Friends.

to disentangle themselves. They looked upon him as the fole Person who still fupported his own Model, and were well affured that if He were removed, the Army would be still the fame and appear in their old Retrenchments; and therefore They entered into feveral Combinations to affaffinate him, which They refolved to do with the first Opportunity. In a Word, They liked neither the Mein nor Garb nor Countenance of the Court, nor were wrought upon by the gracious Afpect and Benignity of the King himself.

ALL this was well enough known to his Majefty, and to the General, who was well enough acquainted and not at all pleased with the Temper and Disposition of his Army, and therefore no lefs defired it should be disbanded than the King did. In the mean Time, very diligent Endeavours were used to discover and apprehend fome principal Perfons, who took as much Care to conceal themselves; and every Day many dangerous or fufpected Men of all Qualities were imprisoned in all Counties: Spies were employed, who for the most Part had the fame Affections which They were to difcover in othess, and received Money on both Sides to do, and not to do, the Work They were appointed to do. And in this melancholick and perplexed Condition the King and all his Hopes ftood, when He appeared moft gay and exalted, and wore a Pleasantnefs in his Face that became him and looked like as full an Affurance of his Security as was poffible to be put on.

Difunien of THERE was yet added to this flippery and uneafy the King's Pofture of Affairs, another Mortification, which made a deeper Impreffion upon the King's Spirit than all the reft, and without which the worst of the other would have been in fome Degree remediable; that was, the Conftitution and Difunion of those who were (12) called and looked upon as his own Party, which without Doubt in the whole Kingdom was numerous enough, and capable of being powerful enough to give the Law to all the reft; which had been the

Ground

Ground of many unhappy Attempts in the late Time, that if any present Force could be drawn together, and poffeffed of any fuch Place in which They might make a Stand without being overrun in a Moment, the general Concurrence of the Kingdom would in a fhort Time reduce the Army, and make the King fuperiour to all his Enemies; which Imagination was enough confuted, though not enough extinguifhed, by the dearbought Experience in the woful Enterprise at Worcester. However, it had been now a very juftifiable Prefumption in the King, to believe as well as hope, that He could not be long in England without fuch an Apparency of his own Party that wifhed all that He himself defired, and fuch a Manifestation of their Authority, Interest and Power, that would prevent or be fufficient to fubdue any forward Disposition that might grow up in the Parliament, or more extravagant Demands in the Army itself. An Apparence there was of that People, great enough, who had all the Wishes for the King which He entertained for himself. But They were fo divided and difunited A Review of the Caufes of by private Quarrels, Factions and Animofities; or fo this Difunion unacquainted with each other; or, which was worse, previous to fo jealous of each other; the Understandings and Faculties of many honeft Men were fo weak and fhallow, that They could not be applied to any great Truft; and others who wished and meant very well had a Peevishness, Frowardness and Opiniatrety, that They would be engaged only in what pleased themfelves, nor would join in any Thing with fuch and fuch Men whom They difliked. The fevere and tyrannical Government of Cromwell and the Parliament had so often banished and imprisoned them upon mere Jealoufies, that They were grown Strangers to one another, without any Communication between them: And there had been fo frequent Betrayings and Treacheries used, so many Difcoveries of Meetings privately contrived, and of Difcourfes accidentally entered into, and Words and Expreffions rafhly and unad

C 3

the Reftor&

tion.

visedly

vised uttered without any Defign, upon which Multitudes were still imprisoned and many put to Death; that the Jealousy was fo univerfal, that few Men who had ever so good Affections for the King, durft confer with any Freedom together.

Most of those of the Nobility who had with Conftancy and Fidelity adhered to the laft King, and had greatest Authority with all Men who profeffed the fame Affections, were dead, as the Duke of Richmond, the Earl of Dorset, the Lord Capel, the Lord Hopton, and many other excellent Perfons. And of that Claffis, that is, of a powerful Interest and unfuspected Integrity (for there were fome very good Men, who were without any Caufe fufpected then, because They were not equally perfecuted upon all Occafions) there were only two who furvived, the Marquis of Hertford and Earl of Southampton; who were Both great and worthy Men, looked upon with great Eftimation by all the most valuable Men who could contribute moft to the King's Restoration, and with Reverence by their greatest Enemy, and had been courted by Cromwell himself till He found it to no Purpose. And though the Marquis had been prevailed with once and no more to give him a Vifit, the other, the Earl, could never be perfuaded fo much as to fee him; and when Cromwell was in the New Forest and refolved one Day to vifit him, He being informed of it or fufpecting it, removed to another Houfe He had at fuch a Dif tance as exempted him from that Vifitation. But these two great Perfons had for feveral Years withdrawn themselves into the Country, lived retired, fent fome-(13) times fuch Money as They could raise out of their long-fequestered and exhausted Fortunes, by Meffengers of their own Dependance, with Advice to the King, "to fit ftill and expect a reasonable Revolu"tion, without making any unadvised Attempt;" and industriously declined any Converfation or Commerce with any who were known to correfpond with the King: So that now upon his Majesty's Return,

They

They were totally unacquainted with any of those Perfons, who now looked as Men to be depended upon in any great Action and Attempt. And for themfelves, as the Marquis fhortly after died, fo the other with great Abilities ferved him in his moft fecret and important Counfels, but had been never converfant in martial Affairs.

66

THERE had been fix or eight Perfons of general good and confeffed Reputation, and who of all who were then left alive had had the most eminent Charges in the War, and executed them with great Courage and Discretion; fo that few Men could with any reafonable Pretence refuse to receive Orders from them, or to ferve under their Commands. They had great Affection for and Confidence in each other, and had frankly offered by an Express of their own Number, whilft the King remained in France, "that, if They "were approved and qualified by his Majefty, They "would by joint Advice intend the Care of his Ma'jefty's Service; and as They would not engage in any abfurd and defperate Attempt, but ufe all their "Credit and Authority to prevent and discountenance the fame, fo They would take the first rational Opportunity, which They expected from the Divifions "and Animofities which daily grew and appeared in "the Army, to draw their Friends and old Soldiers "who were ready to receive their Commands together, "and try the utmost that could be done with the Lofs "or Hazard of their Lives:" Some of them having, befide their Experience in War, very confiderable Fortunes of their own to lofe, and were Relations to the greatest Families in England. And therefore They made it their humble Suit, "that this fecret Corref pondence might be carried on and known to none "but to the Marquis of Ormond and to the Chancel"lor; and that if any other Counfels were fet on Foot "in England by the Activity of particular Perfons, who "too frequently with great Zeal and little Animad"verfion embarked themselves in impoffible Undertakings,

takings, his Majefty upon Advertisement thereof "would first communicate the Motives or Pretences "which would be offered to him, to them; and then

66

་་

66

They would find Opportunity to confer with fome "fober Man of that Fraternity" (as there was no well-affected Perfon in England, who at that Time would not willingly receive Advice and Direction from most of those Perfons) "and thereupon They would present their Opinion to his Majefty, and if the Defign fhould appear practicable to his Majefty, They "would chearfully embark themselves in it, otherwise "ufe their own Dexterity to divert it." These Men had been armed with all neceffary Commiffions and Inftructions according to their own Defires; the King confented to all They propofed; and the Ciphers and Correspondence were committed to the Chancellor, in whofe Hands, with the Privity only of the Marquis of Ormond, all the Intelligence with England, of what Kind foever, was intrufted.

UNDER this Conduct for fome Years all Things fucceeded well, many unfeasonable Attempts were prevented, and thereby the Lives of many good Men preferved: And though (upon the curfory Jealousy of that Time, and the reftlefs Apprehenfion of Cromwell, and the almoft continual Commitments of all who had eminently ferved the King and were able to do it again) thefe Perfons who were thus trufted, or (14) the major Part of them, were seldom out of Prison, or free from the Obligation of good Sureties for their peaceable Behaviour; yet all the Vigilance of Cromwell and his moft diligent Inquifitors could never discover this fecret Intercourfe between thofe Confidants and the King, which did always pass and was maintained by Expreffes made Choice of by them, and fupported at their Charge out of fuch Monies as were privately collected for publick Ufes, of which They, who contributed moft, knew little more than the Integrity of him who was intrusted, who did not always make fkilful Contributions.