omission if he was forgot, and an odd strain of cle- 1660. mency if it was intended he should be forgiven. He was not excepted out of the act of indemnity 9. And afterwards he came out of his concealment, and lived many years, much visited by all strangers, and much admired by all at home for the poems he writ, though he was then blind; chiefly that of Paradise Lost, in which there is a nobleness both of contrivance and execution, that, though he affected to write in blank verse without rhyme, and made many new and rough words, yet it was esteemed the beautifulest and perfectest poem that ever was writ, at least in our language'.

Vane's

But as the sparing these persons was much cen- 1661. sured, so on the other hand the putting Sir Henry character. Vane to death was as much blamed: for the declaration from Breda being full for an indemnity to all, except the regicides, he was comprehended in that; since, though he was for changing the government, and deposing the king, yet he did not approve of the putting him to death, nor of the force put on the parliament, but did for some time, while these things were acted, withdraw from the scene. This was so

1661. represented by his friends, that an address was made by both houses on his behalf, to which the king gave a favourable answer, though in general words. So he reckoned that he was safe"; that being equivalent to an act of parliament, though it wanted the necessary forms. Yet the great share he had in the at164 tainder of the earl Strafford, and in the whole turn of affairs to the total change of government, but above all the great opinion that was had of his parts and capacity to embroil matters again, made the court think it necessary to put him out of the way. He was naturally a very fearful man: this one who knew him well told me, and gave me eminent instances of it. He had a head as darkened in his notions of religion, as his mind was clouded with fear for though he set up a form of religion in a

"to be an acting member in
"the rebels' council of state on
"the 13th of February, and
"the 23d of March following:
"and it was proved that he
"continued to act in their
"councils and armies until
"the year 1659 inclusive."
Salmon, ibid. p. 507.)

So did every body at that
time, and it was so designed: it
was a medium to accommodate
the difference between the two
houses, upon his case. The
commons had expressly pro-
vided for the sparing of his life.
The lords disagreed to that,
and the commons only yielded
upon the proposal of this joint
address. The words of the ad-
dress, or rather petition, were,
"That, as his majesty had de-
"clared he would proceed
only against the immediate

"murderers of his father, they

66

66

(the lords and commons) "not finding sir Henry Vane or colonel Lambert to be of "that number, are humble suitors to his majesty, that if they shall be attainted, yet "execution as to their lives may be remitted." The king's answer, as reported by the lord chancellor, was, "That his majesty grants the desires in "the said petition." It is true, in the next parliament, there was an address to prosecute them. Lambert was attainted as well as sir Henry Vane, but his life was spared. He lived several years afterwards in prison, and died a papist. O.

66

* A malicious turn. Vane was a dangerous enthusiastie beast. S.

y See lord Clarendon's His

way of his own, yet it consisted rather in a with- 1661. drawing from all other forms, than in any new or particular opinions or forms; from which he and his party were called seekers, and seemed to wait for some new and clearer manifestations. In these meetings he preached and prayed often himself, but with so peculiar a darkness, that though I have sometimes taken pains to see if I could find out his meaning in his works, yet I could never reach it. And since many others have said the same, it may be reasonable to believe he hid somewhat that was a necessary key to the rest. His friends told me he leaned to Origen's notion of an universal salvation of all, both of devils and the damned, and to the doctrine of pre-existence. When he saw his death was designed, he composed himself to it, with a resolution that surprised all who knew how little of that was natural to him. Some instances of this were very extraordinary, though they cannot be mentioned with decency. He was beheaded on Tower- And execuHill, where a new and very indecent practice was begun. It was observed that the dying speeches of the regicides had left impressions on the hearers, that were not at all to the advantage of the government. So strains of a peculiar nature being expected from him, to prevent that, drummers were placed under the scaffold, who, as soon as he began

story of the Rebellion, vol. iii. P. 544. O.

2 His lady conceived of him the night before his execution. S. He cohabited with his lady the night before he was executed, and declared he had done so, next morning; for fear any reflection should be

made upon her, if she proved
with child which occasioned
an unlucky jest when his son
was made a privy-counsellor
with father Peters in king
James's reign. The earl of
Dorset said, he believed his fa-
ther got him after his head
was off. D.

tion.

1661. to speak of the public, upon a sign given, struck up with their drums. This put him in no disorder. He stopped, for he understood

The king gave him

self up to his plea

sures.

Then he went through his was taking leave of those

desired they might be
what was meant by it.
devotions. And, as he
about him, he happening to say somewhat with re-
lation to the times, the drums struck up a second
time: so he gave over, and died with so much com-
posedness, that it was generally thought the govern-
ment had lost more than it had gained by his
death a.

The act of indemnity passed with very few exceptions; at which the cavaliers were highly dissatisfied, and made great complaints of it. In the disposal of offices and places, as it was not possible to gratify all, so there was little regard had to men's merits or services. The king was determined to

dorsed in Lord Clarendon's hand, The King, 7th June.

Sir Henry Vane was beheaded that day sennight. viz. 14th of June, 1662. See among the State Trials that of sir Henry Vane, especially the latter end of what is printed there.

16th of April, 1766.

The above letter I had copied from the original, which is in the possession of - (James West, of Covent Garden, Esq.) and which I saw, the 24th of June, 1759. Arthur Onslow.

I find this letter is lately printed in Dr. Harris's Account of king Charles the second. But how he came by it, I do not know. O.

Vane was beheaded for new attempts. not here mentioned. S.

most of these by the cabal that met at mistress Pal- 1661. mer's lodgings. And though the earl of Clarendon 165 did often prevail with the king to alter the resolutions taken there, yet he was forced to let a great deal go that he did not like. He would never make applications to mistress Palmer, nor let any thing pass the seal in which she was named, as the earl of Southampton would never suffer her name to be in the treasury books. Those virtuous ministers thought it became them to let the world see that they did not comply with the king in his vices. But whether the earl of Clarendon spoke so freely to the king about his course of life, as was given out, I cannot tell. When the cavaliers saw they had not that share in places that they expected, they complained of it so highly, that the earl of Clarendon, to excuse the king's passing them by, was apt to beat down the value they set on their services. This laid the foundation of an implacable hatred in many

indemnity

of them, that was completed by the extent and com-The act of prehensiveness of the act of indemnity, which cut maintained. off their hopes of being reimbursed out of the fines, if not the confiscations of those, who had, during the course of the wars, been on the parliament's side. It is true, the first parliament, called, by way of derogation, the convention, had been too much on that side not to secure themselves and their friends. So they took care to have the most comprehensive words put in it that could be thought of. But

b For which reason the husband was prevailed upon, though with difficulty, to accept of an Irish patent to be viscount Castlemain, that she might be qualified to be a lady of the bed

chamber to the queen. She
was not created duchess of
Cleveland till about the year
1670. O.

In the interval between the
two parliaments many persons