67 CHAPTER II. THE PROTECTORATE. Poverty and Character of Charles Stuart-War with Spain-Parliament-Exclusion of Members-Punishment of Naylor-Proposal to make Cromwell King-His hesitation and refusal-New Constitution-Sindercomb-Sexby-Alliance with France-Parliament of Two HousesOpposition in the Commons-Dissolution-Reduction of DunkirkSickness of the Protector-His Death and Character. THE reader is aware that the young king of Scots, after his escape from Worcester, had returned to Paris, defeated but not disgraced. The spirit and courage which he had displayed were taken as an earnest of future and more successful efforts; and the perilous adventures which he had encountered, threw a romantic interest round the character of the royal exile. But in Paris he found himself without money or credit, followed by a crowd of faithful dependents, whose indigence condemned them to suffer the most painful privations. His mother, Henrietta, herself in no very opulent circumstances, received him into her house and to her table; after the lapse of six months, the French king settled on him a monthly allowance of six thousand francs* ; and to this were added the casual supplies furnished by the loyalty of his adherents in England, and his share of the prizes made by the cruisers under his flag. Yet, with all these aids, he was scarcely able to satisfy the Clar. iii. 441. Thirteen francs were equivalent to an English pound. + His claim was one fifteenth, that of the duke of York, as admiral, onetenth. See a collection of letters, almost exclusively on that subject, between sir Edward Hyde and sir Richard Browne. Evelyn's Mem. v. 241, et seq. more importunate of his creditors, and to dole out an occasional pittance to his more immediate followers. From their private correspondence it appears that the most favoured among them were at a loss to procure food and clothing *. Yet, poor as he was, Charles had been advised to keep up the name and appearance of a court. He had his lord keeper, his chancellor of the exchequer, his privy councillors, and most of the officers allotted to a royal establishment; and the eagerness of pursuit, the competition of intrigue with which these nominal dignities were sought by the exiles, furnish scenes which cannot fail to excite the smile or the pity of an indifferent spectator. But we should remember that they were the only objects left open to the ambition of these men ; that they offered scanty, yet desirable, salaries to their poverty; and that they held out the promise of more substantial benefits on the restoration of the king, an event which, however distant it might seem to the apprehension of others, was always near in the belief of the more ardent royalists †. Among these competitors for place were two, who soon acquired, and long retained, the royal confidence, the marquess of Ormond and sir Edward Hyde. Ormond owed the distinction to the lustre of his family, the princely fortune which he had lost in the royal cause, his long though unsuccessful services in Ireland, and the high estimation in which he had been held by the late monarch. In talent and application Hyde was * Clarendon Pap. iii. 120. 124. "I do not know that any man is yet "dead for want of bread; which really I wonder at. I am sure the king "owes for all he hath eaten since April: and I am not acquainted with "one servant of his who hath a pistole in his pocket. Five or six of us "eat together one meal a day for a pistole a week: but all of us owe for "God knows how many weeks, to the poor woman that feeds us." Clarendon Papers, iii. 174, June 27, 1653. "I want shoes and shirts, and "the marquess of Ormond is in no better condition. What help then can "we give our friends?" Ibid. 229, Ap. 3, 1654. See also Carte's Letters, ii. 461. +Clarendon Pap. iii. 83. 99. 106. 136. 162. 179. 187, et passim. Clarendon, History, iii. 434, 5. 453. A.D. 1656.] CONDUCT OF CHARLES IN FRANCE. 69 superior to any of his colleagues. Charles I. had appointed him chancellor of the exchequer, and counsellor to the young prince; and the son afterwards confirmed by his own choice the judgment of his father. Hyde had many enemies; whether it was that by his hasty and imperious temper he gave cause of offence, or that unsuccessful suitors, aware of his influence with the king, attributed to his counsels the failure of their petitions. But he was not wanting in his own defence: the intrigues set on foot to remove him from the royal ear were defeated by his address; and the charges brought against him of disaffection and treachery were so victoriously refuted, as to overwhelm the accuser with confusion and disgrace *. The expectations, however, which Charles had raised by his conduct in England were soon disappointed. He seemed to lose sight of his three kingdoms amidst the gaieties of Paris. His pleasures and amusements engrossed his attention; it was with difficulty that he could be drawn to the consideration of business; and, if he promised to devote a few hours on each Friday to the writing of letters and the signature of despatches, he often discovered sufficient reasons to free himself from the burthen. But that which chiefly distressed his advisers was the number and publicity of his amours; and, in particular, the utter worthlessness of one woman, who by her arts had won his affection, and by her impudence exercised the control over his easy teinper. This was Lucy Walters, or Barlow, the mother of a child, afterwards the celebrated duke of Monmouth, of whom Charles believed himself to be the father. Clarendon, 111.-139. 510. 515-520. Lansdowne's Works, ii. 236241, quoted by Harris, iv. 153. Clarendon Papers, iii. 84. 92. 138. 188. 200.229. + Clarend Pap. iii. 159. 170. She was previously the mistress of colonel Robert Sydney; and her son bore so great a resemblance to that officer, that the duke of York always looked upon Sydney as the father. Life of James, i. 491. James, in his instructions to his son, says, "All the knowing world, as well as "myself, had many convincing reasons to think he was not the king's son, but Robert Sydney's." Macpherson's Papers, i. 77. Evelyn calls Barlow" a browne, beautiful, bold, but insipid creature." Diary, ii. 11. Ormond and Hyde laboured to dissolve this disgraceful connexion. They represented to the king the injury which it did to the royal cause in England, where the appearances at least of morality were so highly respected; and, after several temporary separations, they prevailed 1656. on Walters to accept an annuity of 4007., and to repair Jan. with her child to her native country. But Cromwell 21. sent her back to France; and she returned to Paris, July where by her lewdness she forfeited the royal favour, and shortened her own days. Her son was taken from her by the lord Crofts, and placed under the care of the Oratoriens in Paris *. 16. But if Charles was incorrigible in the pursuit of pleasure, he proved a docile pupil on the subject of religion On one hand, the catholics, on the other, the presbyterians, urged him by letters and messages to embrace their respective modes of worship. The former maintained that he could recover the crown only through the aid of the catholic sovereigns, and had no reason to expect such aid, while he professed himself a member of that church which had so long persecuted the English catholics. The others represented themselves as holding the destiny of the king in their hands; they were royalists at heart, but how could they declare in favour of a prince who had apostatized from the covenant James, i. 492. Clarendon's Own Life, 205. Clarendon Papers, iii. 180. Thurloe, v. 169. 178; vii. 325. Charles, in the time of his exile, had also children by Catherine Peg, and Elizabeth Killigrew. See Sandford, 646, 647. In the account of Barlow's discharge from the Tower, by Whitelock, we are told that she called herself the wife of Charles (Whitelock. 649) in the Mercurius Politicus, she is styled "his wife or mistress." Ellis, new series, iii. 352. +Yet he made application in 1654 to the pope, through Goswin Nickel, general of the order of Jesuits, for a large sum of money, which might enable him to contend for his kingdom at the head of an army of Irish catholics; promising in case of success, to grant the free exercise of the catholic religion, and every other indulgence which could be reasonably asked. The reason alleged for this application was that the power of Cromwell was drawing to a close, and the most tempting offers had been made to Charles by the presbyterians: but the presbyterians were the most cruel enemies of the catholics, and he would not owe his restoration to them, till he had sought and been refused the aid of the catholic powers, From the original dated at Cologue, 17th Nov., 1654, N. 8., and subscribed by Peter Talbot, afterwards catholic archbishop of Dublin, ex mandato expresso Regis Britanniarum. It was plainly a scheme on the part of Charles to procure money; and probably failed of success. A.D. 1656.] HE OFFERS HIMSELF AN ALLY TO SPAIN. 71 which he had taken in Scotland, and whose restoration would probably re-establish the tyranny of the bishops * ? The king's advisers repelled these attempts with warmth and indignation. They observed to him that, to become a catholic was to arm all his protestant subjects against him; to become a presbyterian, was to alienate all who had been faithful to his father, both protestants of the church of England and catholics. He faithfully followed their advice; to both parties he promised, indeed, every indulgence in point of religion which they could reasonably desire: but avowed, at the same time, his determination to live and die a member of that church in defence of which his father had fought and suffered. It is not, however, improbable that these applications, with the arguments by which they were supported, had a baneful influence on the mind of the king. They created in him an indifference to religious truth, a persuasion that men always model their belief according to their interest . As soon as cardinal Mazarin began to negociate with the protector, the friends of Charles persuaded him to quit the French territory. By the French minister the proposal was gratefully received; he promised the royal fugitive the continuation of his pension, ordered the arrears to be immediately discharged, and paid him for the next half year in advance. Charles fixed his Mar. residence at Cologne, where he remained for almost 12. two years, till the rupture between England and Spain called him again into activity §. After some previous *Both these parties were equally desirous of having the young duke of Gloucester of their religion. Clar. Pap. iii. 153. 155. The queen mother placed him under the care of Montague, her almoner, at Pontoise; but Charles sent Ormond, who brought him away to Cologne. Clar. Hist. iii. 545. Papers, iii. 256-260. Evelyn, v 205. 208. + Clarendon Papers, iii. 163, 164. 256. 281. 298. 316. Hist. iii. 443. 7200 pistoles for twelve months' arrears, and 3600 for six in advance. Clar. Pap. iii. 293. While Charles was at Cologne, he was surrounded by spies, who supplied Cromwell with copious information, though it is probable that they knew little more than the public reports in the town. On one occasion the letters were opened at the post-office, and a despatch was found from a person named Manning to Thurloe. Being questioned before Charles |