days. The truth is, they who will conclude our remove unfeafonable, ought as well to understand the difficulties and inconveniences of our ftay, which are not to be undervalued. I hope you advife your friends in England to treat the Dutch deputies with that refpect which they fhewed to their ambaffadors at the Hague, and to demand fuch high conditions as may make the Dutch fenfible of their overfight when they first prefumed to contend with them; and truly if the noble English take lefs than the old cautionary towns, they are to blame, and exact treble damages for the injuries they have fuftained. Since they are refolved to fend, I wish their deputies were gone, that they and we might know the worst that is to follow. Since I writ to you concerning your intelligencer, the king himself hath writ to one he trufts, to know what money he can pay upon order, and as foon as any return comes fuch direction fhall be fent as you require; in the mean time you must let Mr. Neville know that the king takes himfelf beholden to him for a good fervice he did him not long fince, and that he looks upon him as a true friend. ***My laft to you brought you all that dispatch to Denmark which you wifhed for. I do now begin to wonder that we hear not from our good lord Wentworth ; indeed I hope for fome fruit from that court, which is deeply engaged. I hear indeed that my wife hath ventured a journey to Breda to kifs the princess royal's hand, but I cannot imagine that the intends to vifit the Hague; if she does, it will be for love of you, and I fhall grow jealous. And fo I have gone through yours, and have very little to add, not having any kind of measure to judge by of the purposes of this court, which feems to be repoffeffed of their old power, though they use it with more wariness and modefty than before it met with any checks. Our mafter went yesterday to St. Germains, and on Monday that court comes hither, to be prefent the next day at a magnificent entertainment at the Hotel de Ville, in vindication of the fedition which was acted there on the fame day the laft year. Why may not you and I live to be prefent at the fame folemnities at the Guild-hall and Merchant Taylor's-hall? Trust me, if the fault be not in ourselves, we shall fee that bleffed day. I have just now a letter from London that affures me, if the deputies come thither from your ftates, they shall be treated as their ambassadors were at the Hague: That they will have cautionary towns, and that the Dutch fhall no more have fhips of war at fea, but fhall drive their trade under the protection of their fleets in all feas: it is a good temper, and I hope it will be kept up. God fend us a good meeting, nothing elfe will keep up the fpirits of Dear Mr. Secretary, Your own," &c. Paris, this 27th of June, 1653. Towards the clofe of the year 1654, the treaty concluded between Cromwell and France made it neceffary for the king and his council to quit that kingdom, which they accordingly did, and took up their refidence in the Auftrian Flanders. The letters, at this period, from Sir Edward Hyde, the marquis of Ormond, lord Bristol, and from feveral others of the king's council and followers, relate relate chiefly to the treaty which Charles the Second now fet on foot with Spain; the main object of which, as far as it concerned him, was, that the Spaniards fhould affift him with a body of troops, to be landed on fuch part of the coaft of England as fhould be deemed moft proper, and which was then to cooperate with his majesty's adherents in England and Scotland." The different negotiations car ried on with the Spanish minifters to forward and put this project in motion, form a confiderable part of the letters from the year 1654 to 1658. All attempts however of this nature proved abortive; and the Spaniards found themfelves too deeply engaged in their war against France, aited by the protector Cromwell, to grant any effectual aid to the cause which they had efpoufed. Nothing can be conceived more fallen, more degraded, or more irretrievable, than the affairs of Charles the Second at this juncture. The Spanish army retiring on all fides before the marshal Turenne, made a peace for them on any terms abfolutely neceffary. The English were in poffeffion of Dunkirk, and their alliance at that moment of fuch confequence to France, as enabled them to dictate, through the medium of that court, the terms upon which fuch a peace fhould be granted. Under fuch circumftances it is not fuppofing too much to conclude, that the firft preliminary step towards an accommodation would be, that Spain should renounce and deliver up the royal fugitive. The letter from the earl of Bristol to the king, during this defperate ftate of his affairs, we shall infert here. The Earl of Bristol to the King. "OUR army is retired behind the canal that goes from hence to Dixmude; but what the enemy's next defign will be is not more than gueffed at; fome think they will firft take Furnes, then push us farther back, and poffefs themfelves of Dixmude, and afterwards attack Ypres; others believe they will take fome other places upon the Lis, and others (I think as probable as any) that La Ferte will invest Cambray, or fome confiderable place` of Hainault, and then this army fall thither, leaving the English to make the war on this fide, who are in fo full poffeffion of Dunkirk, that it is confidently affured, that they refufed to admit Mr. de Turenne with more than fix or eight perfons of his fuite: it is as true, and methinks as ftrange, that Mardike is altogether remitted into the French hands. In fine, Sir, they have but to pick and chufe, for we have little to oppose which way foever they turn their de fign. Thus much for news; as for thofe things wherewith I am encharged, your majefty will find the account of them in this inclofed to my lord chancellor, who would be too angry with me if I did not write to him a long letter, and indeed I am in too much pain to be able (having no fecretary with me) to write at large of the fame things both to your majefty and him, and of the two I prefume more upon your good nature than upon his. I fhall only add, that I intend, God willing, to be at Ghent before the end of this week; where I defire to know where I may wait upon your majesty, together with the lord chancellor and lord Ormond, for certainly fome M 2 quick quick refolution is to be taken con- Newport, this 3d of July, 1658. The death of the protector Oliver, which followed on the 3d of September, 1658, difpelled thofe threatening clouds which endangered the very existence of Charles the Second, and feemed for a moment to present him with a more immediate profpect of attaining his object. The first letter that appears with an account of the protector's death is from Mr. Howard (then a prifoner in London) to the lord chancellor Hyde. This letter, and one written on the fame occafion by lord Culpepper to the chancellor, we fhall lay before our readers: the latter, indeed, contains fo much good fenfe, and fuch found reflections and obfervations on the then pofture of the king's affairs, that it cannot be too much admired. happy tidings which have put a countenance of victory already upon all England, and will, I doubt not, be as welcome to you as 'tis believed it will be advantageous unto your affairs. Yesterday it pleafed God, out of his infinite goodness, to do that which he would not allow any man the honour of doing, putting an end to the life of him, under the weight of whofe tyranny these diftreffed kingdoms have groaned many years. In the evening his eldest fon was declared his fucceffor, and this whole day has been spent in the pageantry of fuch folemnities as the occafion required. All men's hearts (almoft quite dead before) are of a fudden wonderfully revived to an expectation of fome great change, and good men are the more encouraged to hope that the effects of fo altogether an unexpected providence will be of much good to the kingdom, as obferving that God himself feems to have undertaken the work, having thus feafonably removed the great obftructor of our happiness by his own hand. Oh! for God's fake, my lord, as you tender the happiness of that good king, and the welfare of bleeding king Mr. Fisher (Howard) to the Lord doms, let not delays lofe the beneChancellor Hyde. "My Lord, "YOU cannot expect a large and particular account of things from a perfon under reftraint; yet as a teftimony that I ftill retain a fenfe of the duty I owe to his majefty and your lordship, I have made a fhift to fteal an opportunity for this fhort correfpondence in the concealment of our old character. To this I am the more forward, as being defirous to be an early, though I defpair of being the first meffenger of those fit of fuch an happy juncture, nor fame 1 I wish fame or opinion. Mr. Stephens is in Scotland with Monk at this time; who knows what their discontents (for I believe they want not their difcontents) may work them to? This is chimera, God forbid you fhould have no better staff to lean upon. Lord Fairfax, and Lambert, are they both quite dead? Lambert were dead, for I find the army much devoted to him, but I cannot perceive that he is any way to be reconciled to the king; fo that 'tis no fmall danger that his reputation with the army may thruft Dick Cromwell (who fits like an ape on horfeback) out of the faddle, and yet not help the king into it; this would be a malo ad pejus. But for Fairfax, fure he might be brought to fomething, and the rather by reason of his fon, the duke of Buckingham's imprisonment. For my own part, my lord, I am and ever fhall be ready to my power to obey all commands s you fhall pleafe to lay upon me. Since the tyrant's death, I am freed from many fears, which before were upon me; he did exprefs (as I am informed) very much rancour against me, and I do verily believe, that if he had lived he would have been wanting in no point of cruelty towards me; he had figned a warrant for my commitment to the Tower,. fix weeks fince, but it has pleafed God to hinder the execution of it, first by the death of his daughter, afterwards by his own, and fince by the distraction of affairs; hence it comes to pafs that I am as yet in this place, but not without every day's fear of being fent to the Tower. I have never yet been examined, but am told, that they pofitively conclude me to have had correfpondence with you, and to have been divers times in Flanders. I 2m also told that the old tyrant boafted that he had been acquainted with all my motions and actions above this year, and that he had his information from one that was my chief confidant. This might juftly give me occafion to fufpect Wildman, but I have had more cause to fufpect him fince, upon two undeniable and unanswerable demonftrations; one is, that the officers of this garrifon, by direction without doubt from Thurloe, have been with me enquiring of me, if I did not know Sir William Compton, and Sir R. Willis, affuring me of my liberty if I would discover them, and threatening me with the Tower, &c. if I were obftinate: to all these enquiries, promifes, and threats, I anfwered that I did indeed know Sir William Compton and Sir R. Willis by fight, having fometimes feen them in tranfitu, but that I had not any acquaintance at all with them, much lefs had I any correfpondence with them or any others about thofe things they did enquire; hereupon they were very angry, telling me, that I had better have dealt more ingenuously, f r they did know all my practices, which I fhould foon be made to underftand, cum multis aliis. What can be more plain than this? I am fure none but Wildman could difcover this. Two or three days after I was ufed with fome feverity; but when they did find that I was regardless of it, they returned to a little more lenity, which has been continued ever fince. The other demonftration is plainer than this fince my confinement I have had fome difcourfe with one who was in the late engagement with colonel Stapeley, and he not knowing that Wildman was known to me, made it plain, by many circumftances, that Wildman and captain Bishop were M 3 the the first discoverers of that defign. O tempora, O mores! The reafon why Sir W. Compton and Sir R. Willis are released, and I am not examined, I suppose is, that Wildman may not be difcovered to have been the traitor, hoping that they may make ufe of him for a fpy hereafter. This I the rather conjecture, because Wildman fent to me to affure me that he is honeft, and to defire me to have a good opinion of him; but this bait will not take. Mr. Stephens does take much pains to excufe himself (as I hear) but all he can fay does only excufe him a tanto, not a toto: betwixt thefe two millflones I am grinded to powder. 1 fee I am not to expect my liberty, till force fhall free me, for every one does tell me that 'Thurloe is not to be inclined to any favour without a great ransom, and that nothing lefs than 5231. is to be named to him; it is altogether impoffible for me to provide fuch a fum without your affiftance; and truly, my lord, I cannot value myself at fo high a rate, as to think myself fo much deferving your care, especially confidering your condition, and the charge I have been to you already. **** Let me hear from you, and if you can fpeak comfortably, comfort a poor prifoner, who does earneftly pray for you, and is, Yours, &c." James's, Sept. 4, 1658. An original. as my young mafter shall have fealed fome writings betwixt him and his relations, which (they being ready engroffed here, and he fent for) I hope will be done on Monday. I cannot fay I am much furprised with the news of Cromwell's death, the letters of the last week (thofe of this are not come yet) leaving him defperately fick of a palfy and quartan ague, yet the thing is of fo great confequence that I can hardly forbear rubbing my eyes to find whether I fleep or wake. The firft news of it came not hither until very late (at the fhutting the gates) laft night, though he died this day fevennight at three of the clock. The ports were fhut upon his death fo strictly, that Monf. Newport's pass was returned, and he had difficulty enough to get leave to fend a fhip of his own hiring upon Saturday night. Extraordinary care was taken that no English paffengers fhould come in that fhip; yet fome did, and amongst them a woman now in this town, who faith that Cromwell's eldest fon was proclaimed protector on Saturday morning, which is confirmed by a Dutchman now here, who came from Gravefend on Tuesday. All the comment he makes on the text (it is a common failor) is, that he heard the people curfe when he was proclaimed. This accident must make a great change in the face of affairs throughout all Chriftendom, and we may reafonably hope the first and beft will be in England. As for this town they are mad with joy; no man is at leisure to buy or fell; the young fry dance in the ftreets at noonday; the devil is dead is the language at every turn; and the entertainment of the graver fort is only to contemplate the happy days now approaching. What |