all the world must know and acknowledge. For it is as evident as the day that the King [We may call him "King"] sent Sir Joseph Wagstaff and another, the Earl of Rochester, to the North. And that it was general, we had not by suspicion or imagination; but we know individuals! We are able to make appear, That persons who carried themselves the most demurely and fairly of any men in England were engaged in this business. And he that gave us our intelligence lost his life for it in Newburgh Country [Yes, Manning was shot there; he had told us Hyde was cock-sure];—I think I may now speak of that, because he is dead:-but he did dis cover, from time to time, a full intelligence of these things. Therefore, How men of wicked spirits may traduce us in that matter; or, notwithstanding all that hath been done, may still continue their compliances 'with the Malignants ;'—I leave it. [Yes, let THEM look to that.] I think England cannot be safe unless Malignants be carried far away!

There was never any design on foot but we could hear it out of the Tower. He who commanded there* would give us account, That within a fortnight or such a thing there would be some stirrings; for a great concourse of people were coming to them, and they had very great elevation of spirits. [Vigilant Barkstead!] And not only there; but in all the Counties of England. We have had informations that they were upon designs all over England (besides some particular places which came to our particular assurance), by knowledge we had from persons in the several Counties of England.

And if this be so, then, as long as commotions can be held on foot, you are in danger of your War with Spain; with whom all the Papal Interest is joined. This Pope‡ is a person all the world knows to be a person of zeal for his Religion,-wherein perhaps he may shame us,— and a man of contrivance, and wisdom, and policy; and his Designs are known to be, all over, nothing but an Endeavor to unite all the Popish Interests in all the Christian world, against this Nation above any, and against all the Protestant Interest in the world.—If this be so, and if you will take a measure of these things; if we must still hold the esteem that we have had for Spaniards,' and be ready to shake hands with them and the Cavaliers,—what doth this differ from the Bishop of Canterbury [Poor old Laud, and his Surplices!] 'striving' to reconcile mat

* Barkstead, a goldsmith once, a severe vigilant Colonel now; who has seen much service.

"Time" might be the word; but I am getting to love this "thing.". One Chigi by natural name, called Alexander VII. as Pope; an "AntiJansenist Pope," say the Books. With whom, beyond the indispensable, let us crave not to be acquainted.

ters of Religion; if this temper be upon us to unite with these 'Popisli men in Civil Things? Give me leave to say, and speak what I know! If this be men's mind, I tell you plainly,—I hope I need not; but I wish all the Cavaliers in England, and all the Papists, heard me declare it and many besides yourselves have heard me:' There are a company of poor men that are ready to spend their blood against such compliance! [Right so, your Highness; that is the grand cardinal certainty! An irretocable Act of Legislature passed in one's own heart. In spite of all clamors and jargons, and constitutional debatings in Parliament and out of it, there is a man or two will have himself cut in pieces before that shaking of hands" takes place. In fact, I think Christ and Antichrist had better not try shaking of hands; no good will come of it! Does not his Highness look uncommonly animated !];—and I am persuaded of the same thing in you!

66

If this be our condition,--with respect had to this, truly let us go a little farther. For I would lay open the danger, wherein I think in my conscience we stand; and if God give not your hearts to see and discern what is obvious, we shall sink, and the house will fall about our ears,— upon even' what are called’“such sordid attempts as these same! Truly there are a great many people in this Nation, who "would not reckon up every pitiful thing,”—perhaps like the nibbling of a mouse at one's heel; but only "considerable dangers!" I will tell you plainly 'what to me seems dangerous;' it is not a time for compliments nor rhetorical speeches. I have none, truly;-but to tell you how we find things.*

There is a generation of men in this Nation who cry up nothing but righteousness and justice and liberty [Coming now to the Levellers and "Commonwealth's-men."] and these are diversified into several sects, and sorts of men; and though they may be contemptible, in respect they are many, and so not like to make a solid vow to do you mischief,—yet they are apt to agree in aliquo tertio. They are known (yea, well enough) to shake hands with,-I should be loath to say with Cavaliers, -but with all the scum and dirt of this Nation [Not loath to say that, your Highness?] to put you to trouble. And, when I come to speak of the Remedies, I shall tell you what are the most apt and proper remedies in these respects. I speak now of the very time when there was an Insurrection at Salisbury, your Wagstaffs and Penruddocks openly in arms'- [Sudden prick of anger stings his Highness at the thought of that great Peril, and how it was treated and scouted by the incredulous

*

Paragraph irretrievably misreported; or undecipherable for want of the tones and looks accompanying it;-in a dim uncertain manner, displays the above as a kind of meaning.

Thickskinned; and he plunges in this manner]———— I doubt whether it believed there ever was any rising in North Wales 'at the same time; at Shrewsbury; at Rufford Abbey, where were about Five-hundred horse; or at Marston Moor; or in Northumberland, and the other places, -where all these Insurrections were at that very time! [Truly it is difficult to keep one's temper: sluggish mortals saved from destruction; and won't so much as admit it!]--There was a Party which was very proper to come between the Papists and Cavaliers; and that Levelling Party hath some accession lately, which goes under a finer name or notion! I think they would now be called "Commonwealth's-men," who perhaps have right to it little enough. And it is strange that men of fortune and great estates [Lord Grey of Groby; he is in the Tower; he and others.] should join with such a people. But if the fact be so, there will need no stretch of wit to make it evident, being so by demonstration. [His Highness still harps on the incredulity of a thickskinned public, naturally very provoking to him in these perilous, abstruse, and necessarily SECRET operations of his.]

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I say, this people at that very time, they were pretty numerous,—and do not despise them!-at the time when the Cavaliers were risen, this very Party had prepared a Declaration against all the things that had been transacted by us;' and called them by I know not what 'names,' tyranny," "oppression," things "against the liberty of the subject;" and cried out for "justice," and "righteousness," and "liberty:"-and what was all this business for, but to join the Cavaliers to carry on that Design? And these are things,-not words! That Declaration we got; and the Penner of it we got [Locked him fast in Chepstow; the unruly Wildman!] and we have got intelligence also how the business was laid and contrived;-which was hatched in the time of the Sitting of that Parliament. I do not accuse anybody: but that was the time of it ;--an unhappy time! And a plausible Petition had been penned, which must come to me, forsooth [Through that obtuse Constitutioning Parliament, I fancy !], "To consider of these things, and to give redress and remedies." And this was so.-

Now indeed I must tell you plainly, we suspected a great deal of violence then; and we did hunt it out. I will not tell you these are high things [Call them “low” if you like; mice nibbling at one's heel !]: but at that time when the Cavaliers were to rise, a Party was to seize upon General Monk in Scotland, and to commit him to Edinburgh Castle, upon this pretence of "liberty;" and when they had seized him, and clapped him by the heels, him' and some other true and faithful Officers, they had resolved a number at the same time should march away for London; leaving a party behind them,-to have their throats

6

cut by the Scots! Though I will not say they would have 'purposely' Drought it to this pass; yet it cannot be thought but that a considerable part of the' Army would have followed them 'hither' at the heels.—— And not only thus: but this same spirit and principle designed some little fiddling things upon some of your Officers, to an assassination ;* and an officer was engaged, who was upon the Guard, to seize me in my bed. This was true. And other foolish designs there were,-as To get into a room, to get gunpowder laid in it, and to blow up the room where I lay. And this, we can tell you, is true. These are Persons not worthy naming; but the things are true. And such is the state we have stood in, and had to conflict with, since the last Parliament. And upon this account, and in this combination,† it is that I say to you, That the ringleaders to all this are none but your old enemies the Papists and Cavaliers. We have some of them' in prison for these things.

Now we would be loath to tell you of notions mere seraphical! [His Highness elevating his brows; face assuming a look of irony, of rough banter.] These are poor and low conceits. We have had very seraphical notions! We have had endeavors to deal between two Interests ;— one some section of that Commonwealth Interest; and another which was a notion of a Fifth-Monarchy Interest! [A "NOTION;" not even worth calling a “SECTION” or “PARTY”—such moonshine was it.]— Which 'strange operation' I do not recite, nor what condition it is in, as thinking it not worthy our trouble. But de facto it hath been so, That, there have been endeavors ;—as there were endeavors to make a reconciliation between Herod and Pilate that Christ might be put to death, so there have been endeavors of reconciliation between the Fifth-Monarchy men and the Commonwealth men that there might be union in order to an end,--no end can be so bad as that of Herod's was,-but in order to end in blood and confusion! And, that you may know, ' to tell you candidly,' I profess I do not believe of these two last, of Commonwealth men and Fifth-Monarchy men, but that they have stood at a distance, aloof from Charles Stuart.' [The Overtons, the Harrisons are far above such a thing.] I think they did not participate. I would be so charitable, I would be, That they did not. But this I will tell you, That as for the others, they did not only set these things on work; but they sent a fellow [Sexby, the miserable outcast!], a wretched creature, an apostate from religion and all honesty,—they sent him to Madrid to advise with the King of Spain to land forces to invade this Nation. Promising satisfaction that they would comply and concur with him to have both men and mo

* Means: they attempted to persuade some of your Officers to that "little fiddling thing.""

Identity of time and attempt.

nies; undertaking both to engage the Fleet to mutiny, and also your Army to gain a garrison 'on the coast;' to raise a party 'so' that, if the Spaniard would say where he would land, they would be ready to assist him!—This person was sometimes* a Colonel in the Army. He went with Letters to the Archduke Leopoldus and Don John. That was an "Ambassador ;"-and gave promise of much monies: and hath been soliciting, and did obtain monies; which he sent hither by Bills of Exchange:—and God, by His providence, we being exceeding poor, directed that we lighted on some of them, and some of the monies! [Keep hold of them, your Highness!] Now if they be payable, let them be called for! [He won't call, 1 believe.]—If the House shall think fit to order any inspection into these things, they may have it.

We think it our duty to tell you of these things; and we can make them good. Here is your danger; that is it! Here is a poor Nation that hath wallowed in its blood;-though, thanks be to God, we have had Peace these four or five years: yet here is the condition we stand in. And I think I should be false to you, if I did not give you this true representation of it.

I am to tell you, by the way, a word to justify a Thing [Coming to the Major-Generals.] which, I hear, is much spoken of. When we knew all these Designs before mentioned; when we found that the Cavaliers would not be quiet--No quiet; "there is no peace to the wicked," saith the Scripture (Isaiah, Fifty-seventh): "They are like the troubled sea, which cannot rest; whose waters throw up mire and dirt." They cannot rest,-they have no peace with God in Jesus Christ to the remission of sins! They do not know what belongs to that [My brave one!]; therefore they know not how to be at rest; therefore they can no more cease from their actions than they can cease to live, nor so easily neither!--Truly when that insurrection was, and we saw it in all the roots and grounds of it, we did find out a little poor Invention, which I hear has been much regretted. I say, there was a little thing invented; which was the erecting of your Major-Generals [Yes]: To have a little inspection upon the People thus divided, thus discontented, thus dissatisfied, 'split' into divers interests, and the workings of the Popish Party! Workings' of the Lord Taffe and others; the most consisting of Natural-Irish rebels, and all those men

* Means at one time;' as almost all know.

Isaiah, lvii., 20, 21.

His Highness suddenly breaks off after new quarry on mention of this Party. The Lord Taffe is even now very busy, at Antwerp (Thurloe, v.), with Chancellor Hyde, "throwing up mire and dirt” of the insurrection