quick refolution is to be taken concerning your perfon and affairs, and I begin to be clear to myself in what I ought to advise concerning both, which when you command me I fhall do with all frankness and fidelity." 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 posture 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. Yefterday it pleased 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 fpent in the pageantry of fuch folemnities as the occafion required. All men's hearts (almost 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 feasonably removed the great obftructor of our happiness by his own hand. Oh! for God's fake, my lord, as you tender the happinefs of that good king, and the welfare of bleeding king Mr. Fisher (Howard) to the Lord doms, let not delays lofe the bene Chancellor Hyde. "My Lord, "YOU cannot expect a large and particular account of things from a perfon under restraint; 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 shift to steal 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 despair of being the first meffenger of thofe fit of fuch an happy juncture, nor fuffer vain hopes and confidences in falfe friends any longer to fruftrate your defigns and delude. your counfels. Here is yet no face of oppofition in the army, or any part of it. Some there are who conceive great hopes (how well grounded I know not) of Monk's defection; I can fay nothing to the contrary, I fhall be glad if it prove fo, which a little time will fhew, but 'tis not to be depended upon unless your own correfpondencies with him give you better affurance than either common fame 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 garrison, 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 threa tening 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 those things they did enquire; hereupon they were very angry, telling me, that I had better have dealt more ingenuously, for 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 lit tle 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 circumttances, that Wildman and captain Bishop were fame or opinion. Mr. Stephens is in Scotland with Monk at this time; who knows what their difcontents (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? I wish 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 reafon 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 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, firft by the death of his daughter, afterwards by his own, and fince by the distraction of affairs; hence it comes to pass 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 am also told that the old tyrant M 3 the the first discoverers of that defign, O tempora, O mores! The reafon why Sir W. Compton and Sir R. Willis are releafed, and I am not examined, I fuppofe 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 millftones 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 ranfom, and that nothing lefs than 523. 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 myfelf at fo high a rate, as to think myself fo much deferving your care, efpecially 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 earnefly 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 1 am much surprised 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 whe. ther 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 ftrictly, that Monf. Newport's pafs 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 Tuefday. 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 muft 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. Lord Culpepper to the Lord Chancel. As for this town they are mad with lor Hyde. "I TAKE it for granted this change in England will require your conftant attendance at Hock ftraten, which makes me addrefs this letter thither, and I shall follow it as foon 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 hand and give us the means of arming and embodying ourselves, and then will be our time to fpeak our own language. But if we appear before upon our own account, it will only ferve to unite our enemies, and confirm their new government by a victory over us, whereby we fhall be utterly difabled to do our duty when the true feafon fhall come, which I doubt not will quickly be, if we have but the patience to wait for it. But whilft I thus declare my opinion against their abortions, I would not be understood that no endeavours of ours may be proper to haften the timely birth; on the contrary, I think much good is to be done by difcreet and fecret application, by well chofen perfons, to thofe of power and intereft amongst them, whom we shall find most discontented with Cromwell's partiality in fetting this young man over their heads that have borne the brunt of the day in the common caufe, as they call it; and who have fo good an opinion of themselves, as to believe that they have deferved as much of them they fought for as Cromwell himself did. Who thefe are is not eafy for us as yet to know, but fuch there are certainly, and a little time will eafily difcover them; and probably enough we may find fome of them in Cromwell's own family, and amongst those that in his life ftuck clofeft to him. Be they where they will, if they have power, and will do good, they ought to be cherished. But the perfon that my eye is chiefly on, as able alone to reftore the king, and not abfolutely averfe to it, neither in his principles, nor in his affections, and that is as like to be unfatisfied with this choice as any other amongst them, is Monk, who commandeth abfolutely at his devotion a better army (as I What the king is to do upon this great and good change in England is now before you; to which most important queftion, though with the difadvantage of my being abfent, I fhall freely (but privately to your felf) deliver my opinion before it is afked; which is, that you ought not to be over hafty in doing any thing in England, neither by proclaiming the king, nor by any other public act, until you shali truly and particularly know the ftate of affairs there, without which, Solomon, if he were alive and with you, could not make a right judgment of what is to be done there. By the ftate of affairs there, I mean not only what is acted at the council board, in the army, city, and country, but likewife how those several bodies are generally affected to this nomination of Cromwell's fon; what opinion they have of, and kindness to, his perfon; who is discontented at it, and upon what account they are so, and to what degree; what formed parties are made or making against it; and how they propofe to carry on their defign, whether under the veil of a parliament, or by open declared force; how Monk and Mr. Harry Cromwell like it, and of what confideration Lambert is upon this change; most of thefe, and many other particulars, ought to be well known, upon able and impartial intelligence from the place, before you can be ready for a judgment either of the defign itself, or of the timing it; and, in the mean time, both the king's party in England, and we here, cannot (in my opinion) act too filent a part. When their partialities fhall come to the height, that is, when the fword fhall be drawn, our tale will be heard, the weakest party will be glad to take us by the 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 reft 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 highness and the office of protector, better than Mr. Richard Cromwell's fkill in horfe-races and husbandry doth. You know befides, that the only ties that have hitherto kept him from grumbling, have been the vanity of conftancy to his profeffions, 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 ftick 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 2 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 himfelf, let it at the firft be prefbyterian, be king and parliament, be a third party, or what he will, fo it oppofe the prefent power, it will at last 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 feriously of it. Amfterdam, Sept. 20, 1658. 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, |