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1660. the agreement first, yet he, or rather the king, in whose name he had treated with them, was bound to perform all the articles of the treaty. He had miscarried so in the siege of Dublin, that it very much lessened the opinion of his military conduct. Yet his constant attendance on his master, his easiness to him, and his great sufferings for him, raised him to be lord steward of the household, and lord lieutenant of Ireland. He was firm to the protestant religion, and so far firm to the laws, that he always gave good advices: but when bad ones were followed, he was not for complaining too much of them.

Southampton's cha

The earl of Southampton was next to these. He racter. was a man of great virtue, and of very good parts. He had a lively apprehension, and a good judgment. He had merited much by his constant adhering to the king's interest during the war, and by the large supplies he had sent him every year during his exile; for he had a great estate, and only three daughters to inherit it. He was lord treasurer: but he grew soon weary of business; for as he was subject to the stone, which returned often and violently upon him, so he retained the principles of liberty, and did not go into the violent measures of the court. When he saw the king's temper, and his 96 way of managing, or rather of spoiling business, he grew very uneasy, and kept himself more out of the way than was consistent with that high post. The king stood in some awe of him; and saw how popular he would grow, if put out of his service: and therefore he chose rather to bear with his ill humour and contradiction, than to dismiss him. He left the business of the treasury wholly in the hands of his secretary, sir Philip Warwick, who was an

honest but a weak man; understood the common road of the treasury; [but, though he pretended to wit and politics, he was not cut out for that, and least of all for writing of history. But] he was an incorrupt man, and during seven years management of the treasury made but an ordinary fortune out of it 5. Before the restoration, the lord treasurer had but a small salary, with an allowance for a table; but he gave, or rather sold, all the subaltern places, and made great profits out of the estate of the crown but now, that estate being gone, and the earl of Southampton disdaining to sell places, the matter was settled so, that the lord treasurer was to have 8000l. a year, and the king was to name all the subaltern officers. It continued to be so all his time: but since that time the lord treasurer has both the 8000l. and a main hand in the disposing of those places.

1660.

bury's cha

The man that was in the greatest credit with the Shaftsearl of Southampton was sir Anthony Ashly Cooper, racter. who had married his niece, and became afterwards so considerable, that he was raised to be earl of Shaftsbury. And since he came to have so great a name, and that I knew him for many years in a very particular manner, I will dwell a little longer on his character; for it was of a very extraordinary composition. He began to make a considerable figure very early. Before he was twenty, he came into the house of commons, and was on the king's side; and undertook to get Wiltshire and Dorset

8 He had been secretary then when bishop Juxon was treasurer, and made so by him. His memoirs have some curiosities in them that make them

worth reading. O. (See Lord
Clarendon's testimony to the
great worth of Sir Philip War-
wick, in the Continuation of his
own Life, p. 325.)

1660. shire to declare for him: but he was not able to effect it. Yet prince Maurice breaking articles to a town, that he had got to receive him, furnished him with an excuse to forsake that side, and to turn to the parliament. He had a wonderful faculty in speaking to a popular assembly, and could mix both the facetious and the serious way of arguing very agreeably. He had a particular talent to make others trust to his judgment, and depend on it: and he brought over so many to a submission to his opinion, that I never knew any man equal to him in the art of governing parties, and of making himself the head of them. He was, as to religion, a deist at best h. He had the dotage of astrology in him to a high degree: he told me, that a Dutch doctor had from the stars foretold him the whole series of his life. But that which was before him, when he told me this, proved false, if he told me true: for he said, he was yet to be a greater man than he had 97 been. He fancied, that after death our souls lived in stars. He had a general knowledge of the slighter parts of learning, but understood little to the bottom: so he triumphed in a rambling way of talking, but argued slightly when he was held close to any point. He had a wonderful faculty at opposing, and

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running things down; but had not the like force in 1660. building up. He had such an extravagant vanity in setting himself out, that it was very disagreeable. He pretended that Cromwell offered to make him king. He was indeed of great use to him, in withstanding the enthusiasts of that time. He was one of those who pressed him most to accept of the kingship, because, as he said afterwards, he was sure it would ruin him. His strength lay in the knowledge of England, and of all the considerable men in it. He understood well the size of their understandings, and their tempers: and he knew how to apply himself to them so dexterously, that, though by his changing sides so often it was very visible how little he was to be depended on, yet he was to the last much trusted by all the discontented party. [He had no regard to either truth or justice.] He was not ashamed to reckon up the many turns he had made: and he valued himself on the doing it at the properest season, and in the best manner: [and was not out of countenance in owning his unsteadiness and deceitfulness.] This he did with so much vanity, and so little discretion, that he lost many by it. And his reputation was at last run so low, that he could not have held much longer, had he not died in good time, either for his family or for his party the former would have been ruined, if he had not saved it by betraying the latter.

Another man, very near of the same sort, who Anglesey's

i I was told by one that was very conversant with him, that he had a constant maxim, never to fall out with any body, let the provocation be never so great, which he said he had

found great benefit by all his
life; and the reason he gave
for it was, that he did not know
how soon it might be necessary
to have them again for his best
friends. D.

character.

1660. passed through many great employments, was Annesly, advanced to be earl of Anglesey; who had much more knowledge, and was very learned, chiefly in the law. He had the faculty of speaking indefatigably upon every subject: but he spoke ungracefully; and did not know that he was not good at raillery, for he was always attempting it. He understood our government well, and had examined far into the original of our constitution. He was capable of great application: and was a man of a grave deportment; but stuck at nothing, and was ashamed of nothing. He was neither loved nor trusted by any man or any side: and he seemed to have no regard to common decencies, [the common decencies of justice and truth,] but sold every thing that was in his power: and sold himself so often, that at last the price fell so low, that he grew useless, [because he was so well known, that he was universally despised.]

Hollis's character.

Hollis was a man of great courage, and of as great pride: he was counted for many years the head of the presbyterian party. He was faithful and firm to his side, and never changed through the whole course of his life. He engaged in a particular opposition to Cromwell in the time of the war. They 98 hated one another equally. Hollis seemed to carry this too far: for he would not allow Cromwell to have been either wise or brave; but often applied Solomon's observation to him, that the battle was not to the strong, nor favour to the man of understanding, but that time and chance happened to all He was well versed in the records of parliament and argued well, but too vehemently; for he could not bear contradiction. He had the soul of

men.

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