am informed) than that in England is, and in the king's quarrel can bring with him the ftrength of Scotland, and fo protect the northern counties that he cannot fail of them in his march; the reputation where of (if he declares) will as much give the will to the appearing of the king's party in the rest of England, as the drawing the army from the fouthern, western, and eastern counties, will give them the means to appear in arms. Thus the work will be certainly done, in fpight of all oppofition that can be apprehended, and the gaining of one man will alone make fure work of the whole. I need not give you his character; you know he is a fullen man, that values him enough, and much believes that his knowledge and reputation in arms fits him for the title of highnefs and the office of protector, better than Mr. Richard Cromwell's skill in horfe-races and hufbandry doth. You know befides, that the only ties that have hitherto kept him from grumbling, have been the vanity of conftancy to his profeflions, and his affection to Cromwell's perfon, the latter whereof is doubly diffolved, firft by the jealoufies he had of him, and now by his death; and if he be handfomely put in mind who was his first mafter, and what was promised him when he came out of the Tower, the firft fcruple will not long trouble him. Nothing of either of them can now flick with him; and befides, if I am well informed, he that lately believed his head was in danger from the father (and therefore no arts nor importunities could bring him to London) will not eafily truft the fon. The way to deal with him is, by fome fit perfon (which I think is the greatest difficulty) to

fhew him plainly, and to give him all imaginable fecurity for it, that he fhall better find all his ends (thofe of honour, power, profit, and fafety) with the king, than in any other way he can take. Neither are we to boggle at any way he fhall propofe in declaring himself, let it at the firft be prefbyterian, be king and parliament, be a third party, or what he will, fo it oppofe the present power, it will at laft do the king's bufinefs; and after a little time he will and muft alone fall into the track we would have him go in; when he is engaged paft a retreat he will want you as much as you will want him, and you may mould him into what form you pleafe. You have my opinion (though in too much hafte) pray think ferioufly of it. ******››

Amfterdam, Sept. 20, 1658.
An original.

The following terms, offered to general Monk, foon after the protector's death, by Charles the Second, we fhall alfo infert here.

The King to Lord Falconbridge, the Lord Bellafis, and Sir John Greenville, or either of them.

"I AM confident that George Monk can have no malice in his heart against me, nor hath he done any thing against me, which I cannot very eafily pardon; and it is in his power to do me fo great fervice, that I cannot eafily reward, but I will do all I can; and I do authorize you, and either of you, with the advice of the reft, to treat with him, and not only to affure him of my kindness, but that I will very liberally reward him with fuch an eftate in land, and fuch a title of

honour,

honour, as himself fhall defire, if he will declare for me, and adhere to my intereft; and whatever you fhall promife to him on my behalf, er whatever he, or you by his advice, fhall promise to any of his officers, or the army, under his command, which command he shall fill keep, I will make good and perform upon the word of a king." Arough draught by the Lord Chancellor Hyde.

From this period to the king's reftoration, there is preferved in this volume a moft minute and almoft daily account of the tranfactions in England, and of the various fchemes, plans, and operations of the king's friends and adherents there. The principal letters are fuch as are either addreffed to, or written by, the lord chancellor; and of fuch as come under the first defcription, the moft material are from the lord Mordaunt, Mr. Broderick, and Mr. Rumbold. Thefe contain fome excellent defcriptions of, and remarks on, the different fects and parties which divided this country at the death of Oliver Cromwell; including, with their refpective leaders, the levellers, the prefbyterians, the anabaptifts, the republicans, the fanatics, and fifth monarchy men.— Perhaps these two laft, without committing a folecism in party, may be joined together as one body.

Upon the death of the protector Oliver, who was himself too feeble a reftraint upon them, thefe parties broke out into open hoftilities with one another-each carving teparately for itself, and, in proportion to the abilities of its leaders, and its own ftrength, affuming the entire conduct of affairs.

Neither the fucceffion of Richard

Cromwell to the protectorship, nor his depofition, feems to have met with the flightest interruption; and could the various factions as eafily have fettled their own differences, as they feem to have been able to oppofe Charles the Second, the government of the country might have acquired fuch a degree of confiftency as would have been for ever fatal to the king's interefts.

The origin and progrefs of the rifing in the weft, in favour of his majefty, and the fuppreffion of that rifing by general Lambert, is fully detailed in the letters of the lord Mordaunt and others.

pe

The conduct of general Monk, who was fo fingularly inftrumental in effecting the reftoration, has been always looked upon, during this riod, as fingularly ambiguous. By his defeat of Lambert, he obtained the entire and uncontrolled poffeffion of the army, but at the fame time he feems to have been quite undetermined in what manner he fhould act; and fo far certainly that conduct must have appeared exceed. ingly ambiguous to others, which was not regulated by any certain views or principles in the man that purfued it.

Security, and an high fituation, was the end general Monk aimed at; and whether that end was to be attained by means of the King, or of the Rump, feems at bottom to have been a matter of equal indifference to him. In fhort, he had no, the caufe of either, or of any party, at heart, but became, without having any premeditated scheme in view, the fortunate and happy iaftrumcnt of putting an end to the cooned and unnatural ftate into which mis country was plunged

Thus Monk, upon is arrival in
London

London from the north, firft declares himself the fervant of the Rump, then of a free parliament to be chofen ander certain restrictions and regulations, and, laftly, experimentally finding that neither the one nor the other could effectuate an established government, he, in concurrence with the majority of the latter, and of the nation in general, declares for the king, (having firft made his own conditions for himself and his army) thus throughout rather progreffively following the humour of the nation, than endeavouring to direct its course.

The lord Mordaunt's account of the ftate of the nation, tranfmitted to the king but a few months before his restoration, we shall next lay before our readers.

Lord Mordaunt to the King.

.. Sir,

" SINCE our laft it hath been

my care in particular to look into the ftate of the city, parliament, armies, and navy, and I humbly here prefent you my poor opinion of their prefent condition.

The State of the City.

The citizens have not at all receded from their firft declaration; and, though they are fill unanimous as to the point of money, yet the fpeedy march of Monk makes them fluctuate. As to other things, moft with him a friend on feveral accounts; one is, because they believe his faith prefbyterian; the other is grounded on a belief, which we dare not contradict, and that is, that the prefbyterians defire only the honour of restoring your majesty,

that by the merit of fo fignal an ac. tion, their notorious crimes may be forgiven and forgotten; yet because the heart of man is deceitful, I have fo far prevailed with the citizens, and fome heads of the fecluded members, as to prepare to oppose this clouded foldier, in cafe he prove other than what they would have him. Truly, Sir, the confternation was fo great and so universal upon the defection of Lambert's forces and Monk's march, that when I came, had Monk been here, he might have given what law he pleased, and been, at leaft for a time, punctually obeyed; but by discourses I have fo far prevailed with the moft eminent of this place, that they know it yet lays in their power to give a check not only to Monk, but to what party foever they fhall prefume to impofe upon them in this work. Alderman Robinson hath been the most useful, and it was he only that caused that claufe of "convening a full and free parliament," according to the ancient and fundamental laws of the land, to be inferted in the Declaration. The laft letter from Monk difpleafed them, but private inftructions by the fword-bearer give them fresh hopes. Browne is wholly off from the rigid fcore, and he and alderman Robinfon and Langham have raised 15,000l. which Ingoldby is to manage to take off a part of the ftanding army, upon which we are also to appear. If this fucceeds, your majefty will be restored without terms; and, if my lord Manchester and others of his cabal prevent it not, I have all the reafon in the world to hope it may. I have fpoken with major Wood, and inftructed him as well as I can, and I have conftant meetings twice a day with

Robinfon,

Robinfon, fo that I do not only engage for him in this affair, but will be refponfible for Ingoldfby in all he undertakes, that he fhall purely and clearly act as your majefty fhall command him, or as the commiffioners shall direct. It now appears his intereft is the greatest of any man's in England, except Monk's, who is at the head of an army. This, Sir, I am pofitive in, and will be anfwerable for any failing on his part, as to his courage or cordialnefs in relation to your majesty's intereft. Browne and he act together, but neither are willing to treat with Manchester, who difcouraged the laft defign. This night we come to a conclufion; our terms are four pounds for every horfeman, and two pounds for every foot foldier. As Browne and I fhall agree, we fhall engage or defift, and that will be as the pulfe of the foldiers beats; for if we draw off four regiments, they will poffefs the gates till we embody, and then we hope your majefty will think it a reasonable undertaking. When I commend to your majefty the complexion of the city, I mean the body both reprefentative and diffufive; for the head, to wit, the court of aldermen, are generally naught, there being nineteen of the four and twenty purchasers of crown and church lands, which, with other mercenary motives, make them a corrupt

court.

The State of the Parliament as I

conceive.

The prefent complexion of the parliament is very pale, Sir Arthur Haflerig undermined by Cooper, Morley, and Weaver, and from a rhodomonte is reduced to a pitiful

rogue. Neville props him up, and that he may be yet fuftained, they both endeavour the introduction of Sir Henry Vane; the ftrength of their argument receiving force from his being irreconcileable to your majesty's intereft and family; but all will not do, and therefore he difowns them for a parliament, be. lieving his being of it effential to its conftitution. Cooper yet hath his tongue well hung, and words at will, and employs his rhetoric to cafhier all officers, civil as well as military, that fided with Fleetwood, Lambert, and Morley, and rebukes all the fectaries; thus those two garble the army and state. Neville oppofeth thefe, and argues for liberty in fo general a fenfe, that he is de nouveau concluded an atheist. By a petition delivered by Lawson they defigned Sir Henry Vane's readmiffion, but Lawson was for a time fufpended from his charge upon this account. This evinceth the truth of an account of what I prefumed to tell your majefty of Sir H. Vane's intereft in the navy. The parties in the house are diametrically oppofite; the three and twenty with Cooper, who acts Cicero, and fome fixteen with Neville, who reprefents Antony. Since the old speaker says his conftitution is ill, we conclude the parliament fo, and believe Monk and he understand each other. Daily new leaks fpring in this old rotten veffel, and they have already loft all the idolatrous reverence paid to parliaments. Sir Arthur Haflerig accufed Ingoldfby for being in arms in Sir George Booth's bufinefs, upon which, though he purged himself, he loft the regiment he was courted to receive, and we fo firm a foundation as that would have been to us. The last joco di mano, was

the