"these Gentlemen only wifhed them to take Heed They were not deftroyed, and pofitively refufed to "meet or confer with any of the Officers of the Army And hereupon" They faid "all the King's Party was fo incenfed against them, that They no "more would have Recourfe to them, or make any "Conjunction with them." They informed his Majefty at large of the Animofity that was grown between two of the principal Perfons, and the original Cause thereof, and therefore defired" that fome "Perfon might be fent, to whom They might repair "for Orders, until the King himself difcerned that all Preparations were in fuch a Readinefs, that He "might reasonably venture his Royal Perfon with "them."

86

THOUGH He was not at all fatisfied with the Grounds of their Expectation and Proceedings, and therefore could not blame the Warinefs and Reservednefs of the other, and thought their Apprehenfion of being betrayed (which in the Language of that Time was called trepanned) which befel fome Men every Day, very reasonable; yet the Confidence of many honest Men who were fure to pay dear for any rafh Undertaking, and their Prefumption in appointing a peremptory Day for a general Rendezvous over the Kingdom, but especially the Divifion of his Friends, and Sharpness against those upon whom He principally relied, was the Caufe of his fending over the Lord Rochester, and of his own Concealment in Zealand: the Succefs whereof, and the ill Confequence of those precipitate Refolutions, in the Slaughter of many worthy and gallant Gentlemen with all the Circumftances of Infolence and Barbarity, are mentioned in their proper Places.

BUT thefe unhappy and fatal Miscarriages, and the fad Spectacles which enfued, made not thofe Impreffions upon the Affections and Spirits of the King's Friends, as they ought to have done; nor rendered the Warinefs and Difcretion of those who had diffua

ded

ded the Enterprise, and who were always imprifoned upon Sufpicion, how innocent foever, the more valued and esteemed: On the contrary it increased the Reproaches against the Knot, as if their Lacheté and Want of Appearance and engaging had been the fole Cause of the Misfortune. And after fome short Fits of Dejection and Acquiefcence, upon the fhedding of much Blood of their Friends and Confederates, and the notorious Discovery of being betrayed by thofe, who had been trufted by them, of the Army; They began again to refume Courage, to meet and enter upon new Counfels and Defigns, imputing the former Want of Succefs to the Want of Skill and Conduct in the Undertakers, not to the all-feeing Vigilance of Cromwell and his Inftruments, or to the formed Strength of his Government not to be fhaken by weak or ill feconded Confpiracies. Young Men were grown up, who inherited their Fathers Malignity, and were too impatient to revenge their Death, or to be even with their Oppreffors, and fo entered into new Combina-(16) tions as unfkilful and therefore as unfortunate as the former; and being discovered even before they were formed, Cromwell had Occafion given him to make himself more terrible in new Executions, and to exercise greater Tyranny upon the whole Party in Imprifonments, Penalties and Sequeftrations; making those, who heartily defired to be quiet, and who abhorred any rafh and defperate Infurrection, to pay their full Shares for the Folly of the other, as if all were animated by the fame Spirit. And this unjust and unreasonable Rigour increased the Reproaches and Animofities in the King's Friends against each other : The wifer and more fober Part, who had most Experience, and knew how impoffible it was to fucceed in fuch Enterprises, and had yet preserved or redeemed enough of their Fortunes to fit ftill and expect fome hopeful Revolution, were unexpreffibly offended, and bitterly inveighed against thofe, who without Reafon disturbed their Peace and Quiet, by provoking the

State

State to fresh Perfecutions of them who had given them no Offence: And the other stirring and enraged Party, with more Fiercenefs and publick Dildain protested against and reviled those, who refused to join with them, as Men who had spent all their Stock of Allegiance, and meant to acquiefce with what They had left under the Tyranny and in the Subjection of Cromwell. And thus, They who did really with the fame Things, and equally the Overthrow of that Government, which hindered the Restoration of the King, grew into more implacable Jealoufies and Virulencies against each other, than against that Power that oppreffed them Both, and poured out their Blood like Water. And either Party conveyed their Apologies and Accufations to the King: One infifting upon the Impertinency of all fuch Attempts; and the other infifting that They were ready for a very folid and well grounded Enterprise, were fure to be poffeffed of good Towns, if, by his Majefty's pofitive Command, the reft, who profeffed fuch Obedience to him, would join with them.

It was at this Time, and upon these Reasons, that the King sent the Marquis of Ormond into England, to find out and difcover whether in Truth there were any fober Preparations and Readiness for Action, and then to head and conduct it; or if it was not ripe, to compose the several Diftempers, and unite, as far as was poffible, all who wished well, to concur in the fame Patience for the prefent, and in the fame Activity when it fhould be feasonable. And He, upon full Conference with the principal Perfons of the most contradictory Judgments, quickly found that They who were accused to be lazy and unactive. were in Truth difcreet Men, and as ready vigorously to appear as the other, when the Seafon fhould be advilable, which He clearly difcerned it was not then; and that the Prefumption of the other, upon Perfons as well as Places, was in no Degree to be depended upon. And fo, after He had done what was poffible towards ma

king a good Intelligence between Tempers and Understandings fo different, the Marquis had the fame good Fortune to retire from thence and bring himfelf fafe to the King; which was the more wonderful Preservation, in that, during the whole Time of his Abode in London, He had trusted no Man more, nor conferred with any Man fo much, as with that Perfon of the felett Knot, who had been corrupted to give all Intelligence to Cromwell: And as He had now blafted and diverted some ill laid Designs, fo He had discovered the Marquis his Arrival to him, but could not be prevailed with to inform him of his Lodging, which was particularly known to him upon every Change, or to contrive any Way for his Apprehenfion; on the contrary, as in all his Conferences with him He appeared a Man of great Judgment and Per-(17) fpicacity, and the most ready to engage his Perfon in any Action that might be for his Majesty's Advantage, fo He feemed best to understand the Temper of the Time, and the Parts, Faculties and Interest of all the King's Party; and left the Marquis abundantly fatisfied with him, and of the general good Reputation He had with all Men: Which had afterwards an ill Effect, for it kept the King and those who were trusted by him from giving Credit to the firft Information He received, from a Perfon who could not be deceived, of his Tergiverfation; his late Fidelity to the Marquis of Ormond weighing down with them all the Intimations, until the Evidence was fo pregnant, that there was no Room for any Doubt.

AFTER all thefe Endeavours by the King to dif countenance and fupprefs all unfeasonable Action amongst his Party, and to infufe into them a Spirit of Peace and Quiet till He himself could appear in the Head of fome foreign Forces, which He looked upon as the only reasonable Encouragement that could animate his Friends to declare for him; the generous Distemper and Impatience of their Nature was incorrigible. They thought the Expectation of Miracles

from

from God Almighty was too lazy and ftupid a Confidence, and that God no lefs required their Endeavours and Activity, than They hoped for his Benediction in their Succefs. New Hopes were entertained, and Counfels fuitable entered upon. Mr. Mordaunt the younger Son and Brother to the Earls of Peterborough, who was too young in the Time of the late War to act any Part in it, had lately undergone, after Cromwell himfelf had taken great Pains in the Examination of him, a fevere Trial before the High Court of Juftice; where by his own fingular Addrefs and Behaviour, and his Friends having wrought by Money upon fome of the Witnesses to abfent themselves, He was by one fingle Voice acquitted; and after a longer Detention in Prifon by the Indignation of Cromwell, who well knew his Guilt, and against the Rules and Forms of their own Justice, He was discharged, after most of his Affociates were publickly and barbarously put to feveral Kinds of Death. And He no fooner found himself at Liberty, than he engaged in new Intrigues, how He might deftroy that Government that was fo near destroying him. The State of the Kingdom was indeed altered, and He had Encouragement to hope well, which former Undertakers, and himself in his, had been without. Cromwell had entered into a War with Spain; and the King was received and permitted to live in Flanders, with fome Exhibition from that King for his Support, and Affurance of an Army to embark for England, (which made a great Noife, and raised the broken Hearts of his Friends after fo many Distresses) which his Majefty was contented fhould be generally reputed to be greater and in more Forwardnefs, than there was Caufe for. He had likewife another Advantage much fuperiour and of more Importance than the other, by the Death of Cromwell, which fell out without or beyond Expectation, which feemed to put an End to all his Stratagems, and to diffolve the whole Frame of Government in the three Kingdoms, and to open many Doors to the King to enter

upon