of Hamilton: and when the heiress of a title in 1660. Scotland marries one not equal to her in rank, it is ordinary, at her desire, to give her husband the title for life so he was made duke of Hamilton. He then passed for a soft man, who minded nothing but the recovery of that family from the great debts under which it was sinking, till it was raised up again by his great management. After he had compassed that, he became a more considerable man. He wanted all sort of polishing: he was rough and sullen, but candid and sincere. His temper was boisterous, neither fit to submit nor to govern. He was mutinous when out of power, and imperious in it. He wrote well, but spoke ill: for his judgment, when calm, was better than his imagination. He made himself a great master in the knowledge of the laws, of the history, and of the families of Scotland; and seemed always to have a regard to justice, and the good of his country: but a narrow and selfish temper brought such an habitual meanness on him, that he was not capable of designing or undertaking great things. din's cha Another man of that side, that made a good fi-Kincair. gure at that time, was Bruce, afterwards earl of racter. Kincairdin, who had married a daughter of Mr. Somelsdych in Holland: and by that means he had got acquaintance with our princes beyond sea, and had supplied them liberally in their necessities. He was both the wisest and the worthiest man that belonged to his country, and fit for governing any affairs but his own; which he by a wrong turn, and by his love for the public, neglected to his ruin; for they consisting much in works, coals, salt, and mines, required much care; and he was very capa 1660. ble of it, having gone far in mathematics, and being a great master of mechanics. His thoughts went slow, and his words came much slower: but a deep judgment appeared in every thing he said or did. He had a noble zeal for justice, in which even friendship could never bias him. He had solid principles of religion and virtue, which shewed themselves with great lustre on all occasions. He was a faithful friend, and a merciful enemy. I may be perhaps inclined to carry his character too far; for he was the first man that entered into friendship with me. We continued for seventeen years in so 104 entire a friendship, that there was never either reserve or mistake between us all the while till his death. And it was from him that I understood the whole secret of affairs; for he was trusted with every thing. He had a wonderful love to the king; and would never believe me, when I warned him what he might look for, if he did not go along with an abject compliance in every thing. He found it true in conclusion. And the love he bore the king made his disgrace sink deeper in him, than became such a philosopher or so good a Christian as he was. character of the old cavaliers. I now turn to another set of men, of whom the earls of Midletoun and Glencairn were the chief. The general They were followed by the herd of the cavalier party, who were now very fierce, and full of courage over their cups, though they had been very discreet managers of it in the field, and in time of action. But now every one of them boasted that he had killed his thousands. And all were full of merit, and as full of high pretensions; far beyond what all the wealth and revenues of Scotland could answer. Primerose's The subtilest of all lord Midletoun's friends was sir character. Archibald Primerose: a man of long and great prac- 1660. tice in affairs; for he and his father had served the crown successively an hundred years all but one, when he was turned out of employment. He was a dexterous man in business: he had always expedients ready at every difficulty. He had an art of speaking to all men according to their sense of things and so drew out their secrets, while he concealed his own: for words went for nothing with him. He said every thing that was necessary to persuade those he spoke to, that he was of their mind; and did it in so genuine a way, that he seemed to speak his heart. He was always for soft counsels and slow methods: and thought that the chief thing that a great man ought to do was, to raise his family and his kindred, who naturally stick to him; for he had seen so much of the world, that he did not depend much on friends, and so took no care in making any. He always advised the earl of Midletoun to go slowly in the king's business; but to do his own effectually, before the king should see he had no farther occasion for him. That earl had another friend, who had more credit with him, though Primerose was more necessary for managing a parliament: he was sir John Fletcher, made the Fletcher's king's advocate, or attorney-general: for Nicolson was dead. Fletcher was a man of a generous temper, who despised wealth, except as it was necessary to support a vast expense. He was a bold and fierce man, who hated all mild proceedings, and could scarce speak with decency or patience to those of the other side. So that he was looked on by all that had been faulty in the late times, as an inqui-105 sitor-general. On the other hand, Primerose took character. 1660. money liberally, and was the intercessor for all who made such effectual applications to him. Advices offered in Scotish affairs. For a ge neral indemnity. The first thing that was to be thought on, with relation to Scotish affairs, was the manner in which offenders in the late times were to be treated: for all were at mercy. In the letter the king writ from Breda to the parliament of England, he had promised a full indemnity for all that was past, excepting only those who had been concerned in his father's death: to which the earl of Clarendon persuaded the king to adhere in a most sacred manner; since the breaking of faith in such a point was that which must for ever destroy confidence, and the observing all such promises seemed to be a fundamental maxim in government, which was to be maintained in such a manner, that not so much as a stretch was to be made in it. But there was no promise made for Scotland: so all the cavaliers, as they were full of revenge, hoped to have the estates of those who had been concerned in the late wars divided among them. The earl of Lauderdale told the king, on the other hand, that the Scotish nation had turned eminently, though unfortunately, to serve his father in the year forty-eight; that they had brought himself among them, and had lost two armies in his service, and had been under nine years' oppression on that account; that they had encouraged and assisted Monk in all he did: they might be therefore highly disgusted, if they should not have the same measure of grace and pardon that he was to give England. Besides, the king, while he was in Scotland, had, in the parliament of Stirling, passed a very full act of indemnity, though in the terms and with the title of an act of approbation. It is true, the records of that parliament were not 1660. extant, but had been lost in the confusion that followed upon the reduction of that kingdom: yet the thing was so fresh in every man's memory, that it might have a very ill effect, if the king should proceed without a regard to it. There was indeed another very severe act made in that parliament against all that should treat or submit to Cromwell, or comply in any sort with him: but he said, a difference ought to be made between those who during the struggle had deserted the service, and gone over to the enemy, of which number it might be fit to make some examples, and the rest of the kingdom, who upon the general reduction had been forced to capitulate it would be hard to punish any for submitting to a superior force, when they were in no condition to resist it. This seemed reasonable: and the earl of Clarendon acquiesced in it. But the earl of Midletoun and his party complained of it, and desired that the marquis of Argile, whom they charged 106 with an accession to the king's murder, and some few of those who had joined in the remonstrance while the king was in Scotland, might be proceeded against. The marquis of Argile's craft made them afraid of him: and his estate made them desire to divide it among them. His son, the lord Lorn, was come up to court, and was well received by the king: for he had adhered so firmly to the king's interest, that he would never enter into any engagements with the usurpers: and upon every new occasion of jealousy he had been clapt up. In one of his imprisonments he had a terrible accident from a cannon bullet, which the soldiers were throwing to exercise their strength, and by a recoil struck |