresy, or rather an impiety; wherein a right conscience + can have naught to do, and the works thereof so manifest that a + magistrate can hardly err in prohibiting and quite removing at + least the public and scandalous use thereof." + </p> + <p> + <i>Christ's unique act of Compulsion</i>:—"We read not + that Christ ever exercised force but once; and that was to + drive profane ones out of his Temple, not to force them in." + </p> + <p> + <i>Concluding Recommendation to Statesmen and + Ministers</i>:—"As to those magistrates who think it + their work to settle Religion, and those ministers or others + who so oft call upon them to do so, I trust that, having well + considered what hath been here argued, neither <i>they</i> will + continue in that intention, nor <i>these</i> in that + expectation from them, when they shall find that the settlement + of Religion belongs only to each particular church by + persuasive and spiritual means within itself, and that the + defence only of the Church belongs to the magistrate. Had he + once learnt not further to concern himself with Church affairs, + half his labour might be spared and the Commonwealth better + tended." + </p> + </blockquote> + <hr /> + <p> + In this last extract there is a distinct outbreak of the + intention which is rather covert through the rest of the tract. + To a hasty reader the tract might seem only a plea for the + amplest toleration, of religious dissent, a plea for full + liberty, outside of the Established Church, not merely to + Baptists, but also to Quakers, Anti-Trinitarians, and all other + sects professing in any way to be Christians and believers in the + Bible, Papists alone excepted, and they but partially and + reluctantly. There would be no censure on Cromwell's policy, if + that were all. But an acute reader of the tract would have + detected that more was intended in it than a plea for Toleration, + that the very existence of any Established Church whatever was + condemned. In the passage last quoted it is clearly seen that + this is the ultimate scope. It is a reflection on Cromwell, + almost by name, for not having freed himself from the notion that + the settlement of Religion is an affair of the Civil Magistrate, + but on the contrary having made such a supposed settlement of + Religion one of the passions of his Protectorate. It is a + reflection on him, and on Owen, Thomas Goodwin, and all his + ecclesiastical advisers and assessors, Independent or + Presbyterian, for having busied themselves in maintaining and + re-shaping any State-Church, on however broad a basis, and so + having perpetuated the old distinction between Establishment and + Dissent, Orthodoxy and Heresy, instead of abolishing that + distinction utterly, and leaving all varieties of Christianity, + equally unstamped and unfavoured, to organize themselves as they + best could on the principle of voluntary association. For the + future, statesmen and ministers are invited to cease from + persevering in this delusion of the great and good Cromwell. + </p> + <p> + The tract was addressed, as we have said, to the Parliament of + Cromwell's son. The preface, signed with Milton's name in full, + is a recommendation of the doctrine to that body in particular. + "I have prepared, Supreme Council, against the much expected time + of your sitting," Milton there says, "this treatise; which, + though to all Christian Magistrates equally belonging, and + therefore to have been written in the common language of + Christendom, natural duty and affection hath confined and + dedicated first to my own nation, and in a season wherein the + timely reading thereof, to the easier accomplishment of your + great work, may save you much labour and interruption." Then, + after having stated the main doctrine, he continues:—"One + advantage I make no doubt of, that I shall write to many eminent + persons of your number already perfect and resolved in this + important article of Christianity: some of whom I remember to + have heard often, for several years, at a Council next in + authority to your own, so well joining religion with civil + prudence, and yet so well distinguishing the different power of + either, and this not only voting but frequently reasoning why it + should be so, that, if any there present had been before of an + opinion contrary, he might doubtless have departed thence a + convert in that point, and have confessed that then both + Commonwealth and Religion will at length, if ever, flourish, in + Christendom, when either they who govern discern between Civil + and Religious, or they only who so discern shall be admitted to + govern." In other words, Milton's hopes of a favourable hearing + for his doctrine in Richard's Parliament were founded (1) on the + general ground that many members of the Parliament were old + Commonwealth's men, of the kind that would have carried the + abolition of Tithes and of a State-Church in the Barebones + Parliament of 1653, had not Rous broken up that Parliament and + resurrendered the power to Cromwell, and (2) on the special fact + that some of them were men whom Milton had himself heard with + admiration, in the Councils of State of the Commonwealth, when he + first sat there as Foreign Secretary in attendance, avowing and + expounding the principle of Voluntaryism in Religion, in its + fullest possible extent. Among these last Milton must have had in + view chiefly such members of the Commons House in Richard's + Parliament as Vane, Bradshaw, Harrison, Neville, Ludlow, and + Scott, all of whom had been members of one, or several, or all, + of the Councils of State of the old Commonwealth; but he may have + had in view also such members of the present Upper House as + Fleetwood, St. John, and Viscount Lisle. Above all, Vane must + have been in his mind,—Vane, on whom half of his eulogy in + 1652 had been. + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p class="i2"> + "To know + </p> + <p> + Both spiritual power and civil, what each means, + </p> + <p> + What severs each, <i>thou</i>, hast learned; which few have + done. + </p> + <p> + The bounds of either sword to <i>thee</i> we owe." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Might not Vane and his fellows move in the present Parliament for + a reconsideration of that part of the policy of the Protectorate + which concerned Religion? Might they not induce the Parliament to + revert, in the matters of Tithes, a State Ministry, and + Endowments of Religion, to the temper and determinations of the + much-abused, but really wise and deep-minded, Barebones + Parliament? Nothing less than this is the ultimate purport of + Milton's appeal; and little wonder that he prefixed an intimation + that he wrote now only as a private man, and without any official + authority whatever. "Of Civil Liberty," he says in the conclusion + of his preface, "I have written heretofore by the appointment, + and not without the approbation, of Civil Power: of Christian + Liberty I write now,—which others long since having done + with all freedom under Heathen Emperors, I should do wrong to + suspect that now I shall with less under Christian Governors, and + such especially as profess openly their defence of Christian + liberty, although I write this not otherwise appointed and + induced than by an inward persuasion of the Christian duty which + I may usefully discharge herein to the common Lord and Master of + us all." The words imply just a shade of doubt whether he, a + salaried servant of the Government, might not be called to + account for having been so bold. + </p> + <p> + Altogether, Milton's <i>Treatise of Civil Power in Ecclesiastical + Causes</i> can be construed no otherwise than as an effort on his + part, Protectoratist and Court-official though he was, to renew + his relations with the old Republican party in the Parliament in + the special interest of his extreme views on the religious + question. Merely as a pleading against Religious Persecution, the + treatise might have had some effect on the Parliament generally, + where it was in fact much needed, in consequence of the presence + of so much of the Presbyterian element, and the likelihood + therefore of increased stringency against Quakers, Socinians, and + other Non-Conformists. The treatise would have found many in the + Parliament, besides the Republicans, quite willing to listen to + its advices so far. But only or chiefly among the old Republicans + can there have been any hope of an acceptance of its extreme + definition of Christian Liberty, as involving Disestablishment + and entire separation of Church and State. + </p> + <p> + The Treatise, so far as we can see, produced no effect whatever. + So far as the Religious Question did appear in the Parliament, it + was evident that the preservation of Cromwell's + Church-Establishment, its perpetuation as an integral part of + Richard's Protectorate, was a foregone conclusion in the minds of + the vast majority. Any Disestablishment proposal, emanating from + the Republican party, or from any individual member like Vane, + would have been tramped out by the united strength of the + Presbyterians, the Cromwellians of the Court, and the + Wallingford-House Cromwellians. The danger even was that there + might be a retrogression in the matter of mere Toleration, and + that the presence and pressure of so many Presbyterians among the + supporters of Richard might compel Richard's Government, against + his own will and that of his Cromwellian Councillors, to a + severer Church-discipline than had characterized the late + Protectorate. But, indeed, it was not on the Religious Question + in any form that the Republicans found time or need to try their + strength. Their battles in the Parliament were on the two main + constitutional questions:—first, the question of the + Protectorate itself or Single-Person Government; and, next, the + question of the Other House or House of Lords. On the first they + were definitively beaten in February; and on the second they were + beaten, no less definitively, and with more distressing incidents + of defeat, before the end of March (ante pp. 432-435). Then, + feeling themselves powerless as an independent party, they + changed their tactics. No sooner had the Protectoratists or + Cromwellians triumphed collectively under Thurloe's leadership + than there had begun among them that fatal straggle between the + two divisions of their body of which the beaten Republicans could + not fail to take advantage. The <i>Court party</i> of the + Cromwellians, still led by Thurloe in the Commons, desired to + preserve the Protectorate unbroken and with full powers, reducing + the Army, as in an orderly and well-constituted State, to its + proper place and dimensions as the instrument of the civil + authority; the <i>Army Party</i>, or <i>Wallingford-House + Party</i>, represented by Fleetwood and Desborough in chief, + wanted to leave Richard only the civil Protectorship, and to set + up a co-ordinate military power. The differences between the two + parties had been smouldering since Richard's accession, and had + been too visible since the first meeting of the Parliament; but + it was in April 1659, after their joint victory over the + Republicans, that they turned against each other in deadly + strife, the Republicans looking on. Through that month the + ominous spectacle was that of two rival Parliaments in + Westminster—Richard's regular Parliament, and the irregular + Wallingford-House Parliament of Army officers—watching each + other and interchanging threats and denunciations. It was on the + 18th of the month that the regular Parliament passed their two + courageous resolutions asserting their supreme authority. They + were that the Wallingford Council of officers should be + immediately dissolved and no more such meetings of officers + permitted, and that all officers of the Army and Navy should take + an engagement not to interrupt the established power (ante pp. + 440-441). Then it was evident there would be a crash, but in what + form was still unknown. + </p> + <p> + Precisely at this crisis in Richard's Protectorship comes the + last batch of Milton's official letters for him. The letters are + four in number:<sup>1</sup>— + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: These Letters do not appear in the ordinary Printed + Collection, or in Phillips; but they are in the Skinner + Transcript, and have been printed thence by Mr. Hamilton in his + <i>Milton Papers</i>, pp. 12-14. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (CXLIV. and CXLV.) To FERDINAND, GRAND DUKE OF TUSCANY, + <i>April</i> 19, 1659:—Two Letters to this Prince on the + same day. (1) Sir John Dethicke, James Gold, John Limbery, and + other London merchants, are owners of a ship called <i>The + Happy Entrance</i>, which they sent out with merchandise for + trade in the Mediterranean, under the command of a John Marvin. + They can get no account from him, and have reason to fear he + means to play the rogue with the ship and cargo and never + return. It is believed that within two months he may put in at + Leghorn; and the Protector requests the Grand Duke to give the + merchants, in that case, facilities for the recovery of their + property. (2) A James Modiford, merchant, complains to the + Protector that certain goods of his, taken to Leghorn about + 1652 by another English trader, Humphrey Sidney, were there + seized by some Italian creditors of Sidney. Modiford has been + unable to obtain redress; and the Grand Duke is now prayed to + see his goods restored and any claims Sidney may have upon him + referred to the English Courts. + </p> + <p> + (CXLVI.) To ALFONSO V., KING OF PORTUGAL, <i>April</i> + 1659:<sup>1</sup>—A Francis Hurdidge of London complains + that a ship of his, called <i>The Mary and John</i>, cargo + valued at 70,000 crowns, employed in the Brazil trade in 1649 + and 1650, was seized by the Portuguese. The ship was afterwards + taken from the Portuguese by the Dutch. The Treaty between the + English Commonwealth and Portugal provides for such cases; and + his Portuguese Majesty is requested to make compensation to + Hurdidge to the extent of 25,000 crowns. The man is in great + straits. + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: "<i>Joanni Portugallioe Regi</i>" is the heading in Mr. + Hamilton's copy from the Skinner Transcript; but this is a + mistake (see ante p. 576, note). + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + (CXLVII.) To CHARLES GUSTAVUS, KING OF SWEDEN, <i>April</i> + 1659:—David Fithy, merchant, informs the Protector that, + about a month ago, he contracted to supply to the Navy 150 + sacks of hemp. He has the hemp now at Riga, and a ship ready to + bring it thence for the use of the fleet—"part of which," + the Protector skilfully adds, "has just sailed for the Baltic + for your protection" (i.e. Montague's fleet, despatched this + very month: see ante p. 435). It appears, however, that his + Swedish Majesty has forbidden the exportation of hemp from his + port of Riga without special permission. His Majesty is + requested to give Fithy this permission, that he may be able to + fulfil his contract. The Protector will consider himself much + obliged by the kindness. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + No more letters was poor Richard to write to crowned heads. On + the very day on which the two first of the foregoing were + written, he appeared in Wallingford House, and ordered the + dissolution of the Council of Officers according to the edict of + the Parliament. Next day it was known through all London that the + question was between a dissolution of this Council of officers + and a dissolution of the Parliament itself. The day after, + Thursday, April 21, there was the famous double rendezvous of the + two masses of soldiery round Whitehall to try the question, the + rendezvous for Richard and the Parliament utterly failing, while + that for Fleetwood, Desborough, and the other rebel chiefs, + flooded the streets and St. James's Park. That night, quailing + before the rough threats of Desborough, Richard and his Council + yielded; and on Friday, the 22nd, the indignant Parliament knew + itself to be dissolved, and Richard's Protectorate virtually at + an end. Nominally, it dragged on for a month more. + </p> + <p> + On Thursday, April 21, the day of the dreadful double rendezvous, + and of Desborough's stormy interview with Richard in Whitehall to + compel the dissolution of the Parliament, Milton, in his house in + Petty France, on the very edge of the uproar, was quietly + dictating a private letter. It is that numbered 28 among his + <i>Epistoloe Familiares</i>, and headed "<i>Joanni Badioeo, + Pastori Arausionensi</i>," i.e. "To John Badiaeus, Pastor of + Orange." With some trouble, I have identified this "Badiaeus" + with a certain French JEAN LABADIE, who is characterized by Bayle + as a "schismatic minister, followed like an apostle," and by + another authority as "one of the most dangerous fanatics of the + seventeenth century." The facts of his life, to the moment of our + present concern with him, are given in the accepted French + authorities thus:—Born in 1610 at Bourg-en-Guyenne, the son + of a soldier who had risen to be lieutenant, he had received a + Jesuit education at Bordeaux, had entered the Jesuit order at an + early age, and had become a priest. For fifteen years he had + remained in the order, preaching, and also teaching rhetoric and + philosophy, reputed "a prodigy of talent and piety," but also a + mystic and enthusiast, with fancies that he must found a new + religious sect. While preaching orthodox Catholicism in public, + he had been indoctrinating disciples in private with his + peculiarities; and, when they were numerous enough, he wanted to + leave the Jesuits. By reasonings and kindness, they managed to + retain him for a while; but he grew more odd and visionary, + fasting often, eating only herbs, and having divine revelations. + After a dangerous illness, which brought him to death's door, he + did obtain his dismissal from the Jesuit order in April 1639, and + went over France propagandizing. The Bishop of Amiens, caught by + his eloquence, made him prebendary of a collegiate church in that + town; in connexion with which, and with the Bishop's approval, he + founded a religious association of young women, called St. Mary + Magdalene. All seemed to go well for a time; but at length there + was a scandal about him and a girl in Abbeville, with a burst of + similar scandals about his abuse of the confessional for vicious + purposes. To avoid arrest, he absconded to Paris in August 1644, + and thence to Bazas, where he lived under a feigned name. But the + Bishop of Bazas took him up; he cleared himself to the Bishop and + others, and defied his calumniators. Only for a time; for again + there were scandals, and he was expelled the diocese. Going then + to Toulouse, he gained the confidence of the Archbishop there, + who gave him charge of a convent of nuns. In this post he + developed more systematically his notions of the religious life, + described as a compound of Quietism and Antinomianism, after the + fashion of sects already known in France and Germany, but with + sexual extravangances which, when divulged, raised an indignant + storm. In November 1649, he had to abscond from Toulouse; and, + after various wanderings, in which he called himself "Jean de + Jesus Christ" and obtained popularity as a prophet, he came to + Montauban, and there publicly abjured Roman Catholicism in + October 1650. Elected minister of the Protestant church of that + town in 1652, he lived there for some years in great esteem among + the Protestants, but in deadly feud with the Roman Catholics. The + schism was such that at last the magistrates had to banish him + from the town as a disturber of the peace. Then he had found + refuge in Orange; and he was in some kind of temporary Protestant + pastorship in that town of south-east France when there was this + communication between him and Milton.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Article LABADIE in <i>Nouvelle Biographie Générale</i> + (1859), with additional information from Article on him in the + <i>Biographie Universelle</i> (edit. 1819), and from <i>La Vie + du Sieur Jean Labadie</i> by Bolsec (Lyon, 1664), and some + passages in Bayle's Dictionary (e.g. in Article + <i>Mamillaires</i>). It is from the additional authorities that + I learn the fact of the removal of Labadie from Montauban to + Orange; the Article in the <i>N. Biog. Gen.</i> omits + it.—I have seen two publications of Labadie at + Montauban—one of 1650, entitled <i>Declaration de Jean de + L'Abadie, cydevant prestre</i>, giving his reasons for quitting + the Church of Rome; the other of 1651, entitled <i>Lettre de J. + de L'Abadie à ses amis de la Communion Romaine touchant sa + Declaration</i>. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + TO JEAN LABADIE, MINISTER OF ORANGE. + </p> + <p> + "If I answer you rather late, distinguished and reverend Sir, + our common friend Durie, I believe, will not refuse to let me + transfer the blame of the late answer from myself to him. For, + now that he has communicated to me that paper which you wished + read to me, on the subject of your doings and sufferings in + behalf of the Gospel, I have not deferred preparing this letter + for you, to be given to the first carrier, being really anxious + as to the interpretation you may put upon my long silence. I + owe very great thanks meanwhile to your Du Moulin of Nismes + [not far from Orange], who, by his speeches and most friendly + talk concerning me, has procured me the goodwill of so many + good men in those parts. And truly, though I am not ignorant + that, whether from the fact that I did not, when publicly + commissioned, decline the contest with an adversary of such + name [Salmasius], or on account of the celebrity of the + subject, or, finally, on account of my style of writing, I have + become sufficiently known far and wide, yet my feeling is that + I have real fame only in proportion to the good esteem I have + among good men. That you also are of this way of thinking I see + plainly—you who, kindled by the regard and love of + Christian Truth, have borne so many labours, sustained the + attacks of so many enemies, and who bravely do such actions + every day as prove that, so far from seeking any fame from the + bad, you do not fear rousing against you their most certain + hatred and maledictions. O happy man thou! whom God, from among + so many thousands, otherwise knowing and learned, has snatched + singly from the very gates and jaws of Hell, and called to such + an illustrious and intrepid profession of his Gospel! And at + this moment I have cause for thinking that it has happened by + the singular providence of God that I did not reply to you + sooner. For, when I understood from your letter that, assailed + and besieged as you are on all hands by bitter enemies, you + were looking round, and no wonder, to see where you might, in + the last extremity, should it come to that, find a suitable + refuge, and that England was most to your mind, I rejoiced on + more accounts than one that you had come to this + conclusion,—one reason being the hope of having you here, + and another the delight that you should have so high an opinion + of my country; but the joy was counterbalanced by the regret + that I did not then see any prospect of a becoming provision + for you among us here, especially as you do not know English. + Now, however, it has happened most opportunely that a certain + French minister here, of great age, died a few days ago. The + persons of most influence in the congregation, understanding + that you are by no means safe where you are at present, are + very desirous (I report this not from vague rumour, but on + information from themselves) to have you chosen to the place of + that minister: in fact, they invite you; they have resolved to + pay the expenses of your journey; they promise that you shall + have an income equal to the best of any French minister here, + and that nothing shall be wanting that can contribute to your + pleasant discharge of the pastoral duty among them. Wherefore, + take my advice, Reverend Sir, and fly hither as soon as + possible, to people who are anxious to have you, and where you + will reap a harvest, not perhaps so rich in the goods of this + world, but, as men like you most desire, numerous, I hope, in + souls; and be assured that you will be most welcome here to all + good men, and the sooner the better. Farewell. + </p> + <p> + "Westminster: April 21, 1659." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + It is clear from this letter that Milton had never heard of the + scandals against M. Labadie's moral character, or, if he had, + utterly disbelieved them, and regarded him simply as a convert + from Roman Catholicism whose passionate and aggressive Protestant + fervour had brought intolerable and unjust persecution upon him + in France. Durie was his informant; and, for all we can now know, + Milton's judgment about Labadie may have been the right one, and + the traditional French account of him to this day may be wrong. + It is certainly strange, however, to find Milton befriending with + so much readiness and zeal this French Protestant minister, + against whom there were exactly such scandals abroad as those + which he had himself believed and blazoned about Morus, for the + murder of Morus's reputation over Europe, and his ruin in the + French Protestant Church in particular. Nor does the reported + sequel of Labadie's life, in the ordinary accounts of him, lessen + the wonder.—Labadie did not come to London, as Milton had + hoped. When he received Milton's letter, he was on the wing for + Geneva, where he arrived in June 1659, and where he continued his + preaching. Here, in the very city where Morus had once been, + there still were commotions round him; and, after new wanderings + in Germany, we find him at Middleburg in Holland in 1666, thus + again by chance in a town where Morus had been before him. At + Middleburg he seems to have attained his widest celebrity, + gathering a body of admirers and important adherents, the chief + of whom was "Mademoiselle Schurmann, so versed in the learned + languages." At length a quarrel with M. de Wolzogue, minister of + the Walloon church at Utrecht, brought Labadie into difficulties + with the Walloon Synod and with the State authorities, and he + migrated to Erfurt, and thence to Altona, where he died in 1674, + "in the arms of Mademoiselle Schurmann," who had followed him to + the last. He left a sect called <i>The Labadists</i>, who were + strong for a time, and are perhaps not yet extinct. Among the + beliefs they inherited from him are said to have been + these:—(1) That God may and does deceive man; (2) That + Scripture is not necessary to salvation, the immediate action of + the Spirit on souls being sufficient; (3) That there ought to be + no Baptism of Infants; (4) That truly spiritual believers are not + bound by law and ceremonies; (5) That Sabbath-observance is + unnecessary, all days being alike; (6) That the ordinary + Christian Church is degenerate and decrepit. One sees here + something like a French Quakerism, but with ingredients from + older Anabaptism. Had Milton's letter had the intended effect, + the sect might have had its home in London.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: <i>Nouvelle Biographie Générale</i>, as before.—It is + to be remembered that Milton himself authorized the publication + of his letter to Badiaeus with his other Latin Familiar + Epistles in 1674 (see Vol. I. p. 239). By that time he must + have known the whole subsequent career of Labadie and all the + reports about him; and he cannot even then have thought ill of + him or of Mad'lle Schurmann. To the end, he liked all bold + schismatics and sectaries, if they took a forward direction. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Virtually at an end on the 22nd of April by the enforced + dissolution of the Parliament, Richard's Protectorate was more + visibly at an end on the 7th of May, when the Wallingford-House + chiefs agreed with the Republicans in restoring the Rump. Eight + days after that event Milton was called on to write two letters + for the new Republican authorities. They were as follows:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + (CXLVIII.) TO CHARLES GUSTAVUS, KING OF SWEDEN, <i>May</i> 15, + 1659:—"Most serene and most potent King, and very dear + Friend: As it has pleased God, the best and all-powerful, with + whom alone are all changes of Kingdoms and Commonwealths, to + restore Us to our pristine authority and the supreme + administration of English affairs, we have thought it good in + the first place to inform your Majesty of the fact, and + moreover to signify to you both our high regard for your + Majesty, as a most potent Protestant prince, and also our + desire to promote to the utmost of our power such a peace + between you and the King of Denmark, himself likewise a very + potent Protestant prince, as may not be brought about without + our exertions and most willing good offices. Our pleasure + therefore is that our internuncio extraordinary, Philip + Meadows, be continued in our name in exactly the same + employment which he has hitherto discharged with your Majesty + for this Commonwealth; and to that end we, by these presents, + give him the same power of making proposals and of treating and + dealing with your Majesty which he had by his last commendatory + letters. Whatever shall be transacted and concluded by him in + our name, the same we pledge our promise, with God's good help, + to confirm and ratify. May God long preserve your Majesty as a + pillar and defence of the Protestant cause.—WILLIAM + LENTHALL, <i>Speaker of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of + England</i>." + </p> + <p> + (CXLIX) To FREDERICK III., KING OF DENMARK, <i>May</i> 15, + 1659:—The counterpart of the foregoing. His Danish + Majesty, addressed as "most serene King and very dear Friend" + is informed by Lenthall of the change in English affairs, and + of the sympathy the present English Government feels with him + in his adversity. They will do their utmost to secure a peace + between him and the King of Sweden; and Philip Meadows, their + Envoy Extraordinary to the King of Sweden, has full powers to + treat with his Danish Majesty too for that end. "God grant to + your Majesty, as soon as possible, a happy and joyful outcome + from all those difficulties of your affairs in which you behave + so bravely and magnanimously!" + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + On the 25th of May Richard sent in his reluctant abdication, + leaving the Rump, which had already assumed the supreme + authority, to exercise that authority without further challenge + or opposition on his part. Most of the public officials remained + in their posts, and Milton remained In his. After five years and + five months of Secretaryship under a Single-Person Government, he + found himself again Secretary under exactly such a Republican + Government as he had served originally, consisting now of the + small Parliament of the Restored Rumpers and of a Council of + State appointed by that Parliament. In this Council of State were + Bradshaw, Vane, Sir James Harrington, St. John, Hasilrig, Scott, + Walton, and Whitlocke, who had been members of all the first five + Councils of the Commonwealth, from that which had invited Milton + to the Secretaryship in 1649 to that which Cromwell forcibly + dissolved in 1653, besides Fairfax, Fleetwood, Ludlow, John + Jones, Wallop, Challoner, Neville, Dixwell, Downes, Morley, + Thompson, and Algernon Sidney, whom Milton had known as members + of one or more of those five Councils, and Lambert and + Desborough, who had not been in any of them, but were among his + later acquaintances. + </p> + <h2> + <a name="Cc2s2" id="Cc2s2">CHAPTER II.</a> + </h2> + <h3> + <i>Second Section.</i> + </h3> + <h3> + MILTON'S LIFE AND SECRETARYSHIP THROUGH THE ANARCHY: MAY + 1659—FEB. 1659-60. + </h3> + <p> + <i>FIRST STAGE OF THE ANARCHY, OR THE RESTORED RUMP</i> + (MAY—OCT. 1659):—FEELINGS AND POSITION OF MILTON IN + THE NEW STATE OF THINGS: HIS SATISFACTION ON THE WHOLE, AND THE + REASONS FOR IT: LETTER OF MOSES WALL TO MILTON: RENEWED AGITATION + AGAINST TITHES AND CHURCH-ESTABLISHMENT: VOTES ON THAT SUBJECT IN + THE RUMP: MILTON'S CONSIDERATIONS TOUCHING THE LIKELIEST MEANS TO + REMOVE HIRELINGS OUT OF THE CHURCH: ACCOUNT OF THE PAMPHLET, WITH + EXTRACTS: ITS THOROUGH-GOING VOLUNTARYISM: + CHURCH-DISESTABLISHMENT DEMANDED ABSOLUTELY, WITHOUT COMPENSATION + FOR VESTED INTERESTS: THE APPEAL FRUITLESS, AND THE SUBJECT + IGNORED BY THE RUMP: DISPERSION OF THAT BODY BY LAMBERT. + </p> + <p> + <i>SECOND STAGE OF THE ANARCHY, OR THE WALLINGFORD-HOUSE + INTERRUPTION</i> (OCT.—DEC. 1659):—MILTON'S THOUGHTS + ON LAMBERT'S COUP D'ÉTAT IN HIS <i>LETTER TO A FRIEND CONCERNING + THE RUPTURES OF THE COMMONWEALTH</i>: THE LETTER IN THE MAIN + AGAINST LAMBERT AND IN DEFENCE OF THE RUMP: ITS EXTRAORDINARY + PRACTICAL PROPOSAL OF A GOVERNMENT BY TWO PERMANENT CENTRAL + BODIES: THE PROPOSAL COMPARED WITH THE ACTUAL ADMINISTRATION BY + THE <i>COMMITTEE OF SAFETY</i> AND THE <i>WALLINGFORD-HOUSE + COUNCIL OF OFFICERS</i>: MILTON STILL NOMINALLY IN THE LATIN + SECRETARYSHIP: MONEY WARRANT OF OCT. 25, 1659, RELATING TO + MILTON, MARVELL, AND EIGHTY-FOUR OTHER OFFICIALS: NO TRACE OF + ACTUAL SERVICE BY MILTON FOR THE NEW <i>COMMITTEE OF SAFETY</i>: + HIS MEDITATIONS THROUGH THE TREATY BETWEEN THE WALLINGFORD-HOUSE + GOVERNMENT AND MONK IN SCOTLAND: HIS MEDITATIONS THROUGH THE + COMMITTEE-DISCUSSIONS AS TO THE FUTURE MODEL OF GOVERNMENT: HIS + INTEREST IN THIS AS NOW THE PARAMOUNT QUESTION, AND HIS + COGNISANCE OF THE MODELS OF HARRINGTON AND THE ROTA CLUB: + WHITLOCKE'S NEW CONSTITUTION DISAPPOINTING TO MILTON: TWO MORE + LETTERS TO OLDENBURG AND YOUNG RANELAGH: GOSSIP FROM ABROAD IN + CONNECTION WITH THESE LETTERS: MORUS AGAIN, AND THE COUNCIL OF + FRENCH PROTESTANTS AT LOUDUN: END OF THE WALLINGFORD-HOUSE + INTERRUPTION. + </p> + <p> + <i>THIRD STAGE OF THE ANARCHY, OR THE SECOND RESTORATION OF THE + RUMP</i> (DEC. 1659-FEB. 1659-60):—MILTON'S DESPONDENCY AT + THIS PERIOD: ABATEMENT OF HIS FAITH IN THE RUMP: HIS THOUGHTS + DURING THE MARCH OF MONK FROM SCOTLAND AND AFTER MONK'S ARRIVAL + IN LONDON: HIS STUDY OF MONK NEAR AT HAND AND MISTRUST OF THE + OMENS: HIS INTEREST FOR A WHILE IN THE QUESTION OF THE + PRECONSTITUTION OF THE NEW PARLIAMENT PROMISED BY THE RUMP: HIS + ANXIETY THAT IT SHOULD BE A REPUBLICAN PARLIAMENT BY MERE + SELF-ENLARGEMENT OF THE RUMP: HIS PREPARATION OF A NEW REPUBLICAN + PAMPHLET: THE PUBLICATION POSTPONED BY MONK'S SUDDEN DEFECTION + FROM THE RUMP, THE ROASTING OF THE RUMP IN THE CITY, AND THE + RESTORATION OF THE SECLUDED MEMBERS TO THEIR PLACES IN THE + PARLIAMENT: MILTON'S DESPONDENCY COMPLETE. + </p> + <p> + With what feelings was it that Milton found himself once more in + the employment of his old masters, the original Republicans or + Commonwealth's-men? That there may have been some sense of + awkwardness in the re-connexion is not unlikely. Had he not for + six years been a most conspicuous Cromwellian? Had he not + justified again and again in print Cromwell's <i>coup d'état</i> + of 1653, by which the Rump had been turned out of power, and + which the now Restored Rumpers, and especially such of their + leaders as Vane, Scott, Hasilrig, and Bradshaw, were bound to + remember as Cromwell's unpardonable sin, and the woeful beginning + of an illegitimate interregnum? He had justified it, hardly + anonymously, in his Letter to a Gentleman in the Country, + published in May 1653, only a fortnight after the fact (Vol. IV. + pp. 519-523). He had justified it a year later in his <i>Defensio + Secunda</i> of 1654, published some months after the Protectorate + had actually begun. In that famous pamphlet, he had, amid much + else to the same effect, made special reference to Cromwell's + Dissolution of the Rump in these words addressed to Cromwell + himself: "When you saw delays being contrived, and every one more + intent on his private interests than on the public good, and the + people complaining of being cheated of their hopes and + circumvented by the power of a few, you did what they themselves + had so often declined to do when asked, and put an end to their + Government" (Vol. IV. p. 604). Rumpers of tenacious memories + cannot have forgotten such published utterances of Milton, while + the fact that he had for some years past been an Oliverian, a + Protectoratist, a Court-official for Oliver and Richard, was + patent to all. Yet, now that the old Rumpers were restored to + power, the survivors of the original "few" whose dissolution by + Cromwell he had publicly praised and defended, here was Milton + still in his secretaryship and writing the first foreign letters + they required. + </p> + <p> + How was this? It is hardly a sufficient answer to say that it is + quite customary for officials to remain in their places through + changes of Government. On the one hand, Milton was not a man to + remain in an element with which he could not conscientiously + accord; and, on the other, the Rumpers were rather careful in + seeking public servants of their own sort. Thurloe was out of the + general Secretaryship; and one of the first acts of the restored + House was to punish Mr. Henry Scobell, Clerk of the Parliament, + for having entered, the fact of Cromwell's Dissolution of the + House on April 20, 1653, in the Journals tinder that date. They + ordered a Bill to be brought in for repealing the Act by which + Scobell held the Clerkship.<sup>1</sup> The truth, then, is that + Milton was not, on the whole, displeased by the return of his old + friends to power. Though he had justified Cromwell's dissolution + of the Rump and had become openly an Oliverian at the beginning + of the Protectorate, he had never ceased to regard with + admiration and affection such of the old Republicans as Vane, + Bradshaw, and Overton. It had probably all along been a question + with him whether the blame of their disablement under the + Protectorate lay more with themselves or with Oliver. Then, as we + have abundantly seen, there is reason for believing that before + the end of the Protectorate his own Oliverianism or + Cromwellianism had become weaker than at first. The Miltonic + reserves, as we have called them, with which he had given his + adhesion to the Protectorate even at first, had taken stronger + and stronger development in his mind; and, whatever he found to + admire in Cromwell's Government all in all, the whole course of + that Government in Church matters had been a disappointment. + Milton wanted to see Church and State entirely separated; + Cromwell had mixed them, intertwined them, more than ever. Milton + wanted to see the utter abolition in England of anything that + could be called a clergy; Cromwell had made it one of the chief + objects of his rule to maintain a clergy and extend it massively. + Whether this policy might not yet be reversed had been one of + Milton's first questions with himself after Cromwell's death; and + his <i>Treatise of Civil Power in Ecclesiastical Causes</i>, + addressed to Richard's Parliament, had been a challenge to that + Parliament not to shrink from the great attempt. In that + treatise, it is not too much to say, Milton had shaken hands + again with the old Republican party. In the preface to it he had + dwelt fondly on his former connexion with them, on his + recollection especially of the speeches he had heard from some of + them in the old Councils of State of the Commonwealth, when he + had first the honour to sit there as Latin Secretary, and listen + to their private debates. What clearness then, what decisiveness, + in such men as Vane and Bradshaw, on that "important article of + Christianity," the necessary distinctness of the Civil from the + Religious! Ah! could those old days be back! He had written as if + those days had not been satisfactory, as if the dispersion of his + old masters of those days had been necessary; but, in so writing, + had he not been too hasty? So he had been asking himself of late; + and though, as Richard's Latin Secretary, and writing under his + Protectorate, he had not said a word against the established + Protectoral Government, he had expressed generally his conviction + that England would never be right till either those charged with + the Government should be men "discerning between Civil and + Religious" or none but such should be charged with the + Government. Now, however, in May 1659, he might speak more + plainly. Richard's Government had been swept + away;—Richard's Parliament, which he had addressed, was no + more in being; and, by a revolution which he had not expected, + and in which he had taken no part, the pure Republic, with the + relics of the Parliament that had first created it, was again the + established order. All round about him the men he respected most + were exulting in the change, and calling it a revival of "the + Good Old Cause." Without pronouncing on the change in all its + aspects, he could join in the exultation for a special reason. + Would not the restored Republican Parliament and their Councils + of State see it to be part of their duty to assert at last the + principle of absolute Religious Voluntaryism? + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals, May 19, 1659. + </p> + </div> + <p> + This representation of Milton's position at the time of the + restoration of the Rump is confirmed by a private letter then + addressed to him. The writer was a certain Moses Wall, of Causham + or Caversham in Oxfordshire, a scholar and Republican opinionist + of whom there are traces in Hartlib's correspondence and + elsewhere.<sup>1</sup> Milton had recently written to him, + sending him perhaps a copy of his <i>Treatise of Civil Power in + Ecclesiastical Causes</i>; and this is Wall's + reply—written, it will be observed, the very day after + Richard's abdication:— + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Worthington's Diary and Correspondence, by Crossley, I. 355 + and 365. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + "Sir, + </p> + <p> + "I received yours the day after you wrote, and do humbly thank + you that you are pleased to honour me with your letters. I + confess I have (even in my privacy in the country) oft had + thoughts about you, and that with much respect for your + friendliness to truth in your early years and in bad times. But + I was uncertain whether your relation to the Court (though I + think that a Commonwealth was more friendly to you than a + Court) had not clouded your former light; but your last book + resolved that doubt. + </p> + <p> + "You complain of the non-progressency of the nation, and of its + retrograde motion of late, in liberty and spiritual truths. It + is much to be bewailed; but, yet, let us pity human frailty. + When those who had made deep protestations of their zeal for + our liberty, both spiritual and civil, and made the fairest + offers to be the asserters thereof, and whom we thereupon + trusted,—when these, being instated in power, shall + betray the good thing committed to them, and lead us back to + Egypt, and by that force which we gave them to win us liberty + hold us fast in chains,—what can poor people do? You know + who they were that watched our Saviour's sepulchre to keep him + from rising [soldiers! see Matthew XXVII. and XXVIII.]. + Besides, whilst people are not free, but straitened in + accommodations for life, their spirits will be dejected and + servile; and, conducing to that end [of rousing them], there + should be an improving of our native commodities, as our + manufactures, our fishery, our fens, forests, and commons, and + our trade at sea, &c.: which would give the body of the + nation a comfortable subsistence. And the breaking that cursed + yoke of Tithes would much help thereto. Also another thing I + cannot but mention; which is that the Norman Conquest and + Tyranny is continued upon the nation without any thought of + removing it: I mean the tenure of land by copyhold, and holding + for life under a lord, or rather tyrant, of a manor; whereby + people care not to improve their land by cost upon it, not + knowing how soon themselves or theirs may be outed it, nor what + the house is in which they live, for the same reason; and they + are far more enslaved to the lord of the manor than the rest of + the nation is to a king or supreme magistrate. + </p> + <p> + "We have waited for liberty; but it must be God's work and not + man's: who thinks it sweet to maintain his pride and worldly + interest to the gratifying of the flesh, whatever becomes of + the precious liberty of mankind. But let us not despond, but do + our duty; God will carry on that blessed work, in despite of + all opposites, and to their ruin if they persist therein. + </p> + <p> + "Sir, my humble request is that you would proceed, and give us + that other member of the distribution mentioned in your book: + viz. that Hire doth greatly impede truth and liberty. It is + like, if you do, you shall find opposers; but remember that + saying,<i>'Beatius est pati quam frui,'</i> or, in the + Apostle's words, James V. 11. [Greek: Makarizomen tous + hypomenontas] ['We count them happy that endure']. I have + sometimes thought (concurring with your assertion) of that + storied voice that should speak from heaven when Ecclesiastics + were endowed with worldly preferments, <i>'Hodie venenum + infunditur in Ecelesiam'</i> ['This day is poison poured into + the Church']; for, to use the speech of Gen. IV. <i>ult.</i>, + according to the sense which it hath in the Hebrew, 'Then began + men to corrupt the worship of God.' I shall tell you a supposal + of mine; which is this:—Mr. Durie has bestowed about + thirty years' time in travel, conference, and writing, to + reconcile Calvinists and Lutherans, and that with little or no + success. But the shortest way were:—Take away + ecclesiastical dignities, honours, and preferments on both + sides, and all would soon be hushed; those ecclesiastics would + be quiet, and then the people would come forth into truth and + liberty. But I will not engage in this quarrel. Yet I shall lay + this engagement upon myself,—to remain + </p> + <p> + "Your faithful friend and servant, + </p> + <p> + "M. Wall.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <p> + "Causham: May 26, 1659." + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Copy in Ayscough: MS. in British Museum, No. 4292 (f. 121); + where the copyist "J. Owen" (the Rev. J. Owen of Rochdale) + certifies it as from the original. It was printed, not very + correctly, by Richard Baron, in 1756, in his preface to his + edition of the <i>Eikonoklastes.</i> + </p> + </div> + <p> + Here, from a man evidently after Milton's own heart on the Church + question, we have Milton's welcome back into the ranks of the old + Republicans. And more and more through the five months of the + first Restoration of the Rump (May 7—Oct. 13) the friends + of "the good old cause" had reason to know that Milton was again + one of themselves. It happens, indeed, that we have no more + letters of his for the Restored Rump Government than the two of + May 15, already quoted, which he wrote for the restored House, + and which were signed by Speaker Lenthall. Those two letters + close the entire series of the known and extant State-Letters of + Milton. He and Marvell, however, were still in their + Secretaryship, drawing their salaries as before; and of the + completeness of Milton's re-adherence to the Republican + Government there is evidence more massive and striking than could + have been furnished by any number of farther official letters by + him for the Rump or its Council. + </p> + <p> + Milton, had not judged wrongly in supposing that the question of + Church-disestablishment would now be made part and parcel of "the + good old cause." We have already glanced at the facts (p. 466), + but they may be given here more in detail:—Hardly had the + Rump been reconstituted when petitions for Disestablishment, in + the form of petitions for the abolition of Tithes, began to pour + in upon it. One such, called "The Humble Representation and + Petition of many well-affected persons in the counties of + Somerset, Wilts, and some parts of Devon, Dorset, and Hampshire," + was read in the House on the 14th of June. The petitioners were + thanked, and informed that the House resolved "to give + encouragement to a godly, preaching, learned ministry throughout + the nation, and for that end to continue the payment of Tithes + till they can find out some other more equal and comfortable + maintenance for the ministry, and satisfaction of the people; + which they intend with all convenient speed." That day, + accordingly, in a division of thirty-eight Yeas (Carew Raleigh + and Sir William Brereton tellers) to thirty-eight Noes (Hasilrig + and Colonel White tellers) it was carried, by the Speaker's + casting vote, to refer the question of some substitute for Tithes + to a Grand Committee. On the 27th of June, there having been + other petitions against Tithes in the meantime, signed by "many + thousands," the House came to a more definite resolution, which + they ordered to be printed and published by the Judges in their + circuits. It was "That this Parliament doth declare that, for the + encouragement of a godly, preaching, learned ministry throughout + the nation, the payment of Tithes shall continue as now they are, + <i>unless</i> this Parliament shall find out some other," &c. + As the word <i>unless</i> had been, substituted for the word + <i>until</i> without a division, it is evident that the House had + gone back in their intentions in the course of the fortnight, and + were less disposed to commit themselves to any serious + interference with the Church Establishment as left by Cromwell. + The disappointment to the petitioning thousands must have been + great. Still, the question had been raised, and might be regarded + as only adjourned. What was wanted was continued agitation out of + doors, more petitioning and more pamphleteering.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates. + </p> + </div> + <p> + It was in this last way that Milton could help. As advised by his + friend Moses Wall, he had been busy over that second + Disestablishment tract which he had promised; and in August 1659 + it appeared in this form: <i>"Considerations touching the + likeliest means to remove Hirelings out of the Church. Wherein is + also discourc'd of Tithes, Church-fees, Church Revenues; and, + whether any maintenance of ministers can be settl'd by law. The + author J.M. London, Printed by T.N. for L. Chapman at the Crown + in Popes-head Alley,</i> 1659." The volume is a very small + octavo, and contains eighteen unnumbered pages of prefatory + address to the Parliament in large open type, signed "John + Milton" in full, followed by 153 pages of text.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Copy in Thomason Collection, with date "Aug." marked on + title-page—month only, no day. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The Address to the Parliament deserves particular notice. The + following is the main portion of it, with two phrases + Italicised:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "Owing to your protection, Supreme Senate, this liberty of + writing which I have used these eighteen years on all occasions + to assert the just rights and freedoms both of Church and + State, and so far approved as to have been trusted with the + representment and defence of your actions to all Christendom + against an adversary of no mean repute, to whom should I + address what I still publish on the same argument but to you, + whose magnanimous counsels first opened and unbound the age + from a double bondage under Prelatical and Regal tyranny, above + our own hopes heartening us to look up at last like Men and + Christians from the slavish dejection wherein from father to + son we were bred up and taught, and thereby deserving of these + nations, if they be not barbarously ingrateful, to be + acknowledged, next under God, <i>the authors and best patrons + of Religious and Civil Liberty that ever these Islands brought + forth?</i> The care and tuition of whose peace and safety, + <i>after a short but scandalous night of interruption,</i> is + now again, by a new dawning of God's miraculous Providence + among us, revolved upon your shoulders. And to whom more + appertain these Considerations which I propound than to + yourselves, and the debate before you, though I trust of no + difficulty, yet at present of great expectation, not whether ye + will gratify, were it no more than so, but whether ye will + hearken to the just petition of many thousands best affected + both to Religion and to this your return, or whether ye will + satisfy (which you never can) the covetous pretences and + demands of insatiable Hirelings, whose disaffection ye well + know hath to yourselves and your resolutions? That I, though + among many others in this common concernment, interpose to your + deliberations what my thoughts also are, your own judgment and + the success thereof hath given me the confidence: which + requests but this—that, if I have prosperously, God so + favouring me, defended the public cause of this Commonwealth to + foreigners, ye would not think the reason and ability whereon + ye trusted once (and repent not) your whole reputation to the + world either grown less by more maturity and longer study or + less available in English than in another tongue: but that, if + it sufficed, some years past, to convince and satisfy the + unengaged of other nations in the justice of your doings, + though then held paradoxal, it may as well suffice now against + weaker opposition in matters (except here in England, with a + spirituality of men devoted to their temporal gain) of no + controversy else among Protestants." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + This is, unmistakeably, a public testimony of Milton's + re-adhesion to the Rumpers, with something like an expression of + regret that he had ever parted from them. After all, he could + call them "the authors and best patrons of religious and civil + liberty that ever these Islands brought forth"; and, with this + renewed conviction, and remembering also their former confidence + in himself, especially in the Salmasian controversy, he could now + congratulate them and the country on their return to power. But + is not the Address also a recantation of his Oliverianism? To + some extent, it must be so interpreted. It seems utterly + impossible, indeed, that the phrase "<i>a short but scandalous + night of interruption</i>" was intended to apply to the entire + six years of the Cromwellian Dictatorship and Protectorship. That + had not been a "short" interruption, for it had exceeded in + length the whole duration of the Commonwealth it had interrupted; + and it would be the most marvellous inconsistency on record if + Milton could ever have brought himself to call it "scandalous." + Who had written the panegyric on Cromwell and his actually + established Protectorship in the <i>Defensio Secunda?</i> Who had + been Oliver's Latin Secretary from first to last, and penned for + him his despatches on the Piedmontese massacre and all his + greatest besides? The likelihood, therefore, is that "the short + but scandalous night of interruption" in Milton's mind was the + fortnight or so of Wallingford-House usurpation which broke up + Richard's Parliament and Protectorate, and from the continuance + of which, with all the inconveniences of a mere military + despotism, the restoration of the Rump had seemed a happy rescue. + But, though this single phrase may be thus explained, the tone of + the whole address intimates far less of gratitude to Oliver dead + than there had been of admiration for Oliver living. And the + reason at this point is most obvious. Was it not precisely + because Cromwell had failed to fulfil Milton's expectation of + him, in his sonnet of May 1652, that he would deliver the + Commonwealth from the plague of "hireling wolves," calling + themselves a Clergy—was it not because Cromwell from first + to last had pursued a contrary policy—that it remained for + Milton now, seven years after the date of that sonnet, to have to + offer, as a private thinker, and on mere printed paper, his own + poor <i>Considerations touching the likeliest means to remove + Hirelings out of the Church?</i> It was not in a pamphlet on that + subject, wherever else, that Milton could say his best for the + memory of Cromwell. + </p> + <p> + After some preliminary observations connecting the present + treatise with its forerunner; Milton opens his subject + thus:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "Hire of itself is neither a thing unlawful, nor a word of any + evil note, signifying no more than a due recompense or reward, + as when our Saviour saith, 'The labourer is worthy of his + hire.' That which makes it so dangerous in the Church, and + properly makes HIRELING a word always of evil signification, is + either the excess thereof or the undue manner of giving and + taking it. What harm the excess thereof brought to the Church + perhaps was not found by experience till the days of + Constantine; who, out of his zeal, thinking he could be never + too liberally a nursing father of the Church, might be not + unfitly said to have either overlaid it or choked it in the + nursing. Which was foretold, as is recorded in Ecclesiastical + traditions, by a voice heard from Heaven, on the very day that + those great donations of Church-revenues were given, crying + aloud, <i>'This day is poison poured into the Church'</i> [Note + the adoption of the anecdote from Mr. Wall's letter]. Which the + event soon after verified, as appears by another no less + ancient observation, that 'Religion brought forth wealth, and + the Daughter devoured the Mother.' But, long ere <i>wealth</i> + came into the Church, so soon as any <i>gain</i> appeared in + Religion, HIRELINGS were apparent, drawn in long before by the + very scent thereof [References to Judas as the first hireling, + to Simon Magus as the second, and to various texts in the Acts + and Epistles proving that among the early preachers of + Christianity there were men who preached 'for filthy lucre's + sake,' or made a mere trade of the Gospel] .... Thus we see + that not only the excess of Hire in wealthiest times, but also + the undue and vicious taking or giving it, though but small or + mean, as in the primitive times, gave to hirelings occasion, + though not intended yet sufficient, to creep at first into the + Church. Which argues also the difficulty, or rather the + impossibility, to remove them quite, unless every minister + were, as St. Paul, contented to teach <i>gratis:</i> but few + such are to be found. As therefore we cannot justly take away + all Hire in the Church, because we cannot otherwise quite + remove Hirelings, so are we not, for the impossibility of + removing them all, to use therefore no endeavour that fewest + may come in, but rather, in regard the evil, do what we can, + will always be incumbent and unavoidable, to use our utmost + diligence how it may be least dangerous. Which will be + likeliest effected if we consider,—first what recompense + God hath ordained should be given to ministers of the Church + (for that a recompense ought to be given them, and may by them + justly be received, our Saviour himself, from the very light of + reason and of equity, hath declared, Luke X. 7, '<i>The + labourer is worthy of his hire'</i>); <i>next,</i> by whom; + and, <i>lastly,</i> in what manner." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + In this passage and in other passages throughout the Treatise it + is clear that Milton's ideal was a Church in which no minister + should take pay at all for his preaching or ministry, whether pay + from the state or from his hearers, but every minister should, as + St. Paul did, preach, absolutely and systematically + <i>gratis</i>, deriving his livelihood and his leisure to preach + from his private resources, or, if he had none such, then from + the practice of some calling or handicraft apart from his + preaching. Deep down in Milton's mind, notwithstanding his + professed deference to Christ's words, "<i>The labourer is worthy + of his hire,</i>" we can see this conviction that it would be + better for the world if religious doctrine, or in fact doctrine + of any kind, were never bought or sold, but all spiritual + teachers were to abhor the very touch of money for their lessons, + being either gentlemen of independent means who could propagate + the truth splendidly from high motives, or else tent-makers, + carpenters, and bricklayers, passionate with the possession of + some truth to propagate. This, however, having been acknowledged + to be perhaps an impossibility on any great scale, he goes on to + inquire, as proposed, what the legitimate and divinely-appointed + hire of Gospel-ministers is, from whom it may come, and in what + manner. The general result is as follows:—I. The Tithes of + the old Jewish dispensation are utterly abolished under the + Gospel. Nearly half the treatise is an argument to this effect, + and consequently for the immediate abolition of the tithe-system + in England. Here Milton lends his whole force to the popular + current on this subject among the friends of "the good old + cause," advocating those petitions to the Rump of which he has + spoken in his preface. But he goes farther than the abolition of + tithes. He will not allow of any statutory substitute for tithes, + any taxation of the people in any form for the support of + Religion. The only substitute for tithes which he discusses + specifically is compulsory church-fees for ministerial offices, + such as baptisms, marriages, and burials. These, as well as + tithes, he utterly condemns; and he winds up this part of his + inquiry thus: "Seeing, then, that God hath given to ministers + under the Gospel that only which is justly given them (that is to + say, a due and moderate livelihood, the hire of their labour), + and that the heave-offering of Tithes is abolished with the Altar + (yes, though not abolished, yet lawless as they enjoy them), + their Melchizedekian right also trivial and groundless, and both + tithes and fees, if exacted or established, unjust and + scandalous, we may hope, with <i>them</i> removed, to remove + Hirelings in some good measure." II. It is maintained that the + lawful maintenance of the ministry can consist only in the + voluntary offerings of those they instruct, whether tendered + individually, or collected into a common treasury for + distribution. The flocks ought to maintain their own pastors, and + no others are bound to contribute for the purpose. But what of + poor neighbourhoods that cannot maintain pastors and yet need + them most sorely? Milton has unbounded confidence that these will + be overtaken and provided for by the zeal of pious individuals, + or by "the charity of richer congregations," taking the form of + itinerant missions. "If it be objected that this itinerary + preaching will not serve to plant the Gospel in those places + unless they who are sent abide there some competent time, I + answer that, if they stay there for a year or two, which was the + longest time usually staid by the Apostles in one place, it may + suffice to teach them who will attend and learn all the points of + Religion necessary to salvation: then, sorting them into several + congregations of a moderate number, out of the ablest and + zealousest of them to create elders, who, exercising and + requiring from themselves what they have learnt (for no learning + is retained without constant exercise and methodical repetition), + may teach and govern the rest: and, so exhorted to continue + faithful and stedfast, they may securely be committed to the + providence of God and the guidance of his Holy Spirit till God + may offer some opportunity to visit them again and to confirm + them." The only concession Milton will make is that, in cases of + urgent necessity, application may be made to magistrates or other + trustees of charitable funds for aid in these temporary and + itinerant missions. For the rest, it will be seen, it is with + difficulty that he allows the existence of a permanent pastorate + anywhere. If there is to be a body of men in the community making + a business of preaching, and if in towns and populous + neighbourhoods congregations choose to retain the services, for + life or for an indefinite period, of particular ministerial + persons selected from this body, and to erect handsome buildings + convenient for such services, well and good, or rather it cannot + be helped; but the picture most to Milton's fancy is that of an + England generally, or at all events of a rural England, without + any fixed or regular parish pastors or parish-churches, but each + little local cluster of believers meeting on Sundays or other + days in chapel or barn for mutual edification, or to be + instructed by such simple teaching elders as may easily, from + time to time, be produced within itself. Add the itinerant agency + of more practiced and professional preachers, circulating + periodically among the local clusters, to rouse them or keep them + alive; and nothing more would be needed. There would be plenty of + preaching, and good preaching, everywhere; but, as most of it + would be spontaneous by hard-handed men known among their + neighbours, and working, like their neighbours, for their + ordinary subsistence, the preaching profession, as a means of + income, would be reduced to a minimum. In a Church so constituted + there would still be hirelings, especially in large towns and + where there were wealthy congregations; but the number of such + would be greatly reduced. III. Under the third head of the + "manner" of the recompense to ministers, where there is any + recompense at all, the substance of Milton's remarks is that the + purely voluntary character of the recompense must be studiously + maintained. It must be purely an alms, an oblation of + benevolence. Hence it should never take the form of a + life-endowment, or even of a contract conferring a legal title to + demand payment. The appearance of a minister of the Gospel in a + law-court to sue for money supposed to be due to him for his + ministerial services, even by promise or agreement, is spoken of + with disgust. Were it the understood rule that there could be no + recovery by a minister even of his promised salary, would not + that also tend in some degree to keep Hirelings out of the + Church? + </p> + <p> + The pamphlet, it will be seen, is more outspoken and + thoroughgoing than its forerunner. It contains also more of those + individual passages that represent Milton in his rough mood of + sarcastic strength, though none of such beauty or eloquence as + are to be found in his earlier pamphlets. The following are + characteristic:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + <i>Mr. Prynne's Defences of Tithes</i>:—"To heap such + unconvincing citations as these in Religion, whereof the + Scripture only is our rule, argues not much learning nor + judgment, but the lost labour of much unprofitable reading. And + yet a late hot Querist for Tithes, whom ye may know, by his + wits lying ever beside him in the margin, to be ever beside his + wits in the text,—a fierce Reformer once, now rankled + with a contrary heat,—would send us back, very reformedly + indeed, to learn Reformation from Tyndarus and Rebuffas, two + Canonical Promoters."<sup>1</sup> + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: The reference is to Prynne's <i>Ten Considerable Queries + concerning Tithes, &c., against the Petitioners and + Petitions for their Total Abolition</i>: 1659. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + <i>Marriages and Clerical Concern in the same</i>:—"As + for Marriages, that ministers should meddle with them, as not + sanctioned or legitimate without their celebration, I find no + ground in Scripture either of precept or example. Likeliest it + is (which our Selden hath well observed <i>I. II. c. 28. Ux. + Heb.</i>) that in imitation of heathen priests, who were wont + at nuptials to use many rites and ceremonies, and especially + judging it would be profitable and the increase of their + authority not to be spectators only in business of such + concernment to the life of man, they insinuated that marriage + was not holy without their benediction, and for the better + colour made it a Sacrament; being of itself a Civil Ordinance, + a household contract, a thing indifferent and free to the whole + race of mankind, not as religious, but as men. Best, indeed, + undertaken to religious ends, as the Apostle saith (1 Cor. VII. + '<i>In the Lord</i>'); yet not therefore invalid or unholy + without a minister and his pretended necessary hallowing, more + than any other act, enterprise, or contract, of civil + life,—which ought all to be done also in the Lord and to + his glory,—all which, no less than marriage, were by the + cunning of priests heretofore, as material to their profit, + transacted at the altar. Our Divines deny it to be a Sacrament; + yet retained the celebration, till prudently a late Parliament + recovered the civil liberty of marriage from their + encroachment, and transferred the ratifying and registering + thereof from their Canonical Shop to the proper cognisance of + Civil Magistrates" [The Marriages Act of the Barebones + Parliament; in accordance with which had been Milton's own + second marriage: see ante p. 281, and Vol. IV. p. 511]. + </p> + <p> + <i>Sitting under a Stated Minister:</i>—"If men be not + all their lifetime under a teacher to learn Logic, Natural + Philosophy, Ethics, or Mathematics, ... certainly it is not + necessary to the attainment of Christian knowledge that men + should sit all their life long at the foot of a pulpited + divine, while he, a lollard indeed over his elbow-cushion, in + almost the seventh part of forty or fifty years, teaches them + scarce half the principles of Religion, and his sheep ofttimes + sit the while to as little purpose of benefiting as the sheep + in their pews at Smithfield." + </p> + <p> + <i>Congregations for mutual + Edification:</i>—"Notwithstanding the gaudy superstition + of some devoted still ignorantly to temples, we may be well + assured that He who disdained not to be laid in a manger + disdains not to be preached in a barn, and that by such + meetings as these, being indeed most apostolical and primitive, + they will in a short time advance more in Christian knowledge + and reformation of life than by the many years preaching of + such an incumbent,—I may say such an incubus + ofttimes,—as will be meanly hired to abide long in those + places." + </p> + <p> + <i>A Reflection on Cromwell for his Established + Church:</i>—"For the magistrate, in person of a nursing + father, to make the Church his mere ward, as always in + minority,-the Church to whom he ought as a Magistrate (Isaiah + XLIS. 23) '<i>to bow down with his face toward the earth and + lick up the dust of her feet,</i>'—her to subject to his + political drifts and conceived opinions by mastering her + revenue, and so by his examinant Committees to circumscribe her + free election of ministers,—is neither just nor pious: no + honour done to the Church, but a plain dishonour." + </p> + <p> + <i>University Education of Ministers:—State of the + Facts:</i> "They pretend that their education, either at School + or University, hath been very chargeable, and therefore ought + to be repaired in future by a plentiful maintenance: whereas it + is well known that the better half of them, and ofttimes poor + and pitiful boys, of no merit or promising hopes that might + entitle them to the public provision but their poverty and the + unjust favour of friends, have had the most of their breeding, + both at School and University, by scholarships, exhibitions, + and fellowships, at the public cost,—which might engage + them the rather to give freely, as they have freely received. + Or, if they have missed of these helps at the latter place, + they have after two or three years left the course of their + studies there, if they ever well began them, and undertaken, + though furnished with little else but ignorance, boldness, and + ambition, if with no worse vices, a chaplainship in some + gentleman's house, to the frequent imbasing of his sons with + illiterate and narrow principles. Or, if they have lived there + [at the University] upon their own, who knows not that seven + years' charge of living there,—to them who fly not from + the government of their parents to the licence of a University, + but come seriously to study,—is no more than, may be well + defrayed and reimbursed by one year's revenue of an ordinary + good benefice? If they had then means of breeding from their + parents, 'tis likely they have more now; and, if they have, it + needs must be mechanic and uningenuous in them to bring a bill + of charges for the learning of those liberal Arts and Sciences + which they have learnt (if they have indeed learnt them, as + they seldom have) to their own benefit and accomplishment. But + they will say 'We had betaken us to some other trade or + profession, had we not expected to find a better livelihood by + the Ministry.' This is what I looked for,—to discover + them openly neither true lovers of Learning and so very seldom + guilty of it, nor true ministers of the Gospel." + </p> + <p> + <i>University Education of Ministers not Necessary</i>: "What + Learning, either human or divine, can be necessary to a + minister may as easily and less chargeably be had in any + private house ... Those theological disputations there held + [i.e. at the Universities] by Professors and Graduates are such + as tend least of all to the edification or capacity of the + people, but rather perplex and leaven pure doctrine with + scholastical trash than enable any minister to the better + preaching of the Gospel. Whence we may also compute, since they + come to reckonings, the charges of his needful library; which, + though some shame not to value at £600 [equivalent to £2000 + now], may be competently furnished for £60 [equivalent to £200 + now]. If any man, for his own curiosity or delight, be in books + further expensive, that is not to be reckoned as necessary to + his ministerial either breeding or function. But Papists and + other adversaries cannot be confuted without Fathers and + Councils, immense volumes and of vast charges! I will show them + therefore a shorter and a better way of confutation: <i>Tit. + I.</i> 9; 'Holding fast the faithful Word as he hath been + taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort + and to convince gainsayers,'—who are confuted as soon as + heard bringing that which is either not in Scripture or against + it. To pursue them further through the obscure and entangled + wood of antiquity, Fathers and Councils fighting one against + another, is needless, endless, not requisite in a minister, and + refused by the first Reformers of our Religion. And yet we may + be confident, if these things be thought needful, let the State + but erect in public good store of Libraries, and there will not + want men in the Church who of their own inclinations will + become able in this kind against Papists or any other + Adversary." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + No Parliament that England ever saw, not even the Barebones + Parliament itself, could have entertained for a moment, with a + view to practical legislation, these speculations of the blind + Titan in all their length and breadth. Disestablishment, + Disendowment, Abolition of a Clergy, had been the dream of the + Anabaptists and Fifth Monarchy men of the Barebones Parliament. + Even in that House, however, the battle practically, and on which + the House broke up, was on the question of the continuance of + Tithes, and it is dubious whether some in that half of the House + which voted against Tithes would not have been for preserving a + Church Establishment or Preaching Ministry by some other form of + state-maintenance. Nor can one imagine, even in those eager and + revolutionary times, an utter disregard of that principle of + compensation for life-interests which any Parliament now, + contemplating a scheme of Disestablishment, would consider + binding in common equity. The old Bishops, and the Prelatic + Clergy, indeed, had been disestablished without much + consideration of life-interests; but the procedure in their case + had been of a penal character, and it is unlikely that it would + have been equally unceremonious with the new clergy of + Presbyterians and Independents, allowed generally to be orthodox. + From any hesitation on that score Milton is absolutely free. He + sees no difficulties, takes regard of none. It is not with a + flesh-and-blood world that he deals, a world of men, and their + wives, and their families, and their yearly incomes, and their + fixed residences and household belongings. It is with a world of + wax, or of flesh and blood that must be content to be treated as + wax. It is thought right to disestablish the Church: well, then, + let the Clergy go! Abolish tithes; provide no substitute; + proclaim that, after this day week, or the first day of the next + year, not a penny shall be paid to any man by the State for + preaching the Gospel, or doing any other act of the ministry: and + what then? Why, there will be a flutter of consternation, of + course, through some ten thousand or twelve thousand parsonages; + ten thousand or twelve thousand clerical gentlemen will stare + bewilderedly for a while at their wives' faces: but do not be too + much concerned! They will all shift very well for themselves when + they know they must; the best of them will find congregations + where they are, or in other places, and will work all the harder; + and, if the drones and dotards go threadbare and starve for the + rest of their lives, that is but God's way with such since the + beginning of the world! Be instant, be rapid, be decisive, be + thoroughgoing, O ye statesmen! What are vested interests in the + Church of Christ? + </p> + <p> + As the Restored Rumpers had already decreed that an Established + Church should be kept up in England, and had gone no farther on + the Tithes question than to say that Tithes must be paid, as by + use and wont, until some substitute should be provided, it is not + likely that, however long they had sat, Milton's views would have + had much countenance from them. There were individuals among them + of Milton's way of thinking on the whole; but he had probably + made a mistake in fancying that he had materially improved his + influence, or the chances of his notions of Church-polity, by his + public re-adhesion to the Rump. In fact, the continued existence + of the Rump was more precarious than he had thought. In August + 1659, while his pamphlet was in circulation, Lambert was away in + the north, suppressing the Cheshire Insurrection of Sir George + Booth; in the next month discontent with the Rumpers and their + rule was rife in Lambert's victorious northern Brigade; and in + the beginning of October London was again in agitation with the + rupture of the hasty alliance that had been patched up between + the Republicans and the Wallingford-House Council of Army + Officers. It was on the 12th of October that the Rump defied the + Army by cashiering Lambert, Desborough, Berry, and six other + officers; and on the 13th Lambert retaliated by his <i>coup + d'état</i>, filling the streets with his soldiery, catching the + Rumpers one by one as they went to the House, and informing them + that it was the will of the Army that they should sit no more. + Thus had begun that "Second Stage of the Anarchy" which we have + called <i>The Wallingford-House Interruption</i>. + </p> + <p> + Of Milton's thoughts over the change effected by Lambert's + <i>coup d'état</i> we have an authentic record in a letter of + his, dated "October 20, 1659" (i.e. just a week after the <i>coup + d'état</i>), and addressed to some friend with whom he had been + conversing on the previous night. It appears in his works now + with the title "<i>A Letter to a Friend, concerning the Ruptures + of the Commonwealth: Published from the + Manuscript</i>."<sup>1</sup> Who the Friend was does not appear; + but the words of the Letter imply that he was some one very near + the centre of affairs. "Sir," it begins, "upon the sad and + serious discourse which we fell into last night, concerning these + dangerous ruptures of the Commonwealth, scarce yet in her + infancy, which cannot be without some inward flaw in her bowels, + I began to consider more intensely thereon than hitherto I have + been wont,—resigning myself [i.e. having hitherto resigned + myself] to the wisdom and care of those who had the government, + and not finding that either God or the Public required more of me + than my prayers for those that govern. And, since you have not + only stirred up my thoughts by acquainting me with the state of + affairs more inwardly than I knew before, but also have desired + me to set down my opinion thereof, trusting to your ingenuity, I + shall give you freely my apprehension, both of our present evils, + and what expedients, if God in mercy regard us, may remove them." + At the close of the Letter he says, "You have the sum of my + present thoughts, as much as I understand of these affairs, + freely imparted, at your request and the persuasion you wrought + in me that I might chance hereby to be some way serviceable to + the Commonwealth in a time when all ought to be endeavouring what + good they can, whether much or but little. With this you may do + what you please. Put out, put in, communicate or suppress: you + offend not me, who only have obeyed your opinion that, in doing + what I have done, I might happen to offer something which might + be of some use in this great time of need. However, I have not + been wanting to the opportunity which you presented before me of + showing the readiness which I have, in the midst of my unfitness, + to whatever may be required of me as a public duty." The + expressions might suggest that the friend who had been talking + with Milton was Vane or some one else of those Councillors of the + Rump who still sat on at Whitehall consulting with the + Wallingford-House Chiefs as to the form of Government to be set + up instead of the Rump (ante pp. 494-495). It may, however, have + been some lesser personage, such as Meadows, back from the Baltic + this very month. In any case, the letter was meant to be shown + about, if not printed. It was, in fact, Milton's contribution, at + a friend's request, to the deliberations going on at Whitehall. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: It was first published in the so-called Amsterdam Edition of + Milton's Prose Works (1698); and Toland, who gave it to the + publishers of that edition, informs us that it had been + communicated to him "by a worthy friend, who, a little after + the author's death, had it from his nephew"—i.e. from + Phillips. + </p> + </div> + <p> + He does not conceal his strong disapprobation of Lambert's + <i>coup d'état</i>. Indeed he takes the opportunity of declaring, + even more strongly than he had done two months before, how + heartily he had welcomed the restoration of the Rump. + Thus:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "I will begin with telling you how I was overjoyed when I heard + that the Army, under the working of God's holy Spirit, as I + thought, and still hope well, had been so far wrought to + Christian humility and self-denial as to confess in public + their backsliding from the good Old Cause, and to show the + fruits of their repentance in the righteousness of their + restoring the old famous Parliament which they had without just + authority dissolved: I call it the famous Parliament, though + not the harmless, since none well-affected but will confess + they have deserved much more of these nations than they have + undeserved. And I persuade me that God was pleased with their + restitution, signing it as He did with such a signal victory + when so great a part of the nation were desperately conspired + to call back again their Egyptian bondage [Lambert's victory + over Sir George Booth]. So much the more it now amazes me that + they whose lips were yet scarce closed from giving thanks for + that great deliverance should be now relapsing, and so soon + again backsliding into the same fault, which they confessed so + lately and so solemnly to God and the world, and more lately + punished in those Cheshire Rebels,—that they should now + dissolve that Parliament which they themselves re-established, + and acknowledged for their Supreme Power in their other day's + <i>Humble Representation</i>: and all this for no apparent + cause of public concernment to the Church or Commonwealth, but + only for discommissioning nine great officers in the Army; + which had not been done, as is reported, but upon notice of + their intentions against the Parliament. I presume not to give + my censure on this action,—not knowing, as yet I do not, + the bottom of it. I speak only what it appears to us without + doors till better cause be declared, and I am sure to all other + nations,—most illegal and scandalous, I fear me + barbarous, or rather scarce to be exampled among any + Barbarians, that a paid Army should, for no other cause, thus + subdue the Supreme Power that set them up. This, I say, other + nations will judge to the sad dishonour of that Army, lately so + renowned for the civilest and best-ordered in the world, and by + us here at home for the most conscientious. Certainly, if the + great officers and soldiers of the Holland, French, or Venetian + forces should thus sit in council and write from garrison to + garrison against their superiors, they might as easily reduce + the King of France, or Duke of Venice, and put the United + Provinces in like disorder and confusion." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + He adds more in the same strain, and calls upon the Army, as one + "jealous of their honour," to "manifest and publish with all + speed some better cause of these their late actions than hath + hitherto appeared, and to find out the Achan amongst them whose + close ambition in all likelihood abuses their honest natures + against their meaning to these disorders,"—in other words, + to disown and denounce Lambert. But, having thus delivered his + conscience on the subject of the second dismission of the Rump, + he declares farther complaint to be useless, and proceeds to + inquire what is now to be done. + </p> + <p> + "Being now in anarchy, without a counselling and governing power, + and the Army, I suppose, finding themselves insufficient to + discharge at once both military and civil affairs, the first + thing to be found out with all speed, without which no + Commonwealth can subsist, must be a SENATE or GENERAL COUNCIL OF + STATE, in whom must be the power first to preserve the public + peace, next the commerce with foreign nations, and lastly to + raise moneys for the management of these affairs. This must + either be the [Rump] Parliament readmitted to sit, or a Council + of State allowed of by the Army, since they only now have the + power. The terms to be stood on are <i>Liberty of Conscience to + all professing Scripture to be the Rule of their Faith and + Worship</i> and the <i>Abjuration of a Single Person</i>. If the + [Rump] Parliament be again thought on, to salve honour on both + sides, the well-affected party of the City and the Congregated + Churches may be induced to mediate by public addresses and + brotherly beseechings; which, if there be that saintship among us + which is talked of, ought to be of highest and undeniable + persuasion to reconcilement. If the Parliament be thought well + dissolved, <i>as not complying fully to grant Liberty of + Conscience, and the necessary consequence thereof, the Removal of + a forced Maintenance from Ministers</i> [Milton's own sole + dissatisfaction with the Restored Rump], then must the Army + forthwith choose a Council of State, whereof as many to be of the + Parliament as are undoubtedly affected to these two conditions + proposed. That which I conceive only able to cement and unite the + Army either to the Parliament recalled or this chosen Council + must be a mutual League and Oath, private or public, not to + desert one another till death: that is to say that the Army be + kept up and all these Officers in their places during life, and + so likewise the Parliament or Councillors of State; which will be + no way unjust, considering their known merits on either side, in + Council or in Field, unless any be found false to any of these + two principles, or otherwise personally criminous in the judgment + of both parties. If such a union as this be not accepted on the + Army's part, be confident there is a Single Person underneath. + That the Army be upheld the necessity of our affairs and factions + will [at any rate] constrain long enough perhaps to content the + longest liver in the Army. And whether the Civil Government be an + annual Democracy or a perpetual Aristocracy is not to me a + consideration for the extremities wherein we are, and the hazard + of our safety from our common enemy, gaping at present to devour + us. That it be not an Oligarchy, or the Faction of a few, may be + easily prevented by the numbers of their own choosing who may be + found infallibly constant to those two conditions + forenamed—full Liberty of Conscience and the Abjuration of + Monarchy proposed; and the well-ordered Committees of their + faithfullest adherents in every county may give this Government + the resemblance and effects of a perfect Democracy. As for the + Reformation of Laws and the Places of Judicature, whether to be + here, as at present, or in every county, as hath been long aimed + at, and many such proposals tending no doubt to public good, they + may be considered in due time, when we are past these pernicious + pangs, in a hopeful way of health and firm constitution. But, + unless these things which I have above proposed, one way or + other, be once settled, in my fear (which God avert!), we + instantly ruin, or at best become the servants of one or other + Single Person, the secret author and fomenter of these + disturbances." + </p> + <p> + There is considerable boldness in these proposals of Milton, and + yet a cast of practicality which is unusual with him. They prove + again, if new proof were needed, that he was not a Republican of + the conventional sort. He glances, indeed, at the possibility of + an "Annual Democracy," i.e. a future succession of annual + Parliaments, or at least of annual Plebiscites for electing the + Government. But he rather dismisses that possibility from his + calculations; and moreover, even had he entertained it farther, + we know that the Parliaments or Plebiscites he would have allowed + would not have been "full and free," but only guarded + representations of the "well-affected" of the community,—to + wit, the Commonwealth's-men. But the Constitution to which he + looks forward with most confidence, and which he ventures to + think might answer all the purposes of a perfect democracy, is + one that should consist of two perpetual or life aristocracies at + the centre,—one a civil aristocracy in the form of a + largish Council of State, the other a military aristocracy + composed of the great Army Officers,—these two + aristocracies to be pledged to each other by oath, and sworn also + to the two great principles of Liberty of Conscience and + resistance to any attempt at Single Person sovereignty. What + communication between the Central Government so constituted and + the body of the People might be necessary for the free play of + opinion might be sufficiently kept up, he hints, by the machinery + of County Committees. The entire scheme may seem strange to those + whose theory of a Republic refuses the very imagination of an + aristocracy or of perpetuity of power in the same hands; but + both, notions, and especially that of perpetuity of power in the + same hands, had been growing on Milton, and were not inconsistent + with <i>his</i> theory of a Republic. Nor was his present scheme, + with all its strangeness, the least practical of the many + "models" that theorists were putting forth. It would, doubtless, + have failed in the trial,—for the conception of a perpetual + Civil Council at Whitehall always in harmony with a perpetual + Military Council in Wallingford House presupposed moral + conditions in both bodies less likely to be forthcoming in + themselves than in Milton's thoughts about them. But everything + else would have failed equally, and some of the "models" perhaps + more speedily. Since the subversion of Richard's Protectorate by + Fleetwood and Desborough there had been no possible stop-gap + against the return of the Stuarts. + </p> + <p> + The consulting authorities at Whitehall and Wallingford House did + adopt a course having some semblance of that suggested by Milton. + Before the 25th of October, or within six days after the date of + Milton's letter, the relics of the Council of State of the Rump + agreed to be transformed, with additions nominated by the + Officers, into the new Supreme Executive called <i>The Committee + of Safety</i>; and, as <i>The Wallingford-House Council of + Officers</i> still continued to sit in the close vicinity of this + new Council at Whitehall, the Government was then vested, in + fact, in the two aristocracies, with Fleetwood, Lambert, + Desborough, Berry, and others, as members of both, and connecting + links between them. But the new <i>Committee of Safety</i> was + not such a Senate or Council as Milton had imagined. For one + thing, it consisted but of twenty-three persons (see the list + ante p. 494), whereas Milton would have probably liked to see a + Council of twice that size or even larger. For another, it was + not composed of persons perfectly sound on Milton's two proposed + fundamentals of Liberty of Conscience and Abjuration of any + Single Person. Vane, to be sure, was on the Committee, and a host + in himself for both principles; and there were others, such as + Salway and Ludlow, that would not flinch on either. But + Whitlocke, Sydenham, and the majority, were but moderately for + Liberty of Conscience, and certainly utterly against that + Miltonic interpretation of it which implied + Church-disestablishment, while one at least, the Scottish + Johnstone of Warriston, was positively against Liberty of + Conscience beyond very narrow Presbyterian limits. Nor, though + probably all would have assented at that time to an oath abjuring + Charles Stuart, were they all without taint of the Single Person + heresy in other forms. Some of them, including Whitlocke and + Berry, would have liked to restore Richard; and Fleetwood and + Lambert were not wrongly suspected of seeing the most desirable + Single Person every morning in the looking-glass. Milton's former + regard for Fleetwood must have suffered considerably by recent + events; and he thought of Lambert as the very "Achan" to be + dreaded. But, farther, even had the two aristocracies been of + perfectly satisfactory composition, they had abandoned that idea + of their own permanence which Milton had made all but essential. + They had agreed that their chief work should consist in shaping + out a fit constitution for the Commonwealth, and that the + <i>Committee of Safety</i> should continue in power only till + that should be done and the new Constitution should come into + operation. + </p> + <p> + Such as it was, the new Government of the Wallingford-House + Interruption had no objection to retaining Mr. Milton in the + Latin Secretaryship if he cared to keep it. That he had held the + post throughout the whole of the Government of the Restored Rump + (though all but in sinecure, as we must conclude from the + cessation of the series of his Latin Letters in the preceding + May) appears from a very interesting document in the Record + Office. The Council of State of the Rump, it is to be remembered, + had not vanished with the Rump itself on Oct. 13, but had sat on + for twelve days more, though with its number reduced by the + secession of Hasilrig, Scott, Neville, and other very vehement + Rumpers,—the object being to maintain the continuity of the + public business and to make the most amicable arrangement + possible with the Army-officers. That object having been + accomplished by the institution, of the new <i>Committee of + Safety</i>, the Council of the Rump, before demitting its powers + to this new body, which was to meet on the 28th of October, held + its own last meeting at Whitehall on the 25th. At such a last + meeting it was but business-like to clear off all debts due by + the Council; and, accordingly, this was done by the issue of the + following comprehensive money-warrant, signed by Whitlocke as + President, and by four others of those present. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "These are to will and require you, out of such moneys as are + or shall come into your hands, to pay unto the several persons + whose names are endorsed the several sums of money to their + names mentioned, making on the whole the sum of Three Thousand + Six Hundred Eighty-two Pounds, Eight Shillings, and Six Pence: + being so much due to them for their salaries and service to + this Council unto the Two-and-twentieth day of this instant + October. Hereof you are not to fail; and for so doing this + shall be your sufficient warrant. Given at the Council of State + at Whitehall this 25th day of October, 1659. + </p> + <p> + "B. WHITLOCKE, <i>President.</i> + <br /> + A. JOHNSTON. + <br /> + JAMES HARRINGTON. + <br /> + CHARLES FLEETWOOD. + <br /> + JA. BERRY. + </p> + </blockquote> + <blockquote> + <p> + "To GUALTER FROST, Esq., + </p> + <p> + "Treasurer for the Council's Contingencies." + </p> + <p> + "The eighty-six persons to whom the payments are to be made are + divided into groups in the Warrant, the particular sum due to + each person appended to his name. The first five groups stand + thus:— + </p> + <table summary="payments to each person by group"> + <tr> + <th> + + </th> + <th> + + </th> + <th> + £ + </th> + <th> + <i>s.</i> + </th> + <th> + <i>d.</i> + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + Richard Deane + </td> + <td align="right"> + 234 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 7 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 6 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <i>"At £500 per annum each</i> + </td> + <td> + Henry Scobell + </td> + <td align="right"> + 234 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 7 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 6 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + William Robinson + </td> + <td align="right"> + 83 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 0 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 0 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <i>At £1 per day</i> + </td> + <td> + Richard Kingdon + </td> + <td align="right"> + 86 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 0 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 0 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <i>At £200 per annum each</i> + </td> + <td> + JOHN MILTON + </td> + <td align="right"> + 86 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 12 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 0 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + ANDREW MARVELL + </td> + <td align="right"> + 86 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 12 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 0 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + Gualter Frost + </td> + <td align="right"> + 138 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 0 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 10 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <i>At 20s. per diem each</i> + </td> + <td> + Matthew Fairbank + </td> + <td align="right"> + 139 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 0 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 0 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + Samuel Morland + </td> + <td align="right"> + 88 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 0 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 0 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + Edward Dendy + </td> + <td align="right"> + 169 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 0 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 0 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + Matthew Lea + </td> + <td align="right"> + 56 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 6 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 8 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <i>At 6s. 8d. per diem each</i> [Clerks] + </td> + <td> + Thomas Lea + </td> + <td align="right"> + 56 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 6 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 8 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + + </td> + <td> + William Symon + </td> + <td align="right"> + 56 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 6 + </td> + <td align="right"> + 8" + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + Then follow the names of <i>twenty-nine</i> persons at + 5<i>s.</i> per diem each: viz. Zachary Worth, David Salisbury, + Peter Llewellen, Edward Cooke, Richard Stephens, Stephen + Montague, Thomas Powell; Henry Symball, Joseph Butler, Thomas + Pidcott, Richard Freeman, George Hussey, Roger Read, Edward + Osbaldiston, William Feild, Robert Cooke (or his widow), Thomas + Blagden, William Ledsom, Edward Cooke; Edward Tytan, Thomas + Baker, John Bradley, Nicholas Hill, Anthony Compton, Joshua + Leadbetter, Alexander Turner, Thomas Wright, William Geering, + and Edward Bridges. The occupations of the first seven are not + described, but they were probably under-clerks; the next twelve + were "messengers"; the last ten "serjeant deputies" under Dendy + as Serjeant-at-Arms. The sums ordered to be paid to them vary + from £4 to £42 5<i>s.</i>—<i>Forty-four</i> more persons + are added more miscellaneously, with the sums due to them + respectively. Among these I may note the + following:—"George Vaux, <i>Housekeeper</i>" (£69 + 9<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>), "Mr. Nutt, the <i>Barge-keeper</i>" + (£65), "Mr. Embrey, <i>Surveyor</i>" (£140 12<i>s.</i> + 6<i>d.</i>), and "Mr. Kinnereley, <i>Wardrobe-keeper</i>" (£140 + 12<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>).<sup>1</sup> + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: From Warrant Book in Record Office. On comparing the list of + persons in this warrant with that in the extract from the Order + Books of Oliver's Council of date April 17, 1655 (pp. 177-179), + and with lists in a former Council minute of date Feb. 3, + 1653-4, and in a Money Warrant of Oliver of same date (Vol. IV. + pp. 575-578), it will be seen that there had been changes in + the staff meanwhile. Milton, Scobell, Gualter Frost, Serjeant + Dendy, Housekeeper Vaux, Bargemaster Nutt, and about a dozen of + the clerks, messengers, and serjeant-deputies remain (one of + the former clerks, Matthew Fairbank, now promoted from his + original 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> a day to 20<i>s.</i> a day); but + Thurloe, Jessop, Meadows, two younger Frosts, and a good many + others are gone, while new men are Deane, Robinson, Kingdon, + Morland, Marvell, and others. Morland, as we know, had been + brought in a while ago to assist Thurloe; and his salary, we + now see, was larger than Milton's.—When Milton's salary + was reduced, in April 1655, it was arranged that it should be a + life-pension, and payable out of the Exchequer; but the present + warrant Directs payment to him, as to the rest, out of the + Council's contingencies. It would seem, therefore, that + Oliver's arrangement for him had not taken effect, or had been + cancelled by the Rump, and that he was now not a + life-pensioner, but once more a mere official at the Council's + pleasure. + </p> + </div> + <p> + There is nothing in this warrant to show that Milton's services + were transferred to the new Committee of Safety; but the fact + seems to be that he did remain nominally in the Latin + Secretaryship with Marvell through the whole duration of that + body and of the Fleetwood-Lambert rule, i.e. to Dec. 26, 1659. + Nominally only it must have been; for we have no trace of any + official work of his through the period. There was very little to + do for the Government at that time in the way of foreign + correspondence, and for what there was Marvell must have + sufficed. + </p> + <p> + Through the months of November and December Milton's thoughts, + like those of other people, must have been much occupied with the + negotiations going on between the new Government and their + formidable opponent in Scotland. What would be the issue? Would + Monk persevere in that championship of the ill-treated Rump which + he had so boldly undertaken? Would he march into England to + restore the Rump, as he had threatened; or would he yet be + pacified and induced to accept the Wallingford-House order of + things, with a competent share in the power? No one could tell. + Lambert was in the north with his army, to beat and drive back + Monk if he did attempt to invade England,—at York early in + November, and at Newcastle from the 20th of November onwards; + Monk was still in Scotland,—at Edinburgh or Dalkeith till + the end of November, then at Berwick, but from the beginning of + December at Coldstream. Between the two armies agents were + passing and repassing; negotiators on the part of the London + Government were round about Monk and reasoning with him; Monk's + own Commissioners in London had concluded their Treaty of the + 15th of November with Fleetwood and the Wallingford-House + Council, and there had been rejoicings over what seemed then the + happy end of the quarrel; but again the news had come from + Scotland that Monk repudiated the agreement made by his + Commissioners, and that the negotiation must be resumed at + Newcastle. To that the Committee of Safety and the + Wallingford-House Council had consented; but, through Monk's + delays, the negotiation had not yet been resumed. Would it ever + be, or would Monk's army and Lambert's come into clash at last? + If so, for which ought one to wish the victory? So far as Milton + was concerned, he was bound to wish the success of Monk. Was not + Monk the champion of that little Restored Rump to which Milton + had himself adhered, and the late suppression of which he had + pronounced to be "illegal and scandalous"? Was not Monk also + professing and proclaiming that very principle of the proper + submission of the military power to the civil on which Milton + himself had dilated? Would it not be only God's justice if + Lambert, "the secret author and fomenter of these disturbances," + should be disgraced and overthrown? Yet, on the other hand, who + could desire even that consequence, or the Restoration of the + Rump, at the expense of another civil war and bloodshed? Where + would the process stop? And, besides, was Monk, with his + Presbyterian notions, learnt among the Scots, the man from whose + ascendancy Milton could hope anything but farther disappointment + in the Church question? All in all, we are to imagine Milton + anxious for a reconciliation. + </p> + <p> + No less interesting to Milton must have been the activity of the + new Government meanwhile in their great business of inventing + "such a Form of Government as may best suit and comport with a + Free State and Commonwealth."——The Rump itself, as we + know, had been busy with this problem through the last month of + its sittings, having appointed on the 8th of September a great + Committee on the subject, with Vane named first, but all the most + eminent Rumpers included (ante p. 480). Through this Committee + there had been an inburst into the Parliamentary mind, as Ludlow + informs us, of the thousand and one competing proposals or models + of a Commonwealth already devised by the Harringtonians and other + theorists; and, in fact, while the Committee was sitting, there + had started up for its assistance, close to the doors of + Parliament, the famous Harrington or Rota Club, meeting nightly + in Miles's Coffee-house, and including Neville and others of the + Rumpers among its most constant members (ante pp. 484-486). That + Milton knew already about Harrington and his "models" by + sufficient readings of Harrington's books there can be no doubt. + In the address to the Rump prefixed to his <i>Considerations + touching Hirelings</i> in August last he had distinctly referred + to the kind acceptance by the Rump of "new models of a + Commonwealth" daily tendered to them in Petitions, and must have + had specially in view the Petition of July 6, which had been + drawn up by Harrington, and which proposed a constitution of two + Parliamentary Houses, one of 300 members, the other much larger, + on such a system of rotation as would change each completely + every third year (ante pp. 483-484). His only criticism on the + competing models then had been that, till his own notion of + Church-disestablishment were carried into effect, "no model + whatsoever of a Commonwealth, would prove successful or + undisturbed." At that time, accordingly, Milton was so engrossed + with his Church-disestablishment notion as to be comparatively + careless about the general question of the Form of Government. + But, two months later, as we have seen, in his <i>Letter on the + Ruptures of the Commonwealth</i> occasioned by Lambert's assault + on the Rump, he had abandoned this indifference, and had proposed + a model Constitution of his own, adapted to the immediate + exigencies. From that time, we may now report, though + Church-disestablishment was never lost sight of, the question of + the Form of Government had fastened itself on Milton's mind as + after all the main one. From that time he never ceased to + ruminate it himself, and he attended more to the speculations and + theories of others on the same subject. If, once or twice in the + winter months of 1659, Cyriack Skinner, the occasional chairman + of the Rota Club, did not persuade Milton to leave his house in + Petty France late in the evening, and be piloted through the + streets to the Coffee-house in New Palace Yard to hear one of the + great debates of the Club, and become acquainted with their + method of closing the debate by a ballot, it would really be a + wonder.——Not in the Rota Club, however, but in the + Committee of Safety at Whitehall and in the Wallingford-House + Council, was the real and practical debate in progress. On the + 1st of November the Committee had appointed their sub-committee + of six to deliberate on the new Constitution; and through the + rest of the month, both in the sub-committee and in the general + committee, there had been that intricate discussion in which Vane + led the extreme party, or party of radical changes, while + Whitlocke stood for lawyerly use and wont in all things, and + Johnstone of Warriston threw in suggestions from his peculiar + Scottish point of view. So far as Milton was cognisant of the + discussion, his hopes must have been in the efforts of his friend + Vane. If any one could succeed in inducing his colleagues to + insert articles for Church-disestablishment and full Liberty of + Conscience into the new Constitution, who so likely as he who had + held those articles as tenets of his private creed so much + earlier and so much more tenaciously than any other public man? + Seven years ago Milton had described him on this account as + Religion's "eldest son," on whose firm hand she could lean in + peace. Now that he was again in power, and that not merely as one + of a miscellaneous Parliamentary body, but as one of a small + committee of leaders drafting a Constitution <i>de novo</i>, what + might he not accomplish? That Vane did battle in Committee for + the notions he held in common with Milton, and for others + besides, we already know; but we know also that the massive + resistance of Whitlocke, backed outside by the lawyers and the + Savoy clique of the clergy, was too much for Vane, and that the + draft Constitution as it emerged ultimately was substantially + Whitlocke's. It was on the 6th of December that this draft + Constitution was submitted to the Convention of Army and Navy + delegates at Whitehall; and it was on the 14th that, after + modifications by this body tending to make it still more + Whitlocke's than it had been, it went back to the Committee of + Safety approved and ratified. A Single House Parliament of the + customary sort to meet in February; a new Council of State of the + customary sort to be appointed by that Parliament; the + Established Church to be kept up, and by the system of Tithes + until some other form of ample State-maintenance for the clergy + should be provided; Liberty of Conscience for Nonconformists, but + within limits: this and no more was the parturition after all. If + Ludlow was in despair because no sufficient security had been + taken that the new Parliament should be true to the Commonwealth, + and if the theorists of the Rota were disappointed because none + of their patent models had been adopted, Milton's regret can have + been no less. Government after government, but all deaf alike to + his teachings! Even this one, with Vane at the heart of it, + unable to rise above the old conceits of a customary state-craft, + and ending in a solemn vote for conserving a Church of Hirelings! + </p> + <p> + So in the middle of December. Then, for another week, the strange + phenomenon, day after day, of that whirl of popular and army + opinion which was to render all the long debate over the new + Constitution nugatory, to upset the Wallingford-House + administration, and stop Whitlocke in his issue of the writs for + the Parliament that had just been announced. Monk's dogged + persistency for the old Rump had done the work without the need + of his advance from Coldstream to fight Lambert. All over England + and Ireland people were declaring for Monk with increasing + enthusiasm, and execrating Lambert's <i>coup d'état</i> and the + Wallingford-House usurpation. Portsmouth had revolted; the + Londoners were in riot; Lambert's own soldiery were falling away + from him at Newcastle; Fleetwood's soldiery in London were + growing ashamed of themselves and of their chief amid the taunts + and insults of the populace. On the 20th of December appearances + were such that Whitlocke and his colleagues were in the utmost + perplexity. + </p> + <p> + One great Republican had not lived to see this return of public + feeling to the cause of his heart. Bradshaw had died on the 22nd + of November, all but despairing of the Republic. His will was + proved on the 16th of December. It consisted of an original will, + dated March 22, 1653, and two codicils, the second dated + September 10, 1655. His wife having predeceased him, leaving no + issue, the bulk of his extensive property went to his nephew, + Henry Bradshaw; but there were various legacies, and among them + the following in one group in the second codicil,—"To old + Margarett ffive markes, to Mr. Marcham<sup>t</sup>. Nedham tenne + pounds, and to Mr. John Milton tenne poundes." There is nothing + here to settle the disputed question of Milton's cousinship, on + his mother's side, with Bradshaw.<sup>1</sup> The legacy was a + trifling one, equivalent to £35 now; and, as Needham and Milton + are associated on terms of equality, Bradshaw must have been + thinking of them together as the two literary officials who had + been so much in contact with each other, and with himself, in the + days of his Presidency of the Council of State,—Needham as + the appointed journalist of the Commonwealth, and Milton as its + Latin champion, and for some time Needham's censor and + supervisor. In Milton's case perhaps, as the codicil was drawn up + fifteen months after the publication of the <i>Defensio + Secunda</i>, the legacy may have been intended not merely as a + small token of general respect and friendliness, but also as a + recognition by Bradshaw of the bold eulogy on him inserted into + that work at a critical moment of his relations to Cromwell. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Ormerod's Cheshire, III. 409; but I owe the verbatim extract + from the codicil to the never-failing kindness of Colonel + Chester.—By an inadvertence the date of Bradshaw's death + has been given, ante p. 495, as Oct. 31, 1659, instead of Nov. + 22. + </p> + </div> + <hr /> + <p> + More than two years had elapsed since Milton's last letters to + Oldenburg and young Ranelagh (ante pp. 366-367). They were then + at Sáumur in France, where they remained till March 1658; but + since that time they had been travelling about, and from May + 1659, if not earlier, they had been boarding in Paris. There are + glimpses of them in letters from Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, and + also in letters of Hartlib to Boyle, in which he quotes passages + from letters he has received both from Oldenburg and from young + Ranelagh. Thus, in a letter of Hartlib's to Boyle of April 12, + 1659, there is this from Oldenburg's last: "I have had some + discourse with an able but somewhat close physician here, that + spoke to me of a way, though without particularizing all, to draw + a liquor of the beams of the sun; which peradventure some person + that is knowing and experienced (as noble Mr. Boyle) may better + beat out than we can who want experience in these matters." Young + Ranelagh seems to have fully acquired by this time the tastes for + physical and experimental science which characterized his tutor; + and his uncle Boyle may have read with a smile this from Hartlib + of date October 22, 1659:—"This week Mr. Jones hath saluted + me with a very kind letter, containing a very singular + observation in these words: 'Concerning the generation of pearls + I am of opinion that they are engendered in the cockle-fishes (I + pray, Sir, give me the Latin word for it in your next) of the + same manner as the stone in our body,—which I endeavour + fully to show in a discourse of mine about the generation of + pearls; which, when I shall have done it, shall wait upon you for + my part in revenge of your observations. I heard lately a very + remarkable story about margarites from a person of quality and + honour in this town, which you will be glad, I believe, to hear. + A certain German baron of about twenty-four years old, being in + prison here at Paris, in the same chamber with a Frenchman (who + told this, as having been eyewitness of it, to him that told it + me), they having both need of money, the baron sent his man to a + goldsmith to buy seven or eight ordinary pearls, of about twenty + pence a piece, which he put a-dissolving in a glass of vinegar; + and, being well dissolved, he took the paste and put it together + with a powder (which I should be glad to know) into a golden + mould, which he had in his pocket, and so put it a-warming for + some time upon the fire; after which, opening the mould, they + found a very great and lovely oriental pearl in it, which they + sold for about two hundred crowns, although it was a great deal + more worth. The same baron, throwing a little powder he had with + him into a pitcher of water, and letting it stand about four + hours, made the best wine that a man can drink.' Thus far the + truly hopeful young gentleman, whereby he hath hugely obliged me. + I wish he had the forementioned powder, that we might try whether + we could make the like pearls and wine." From a subsequent letter + of Hartlib's, dated Nov. 29, 1659, it appears that Oldenburg and + Jones were both much interested in the optical instruments of a + certain Bressieux, then in Paris, who had for two years been + chief workman in that line for Descartes. They were anxious to + make him a present of some good glass from London, because he was + rather secretive about his workmanship, and such a present would + go a great way towards mollifying him.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Letters of Oldenburg and Hartlib to Boyle in Boyle's Works + (1744), V. 280-296 and 300-302. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Very possibly with this last letter of Oldenburg's to Hartlib + there had been enclosed a letter from Oldenburg, and another from + young Ranelagh, to Milton. Two such letters, at all events, + Milton had received, and undoubtedly through Hartlib, who was + still the universal foreign postman for his friends. We can guess + the substance of the two letters. Young Ranelagh does not seem to + have troubled Milton with his speculations on the generation of + pearls, or his story of the German baron and his alchemic + powders, but only to have sent his dutiful regards, with excuses + for long neglect of correspondence. Oldenburg had also sent his + excuses for the same, but with certain pieces of news from + abroad, and certain references to the state of affairs at home. + Among the pieces of news were two of some personal interest to + Milton. One was that the unfinished reply to his <i>Defensio + Prima</i>, which Salmasius had left in manuscript at his death + six years ago, was about to appear as a posthumous publication. + The other was that there was to be a great Synod of the French + Protestant Church, at which the case of Morus was to be again + discussed. For, though it was more than two years since Morus had + received his call to the collegiate pastorship of the Protestant + Church of Paris or Charenton, the question of his admissibility + to the charge had hung all that while between the Walloon Synods + of the United Provinces and the French Protestant Church Courts, + the latter on the whole favouring him, the former more and more + bent on disgracing him. In April of the present year a Walloon + Synod at Tergou had actually passed on him a sentence of + suspension from the ministerial office and from the holy + communion "until by a sincere repentance of his sins he shall + have repaired so many scandals he has brought upon us." In spite + of this, a French Provincial Synod, held at Ai in Champagne in + the following month, had ordered his admission to be carried into + effect, and the Parisian consistory had obeyed this order, though + two members of it protested. There had since then been another + Walloon Synod, held at Nimeguen in September, in which the former + sentence of the Tergou Synod was confirmed, but, for the sake of + peace between the Walloon Church and their brethren of the French + Protestant Church, it was agreed to waive all farther + jurisdiction over Morus in Holland and to "remit the whole cause + unto the prudence, discretion, and charity of the National + Assembly of the French churches to meet at Loudun." This was the + Synod of whose approaching meeting Oldenburg had informed + Milton—the Synod of Loudun in Anjou (Nov. 10, + 1659—Jan. 10, 1660). It was to be a very important assembly + indeed,—no mere Provincial Synod, but a national one, + expressly allowed by Louis XIV., and to consist of deputies, + clerical and lay, from all the Protestant churches of France, + empowered to transact all business relating to those churches + under certain royal regulations and restrictions, and in the + presence of a royal Commissioner. As there had been no such + National Protestant Synod in France for fifteen years, there was + an accumulation of business for it, the case of Morus included. + They were to examine that case <i>de novo</i>, and to pronounce + finally whether Morus was guilty or not guilty, whether he should + remain a minister of the French Church or not.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Bayle, Art. <i>Morus</i>, and Bruce's Life of Morus, + 204-226. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Milton's replies to the two letters will now be intelligible. He + writes, it will be observed, in a gloomy mood, on the very day on + which Whitlocke, for different reasons, was in a gloomy mood too + and "wishing himself out of these daily hazards":— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + TO HENRY OLDENBURG. + </p> + <p> + "That forgiveness which you ask for <i>your</i> silence you + will give rather to <i>mine</i>; for, if I remember rightly, it + was my turn to write to you. By no means has it been any + diminution of my regard for you (of this I would have you fully + persuaded) that has been the impediment, but only my + employments or domestic cares; or perhaps it is mere + sluggishness to the act of writing that makes me guilty of the + intermitted duty. As you desire to be informed, I am, by God's + mercy, as well as usual. Of any such work as compiling the + history of our political troubles, which you seem to advise, I + have no thought whatever [<i>longe absum</i>]: they are + worthier of silence than of commemoration. What is needed is + not one to compile a good history of our troubles, but one who + can happily end the troubles themselves; for, with you, I fear + lest, amid these our civil discords, or rather sheer madnesses, + we shall seem to the lately confederated enemies of Liberty and + Religion a too fit object of attack, though in truth they have + not yet inflicted a severer wound on Religion than we ourselves + have been long doing by our crimes. But God, as I hope, on His + own account, and for His own glory, now in question, will not + allow the counsels and onsets of the enemy to succeed as they + themselves wish, whatever convulsions Kings and Cardinals + meditate and design. Meanwhile, for the Protestant Synod of + Loudun, which you tell me is so soon to meet [Milton does not + seem to know that it had been sitting already for six weeks] I + pray—what has never happened to any Synod yet—a + happy issue, not of the Nazianzenian sort,<sup>1</sup> and am + of opinion that the issue of this one will be happy enough if, + should they decree nothing else, they should decree the + expulsion of Morus. Of my posthumous adversary, as soon as he + makes his appearance, be good enough to give me the earliest + information. Farewell. + </p> + <p> + "Westminster: December 20, 1659." + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: The allusion seems to be to the great OEcumenical Council of + Constantinople in 381, which confirmed Gregory Nazianzen in the + Patriarchate of Constantinople, and in which Gregory presided + for some time and inefficiently. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + TO THE NOBLE YOUTH, RICHARD JONES. + </p> + <p> + "For the long break in your correspondence with me your excuses + are truly most modest, inasmuch as you might with more justice + accuse me of the same fault; and, as the case stands, I am + really at a loss to know whether I should have preferred your + not having been in fault to your having apologised so finely. + On no account let it ever come into your mind that I measure + your gratitude, if anything of the kind is due to me from you, + by your constancy in letter-writing. My feeling of your + gratitude to me will be strongest when the fruits of those + services of mine to you of which you speak shall appear not so + much in frequent letters as in your perseverance and laudable + proficiency in excellent pursuits. You have rightly marked out + for yourself the path of virtue in that theatre of the world on + which you have entered; but remember that the path is common so + far to virtue and vice, and that you have yet to advance to + where the path divides itself into two. And you ought now + betimes to prepare yourself for leaving this common path, + pleasant and flowery, and for being able the more readily, with + your own will, though with labour and danger, to climb that + arduous and difficult one which is the slope of virtue only. + For this you have great advantages over others, believe me, in + having secured so faithful and skilful a guide. Farewell. + </p> + <p> + "Westminster: December 20, 1659." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Two days after the date of these letters the uproar of execration + round the Wallingford-House Government had reached such an + extreme that Whitlocke made his desperate proposal to Fleetwood + that they should extricate themselves from their difficulty by + declaring for Charles and opening negotiations with him. Two days + more, and Fleetwood's soldiery, under the command of officers of + the Rump, were marching down Chancery Lane, cheering Speaker + Lenthall and asking his forgiveness. Again two days more, and on + the 26th of December, Fleetwood having given up the game and sent + the keys of the Parliament House to Lenthall, the Rumpers were + back in their old places. We have arrived, therefore, at that + <i>Third Stage of the Anarchy</i> which may be called "The Second + Restoration of the Rump." + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Of Milton in this stage of the Anarchy we hear little or nothing + directly; but there are means for tracing the course of his + thoughts. + </p> + <p> + As may be inferred from the melancholy tone of his letter to + Oldenburg, he had all but ceased to hope for any deliverance for + the Commonwealth by any of the existing parties. Even the Second + Restoration of the Rump, though it was what he was bound to + approve, and had indeed suggested as possibly the best course, + can have brought him but little increase of expectation. If, in + its best estate, after its first restoration, the Rump had + disappointed him, what could he hope from it now in its + attenuated and crippled condition, with Vane expelled from it + because of his actings during the Wallingford-House Interruption, + with Salway out of it, who had worked so earnestly with Vane on + the Church-question, and with others of the ablest also out of + it, leaving a House of but about two scores of persons, to be + managed by Hasilrig, Scott, Neville, and Henry Marten? Nay, not + to be managed even by those undoubted Republicans, but to a great + extent also by Ashley Cooper, Fagg, and others, whose + Republicanism was of a very dubious character! For Milton cannot + have failed to take note of the abatement in this session of the + Rump of that Republican fervency which had characterized its + former session. What had been his own two proposed tests of + genuine Republicanism? Willingness of every one concerned with + the Government to take a solemn oath of Abjuration of a Single + Person, and willingness also of every such person to swear to the + principle of Liberty of Conscience. How was it faring with these + two tests in this renewed Session of the Rumpers? An abjuration + oath of the kind indicated had been imposed indeed on the new + Council of State; but nearly half of those nominated to the + Council had remained out of that body rather than take the oath, + and Hasilrig's proposal to require the same oath from all members + of the House itself had been so strenuously resisted that it had + fallen to the ground. Then, on the religious question, what was + the deliberate offer of the House to the country in their heads + for a public Declaration on the 21st of January 1659-60? "Due + liberty to tender consciences" was promised; but that was a mere + phrase of custom, implying little or nothing, and it was utterly + engulphed, in Milton's estimate, by the accompanying engagement + to "uphold a learned and pious ministry of the nation and their + maintenance by Tithes." On the Church-disestablishment question + the House had actually receded from its former self by announcing + that it was not even to prosecute the inquiry as to a possible + substitute for Tithes. Altogether, before the twice-restored Rump + had sat a month, Milton must have seen that his ideal + Commonwealth was just as far off as ever. All he could hope was + that the wretched little Parliament would not prove positively + treacherous. + </p> + <p> + With others, however, he must have been thinking more of Monk's + proceedings and intentions than of those of the Parliament. + Monk's march from Coldstream southwards on the 2nd of January; + the vanishing of the residue of Lambert's forces before him; the + addresses to him in the English counties all along his route; his + answers or supposed answers to these addresses; his wary + behaviour to the two Parliamentary Commissioners that had been + sent to attach themselves to him and find out his disposition in + the matter of the Abjuration Oath; his arrival at St. Alban's on + the 28th of January; his message thence to the Parliament to + clear all Fleetwood's regiments out of London and Westminster + before his own entry; that entry itself on the 3rd of February, + when he and his battered columns streamed in through Gray's Inn + Lane; finally his first appearance in the House and speech, + there:—of all this Milton had exact cognisance through the + newspapers of his friend Needham and otherwise. It was very + puzzling and by no means reassuring. If he had ever thought of + Monk as by possibility such a saviour of the Commonwealth as he + had been longing for, the study of the actually approaching + physiognomy of Old George all the way from Scotland, and still + more Old George's first deliverance of himself in the Parliament, + must have undeceived him. The Abjuration Oath, it appeared, was + not at all to Monk's mind. He would not take it himself in order + to be qualified for the seat voted him in the Council of State, + and he plainly intimated his opinion that the day for such oaths + and engagements was past. Milton cannot have liked that rejection + by the General of one of the tests on which he had himself placed + so much reliance. But, further, what meant Monk's very ambiguous + utterance respecting the three immediate courses one of which + must be chosen? He had distinctly mentioned in the House that the + drift of public opinion, as he could ascertain it from the + addresses made to him along his march, was towards either <i>an + enlargement of the present House by the re-admission of the + Secluded Members</i> or <i>a full and free Parliament by a new + general election</i>; and, though he had seemed to acquiesce in + that third course which was proposed by the House itself, viz. + <i>the enlargement of the House by a competent number of new + writs issued by itself under a careful scheme of qualification + for electing or being eligible</i>, he had left a very vague + impression as to his real preference. Now to Milton, as to all + other ardent Commonwealth's men, the vital question was which of + these three courses was to be taken. To adopt either of the two + first was to subvert the Commonwealth. To re-admit the secluded + members into the present House was to convert it into a House + with an overwhelming Presbyterian majority, and to bring back the + days of Presbyterian ascendancy, with the prospect of a + restoration of Royalty on merely Presbyterian terms. To summon + what was called a new full and free Parliament was, all but + certainly, to bring back Royalty by a more hurried process still. + Only by the third method, the Rump's own method, did there seem a + chance of preserving the Republican constitution; and yet Monk's + assent to it had been but hesitating and uncertain. More ominous + still had been his few words intimating his wishes in the matter + of ecclesiastical policy. He could conceive nothing so good, on + the whole, as the Scottish Presbyterianism he had been living + amidst for the last few years, and he thought that the 'sober + interest' in England, steering between the 'Cavalier party' on + the one side and the 'Fanatic party' on the other, would be most + secure by keeping to a moderate Presbytery in the State-Church. + That Milton's views as to the merits of Scottish Presbytery were + not Monk's is an old story, needing no repetition here. What must + have concerned him was to see Monk not only at one with the great + mass of his countrymen on the subject of a Church-Establishment, + but actually retrograde on the question of the desirable nature + of such an Establishment, inasmuch as he seemed to signal his + countrymen back out of Cromwell's broad Church of mixed + Presbyterians, Independents, and Baptists, into a Church more + strictly on the Presbyterian model. Then another unpleasant + novelty in Monk's case was his fondness for the phrases + <i>Fanatics, Fanatic Notions</i>, the <i>Fanatic Party</i>. The + phrases were not new; but Monk had sent them out of Scotland + before him, and had brought them himself out of Scotland, with a + new significance. Very probably they had been supplied to him out + of the vocabulary of his Scottish clerical adviser Mr. James + Sharp, or of the Scottish Resolutioner clergy generally. At all + events, it is from and after the date of Monk's march into + England that one finds the name <i>Fanatics</i> a common one for + all those Commonwealth's men collectively who opposed a + State-Church or the moderate Presbyterian or semi-Presbyterian + form of it. Had Monk drawn out a list of his 'Fanatics,' he would + have had to put Milton himself at the top of them, with Vane, + Harrison, Barebone, and the leading Quakers. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, here was Monk, such as he was, the armed constable + of the crisis, the one man who could keep the peace and let the + Rumpers proceed in doing their best. That "best" as they had + agreed specifically on the 4th of February, the day after Monk's + arrival, was to be the recruiting of their own House up to a + total of 400 members for England and Wales, such recruiting to be + effected by the issue of a certain number of new writs, together + with a scheme of qualifications calculated to bring in only sound + Republicans, or persons likely to cooperate in farther measures + with the present Rumpers. This being what was promised by the + conjunction of Monk and the Rump, what could Milton do but + acquiesce, be glad it was no worse, and contribute what advice he + could? This, accordingly, is what he did. Pamphlets on the + crisis, as we know, had been coming out + abundantly—pamphlets for the good old cause of the + Republic, pamphlets from Rota-men, pamphlets from Prynne and + other haters of the Rump, pamphlets from crypto-Royalists, and + pamphlets openly Royalist; and many of these had taken, and + others were still to take, the form of letters addressed to Monk. + It need be no surprise that Milton had <i>his</i> pamphlet in + preparation. He had begun it just after Monk's arrival in London + and the resolution, of the Rump to recruit itself; he had written + it hurriedly and yet with some earnest care; and it seems to have + been ready for the press about or not long after the middle of + February. Before it could go to press, however, there had been + another revolution, obliging him to hold it back. There had been + the rebellion of the Londoners because of the resolution of the + Rump to perpetuate itself by recruiting, instead of either + readmitting the secluded members or calling a new free and full + Parliament; there had been Monk's notorious two days in the City, + by order of the Rump, quashing the rebellion, and breaking the + gates and portcullises (Feb. 9-10); there had been his + extraordinary return the third day, with his profession of regret + before the Lord Mayor and the Aldermen and Common Council, and + his announcement that he had dissolved his connexion with the + Rump,—that third day wound up with yells of delight through + all the City, the smashing of Barebone's windows, and the + universal Roasting of the Rump in street-bonfires (Feb. 11); + there had been the ten more days of Monk's continued residence in + the City, the Rumpers vainly imploring reconciliation with him, + and the Secluded Members and their friends gathering round him + and negotiating; and, on Tuesday, Feb. 21, when he did remove + from the City to Westminster, it was with the Secluded Members in + his train, to be marched under military guard to their seats + beside the Rumpers. The writs issued by the Rump for recruiting + itself were now useless. It had been recruited in the way it + least liked, by the sudden reappearance in it of the excluded + Presbyterians and Royalists of the pre-Commonwealth period of the + Long Parliament. + </p> + <p> + Far more than the mere stopping of his pamphlet was involved for + Milton in the events of that fortnight. He could construe them no + otherwise than as the breaking down of the inner rampart that + defended the Commonwealth against Charles Stuart. The <i>Roasting + of the Rump</i> in London was but a rough popular metaphor for + "Down with the Republic"; and, had the tumult of that night + extended from the City to Westminster and the breaking of the + windows of "fanatics" become general, Milton's would not have + escaped. Then, in the course of the negotiations with Monk + through the fatal fortnight, had not the Rump itself quailed? Had + they not offered to cancel the solemn Abjuration Oath, alike for + the Councillors of State and for future members of Parliament, + and to substitute only a general engagement to be faithful to the + Commonwealth, without King, Single Person, or House of Lords? + Hardly anywhere now did there seem to be that stern, bold, + uncompromising opposition to Royalty which would register itself, + as Milton wanted, in an oath before God and man, but only that + feebler Republicanism which would pledge itself with the + understood reservation of "circumstances permitting." But worst + of all was the crowning fact that the Secluded Members had been + restored. By that one stroke of Monk's all that had happened + since the Commonwealth had been set up was put in question, and + the power was given back into the hands of the very men who had + protested and struggled against the setting up of the + Commonwealth eleven years ago. How would these act? It might be + hoped perhaps that some of the more prudent among them, having + regard to the lapse of time and the change of circumstances, + might not think it their duty to be as vehemently Royalist now as + they had been in 1648, and also perhaps that the power of Monk, + if Monk himself remained true, might restrain the rest. But + <i>would</i> Monk remain true, or would his power avail long in + restraining a Parliament the majority of which were Presbyterians + and Royalists? Not to speak of the varied ability and subtlety of + such of the new Parliamentary chiefs as Annesley, Sir William + Waller, Denzil Holles, Ashley Cooper, and Harbottle Grimstone, + what was to be expected from the remorseless obstinacy, the + rhinoceros persistency, of such a Presbyterian as Prynne? How + often had Milton jeered at Prynne and the margins of his endless + pamphlets! It might be of some consequence to him now to remember + that he had done so, and had therefore this virtual + Attorney-General of the Secluded for his personal enemy. + Altogether, Milton's despondency had never yet been so deep as it + must have been at this beginning of the last phase of the long + English Revolution, represented in the Parliament of the Secluded + Members and in Monk's accompanying Dictatorship. + </p> + <h2> + <a name="Cc2s3" id="Cc2s3">CHAPTER II.</a> + </h2> + <h3> + <i>Third Section.</i> + </h3> + <h3> + MILTON THROUGH MONK'S DICTATORSHIP. FEB. 1659-60—MAY 1660. + </h3> + <p> + FIRST EDITION OF MILTON'S <i>READY AND EASY WAY TO ESTABLISH A + FREE COMMONWEALTH</i>: ACCOUNT OF THE PAMPHLET, WITH EXTRACTS: + VEHEMENT REPUBLICANISM OF THE PAMPHLET, WITH ITS PROPHETIC + WARNINGS: PECULIAR CENTRAL IDEA OF THE PAMPHLET, VIZ. THE PROJECT + OF A GRAND COUNCIL OR PARLIAMENT TO SIT IN PERPETUITY, WITH A + COUNCIL OF STATE FOR ITS EXECUTIVE: PASSAGES EXPOUNDING THIS + IDEA: ADDITIONAL SUGGESTION OF LOCAL AND COUNTY COUNCILS OR + COMMITTEES: DARING PERORATION OF THE PAMPHLET: MILTON'S + RECAPITULATION OF THE SUBSTANCE OF IT IN A SHORT PRIVATE LETTER + TO MONK ENTITLED <i>PRESENT MEANS AND BRIEF DELINEATION OF A FREE + COMMONWEALTH</i>: WIDE CIRCULATION OF MILTON'S PAMPHLET: THE + RESPONSE BY MONK AND THE PARLIAMENT OF THE SECLUDED MEMBERS IN + THEIR PROCEEDINGS OF THE NEXT FORTNIGHT: DISSOLUTION OF THE + PARLIAMENT AFTER ARRANGEMENTS FOR ITS SUCCESSOR: ROYALIST SQUIB + PREDICTING MILTON'S SPEEDY ACQUAINTANCE WITH THE HANGMAN AT + TYBURN: ANOTHER SQUIB AGAINST MILTON, CALLED THE <i>CENSURE OF + THE ROTA UPON MR. MILTON'S BOOK</i>: SPECIMENS OF THIS BURLESQUE: + REPUBLICAN APPEAL TO MONK, CALLED <i>PLAIN ENGLISH</i>: REPLY TO + THE SAME, WITH ANOTHER ATTACK ON MILTON: POPULAR TORRENT OF + ROYALISM DURING THE FORTY DAYS OF INTERVAL BETWEEN THE PARLIAMENT + OF THE SECLUDED MEMBERS AND THE CONVENTION PARLIAMENT (MARCH 16, + 1659-60—APRIL 25, 1660): CAUTION OF MONK AND THE COUNCIL OF + STATE: DR. MATTHEW GRIFFITH AND HIS ROYALIST SERMON, <i>THE FEAR + OF GOD AND THE KING</i>: GRIFFITH IMPRISONED FOR HIS SERMON, BUT + FORWARD REPUBLICANS CHECKED OR PUNISHED AT THE SAME TIME: NEEDHAM + DISCHARGED FROM HIS EDITORSHIP AND MILTON FROM HIS SECRETARYSHIP: + RESOLUTENESS OF MILTON IN HIS REPUBLICANISM: HIS <i>BRIEF NOTES + ON DR. GRIFFITH'S SERMON</i>: SECOND EDITION OF HIS <i>READY AND + EASY WAY TO ESTABLISH A FREE COMMONWEALTH</i>: REMARKABLE + ADDITIONS AND ENLARGEMENTS IN THIS EDITION: SPECIMENS OF THESE: + MILTON AND LAMBERT THE LAST REPUBLICANS IN THE FIELD: ROGER + L'ESTRANGE'S PAMPHLET AGAINST MILTON, CALLED <i>NO BLIND + GUIDES</i>: LARGER ATTACK ON MILTON BY G.S., CALLED <i>HE DIGNITY + OF KINGSHIP ASSERTED</i>: QUOTATIONS FROM THAT BOOK: MEETING OF + THE CONVENTION PARLIAMENT, APRIL 25, 1660: DELIVERY BY GREENVILLE + OF THE SIX ROYAL LETTERS FROM BREDA, APRIL 28—MAY 1, AND + VOTES OF BOTH HOUSES FOR THE RECALL OF CHARLES; INCIDENTS OF THE + FOLLOWING WEEK: MAD IMPATIENCE OVER THE THREE KINGDOMS FOR THE + KING'S RETURN: HE AND HIS COURT AT THE HAGUE, PREPARING FOR THE + VOYAGE HOME: PANIC AMONG THE SURVIVING REGICIDES AND OTHER + PROMINENT REPUBLICANS: FLIGHT OF NEEDHAM TO HOLLAND AND + ABSCONDING OF MILTON FROM HIS HOUSE IN PETTY FRANCE: LAST SIGHT + OF MILTON IN THAT HOUSE. + </p> + <p> + The Parliament of the Secluded Members and Residuary Rumpers had + been sitting for a few days, had confirmed Monk in the + Dictatorship by formally appointing him Captain-General and + Commander-in-chief (Feb. 21), and had also (Feb. 22) intimated + their resolution to devolve all really constitutional questions + on a new "full and free Parliament," when Milton did send forth + the pamphlet he had written. It was a small quarto of eighteen + pages with this title-page: "<i>The Readie and Easie Way to + Establish a Free Commonwealth, and the Excellence therof compar'd + with the inconveniences and dangers of readmitting kingship in + this nation. The author J.M., London, Printed by T.N., and are to + be sold by Livewell Chapman at the Crown in Popes-Head Alley</i>. + 1660." Copies seem to have been procurable before the end of + February 1659-60, but Thomason's copy bears date "March + 3."<sup>1</sup> That was the day of the order of Parliament for + the release of the last remaining Scottish captives of Worcester + Battle. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: In Wood's Fasti (I. 485) the pamphlet is mentioned as + "published in Feb." The publication, we learn from subsequent + words of Milton himself, was very hurried, and copies got about + without his press-corrections. I find no entry of the pamphlet + in the Stationers' Registers.—It is particularly + necessary to remember that this was but the <i>first + edition</i> of the pamphlet. Another was to follow. In all the + editions of Milton's collected works, from that of 1698 + onwards, the reprint is from the later edition, without notice + of the first; but I hardly know a case in which the distinction + between two editions is more important. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The pamphlet opens thus:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "Although, since the writing of this treatise, the face of + things hath had some change, writs for new elections [by the + late Rump] have been recalled, and the members at first chosen + [for the original Long Parliament] readmitted from exclusion to + sit again in Parliament, yet, not a little rejoicing to hear + declared the resolutions of all those who are now in power, + jointly tending to the establishment of a Free Commonwealth, + and to remove, if it be possible, this unsound humour of + returning to old bondage instilled of late by some cunning + deceivers, and nourished from bad principles and false + apprehensions among too many of the people, I thought best not + to suppress what I had written, hoping it may perhaps (the + Parliament now sitting more full and frequent) be now much more + useful than before: yet submitting what hath reference to the + state of things as they then stood to present constitutions, + and, so the same end be pursued, not insisting on this or that + means to obtain it. The treatise was thus written as follows." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + This is an attempt by Milton even yet to disguise his + despondency. He had written the pamphlet while the late Rump was + still sitting, while the conjunction between them and Monk was + unbroken, and when the last news was that they had issued, or + were about to issue, writs for the recruiting of their body by a + large number of like-minded additional members; but he will + assume that the pamphlet may yet answer its purpose, with hardly + a change of phraseology. No longer, it is true, does the power + lie with the Rump, recruited or unrecruited; it lies now in the + unexpected Parliament of the Residuary Rumpers <i>plus</i> Monk's + restored representatives of the pre-Commonwealth period of the + Long Parliament. But he will suppose the best even after that + surprise. There is, at any rate, a more "full and frequent" + Parliament than before: and there has been no declaration + hitherto of any intention to subvert the Commonwealth. On the + contrary, had not Monk, both in his speech to the Secluded + Members before readmitting them, and also in his Declaration or + Address to the Army published after their re-admission, used the + language of a true Commonwealth's-man, and even called God to + witness that his only aim was "God's glory and the settlement of + these nations upon Commonwealth foundations"? Had not the + Secluded Members virtually made a compact with Monk upon these + terms? Milton will not, for the present, suppose either Monk or + the Parliament false in the main matter. He will only suppose + that they have perceived, with himself, the infatuated drift of + the popular humour towards a restoration of Royalty, and will + themselves listen, and allow the country to listen, to what he + had written on that subject two or three weeks ago. + </p> + <p> + The despondency which he disguises in the preface appears in the + pamphlet itself. Or rather it is a despondency dashed with a + sanguine remnant of faith that all might yet be well, and that + the means of perpetuating a Republic, all contrary appearances + notwithstanding, might yet be shown to be "ready and easy." The + use of these two words in the title of such a pamphlet at such a + time is very characteristic. It was the public theorist, however, + that ventured on them, rather than the secret and real man. + Throughout the pamphlet there is a sad and fierce undertone, as + of one knowing that what he is prophesying as easy will never + come to pass. + </p> + <p> + About half of the pamphlet consists of a declamation in general + on the advantages of a Commonwealth Government over a Kingly + Government, and on the dishonour, inconveniences, and dangers, to + the British Islands in particular, if they should relapse into + the one form of Government after having had so much prosperous + experience of the other. In the following specimen of the + declamation the reader will note the prophecy of actual events as + far as to the Revolution of 1688:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "After our liberty thus successfully fought for, gained, and + many years possessed (except in those unhappy interruptions + which God hath removed), ... to fall back, or rather to creep + back, so poorly as it seems the multitude would, to their once + abjured and detested thraldom of kingship, not only argues a + strange degenerate corruption suddenly spread among us, fitted + and prepared for new slavery, but will render us a scorn and + derision to all our neighbours. And what will they say of us + but scoffingly as of that foolish builder mentioned by our + Saviour, who began to build a tower and was not able to finish + it: 'Where is this goodly Tower of a Commonwealth, which the + English boasted they would build to overshadow Kings and be + another Rome in the West? The foundation indeed they laid + gallantly; but fell into a worse confusion, not of tongues but + of factions, than those at the Tower of Babel, and have left no + memorial of their work behind them remaining but in the common + laughter of Europe.' Which must needs redound the more to our + shame if we but look on our neighbours THE UNITED PROVINCES, to + us inferior in all outward advantages; who, notwithstanding, in + the midst of great difficulties, courageously, wisely, + constantly, went through with the same work, and are settled in + all the happy enjoyments of a potent and flourishing Republic + to this day.—Besides this, if we return to kingship, and + soon repent (as undoubtedly we shall, when we begin to find the + old encroachments coming on by little and little upon our + consciences, which must needs proceed from King and Bishop + united inseparably in one interest), we may be forced perhaps + to fight over again all that we have fought and spend over + again all that we have spent, but are never likely to attain, + thus far as we are now advanced to the recovery of our freedom, + never likely to have it in possession as we now have + it,—never to be vouchsafed hereafter the like mercies and + signal assistance from Heaven in our cause, if by our + ingrateful backsliding we make these fruitless to ourselves, + all His gracious condescensions and answers to our once + importuning prayers against the tyranny which we then groaned + under to become now of no effect, by returning of our own + foolish accord, nay running headlong again with full stream + wilfully and obstinately, into the same bondage: making vain + and viler than dirt the blood of so many thousand faithful and + valiant Englishmen, who left us in this liberty bought with + their lives; losing by a strange after-game of folly all the + battles we have won, all the treasure we have spent (not that + corruptible treasure only, but that far more precious one of + all our late miraculous deliverances), and most pitifully + depriving ourselves the instant fruition of that Free + Government which we have so dearly purchased,—a Free + Commonwealth: not only held by wisest men in all ages the + noblest, the manliest, the equalest, the justest Government, + the most agreeable to all due liberty, and proportioned + equality both human, civil, and Christian, most cherishing to + virtue and true religion, but also, (I may say it with greatest + probability) plainly commended or rather enjoined by our + Saviour Himself to all Christians, not without remarkable + disallowance and the brand of Gentilism upon Kingship + [quotation here of <i>Luke</i> XXII. 25, 26]<sup>1</sup> ... + And what Government comes nearer to this precept of Christ than + a Free Commonwealth? Wherein they who are greatest are + perpetual servants and drudges to the public at their own costs + and charges,—neglect their own affairs, yet are not + elevated above their brethren,—live soberly in their + families, walk the streets as other men, may be spoken to + freely, familiarly, friendly, without adoration: whereas a King + must be adored like a demigod, with a dissolute and haughty + Court about him, of vast expense and luxury, masques and + revels, to the debauching of our prime gentry both male and + female,—nor at his own cost, but on the public + revenue,—and all this to do nothing but bestow the eating + and drinking of excessive dainties, to set a pompous face upon + the superficial actings of State, to pageant himself up and + down in progress among the perpetual bowings and cringings of + an abject people." + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: This is one of Milton's very long sentences; and the length + shows, I think, the glow and rapidity of the dictation. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Having thus expressed his belief that "a Free Commonwealth, + without Single Person or House of Lords, is by far the best + government, <i>if it can be had</i>," Milton glances at the + objection that recent experience in England has shown such + government to be practically unattainable. He denies this, + alleging that all disappointment hitherto "may be ascribed with + most reason to the frequent disturbances, interruptions, and + dissolutions which the Parliament hath had, partly from the + impatient or disaffected people, partly from some ambitious + leaders in the Army"; and he declares that the present time is + peculiarly favourable for one more vigorous effort. "Now is the + opportunity, now the very season, wherein we may obtain a Free + Commonwealth, and establish it for ever in the land without + difficulty or much delay." He had written this when the Rump was + sitting, and when he had in view the new elections that were to + recruit that "small remainder of those faithful worthies who at + first freed us from tyranny and have continued ever since through + all changes constant to their trust"; but he lets it stand now, + as not inapplicable to the new condition of things brought in by + the sudden mixture of the Secluded with the Rumpers. The + "<i>Ready and Easy Way</i>," however, has still to be explained; + and to that he proceeds. + </p> + <p> + The central idea of the pamphlet, and practically its backbone, + is <i>One and the same Parliament in Perpetuity or Membership for + Life</i>. This may be a surprise, not only to those who, knowing + that Milton was a Republican, conceive him therefore to have held + necessarily the exact modern theory of Representative Government, + but also to those who understand Milton better, and who may + remember at this point his somewhat contemptuous estimates on + previous occasions of the value of the bodies called Parliaments. + If those previous passages of his writings are studied, however, + it will be found that he is not now so inconsistent as he looks. + He had always thought a broad general council of fit men in the + centre of a nation the essential of good government; and his + chief recommendation to Cromwell, even when approving of his + exceptional Sovereignty, had been that he should keep round him + such a general Council. Further, it will be found that + <i>permanence of the same men at the centre of affairs</i> had + always been his implied ideal, whether permanence of an + exceptional Single-Person sovereignty surrounded by a Council, or + permanence of a Council without a Single-Person sovereignty. His + real objection to so-called Parliaments, it will be found, lay in + the association with them of the ideas of shiftingness, + interruptedness, successiveness, the turmoil and debauchery of + successive general elections. So possessed was he with the notion + of permanence of tenure as desirable in the governing agency, + whatever it might be, that he had even modified the notion, as we + have seen, to suit the anomalous conditions of that stage of the + Anarchy which we have called the Wallingford-House Interruption, + He had recommended then the experiment of a duality of + life-aristocracies, one civil and the other military. And now, + the turn of circumstances and of his speculations shutting him up + once more to a single Civil Parliament of the ordinary size and + kind, he will insist on the quality of permanence or perpetuity + as that which alone will make <i>it</i> answer the purpose. But, + the very name "Parliament" having been vitiated so as to make a + permanent Parliament a difficult conception for most people, he + would rather get rid of the name altogether, and call the central + governing body simply THE GENERAL OR GRAND COUNCIL OF THE NATION. + </p> + <p> + All this appears in Milton's own words, as follows:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "The ground and basis of every just and free Government (since + men have smarted so oft for committing all to one person) is a + GENERAL COUNCIL OF ABLEST MEN, chosen by the people to consult + of public affairs from time to time for the common good. This + Grand Council must have the forces by sea and land in their + power, must raise and manage the public revenue, make laws as + need requires, treat of commerce, peace, or war, with foreign + nations; and, for the carrying on some particular affairs of + State with more secrecy and expedition, must elect, as they + have already, out of their own number and others, a <i>Council + of State</i>, And, although it may seem strange at first + hearing, by reason that men's minds are prepossessed with the + conceit of successive Parliaments, I affirm that the GRAND OR + GENERAL COUNCIL, being well chosen, should sit perpetual: for + so their business is, and they will become thereby skilfullest, + best acquainted with the people, and the people with them. The + Ship of the Commonwealth is always under sail: they sit at the + stern; and, if they steer well, what need is there to change + them, it being rather dangerous? Add to this that the GRAND + COUNCIL is both foundation and main pillar of the whole State, + and to move pillars and foundations, unless they be faulty, + cannot be safe for the building. I see not therefore how we can + be advantaged by successive Parliaments, but that they are much + likelier continually to unsettle rather than to settle a free + Government, to breed commotions, changes, novelties, and + uncertainties, and serve only to satisfy the ambition of such + men as think themselves injured and cannot stay till they be + orderly chosen to have their part in the Government. If the + ambition of such be at all to be regarded, the best expedient + will be, and with least danger, that every two or three years a + hundred or some such number may go out by lot or suffrage of + the rest, and the like number be chosen in their places (which + hath been already thought on here, and done in other + Commonwealths); but in my opinion better nothing moved, unless + by death or just accusation.... [Farther argument for the + permanence of the Supreme Governing Body, with illustrations + from the Sanhedrim of the Jews, the Areopagus of Athens, the + Senates of Lacedaemon and Home, the full Venetian Senate, and + the States-General of the United Provinces]. I know not + therefore what should be peculiar in England to make successive + Parliaments thought safest, or convenient here more than in all + other nations, unless it be the fickleness which is attributed + to us as we are Islanders. But good education and acquisite + wisdom ought to correct the fluxible fault, if any such be, of + our watery situation. I suppose therefore that the people, well + weighing these things, would have no cause to fear or murmur, + though the Parliament, abolishing that name, as originally + signifying but the <i>parley</i> of our Commons with their + Norman King when he pleased to call them, should perpetuate + themselves, if their ends be faithful and for a free + Commonwealth, under the name of a GRAND OR GENERAL COUNCIL: + nay, till this be done, I am in doubt whether our State will be + ever certainly and thoroughly settled.... The GRAND COUNCIL + being thus firmly constituted to perpetuity, and still upon the + death or default of any member supplied and kept in full + number, there can be no cause alleged why peace, justice, + plentiful trade, and all prosperity, should not thereupon ensue + throughout the whole land, with as much assurance as can be of + human things that they shall so continue (if God favour us and + our wilful sins provoke Him not) even, to the coming of our + true and rightful and only to be expected King, only worthy as + He is our only Saviour, the Messiah, the Christ, the only heir + of his Eternal Father, the only by Him anointed and ordained, + since the work of our redemption finished, Universal Lord of + all mankind. The way propounded is plain, easy, and open before + us, without intricacies, without the mixture of inconveniences, + or any considerable objection to be made, as by some + frivolously, that it is not practicable. And this facility we + shall have above our next neighbouring Commonwealth (if we can + keep us from the fond conceit of something like a Duke of + Venice, put lately into many men's heads by some one or other + subtly driving on, under that pretty notion, his own ambitious + ends to a crown),<sup>1</sup> that our liberty shall not be + hampered or hovered over by any engagement to such a potent + family as the House of Nassau, of whom to stand in perpetual + doubt and suspicion, but we shall live the clearest and + absolutest free nation, in the world." + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: The allusion here is vague. + </p> + </div> + <p> + In effect, therefore, Milton's <i>Ready and Easy Way</i>, + recommended to the mixed Parliament of Residuary Rumpers and + their reseated Presbyterian half-brothers of March 1659-60, is + that this Parliament, nailing the Republican flag to the mast, + should make itself, or some enlargement of itself, the perpetual + supreme power under the name of THE GRAND COUNCIL OF THE + COMMONWEALTH, appointing a smaller <i>Council of State</i>, as + heretofore, to be the working executive, but plainly intimating + to the people that there are to be no more general Parliamentary + elections, but only elections to vacancies as they may occur in + the Grand Council by death or misdemeanour. He is himself against + the adoption of Harrington's principle of rotation to any extent + whatever; but, if it would reconcile people to his scheme, he + would concede rotation so far as to let a portion of the Grand + Council go out every second or third year to admit new men. + </p> + <p> + While expounding his main idea, Milton had intimated that he had + another suggestion in reserve, which might help to reconcile + reasonable men of democratic prepossessions to the seeming + novelty of an irremovable apparatus of Government at the centre. + This suggestion he brings forward near the end of the pamphlet. + He arrives at it in the course of a demonstration in farther + detail of certain superiorities of Commonwealth government over + Regal. "The whole freedom of man," he says, "consists either in + Spiritual or Civil Liberty." Glancing first at Spiritual Liberty, + he contents himself with a general statement of the principle of + Liberty of Conscience, as implying the absolute and unimpeded + right of every individual Christian to interpret the Scripture + for himself and give utterance and effect to his conclusions; + and, though he does not conceal that in his own opinion such + Liberty of Conscience cannot be complete without + Church-disestablishment, he does not press that for the present. + Enough that Liberty of Conscience, according to any endurable + definition of it, is more safe in a Republic than in a + Kingdom,—which, by various instances from history, he + maintains to be a fact. Then, coming to Civil Liberty, he + propounds his reserved suggestion, or the second real novelty of + his pamphlet, thus:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "The other part of our freedom consists in the civil rights and + advancements of every person according to his merit: the + enjoyment of <i>those</i> never more certain, and the access to + <i>these</i> never more open, than in a free Commonwealth. And + <i>both</i> in my opinion may be best and soonest obtained if + every county in the land were made a <i>Little + Commonwealth</i>, and their chief town a <i>City</i> if it be + not so called already; where the nobility and chief gentry may + build houses or palaces befitting their quality, may bear part + in the [district or city] government, make their own judicial + laws, and execute them by their own elected judicatures, + without appeal, in all things of Civil Government between man + and man. So they shall have justice in their own hands, and + none to blame but themselves if it be not well administered. In + these employments they may exercise and fit themselves till + their lot fall to be chosen into THE GRAND COUNCIL, according + as their worth and merit shall be taken notice of by the + people. As for controversies that may happen between men of + several counties, they may repair, as they now do, to the + Capital City. They should have here also [i.e. in their own + Cities and Counties] schools and academies at their own choice, + wherein their children may be bred up in their own sight to all + learning and noble education, not in grammar only, but in all + liberal arts and exercises." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + This is what would now be called a scheme of + <i>Decentralization</i> or <i>Systematic Local Government</i>. + The counties, with their chief cities, should be so many little + independent communities, each with its legislative council, its + law-courts, and its other institutions, employing and tasking the + political energies and abilities of the citizens or inhabitants + of the district. While this would be advantageous in itself, + inasmuch as it would stimulate mental activity and social + improvement everywhere, and would relieve the GRAND CENTRAL + COUNCIL of much work more properly appertaining to + municipalities, it would doubtless reconcile many to the + existence of such a GRAND CENTRAL COUNCIL in perpetuity. + Energetic and ambitious spirits would have scope and training in + their own cities and neighbourhoods, and the hope of being + elected to the Central Government when there should be a vacancy + there would be a fine incitement to the best to qualify + themselves to the utmost for national statesmanship. + </p> + <p> + The following is the closing passage of the whole + pamphlet:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "With all hazard I have ventured what I thought my duty, to + speak in season and to forewarn my country in time; wherein I + doubt not but there be many wise men in all places and degrees, + but am sorry the effects of wisdom are so little seen among us. + Many circumstances and particulars I could have added in those + things whereof I have spoken; but a few main matters now put + speedily into execution will suffice to recover us and set all + right. And there will want at no time who are good at + circumstances; but men who set their minds on main matters and + sufficiently urge them in these most difficult times I find not + many. What I <i>have</i> spoken is the language of the Good Old + Cause: if it seem strange to any, it will not seem more + strange, I hope, than convincing to backsliders. Thus much I + should perhaps have said though I were sure I should have + spoken only to trees and stones, and had none to cry to but, + with the Prophet, <i>O Earth, Earth, Earth</i>, to tell the + very soil itself what God hath determined of Coniah and his + seed for ever. But I trust I shall have spoken persuasion to + abundance of sensible and ingenuous men,—to some perhaps + whom God may raise of these stones to become Children of + Liberty, and may enable and unite in their noble resolutions to + give a stay to these our ruinous proceedings and to this + general defection of the misguided and abused multitude." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + To understand fully the tremendous daring of this peroration, one + must turn to the passage of Hebrew prophecy which it cites and + applies to Charles Stuart. It is <i>Jeremiah XXII.</i> 24-30, + where woe is denounced upon Coniah, Jeconiah, or Jehoiachin, the + worthless King of Judah, no better than his father + Jehoiakim:—"As I live, saith the Lord, though Coniah, the + son of Jehoiakim, King of Judah, were the signet upon my right + hand, yet would I pluck thee thence. And I will give thee into + the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them + whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar + King of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. And I will + cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another + country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die. But to + the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not + return. Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel + wherein is no pleasure? Wherefore are they cast out, he and his + seed, and are cast into a land which they know not? O Earth, + Earth, Earth, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord: + Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his + days; for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the + throne of David and ruling any more in Judah." + </p> + <p> + A curious supplement to Milton's <i>Ready and Easy Way to + establish a Free Commonwealth</i> exists in the shape of a + private letter which he addressed to General Monk. It was not + published at the time, and bears no date, but must have been + written immediately after the publication of the pamphlet, while + the Parliament of the Secluded Members and Residuary Rumpers was + still sitting. Milton, it would seem, had sent Monk a copy of the + pamphlet; and this private letter is nothing but a brief summary + of the suggestions of the pamphlet for the General's easier + reading, should he think fit. It is entitled, in our present + copies, "<i>The Present Means and Brief Delineation of a Free + Commonwealth, easy to be put in practice and without delay: In a + Letter to General Monk</i>."<sup>1</sup> The whole consists of + less than three of the present pages. Believing that all + endeavours must now be used "that the ensuing election be of + such, as are already firm or inclinable to constitute a Free + Commonwealth," Milton appeals to Monk to be himself the man to + lead in these endeavours. "The speediest way," he says, "will be + to call up forthwith [to London] the chief gentlemen out of every + county, [and] to lay before them (as your Excellency hath + already, both in your published Letters to the Army and your + Declaration recited to the Members of Parliament), the danger and + confusion of readmitting kingship in this land." Then let the + gentlemen so charged return at once to their counties, and elect + or cause to be elected, "by such at least of the people as are + rightly qualified," a STANDING COUNCIL in every city and great + town, all great towns henceforth to be called <i>Cities</i>. Let + it be understood that these councils are to be permanent seats of + district and local judicature and of political deliberation; but, + while setting up such councils, let the gentlemen also see to the + election of "the usual number of ablest knights and burgesses, + engaged for a Commonwealth, to make up the PARLIAMENT, or, as it + will from henceforth be better called, THE GRAND OR GENERAL + COUNCIL OF THE NATION." The local or city councils having + meanwhile been set up, and it having been intimated that on great + occasions their assent will be required to measures proposed by + the Grand Council of the nation, Milton does not anticipate that + there will be much opposition "though this GRAND COUNCIL be + perpetual, as in that book [his pamphlet] I proved would be best + and most conformable to best examples"; but, should there be + opposition, "the known expedient may at length be used of a + partial <i>rotation</i>." This is all that Milton has to say, + with one exception:—"If these gentlemen convocated refuse + these fair and noble offers of immediate liberty and happy + condition, no doubt there be enough in every county who will + thankfully accept them, your Excellency once more declaring + publicly this to be your mind, and having a faithful veteran Army + so ready and glad to assist you in the prosecution + thereof."—What Monk thought of Mr. Milton's Letter, if he + ever took the trouble to read it, may be easily guessed. It was + at this time that he was so often drunk or nearly so at the + dinners given in the City, and that Sir John Greenville, on the + part of Charles, was watching for an interview with him at St. + James's. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: "<i>Published from the Manuscript</i>" is the addition in + all our present reprints. In other words, this Letter to Monk, + together with the previous <i>Letter to a Friend concerning the + Ruptures of the Commonwealth</i>, came into Toland's hands in + the manner described in Note p. 617, and was also given by + Toland for use in the 1698 edition of Milton's Prose Works. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Not one of Milton's pamphlets had a larger immediate circulation + or provoked a more rapid fury of criticism than his <i>Ready and + Easy Way to establish a Free Commonwealth</i>. + </p> + <p> + From the Parliament indeed the response was only indirect; but + every atom of such indirect response was a dead and contemptuous + negative. Though, when Milton published the pamphlet, he was + entitled to assume that the compact between Monk and the Secluded + Members whom he had restored guaranteed a continuance of the + Commonwealth form of Government, the entire tenor of their + proceedings during the five-and-twenty days to which they + confined their sittings (Feb. 2l-March 16, 1659-60) was such as + to undeceive him and others on that point, and to show that, + though they abstained from abolishing the Commonwealth + themselves, they meant to leave the succeeding full and free + Parliament they had called at perfect liberty to do so. No other + construction could be put upon their votes even in ecclesiastical + matters. Hardly was Milton's pamphlet out when he knew that they + had voted the revival of the Westminster Assembly's Confession of + Faith as the standard of doctrine in the National Church (March + 2), and the revival of the Solemn League and Covenant as a + document of perpetual national obligation (March 5). Then + followed (March 14) their vote for mapping out all England and + Wales according to the strict pattern of the Scottish + Presbyterian organization. But, that there might be no mistake, + their votes predetermining the composition of the coming + Parliament were also in the direction of the admission of + Royalists and the exclusion of those that could be called + Fanatics for the Republic. The engagement to be faithful to the + Commonwealth without King or House of Lords was annulled (March + 13); the clauses disqualifying even the active and conspicuous + Royalists of the Civil Wars were far from stringent; and the very + act by which the House dissolved itself contained a proviso + saving the legal and constitutional rights of the old House of + Lords and pointing to the restitution of the Peerage. How + significant also that scene in the House on the last day of their + sittings, Friday, March 16, when Mr. Crewe moved for a vote of + execration on the Regicides, and poor Thomas Scott, standing up + on the floor, and reckless though the words should seal his doom, + declared himself to be one of the blood-stained band and claimed + the fact as his highest earthly honour! What Scott did that day + in the House Milton had done even more publicly a fortnight + before in the daring peroration of his pamphlet. From March 16, + 1659-60, Milton and Scott, whoever else, might regard themselves + as in the list for the future hangman. + </p> + <p> + In the list for the future hangman! It is a strong expression, + but true historically to the very letter. Read the following from + a scurrilous pamphlet, of six pages in shabby print, called + <i>The Character of the Rump</i>, which was out in London on + Saturday the 17th of March, the day after the dissolution of the + Parliament:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "An ingenious person hath observed that Scott is the Rump's man + Thomas; and they might have said to him, when he was so busy + with the General, + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Peace, for the Lord's sake, Thomas! lest Monk take us, + </p> + <p> + And drag us out, as Hercules did Cacus. + </p> + </div> + <p> + "But John Milton is their goose-quill champion; who had need of + a help-meet to establish anything, for he has a ram's head and + is good only at batteries,—an old heretic both in + religion and manners, that by his will would shake off his + governors as he doth his wives, four in a fortnight. The + sunbeams of his scandalous papers against the late King's Book + is [sic] the parent that begot his late <i>New + Commonwealth</i>; and, because he, like a parasite as he is, by + flattering the then tyrannical power, hath run himself into the + briars, the man will be angry if the rest of the nation will + not bear him company, and suffer themselves to be decoyed into + the same condition. He is so much an enemy to usual practices + that I believe, when he is condemned to travel to Tyburn in a + cart, he will petition for the favour to be the first man that + ever was driven thither in a wheelbarrow. And now, John, + <i>you</i> must stand close and draw in your elbows [the fancy + is of Milton standing on the scaffold pinioned], that Needham, + the Commonwealth didapper, may have room to stand beside you + ... He [Needham] was one of the spokes of Harrington's Rota, + till he was turned out for cracking. As for Harrington, + <i>he's</i> but a demi-semi in the Rump's music, and should be + good at the cymbal; for he is all for wheeling instruments, + and, having a good invention, may in time find out the way to + make a concert of grindstones."<sup>1</sup> + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Pamphlet, of title and date given, in the Thomason + Collection. I have mended the pointing, but nothing else. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Such was the popular verdict, in March 1660, on Milton and his + last pamphlet, and all his deserts and accomplishments in the + world he had lived in for one-and-fifty years. More of the like + may be found on search; but I will pass to one retort on his + <i>Ready and Easy Way</i>, of somewhat higher literary quality + than the last, and which retains a certain celebrity yet. + </p> + <p> + It appeared on March 30, as a small quarto of sixteen pages, with + this title: "<i>The Censure of the Rota upon Mr. Milton's Book, + entituled 'The Ready and Easie Way to Establish a Free + Commonwealth</i>.'" On the title-page is the imprint, "<i>London, + Printed by Paul Giddy, Printer to the Rota, at the sign of the + Windmill in Turne-againe Lane</i>. 1660," and also a professed + extract from the minutes of the Rota Club, "<i>Die Luna 26 + Martii</i> 1660," certified by "<i>Trundle Wheeler, Clerk to the + Rota</i>," authorizing and ordering Mr. Harrington, as Chairman + of the Club, to draw up and publish a narrative of that day's + debate of the Club over Mr. Milton's pamphlet, and to transmit a + copy of the same to Mr. Milton. The thing, though it has been + mistaken by careless people as actually a production of + Harrington's, is in reality a clever burlesque by some Royalist, + in which, under the guise of an imaginary debate in the Rota over + Milton's pamphlet, Milton and the Rota-men are turned into + ridicule together. The mock-names on the title-page (<i>Paul + Giddy, Trundle Wheeler, &c.</i>) are part of the burlesque; + and it is well kept up in the tract itself, which takes the form + of a letter gravely addressed to Milton and signed with + Harrington's initials, "<i>J. H.</i>"<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: The Rota Club, as we already know (ante p. 555), can have + had no meeting on the day supposed in the burlesque, having + disappeared, with all its appurtenances, ballot-box included, + at or immediately after the swamping of the old Rump by the + readmission of the secluded members. The last glimpses we have + of it are these from Pepys's Diary:—<i>Jan.</i> 10, + 1659-60. "To the Coffee-house, where were a great confluence of + gentlemen: viz. Mr. Harrington, Poulteney (chairman), Gold, Dr. + Petty, &c.; where admirable discourse till 9 at + night."—<i>Jan.</i> 17. "I went to the Coffee Club, and + heard very good discourse. It was in answer to Mr. Harrington's + answer, who said that the state of the Roman government was not + a settled government, and so it was no wonder that the balance + of property was in one hand and the command in another, it + being therefore always in a posture of war; but it was carried + by ballot that it was a steady government, though it is true by + the voices it had been carried before that it was an unsteady + government: so to-morrow it is to be proved by the opponents + that the balance lay in one hand and the government in + another."—<i>Feb.</i> 20 (day before Restitution of the + Secluded). "I to the Coffee-house, where I heard Mr, Harrington + and my Lord Dorset and another Lord talking of getting another + place [for the Club meetings] at the Cockpit, and they did + believe it would come to something." Had there been an express + order for closing the Club? + </p> + </div> + <p> + Mr. Harrington is supposed to begin by expressing his regret to + Mr. Milton that his duty obliges him to make so unsatisfactory a + report as to the reception of Mr. Milton's last pamphlet by the + Club. "For, whereas it is our usual custom to dispute everything, + how plain or obscure soever, by knocking argument against + argument, and tilting at one another with our heads (as rams + fight) till we are out of breath, and then refer it to our wooden + oracle, the Box, and seldom anything, how slight soever, hath + appeared without some person or other to defend it, I must + confess I never saw bowling-stones run so unluckily against any + boy, when his hand has been out, as the ballots did against you + when anything was put to the question from the beginning of your + book to the end." First, one gentleman had objected to the very + name of the book, <i>The Ready and Easy Way</i>, &c., and had + remarked that Mr. Milton was generally unlucky in his titles to + his pamphlets, most of them having been absurd or fantastic. A + second gentleman had been even more impolite. "He wondered you + did not give over writing, since you have always done it to + little or no purpose; for, though you have scribbled your eyes + out, your works have never been printed but for the company of + chandlers and tobaccomen, who are your stationers, and the only + men that vend your labours. He said that he himself reprieved the + whole <i>Defence of the People of England</i> for a groat,... + though it cost you much oil and labour and the Rump £300 a year." + Then a third gentleman, a member of the Long Robe, had been very + severe and sarcastic on Mr. Milton's knowledge of Law; and a + fourth, who had travelled much abroad, had followed with an + equally severe criticism on Mr. Milton's knowledge of European + history. This last speaker was beginning to be prosy, when + fortunately some one came into the Club with news that Sir Arthur + Hasilrig, "the Brutus of our Republic," had been nearly torn in + pieces by a rabble of boys in Westminster Hall, just outside the + Club, and had saved himself by taking to his heels. The laughter + over this made the last gentleman forget what he was saying; + which gave opportunity to a fifth gentleman to rise and discourse + at some length on the sophistical and abominable character of Mr. + Milton's Political Philosophy:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "He was of opinion that you did not believe yourself, nor those + reasons you give in defence of Commonwealth, but that you are + swayed by something else, as either by a stork-like fate (as a + modern Protector-Poet calls it, because that fowl is observed + to live nowhere but in Commonwealths), or because you have + unadvisedly scribbled yourself obnoxious, or else you fear such + admirable eloquence as yours would be thrown away under a + Monarchy.... All your politics are derived from the works of + Declaimers, with which sort of writers the ancient + Commonwealths had the fortune to abound ... All which you have + outgone (according to your talent) in their several ways: for + you have done your feeble endeavour to rob the Church, of the + little which the rapine of the most sacrilegious persons hath + left, in your learned work against Tithes; you have slandered + the dead worse than envy itself, and thrown your dirty outrage + on the memory of a murdered Prince, as if the Hangman were but + your usher. These have been the attempts of your stiff formal + eloquence, which you arm accordingly with anything that lies in + your way, right or wrong,—not only begging but stealing + questions, and taking everything for granted that will serve + your turn. For you are not ashamed to rob O. Cromwell himself, + and make use of his canting assurances from Heaven and + answering condescensions: the most impious Mahometan doctrine + that ever was vented among Christians."... + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + This speaker having ended with a comment on Mr. Milton's remark + that Christ himself had put "the brand of Gentilism" upon + Kingship, "a young gentleman made answer that your writings are + best interpreted by themselves, and that be remembered, in that + book wherein you fight with the King's Picture, you call Sir + Philip Sidney's Princess Pamela, who was born and bred of + Christian parents in England, 'a heathen woman,' and therefore he + thought that by <i>Heathenish</i> you meant <i>English</i>, and + that in calling Kingship heathenish you inferred it was the only + proper and natural government of the English nation, as it hath + been proved in all ages. To which another objected that such a + sense was quite contrary to your purpose; to which he immediately + replied that it was no new thing with you to write that which is + as well against as for your purpose. After much debate, they + agreed to put it to the ballot; and the young gentleman carried + it without contradiction." Then another critic fell foul of Mr. + Milton's Divinity and Church notions,—one of which, he + said, was "that the Church of Christ ought to have no head upon + earth, but the monster of many heads, the multitude," and another + "that any man may turn away his wife, and take another as oft as + he pleases": to which last accusation is added the comment, "As + you have most learnedly proved upon the fiddle + [<i>Tetrachordon</i>], and practised in your life and + conversation; for which you have achieved the honour to be styled + the founder of a sect." The audience by this time becoming weary, + "a worthy knight of this Assembly stood up and said that, if we + meant to examine all the particular fallacies and flaws in your + writing, we should never have done; he would therefore, with + leave, deliver his judgment upon the whole: which in brief was + this:—That it is all windy foppery from the beginning to + the end, written, to the elevation of that rabble and meant to + cheat the ignorant; that you fight always with the flat of your + hand like a rhetorician, and never contract the logical fist; + that you trade altogether in universals, the region of deceits + and fallacy, but never come so near particulars as to let us know + which among divers things of the same kind you would be at ... + Besides this, as all your politics reach but the outside and + circumstances of things, and never touch at realities, so you are + very solicitous about <i>words</i>, as if they were charms, or + had more in them than what they signify; for no conjuror's devil + is more concerned in a spell than you are in a mere word." This + last speaker having moved that Mr. Harrington himself, in + conclusion, should deliver <i>his</i> opinion on Mr. Milton's + book, the result was as follows:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "I knew not (though unwilling) how to avoid it; and therefore I + told them, as briefly as I could, that that which I disliked + most in your treatise was that there is not one word of <i>The + Balance of Property</i>, nor the <i>Agrarian</i>, nor + <i>Rotation</i>, in it from the beginning to the end: without + which (together with a <i>Lord Archon</i>) I thought I had + sufficiently demonstrated, not only in my writings but public + exercises in that coffee-house, that there is no possible + foundation of a free Commonwealth. To the first and second of + these,—that is, the <i>Balance</i> and the + <i>Agrarian</i>,—you made no objection; and therefore I + should not need to make any answer. But for the third,—I + mean <i>Rotation</i>,—which you implicitly reject in your + design to perpetuate the present members, I shall only add this + to what I have already said and written on that subject: That a + Commonwealth is like a great top, that must be kept up by being + whipt round, and held in perpetual circulation; for, if you + discontinue the rotation, and suffer the Senate to settle and + stand still, down it falls immediately. And, if you had studied + this point as carefully as I have done, you could not but know + there is no such way under Heaven of disposing the vicissitudes + of command and obedience, and of distributing equal right and + liberty among all men, as this of + <i>Wheeling</i>."...<sup>1</sup> + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: There is a reprint of this <i>Censure of the Rota</i> in the + Harleian Miscellany (IV. 179-186). I take the date of + publication from the Thomason copy of the original. + </p> + </div> + <p> + How notoriously Milton had flashed forth as the chief militant + Republican of the crisis, how universally he had drawn upon + himself in that character the eyes of the Royalists and become + the target for their bitterest shafts, may appear from yet + another probing among the contemporary London + pamphlets.——Perhaps the last formal and collective + appeal on behalf of the Republic to Monk and the others in power + was a small tract which appeared in the end of March, with this + title:—<i>Plain English to his Excellencie the Lord-General + Monk and the Officers of his Army: or a Word in Season, not onely + to them, but to all impartial Englishmen. To which is added a + Declaration of the Parliament in the year 1647, setting forth the + grounds and reasons why they resolved to make no further Address + or Application to the King. Printed at London in the year</i> + 1660. The first part of the tract consists of eight pages + addressed to Monk, in the form of a letter dated "March 22," by + some persons who do not give their names, but sign themselves + "your Excellency's most faithful friends and servants in the + common cause"; after which, in smaller type, comes a reprint of + the famous reasons of the Long Parliament for their total rupture + with Charles I. in January 1647-8 (Vol. III. pp. 584-585). The + letter begins thus:—"My Lord and Gentlemen,—It is + written <i>The prudent shall keep silence in the evil time</i>; + and 'tis like we also might hold our peace, but that we fear a + knife is at the very throat not only of our and your liberties, + but of our persons also. In this condition we hope it will be no + offence if we cry out to you for help,—you that, through + God's goodness, have helped us so often, and strenuously + maintained the same cause with us against the return of that + family which pretends to the Government of these nations ... We + cannot yet be persuaded, though our fears and jealousies are + strong and the grounds of them many, that you can so lull asleep + your consciences, or forget the public interests and your own, as + to be returning back with the multitude to Egypt, or that you + should with them be hankering after the leeks and onions of our + old bondage." There follows an earnest invective against the + Stuarts; but the tone of respectfulness to Monk is kept up + studiously throughout. There is no sign of Milton in the + language, and one guesses on the whole that the tract was a + concoction of a few of the City Republicans, with Barebone among + them, meeting privately perhaps in the back-parlour of the + Republican bookseller who ventured the publication anonymously; + but it is possible that Milton may have been consulted, or at + least have been cognisant of the affair. The reprinting of the + reasons of the Long Parliament for their No-Address Resolutions + of January 1647-8 was an excellent idea, inasmuch as it reminded + people of that disgust with Charles I., that impossibility of + dealing with him even in his captive condition, which had driven + the Parliamentarians to the theory of a Republic a year before + the Republic had been actually founded; and this feature of the + tract may have seemed good to Milton.——The Tract must + have annoyed Monk and the other authorities, for it was + immediately suppressed. This we learn from a reply to it, which + appeared on the 3rd of April, with the title <i>Treason + Arraigned, in answer to Plain English, being a Trayterous and + Phanatique Pamphlet which was condemned by the Counsel of State, + suppressed by Authority, and the Printer declared against by + Proclamation ... London, Printed in the year</i> 1660. The reply + takes the very curious form of a reproduction of the condemned + tract almost textually, paragraph by paragraph, with a running + comment of vituperation upon the author or authors. The following + sentences, culled from the vituperative comment, will show that + the writer suspected Milton as the person chiefly responsible, + and will sufficiently represent the entire performance:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "Some two days since came to my view a bold sharp pamphlet, + called <i>Plain English</i>, directed to the General and his + Officers.... It is a piece drawn by no fool, and it deserves a + serious answer. By the design, the subject, malice, and the + style, I should suspect it for a blot of the same pen that + wrote <i>Eikonoklastes</i>. It runs foul, tends to tumult; and, + not content barely to applaud the murder of the King, the + execrable author of it vomits upon his ashes with a pedantic + and envenomed scorn, pursuing still his sacred memory. Betwixt + him [Milton] and his brother Rabshakeh [Needham?] I think a man + may venture to divide the glory of it. It relishes the mixture + of their united faculties and wickedness.... Say, Milton, + Needham, either or both of you, or whosoever else, say where + this worthy person [Monk] ever mixed with you.... Come, hang + yourself; beg right; here's your true method of + begging:—'O, for Tom Scott's sake, for Hasilrig's sake, + for Robinson, Holland, Mildmay, Mounson, Corbet, Atkins, Vane, + Livesey, Skippon, Milton, Tichbourne, Ireton, Gordon, Lechmere, + Blagrave, Barebone, Needham's sake, and, to conclude, for all + the rest of our unpenitent brethren's sake, help a company of + poor rebellious devils<sup>1</sup>.'" + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: The dates of the two pamphlets, and the extracts, are from + copies in the Thomason Collection. Such references to Milton in + the pamphlets of March—April 1660 might be multiplied. He + was then in all men's mouths. + </p> + </div> + <p> + We are now, it is to be seen, in the mid-stream of those final + forty days which intervened between the self-dissolution of the + last fag-end of the Long Parliament and the meeting of the Full + and Free Parliament called for the conclusive settlement (March + 16, 1659-60-April 25, 1660). Monk was Dictator; the Council of + State, with Annesley for President, was the body in charge, along + with Monk, keeping the peace; but all eyes were directed towards + the coming Parliament, the elections for which were going on. It + was precisely in the beginning of April that the popular current + towards a restoration of Charles Stuart and nothing else had + acquired full force and become a roaring and foaming torrent. + They were shouting for him, singing for him, treating his + restoration as already certain, though the precise manner and + date of it must be left to the Parliament. Only the chiefs, Monk, + Annesley, Montague, and the other Councillors, kept up an + appearance as if the issue must not be anticipated till the + Parliament should have actually met. With letters to and from + Charles in their pockets, and each knowing or guessing that the + others had such letters, they were trying to look as unpledged + and as merely cogitative as they could. It was for the multitude + to roar and shout for Charles, and they had now full permission. + It was for the chiefs to be silent themselves, only managing and + manipulating, and watchful especially against any outbreak of + Republican fanaticism even yet that might interfere with the + plain course of things and baulk or delay the popular + expectation. Wherever they could perceive a likelihood of + disturbance, by act or by speech, there they were bound to curb + or suppress. + </p> + <p> + At least in one instance they found it necessary to curb a too + hasty and impetuous Royalist. This was Dr. Matthew Griffith, a + clergyman over sixty years of age, once a <i>protegé</i> of the + poet Donne. Sequestered in the early days of the Long Parliament + from his rectory of St. Mary Magdalen, London, he had taken + refuge with the King through the civil wars, and had been made + D.D. at Oxford, and one of the King's chaplains. Afterwards, + returning to London, he had lived there through the Commonwealth + and the Protectorate, one of those that continued the use of the + liturgy and other Anglican church-forms by stealth to small + gatherings of cavaliers, and that found themselves often in + trouble on that account. He had suffered, it is said, four + imprisonments. The near prospect of the return of Charles II. at + last had naturally excited the old gentleman; and, chancing to + preach in the Mercers' Chapel on Sunday the 25th of March, 1660, + he had chosen for his text <i>Prov.</i> XXIV. 21, which he + translated thus: "My son, fear God and the King, and meddle not + with them that be seditious or desirous of change." On this text + he had preached a very Royalist sermon. There would have been + nothing peculiar in that, as many clergymen were doing the like. + But, not content with having preached the sermon, Dr. Griffith + resolved to publish it, in an ostentatious manner and with + certain accompaniments. "<i>The Fear of God and the King. Press'd + in a Sermon preach'd at Mercers Chappell on the 25th of March, + 1660. Together with a brief Historical Account of the Causes of + our unhappy distractions and the onely way to heal them. By + Matthew Griffith, D.D., and Chaplain to the late King. London, + Printed for Tho. Johnson at the Golden Key in St. Pauls + Churchyard</i>, 1660": such was the name of a duodecimo out in + London in the first days of April.<sup>1</sup> The volume + consists of three parts,—first, a dedicatory epistle "To + His Excellency George Monck, Captain-General of all the Land + Forces of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and one of the Generals + of all the Naval Forces"; then the sermon itself in fifty-eight + pages; and then an addition, in the shape of a directly political + pamphlet, headed "<i>The Samaritan Revived</i>." The gem is the + dedication to Monk. The substance of that is as follows:— + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: "April" only, without day, is the date in the Thomason copy; + but it was registered at Stationers' Hall, March 31, and there + is proof that the publication was immediate. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + "My Lord,—If you will be pleased to allow me to be a + physician in the same sense that all moral divines do + acknowledge the body-politic (consisting of Church and State) + to be a patient, then I will now give your Highness a just + account both how far and how faithfully I have practised upon + it by virtue of my profession. When I first observed things to + be somewhat out of order, by reason of a high distemper, which + then appeared by some infallible indications, I thought it my + duty to prescribe an wholesome electuary (out of the 122nd + Psalm at the 6th verse, in a sermon which I was called to + preach in the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul's, anno 1642, and + soon after published by command under this title: <i>A + Pathetical Persuasion to pray for the Public Peace</i>), to be + duly and devoutly taken every morning next our hearts: hoping + that, by God's blessing on the means, I should have prevented + that distemper from growing into a formed disease. Yet, finding + that my preventing physic did not work so kindly and take so + good an effect as I earnestly desired, but rather that this my + so tenderly beloved patient grew worse and worse, as not only + being in process of time fallen into a fever and that + pestilential, but also as having received divers dangerous + wounds, which, rankling and festering inwardly, brought it into + a spiritual atrophy and deep consumption, and the parts + ill-affected (for want of Christian care and skill in such + mountebanks as were trusted with the cure, while myself and + most of the ancient orthodox clergy were sequestered and + silent) began to gangrene: and, when some of us became sensible + thereof, we took the confidence (being partly emboldened by the + connivance of the higher powers that then were) to fall to the + exercise of our ministerial functions again in such poor + parishes as would admit us: Then I saw it was high time not + only to prescribe strong purgative medicines in the pulpit + (contempered of the myrrh of mortification, the aloes of + confession and contrition, the rhubarb of restitution and + satisfaction, with divers other safe roots, seeds, and flowers, + fit and necessary to help to carry away by degrees the + incredible confluence of ill humours and all such malignant + matter as offended), but also to put pen to paper and appear in + print (as in this imperfect and impolished piece, which as + guilty of an high presumption here in all humility begs your + Lordship's pardon) wherein my chief scope is to personate the + Good Samaritan, that, as he cured the wounded traveller by + searching his wounds with wine and suppling them with oil, so I + have here both described the rise and progress of our national + malady, and also prescribed the only remedy, that I might be in + some kind instrumental, under God and your Highness, in the + healing of the same ... My Lord, as it must needs grieve you to + see these three distressed kingdoms lie like a body without a + head, so it may also cheer you to consider that the Comforter + hath empowered you (and in this nick of time you only) to make + these dead and dry bones live. You may by this one act ennoble + and eternize yourself more in the hearts and chronicles of + these three kingdoms than by all your former victories and the + long line of your extraction from the Plantagenets your + ancestors ... It is a greater honour to <i>make</i> a king than + to <i>be</i> one. Your proper name minds you of being St. + George for England; you surname prompts you to stand for order: + then let not panic fears, punctilios of human policy, or state + formalities, beguile you (whom we look upon as Jethro's + magistrate, who was a man of courage, fearing God, dealing + truly, and hating covetousness) of that immarescible crown of + glory due to you, whom we hope that God hath designed to be the + repairer of the breach and the temporal redeemer of your native + country." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Evidently Dr. Griffith was a silly person, more likely to make a + cause ridiculous than to help it. There were things in his sermon + and its accompaniments, however, that might harm the King's cause + otherwise than by the bad literary taste of the defence. There + was a tone of that revengeful spirit which it was the policy of + all the more prudent Royalists to disown. Hence the publication + annoyed even in that quarter. The unpardonable offence, however, + was the address to Monk. He was studying to be as secret as the + grave, had signified his leanings to the King by not a single + public word, and indeed had hardly ceased to swear he stood for + the Commonwealth. And here was an impudent Doctor of Divinity + spoiling all by openly assuming and announcing the very thing to + be concealed. Monk was excessively irritated; the Council of + State sympathized with him; and so, "to please and blind the + fanatical party" for the moment, Dr. Griffith was sent to + Newgate.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Wood's Ath. III. 711-713.—Hyde, writing from Breda, + April 16, 1660, says to a Royalist correspondent: "This very + last post hath brought over three or four complaints to the + king of the very unskillful passion and distemper of some of + our divines in their late sermons; with which they say that + both the General and the Council of State are highly offended, + as truly they have reason to be ... One Dr. Griffith is + mentioned." <i>Ibid.</i>, note by Bliss. + </p> + </div> + <p> + It was more natural, however, for the General and the Council to + take similar precautions against too violent expressions of + anti-Royalism, too vehement efforts to stir up the Republican + embers. Of their vigilance in this respect we have just seen an + instance in their instant suppression of the Republican appeal to + Monk and his Officers entitled <i>Plain English</i>, and their + procedure by proclamation against the anonymous publisher of that + tract. If I am not mistaken, he was Livewell Chapman, of the + Crown in Pope's Head Alley, the publisher of Milton's + <i>Considerations touching the likeliest means to remove + Hirelings out of the Church</i>, and also of his more recent + <i>Ready and Easy Way to establish a Free Commonwealth</i>. There + was, at all events, a printed proclamation of the Council of + State against this person, dated "Wednesday, 28 March, 1660," and + signed "William Jessop, Clerk of the Council." It began in these + terms:—"Whereas the Council of State is informed that + Livewell Chapman, of London, Stationer, having from a wicked + design to engage the nation in blood and confusion caused several + seditious and treasonable books to be printed and published, + doth, now hide and obscure himself, for avoiding the hand of + justice"; and it ended with an order that Chapman should + surrender himself within four days, and that none should harbour + or conceal him, but all, and especially officers, try to arrest + him. If he was the publisher of <i>Plain English</i>, there would + be additional reason for suspecting that Milton had some + cognisance of that anonymous appeal to Monk; but there can be no + doubt that among the "seditious and treasonable books" the + publication of which constituted Chapman's offence was Milton's + own <i>Ready and Easy Way</i>. The authorities had not yet struck + at Milton himself, but they were coming very near him. They had + ordered the arrest of his publisher. + </p> + <p> + Within a few days after the order for the arrest of Milton's + publisher, Livewell Chapman, the authorities signified their + displeasure, though in a less harsh manner, with another + Republican associate of Milton, his old friend Marchamont + Needham.—Not without difficulty had this Oliverian + journalist, the subsidized editor since 1655 of the bi-weekly + official newspaper of the Protectorate (calling itself <i>The + Public Intelligencer</i> on Mondays and <i>Mercurius + Politicus</i> on Thursdays), been retained in the service of the + Good Old Cause. His Oliverianism having been excessive, to the + extent of defending not only Oliver's Established Church, but + also all else in his policy that grated most on the pure + Republicans, he had been discharged from his editorship on the + 13th of May, 1659, by order of the Restored Rump, before it had + been six days in power, the place going then to John Canne. But + Needham's versatility was matchless, and on the 15th of August + the Rump had thought it best to reappoint him to the + editorship.<sup>1</sup> Since then, having already in succession + been Parliamentarian, Royalist, Commonwealth's man or Rumper, and + all but anti-Republican Protectoratist, the world had known him + in his fifth phase of Rumper or pure Commonwealth's man again. + Not only in his journals, but also in independent pamphlets, he + had advocated the Good Old Cause. One such pamphlet, published + with his name in August 1659, under the title of <i>Interest will + not lie</i>,<sup>2</sup> had been in reply to some Royalist who + had propounded "a way how to satisfy all parties and provide for + the public good by calling in the son of the late King": against + whom Needham's contention was "that it is really the interest of + every party (except only the Papist) to keep him out." One can + understand now why, in the Royalist squib lately quoted, Needham + was named as "the Commonwealth didapper"<sup>3</sup> along with + Milton as "their goose-quill champion," and why the public were + there promised the pleasure of soon seeing the two at Tyburn + together.—But the final performance of Needham's, it is + believed, was a tract called <i>News from Brussels, in a Letter + from a near attendant on his Majesty's person to a Person of + Honour here</i>. It purports to be dated at Brussels, March 10, + 1659-60, English style, and was out in London on March 23. The + publication is said to have been managed secretly by Mr. + Praise-God Barebone; and, though the tract was anonymous, it was + attributed at once to Needham. Being "fall of rascalities against + Charles II. and his Court," as Wood says, and professing to give + private information as to the terrible severities which they were + meditating when they should be restored to England, the pamphlet + was much resented by the Royalists; and John Evelyn roused + himself from a sickbed to pen an instant and emphatic + contradiction, called <i>The late News or Message from Brussels + unmasked</i>. Needham's connexion, or supposed connexion, with so + violent an anti-Royalist tract, and possibly also with the + Republican manifesto called <i>Plain English</i>, which appeared + in the same week, could not be overlooked; and, accordingly, in + Whitlocke, under date April 9, 1660, we find this note: "The + Council discharged Needham from writing the Weekly Intelligence + and ordered Dury and Muddiman to do it." The Dury here mentioned + was not our John Durie of European celebrity, but an + insignificant Giles Dury. His colleague Muddiman, the real + successor of Needham in the editorship, was Henry Muddiman, an + acquaintance of Pepys, who certifies that he was "a good scholar + and an arch rogue." He had been connected with the London press + for some time (for smaller news-sheets had been springing up + again beside the authorized <i>Mercurius</i> and + <i>Intelligencer</i>), and had been writing for the Rumpers. He + had just been, owning to Pepys, however, that he "did it only to + get money," and had no liking for them or their politics.[4 + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals of dates. As only the <i>Intelligencer</i> + is named in the orders, one infers that Needham retained the + editorship of the <i>Mercurius</i> during his three months of + suspension. He may have had more of a proprietary hold on that + paper. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 2: Thomason Catalogue: large quartos. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 3: <i>Didapper</i>: a duck that dives and reappears. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 4: Wood's Ath. III. 1180-1190; Whitlocke as cited; Pepys, under + date Jan. 9, 1659-60; Evelyn's Diary, Feb. 17, 1659-60 <i>et + seq.</i>; Baker's Chronicle continued by Edward Phillips (ed. + 1679), pp. 699-700.—It is curious to read Phillips's + remarks on the "several seditious pamphlets" put forth by the + Republican fanatics "to deprave the minds of the people" and + prevent the Restoration. Though he must have remembered well + that his uncle's were the chief of these, he avoids naming him. + He mentions, however, the <i>News from Brussels</i>, and + dilates on the great service done by Evelyn in replying to it. + Phillips had meanwhile (1663-1665) been in Evelyn's employment + as tutor to his son. + </p> + </div> + <p> + If they turned Needham out of his editorship, they could hardly + do less than turn Milton out of his Latin Secretaryship. About + this time, accordingly, he did cease to hold the office which he + had held for eleven years. Phillips's words are that he was + "sequestered from his office of Latin Secretary and the salary + thereunto belonging"; but, unfortunately, though he gives us to + understand that this was shortly before the Restoration, he + leaves the exact date uncertain. + </p> + <p> + Though the last of Milton's state-letters now preserved and known + as his are the two, dated May 15, 1659, written for the Rump + immediately after the subversion of Richard's Protectorate, we + have seen him holding his office in sinecure, and drawing his + salary of £200 a year, to as late at least as the beginning of + the Wallingford-House Interruption in October 1659; and there is + no reason for thinking that the Council or Committee of Safety of + the Wallingford-House Government, his dissent from their + usurpation notwithstanding, thought it necessary to dismiss him. + Far less likely is it that the Republican Rumpers, when restored + the second time in December 1659, would have parted with a man so + thoroughly Republican and so respectful to themselves, even while + they dared not adopt his Church-disestablishment suggestions. We + may fairly assume, then, that Milton remained Marvell's nominal + colleague till Monk's final termination of the tenure of the Rump + by re-admitting the secluded members, i.e. till Feb. 21, 1659-60. + Had he been then at once dismissed, it would have been no wonder. + How could he, the Independent of Independents, the denouncer of + every form of State-Church, the enemy and satirist of the + Presbyterians, and moreover the author of the Divorce heresy and + the founder of a sect of Divorcers, be retained in the service of + a re-Presbyterianized Government, founding itself on the + Westminster Confession and the Solemn League and Covenant? There + is no proof, however, of any such instant dismissal of Milton by + the new powers, but rather a shade of proof to the contrary in + the phraseology of the preface to his <i>Ready and Easy Way</i>. + The probability, therefore, is that it was after March 3, the + date of the publication of that pamphlet, that Milton was + sequestered, and that it was the pamphlet itself, added to the + sum of his previous obnoxiousness to the new powers, that led to + the sequestration. Yet, as the new powers were proceeding warily, + and keeping up as long as they could the pretence of leaving the + Commonwealth an open question, it is quite possible that they + were in no haste to discharge Milton, All in all, the most + probable time of his dismissal is some time after the dissolution + of the Parliament of the Secluded Members on the 16th of March, + 1659-60, when Monk and the Council of State were left in the + management. As Milton had been originally appointed by the + Council of State and not by Parliament, it was in the Council's + pleasure to continue him or dismiss him. They were in a severe + mood, virtually anti-Republican already, though not yet avowedly + so, between March 28, when they ordered Livewell Chapman's + arrest, and April 9, when they dismissed Needham; and that or + thereabouts may be the date of Milton's discharge.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Phillips's narrative of his uncle's dismissal is a blotch of + confused wording and pointing:—"It was but a little + before the King's Restoration that he wrote and published his + book in defence of a Commonwealth; so undaunted he was in + declaring his true sentiments to the world; and not long before + his <i>Power of the Civil Magistrate in Ecclesiastical + Affairs</i> and his <i>Treatise against Hirelings,</i> just + upon the King's coming over; having a little before been + sequestered from his office of Latin Secretary and the salary + thereunto belonging, he was force," &c. This, as it stands, + defies interpretation. The <i>Treatise of Civil Power in + Ecclesiastical Causes</i> appeared in April 1659, or eight + months before the same. There ought, I believe, to have been a + full stop after <i>Hirelings</i>, and the rest should have run + on thus:—"Just upon the King's coming over, having a + little before been sequestered from his office of latin + Secretary and the salary therunto belonging, he was force," + &c. + </p> + </div> + <hr /> + <p> + In office or out of office, it was the same to Milton. He had + determined that he would not be suppressed, that he would not be + silent, till they should tie his hands, or gag his mouth. There + is no grander exhibition of dying resistance, of solitary and + useless fighting for a lost cause, than in his conduct through + April 1680. Alone he then stood, we may say, the last of the + visible Republicans. Hasilrig, Scott, Ludlow, Neville, and Vane, + had collapsed or were out of sight, the last under ban already by + his former brothers of the Commonwealth; Needham was + extinguished; most of the Cromwellians had gone over to the + enemy, or were hastening to surrender. Blind Milton alone + remained, the Samson Agonistes, On him, in the absence of others, + the eyes of the Philistine mob, the worshippers of Dagon, had + been turned from time to time of late as the Hebrew that could + make them most efficient sport; and now it was as if they had all + met, by common consent, to be amused by this single Hebrew's last + exertions, and had sent to bring him on the stage. They laughed, + they shouted, they shrieked, the gathered Philistine thousands: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "He, patient, but undaunted, where they led him + </p> + <p> + Came to the place." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The first of the feats of strength of Milton, thus alone on the + stage, and knowing himself to be confronted and surrounded by a + jeering multitude, was a somewhat puny and unnecessary one. It + was an onslaught on Dr. Matthew Griffith for his Royalist sermon. + He wanted some object of attack, and the very notoriety given to + Dr. Griffith's performance by the rebuke of the Council of State + recommended it for the purpose despite its intrinsic + wretchedness. Accordingly, having had Dr. Griffith's Sermon and + its accompaniments read over to him, he dictated what appeared + some time in April with this title: "<i>Brief Notes upon a late + Sermon, titled 'The Fear of God and the King'; Preach'd, and + since published, by Matthew Griffith, D.D., and Chaplain to the + late King. Wherin many notorious wrestings of Scripture, and + other falsities are observed.</i>"<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Original copies of this pamphlet of Milton must be very + scarce. I could not find one in the British Museum, and I have + looked in vain elsewhere. Probably, at the date when it was + published, the Council of State had become very alert in + suppressing such things. I take the title and extracts from + Pickering's (1851) collective edition of Milton's Works, + "printed from the original editions." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The tract, which is very short, opens thus:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "I affirmed, in the Preface of a late Discourse, entitled + <i>The Ready Way to establish a Free Commonwealth, and the + Dangers of readmitting Kingship in this Nation</i>, that 'the + humour of returning to our old bondage was instilled of late by + some deceivers': and, to make good that what I then affirmed + was not without just ground, one of those deceivers I present + here to the people, and, if I prove him not such, refuse not to + be so accounted in his stead." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + The greater part of the pamphlet consists of an examination of + the sermon itself, with minute remarks on its wrestings or + misinterpretations of Scripture texts, and on the poverty of the + preacher's theology and scholarship generally. There is no actual + disguise of the fact that Milton has the lowest opinion of the + intellectual <i>calibre</i> of his antagonist, whom he once names + "a pulpit-mountebank," and of whom he once says that "the rest of + his preachment is mere groundless chat," Yet, on the other hand, + he would evidently have Dr. Griffith taken as a fair enough + specimen of the average Church-of-England clergyman. "O people of + an implicit faith, no better than Romish if these be your prime + teachers!" he once exclaims, as if Dr. Griffith were a man of + some distinction. + </p> + <p> + The only portions of the <i>Notes</i> of interest now are those + that bear on the historical situation at the moment. Thus, in the + notice of the Dedicatory Epistle to Monk prefixed to Dr. + Griffith's sermon, there is an evident struggle on Milton's part + to speak as if one might still have faith in the General. It is + possible that the censure of Dr. Griffith by the Council of + State, intended as it was "to please and blind the fanatical + party," may have had some such temporary effect on Milton. At all + events, he refers to Monk as one "who hath so eminently borne his + part in the whole action," and he characterizes one portion of + the Dedicatory Epistle, where Monk is prayed "to carry on what he + had so happily begun," as nothing less than "an impudent calumny + and affront to his Excellence." It charges him, says Milton, + "most audaciously and falsely, with the renouncing of his own + public promises and declarations both to the Parliament and the + Army; and we trust his actions ere long will deter such + insinuating slanderers from thus approaching him for the future." + Throughout the <i>Notes</i>, however, one sees that even this + small lingering of confidence in Monk is forced, and that Milton + is too sadly convinced of the probable predetermination of all + now in power to fulfil the general expectation and bring in + Charles. In the following passage there is a half-veiled + intimation that, rather than see that ignominious conclusion, + Milton would reconcile himself to Monk's own assumption of the + Crown:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "Free Commonwealths have been ever counted fittest and + properest for civil, virtuous, and industrious nations, + abounding with prudent men worthy to govern; Monarchy fittest + to curb degenerate, corrupt, idle, proud, luxurious people. If + we desire to be of the former, nothing better for us, nothing + nobler, than a Free Commonwealth; if we will needs condemn + ourselves to be of the latter, despairing of our own virtue, + industry, and the number of our able men, we may then, + conscious of our own unworthiness to be governed better, sadly + betake us to our befitting thraldom: yet, choosing out of our + own number one who hath best aided the people and best merited + against tyranny, the space of a reign or two we may chance to + live happily enough, or tolerably. But that a victorious people + should give up themselves again to the vanquished was never yet + heard of, seems rather void of all reason and good policy, and + will in all probability subject the subduers to the + subdued,—will expose to revenge, to beggary, to ruin and + perpetual bondage, the victors, under the vanquished: than + which what can be more unworthy?" + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Of far more moment than the <i>Brief Notes on Dr. Griffith's + Sermon</i> was a second and enlarged edition of the <i>Ready and + Easy Way to establish a Free Commonwealth</i>. + </p> + <p> + Though it is announced distinctly and emphatically in the opening + paragraph that this edition is a "revised and enlarged" one, not + till after a careful comparison with the former edition is it + seen how much the announcement implies. There are large + additions; there are omissions; there are changes of phraseology + in every page. The new pamphlet, were it nothing else, would be + an interesting study of Milton's art in authorcraft, of the + expertness he had acquired in recasting a composition of his, + ingeniously dove-tailing passages into it without spoiling the + connexion, and ejecting phrases that had ceased to be relevant or + vital, all under the difficulties of his blindness, when his ear + listening to some mouth beside him and his own mouth interrupting + and replying were his sole instruments. But there is much more + than this. The later edition is Milton about a month farther down + the torrent than the first, a month nearer the falls; and the + additions, omissions, and alterations, convey what had passed in + his mind through that month. The second edition of the <i>Ready + and Easy Way to establish a Free Commonwealth</i> is to be taken, + in short, for Milton's Biography at least, as an important new + publication. Only the essential additions and omissions can be + here noticed.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: The fact that there are two editions of the <i>Ready and + Easy Way</i>, though Milton calls express attention to it in + the second, seems to have escaped all the bibliographers. There + is no note of it in Lowndes. What is most curious, however, is + that, while it is the second or enlarged edition alone that is + now accessible to everybody in the collective editions of + Milton's Prose Works, from the so-called Amsterdam edition of + 1898 to Pickering's and Bonn's, yet original copies of this + second edition seem, to have wholly disappeared. There are + several original copies of the <i>Ready and Easy Way</i> in the + British Museum, but all of the first edition, not one of the + second; the Bodleian has no copy of the second; every original + copy of the tract that I have been able to see or hear of + anywhere else has always turned out to be one of the first + edition. In my perplexity, I began to ask myself whether this + was to be explained by supposing that Milton, after he had + prepared the second edition for the press, did not succeed in + getting it published, and so that it was not till 1698 that it + saw the light, and then by the accident that his enlarged + press-copy had survived, and come (through Toland or otherwise) + into the hands of the printers of the Amsterdam edition of the + Prose Works. But, though several pieces in that edition are + expressly noted as "never before published" (see notes ante, p. + 617 and p. 656), there is no such editorial note respecting + <i>The Ready and Easy Way</i>, but every appearance of mere + reprinting from a previously published copy of 1660. On the + whole, therefore, I conclude that Milton did publish his second + and enlarged edition some time in April 1660; and I account for + the rarity of original copies of this second edition by + supposing that either the impression was seized before many + copies had got about, or the Restoration itself came so rapidly + after the publication as to make it all but abortive. Original + copies of Milton's contemporary <i>Notes on Dr. Griffith's + Sermon</i> seem, as I have mentioned (ante p. 675, note), to be + equally scarce with original copies of the second edition of + the <i>Ready and Easy Way</i>. They were the two last + utterances of Milton before the Restoration, and so close to + that event as perhaps to be sucked down in the whirlpool. Yet, + as we know for certain that the <i>Notes on Dr. Griffith's + Sermon</i> did appear, there is no need for a contrary + supposition respecting the other. Very possibly original copies + of both <i>have</i> survived somewhere; and I should be glad to + hear of the fact. As it is, I have had to take my descriptions + of both from the copies in the collective Prose Works. By the + bye, it is an error in bibliographers and editors to give only + the titles of old books from the original title-pages, without + adding the imprints of the publishers. Much historical and + biographical information lies in such imprints. In the present + instance, for example, I should have liked very much to know + whether Livewell Chapman was nominally the publisher of the + second edition as well as of the first, or whether Milton was + obliged to put forth the second edition without any publisher's + name. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Among the <i>additions</i> the most prominent is this motto (an + extension of Juvenal I. 15, 16) prefixed to the whole:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "<i>Et nos</i> + </p> + <p> + <i>Consilium dedimus Syllæ: demus Populo nunc</i>"; + </p> + </div> + <p> + which may be translated:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "We have advised + </p> + <p> + Sulla himself: advise we now the People." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Had this been prefixed to the first edition, the inevitable + conclusion would have been that Sulla stood for Oliver Cromwell, + and that Milton meant that, having taken the liberty in his + <i>Defensio Secunda</i> of tendering wholesome advices even to + the great Protector in the height of his power, it might be + allowed to him now to advise the general body of his countrymen. + Much would have depended then on Milton's estimate of the + character of the real or Roman Sulla. That seems to have been the + ordinary and traditional one, for in one of the smaller + insertions in the text of the present edition he speaks of the + Roman People as having been brought, by their own infatuation, + "under the tyranny of Sulla." Now, though we have seen that + Milton had modified his opinion of the worth of Cromwell's + Government all in all, we should have been shocked by an epithet + of posthumous opprobrium applied to the man he had so panegyrized + while living. Fortunately, we are spared the shock. Monk, not + Cromwell, is the military dictator that Milton has in view in the + metonymy <i>Sulla</i>. He is thinking of his Letter to Monk only + the other day, containing that specific suggestion of a PERPETUAL + NATIONAL COUNCIL in the centre and CITY COUNCILS in all the + counties which he developes more at large in his pamphlet. + Perhaps he is thinking also of the more recent remonstrance, + called <i>Plain English</i>, addressed by some London + Republicans, of whom he may have been one, to Monk and his + Officers. He has now done with Monk; he knows that the + suggestions have taken no effect in that quarter, perhaps have + been rebuffed; he will therefore dedicate them afresh to the + people at large, for whom they were first written. The + translation, accordingly, may run definitely thus:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "This advice we have given + </p> + <p> + Sulla himself: 'tis for the People now." + </p> + </div> + <p> + In one or two of the added passages, or modifications of + phraseology, we note reference to the course of events since the + publication of the former edition. Compare, for example, the + following portion of the prefatory paragraph with the + corresponding portion of the same paragraph as it first stood (p. + 645):— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + ... "I thought best not to suppress what I had written, hoping + that it may now be of much more use and concernment to be + freely published in the midst of our elections to a Free + Parliament, or their sitting to consider freely of the + Government; whom it behoves to have all things represented to + them that may direct their judgment therein: and I never read + of any state, scarce of any tyrant, grown so incurable as to + refuse counsel from any in a time of public deliberation, much + less to be offended. If their absolute determination be to + enthral us, before so long a Lent of servitude they may permit + us a little Shroving-time first, wherein to speak freely and + take our leaves of Liberty, And, because in the former edition, + through haste, many faults escaped, and many books were + suddenly dispersed ere the note to mend them could be sent, I + took the opportunity from this occasion to revise and somewhat + to enlarge the whole discourse, especially that part which + argues for a Perpetual Senate. The treatise, thus revised and + enlarged, is as follows." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Again, the renewal of the Solemn League and Covenant by the late + Parliament of the Secluded Members furnishes Milton with a fresh + text. He does not, as might have been expected, and as he + certainly would have done on another occasion, upbraid the + Parliament with the fact, or denounce the return to Presbyterian + strictness of which it was a signal: on the contrary, he presses + the fact into his service as a new argument against the recall of + Charles. The first of the following sentences had appeared in the + former edition; but the rest is suggested by the revival of the + Covenant in the interim:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "What Liberty of Conscience can we then expect of others [even + the good and great Queen Elizabeth, he has just said, had + thought persecution necessary to preserve royal authority], far + worse principled from, the cradle, trained up and governed by + Popish and Spanish counsels, and on such depending hitherto for + subsistence? Especially, what can this last Parliament expect, + who, having revived lately and published the Covenant, hare + re-engaged themselves never to readmit Episcopacy? Which no son + of Charles returning but will most certainly bring back with + him, if he regard the last and strictest charge of his father, + <i>to persevere in not the Doctrine only, but Government, of + the Church of England, [and] not to neglect the speedy and + effectual suppressing of Errors and Schisms</i>,—among + which he accounted Presbytery one of the chief. Or, if, + notwithstanding that charge of his father, he submit to the + Covenant, how will he keep faith to <i>us</i> with disobedience + to <i>him</i>, or regard that faith given which must be founded + on the breach of that last and solemnest paternal charge, and + the reluctance, I may say the antipathy, which is in all kings + against Presbyterian and Independent Discipline?" + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Perhaps the most striking instance of <i>omission</i> in the new + edition of matter that had appeared in the first is in the + paragraph on the subject of Spiritual Liberty to which reference + has been made at p. 653. He retains in that paragraph nearly all + that related to Liberty of Conscience generally, but he carefully + removes the two or three sentences in which he had intimated his + individual opinion that there could be no perfect Liberty of + Conscience without abolition of Church Establishments and + dissolution of every form of connexion between Church and State. + There was practical sagacity in this omission at the moment at + which he was re-issuing his pamphlet. It was no time then to be + obtruding upon the public, or upon the Presbyterians that were + flocking in to the new Parliament, his peculiar Disestablishment + notion, however precious it might be to himself. His real + business was to stir up all, by any means, to the defence even + yet of the Republican form of Government; in such an argument, + addressed mainly to Presbyterians and other zealots for a State + Church, the question of Disestablishment was rather to be + avoided; nay, for himself, that question had faded into + insignificance for the time in comparison with the vaster + question whether the Republic should be preserved or the Stuarts + brought back, and most willingly would he have been, assured of + the preservation of the Republic even though a State Church + should continue to be part and parcel of it, and the special + battle of Disestablishment should have to be postponed. To keep + out the Stuarts, to rouse dread and disgust even yet at the idea + that the Stuarts should return, was the single all-including + possibility, or impossibility, for which he was now striving. To + this end it is that again and again in the course of the pamphlet + he inserts new passages heightening the contrast between the + glories and advantages of free Republican Government and the + miseries and degradation of subjection to a Monarchy. Near the + beginning there is an enlargement of this kind, to the extent of + three pages, in which he reviews, in greater detail than before, + the steps that had led to the establishment of the English + Commonwealth; and appeals to his countrymen whether their + experience of Commonwealth government had not been on the whole + satisfactory. Had not the very speeches and writings of that + period, he had asked in his first edition, "testified a spirit in + this nation no less noble and well-fitted to the liberty of a + Commonwealth than in the ancient Greeks or Romans"? In returning + to that topic now, he cannot refrain from breaking out once more, + though it should be the last time, in his characteristic vein of + self-appreciation. "Nor was the heroic cause," he adds, + "unsuccessfully defended to all Christendom against the tongue of + a famous and thought invincible adversary, nor the constancy and + fortitude that so nobly vindicated our liberty, our victory at + once against two the most prevailing usurpers over mankind, + Superstition and Tyranny, unpraised or uncelebrated in a written + monument likely to outlive detraction, as it hath hitherto + convinced or silenced not a few detractors, especially in parts + abroad." Readers who may think that we are already too familiar + with this strain may be reminded that Milton was here taking + account of the contemptuous notices of his Defences of the + Commonwealth in some of the recent Royalist pamphlets, and also + that, as he dictated, the thought must have been passing in his + mind that very probably his days were numbered, and those + Defences of the Commonwealth would have to remain, after all, his + last important bequest to the world. + </p> + <p> + There is proof that Milton had read the burlesque Censure of the + Rota on the first edition. Not only are two or three sentences + omitted or modified in consequence of remarks there made; but, in + the considerable enlargements he thinks necessary for the support + of his main notion of PERPETUITY OF THIS NATIONAL GREAT COUNCIL, + he takes care to extend also his former references to + Harrington's principle of Rotation and other doctrines. Of + course, he was well aware that it was not Harrington himself that + had complained of the slightness of the former references, but + only some Royalist wit caricaturing Harrington together with + himself. While disagreeing with Harrington, he shows his respect + for him. The following are specimens of these particular + enlargements:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + <i>The Rotation Principle</i>:—"But, if the ambition of + such as think themselves injured that they also partake not of + the Government, and are impatient till they be chosen, cannot + brook the perpetuity of others chosen before them, or if it be + feared that long continuance of power may corrupt sincerest + men, the known expedient is, and by some lately propounded, + that annually (or, if the space be longer, so much perhaps the + better) the third part of Senators may go out, according to the + precedence of their election, and the like number be chosen in + their places, to prevent the settling of too absolute a power + if it should be perpetual: and this they call <i>Partial + Rotation</i>. But I could wish that this wheel or partial wheel + in State, if it be possible, might be avoided, as having too + much, affinity with the Wheel of Fortune. For it appears not + how this can be done without danger and mischance of putting + out a great number of the best and ablest; in whose stead new + elections may bring in as many raw, unexperienced, and + otherwise affected, to the weakening and much altering for the + worse of public transactions. Neither do I think a Perpetual + Senate, especially chosen and entrusted by the people, much in + this land to be feared, where the well-affected, either in a + Standing Army or in a Settled Militia, have their arms in their + own hands. Safest therefore to me it seems, and of least hazard + or interruption to affairs, that none of the Grand Council be + moved, unless by death or just conviction of some crime; for + what can be expected firm or stedfast from a floating + foundation? However, I forejudge not any probable expedient, + any temperament that can be found in things of this nature, so + disputable on either side." + </p> + <p> + <i>Contrast of Harrington's Model with Milton's, and a + Suggestion for the mode of Elections</i>:—"And this + annual Rotation of a Senate to consist of 300, as is lately + propounded, requires also another Popular Assembly upward of + 1000, with an answerable Rotation. Which, besides that it will + be liable to all those inconveniencies found in the foresaid + remedies, cannot but be troublesome and chargeable, both in + their motion and their session, to the whole + land,—unwieldy with their own bulk: unable in so great a + number to mature their consultations as they ought, if any be + allotted to them, and that they meet not from so many parts + remote to sit a whole year leaguer in one place, only now and + then to hold up a forest of fingers, or to convey each man his + bean or ballot into the box, without reason shown or common + deliberation; incontinent of secrets, if any be imparted to + them; emulous and always jarring with the other Senate. The + much better way doubtless will be, in this wavering condition + of our affairs, to defer the changing or circumscribing of our + Senate, more than may be done with ease, till the Commonwealth + be thoroughly settled in peace and safety and they themselves + give us the occasion.... Another way will be to well qualify + and refine Elections: not committing all to the noise and + shouting of a rude multitude, but permitting only those of them + who are rightly qualified to nominate as many as they will; and + out of that number others of a better breeding to choose a less + number more judiciously; till, after a third or fourth sifting + and refining of exactest choice, they only be left chosen who + are the due number, and seem by most voices the worthiest.... + But, to prevent all mistrust, the People then will have their + several Ordinary Assemblies (which will henceforth quite + annihilate the odious power and name of <i>Committees</i>) in + the chief towns of every County,—without the trouble, + charge, or time lost, of summoning and assembling from so far, + in so great a number, and so long residing from their own + houses, or removing of their families,—to do as much at + home in their several shires, entire or subdivided, towards the + securing of their liberty, as a numerous Assembly of them all + formed and convened on purpose with the wariest rotation." + </p> + <p> + <i>Glance at some of Harrington's other notions</i>:—"The + way propounded [Milton's] is plain, easy, and open before us: + without intricacies, without the introducement of new or + obsolete forms or terms, or exotic models,—ideas that + would effect nothing, but with a number of new injunctions to + manacle the native liberty of mankind; turning all virtue into + prescription, servitude, and necessity, to the great impairing + and frustrating of Christian Liberty." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + As if the very closeness of the vision of returning Royalty had + rendered Milton's defiance of it more desperate and reckless, he + inserts, wherever he can, some new expression of his contempt for + Charles and all his family, and of his prophetic horror of the + state of society they will bring in. Thus:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "There will be a Queen of no less charge, in most likelihood + outlandish and a Papist, besides a Queen-Mother, such already, + together with both their Courts and numerous Train: then a + Royal issue, and ere long severally <i>their</i> sumptuous + Courts, to the multiplying of a servile crew, not of servants + only, but of nobility and gentry, bred up then to the hopes not + of public, but of court offices, to be Stewards, Chamberlains, + Ushers, Grooms." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + But the most terrific new passage in prediction of the + Restoration and its revenges is the following: in which the + reader will observe also the recognition, as in one spurn of + boundless scorn, of the Royalist scurrilities against + himself:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "Admit that Monarchy of itself may be convenient to some + nations; yet to us who have thrown it out, received back again, + it cannot but prove pernicious. For Kings to come, never + forgetting their former ejection, will be sure to fortify and + arm themselves sufficiently for the future against all such + attempts hereafter from the People; who shall be then so + narrowly watched and kept so low that, though they would never + so fain, and at the same rate of their blood and treasure, they + never shall be able to regain what they now have purchased and + may enjoy, or to free themselves from any yoke imposed upon + them. Nor will they dare to go about it,—utterly + disheartened for the future, if these their highest attempts + prove unsuccessful: which will be the triumph of all Tyrants + hereafter over any People that shall resist oppression; and + their song will then be to others <i>How sped the Rebellious + English?</i>, to our posterity <i>How sped the Rebels your + fathers?</i>.... Yet neither shall we obtain or buy at an easy + rate this new gilded yoke which thus transports us. A new Royal + Revenue must be found, a new Episcopal,—for those are + individual: both which, being wholly dissipated or bought by + private persons, or assigned for service done, and especially + to the Army, cannot be recovered without a general detriment + and confusion to men's estates, or a heavy imposition on all + men's purses,—benefit to none but to the worst and + ignoblest sort of men, whose hope is to be either the ministers + of Court riot and excess or the gainers by it. But, not to + speak more of losses and extraordinary levies on our estates, + what will then be the revenges and offences remembered and + returned, not only by the Chief Person, but by all his + adherents: accounts and reparations that will be required, + suits, indictments, inquiries, discoveries, complaints, + informations,—who knows against whom or how many, though + perhaps neuters,—if not to utmost infliction, yet to + imprisonment, fines, banishment, or molestation. If not these, + yet disfavour, discountenance, disregard, and contempt on all + but the known Royalist, or whom he favours, will be plenteous. + Nor let the new-royalized Presbyterians persuade themselves + that their old doings, though, now recanted, will be forgotten, + whatever conditions be contrived or trusted on. Will they not + believe this, nor remember the Pacification how it was kept to + the Scots, how other solemn promises many a time to us? Let + them but now read the diabolical forerunning libels, the faces, + the gestures, that now appear foremost and briskest in all + public places as the harbingers of those that are in + expectation to reign over us; let them but hear the + insolencies, the menaces, the insultings of our newly animated + common enemies, crept lately out of their holes, their Hell I + might say, by the language of their infernal pamphlets, the + spew of every drunkard, every ribald: nameless, yet not for + want of licence, but for very shame of their own vile persons; + not daring to name themselves while they traduce others by + name, and give us to foresee that they intend to second their + wicked words, if ever they have power, with more wicked deeds. + Let our zealous backsliders [the Presbyterians] forethink now + with themselves how <i>their</i> necks, yoked with these tigers + of Bacchus,—these new fanatics of not the preaching but + the sweating tub, inspired with nothing holier than the + venereal pox,—can draw one way, under Monarchy, to the + establishing of Church-Discipline with these new-disgorged + Atheisms. Yet shall they not have the honour to yoke with + these, but shall be yoked under them: these shall plough on + <i>their</i> backs. And do they among them who are so forward + to bring in the Single Person think to be by him trusted or + long regarded? So trusted they shall be and so regarded as by + Kings are wont reconciled enemies,—neglected and soon + after discarded, if not prosecuted for old traitors, the first + inciters, beginners, and more than to the third part actors, of + all that followed." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Milton, does not deny that the vast majority of the nation desire + the restoration of the King. He admits the fact and scouts it. He + asserts that by "the trial of just battle" the larger part of the + population of England long ago "lost the right of their election + what the form of Government shall be," and that, if even a + majority of the rest would now vote for Kingship, their wishes + must go for nothing. "Is it just or reasonable that most voices, + against the main end of Government, should enslave the less + number that would be free? More just it is, doubtless, if it come + to force, that a less number compel a greater to retain (which + can be no wrong to them) their liberty than that a greater + number, for the pleasure of their baseness, compel a less most + injuriously to be their fellow-slaves." When he wrote this, he + must have known well enough that he was writing in vain. He + confesses as much in his peroration. He confesses it there even + by that single modification of the language which might seem at + first sight the only sign of prudential concession and + anticipation of personal consequences throughout the whole + pamphlet. In citing the prophecy of Jeremiah he omits the passage + exulting in God's decree of exile against Coniah and his seed for + ever (ante p. 654-655). But this is no prudential concession, no + softening down in anticipation that the passage might be produced + against him. Of that state of mind, of any fear of consequences + whatever, there is not a trace throughout the recast of his + pamphlet. He is defying and daring the worst, and has thrown in + already every possible addition of matter of insult to the coming + Charles. He omits the passage about Coniah precisely because its + application to Charles is unfortunately no longer possible; and + the peroration for the rest is modified by the sorrow that so it + should be. He will exhort against the Restoration to his latest + breath; but he is looking across the Restoration now, and sending + his words on to an unknown posterity. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "What I have spoken is the language of that which is not called + amiss <i>The Good Old Cause</i>: if it seem strange to any, it + will not seem more strange, I hope, than convincing to + backsliders. Thus much I should perhaps have said though I were + sure I should have spoken only to trees and stones, and had + none to cry to but, with the Prophet, <i>O Earth, Earth, + Earth!</i>, to tell the very soil itself what her perverse + inhabitants are deaf to. Nay, though what I have spoken should + happen (which Thou suffer not who didst create Mankind free, + nor Thou next who didst redeem us from being servants of men!) + to be the last words of our expiring Liberty. But I trust I + shall have spoken persuasion to abundance of sensible and + ingenuous men,—to some perhaps whom God may raise up of + these stones to become children of reviving Liberty, and may + reclaim, though they seem now choosing them a Captain back for + Egypt, to bethink themselves a little and consider whither they + are rushing; to exhort this torrent also of the people not to + be so impetuous, but to keep their due channel; and, at length + recovering and uniting their better resolutions, now that they + see already how open and unbounded the insolence and rage is of + our common enemies, to stay these ruinous proceedings, justly + and timely fearing to what a precipice of destruction the + deluge of this epidemic madness would hurry us, through the + general defection of a misguided and abused multitude." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + To exhort a torrent! The very mixture and hurry of the metaphors + In Milton's mind are a reflex of the facts around him. Current, + torrent, rush, rapid, avalanche, deluge hurrying to a precipice: + mix and jumble such figures as we may, we but express more + accurately the mad haste which London and all England were making + in the end of April 1660 to bring Charles over from the + Continent. Of the only important relic of opposition, the + Republicanism of the Army, and how that had been already managed + by Monk, and was still being managed by him, we have taken + account. Its dying effort, as we saw, took the form of Lambert's + escape from the Tower on the 9th of April, and his thirteen days + of wild wandering and skulking on the chance of bringing the + dispersed remains of Republicanism to a rendezvous. That was over + on Easter-Sunday, April 22, when Dick Ingoldsby, with flushed + face, and pistol in hand, collared the fugitive Lambert on his + horse in a field near Daventry, and brought him back, with + others, to his prison in the Tower. Strange that it should have + been Lambert after all that Milton found maintaining last by arms + the cause which he was himself maintaining last by the pen. + Lambert was the Republican he least liked, hardly indeed a + genuine Republican at all, though driven to a desperate attempt + for Republicanism as his final shift, So it had happened, + however. Milton and Lambert may be remembered together as the + last opponents of the avalanche. Lambert had fronted it with a + small rapier; Milton had wrestled with it in a grand + exhortation.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: As the date of the second edition of Milton's <i>Ready and + Easy Way</i> is a matter of real interest, it may be well to + note here the evidence on the point furnished by the extracts + that have been made. In the second extract the phrase "<i>What + can this last Parliament expect, who, having revived lately and + published the Covenant &c.?</i>" seems distinctly to + certify that Milton was writing after the 16th of March, when + the Parliament of the Secluded Members had dissolved itself. + The first extract, giving the new and enlarged form of the + opening paragraph, farther indicates that, while Milton was + writing, the country was in the midst of the elections for the + new "free and full" Parliament which had been + called,—i.e. what is now known as The Convention + Parliament. He thinks that his pamphlet, as modified, "<i>may + now be of much more use and concernment to be freely published + in the midst of our elections to a Free Parliament or their + sitting to consider freely of the Government</i>." Now, the + elections went on from the end of March to about the 20th of + April, and Milton's words almost imply that he expected them to + be pretty well advanced before his second edition was in + circulation, so that the effect of that new edition, if it had + any, would rather be on the Parliament itself after its meeting + on April 25. The passages referring to Harrington, and which + seem to imply that Milton had read the <i>Censure of the + Rota</i> on his first edition, would also bring the second + edition into the month of April, inasmuch as the <i>Censure</i> + was not out till March 30. Finally, the whole tone of the added + passages implies, as we have already said, that Milton was at + least a month farther down the stream towards the Restoration + than when the first edition appeared, and the fact that in this + second edition he utterly cancels and withdraws the small + lingering of faith in Monk which he had expressed in his + <i>Notes to Dr. Griffith's Sermon</i> seems more particularly + to certify that those <i>Notes</i> preceded the new edition of + the <i>Ready and Easy Way</i> by a week or more. On the whole, + I do not think I am wrong in regarding the new edition as + Milton's very last performance before the Restoration, and in + dating it somewhere between April 9, the day of Lambert's + escape from the Tower, and April 24, when Lambert was brought + back a prisoner to London and the members of the Convention + Parliament were already gathered in town. As Thomason's copy of + the first edition is marked "March 3," this would make the + interval between the two editions about a month and a half. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The wrestlings now were ended. All that remained for the blind + Samson was to listen, with bowed head, to the renewed burst of + Philistine hissings, howlings, and execrations, against him, + before they would let him retire. It came from all quarters; but + at least two persons stepped out from the crowd to convert the + mere inarticulate uproar into distinct invective and insult. + </p> + <p> + "<i>No Blinde Guides: in answer to a seditious Pamphlet of J. + Milton's entituled 'Brief Notes on a late Sermon, &c.' + Addressed to the Author</i>.—'If the Blinde lead the + Blinde, both shall fall into the ditch.'—<i>London, Printed + for Henry Brome, April</i> 20, 1660." This was the title of a + tract, of fourteen small quarto pages, which was out on April 25. + The author does not give his name; but he was Roger L'Estrange, + the Royalist pamphleteer.<sup>1</sup> The following specimen will + represent the rest:— + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Wood's Ath. III. 712. The date of the actual appearance of + the tract is from the Thamason copy. + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p> + "Mr. Milton, + </p> + <p> + "Although in your life and doctrine you have resolved one great + question, by evidencing that devils may indue human shapes and + proving yourself even to your own wife an incubus, you have yet + started another; and that is whether you are not of that + regiment which carried the herd of swine headlong into the sea, + and moved the people to beseech Jesus to depart out of their + coasts. (<i>This</i> may be very well imagined from your + suitable practices <i>here</i>.) Is it possible to read your + <i>Proposals of the benefits of a Free State</i> without + reflecting upon your tutor's 'All this will I give thee if thou + wilt fall down and worship me'? Come, come, Sir: lay the Devil + aside; do not proceed with so much malice and against + knowledge. Act like a man, that a good Christian may not be + afraid to pray for you. Was it not you that scribbled a + justification of the murder of the King against Salmasius, and + made it good too thus: that murder was an action meritorious + compared with your superior wickedness? 'Tis there (as I + remember) that you commonplace yourself into set forms of + railing, two pages thick; and, lest your infamy should not + extend itself enough within the course and usage of your + mother-tongue, the thing is dressed up in a travelling garb and + language, to blast the English nation to the universe, and give + every man a horror for mankind when he considers <i>you</i> are + of the race. In this you are above all others; but in your + <i>Eikonoklastes</i> you exceed yourself. There, not content to + see that sacred head divided from the body, your piercing + malice enters into the private agonies of his struggling soul, + with a blasphemous insolence invading the prerogative of God + himself (omniscience), and by deductions most unchristian and + illogical aspersing his last pieties (the almost certain + inspirations of the Holy Spirit) with juggle and prevarication. + Nor are the words ill-fitted to the matter, the bold design + being suited with a conform irreverence of language. But I do + not love to rake long in a puddle. To take a view in particular + of all your factious labours would cost more time than I am + willing to afford them. Wherefore I shall stride over all the + rest and pass directly to your <i>Brief Notes upon a late + Sermon</i> ... Any man that can but read your title may + understand your drift, and that you charge the royal interest + and party through the Doctor's sides. I am not bold enough to + be his champion in all particulars, nor yet so rude as to take + an office most properly to him belonging out of his hand. Let + him acquit himself in what concerns the divine; and I'll + adventure upon the most material parts of the rest." [Extracts + from Milton's <i>Notes on Dr. Griffith's Sermon</i> follow, + with brief comments, of no interest, and showing no ability. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Almost immediately there followed "<i>The Dignity of Kingship + Asserted: in answer to Mr. Milton's 'Ready and Easie Way to + establish a Free Commonwealth.' Proving that Kinqship is both in + itself and in reference to these nations farre the most Excellent + Government, and the returning to our former Loyalty or Obedience + thereto is the only way under God to restore and settle these + three once flourishing, now languishing, broken, and almost + ruined nations. By G. S., a Lover of Loyalty. Humbly Dedicated + and Presented to his most Excellent Majesty Charles the Second, + of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, true Hereditary King. + London, Printed by E.C. for H. Seile, over against St. Dunstan's + Church in Fleet-street, and for W. Palmer at the Palm-Tree over + against Fetter-lane end in Fleet Street</i>. 1660." It is a + duodecimo volume, the dedication to Charles occupying twenty-one + pages, and the main body of the text 177 pages, with a peroration + in thirty-nine additional pages addressed to Monk and his + Officers and to the two Houses of Parliament about to meet, and + then three pages more of concluding address to his Majesty. + Though the author does not give his name, he hints in the course + of the volume that he may "be inquired after and perhaps soon + found out." He says also that his profession "much differs from + politics." Hence it may be doubted whether the conjecture is + right which assigns the book to a George Searle, who had been an + original member of the Long Parliament for Taunton, and had been + one of the Secluded. One might venture rather on the query + whether the author may not have been Dr. Gilbert Sheldon, soon to + be Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, but for the + present waiting with anxiety for the certainty of Charles's + recall, and doing all he could, with other divines, to hasten + it.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: The Thomason copy gives "May," without any day, as the date + of publication; but I find the book entered in the Stationers' + Registers as early as March 31, 1660. The writing had been then + begun, and the printing of the book had been going on through + April. There is internal evidence that the new Parliament had + not met, or at least that the Restoration was not positively + resolved on, when the book was finished. Both in the dedication + and in the peroration, the parts last written, the event is + spoken of as only in near prospect.—Sheldon, though a man + of public distinction in his time, has left hardly any writings + by which his style could be ascertained. I think the guess + worth risking that the present performance may have been his, + if only because the offer of the guess may lead to its + confutation. George Searle is the man proposed by the + bibliographers (see Bohn's <i>Lowndes</i>, Art. Milton, and + note p. 108 of Todd's Life of Milton, edit. 1852); but I know + not on what authority except that his initials are "G.S." and + that he was "a writer."—As far as I have observed, it was + the first edition of Milton's pamphlet only that G.S. had + before him as he wrote. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Whoever wrote the book must have had a touch of scholarly candour + in his nature. Though there is plenty of abuse of Milton, with + the stereotyped allusions to his Divorce Doctrine and its + effects, and with such occasional phrases as "your wind-mill + brain," "the unpracticableness of these your fanatic + state-whimsies," and though there is abuse also, in the coarse + familiar strain, of the Rumpers and Commonwealths-men generally, + and of "Oliver, the copper-nosed saint," we come upon such + passages as the following, appreciative at least of Milton's + literary power:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "I am not ignorant of the ability of Mr. Milton, whom the Rump + (which was well-stored with men of pregnant though pernicious + wits) made choice of before others to write their <i>Defence + against Salmasius;</i> one of the greatest learned men of this + age, both for reality and reputation." + </p> + <p> + "... made choice of Mr. Milton to be their champion to answer + Salmasius; who, as may be conceived, not vulgarly rewarded for + this service, undertakes it with as much learning and + performance as could be expected from the most able and acute + scholar living: concerning whose answer thus much must be + confessed,—that nothing could be therein desired which + either a shrewd wit could prompt or a fluent elegant style + express. And, indeed, to give him his due, in whatever he + vomited out against his Majesty formerly, or now declaims + against Monarchy in behalf of a Republic, he then did, and doth + now, want nothing on his side but truth." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + These are casual expressions in the course of the argumentation + with Milton; and, as there is no need to exhibit the + argumentation itself, a single quotation more will suffice. It is + from the Dedication to Charles II. That, though coming first in + the book, was probably written last, when the writer could exult + in the idea that his Majesty was so soon to land on the British + shores, and could have pleasure in being one of the first to + address him ceremoniously and in public with all his royal + titles. Let it be remembered that, by the introduction of Milton + into this Dedication, not only prominently, but even singly and + exclusively, it was as if pains were taken to remind Charles, + just as he was preparing to step into the ship that was to convey + him to England, of the name of that one man among his subjects + who had done more to keep him out, and had attacked him and his + more ferociously, more relentlessly, and more successfully, than + any other living. Suppose that his Majesty, waiting at Breda, was + curious to know already, for certain reasons, what person, not on + the actual list of those who had signed his father's + death-warrant, would be designated to him by universal opinion at + home as the least pardonable traitor; and read this as the answer + of G.S.:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + This detestable, execrable murder, committed by the worst of + parricides, accompanied with the disclaiming of your whole + royal stock, disinheriting your Majesty's self and the rest of + the royal branches, driving you and them into exile, with + endeavouring to expunge and obliterate your + never-to-be-forgotten just title; tearing up and pulling down + the pillars of Majesty, the Nobles; garbling and suspending + from the place of power all of the Commons House that had + anything of honesty or relenting of spirit toward the injured + Father of three Nations and his royal posterity: acts horrible + to be imagined, and yet with high hand most villainously, + perfidiously, and perjuriously perpetrated by monsters of + mankind, yet blasphemously dishonourers of God in making use of + His name and usurping the title of Saints in their + never-before-paralleled nor + ever-sufficiently-to-be-lamented-and-abhorred + villanies:—this Murder, I say, and these Villainies, were + defended, nay extolled and commended, by one MR. JOHN MILTON, + in answer to the most learned Salmasius, who declaimed against + the same with most solid arguments and pathetical expressions; + in which Answer he did so bespatter the white robes of your + Royal Father's spotless life (human infirmities excepted) with + the dirty filth of his satirical pen that to the vulgar, and + those who read his book with prejudice, he represented him a + most debauched, vicious man (I tremble, Royal Sir, to write + it), an irreligious hater and persecutor of Religion and + religious men, an ambitious enslaver of the nation, a bloody + tyrant, and an implacable enemy to all his good subjects; and + thereupon calls that execrable and detestable horrible Murder a + just Execution, and commends it as an heroic action: and, in a + word, whatever was done in prosecution of their malice toward + your Royal Progenitor and his issue, or relations, or friends + and assistants, he calls Restoring of the nation to its + Liberty. Yea! to make your illustrious Father more odious in + their eyes where he by any means could fix his scandals, he + would not spare that incomparable piece of his writing, his + <i>Eikon Basilike</i>, but in a scurrilous reply thereto, which + he entitled <i>Eikonoklastes</i>, he would not spare his devout + prayers (which no doubt the Lord hath heard and will hear): in + all which he expressed, as his inveterate and causeless malice, + so a great deal of wicked, desperate wit and learning, most + unworthily misbestowed, abused, and misapplied, to the reviling + of his Prince, God's vice-gerent on Earth, and the speaking ill + of the Ruler of the People. Now, although your Majesty, nor + your Royal Father, neither of you, need vindication (much less + that elaborate work of his), nor doth anything he hath written + in aspersion of his Sovereign deserve answer (absolutely + considered), yet, forasmuch as he hath in both showed dangerous + wit and wicked learning, which together with elegance in + expression is always (in some measure at least) persuasive with + some, and because in these last and worst days those dangerous + times are come in which many account Treason to be Saintship, + and the madness of the people, like the inundation of waters, + hath for many years overflowed all the bounds, &c ... [The + writer, in continuation, refers to the assiduity of the + fanatical enemies of Charles, still working, though at the end + of their wits, to keep him out.] Among many of whom MR. MILTON + comes on the stage in post haste and in this juncture of time, + that he may, if possible, overthrow the hopes of all good men, + and endeavours what he can to divert those that at present sit + at the helm, and by fair pretences and sophisticate arguments + would, &c ... Which I taking notice of, and meeting with + this forementioned pamphlet of MR. MILTON'S, and upon perusal + of it finding it dangerously ensnaring, the fallacy of the + arguments being so cunningly hidden as not to be discerned by + any nor every eye,—observing also the language to be + smooth and tempting, the expressions pathetical and apt to move + the affections, ... I thought it my duty, &c. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Before this salutation of his returning Majesty was visible on + the book-stalls the great event which it anticipated was as good + as accomplished. + </p> + <p> + The two Houses of Parliament had met on Wednesday, the 25th of + April. There was not only the "full and free" House of Commons + for which writs had been issued, but a House of Lords also, + assembled by its own will and motion. In the Commons, where Sir + Harbottle Grimstone was elected Speaker, there were present over + 400 out of the total of 500 and more that were actually due; in + the Lords, where the Earl of Manchester was chosen Speaker <i>pro + tem.</i>, there were present on the first day only nine peers + besides himself: viz. the Earls of Northumberland, Lincoln, + Denbigh, and Suffolk, Viscount Say and Sele, and Lords Wharton, + Hunsdon, Grey of Wark, and Maynard. It was for these two bodies + to execute between them the task appointed.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals and Parl. Hist., for the opening of the + Convention Parliament. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The meetings of the first three days were but preliminary, and + not a word passed in either House to signify what was coming. On + Friday, the 27th of April, there was an adjournment of both + Houses to Tuesday, the 1st of May. During that breathless + interval it was as when a mine is ready, the gunpowder and other + explosives all stored, the train laid, and what is waited for is + the application of the lighted match. That duty fell to Sir John + Greenville, and the mode in which it should be performed was + settled privately between him and wary Old George. + </p> + <p> + On Saturday, April 28, the Council of State are met at Whitehall, + Annesley in the chair as usual. Colonel Birch, one of the + members, entering late, informs General Monk that there is a + gentleman at the door who desires to speak with him. Monk goes to + the door, finds Sir John Greenville there, and receives him as a + perfect stranger, the guards looking on. Sir John delivers to him + a letter, and tells him that he does so by command of his + Majesty. Monk orders the guards to detain this gentleman, and + returns to the Council-room with the letter. Having broken the + seal, but not opened the letter, he hands it to the President, + intimating from whom it has come. The superscription itself + leaves no doubt on that point. The letter is one of the six, + dated "<i>At our Court at Breda this 4/14th of April 1660, in the + twelfth year of Our Reign</i>," which Sir John Greenville had + brought over to be used by Monk at his discretion, and which Monk + had given back into Greenville's custody till the proper moment + for using them should arrive. It was that particular one of the + six which was addressed to Monk himself, to be communicated by + him to the Council of State and the Officers of the Army. There + was much surprise in the Council, real or affected, Colonel Birch + protesting that he knew nothing of the business, but had merely + found a gentleman at the door inquiring for General Monk and had + brought in his message to the General. That gentleman was sent + for and asked how he came by the letter. "It was given to me by + his Majesty with his own hand," said Sir John. Altogether the + Council were at a loss how to act; but finally it was agreed that + they dared not read the letter without leave from Parliament. + There was some question of sending Greenville into custody + meanwhile; but Monk said he was a kinsman of his and he would be + answerable for his appearance. In short, this attempt to apply + the match in the Council had not sufficiently succeeded, and Sir + John knew that he must be forthcoming in the two Houses + themselves. + </p> + <p> + Sir John was equal to the occasion. Early in the morning of + Tuesday, the 1st of May, he was at the door of the House of Lords + with that one of the six Letters from Breda which was addressed + to their Lordships. There were now forty-two peers present. By + one of these Greenville sent in his name to Speaker the Earl of + Manchester, with an intimation of the nature of his message. The + Earl had no sooner informed the House who and what were at the + door than it was voted that the Earl should walk down the floor, + all present attending him, to receive his Majesty's letter. Sir + John having thus got rid of two of his documents, presented + himself next at the door of the Commons, to try his chance with a + third. He had already conveyed to Speaker Sir Harbottle Grimstone + the fact that he was in attendance with a letter from his + Majesty. He came now at the most fit moment, for the House had + just received a report from the Council of State of what had + happened at the sitting of the Council on the preceding Saturday. + The scene will be best imagined from the record in the Journals + of the House:—"<i>Tuesday, May the 1st</i>, 1660. PRAYERS. + Mr. Annesley reports from the Council of State a Letter from the + King, unopened, directed 'To our trusty and well-beloved General + Monk, to be communicated to the President and Council of State, + and to the Officers of the Armies under his command,' being + received from the hands of Sir John Greenville. The House, being + informed that Sir John Greenville, a messenger from the King, was + at the door, <i>Resolved</i>, &c. That Sir John Greenville, a + messenger from the King, be called in. He was called in + accordingly, and, being at the bar, after obeisance made, said: + 'Mr. Speaker, I am commanded by the King, my master, to deliver + this Letter to You, and he desires that You will communicate it + to the House.' The Letter was directed 'To Our trusty and + well-beloved the Speaker of the House of Commons'; which, after + the messenger was withdrawn, was read to the House by the + Speaker." The bold Sir John had now got rid of three of his six + documents. Nay, he had got rid of four; for in each of the three + there had been enclosed a copy of his Majesty's general + <i>Declaration</i>, or Letter to "all Our Loving Subjects of what + degree or quality soever." It was for the Parliament to determine + what should be done with this Declaration, as well as with the + other two remaining Letters, one of them addressed to Generals + Monk and Montague for communication to the Fleet, and the other + to the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council of the City of + London. The train had been sufficiently fired already by the + delivery of four of the Breda documents.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Lords and Commons Journals of dates; Parl. Hist. IV. 10-25; + Phillips (continuation of Baker), 701-705; Skinner's Life of + Monk, 297-302; Whitlocke, IV. 409-411. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The explosion was over and the air cleared, and all pretence was + at an end at last. In the Commons, a few minutes after Sir John + Greenville had left the House, it was "RESOLVED, <i>nemine + contradicente</i>, That an answer be prepared to his Majesty's + Letter, expressing the great and joyful sense of this House of + His gracious offers, and their humble and hearty thanks to his + Majesty for the same, and with professions of their loyalty and + duty to his Majesty." The Lords had already passed an equivalent + resolution, and had recalled Sir John Greenville to receive their + hearty thanks for his care in the discharge of his duty. The rest + of that day was spent in a conference between the two Houses, and + in farther resolutions and arrangements in each, subsidiary to + those two resolutions of the forenoon which had virtually decreed + the Restoration. Thus, in the Commons, still in the forenoon, + "RESOLVED, <i>nemine contradicente</i>, that the sum of £50,000 + be presented to the King's Majesty from this House," and + "RESOLVED, <i>nemine contradicente</i>, that the Letters from His + Majesty, both that to the House and that to the Lord General, and + his Majesty's Declaration which came enclosed, be entered at + large in the Journal Book of this House"; and, again, at an + afternoon sitting, the conference with the Lords having meanwhile + been held, "RESOLVED, That this House doth agree with the Lords, + and do own and declare that, according to the ancient and + fundamental laws of this kingdom, the Government is, and ought to + be, by King, Lords, and Commons." The news of what was doing in + Parliament was already rushing hither and thither among the + Londoners; the day ended among <i>them</i>, of course, with + bonfires and ringing of bells and the roar of rejoicing cannon; + in the boom of the cannon, and in whatever form of rude telegraph + or of horsemen at the gallop along the four great highways, + London was shaking the message from itself in palpitations + through all the land; nor among the galloping horsemen were those + the least fleet that were spurring through Kent to the seaside to + unmoor the packet-boats and convey the tidings to Charles. On the + 1st of May, 1660, the English Commonwealth was no + more.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Commons Journals and Parl. Hist. of dates; Whitlocke, IV. + 411. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Yet another week for the formalities of its burial. A few of the + leading incidents of that week may be presented in + abstract:— + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + <i>May</i> 2:—Ordered by the Lords "that the statues of + the late King's Majesty be set up again in all the places from + whence they were pulled down, and that the Arms of the + Commonwealth be demolished and taken away wherever they are, + and the King's Arms be put up in their stead." <i>Same day in + the Commons</i>:—Leave given to the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, + and Common Council of the City of London, to return an answer + to his Majesty's Letter addressed to them. This was the fifth + of the Breda documents. Also leave given to Dr. Clarges, a + member of the House, to go at once to Breda, with Monk's answer + to the letter <i>he</i> had received. + </p> + <p> + <i>May</i> 3:—Sir John Greenville brought into the House + of Commons to receive thanks, and the information that the + House had voted him £500 to buy a jewel. The Speaker, Sir + Harbottle Grimstone, addressed him as follows:—"Sir John + Greenville, I need not tell you with what grateful and thankful + hearts the Commons now assembled in Parliament have received + his Majesty's gracious Letter. <i>Res ipsa loquitur</i>: you + yourself have been <i>ocularis et auricularis testis de rei + veritate</i>: our bells and our bonfires have already + proclaimed his Majesty's goodness and our joys. We have told + the people that our King, the glory of England, is coming home + again; and they have resounded it back again in our ears that + they are ready, and their hearts open, to receive him. Both + Parliament and People have cried aloud to the King of Kings in + their prayers <i>Long live King Charles the Second</i>." The + rest of the speech was compliment to Sir John himself. + </p> + <p> + <i>Same day, in Montague's Fleet in the Downs</i>:—His + Majesty's letter to Monk and Montague, intended to be + communicated to the Fleet, having been sent by express from + Monk, reached Montague that morning on board his flagship the + Naseby. His secretary Pepys describes what followed: "My Lord + summoned a Council of War, and in the meantime did dictate to + me how he would have the vote ordered which he would have pass + this Council. Which done, the Commanders all came on board, and + the Council sat in the coach [Council cabin], the first Council + of War that had been in my time; where I read the Letter and + Declaration; and, while they were discoursing upon it, I seemed + to draw up a vote, which, being offered, they passed. Not one + man seemed to say <i>No</i> to it, though I am confident many + in their hearts were against it. After this was done, I went up + to the quarterdeck with my Lord and the Commanders, and there + read both the papers and the vote; which done, and demanding + their opinion, the seamen did all of them cry out <i>God save + King Charles</i>." Pepys then made a circuit of the other ships + with the same great news. "Which was a very brave sight, to + visit all the ships, and to be received with the respect and + honour that I was on board them all, and much more to see the + great joy that I brought to all men, not one through the whole + fleet shewing the least dislike of the business. In the + evening, as I was going on board the Vice-Admiral, the General + began to fire his guns, which he did, all that he had in his + ship, and so did all the rest of the Commanders; which was very + gallant, and to hear the bullets go hissing over our heads as + we were in the boat! This done, and finished my proclamation, I + returned to the Naseby, where my Lord was much pleased to hear + how all the fleet took it in a transport of joy, and shewed me + a private letter of the King's to him, and another from the + Duke of York, in such familiar style as their common friend, + with all kindness imaginable. And I found by the letters, and + so my Lord told me too, that there had been many letters passed + between them for a great while, <i>and I perceive unknown to + Monk</i>." + </p> + <p> + <i>May</i> 5. On report from the Council of State, a General + Proclamation adopted by the Commons, with concurrence of the + Lords, forbidding tumults, and instructing all in authority to + continue in their respective offices and exercise the same + thenceforth in his Majesty's name. + </p> + <p> + <i>May</i> 7. Sir George Booth, Lord Falkland, Mr. Denzil + Holles, Sir John Holland, Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, Lord + Bruce, Sir Horatio Townshend, Lord Herbert, Lord Castleton, + Lord Fairfax, Sir Henry Cholmley, and Lord Mandeville, chosen + by the House of Commons to be the persons to carry to his + Majesty the answer of the House to his Majesty's gracious + Letter. The similar deputation from the Lords' House was to + consist of the Earl of Oxford, the Earl of Warwick, the Earl of + Middlesex, Viscount Hereford, Lord Berkley, and Lord Brooke. + Same day, on receipt from Montague of a copy of his Majesty's + letter addressed to Monk and himself, as Generals of the Fleet, + with news of the reception of the same by the Fleet on the 3rd, + Monk and Montague were authorized to answer that letter. Thus + the sixth and last of the Breda documents was finally disposed + of.—Resolved also that Thursday next should be a day of + thanksgiving in London and Westminster for the happy + reconciliation with his Majesty, and farther, "That all and + every the ministers throughout the Kingdoms of England, + Scotland, and Ireland, the Dominion of Wales, and the Town of + Berwick-upon-Tweed, do, and are hereby required and enjoined in + their public prayers to, pray for the King's most excellent + Majesty by the name of Our Sovereign Lord, Charles the Second, + by the grace of God King of England, Scotland, France, and + Ireland, Defender of the Faith."—Resolved also that the + King be proclaimed to-morrow. + </p> + <p> + <i>Tuesday, May</i> 8. Proclamation of Charles accordingly in + Westminster Hall, and at Whitehall, Temple Bar, Fleet Conduit, + the Exchange, and other places, his reign to date from the + death of his father. Copies of the Proclamation to be sent to + all authorities over Great Britain and Ireland, that it may be + repeated everywhere. Also "RESOLVED, <i>nemine + contradicente</i>, that the King's Majesty be desired to make + his speedy return to his Parliament and to the exercise of his + Kingly Office."<sup>1</sup> + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: These Notes, except the extract from Pepys, are compiled + from the Commons Journals and the Parliamentary History for the + week between May 1 and May 8, with references to Whitlocke and + Phillips. + </p> + </div> + <p> + And so all was settled between Charles and his Three Kingdoms. By + this time, indeed, not only in London, Edinburgh, and Dublin, but + all over the main island from Land's End to Caithness and all + over the lesser from Mizen Head to Malin Head, there was simply a + universal impatience till it should be known that Montague's + fleet had shot from the Downs towards the Dutch coasts, to bring + his Majesty and his Court, on the decks of his own ships, within + hail of the cheering from Dover cliffs. The delay was chiefly + because of the necessity of certain upholstering and tailoring + preparations on both sides. At home there had to be due + preparations of a household for his Majesty, and of households + for his two brothers, when they should arrive. There had to be + got ready not only a new crown and sceptre, and new robes and + ermines, but also the velvet bed, with the gold embroidery, the + lining of satin or cloth of silver, the satin quilts, the fustian + quilts to lie under the satin quilts, the down bolster, the + fustian blankets, the Spanish blankets, the Holland sheets, with + other accoutrements for his Majesty's own bedroom, besides + similar furnishing for the bedrooms of the Dukes of York and + Gloucester, a new coach for his Majesty, liveries for his + coachmen, footmen, and other servants, and innumerable etceteras. + Then, on the other side of the water, where his Majesty had + meanwhile received with extraordinary satisfaction, through Sir + John Greenville, the £50,000 voted him by the Commons, £10,000 of + it in gold from England, and the rest in bank bills payable at + sight in Amsterdam, and where the Duke of York had been promised + another £10,000 and the Duke of Gloucester £5000, much of the + money had to be converted into the apparel and other equipments + required for the suitable appearance of the three royal + personages and their retinues when they should present themselves + in England. A great deal might be done at Breda, where already + there was swarming round his Majesty a miscellany of private + visitors, English, Scottish, and Irish, all anxious to be useful, + and many of them with presents of money. But the final + arrangements were to be at the Hague, the capital of the United + Provinces, amid whatever stately ceremonial of congratulation and + farewell the Dutch Government could now offer in atonement for + previous neglect or indifference. There had been most pressing + solicitations, indeed, from the Spanish authorities of Flanders, + that Charles would return to Brussels and make his arrangements + there; Mazarin too had sent a message at last, begging him to + honour France by making Calais his port of departure; but Charles + preferred the Hague. It was at the Hague, therefore, that the + commissioners from the two Houses of Parliament, with deputations + from the City of London and the London clergy, were to wait upon + Charles; it was there that he was to confer his first large + collective batch of English knighthoods, following the single + knighthood conferred conspicuously already on Dr. Clarges at + Breda; and it was thence that there was to be the great + embarkation for Dover.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Clarendon, 906-910; Pepys's Diary, from the 8th of May + onwards. + </p> + </div> + <p> + And what meanwhile of the chief Republican criminals at home, + whether the Regicides or the scores of others that might count + themselves in peril for more than mere place or property? Since + the 1st of May, or before, such of them as could, such as were at + liberty and had money, had absconded or been trying to abscond. + Of the Regicides and some of the rest we shall hear enough in due + course. For the present let us attend only to Needham and Milton. + </p> + <p> + Needham had absconded in good time. It had probably been in the + very beginning of May, if not earlier; for on the 10th of May + there was out in London, in the form of a printed squib, <i>An + Hue and Cry after Mercurius Politicus</i>, giving a sketch of his + career, and containing some doggrel verse about his escape, in + this style:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "But, if at Amsterdam you meet + </p> + <p> + With one that's purblind in the street, + </p> + <p class="i4"> + Hawk-nosed, turn up his hair, + </p> + <p> + And in his ears two holes you'll find; + </p> + <p> + And, if they are, not pawned behind, + </p> + <p class="i4"> + Two rings are hanging there. + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "His visage meagre is and long, + </p> + <p> + His body slender," &c.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + </div> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: "<i>O. Cromwell's Thankes to the Lord General faithfully + presented by Hugh Peters in another Conference, together with + an Hue and Cry after Mercurius Politicus: London, Printed by + M.T.</i>" ("1660, May 10" in the Thomason copy). + </p> + </div> + <p> + Our latest glimpse of Milton is on the 7th of May, the day before + the public proclamation of Charles in London. On that day "John + Milton, of the City of Westminster," transferred to his friend + "Cyriack Skinner, of Lincoln's Inn, Gentleman," a Bond for £400 + given by the Commissioners of the Excise in part security for + money which Milton had invested in their hands. In the deed of + conveyance, still extant, under the words at the end, "<i>Witness + my hand and seal thus</i>," there follows the signature "JOHN + MILTON," not in his own hand, but recognisably in the fine and + peculiar hand of that amanuensis to whom he had dictated the + sonnet in memory of his second wife about two years before. In + yet another hand is the date "7th May, 1660"; but attached, to + verify all, is Milton's family-seal of the double-headed eagle. + Milton, we can see, wanted some money for sudden and urgent + occasions, and his friend Cyriack advanced it. Cyriack and others + had, doubtless, been already about him for some days, imploring + him to hide himself, and devising the means; and that very night, + or the next, as we are to fancy, he is conveyed furtively out of + his house in Petty France to some obscure but suitable shelter. + The three children he has parted with, the eldest not yet + fourteen years old, the second not twelve, and the third just + eight, are left under what tendence there may be, hardly knowing + what has happened, but uncertain whether they shall ever again + see their strange blind father. All is dark, and we may drop the + curtain.<sup>1</sup> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + 1: Sotheby's <i>Ramblings in Elucidation of Milton's + Autograph</i>, p. 129, and plate after p. 124. The document + mentioned was purchased in Aug. 1858, for £19, by Mr. Monckton + Milnes (now Lord Houghton), apparently under the impression + that the signature was Milton's own. + </p> + </div> + <p> + CORRIGENDA AND ADDENDA IN VOLS. IV. AND V. + </p> + <p> + <i>Vol. IV. pp.</i> 272-273:—From Mrs. Everett Green's + Calendar of Domestic State Papers for the Third Year of the + Commonwealth I learn that the first meeting of the Council of + State for that year was on Feb. 17, 1650-51, and not on Feb. 19. + There had been two meetings before that of the 19th, and at the + first of these Bradshaw had been re-appointed President. + </p> + <p> + <i>Vol. IV. pp.</i> 416-418 <i>and</i> 423-424:—To Milton's + Letter to the Oldenburg agent Hermann Mylius, translated and + commented on pp. 416-418, and to the story, as told at pp. + 423-424, of the Safeguard for the Count of Oldenburg's subjects + obtained from the English Council of State by the joint exertions + of Mylius and Milton, an interesting addition has turned up in + the form of another Latin letter from Milton to Mylius, preserved + "in a collection of autographs belonging to the Cardinal + Bishop-Prince von Schwartzenberg." A copy was sent by Dr. Goll of + Prague to Professor Alfred Stern of Bern, author of <i>Milton und + Seine Zeit</i>; and Professor Stern communicated it to the + <i>Academy</i>, where it appeared Oct. 13, 1877. It may be here + translated:—"Yesterday, my most respected Hermann, after + you had gone, there came to me a mandate of the Council, ordering + me to compare the Latin copy [of the Safeguard] with the English, + and to take care that they agreed with each other, and then to + send both to Lord Whitlocke and Mr. Neville for revision; which I + did, and at the same time wrote fully to Lord Whitlocke on the + subject of the insertion you wanted made,—namely that there + should be a clause in favour also of the successors and + descendents of his Lordship the Count, and this in the formula + which you yourself suggested: I added moreover the reasons you + assigned why, unless that were done, the business would seem + absolutely null. What happened in the Council in consequence I do + not know for certain, for I was kept at home by yesterday's rain + and was not present. If you write to the President of the Council + [<i>Concilii</i> only in the copy, but one guesses that the word + for 'President' has to be inserted], or, better still, if you + send one of your people to Mr. Frost, you may yourself, I + believe, hear from them; or, at all events, you shall know in the + evening from me,—your most devoted JOHN MILTON. Feb. 13, + 1651 [i.e. 1651-2]." The letter accords in every particular with + the extract we have given from the minutes of the Council of + State of Feb. 11, and enables us to see how the Safeguard for the + Count of Oldenburg did emerge, in the desired form at last, in + Parliament on Feb. 17. Professor Stern, in his communication to + the <i>Academy</i>, adds that the Safeguard is "printed by J.J. + Winkelmann in his <i>Oldenburgische Friedens und der benachbarten + Oerter Kriegshandlungen</i>, p. 390, with the annotation, '<i>Hoc + diploma ex Anglico originali in Latinum verbatim versum est.</i> + JOANNES MILTONIUS. <i>Westmonasterii, 17 Febr., anno</i> 1651-2" + ('This diploma is turned verbatim into Latin from the English + original. JOHN MILTON. Westminster, 17 Febr., in the year + 1651-2'), I assume, but am not certain, that it is the same as + that mentioned as given in Thurloe, i, 385-6. + </p> + <p> + <i>Vol. IV. p.</i> 560:—For the Earl of Airly, mentioned as + one of the delinquent Scottish noblemen who were fined by + Oliver's ordinance for Scotland of April 12, 1654, substitute the + Earl of Ethie. He was Sir John Carnegie of Ethie, co. Forfar, + Lord Lour since 1639, and created Earl of Ethie in + 1647,—which title he exchanged, after the Restoration, for + that of Earl of Northesk. + </p> + <p> + <i>Vol. V. p. 227, in connexion with Vol. IV, pp.</i> + 487-494:—A paper found very recently by Mrs. Everett Green + in the Record Office, and kindly communicated by her to me, in + continuation of those for which I have already acknowledged my + obligations to her, enables me to throw some further light on + Milton's friend and correspondent Andrew Sandelands, and on that + scheme of his for utilising the fir-woods of Scotland in which he + sought Milton's assistance. The paper, which is in the + handwriting of Sandelands, is dated "30 June, 1653," i.e. two + months and ten days after Cromwell had dissolved the Rump and + begun his Interim Dictatorship; it is addressed "For the + Honor'ble. Sir Gilbert Pickering"—Pickering being then, it + would seem, President of Cromwell's Interim Council of Thirteen + (see Vol. IV. pp, 498-499); and it is headed "<i>A Brief + Narration of my Transactions concerning some Woods in + Scotland</i>." From this statement of Sandelands it appears that + he had first broached his scheme of obtaining masts and tar for + the English navy from the woods of Scotland to Cromwell himself + in August 1652, and that it was in consequence of Cromwell's + recommendation of the scheme to the Council of State then in + power that the business had been referred to the + Commander-in-chief in Scotland and Sandelands had gone to + Scotland ("at my own charge," he says) and had the conferences + with Major-General Dean and Colonel Lilburne described at pp. + 490-491 of Vol. IV. The result had been that detailed written + explanation of his scheme to Lilburne the substance of which has + been quoted in the same pages—"the copy whereof," adds + Sandelands, "now remains in Mr. Thurloe's hands." He means, of + course, the copy he had enclosed to Milton in his letter of Jan. + 15, 1652-3, and which Milton had duly delivered to the Council of + State. More had come of the matter than we knew at that date; for + Sandelands proceeds thus in his statement:—"The Council of + State, having received this information (recommended by the + Commander-in-chief), gave order that Colonel Lilburne should + prosecute the design effectually. Upon receipt of which order, + Colonel Lilburne was pleased to employ me to try whether the Earl + of Tullibardine (who had an interest of the third part of the + woods of Abernethy and Glencalvie) would sell his share; which I + did, and brought with me an agreement under his hand that for + £221 he would yield up all his interest in the former woods and + all other be-north Tay, upon condition that the money should be + paid before the 25th of March last [1653]; which Colonel Lilburne + certified to the Council of State. But, their greater affairs + [the discussions with Cromwell just before his <i>coup + d'état</i>] obstructing this design, neither money nor orders + were sent. Therefore I did entreat Colonel Lilburne to do me that + justice to certify my diligence; which he did; and [having come + to London meanwhile] I delivered it to his Excellency [Cromwell] + the 12th of June [a month and three weeks after the <i>coup + d'état</i>]; who was pleased immediately after to revive this + motion to the Council of State [Cromwell's Interim Council of + Thirteen], and they to refer it to Mr. Carew [one of the + Thirteen]. Since which time I have given my daily attendance at + Whitehall, expecting the event of the business." He ends by + soliciting Pickering, as he had solicited Milton some months + before, to bring the matter to some such conclusion as might + reimburse him for his journey to Scotland and all his care and + pains there at his own charge. From a note appended to the + Statement, it appears that the whole business was referred by + Cromwell's Interim Council to a Committee; but, as we have found + Sandelands still in distress and in want of employment as late as + April 1654 (Vol. V. p. 227), his renewed application can have had + but small success. + </p> +<p> </p> +<h3>End of Volume V</h3> +<p> </p> +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14380 ***</div> +</body> +</html> |