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CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924088001015 
 
SIR JOHN ELIOT. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
LONDON 
 PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. 
 
 NEW-STREET SQUARE 
 
SIB. JOHN ELIOT KW^ 
 
 A.D.1628. 
 
 J^^ij'ravr'd I' vW KoTb.fr orrv a/v ariamoLI'aijctmn at Tart TlloDt 
 
 orii 
 
 aJ^'S cAxyiM^ Mryn}y>' /o c<t8m 
 
 
SIR JOHN ELIOT 
 
 A BIOGRAPHY 
 
 1590 — 1632. 
 
 BY JOHN FORSTER. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 VOL, I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 LONGMAN, GREEN, LONGMAN, ROBERTS, & GREEN. 
 
 1864. 
 N\ 
 
 The right of tramlatioa is reserved. 
 
TO ALL 
 
 WHO VALUE THE REGULATED LIBERTY ENJOYED IN ENGLAND, 
 
 WHO ATTRIBUTE ITS PRESERVATION TO A POWERFUL LEGISLATU-RE, 
 
 AND WHO HAVE ANY INTEREST IN KNOWING 
 
 WHAT WAS DONE AND SUFFERED TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY YEARS AGO 
 
 TO ESTABLISH THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, 
 
 I OFFER THIS ACCOUNT OF 
 
 SIR JOHN ELIOT. 
 1864. 7. F. 
 
/CORNELL^ 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 \LIBRARVx, 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 HE only excufe I can oiFer for the extent 
 and bulk of the prefent book is, that it is 
 not a reproduftion, under altered forms, of 
 materials already acceffible in exifting books, 
 but is an entirely new contribution to the knowledge of 
 the period I treat of, and to the means of judging cor- 
 redtly its adtors and events. 
 
 If any one had told me when I began, now very 
 many years ago, the ftudy of the popular movement 
 againft the Stuart princes in the feventeenth century, 
 that there exifted in the archives of one Englifh family 
 the ftill inedited papers of the moft eloquent leader of 
 the firft three parliaments of Charles the Firft; that 
 among thefe papers, numbering between two and three 
 hundred original letters, lay the familiar correfpondence 
 of Sir John Eliot with fuch men as Hampden, Selden, 
 Bevil Grenvile, Richard Knightley, Sir Oliver Luke, 
 Sir Robert Cotton, Edward Kyrton, Sir William Armyne, 
 
viii Preface. 
 
 Sir Dudley Digges, Sir Henry Marten, Benjamin Val- 
 entine, Lords "Warwick and Lincoln, Bifhop Hall, and 
 many others ; that they contained an elaborate Memoir, 
 written by Eliot, with innumerable abftradts of fpeeches 
 not elfewhere reported, of the firft and leaft known (but 
 by no means leaft memorable) parliament of Charles's 
 reign, as well as careful and ample notes, taken by Eliot 
 in the houfe of commons, of the principal incidents of 
 the fecond parliament ; that they contributed to the 
 illuftration of the momentous matters debated then and 
 in Charles's third parliament, as well as in the laft of 
 James, no lefs than twenty important fpeeches adtually 
 fpoken by Eliot himfelf and not reported in any of the 
 hiftories, together with revifed and much amended copies 
 of the only three great fpeeches forming all that were 
 before believed to have furvived of this mafter of elo- 
 quence ; and that finally they included, with other inter- 
 efting fragments found after Eliot's death in his prifon, 
 touching perfonal appeals in vindication of the courfe 
 taken by him, intended for a later time, and notes for a 
 fpeech againft the violation of the public liberties by his 
 imprifonment, which he propofed to have fpoken in the 
 parliament that did not meet until he had been eight 
 years in his grave ; if, I fay, it had been ftated to me 
 that fuch manufcript treafures as thefe were lying in the 
 old family manfion ftill occupied by the defcendants of 
 Sir John Eliot, I fhould hardly have dared to think 
 credible what I too eagerly fhould have defired to 
 believe. But everything thus briefly defcribed, and 
 much more, the reader will find In the volumes before 
 him. 
 
 The Earl of St. Germans entrufted to my unreferved 
 
Preface. ix 
 
 ufe, two years ago, the whole of thefe pricelefs family 
 papers ; and I can only hope that this book, which owes 
 its exiftence to the confidence fo placed in me, may 
 be found to juftify it. For thus alone is it poflible that 
 proper acknowledgment may be made for a fervice to 
 which any mere expreffion of thanks would be altogether 
 inadequate. 
 
 It is right I fhould add that the fame defire to fee 
 juftice done to his great anceftor induced Lord St. 
 Germans feveral years ago, when he was yet Lord Eliot, 
 to fubmit portions of thefe papers ( comprifing letters only) 
 to Mr. D'Ifraeli, then engaged in his Commentaries on 
 the Life of Charles the Firji ; and that this led to the 
 publication, at that time, of what was termed " the Eliot 
 " correfpondence." It confifted of feven entire letters and 
 five fragments of letters by Eliot ; of eight written by 
 Hampden ; of a fhort letter by Holies ; and of a por- 
 tion of one by Scawen ; all, with exception of Hamp- 
 den's, printed fo incorreftly, and with fuch extraor- 
 dinary omiffions, as to be in reality of little worth. 
 Thefe matters find notice, with due corredtion, in their 
 proper place in the biography ; and are only mentioned 
 here becaufe of the ftatement put forth at the time by 
 Mr. D'Ifraeli, to explain his having limited himfelf to the 
 feledtion of lefs than twenty letters out of a volume con- 
 taining more than a hundred and fifty. 
 
 He fpeaks of the labour which the examination of that 
 book of manufcripts had coft him, as the toil of many a 
 weary morning, dimming his eyes with " all fuch writing 
 " as was never read." The letters of Hampden only he 
 found to be legible ; and it delighted him to think 
 that by his hand his country would pofTefs memorials 
 
X Preface. 
 
 of Eliot and of his friend, of which no other remains 
 were known to exift. But gr&^t fliould be the glory, he 
 told his readers, for the ftrife had been hard. " The 
 " autographs of Sir John long proved too hard for my 
 " deciphering. Days, weeks, and months pafled, and 
 " I was ftill painfully conning the redundant flourifhes 
 " and the tortuous alphabet of Sir John, till the volume 
 " was often clofed in the agony of baffled patience. I 
 " renewed my apologies for detaining a volume pre- 
 " cious in the domeftic archives of St. Germans. The 
 " unlimited indulgence relieved my wearifome repug- 
 " nance ; and zealous to obtain fome infight into the 
 " feelings and the thoughts of two illuftrious characters 
 " in our hiftory, I pafled through my martyrdom" (^Eliot^ 
 Hampden, and Pym, 1832, p. 9). 
 
 From this the reader of the prefent volumes may pro- 
 bably infer that the martyrdom of their writer has been 
 fomewhat more fevere, when I inform him that they in- 
 clude, either textually or in fubftance, the entire contents 
 of that book of manufcripts of which the very imper- 
 fed; maftery of lefs than a tenth part fo feverely taxed 
 the patience and fight of an experienced hiftorical en- 
 quirer; that, in aid of their fubjedt, the contents of 
 feven other volumes of equal bulk have been deciphered, 
 fifted, and ufed ; and, finally, that from three additional 
 packets of detached papers, the majority in rough draft 
 too often almoft illegible, fome in pencil nearly faded, 
 and all apparently untouched fince Sir John Eliot's 
 death, fome of the moft important difcoveries in this 
 biography have been made. 
 
 Such are my obligations, for which it would indeed 
 be difficult to find fitting language of acknowledgment. 
 
Preface. xi 
 
 to the Earl of St. Germans ; who alfo entrufted to me, 
 for the purpofe of being engraved, two original paintings 
 of his anceftor at Port Eliot, one of them of furpaffing 
 intereft. 
 
 The ftate papers, and fome manufcript colledtions of 
 my own, have furnifhed to this work the reft of its 
 materials. From the Record OfRce I have been able to 
 illuftrate, by a very large number of letters till now 
 unpublifhed, the early connexion of Eliot with ftate 
 employments ; the attempts, after his condu6t in the 
 fecond parliament, to deprive him of his vice-admiralty, 
 and, by means of hired agents of the King and the Duke 
 of Buckingham, to efFedh the ruin of his fortunes ; and 
 the proceedings againft him in the courts, after the dif- 
 folution of the third parliament. In all the inftances 
 where I have reforted to thefe invaluable documents of 
 the period, rendered lately fo acceffible by the perfedt 
 arrangements of the Mafter of the Rolls and the ad- 
 mirable calendars of Mr. Bruce, every quotation has 
 been taken from the originals. 
 
 A more careful and minute examination of the con- 
 temporary and other printed records having been ren- 
 dered neceflary by the new illuftrations thus obtained, 
 this biography of Eliot will probably be found to pre- 
 fent a pidture of the opening of the ftruggle againft 
 the government of Charles the Firft, in many refpedts 
 more detailed and accurate than has yet been afforded. 
 Not merely was its later intereft fo abforbing, and the 
 iffues involved fo momentous, but its adtors claimed 
 neceflarily fo large a {pace from the hiftorians, that they 
 had fome excufe for lefs carefully attending to thofe 
 earlier. leaders of the conflidt who were its firft infpiring 
 
xii Preface. 
 
 minds. A ftronger circumftance in proof of this could 
 hardly be named, than that no biography of Eliot exifted. 
 in any form until I publifhed a fketch of him in -raY 
 Statefmen of the Commonwealth in 1834. Yet no one 
 will ever fully underftand what the rifing againft: the 
 Stuarts meant who is not thoroughly acquainted with 
 its beginning ; with the loyalty to the throne that then 
 accompanied the refolve of its heroes to maintain the 
 popular liberties ; and with the reverent regard for law 
 and precedent by which all its opening movements were 
 fo implicitly guided as to have left upon it to the very 
 laft a deep and ineifaceable imprefs. For thefe reafons 
 it feemed efpecially defirable that a more exadl account 
 than elfewhere exifts of what preceded and attended the 
 enadtment of the Petition of Right fhould be here fup- 
 plied. It was neceffary to the proper comprehenfion, as 
 well of the new illuftrations of that great third parlia- 
 ment afforded by the Port Eliot manufcripts, as of the 
 memoir and notes on the parliaments preceding it in 
 which the patriot himfelf plays the part of hiftorian. 
 
 For the perfonal charadleriftics of Sir John Eliot efta- 
 bllfhed by the papers thus given to the world, the bio- 
 graphy will fpeak fufEciently. Few public men have 
 fuifered more from evil party fpeaking. The indignity 
 the king would have offered to his body after death, 
 royalifl writers perfifled in fixing on his memory. But 
 the veneration and affeftion of his countrymen may 
 be given now to an unfullied name. Few charafters 
 could have fliood the teft of the fudden maffes of light 
 here poured upon his ; yet no blot appears, and no 
 brightnefs fades. Under a prefTure which even old 
 friends and affociates joined to make it painful to refill. 
 
Preface. xiii 
 
 he kept to the clofe his faith and conftancy ; he calmly 
 underwent his martyrdom ; the laft utterances that 
 ii^fcaped from his prifon were the expreffion of his belief 
 that upon the abandonment or maintenance of the pri- 
 vileges of her parliaments would turn the future mifery 
 or glory of England ; and he deferved, if ever man did, 
 that her conftitutional hiftorian Ihould have fingled him 
 out and fet him apart, as the most illustrious con- 
 fessor IN the cause of liberty whom that time 
 
 PRODUCED. 
 
 J-F. 
 
 Palace Gate House, Hyde Park Gate, W. 
 30^.4 January, 1864. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 Dedication 
 Preface 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 MR. ELIOT OF PORT ELIOT : MEMBER FOR 
 St. GERMANS. 
 
 1590 1619. ^T. I — 29. 
 
 § I. Ancestry and Youthful Days . . . . 1—9 
 Text. Eliot's anceftors in Cornwall and Devon, i. Port Eliot de- 
 fcribed, i. Eliot born, 3. His father's eafy dilpofition, and 
 his own ardent temper, 3. Incident miftold againft him, 3. 
 Complaint of him to his father, 4. Draws his fword on Mr. 
 Moyle, 5. His age at the time, 5. Apology and reconcilia- 
 tion, 6. Subfequent favours to Moyle, 7. Prevalence of 
 duelling, 8. Tranfition point in life, 9. 
 
 Notes. Earl St. Germans on the Eliot family, i. Silence of con- 
 temporaries as to Moyle, 3. Incident as told by Moyle's 
 daughter, 4. Mr. Tonkin's view of it, 6. Mr. D'Ifraeli, 
 and charafier of that writer, 7. 
 
 § II. Early Tastes, University, and Travel . . 9 — nj 
 
 Text. At Exeter College, Oxford ; Studies in the ancient learning, 
 
 9. Gains therefrom in afterlife ; Books a real world to Eliot, 
 
 10. His religious belief, 11, 12. Love of aftive exercifes, 13. 
 Illuftrated from his letters, 14. Law-ftudent and barrifter, 15. 
 Continental travel, 15, 16. Friendfhip with George Villiers, 
 16. Notes on France, 16, 17. On Italy, 17. Experience'; 
 and advice to his children, 18. 
 
 Notes. Eliot's age, 9. Unpublilhed letters at Port Eliot, 11. 
 Miftakes and omiffions in thofe printed by Mr. D'Ifraeli, 12. 
 The Knightleys, 13. A game at bowls, 14. Lady Villiers 
 of Brooksby, 15, 16. Echard and D'Ifraeli, 16. 
 
 VOL. 1. a 
 
xvi Contents of 
 
 PAGE 
 
 § III. Marriage and Parliament 19 — 26 
 
 Text. Misftatements as to marriage, 19. Son miftaken for father; 
 Eliot's wife, Rhadagund ; their children, -2.0. Member of the 
 1614 parliament ; his fellow members, 21. Philips, Pym, 
 Digges, Luke, Wentworth, Bacon, 22. Sandys, Giles, Perrot, 
 Cotton, Savile, 23. Oppofition lawyers, and court undertakers, 
 23, 24. Vehement and noify debates, 24. Eliot's fpeech as to 
 undertakers, 25. DiiTolution, 26. 
 
 Notes. Eliot's fons, 20. Sir Robert Philips's father, 22. Father 
 of Whitelocke, 23. Queftion of Bacon's right to fit as 
 Attorney, 24. 
 
 § IV. Events in London, i6i4to 1619 .... 26 — 35 
 
 Text. A quiet interval, 26. The rule of Somerfet, 27. The 
 Overbury tragedy, 28. A fcene at Tybum, 29. Remarks by 
 Eliot on Somerfet and Overbury, 29, 30. AfTociations with 
 Overbury's prifon, 31. Laft voyage of Raleigh, 32. His laA 
 night in the Tower, 3^. Eliot a fpeftator of his execution, 34. 
 The death of a hero, 35. 
 
 Notes. Somerfet at his trial, 28. His addrefs to Charles, 29. 
 Eliot's quotation of Overbury's poem, 30. The MS. of the 
 Monarchy of Man, 31. Spanifh participation in Raleigh's 
 death, 32. Bacon's confent to it, 33. 
 
 BOOK II. 
 SIR JOHN ELIOT VICE-ADMIRAL OF DEVON. 
 
 1619 — 1623. JET. 29 33, 
 
 § I. Appointed 10 Office ...... 36 — 41 
 
 Text. Eliot knighted, and afting as Vice-Admiral, 1618 ; receives 
 patent from Buckingham, 1619 ; its duties and refponfibilities, 
 36, 37. Echard's libel, 38. Rapid rife of Villiers, 39. Eliot's 
 friendfliip and enmity, 40. Their fates interwoven, 41 . 
 
 Notes. Denzil Holies to Wentworth, 37. Whimfical miftakes 
 of Mr. D'Ifraeli, 38. Failure of a favourite, 39. Overbury's 
 profe, 39. Villiers at a tilt, 40. A warning from Dante, 
 40, 41 . 
 
 § II. Capture of Nutt the Pirate .... 41 — 59 
 
 Text. Eliot preffing feamen, 41. Mr. James Bagg fent to him, 
 41. Confults Sir Edward Giles, 42. Letter to council, 43. 
 Pirates and their patrons, 43. Capt. John Nutt, 44. Failures 
 to take him, 45. Secretary Conway to Eliot, 46. Artifice of 
 the Vice-Admiral, 47. Nutt falls into snare, 47. On board 
 Nutt's fhip, 48. Surrender of the pirate, 49. Eliot to the 
 council, 49, 50. Terms of furrender, 50, 51. Energy and 
 humanity, 51. Seizure of confpirators at fea, 52. Appeal to 
 
the Firji Volume. xvii 
 
 TAG! 
 
 council for the poor, 52. Difficult and thanklefs fervice, 53. 
 Gratitude of mayor and people of Dartmouth, 54. Eliot to 
 Conway, 55. Conway's thanks and orders, 56. Royal favour 
 promifed, 57. Arreft of Nutt and his crew defcribed, 57. 
 Secret influence againft Eliot, 58. Unavailing refiftance; Eliot 
 imprifoned and Nutt pardoned, 59. 
 
 Hates. Succeffive ftages on a journey ridden poft from the weft, 
 55. Conway and Eliot, 56. Nutt's pardon, 59. 
 
 § III. Before the Admiralty Court .... 60 — 67 
 Text, Ground of Vice-admiral's arreft ; a curiofity of letters, 
 60. Cafe referred to Sir Henry Marten, 61. Nutt examined, 
 62. Eliot's deputy, 63. Randall's evidence, 64. Examination 
 of Eliot, 65. Scornful reply to Nutt, 66. What Eliot had 
 from him, 67. 
 
 Notes. A pirate's plunder, 62. Sources of this narrative as to 
 Nutt, 65. 
 
 § IV. Justice WITH Respect of Persons . . . 67 — 75 
 
 Text. Judge Marten's letter to council, 67. Reports Eliot's 
 teftinrony, 68. Interference of duke's fecretary, 68, 6g. Con- 
 way's aftion thereon, 69. Eliot's fecret enemy, 70. Marten 
 to Conway on conveniences and inconveniences of juftice, 70, 
 71. Suggeftion for Eliot's releafe, 72. Oppofed by fecretary 
 Calvert, 73. Triumph of the pirate, 74.. Judge Marten's 
 brace of bucks, 75. 
 
 Notes. Duke and duke's man, 69. Marten on Eliot's bufinefs, 
 73- 
 
 § V. In the Marshalsea Prmon 75 — 87 
 
 Text. Eliot under arreft, 75. Appeal to Conway, 76. Petition 
 to the king, 77. Conway's reply, 78. Rejoinder from Eliot, 
 78, 79. A fpirited proteft, 79. Reply to perfonal charges, 80. 
 Plain-fpeaking, 81. Eff'eft upon Conway, 82. Eliot's grati- 
 tude, 83. His ill fuccefs, 84. A fuccefsful villain, 85. End 
 of it all, 85, 86. Eliot's- liberation, 86. Excitement as to Spain, 
 87. 
 Notes. Eliot's feal, 81. Pory to Lord Brooke, 85, 
 
 BOOK III. 
 KING JAMES'S LAST TW^O PARLIAMENTS. 
 
 1 620-1 1623-4. XT. 30 34. 
 
 i I. The Meeting in 1620 . .... 88 — 100 
 
 Text. A momentous time, 88. Chance for the Stuarts, 8g. Ad- 
 vice of Archbiftiop Abbot, 90. Opening of parliament ; the 
 
xvili Contents of 
 
 PAGE 
 
 people and the king, 91. Great things done, 92. Speech by 
 
 Sir James Perrot, 93. Speeches by Philips and Wentworth, 94. 
 
 Laft day of the feffion ; a grand fcene, 95. Conqueft of the 
 
 Palatinates, 96. Opening of fecond feffion, 97. Speech on 
 
 London extravagance ; money wafted on tobacco, 98. Speeches 
 
 of Sackville and Philips ; the paffing-bell for religion, 99. 
 
 Advice to feek the Spaniard at home ; Giles and Crewe, 100. 
 
 Notes. Quarrels of Abbot and Laud, 89. Sir James Perrot, 93. 
 
 The Oxford debates, 93. Siege of Frankenthal; deaths of 
 
 the two Fairfaxes, 96. Laughter at the peace-loving king, 
 
 96. 
 
 § II. Protest of the Commons of England . . loi — iii 
 
 Text. King's eagernefs for Spanifh marriage : popular horror of 
 Spain, loi. Coke's inveftive, 102. Propofal by Philips, 103. 
 Addrefs againft popery, 103-4. Debate thereon, 105. Rage 
 of the king, 106. Struggle for popular liberties begun, 106. 
 Privilege of parliament debated, 107. Crewe's grand fpeech, 
 108. Entry of proteft on journals, 109. The king tears it 
 out, no. Imprifonment of Philips and others, no— 11. 
 
 Notes. Popifli dependence, incompatible with Englifh loyalty 
 and freedom, 104. The king in the new river, no. Peti- 
 tions for Philips and Coke, in. 
 
 § III. Spanish Match and Journey .... in — 120 
 
 Text. Profpefts of fuccefs, in. Why Buckingham interfered, 
 iiz. Parting of dad and goflSp from his baby and dog, 113. 
 Reception of the Meffrs. Smith at Madrid, 114. Coquetting 
 with Popery, 115. Exultation of courtiers, difcontent of the 
 people, 116. Letter of warning to the king, 117. A hitch 
 at Madrid, 118. The match broken off, 119. Rejoicings in 
 England, the king's humiliation, 120. 
 
 Notes. The king and his fweet boys, 113. Laud and Abbot, a 
 contraft, 113. Digby and Buckingham, 114. Favours to 
 Paplfts, 114. "More than a compliment," 115. Bonfires 
 by order, 116. The counterfeit letter, 117. Carte's hiftory, 
 obligations of Hume, 118. Authorities for Spanifh bufinefs, 
 119. 
 
 § IV. Calumny 120 — 123 
 
 Text. Mifreprefentation and falfehood, 120. ImpofTible accufa- 
 tions, 121. Mr. D'Ifraeli's misftatements, 122. Difcoveries 
 at Port Eliot, 122. ConCftent to the laft, 122-3. 
 
 Note. Sir Robert Philips and Buckingham, 122. 
 
 § V. Preparations for the Meeting in 1623 . . 123 132 
 
 Text. Letter of Eliot to Buckingham, 123. The Vice-Admiral's 
 claims on the Lord Admiral, 124. The king forced to call a 
 parliament, 125. The divifion in the council, 126. Bifhop 
 Williams and Buckingham, 127. Members elefted, 128. 
 
the Firjl Volume. xix 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Eleftion of Eliot, 129. Conduft in this parliament, 130. 
 Continued intercourfe with Buckingham, 131. Politics and 
 religion, 132. 
 
 Notes. Treatment of Briftol, 1 25. Letter of Wentworth's, 126. 
 Laud's quarrels with the Lord K»eper, 127. Anthony 
 Wood's inaccuracies, 129. Mr. D'Ifraeli and the writer of 
 this book, 131. 
 
 § VI. Member for Newport 132 — 159 
 
 Text. The king's failing fpirit, 132. Opening of his laft parlia- 
 ment, 133. Trials againft Eliot ftayed, 134. Eliot's firft , 
 fpeech, 135. Warnings to the houfe, 136. Former parlia- 
 mentary experiences, 137. Difcuffes prerogative and privilege, 
 138. Upholds the proteft of 1621, 139. Parliament no dimi- 
 nution to royalty, 140. Claim of fecrecy for debates, 141. 
 Reference to members imprifoned, 142. Eliot oppofed by 
 Alford and Philips, 143. Popularity of Buckingham, 144. 
 War with Spain propofed, 145. Speeches by Eliot and Pym, 
 146. The commons and the king, 147. Eliot's exertions in 
 parliament, 148. Pofition conceded to him, 149. lUuftrative 
 incident, 150. Duncombe's cafe, 151. Speech by Eliot, 152, 
 The debate on fupply, 153. Eliot's fpeech againft Spain, 154. 
 Popular enthufiafm, 155. Leffons read backward, 156. Ne- 
 ceffity for naval preparation, 157. Commiffioners for war 
 expenditure, 158. Conditions for fubfidles, 159. 
 Notes. " Perpetual drowfinefs " of the king, 132. Anecdote of 
 Prince Charles, 134. Commons' journals of 1623, 134. 
 The king's hard mafter, 147. Ruihworth's account, 148. 
 Incorreft printing of Birch Tranfcripts, 149. Port Eliot 
 MSS, 151. Selden's maiden fpeech, 153. Laud on the 
 broken treaties, 155. Commons' commiffioners and council 
 of war, 158. 
 
 § VII. Prorogation and Dissolution . . . 159 — 176 
 Text. General bufmefs of the houfe, 159. Eliot's ftiare therein, 
 160. Impeachment of Lord Middlefex, 161. Speech by 
 Eliot, 162. The greater the offender the greater the offence, 
 163. Judgment and punifhment, 1 64. Impofitions by prero- 
 gative, 165. Eliot's fpeech thereon, 166. Effefls upon trade 
 and fliipping, 167. Upon the great cloth diftrifls, 168. Upon 
 the king's revenue, 169. Upon the people, 170. An eloquent 
 difh of bafil, 171. Suggeflions for a bill, 172. The ftatute 
 againft monopolies, 173. The king under prefTure, 174. The 
 French match, 175. The commons difmiffed, 176. 
 Notes. On committees, 159. Guilt of the lord treafurer, 160. 
 The lord keeper on his knees, 161. Sentence on Middlefex, 
 164. Fregofe or Fulgofe, 171. Kackefs Scritiia Referata, 
 173. The bifhop and his Dalilah, 175. Promifes of the 
 prince, 176. 
 
XX Contents of 
 
 BOOK IV. 
 SIR JOHN ELIOT AND THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM. 
 
 1624 — 1625. JE.T. 34. — 35. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 § I. Intercourse with the Lord High Admiral 177 — 189 
 
 Text. The Mansfeldt expedition, 177. Its iflue, 178. Eliot's 
 conneftion with Buckingham, 178-9. Views as to France 
 contrafted with Wentworth's, 179. Letters to Buckingham, 
 180. A prize for the duke, 181. Eliot calls Giles to aid, 
 182. Account confcientioufly rendered, 183. Forms of letter- 
 writing, 184.. Buckingham's diflatisfaflion, 185. Enter Mr. 
 James Bagg, 186. Plymouth and Saltafh in difpute, 187. 
 Eliot's decifion, 188. A remonftrance, 189. 
 Notes. Mr. Hockmore M.P. and his eftate, confpiracy to get 
 a wardfhip out of It, 182. Why Eliot cannot attend the 
 duke, 184. 
 
 § II. Spanish Ships and Turkish Pirates . . 189 — 195 
 
 Text. Spanifti preparations, 189. Eliot's advice to Buckingham, 
 190. Forebodings of war, 191. Meffage to Conway for the 
 Duke, 192. Prifoners tried for piracy by Eliot, 193. Ex- 
 ecutions and reprieves, 194. Intrigues againft Eliot beginning, 
 195. 
 Notes. Spanifh civilities diftrufted, 190. Government refponfible 
 for fuccess and extenfion of piracy, 193. 
 
 § III. Last Letters to the Duce of Buckingham . 196 — 201 
 
 Text. Interferences with Eliot, 196. Addrefles the duke on in- 
 fringement of his patent, 197. The duke's reply, and effeft 
 on Eliot, 198. Point of time at which they parted, 199. 
 King's death and Eliot's letter thereon, 200. Eliot's journey 
 with the duke arretted, 201. 
 
 Notes. How great officers addreffed Buckingham, 196. What 
 it was that drove the king's gout from his foot to his ftomach, 
 200. 
 
 § IV. Mr. James Bagg ; from the Life. . . 201 — ^o% 
 
 Text. Who Mr. Bagg was, 20 1 . His fecret overtures to the duke, 
 202. His fuccelsful intrigues, 203. Falling out of two 
 knaves, 204. Bagg's fentence in the ftar-chamber, 205. Re- 
 miffion of it by the king, 206. Bagg fuperfeding Eliot, 207. 
 What Buckingham was to lofe and gain, 208. 
 
 Notes. The king's half-confidences to his minifters, 206. Englifh 
 interpreter to Spanifh embaffy, 207. Bagg's defalcations, 
 208. 
 
the Firft Volume. xxi 
 
 BOOK V. 
 
 FIRST PARLIAMENT OF CHARLES THE FIRST: AT 
 
 WESTMINSTER. 
 
 1625. MT. 35. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 § I. "Negotium Posterorum" 209 — 219 
 
 Text. A memoir by Eliot of Charles's firft parliament, 209. Why 
 and when written, 210. A ftory meant for pofterity, 2n. 
 How to be ufed in this narrative, 212. Subjefts treated of, 
 difclofures refpefting Wentworth, 213. Points eftablifhed by 
 the manufcript, 214. Origin of difcontents of the commons, 
 215. Eliot's laft interview with Buckingham, 216. The 
 recefs and Oxford feflion, 217. Interefting fpeeches reported 
 by Eliot, 218. Growth of the two parties, 219, 
 
 Notes. Detached MS. fpeeches confirmatory of the memoir, 210. 
 Lofs of papers at Port Eliot, 211. 
 
 § II. Opening of the Session 219—233 
 
 Text. Welcome to the new reign, 219. Eagernefs for fervice in 
 the commons, 220. Affembling of the members, 221. The 
 familiar and the new faces, 222. The King's fpeech, 223. 
 A note of difcord from the lord keeper, 224. Speaker 
 Crewe's addrefs, 225. Eliot's comments, 226. What the 
 eleftion excitements had been, 227. Caufes for difcontent, 
 228. Laud's O and P fchedule, 229. Afts of mifgovern- 
 ment, 230. The lord keeper's intrigues, 231. Eliot and 
 Wentworth, 232. Profpefls of conflift, 233. 
 
 Nates. The king's refort to notes, 225. Sir Edwin Sandys, 227. 
 Laud's diary, 228. Remark by Lingard, 229. Peachem 
 and Lockit, 231. 
 
 § III. Rules and Orders of the House . . . 233 — 238 
 
 Text. Gains from the popular ftniggle, 233. Powers at this time 
 neceffary to parliament, 234. The three grand committees, 235. 
 Their Subordination to the houfe, 236. Privileges and pro- 
 cedure fettled, 237. Regulations for order in debate, 238. 
 
 Notes. Rule for avoiding replies and heat, 236. Meaning of 
 " countries," 238. 
 
 § IV. Grievances and Religion .... 238 — 258 
 
 Text. Bill for the Lord's day, 238. Savile and Wentworth, 239. 
 Difference of Wentworth and Eliot, 240. Adjournment op- 
 pofed by Eliot, 241. Eliot interpofes between Coke and 
 Wentworth, 242. Rudyard's eulogy of the king, 243. Eliot's 
 remark on Rudyard, 244. Mr. Pym's unexpefted queftion, 
 
 245. Why the houfe was " paffionate " in matters of religion, 
 
 246. Speech by Eliot, 247. Importanceof religion to govern- 
 ment, 248. State of the laws for its proteftion, 249. Evaded 
 or fufpended by pardons, 250. Indulgence to recufants and 
 Jefuits, 251. The New Gag for an Old Goofe, 252. Richard 
 
xxii Contents of 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Montague and Archbifliop Abbot, 353. Increafe of the 
 
 plague, 254. High church at the bar, 255. Pym againft 
 
 Montagu, 256. Commitment of Montagu, 257. Eliot's 
 
 definition of the king's principle of government, 258. 
 
 Notes. Quotations from Eliot's MS, 239 and 240. From the 
 
 journals, 241. Abbot's rebuke to the commons, 247. The 
 
 ' New Gag ' and ' Appello,' 252. From Eliot's MS, 254 
 
 and 257. From Laud's diary, 258. 
 
 § V. Wentworth's Election for Yorkshire . . 258 — 287 
 Text. The old difpute of 1620, 258. Savile's charge at that time, 
 259. Excitement caufed, 260. Wentworth's narrow efcape, 
 261. Complaints of his prefumption, 262. Speech by Noye, 
 263. Philips's fumming-up of cafe, 264. A knighthood ad- 
 venture clofed, 265. New one opened, 266. Savile's prefent 
 petition, 267. Reply of Wentworth, 268. Outwitted by 
 Savile, 269. Statement of the flieriff, 270. Eliot againft 
 'Wentworth, 271. Wentworth's appeal, 272. His fupporters 
 and oppofers, 273. Coke's fuggeftion, 274. Savile at the bar, 
 275. Frefh demand by Wentworth, 276. Speeches for and 
 againft Savile, 277. Wentworth refills the decifion of the 
 houfe, 278. Eliot and Wentworth in coUifion, 279. Eliot 
 denounces Wentworth, 280. Propofes his expulfion, 281. 
 Eftefts on Wentworth, 282. Eliot's defcription of his charafter 
 and genius, 283. Other eleilion queftions, 284. Intriguers 
 between Wentworth and Eliot, 285. The tribute of Hallam, 
 286. Wentworth's later memories of Eliot, 287. 
 
 Notes. Matters incidental to Yorkftiire eleftion cafe, 260. Went- 
 worth's court-fervices, 279. Buckingham's overtures, and 
 Williams's intrigues, 285. Hacket's defcription of two fight- 
 ing cocks, northern and weftern, 286. 
 
 § VI. Supply 287 — 295 
 
 Text. A blank in journals fupplied, 288. A fpeech by Philips, 
 289. Eliot's description of Philips's oratory, 290. A mefl'age 
 from the. king, 291. Ravages and terrors of the plague, 292. 
 Eliot on the tonnage and poundage bill, 293. The vyinds let 
 loofe, 294. A fudden midnight council, 295. 
 
 Notes. The " fifteenths " in a fubfidy, 289. Quotation from 
 Eliot's MS, 292. Milton quoted, 295. 
 
 § VII. Eliot's Final Interviev/ with Buckingham 295 — 300 
 Text. A vifit from Sir Humphrey May, 295. Eliot in the duke's 
 chamber, 296. A turning point of hiftory, 297. What paffed 
 between Eliot and the duke, 298. Eliot's laft argument, 299. 
 A fecret difcovered, Eliot's refolve, 300. 
 
 § VIII. Last Two Days at Westminster . . 300 — 315 
 Text. Eliot haftens to the houfe, 300. Sir John Cooke defcribed, 
 301. The duke fpeaks by Sir John, 302. Reafons for ad- 
 
the Firji Volume. xxiii 
 
 ditional fupply, 303. One feconder, 304. Defeat of the duke's 
 orator, 305. Confequences defcribed by Eliot, 306. Prepara- 
 tion for adjournment, 307. A debate on privilege, 308. Eliot 
 fums up the fitting, 309. The drift of Buckingham, 310. 
 Adjournment to Oxford, 311. Account of the plague there, 
 312. Forebodings of evil, 313. A fair profpeft marred, 314. 
 Eliot's courfe determined, 315. 
 
 Holes. An old word, 303. From D'Ewes's autobiography, 307. 
 From Eliot's MS, 307. Aftsof the feffion, 309. Divifions 
 among the council, 311. Plague in Oxford, 312. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 BOOK VI. 
 
 FIRST PARLIAMENT OF CHARLES THE FIRST : 
 AT OXFORD. 
 
 1625 (JtTLY AND August). js.r. 35. 
 
 § I. Recess : Eliot in the West .... 316 — 330 
 Text. Travelling to the weft, 316. Ravages of the Turks, 317. 
 A remedy at hand, 318. Commiffioners of the admiralty, 319. 
 Eliot obtains an order of council, 320. The order difregarded, 
 321. Englifli fliips claimed by France, 322. Private councils 
 of duke and king, 323. The round robin, 324. Ships fent 
 againft Rochelle, 325. Pennington's appeal, 326. A religious 
 mutiny at fea, 327. Letters to and from the admiral, 328. 
 Ships delivered without feamen, 329. Papers fent to Eliot, 
 330. 
 
 Notes. An unguarded coaft, 317. Sir John Cooke queftioned, 
 321. From Howell's letters, 322. Proteftant feamen, 324. 
 Falfe pretence, and real deftination of fliips, 325. French 
 ambaffador to be obeyed, 326. Contemporaiy ftatements, 
 329. The gunner, 329. Pennington in Oxford, 330. 
 
 § II. Reassembling: First and Second Days . . 330— 34^ 
 Text. Meeting in divinity fchools, 330. Complaint by Giles, 331. 
 Effeft produced, 332. Eliot's fpeech, 333. Argues for re- 
 fponfibility of rainifters, 334. Reply, 335. Marten's rejoinder, 
 336. "'Toung and gamefome " ambafladors, 337. Againft 
 Montagu, 338. The king and his chaplain, 339. Eliot's 
 reply to Heath, 340. Decifion againft Montagu, 341. Its 
 meaning, 342. Oxford high-churchmen, 343. Steps in a 
 fatal journey, 344. Story of the Jefuit pardon, 345. How 
 perverted, 346. Unfounded inferences, 347. 
 
 Notes. From Eliot's MS, 331. Charafter of Buckingham, 337. 
 Claims of biftiops, 339. Montagu to the duke, 339. Sir 
 Simon Harvey's cafe, 340. Sneers of Hume, 342. Abbot 
 on Laud, 343. Charges by Mr. D'Ifraeli, 347. 
 
xxiv Contents of 
 
 PAGE 
 
 § III. In Christ Church Hall, and the Morning after, 347—362 
 Text. King's fpeech, 34.7. Lord Conway's, 34.8. An expounder 
 of oracles, 349. Cooke's fpeech, 350. Surprifes the commons, 
 351. Remarks by Eliot, 351. Unfkllful aaors, 353. Next 
 morning's debate, 354. A formidable fpirit raifed, 355. Speech 
 by Sir Francis Seymour, 356. A retrofpea, 357. Difmay of 
 the couitiers, 358. Reply by Sir Humphrey May, 359. De- 
 fcribed by Eliot, 360. Eliot on Buckingham's fate, 361. 
 Juftice and vengeance, 362. 
 Notes. Ambaffadors, 349. Biftiop Williams as to Seymour, 356. 
 Laud's firft patron, 359. 
 
 § IV. A Memorable Debate 362 — 3*3 
 
 Text. A ftand on broader ground, 362. Great fpeech by Philips, 
 363. Denounces the adjournment, 364. Refers to his own 
 imprifonment, 365. And to the Spanilh and French alliances, 
 366. Tells the ftoiy of impofitions, 367. 'Woids of folemn 
 import, 368. Duties of the commons afferted, 369. Effeft 
 produced by Philips, 370. Change of iffues, 371. 'Wefton's 
 reply, 372. A threat, 373. Speech by Sir Edward Coke, 
 374. Againft any frefh fubfidy, 375. Why the ftate was im- 
 poverifhed, 376. Wafte and mifgovernment, 377. Remedies 
 fuggefted, 378. Eliot's remarks on the fpeech, 379. No reply, 
 380. Paufe in the difcuffion, 381. Heath rifes, 382. His 
 overture not accepted, 383. 
 
 Notes. A burning of records, 367. Coke's great fpeech reported 
 by Eliot, 373. One of the tribe of fortune, 377. Eliot's 
 account of Netherfole, 380. Defcribes Heath's argument, 
 381. From Eliot's MS, 382. 
 
 ^ V. Choosing Parts; and assisting at a Play . 383 — ^402 
 
 Text. Unufual excitement, 383. Members forming into parties, 
 384. Canvaffing on both fides, 385. Speech by Sir Walter 
 Erie, 386. Eliot's propofal, 387. Sally by a friend of the 
 duke's, 388. Exciting fcene, 389. Remarks by Eliot, 390. 
 The duke and his parafites, 391. A performance preparing, 
 392. Opening of the comedy, 393. The chief aftor, 394. 
 Criticifed by Eliot, 395. The lofty ftrain, 396. Failure of 
 the performance, 397. Why it could not have fucceeded, 398. 
 Charafler of Buckingham, 399. Its merits and defefts, 400. 
 Offence given to Sir Robert Manfel, 401. Eliot's fumming up, 
 402. 
 
 Notes. From Eliot's MS, 386. An error correfted, 389. Note 
 from D'Ewes, 391. Self-flattery of flatterers, 392. Quarrel 
 of the lord-admiral and lord-keeper, 393. Viftories and 
 death of Guftavus, 395. Supreme financial fubtlety, 397. 
 From Hume and Clarendon, 398. Concerning Buckingham, 
 399. As to Mr. Brodie, 401. 
 
 § VI. The Serious After-piece .... 402 — 427 
 
 Text. Speech from Sir John (not ferjeant) Maynard, 402. A 
 
the Firji Volume. xxv 
 
 PAGE 
 
 lawyer againft precedents, 4.03. Paft and prefent, 404.. Pithy 
 faying of Selden's, 405. Speech of Sir Robert Naunton, 406. 
 Philips confounds his adverfaries, 407. Upholds precedents, 
 408. An impreffive warning, 409. Sir Humphrey May's 
 reply, 410. Library of Sir Robert Cotton, 411. The "(hop 
 " ot war" of Milton, 412. Friendfhip of Eliot and Cotton, 
 413. Miftakes of editors, 414. Great fpeech of Eliot, 415. 
 A word for Somerfet, 416. Paft and prefent compared, 417. 
 A king's favourite, 418. Parallels aimed at the duke, 419. 
 Effefls of one man's counfel, 420. Value of precedents, 421. 
 Refult of Eliot's fpeech, 422. Reply by Wefton, 423. Coke 
 rejoins, 4'24. Glanvile for a remonftrance, 425. Sir Robert 
 Manfel's fpeech, 426. A crifis, 427. 
 Notes. Mr. Mallet, 403. Wealth of the commons, 404. Obliga- 
 tions to Cotton's library, 41 1. Blanks fupplied in this work 
 to journals and parliamentary hiftories, 413. From the 
 Lanfdowne MSS, 415. Reference to Eliot's memoir, 420. 
 Dry bones of a fpeech, 421. Notes from record office, 426. 
 Error in the journals, 427. 
 
 VII. Last Scene but one 427 — 440 
 
 Text. Scene at the council, 427. A council of oppofition, 428. 
 
 Courfe refolved on, 429. A debate, 430. Cooke's final effort, 
 431. Eliot's remarks, 432. Littleton's firft fpeech, 433. As 
 to precedents, 434. Difpofes of May's, 435. The law of 
 neceffity, 436. Replies to Cooke, 437. Warning againft over- 
 taxation, 438. Effeft produced, 439. 
 Notes. From the record office, 428. Admiral Stewart, 429. 
 Speeches firft reported in this work, 430. Mr. Littleton, 
 433. Old fpelling, 434. The art of reporting, 436. From 
 Eliot's MS, 437. 
 
 VIII. Catastrophe, and Falling of the Curtain, 440 — ^445 
 
 Text. The refolute and the fearful, 440. The laft debate, 441. 
 
 Black rod knocks, 442. The diflblution, 443. Striking paf- 
 
 fage from Eliot's memoir, 444. Opinions and forebodings, 
 
 445- 
 
 Notes. Warwick on the diifolution, and caution as to Howell, 
 
 442. From Eliot's MS, 444 and 445. 
 
 BOOK VII. 
 SECOND PARLIAMENT OF CHARLES THE FIRST. 
 
 1625 1626. iE.T. 35 — 36. 
 
 § I. Eliot at the Fleet's Sailing and Return . 446—465 
 Text. Duties of office, 446. Uneafinefs of duke's friends, 447. 
 The armament ready to fail, 448. Commander of the ex- 
 
xxvi Contents of 
 
 PAGE 
 
 pedition, 449. Letter of Eliot to Conway, 450. Clouds and 
 tempefts gathering, 451. Lord Cromwell to the duke, 452. 
 
 . Malcontents of the upper houfe, 453. Eliot to Conway, 454. 
 French fleets at Fowey, 455. Affair of St. Peter of Newhaven 
 (Havre), 456. The great difafter, 457. The fliips ftraggling 
 back, 458. Refults of Bagg's foul praftices, 459. _ Privy feals 
 going out, 460. Eliot intercedes for his father-in-law, 461. 
 Conway's fon paffing Chriftmas at Port Eliot, 462. Eliot to 
 the Bifhop of Exeter, 463. Defires to make a minifter's ftipend 
 worthier of a fcholar, 464. 
 
 Notes. The Cromwell family, 451. Coming events, 452. A 
 hard cafe, 457. " Worthy the halter," 459 
 
 § II. Eve of the Conflict! 4^5 — 473 
 
 Text. Rooting up weeds of parliament, 465. Difgrace of Williams, 
 
 466. Eliot's relations to Conway and the duke, 467. Con- 
 
 trafts, 468. Dangers furrounding Eliot, 469. Eagernefs for 
 
 timely intelligence, 470. Inftru6lions to agent in London, 
 
 471. Afking a favour, 472. Elefted again for St. Germans, 
 
 473- 
 
 Notes. Rudyard to Netherfole, 465. Dealings of the duke with 
 
 his enemies, 466. Mr. Burlamachi, 471. The duke's fears 
 
 as to Eliot, 473. 
 
 § III. Leading the Opposition 473 — 505 
 
 Text. Laud crowns the king, 473. Clouds arifing, 474. Meeting 
 of parliament, 475. The excluded members, 476. New and 
 old faces, 477. Returns for the court, 478. Speech by Eliot, 
 479. On grievances, 480. Redrefs before fupply, 481. Ex- 
 perience of former parliaments, 482. Wafte of the revenue, 
 483. Accounts not rendered to the houfe, 484. Items of 
 expenditure demanded, 485. The late national difgraces, 486. 
 The mifcarriages at fea, 487. The houfe afls on Eliot's fpeech, 
 488. Preparing charge againft Buckingham, 489. Hampden 
 affifting Eliot, 490. Brief againft the duke, 491. Grounds 
 for impeachment, 492. Sales of honour, 493. Gains of the 
 duke's family, 494. MS. notes by Eliot, 495. Votes againft 
 Buckingham, 496. The one grand delinquent, 497. A pre- 
 fcription from Doftor Turner, 498. The truth as to the 
 doftor, 499. An autograph royal letter, 500. Angry meffages, 
 501. Lord Briftol's cafe, 502. Arreft of Lord Arundel, 503. 
 Crofs charges of Briftol and Buckingham, 504. Silence of the 
 duke, 505. 
 
 Notes. From D'Ewes's autobiography and Laud's diary, 474. 
 Heneage Finch, and Sir Francis Seymour, 475. Sir Dudley 
 Digges, and Sir Robert Manfel, 476. Hale's eulogy of Henry 
 Rolle, 477. Do6i:or Turner, and Sir Robert Naunton, 478. 
 Speeches of Pym and Eliot, 478. From the journals, 488. 
 Eliot's advice afted on, 489. Paper againft the duke, 491. 
 Notes taken in the houfe by Eliot, 495. Submiflion of the 
 council of war, 497. Difclofures as to Doftor Turner, 499. 
 
the Firji Volume. xxvii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 A miftake correfted, 500. From journals and Eliot's notes, 
 501. Preffure on the biftiops, 502. Hint as to the king's 
 charafter, 503. Briftol on the death of James, 504, 
 
 § IV. The St. Peter of Newhaven (Havre) . . 505 — 514. 
 
 Text. Grievances of French merchants, 505. Seizure of French 
 fliips, 506. Bagg's fhare in the bufmefs, 507. Altercation of 
 Marten and Cooke, 508. Examination of Gabriel Marlh, 
 509. The duke's reply by Heath, 510. A majority for the 
 duke, 511. The majority reverfed, 512. Tribute to Eliot's 
 ftatesmanlhip, 513. 
 
 Notes. From the journals, 509. From Eliot's papers, 511. 
 Wentworth reprefented by Wandesforde, 51Z. 
 
 § V. Eliot and the King 514. — 533 
 
 Text. The king's inauguration day, 514. Speech by Eliot on fup- 
 ply, 515. He replies to Rudyard, 516. Recounts the difgraces 
 abroad, 517. Fixes them on the duke, 518. Attacks the home 
 government, 519. A parallel from Cicero, 520. Appeals to 
 ancient ways, 521. Precedents from the Plantagenets, 522. 
 Outbreak as to the royal jewels, 523. Offence taken by the 
 king, 524. Conclufion to vote but delay fupply, 525 The 
 king's interference, 526. His view of the ufes of parliament, 
 527. Agitation, 528. Houfe with locked doors, 529. ' 
 " "Well fpoken. Sir John Eliot ! " 530. The commons vin- 
 dicate Eliot, 531. Debate on common fame, 532. Articles of 
 impeachment ready, 533. 
 Notes. Speech of the two precedents, 524. All of Eliot's fpeech 
 previoufly known, 525. King's meffage, 526. The Birch 
 Tranfcripts, 527. Intereft taken in Englifh hiftory by French 
 ftatefmen and men of letters, 528. Danger incurred by 
 Cotton, 529. Eliot's notes, 530. As to Buckingham, 531. 
 
 § VI. The Duke of Buckingham impeached . 533 — 552 
 
 Text. Subjeas of the articles of accufation, 533. Opening of the 
 drama, 534. Prologue by Sir Dudley Digges, 535. Propofal 
 to commit the duke, 536. Debate thereon, 537. Epilogue 
 by Eliot, 528. Only report hitherto known, 539. Cuftom of 
 circulating fpeeches, 540. Style of Eliot's oratory, 541. Open- 
 ing of his epilogue, 542. An interruption, 543. Fixes 
 refponfibility on the minifter, 544. Proteas the king from 
 refponfibility, 545. Buckingham's expenditure, 546. Rapacity 
 and wafte, 547. Dark fufpicions, 548. Parallel to Sejanus, 
 549. " You fee the man ! " 55°- ^lofe of the epilogue, 551. 
 The articles laid on the table of the lords, 552. 
 Notes. Lords' journals, 534. Sir Dudley and the duke, 535. 
 Duke's abfence at Eliot's fpeech, 538. Reporters in the 
 houfe, 539. Fuller on fpeeches of the time, 540. Carleton 
 and Eliot, 543. An allufion explained, 544. Interruption 
 by one of the lords, 545. The fufpicion as to James's 
 
xxviii Contents of 
 
 PAGE 
 
 death, 54.6. Defefts of the printed report of Eliot's fpeech, 
 550. Eliot's MS, 551. 
 
 § VII. Eliot sent to the Tower .... 552 — 57,0 
 
 Text. The king's refentnient, 552. Eliot and DIgges arretted, 
 
 553. Debate thereon, 554. Sir Dudley Carleton's fpeech, 
 
 555. " To the bar !" 556. Members imprifoned by Elizabeth, 
 
 557. Liberation of Digges, 558. King's meffage concerning 
 
 Eliot, 559. The houfe refufes to entertain any bufinefs, 560. 
 
 King's refolve to queftion Eliot, 561. The chief juftice and 
 
 attorney general in the Tower, 562. The examination, 563. 
 
 Objeft of the queftions, 564. Liberation of the prifoner, 565. 
 
 Eliot's reappearance in his place, 566. Explanations, 567. 
 
 Vote clearing him, 568. Lofs of the king and gain of the 
 
 commons, 569. Elizabeth and Charles, the king's charafter, 
 
 570. 
 
 Notes. Mede's fecret, 551. The arreft, 553. Eleftion witneffes, 
 
 557. InfoiTners againft Eliot, 558. Treatife by Raleigh, 
 
 563. Eliot's notes, 564. " Stellionatus," 567. Seizure of 
 
 Eliot's papers, 569. Remark by Heylin, 570. 
 
 § VIII. The Remonstrance and the Dissolution . 571 — 580 
 
 Text. Refolve to difmifs the commons, 571. The duke and the 
 Cambridge chancellorftiip, 572. Preparation of appeal to the 
 people, 573. Subftance thereof, 574. Duke's reply to his 
 accufers, 575. Storms within the houfe, 576. Storms without, 
 577. Sudden refolve of the king, 578. Letter from the 
 attorney-general, 579. Eliot's reply, 580. 
 
 Notes. Difcuffion of the remonftrance, 571. The eleftion at 
 Cambridge, 572. From Eliot's notes, 573. The king's 
 declaration againft the remonftrance, 574. The duke's devil, 
 576. The members fummoned by Heath, 578. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Supplementary Notice of Eliofs Monarchy of Man, compofed in his laji 
 Imprifonment . 
 
 The MS. defcribed, 581. Recent difcovery at Port Eliot, 582. 
 Propofed dedication, 583. Facfimile of title-page, 584. The 
 author's fears, 585. Eulogy of Cicero, 586. Tender points, 
 587. Sycophants of the time, 588. Hampden's criticifm, 
 589. Supremacyof the law, 590. The only true fource of au- 
 thority, 591. On parliaments, 592. On fchools of philofophy, 
 593. On fear, 594. On forrow, 595. Advantages of fuffer- 
 ing) 59^/ Goodnefs in things evil, 597. On pleafure, 
 598. Wifdom of the Great Workman, 599. On poverty, 600. 
 On death, 601. On life, 602. A dying philofopher, 603. 
 
the Firji Volume. xxix 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Raleigh at his execution, 604.. On love, 605. On riches, 606. 
 Hereditary pretences, 607. Realities of honour, 608. The 
 fable of Ulyffes, 609. On felf-reftraint, 610. The two divifions 
 of virtue, 611. Governing principle of the writer's own life, 
 612. The true objefts of philofophy, 613. Foundations laid 
 for the monarchy, 614.. Eulogy on man's mind, 615. A 
 prifon-throne, 616. 
 
 Index 
 
 617 
 
 CORRIGENDA. 
 
 PAGE LINE 
 
 5 4 after refledlion infert &c. and omit lines 5, 6, 7 already in 
 
 the text 
 II 16 for fecure read feafbn 
 
 15 8 from bottom for Brookefly read Brookfljy 
 
 20 4 of note after referred to add " For refolution of the doubt here 
 
 " exprefsed, fee Vol. II. p. 722 " 
 40 16, 17 reiif/ " the marquiSj retaining the place of mafter of the 
 
 " horfe, had become lord high admiral " 
 73 13 ■ _/or command re^r/ committ 
 
 16 Marten has appended this marginal note : " S' John Elliott 
 
 " fhewed Nutt y* pardon aboute the 4, 5, or 6*^ of 
 « June." 
 82-6 For folution of queltions railed as to Conway's fhare in 
 
 Eliot's releafe, and the exadl date of it, fee Vol, II. 
 p. 106, note 
 92 17 for Its fubfidies read " The two fubfidies it had voted " 
 
 116 8 from bottom for Mead read Mede 
 
 119 13 from bottom for Mead read Mede 
 
 124 I This doubt is folved. Vol. II. p. 106, note 
 
 128 5 from bottom for afterwards the Sir Richard read " fon of the Sir 
 
 " Richard," and add note "See p. 263 " 
 131 7 of note for 1850 reatl 1851 
 
 149 3 of note dele 1848 
 
 149 laft for volume read volumes 
 
 156 I for Mr. read ii'lT John 
 
 164 14 infert note. From the MSS. at Port Eliot. 
 
 172 laft but two infer! note, From the MSS. at Port Eliot. 
 
 173 2 /or note r^i7(^ remark 
 
 igi laft add to note, " By an entry in the Privy Council Regifter, it 
 
 " would feem that the Council replied on the 14th of 
 " February to this letter of Eliot's, by order for releafe of 
 "a fliip called the Sea-horfe flayed by embargo, 'the 
 " ' officers of the navy being now provided with fifli.' " 
 
PAGE 
 
 LINE 
 
 aos 
 
 13 
 
 Z17 
 
 4,12 
 
 221 
 
 21 
 
 122 
 
 note 
 
 308 
 
 18 
 
 3^5 
 
 2 of note 
 
 337 
 
 9 
 
 345 
 
 2 
 
 365 
 
 9 
 
 38. 
 
 II 
 
 392 
 
 8 
 
 400 
 
 5 from b( 
 
 402 
 
 8 from b( 
 
 XXX Corrigenda, 
 
 for tuth read truth 
 for prorogation read adjournment 
 for Chevereux read Chevereufe 
 for 227 read 272 
 after but infert on the other hand 
 for lord marfhal read lord chamberlain 
 for w r^iZi/ w*^*^ 
 
 Laud was not yet archbiihop. See Vol. II. p. 3^^ 
 for were read was 
 
 dele afterifk and infert it after late, line 23 
 for them rea^ it 
 5 from bottom for as Eliot as read *' as Eliot has " 
 
 8 from bottom The Maynard named was not "Serjeant," but Sir John 
 Maynard. See Vol. II. p. 268 
 415 14 of note, for inftlie read in^Vit. The allufion to Clarke here quoted 
 
 ihows, that, as originally prepared, the fpeech was to 
 have been fpoken on the day after the fally of that friend 
 of the duke : but that, as a<5tually fpoken, it was not 
 delivered till feveral days after, is clear from its refer- 
 ences to the previous fpeeches in Chrift-Church hall. 
 442 1 3 dele thus 
 
 456 17 I ought, perhaps, to have explained that Havre was then 
 
 called Newhaven. 
 473 21 for fervices read fervice 
 
 478 24 To explain May's return, as ftated, ** again for Leicefter," 
 
 it ihould have been faid that, though he had fat in the 
 two previous parliaments for Lancafter, he had been re- 
 turned alfo to both for Leicefter. The prefent was a 
 iingle return. 
 478 Add to note as to Doftor Turner : — Warwick in his 
 
 Memoires (16) defcrlbes him as "an inconfiderate as 
 " well as inconfiderable court-dependent, and one fami- 
 " liar with, and ufually divertizing, the court-lords." 
 484 7 for own filled their read filled their own. 
 
THE LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 SIR JOHN ELIOT. 
 
 oJWJO 
 
 BOOK FIRST. 
 
 MR. ELIOT OF PORT ELIOT: MEMBER FOR ST. GERMANS. 
 I59O-1619. ^T. 1-29. 
 
 /. Anceftry and Youthful Days. 
 II. Early Tafies, Univerjity, and 'Travel. 
 
 III. Marriage and Parliament. 
 
 IV. Events in London, 161^ to 1619. 
 
 I. Ancestry and Youthful Days. 
 
 OHN ELIOT was "a Cornlfliman borrij and 
 "an efquire's fon."* His family, though 
 new refidents in that county, were of old 
 
 Devonfhire defcent. Prince alludes to 
 
 them in his " Worthies ; " and Fuller has identified as 
 one of his anceftors, the Walter Eliot named in the 
 fheriiF's return of the gentry of the county of Devon 
 in 14-33, during the reign of Henry VI. Browne Willis, 
 who married a lineal defcendant (the great granddaughter) 
 of the patriot, ftates that this Walter Eliot allied himfelf 
 
 * Anthony Wood, Jti. Oxon. ii. 4.78, ed. Biiis. 
 VOL. I. B 
 
/. Ancejiry and Youthful Bays. 
 
 Book I. 
 
 to the family of Sir Richard Eliot, appointed a juftice of 
 the king's bench by Henry VIII, but more worthy of 
 notice as the father of Sir Thomas Eliot, one of the earlieft 
 of our vernacular writers.* The firfl of the Eliots who 
 fettled in Cornwall appears to have been the great- 
 uncle of Sir John, who obtained from the family of 
 Champernowne the priory of St. Germans and its lands, 
 in exchange for property at Cutlands, near Afhburton.f 
 To this eftate was then given the name of Port Eliot, 
 which it bears to this day. Its pofTeflions have defcended 
 with the name, and form a confiderable portion of the 
 property of the lineal defcendant and prefent reprefen- 
 tative of the Eliots, the Earl of St. Germans. J 
 
 The old priory would feem to have been a rough 
 wild fcene, when the family feat fprang up amid its de- 
 ferted courts and gardens, and took, from the river on 
 which it ftood near the ancient town of St. Germans, 
 the name of Vort Eliot. The fmall ftraggling place, 
 little more in thofe days than a poor village of fifhermen, 
 built irregularly on an uneven rock, and deriving its 
 fcanty trade from the Tamar river, emptying itfelf into 
 Plymouth, muft have feen with fome furprife the grand 
 new houfe take the place of the old dwelling of the 
 
 * Browne Willis's Notitia Parliamentaria, ii. 142, ed. 1716. 
 
 f " I do not know," fays the accomplifhed living defcendant of the patriot 
 (writing when he was yet Lord Eliot), "the exaft year in which this 
 " change took place ; but John Eliot died at the priory of St. Germans, 
 "having given it the name of Port Eliot, in 1565. An account of that 
 " tranfaftion is to be found in Carew's Surrey of Corniuall, publifhed about 
 "1580. Chalmers, in his Biographical DiSionary, fpeaks of the family of 
 " Eliot of Port Eliot, and thofe of Heathfield and Minto, as defcended 
 " from a Sir W. Allot, who came over with William the Conqueror ; 
 " but this account is merely traditional, and cannot be borne out by 
 "proof. The heralds' vifitation of Cornwall, made in 1602, and pre- 
 " ferved in the heralds' college, gives the armorial bearings of the family; 
 " the ftiield containing twelve quarterings ; a proof, at a time when preten- 
 " fions to heraldic honours were minutely icrutinifed, that the origin of the 
 " family could not have been very recent." 
 
 X In Notitia Parliamentaria (at the notice of the borough of St. Ger- 
 mans, 140-153 of the fecond volume), a defcription will be found of Port 
 Eliot. See alio Carew's Suwey of Cornivallyei.. 1811, pp. 257-61. 
 
.590-1619. ^t pg^l J7li0i^ ^ 
 
 monks, almoft fronting Lynher creek, from whose over- 
 flows a pier, ftrongly built againfl the banks of that 
 river, protected the manfion. 
 
 At Port Eliot, furrounded by much that would 
 encourage a tafte for rough adventure, and hopes con- 
 nedted with the fea, John Eliot was born, on the 20th of 
 April 1590.* His youth had few of the reflraints 
 that fhould have been applied to a temper impetuous 
 and ardent. His father was a man of eafy habits, kept 
 hofpitable houfe with no very nice regard to feledtnefs 
 in his vifitors, arid exerted fmall control at any time 
 over the proceedings of his fon. To this is to be attri- 
 buted an incident of which ungenerous advantage has 
 been taken by Eliot's political enemies. 
 
 Archdeacon Echard, a writer known to be prejudiced 
 and inaccurate, gave the firfl public account of it. 
 After ftating (mofl; unwarrantably as we have feen), 
 that Eliot was of a "new family," the archdeacon 
 proceeds : "Within his own parifh there lived one 
 " Mr. John Moyle, a gentleman of very good note and 
 " charadter in his country, who, together with his fon, 
 " had the honour to ferve in parliament. Whether out 
 " of rivalfhip or otherwife, Mr. Eliot, having, upon 
 " a very flight occafion, entertained a bitter grudge 
 " againft the other, went to his houfe under the fliow 
 " of a friendly vifit, and there treacheroufly ftabbed him, 
 " wjiile he was turning on one fide to take a glafs of wine 
 "to drink to him." He fliates further: "Mr. Moyle 
 " outlived this bafe attempt about forty years, who, with 
 " fome others of his family, often told the particulars 
 " to his grandfon. Dr. Prideaux, and other relations, from 
 " whom I had this particular account/'f Whether the 
 
 * Browne Willis. Anthony Wood fixes it incorreftly at 159Z. 
 
 f Echard's Hijlory, 424 folio, ed. 1720. Is this the "contemporary 
 writer " to whom Mr. D'Ifraeli alludes in iv. 508 of his Commentaries ? 
 I can find no other. How eagerly fuch a charge would have been feized 
 by the opponents of Eliot among his contemporaries, had a reafonable foun- 
 
4 /. Anceftry and Youthful Bays. ^°''^2r. 
 
 account was received from goffiping relations, or the 
 refpedtable dean, is here left doubtful ; but a writer with 
 ftrong royalift leanings has fathered it on the dean, and 
 has infifted, with very obftinate vehemence, on the prob- 
 able truth of the ftatement.* How fuccefsfuliy, will be 
 feen. 
 
 So far as there is truth in the incident, it occurred in 
 Eliot's extreme youth. That he Ihould at that time 
 have expofed himfelf to the charge of being " wilful," 
 was a natural confequence of his father's indulgences ; 
 and Mr. Moyle, who lived at Bake,t a diftrid of St. Ger- 
 mans pariiflh clofe to Port Eliot, took upon himfelf to 
 warn the elder Eliot that fuch was the chara6ter and dif- 
 pofition of his fon. The courfe of the quarrel that 
 enfued, as defcribed by Mr. Moyle's daughter, a witnefs 
 not likely to be partial to Eliot, is given in a letter 
 written by a defcendant of one of the old Cornifh 
 families. J Her ftatement is to the effed that Mr. Moyle, 
 
 dation exifted for it, is obvious. It might have ferved as the tithe of an 
 apology for the malignant oppofition to him by royalifts of the weft, or 
 for his harfti treatment by the king. Nowhere, however, in parliament or 
 elfewhere, not even in the letters to be hereafter duly commemorated, of 
 Sir James Bagg, does a trace of it appear. 
 
 * Mr. D'Ifraeli. See his Commentaries, ii. 270; iv. 513; and his 
 pamphlet in anfwer to Lord Nugent, p. 5. 
 
 •f- Notitia Parliamentaria, ii. 14.7. Browne Willis, the intimate friend 
 of the Moyles, makes no allufion to this incident as remembered harfhly 
 by that family ; he corroborates, indeed, in all refpefls the account of Mr. 
 Tonkin fhortly to be quoted ; and both are explained by the teftimony, in 
 the text, of the daughter of the pretended " viftim." 
 
 I This letter has been referred to by Mifs Aikin, the hiftorical writer, 
 as if it were in her poffeffion ; but it had already been quoted, at length, in 
 the edition of Careiv^s Surrey publiftied by Lord de Dunftanville in 1 8 1 1 
 (p. 261), and it was unpardonable in writers, to whom this publifhed 
 evidence was fo eafily acceffible, to repeat and exaggerate the grofs accufation 
 which at once it explains and repels. The letter was written in 1767, and 
 is fubfcribed by Mr. Trehawke, a gentleman of old Cornifti family. 
 " The fact," he wrote, " as related to me by Mr. Moyle's own daughter, flood 
 " thus. Sir John Eliot, when young, had been extravagant in his expenfes, 
 " fo that Mr. Moyle thought it friendly to acquaint his father with his fon's 
 " conduct ; and this being reprefented to the young gentleman with fome ex- 
 " aggerating circumftances, he haftily went to Mr. Moyle's houfe (two miles 
 " from his own). What words paft I know not, but Sir John drew his 
 
1590-1619. parrel with a Neighbour. 5 
 
 having acquainted Mr. Eliot with fome extravagances in 
 his fon's expenfes, and this being reported with aggra- 
 vating circumftances, young Ehot went haftily to Moyle's 
 houfe and remonftrated. What words pafTed, and 
 whether any further provocation, is unknown; but 
 Ehot drew his fword, and wounded Mr. Moyle in 
 the fide. "On refleftion," continues this lady, "he 
 " foon detefted the fad: ; and from thenceforward 
 " became as remarkable for his private deportment, in 
 " every view of it, as his public condu(5t. Mr. Moyle 
 " was fo entirely reconciled to him, that no perfon, in 
 " his time, held him in higher efteem." 
 
 That the incident occurred before Eliot's manhood, one 
 or two dates will fhow. I find, from documents of the 
 time, that his father died in 1609,* and was buried in 
 the church of St. Germans on the 24th of June in that 
 year. Anthony "Wood, an authority on fuch a point 
 (though hardly on others), tells us that young Eliot 
 entered college in 1607, and continued there three years.f 
 At the time of the quarrel with Moyle, therefore, he 
 could not have been more than feventeen; or, even 
 afTumlng that it occurred in a college vacation of his 
 firft year, eighteen years old. A curious document of 
 which a copy has been found among the papers at Port 
 Eliot, and the original of which was known in the lafl; 
 century to all who ftlU vifited at the old manfion of the 
 Moyles at Bake, J " An Apologie " addreffed to Moyle 
 
 " fword and made a thruft at Mr. Moyle ; but it being againft his ribs, the 
 " hurt was flight. However that being more than Sir John knew, and 
 " there being no time for tallcing after what was done. Sir John fled. On 
 " refleflion he foon deteflied the faft, and from thenceforward became as 
 " remarkable for his private deportment in every view of it as his public 
 " conduct. Mr. Moyle was fo entirely reconciled to him that no perfon of 
 " his time held him in higher efl:eem." 
 
 * Willis exhumed this and other fails concerning the pedigree of the 
 Eliots from the parifli regifters of St. Germans. Not. Pari. ii. 144. 
 
 -f Ath. Oxon. ii. 478. 
 
 j Lord de Dunftanville's edition of CarenxTs Sur'vey of Corniuall (pub- 
 liflied in 18 11) contains this note by Mr. Tonkin, appended to the men- 
 
6 /. Anceftry and Youthful Bays. b°°^J; 
 
 ,by young Eliot for the "greate injurie" he had done him, 
 and witnefled by names diftinguifhed afterwards in par- 
 liament and hiftory, among them William Coryton and 
 the chivalrous Bevil Grenvile, offers further proof in 
 the fame direction. Its language is that of a young 
 and generous fpirit, anxious to repair unpremeditated 
 wrong, and eager with atonement. " Mr. Moyle," 
 it runs, " I doe acknowledge I have done you a 
 " greate injury, which I wilh I had never done, and 
 " doe defire you to remit it ; and I defire that all 
 " unkindneffe may be forgiven and forgotten betwixt 
 " us, and henceforward I fhall defire and deferve your 
 " love in all friendly offices, as I hope you will mine." 
 That this apology was honeftly redeemed, and that the 
 writer not only defired but obtained the love of the man 
 whom haftily he had injured, we are alfo fortunately not 
 without proof. Among the papers at Port Eliot already 
 referred to, exift two letters written during Eliot's laft 
 imprifonment to Mr. Moyle, granting him folicited 
 favours. It is an old and fhrewd experience that few 
 men are capable of making compenfation to thofe they 
 have injured, or even of ceafing to follow them with 
 refentment. 
 
 Forglvenefs to the injured doth belong : 
 
 They never pardon who have done the wrong.* 
 
 tion of Eliot: "Mr. Echard in his Hijlory of England has left a fevere 
 " refleftion on this knight's charafter for ftabbing Mr. Moyle, of Bake, 
 " which I wifh I could clear him of; but the matter offafl is too true, and 
 " I have myfelf feen his fubmiffion to Mr. Moyle under his own hand at- 
 " tefted by fome of the principal gentlemen of the county, and the original 
 " is now to be feen at Bake, in the prefent Mr. Moyle's cuftody. All that 
 " can be faid in his excufe is that Mr. Moyle had highly injured him ; and 
 " the late Walter Moyle Efq. nuould often fay that his anceftor did in fome 
 " meafure deferve it, for his ill reprefentations of him (Sir John) to his 
 " father ; and there has ever fince been a good underftanding and friendfhip 
 " between the families." From which it would feem that the "matter of 
 " faft," of which Mr. Tonkin appears fo anxious to clear Eliot, had never, 
 to thofe really acquainted with the fafts, aflumed anything of the cha- 
 raiSer which'-' the malignity of political partisanfhip, in later days, has vainly 
 fought to fatten upon it. 
 
 * Dryden {Conq. of Granada). Mr. DTfraeli has faid, in his fourth volume. 
 
I590-I6I9- Eliofs Generous Nature. 7 
 
 But Eliot's was one of thefe rare exceptional natures. 
 He feems ever to have held himfelf the willing debtor of 
 the man he had fo unwillingly offended. " I am forrie," 
 he fays in one of his letters,* after granting Moyle what 
 he had alked, " this returne is not better to the occafion 
 " you have given me. It may ferve for an expreffion of 
 " my power, though my affedlion be beyond it. I cann 
 " command corruption out of noe man, but in myne own 
 " hart have a cleere will to ferve you, and fhall faithfullie 
 " remaine your true friend." In the other, written fome 
 months after,f in anfwer to an interceffion by Moyle for 
 an offending tenant of Sir John's, the following paffage 
 occurs : " In anfweare to your love, I will geve order 
 " to my fervante Hill, at his returne into the countrie, 
 " to repaie him the money that's receav'd ; and foe to 
 " leave him to his old intereft for the tenemente. In which 
 " he muft acknowledge your curtefie and favor, for 
 " whofe fatisfa6tion it is done by your moft affectionate 
 " freind." 
 
 Let me remark further, that this incident of Eliot's 
 opening manhood is in no refpedt to be judged by the 
 
 p. 513 (in reference to the " apologie "), " I perfeftly agree that this 
 " extraordinary apology was not written by a man who had ftabbed his 
 " companion in the back ; nor can I imagine, that after fuch a revolting 
 " incident, any approximation at a renenual of intercourfe luould ha've been 
 " poj/ible" He then proceeds, with amufnig pertinacity, to (hift the grounds 
 of the charge. His argument, however, on his own admiilion, is exploded 
 by the letters to Mr. Moyle cited in my text. No perverfity, however 
 fooliih or recklefs, can again revive it. I cannot leave the fubjeft of this 
 firft of the calumnies reiterated by Mr. D'Ifraeli, without expreffing ray 
 regret that political prejudice and preconceived notions of charaiSer, more 
 marked becaufe of the whimfical profeffions of philofophical impartiality 
 that accompany them, ftiould fo bewilder an ingenious mind. Mr. D'Ifraeli, 
 though in all cafes too fond of fuggefting events from rumours, and given up 
 to romantic, fanciful, fuperfubtle theorizing, which he fupports by quotations 
 and authorities too often the reverfe of accurate, is an attraftive writer, and 
 has rendered fervices to hiftory ; and, notwithftanding his various raifftate- 
 ments refpefting Eliot, has never fcrupled to pay willing tribute to the 
 greatnefs of his intelleft. 
 
 * 2znd April 1630. MSS. at Port Eliot. 
 
 t 7th December 1630. MSS. at Port Eliot, 
 
8 /, Anceftry and Youthful Bays. B""^^- 
 
 rules now applied to matters of the kind. Swords then 
 flaihed out as arbiters of every quarrel ; and no fmall 
 part of the new fovereign's leifure, fince he left Scotland, 
 had been pafled in vain attempts to cool the fiery young 
 Englifh blood that perfifted fo to affert and avenge itfelf. 
 Beati Pacifici was ever on king James's lips ; but no fuch 
 happinefs was his. Continually to talk about peace is not 
 the neareft way to it. In the very fame year when Mr. 
 Moyle appears to have gone on the gofliping errand that 
 ftirred Eliot's hot young temper, there had fallen out the 
 famous quarrel between Sir Thomas Button and Sir 
 Hatton Cheke, which, forbidden by the king to proceed 
 further in England, came to a bloody clofe on the fands 
 at Calais. Only a couple of years later, occurred the 
 fatal encounter on Antwerp meadows, driven thereto by 
 like prohibition, between Sackville Buckhurft and Lord 
 Bruce of Kinlofs. In rapid fucceffion had followed 
 fimilar paffionate meetings of Lords Chandos and Hay, 
 of Lords Warwick and Cavendifh, of Lords Rutland 
 and Danvers, of Lords EfTex and Henry Holland, of 
 Sir Lewis Trefham and Sir John Herbert ; and not even 
 the lateft difplay of determined difapproval by James, 
 which had brought to the very foot of the gallows 
 young Mr. AyliiFe of Wilts for flaying the coufin of the 
 Countefs of Bedford, availed to fupprefs or check thofe 
 blazlngs forth of temper which will always more or lefs 
 be rife in an age of vehemence and downright earnefl- 
 nefs, and in which the incident of Eliot's youth fo 
 largely fhares. 
 
 Taken in connexion with the circumflances thus de- 
 fcribed, it affumes a relation of fome importance to 
 his later life. It flands as the marking line between 
 his youth and manhood. From the turbulence of 
 his boyhood, and the ftruggle of its uncurbed pafTions, 
 we fee him ftartled into felf-control. His pri- 
 vate deportment ever after, fays Mr. Moyle's daugh- 
 ter, was as remarkable as his public condudt. She 
 
1590-1619. jt Exeter College Oxford. 
 
 17 
 
 fpoke of what the world, then, had feeh and acknow- 
 ledged. Only for the general good, and againll the 
 wrongful oppreflbr ; for kindnefs alone, and bufy pur- 
 pofes and affedlions to thofe around him ; the irrepreffible 
 ardour of his temper remained. To the " laft right 
 " end " he ftood, " a perfect patriot and a noble friend : " 
 and fo, if he has found a fitting biographer, he muft be 
 prefented here. 
 
 II. Early Tastes, University, and Travel. 
 
 Immediately after the quarrel with Moyle, young 
 Eliot left his home for the univerfity of Oxford ; either 
 as a frefhman, or to refume ftudies already begun. 
 Anthony Wood ftates that he " became a gentleman- 
 " commoner of Exeter college, in Michaelmas term 
 " anno 1607, aged 15."* The fame authority tells 
 us that he left the univerfity, without a degree, after 
 remaining about three years ; but that the three years 
 were not mif-fpent, he afterwards fhowed. From 
 nature he had a fervid imagination ; and when this 
 found expreffion in the houfe of commons, it was under 
 the chaftening influence of the ancient learning. For 
 quicknefs and completenefs of clafTical allufion, Eliot had 
 no rival in parliament. Nor had he ftrengthened 
 himfelf for great duties only, by the pricelefs treafures of 
 language and thought fo maftered in his youth ; for his 
 refource under great calamities was alfo to be derived 
 from them. Thus early familiar with the fchool philo- 
 fophy of Greece and Rome, he carried its hopes and 
 afpirations, even its fublime abftradtions and reveries, 
 through all the bufy adtivity of his life, into the enforced 
 folitude that clofed it ; and Plato, Ariftotle, and Seneca 
 were friends that remained accefTible to him, when his 
 prifon excluded every other. 
 
 * Ath. Oxon. ii. 478. This is incorrefl, however, as I have ftated, in 
 refpeft of Eliot's age. He was feventeen. 
 
lo //. Early 'Tajles, Univerftty, and l!ravel. 
 
 Book I. 
 
 It would indeed be difficult to overftate the advan- 
 tages derived by this remarkable man, through life, from 
 having made thefe fludies familiar to his youth. They 
 will appear in every part of his ftory. Not unknown 
 are other examples, in this great age, of the union in a 
 high degree of readinefs of adion with remotenefs of 
 ftudy and contemplation ; but, in its application and ufe 
 through the commonefl: occurrences as well as graveft 
 events of his career, the peculiarity prefented itfelf in 
 Eliot under conditions of fingular intereft. In whatever 
 circumftances placed, books had become to him a 
 world fo real, that he could draw out of it experiences 
 fitted to all his needs and occafions ; for it was peo- 
 pled with thoughts and emotions to which the habit 
 of continual refort had given more than the attributes 
 of counfellors and friends. Nothing of the paft was 
 dead to him. The life that burnt into the page of 
 Tacitus, was the fame that ftill heated and ftirred the 
 world about him ; and the parliament chamber in which 
 he fat at Weftminfter, was not to him more filled with 
 eager animation and conflidh, than were its old parlia- 
 mentary parchment rolls, the filent depofitaries of Eng- 
 lifh liberty, from which four centuries of the paft un- 
 ceafingly appealed to him. 
 
 To the habits and commencements of this early time 
 muft alfo be afcribed the fervency and fimplicity of 
 his religious belief. He was not a Puritan ; but his 
 fympathies went ftrongly with all that advocacy of the 
 pure in faith and worfliip to which the term was applied. 
 Profoundly verfed as he was in the ancient ethics and 
 philofophy, and an ardent upholder of their truth and 
 excellence, he had found in the Chriftian fyftem higher 
 developments, and a more divine fatisfadtion. Lefs prone 
 than many of his contemporaries, in commonplace and 
 ordinary ftraits, to refort to the facred writings, he yet 
 drew from them, ever, his pradlical guidance not lefs than 
 his higheft wifdom. To him the Bible was, in truth 
 
IS90-I6I9. Eliofs Religious Belief. n 
 
 and fad, the book of life ; from which he derived all 
 that he believed to be efletitial to religion, and by which he 
 meafured all he held moft to be honoured in public as in 
 private concerns. In the firft fpeech he delivered after the 
 acceffion of Charles the Firft, as in his laft letter to 
 Hampden from the prifon to which Charles configned 
 him, this is the compafs by which he fteers his courfe, to 
 the haven in which he finds his reft. " Religion only it 
 " is," he told the afl"embled commons, " that fortifies all 
 "policy, that crowns all wifdom. Not alone is it the 
 " grace of excellence, and the glory of power, but it is 
 " the ftrength of government. For, though policy may 
 " fecure a kingdom againft foreigners (and fo, I pray 
 • " God, this kingdom may always ftand fecure !) and 
 " wifdom provide every neceflary for the rule at home, 
 " yet if religion fecure not the afi^e6tions of the people, 
 " the danger is as much in our own Achitophels, as from 
 "Moab and all the armies of Philiftines."* " O, the 
 " infinite mercy of our Mafter, dear friend," he wrote 
 to Hampden, when life was clofing upon him in his 
 dreary cell, " by whom we are, and from whom we have 
 " all things, the ftrengthening of the weak, the enriching 
 " of the poor, the liberty of the captive, the health of 
 " the difeafed, the life of thofe that die ! "f Nor for that 
 
 * MS. at Port Eliot of fpeech delivered in parliament, June 1675. 
 
 f Thefe words are from a letter of Eliot to Hampden dated the 29th 
 March 1632 (he died in the November of that year), which is one of the 
 thirteen of Eliot's letters copied by Mr. D'Ifraeli from the originals at Port 
 Eliot, and publiihed nearly thirty years ago, with a few by Hampden and 
 other correfpondents, as an appendix to the fourth volume of his Com- 
 mentaries. What proportion this fcanty colleftion, called by Mr. D'Ifraeli 
 " the Correfpondence of Sir John Eliot," bears to the ftore of manufcript 
 letters which the kindnefs of Lord St. Germans has placed at my difpofal, 
 the reader will underftand when I inform him that I have before me the 
 originals of upwards of two hundred derived from Port Eliot alone. It was 
 not merely, however, that Mr. D'Ifraeli dealt with fo infignificant a fraflion 
 of Eliot's letters, but that, from inability or want of patience to decipher the 
 writing, he has printed even thefe fewwith fuch graveomiffions and ridiculous 
 miftakes as to render them worthlefs. He boafts indeed of the patience, fuffer- 
 ing, labour, and fuccefs with which he had made his way through manufcripts 
 all but illegible ; but with how much truth, let the reader judge by com- 
 
1 2 //. Early TafteSy Univerfity^ and travel. 
 
 Book I. 
 
 trying hour alone had fuch confolations been referved. 
 
 parlfon of the exaft words of the letter quoted in the text (which happens 
 to be one of the thirteen printed in the Commentaries)^ with the fame paf- 
 fages as printed by Mr. D'Ifraeli. The miftakes and omiffions are marked 
 in italics, and the fpelling of the original is modernized to fuit with Mr. 
 D'Ifraeli"'s. 
 
 Az printed hy Mr. U'lfraeli. 
 
 O ! infinite mercy of our Mafter, dear 
 friend, how it abounds to us, that are un- 
 worthy of his fervice! How broken! 
 how imperfed: ! how perverfe and 
 crooked are our ways in obedience to 
 him ! how exaftly ftraight is the line of 
 his providence to us, drawn out through 
 all occurrents and particulars to the whole 
 length and meafure of our time j how 
 perfect is his hand that has given his Son 
 unto us, and with him has promifed like- 
 wife to give us all things j relieving our 
 wants, fanSIifyitig our nectffitAes, pre'uent- 
 ing our dangers, yr^i-m^ us from all ex- 
 tremities, and died himfelf for us ! What 
 can we render, what retribution can we 
 make worthy fo great a majefty? worthy 
 fuch love and favour ? We have nothing 
 but ourfelves who are unworthy above 
 all, and yet that as all other things is 
 his ; for us to offer up that, is but to give 
 him of his own, and that in far worfe 
 condition than we at firfl: received it, 
 which yet [for infinite is his goodnefs 
 for the merits of his Son) He is contented 
 to accept. This, dear friend, muft be 
 the comfort of his children ; this is the 
 phyfick, we muft ufe in all our ficknefs 
 and extremities j this is the ftrengthening 
 of the weak, the nourijhing of the poor, 
 the liberty of the captive, the health of 
 the difeafed, the life of thofe that die, 
 the death of that wretched life -of fin, 
 and this happinefs hath his faints. 
 
 As in the original MS, 
 
 O ! the infinite mercy of our Mafter, 
 dear friend, how it abounds to us, that are 
 unworthy of his fervice ! How broken ! 
 how imperfect ! how perverfe and 
 crooked are our ways in obedience to 
 him ! how exactly ftraight Is the line of 
 his providence unto us, drawn through 
 all occurrents and particulars to the whole 
 length and meafure of our time ! How 
 perfect is his lo'ue that has given his Son 
 unto us, and with him has promifed like-» 
 wise to give us all things ! Thofe that 
 relie-ve us hut in part, ive honor and ejieem ,• 
 thofe that prefer'ue and fa'ue us front any 
 danger or extremity^ ive ha've in 'veneration^ 
 and admire^ w^iry, c'uen for thofe that morally 
 are gogdy from ivhom there comes fome out~ 
 •ward benefit and ad-vantage, it 'sfaidfome 
 men dare die, Honv Jhould ive, then, honor 
 and admire fo good a God and Sauiour j by 
 ivhom ive are, by ivhom ive haue all things 
 ive pofj'efs ,* ivho does relieve our ivants, 
 f^tisfy our necejjities, preuent our dangers, 
 free us from all extremities ; nay, to pre- 
 feme and faue, has died himfelf for us! 
 What can we render, what retribution 
 can we make, worthy fo great a majefty, 
 worthy fuch love and favour? We have 
 nothing but ourfelves, who are unworthy 
 above all ; and yet that, as all other 
 things, is his. For us to offer up that, 
 is but to give him of his own, and that 
 in far worfe condition than we at firft 
 received it, which yet [fo infinite is his 
 goodnefs for the merits of his Son) He is 
 contented to accept. This, dear friend, 
 muft be the comfort of his children. 
 This is the Phyfick we muft ufe in all 
 our ficknefs and extremities. This is the 
 ftrengthening of the weak, the enriching 
 of the poor, the liberty of the captive, 
 the health of the difeafed, the life of 
 thofe that die, the death of that wretched 
 life of fin ! And this happinefs haue his 
 faints. 
 
 The fame number of omiffions, and the fame kind of miftakes, are inalmoft 
 
1590-1619. Love of AStive Exercijes. 13 
 
 We ftiall find them interfufed with all his habits of 
 thought, and fuftaining him in every part of his career. 
 
 Another charadteriftic, fo prevalent throughout his life 
 that it muft have dated from this earlieft time, was his 
 love of adlive and athletic exercife. Extraordinary as 
 were his attainments and proficiency in learning, he was 
 a man of adtion pre-eminently ; and, as well from the 
 wife care he took, tempered with all thoughtful allow- 
 ance, in the aftive training of his fons, as from the well- 
 weighed counfel he frequently tendered to his friends, we 
 may infer much as to the outfet of his own life, and 
 what its lefTons and learning had been. When he firfl: 
 committed his boys to a tutor's care, his charge to him 
 was that their recreations and exercife fhould be, not lefs 
 than their fcholarfhip, the objeft of his folicitude.* 
 When his fecond fon, Richard, fhowed inaptnefs for the 
 life at firfl; marked out for him, Eliot at once declared that 
 nature muft have free way, that difpofition and work 
 fhould not be at war, and that fcope muft be given to 
 the youth's adtive propenfities.f When his dear friend 
 Richard Knightley had fallen into inaftive habits, with 
 which he held that health neither of mind nor body could 
 confift, he addreffed to him from his prifon a moft touch- 
 ing remonftrance. He had been inquifitive of his friends, 
 he told him, as to his recent ways of life ; and found fo 
 much time fpent in the houfe and fo little in the fields, 
 that he doubted Knightley made his liberty a praftice of 
 imprifonment, and by too much meditation unfitted him- 
 felf for adion, which fhould be the life and crown of our 
 
 all the letters printed by Mr. D'Ifraeli ; as will be noted, from time to time, 
 when the occafion arifes for quoting them. In ftiort, Mr. D'Ifraeli's fo-called 
 " Eliot Correfpondence," excepting only a few letters by Hampden, is utterly 
 worthlefs. 
 
 * Eliot to Thomas Knightley (5th April 1630): MSS. at Port Eliot. 
 Thomas Knightley was fellow and tutor of Lincoln-college, Oxford, to 
 which Eliot had fent his fons ; and appears to have been coufm to Richard 
 Knightley. 
 
 t Eliot to Hampden (26 April, 1631) : MSS. at Port Eliot. 
 
14 II. Early TaJles,UniverJity, and 'Travel. BookI. 
 
 endeavours in our courfe. He prayed him to refle6t upon 
 others, and that no man fliould be a centre to himfelf. 
 He befought his friend to think what intereft in him his 
 country might pretend to ; what right over him his friends 
 might claim ; and above all that his Mafter, who had 
 made him fteward of himfelf, expedted in all thefe the 
 employment of that talent to His glory, and that fuch 
 care fhould be entertained about his perfon as to pre- 
 ferve it for fervices to come. To dwell wholly in 
 fpeculation, was to be ufeful only for himfelf; but for 
 others, and the time to come, it behoved him to difpofe 
 himfelf to aftion. For others, he was to hunt ; for others, 
 to hawk ; for others, to take the benefit of the fields. 
 " Do it for me," continued Eliot, " that cannot do it of 
 " myfelfe ; and in your profit and advantage my fatisfac- 
 " tion fhall be rendered. I know I need not counfel you, 
 " who have Abraham and the Prophets ; but yet, one 
 " coming from the dead, who by privation knows the 
 " benefitt of exercife, which God appoints for the recre- 
 " ation of man, may have fome creditt more than ordi- 
 " narie to make fome light impreflions upon the minde."* 
 Very afFeding is that reference to the living death which 
 then had been inflidted upon the writer. When all 
 the healthy and vigorous habits that had been the ftay 
 and fuftainment of Eliot's own life had been ftruck 
 from under him, he knew that he was doomed. To 
 what extent thofe habits had been his prafhice, and 
 from this earlieft time, we need no better evidence. 
 His lateft enjoyment in the Tower, of which he was 
 deprived by clofer cuftody in the laft year of his impri- 
 fonment, was the game at bowls that he had firft played 
 in his boyhood on the green at Port Eliot.-f 
 
 Between the univerfity and travel, to all well-bred 
 
 * Eliot to Richard Knightley (loth June, 1630) : MSS. at Port Eliot. 
 
 f Eliot to Richard Knightley (nth Auguft, 1631) : MSS. at Port Eliot. 
 " Your letter found me yefterday foe hard at bowles as I had not then tyme 
 "to anfwear it," &c. 
 
1590-1619. Law-Stuaent and Barrijier. 15, 
 
 youths in the feventeenth century, another ftudy was 
 ordinarily interpofed. Some acquaintance with the com- 
 mon law of England, then, was generally required for an 
 Englifh gentleman's education. It was thought eflential 
 that men of birth and ftation in their refpeftive counties, 
 to whom it fell to difcharge the duties of juftices of peace, 
 fhould know fomething praftically of the law they were 
 called to adminifter, affedting largely the populations of 
 their neighbourhood. Very efpecially alfo was it 
 held to be a neceflary accomplifhment for one who 
 would enter parliament, and had lefs ambition to follow 
 the court than to fide with the country party. Eliot, 
 as Wood informs us, after leaving the Univerfity, 
 " went to one of the Inns of Court, and became a 
 " barrifter. " Not of courfe to pradtife : though we fhall 
 find that his knowledge of the law, and its ufes and 
 terms, was of the greateft value to him ; that his friends 
 in and out of parliament frequently referred to his au- 
 thority ;* and that he not feldom employed his know- 
 ledge of the principles of law to condemn the praftice 
 of profeffional lawyers.f When next we get fight of 
 him, he is travelling on the Continent, as had become 
 alfo very generally then the cufl:om of young men of 
 family and fortune. 
 
 At precifely the fame period, the difcerning Lady 
 Villiers had fent her famous fon, two years younger than 
 Eliot, to grace the beauty of his face and perfon (his only 
 birthright) J by the advantages of foreign travel. Eliot 
 
 * Bevil Grenvile to Eliot (17th September, 1631). MSS. at Port Eliot. 
 
 -(• This will appear in his fpeech, to be hereafter quoted, in the laft parlia- 
 ment of James as to a cafe or difmherifon (MS). 
 
 X Buckingham was a younger fon, by a fecond marriage, of Sir George 
 Villiers, of Brookefley, in Leicefterfhire, whofe family, though ancient, had 
 been in no refpeft diftinguiflied. His mother is reported to have ferved ,as 
 kitchen-maid in the houfe of his father, who, ftruck with her extraordinary 
 beauty of perfon, prevailed with his wife, then living, not without difficulty, 
 to raife her to a higher place ; and on the death of that lady married her. 
 As, however, the heir by the former marriage fucceeded to the family eftate, 
 it became a grand objeft with Lady Villiers, as foon as ftie obtained the means 
 
1 6 //. Early Tajies, Univerftty, and Travel. ^""'^ ^• 
 
 &T. 
 
 and Villiers met,* and journeyed together to feveral 
 places ; nor will it feem furprifing that Eliot's warm and 
 generous difpofition fhould have fuited well with the 
 bold addrefs and fprightlinefs of temper for which 
 only, at that time, George Villiers was remarkable. It 
 is faid they became intimate, and it is probable that for 
 fome time they were fo ; though in after years a widely 
 different deftiny ftruck them finally apart. 
 
 Of the imprefTions left on Eliot's mind by this travel 
 of his youth, fome lively traces appeared afterwards in 
 his letters to his children. He urged upon them the 
 necefTity of well feledting their afTociates. Good com- 
 pany, he knew, was a choice thing ever ; and as it always 
 brought pleafure, fo mofl efpecially in travel it brought 
 advantages, f As he wrote this, he might be remem- 
 bering, through all the darker interval which followed, 
 thofe fair bright days, and the pleafant gaieties and 
 cheerful fancies, that, from fuch a prefence as that of 
 George Villiers in his youth, mull have radiated to all 
 within its fphere. 
 
 France had greatly interefted Eliot. He had there feen 
 the ftill conflidting elements of a great and healthful flrug- 
 gle, and though the profpedts of the caufe moft dear to 
 him were at this time gloomy enough, the light of promife 
 yet fhone in the diftance. It was a country full of noble 
 inftinfts and verfatile energy; and what his own experience 
 had been, he recommended his fons to profit by. Some 
 friend had warned them of polTible dangers in France. 
 
 through a third huftiand, Sir Thomas Compton, whom fhe afterwards de- 
 ferted, to accomplifti her children for puftiing their own fortunes in the 
 world. She lived to fee her own entire fuccefs in this, and to difcover how 
 little it was worth. 
 
 * Echard's Hijiory, 424. Mr. D'lfraeli claims the merit of having dif- 
 co'vered this (iv. 507; Pamphlet, p. 3), a claim on which his friends alfo 
 infift {Sluarterly Re'vieiv, xciv. 4.70) ; on what authority does not appear. 
 Echard was the firft difcoverer, if there be any merit in it ; nor would his 
 ftatement have carried any weight, but that other circumftanees have con- 
 firmed it. 
 
 f To his fon John, ift September, 1631. MSS, at Port Eliot. 
 
1 590-1619. Impreffions of France and Italy. 17 
 
 Heed him not, faid Eliot ; it is ftrange that fuch warn- 
 ing jfhould come from a man of "hope and fpirit." 
 Any hazard or adventure, in France, they would find 
 repaid by fuch advantages of knowledge and experience 
 as obfervation of the exifting troubles there was fure 
 to convey. But he would not allow them even to enter 
 Spain ; and the Italian territories of the church they 
 were to avoid as dangerous. Stagnant and deadly were 
 the waters in the region of Rome, not clear and flowing 
 for the health-feeking energies of man. 
 
 His diflike of Italy, however, was limited to the ter- 
 ritories of the church. By all means he held it defirable 
 for youth to fee the reft of Italy. But let them avoid the 
 damps of autumn in that rich land. From the abun- 
 dance of fruits that prevailed everywhere, and the ftrife 
 of heat and moifture aifedting the climate, the airs of 
 autumn were dangerous until frofts had corrected 
 them ; and a vifit fhould be timed in fpring. Great 
 were the advantages in other refpedts, alfo, of wintering 
 in France before paffing over to Italy. To attempt to 
 acquire the Italian language, before fome knowledge 
 of French had been mattered, was not difcreet. Befides 
 its being lefs pleafant and more difficult to talk Italian 
 firft, it was leaving the more neceflary acquirement to be 
 gained when perchance there was lefs leifure for it. 
 Whereas, by obtaining fome perfedlion in the French 
 and then moving onward, what might be loft in Italy 
 of the firft accompliftiment would be regained, in France, 
 as their fteps turned homeward.* 
 
 But ftill more charadteriftic of Eliot is that which 
 he defcribes to his fons as the unvarying experience of 
 his own life, in travel and enjoyment as in labour and 
 every manly exercife, and which, irrefpedive of climates 
 or countries, every man may enfure to himfelf. Why 
 
 * Thefe various allufions are from the letter of ift September 1631, 
 to his eldeft fon. 
 
 VOL. I. C 
 
[ 8 //. Early 'Taftes, Univerftty, and Travel. ^°°'^ ^■ 
 
 J$.T. 
 
 is it, he fays, that what to one feems barren and unplea- 
 fant,- to another is made fruitful and delightfome, but 
 that all things in this life receive their efFedt and opera- 
 tion from induftry and the habit of the foul. (" Nothing 
 " is," fays the great mafter, " but thinking makes it fo.") 
 Some natures there were which turned all fweetnefs into 
 venom, forgetful of the lefTon of the bee that extradts 
 honey from the bittereft herb. With exquifite good fenfe 
 Eliot tells his fons, therefore, that they would do well, 
 ever, to make the bell ufe of all things ; when they 
 fhould find a fign or indication of fome error, to accept 
 it as an inftrudlion to avoid the like ; and if there ap- 
 peared but the refemblance of fome excellence, to fup- 
 pofe it better and make it a precedent for themfelves.* 
 Imitation, he ftrikingly defignates as " the moral miftrefs 
 "of our life;" and as they muft imitate, they fhould be 
 ever on the watch for what is worthy, and for that alone.f 
 An error might eafily be retraced, but habits not fo. 
 Let them not fuffer any ill in them to proceed to a habit ; 
 and above all things, let them propound goodnefs, not 
 pleafure, for their objedl. J So might they truly achieve 
 honour. Arduous and rough feemed the paths of virtue, 
 but they were excellent, yea pleafant, to thofe that once 
 had pafied them ; for they brought honour itfelf as their 
 concomitant, to entertain them on that journey. It 
 became truly their fervant ; and what all others purfue 
 and wait upon fo eagerly, and oiFer all that they poffefs 
 to obtain, they who travel in thofe paths already have, in 
 the form wherein alone it is defirable or to be defired, to 
 wait upon them, and to do them fervice.§ 
 
 Standing upon the threfhold of the life we are about 
 to retrace, let us not doubt that the thoughts which fo 
 attended its clofe refledled its opening experience ; and 
 
 * To his fons, 8th (or 3rd) July 1629. MSS. at Port Eliot. 
 
 f To his fon John : ift Auguft 1631. MSS. at Port Eliot. 
 
 J To his fon Richard : 5th April 1630. MSS. at Port Eliot. 
 
 § To his fon Richard : 7th November 1630. MSS. at Port Eliot. 
 
1590-1619. £//o/'j Marriage. 19 
 
 that, whatever may have been its errors of paffion or 
 temper, they were never ungenerous or ignoble. 
 
 III. Marriage ; and Parliament. 
 
 After his return to England in 161 1, Eliot married ; 
 and even this corredl and inoffenfive proceeding has been 
 made the pretext for flander to his memory. It has been 
 put forth as another inftance of the turbulence and "un- 
 " governable paffion" of this "bold and adventurous cha- 
 " radter." Without quoting any authority, Mr. D'Ifraeli 
 ftateSj that "when the houfe of commons voted 5000/. 
 " for a compenfation to the family for his [Eliot's] 'fufFer- 
 " ' ings,' they alfo voted another loooL, part of four, 
 " for which he had been fined by the court of wards, 
 " by reafon of his marriage with Sir Daniel Norton's 
 " daughter." He then proceeds to inform us that this 
 indicates the violent carrying off of the lady by the 
 turbulent Eliot. What poffible authority can be brought 
 forward for this ftatement, I know not. The only 
 record in exiftence bearing on fuch a fubjed:, known 
 to me, is an entry in the Earl of Leicefter's jour- 
 nal, of unqueftioned authenticity; and I cannot fuppofe 
 that this was the fource from which Mr. D'Ifraeli 
 derived his ftatement. It is as follows: "Monday, 
 " 1 8th January, 1646. The houfe of commons this day, 
 " according to former order, took into confideration the 
 " great loffes and fufferings of many members, in the 
 " yeare tertio Caroli, for fpeaking (in parliament) in be- 
 " half of the kingdom. A report whereof was made to 
 " the houfe, from the committee to whom it was for- 
 "merly referred; and the commons, upon debate, paffed 
 " feveral votes for allowances to be given to fuch mem- 
 " bers, in recompenfe of theyr wrongs and fufferings, 
 "as followeth:" feveral names are then fpecified, and 
 among them, "that 5000/. be allowed to Sir John Elliotte's 
 
20 III. Marriaze and Parliament. ^°°^ ^- 
 
 JET. 
 
 " younger children ; and his elder Jon's fine in the Court 
 " of Wards to be remitted."* 
 
 Againft this "elder fon's" turbulence the reproof of 
 the commentator ought to have been direfted. He was 
 probably that fecond fon, Richard^ whofe Irregular habits, 
 notwithftanding his poffeffion of a fine and manly nature, 
 proved the fource, as we fhall fee, of much anxiety and 
 difquiet to his father. He was a very likely perfon for 
 the adventure malicioufly fixed upon Eliot. Sir John 
 himfelf, without violating the laws of any court, had 
 married in the winter of 1611, Rhadagund, the only 
 daughter of a Cornifh fquire of confiderable fortune, 
 Richard Gedie of Treburfey, who ferved as high fherifF 
 of his county in the lafl: year of James. Of his wife, 
 whofe memory he cherifhed with tendernefs, Eliot was 
 unhappily deprived by death in 1628, before the firft 
 recefs of the memorable parliament of that year ; after 
 ihe had prefented him with feveral children. John 
 (born in October 16 12), Richard, Edward, Befs, and 
 Nicholas f will hereafter have mention ; and all thefe, with 
 fome younger and infant children, taken to Treburfey 
 upon their mother's death and their father's imprifon- 
 ment, were in the following year, when Mr. Gedie him- 
 felf died and Eliot's prifon doors were more clofely fhut, 
 left doubly fatherlefs as well as mother lefs. Then utterlv 
 dependent on the care of friends, happily friends were 
 found not wanting. 
 
 Eliot had fcarcely married when the houfe of com- 
 mons opened its doors to him. No hiftorian has 
 heretofore fuppofed that he fat in an earlier parlia- 
 
 * Sidney Papers, j., 3. This early portion of the journal is remarka- 
 ble for its accuracy and precifion. Since what follows in my text was 
 written, I have feen reafon to doubt whether John may not have been the 
 " elder fon " referred to. See Hutchins's Dorfet, ii. 144.. 
 
 t From this fourth fon, Nicholas, the prefent St. Germans family are 
 defcended. Upon the failure of male iffue to Daniel Eliot (the patriot's 
 grandfon, whofe only daughter Browne Willis married), the eftates were 
 bequeathed to Edward, grandfon to the patriot's fourth fon Nicholas. 
 
,590-1619. Member for Saint Germans. 21 
 
 a4. 
 
 ment than that of 1623, but I have difcovered that he 
 was undoubtedly a member of the commons' houfe 
 upon the affembling of James's fecond parliament in 
 1614. The fa6t is placed beyond queftlon by the refer- 
 ences he made himfelf, in the parliament of 1623, to 
 the two that had immediately preceded it; in the earlier 
 of which he ftated that he had himfelf taken part, 
 whereas of the later he knew only by the report of others.* 
 
 Eliot, then, was in his 24th year when he took his feat 
 (as member for the borough of St. Germans) in the council 
 of the nation. It would not have been called together at 
 that time but for Sir Henry Nevile's plan of managing the 
 eledtions by fupremely fkilful people, who were to " un- 
 " dertake " for a court majority. Neverthelefs the court 
 majority did not prefent itfelf; which Mr. Attorney (Sir 
 Francis Bacon) accounted for bytheabfenceof thefupreme 
 fkill promifed, by the hot oppofition the attempt aroufed, 
 and by the fo great fuing, ftanding, and ftriving about 
 elections and places it led to, that the wifeft and ableft 
 perfons fhrank from fuch conflicfl, and three parts of the 
 elected "were fuch as had never been of any former par- 
 "liament, and many of them young men, and not of 
 "any great eftate or qualities." The remark is to be 
 taken with allowance for Mr. Attorney's general diflatls- 
 faftion at the refult, but no doubt fubftantially it ex- 
 prefled the truth. 
 
 Among the men young like himfelf, however, whom 
 Eliot then firft faw on the benches around him, were 
 fome that, like himfelf, were now beginning the career 
 that has identified their names with our Englifh ftory. 
 Slightly his elder, Robert Philips, fon of Sir Edward of 
 Montacute, mafter of the rolls, there took his feat for 
 the firft time, and began his illuftrious but too brief 
 
 * The fpeech to which I refer, not hitherto printed, is among the MSS. 
 in Eliot's handwriting at Port Eliot ; and will Ihortly be quoted. It was 
 fpoken at the opening of James's laft parliament, which met in February 
 1623-4. 
 
11 III. Marriage and Parliament. ^°°^ ^■ 
 
 JS,T, 
 
 career.* Another Somerfetfliire gentleman of graver 
 afpedt, now in his twenty-ninth year, a client and coun- 
 cillor of the Bedford family, commenced there the ex- 
 perience which was to carry the name of Pym over the 
 world as almoft a fynonym for the parliament of Eng- 
 land. Sir Dudley Digges there tried his earlieft flights 
 of eloquence, lefs earnefl; than ornate, yet moving and 
 influencing many. Oliver Luke, a youth of old Bedford- 
 fhire family, fome of whofe anceftors had refifl:ed on the 
 bench the tyranny of the earlier Tudors, and who had 
 married into the fl:ock of the Northamptonfliire Knight- 
 leys, began there the friendfliip with Eliot which ceafed 
 only with life ; and with which another more illufl:rious 
 name became foon connected, for family alliances had 
 aflbciated with the Lukes young Mr. Hampden of 
 Hampden, now in his twentieth year fliudying law at the 
 Inner-temple, and not to take his feat among the 
 commons till the next following parliament. And 
 finally here, among the legiflators, raw and inex- 
 perienced, who had fat in no former convention, Eliot's 
 glance firfl: fell upon a tall young man from Yorkfliire, 
 Thomas Wentworth, whom men noted even thus early 
 (a contemporary tells us) for his ftoop in the neck, for 
 the cloudy fliadow on his face except when lighted up 
 by anything that moved him, and for the fierce far- 
 reaching look of his eye. 
 
 But befide thefe youths were men of elder and larger 
 experience, who fufficed in themfelves to give no common 
 charadter or fame to the proceedings of this fhort-lived 
 parliament. In it Sir Francis Bacon clofed his career as 
 
 * The parliament began in March, and was diflblved in June. In the 
 following September Sir Edward Philips died, it was fuppofed from grief at 
 the king's anger with his fon Robert, for the fpeeches he had made on the 
 popular fide. " He was my verye good frend," fays Sir James Whitelocke 
 (in his Liber Famelicus, p. 43). " It is thought that grief he toke in the 
 " king's difpleafure toward him, for his fon's roughnefle in the parlia- 
 " ment, haftned his deathe. But I cannot think a man can be futche a 
 " mope." 
 
1590-1619. Leaders of the Houfe of Commons. 23 
 
 a reprefentative of the people. Sir Edwin Sandys, the 
 fecond fon of Elizabeth's archbifhop of York, now in 
 his fifty-third year, a ripe and mature fcholar who had 
 written learnedly againft popery, played a diftinguiflied 
 part in it. Sir Edward Giles, a knight of large eftate, 
 Cornifhman and neighbour of Eliot's, and his faft 
 friend in many fubfequent trials, was one of its leaders 
 of oppofition : and he had worthy colleagues in Sir James 
 Perrot, the fon of Elizabeth's famous lord-deputy ; in 
 Sir Robert Cotton, under whofe hofpitable roof, where 
 pricelefs ftores of learning were gathered, Eliot pafled 
 many of his happieft later days ; and in Sir John Savile 
 of Howley, a knight of the Weft Riding who had ferved 
 the court in the old queen's time, but now in his fifty-third 
 year was out of favour with the king, and had carried 
 Yorkfhire, defpite the Wentworths, in the extreme 
 popular intereft. Thofe experienced and liberal lawyers, 
 Crewe, Hakewell, Hofkins, Thomas Wentworth of 
 Oxford, Nicholas Hyde, and Sir James Whitelocke, 
 alfo gave in it their fervices to the popular fide.* Sir 
 James was the father of Bulftrode ; and had diftinguifhed 
 himfelf, fome years before, by difputing the judgment in 
 Bates's cafe, in the court of exchequer, on Impofitions. 
 
 The fubjedt was revived in this parliament, and, with 
 the bufinefs of Undertaking, and difputed returns rifing 
 out of it, formed the fole bufinefs tranfadled by the 
 houfe, which had not the good fortune to pafs even one 
 bill. It played the part which feems to have been ap- 
 pointed to it, neverthelefs. It ferved, at a critical time, 
 to break up the old referves and influences ; and to force 
 a free way, for fubfequent and more powerful aflemblies, 
 to bolder manifeftations of opinion. It is now we 
 
 * " I was retorned," he fays (in his Liber Fameticus, p. 40), " a burgeft 
 " for the towne of Woodftock, in the countie of Oxon, whear I was re- 
 " corder, and was elefted notivithjianding the tonvn 'wear hardly prejfed for 
 " another by the Erl of Mountgomerye, fteward of the manors and keeper 
 " of the houfe and parke thear." 
 
24 ///• Marriage and Parliament. 
 
 Book I. 
 
 MT. 
 
 have the firft evidence of vehement excitements, of loud 
 and noify cheering bandied from fide to fide, within the 
 houfe itfelf. Mr. Attorney, quaintly referring to his 
 own narrow efcape* from being turned off to the lords' 
 chamber, had wiflied himfelf, becaufe of the frequent dif- 
 cord, not only in the upper houfe but in the Upper 
 World. Mr. Chamberlain wrote to Sir Dudley Carle- 
 ton of the cheering and interrupting, that " many fat 
 " there who were more fit to have been among roaring 
 " boys than in that aflembly." One honourable member 
 was called to order for comparing the houfe to a cock- 
 pit. The houfe itfelf was reprehended by Mr. Speaker 
 for " hiffing " a vehement fupporter of his majefty's pre- 
 rogative. But, amid all thefe unfeemly manifeftations, 
 it was the right abufe that was feledted for attack ; and 
 the popular arguments were left unanfwered by the 
 ableft of the privy councillors. Sandys carried a refolu- 
 tion againft the king's afi"erted right to levy impofitions ; 
 and Bacon, not to difpute the abftraft juftice of fuch 
 propofals, but to abate and deprecate the eagernefs that 
 would have carried them to infl:ant ifllies, was fain to 
 remind the oppofition that they lived not in Plato his 
 Commonwealth, but in times wherein abufes had got the 
 upper hand. That great man never called the wrong 
 
 * One of the firft queftions raifed had been upon Bacon's right as at- 
 torney to fit at all. If a man already reprefenting any place affumed that 
 office, it was argued, he might continue to ferve in the lower houfe ; but 
 that, being appointed attorney, he could not afterwards offer himfelf to 
 reprefent a conftituency. His place in parliament would then have become 
 fimply, as exprefied in his writ of office, to advife the houfe of lords ; and 
 to appear by the woolfack was the due return of his writ. A committee of 
 precedents confidered the matter ; and though, ftrange to fay, no direft 
 inftance of a king's attorney returned by a conftituency and fitting in the 
 lower houfe could be found, it was clear that the king's folicitor and fer- 
 jeant had done fo, and the analogy was fufficiently clofe in fairnefs to have 
 fettled the queftion. But the houfe would not give way. They made 
 exception for Sir Francis Bacon (to (how that their objeftion was not to him 
 perfonally), but never was attorney-general in future to fit in the lower 
 houfe. Such was the jealoufy of the influence of the crown, and the refolve 
 that as few as poflible " wearing the livery " of the king ftiould fit among 
 them, prevailing in this " addle " parliament. 
 
.590-1619. ^iiot on the " Undertakers." 25 
 
 24. 
 
 right, or made elaborate attempts at juftification, even 
 while he pradlifed or fell in with it. He did his beft, 
 ever, to amend it ; but unhappily was not in the leaft 
 reludtant to give way and make the beft of it, when the 
 other effort was unavailing. 
 
 With the reft of the privy councillors he adbed, there- 
 fore in forcing a premature diffolution. Eliot regretted 
 the courfe fo taken ; and it is a proof of the ftirewdnefs 
 and clearfightednefs he had brought thus early to the 
 obfervation of public affairs, that he detefted not alone 
 the mifchief of fuch hafte and precipitation in dealing 
 with parliaments, and the falfehood of the pretences ufed 
 in excufe, but the too great readinefs of the popular 
 leaders to encourage needlefs jealoufies. Nearly nine 
 years later, in his firft important fpeech in the houfe 
 of commons, he thus alluded to " the former of the 
 "two laft unfortunate affemblies" in which he had taken 
 part. 
 
 "As I remember, there was an afperfion of ' undertak- 
 " ' ing ' caft upon the fervice of fome members of that 
 " houfe ; from whence there grew a jealoufy, in the reft, 
 " that the whole bufinefs was compounded by thofe 
 " principals who had before-hand given the king affu- 
 " ranee of what he defired. This jealoufy being entered 
 " into, a part like a cancerous ulcer fpread with the 
 " fharpnefs of its own corrupt humour, and by infedtion 
 " went fo far that it difeafed the body. The body be- 
 " ing once fick and ill afFedled, could not prefently find 
 " a remedy, or remove the caufe ; but, by continuance 
 " of the grief, had the fymptoms more dangerous than the 
 " difeafe. For, from the root of that jealoufy, fprang up 
 "oppofition and conteftation in debates. Oppofition 
 " branched itfelf to fadtion ; fadlion (or rather fradion I 
 "might call it) often budded and put forth perfonal 
 " quarrels, not only to the public prejudice, but detradb- 
 " ing from the honour and gravity of this fo great and 
 " grave a fenate. And all this moved by the air and 
 
a 6 IV. Events in London. ^"""^ ^• 
 
 ^T. 
 
 " breath of that unknown and vain report of ' under- 
 " 'takers.' Whereas I verily beheve there was no fuch 
 " thing in the king's heart, as by fecret pracftice with a 
 " few to undermine the reft: ; nor could thofe few, for 
 " themfelves, have affumed fo much power above others 
 " to ' undertake' for all. I hold that our jealoufy in this 
 " cafe was the advantage of the ill affefted, who made it 
 " the inftrument of their defigns to diffolve that meet- 
 "ing, that they might follow their own projects and in- 
 " ventions then on foot ; which (as we have fince felt) 
 " trenched more upon the privileges and liberties of this 
 " kingdom, than the uttermoft ' undertakings' in parlia- 
 " ment can ever do !"* 
 
 Judging of all the circumftances now. It is impoflible 
 not to fee that Eliot's view is the right one. To keep 
 up the agitation againft; the undertakers was, as it turned 
 out, to play into the hands of the court. Eliot had far- 
 fightednefs enough to fee, as well in the conception of 
 fuch a notable fcheme as the interfering in eledtions, as 
 in the fuppofed neceffity that fuggefted it, no bad com- 
 pliment to the influence of the commons ; and he would 
 have accepted its failure, manifeft in the very excitement 
 and indignation provoked by it, as an addition to their 
 ftrength. But thefe advantages were loft by the jealou- 
 fies given way to ; and on the 7 th of June, the day of 
 the diflblution, he doubtlefs turned fadly away from 
 Weftminfter with the thought in his heart, and the 
 prayer upon his lips, of which the good Sir James White- 
 locke has left record. " All good people wear verye 
 " forrye for it, and I pray God we never fee the like." 
 It was Eliot's fate to fee many more. 
 
 IV. Events in London. 16 14 to 16 19. 
 But now, for fome years, Eliot's life has a quiet interval, 
 
 * From a MS. copy of fpeech delivered in February 1623-4, in Eliot's 
 hand-writing among the papers at Port Eliot. 
 
1590-1619. 2-^^ ^gi^^ ^y Somerjet. 1^ 
 
 25 
 
 ftrengthening and preparing him for its bufier time. 
 Referring long afterwards to the days following his 
 youth, he was in the habit of regretting that his 
 fortune had fo little allowed him to be matter of himfelf. 
 As foon as his employments began, he faid, they were fo 
 tyrannical upon him that all his minutes were anticipated. 
 But the few years' interval after his marriage, at which 
 we have now arrived, appears to have feen him at 
 ■ leifure; living in and near London; and obferving, doubt- 
 lefs with many grave and chequered thoughts, what then 
 was pafling in the world. We are not without direft 
 and ftriking evidence, indeed, of the hold kept upon his 
 mind and memory, in all his after years, by incidents 
 which he witnefled then. 
 
 Somerfet at this time held rule as abfolute as Villiers 
 afterwards, and there was a man whom Eliot had reafons 
 for regarding with fome intereft who had ftarted in life 
 with that favourite now fome feven or eight years part, 
 in circumftances of fhartling refemblance to his own paft 
 intercourfe with Villiers. When Carr was a page in 
 France, learning manners and accomplifliments, a youth 
 named Overbury was fimilarly placed there, and the 
 intimacy that enfued had continued through Carr's fub- 
 fequent and wonderful future. But Overbury was con- 
 tent, with no higher rank than that of knighthood, to fee 
 his friend made baron, vifcount, and firft minifter of the 
 king, being himfelf a man of literature and carelefs life, 
 and fatisfied to retain that control and command over 
 his dignified affociate which the ftronger exerts over the 
 weaker nature. The time arrived, however, when fuch 
 control became fuddenly dangerous. Overbury refilled 
 the foul and ftiameful project of Carr, lately created 
 Lord Rochefter, to procure a divorce for young Fanny 
 Howard, fecond daughter of the chamberlain (after- 
 wards treafurer) Suffolk, and wife of the youthful Lord 
 Effex, in order himfelf to marry that wanton, beautiful. 
 
IV. Events in London. ^""ti" 
 
 JE.T. 
 
 and diabolical perfon ; and the unwelcome counfellor 
 was at once flung into the Tower. 
 
 The fubfequent revolting tragedy is fo well known to 
 every reader of hiftory, that it is very ftrange to obferve 
 how flowly it became known to its contemporaries. The 
 infamous divorce, which the good archbifhop Abbot 
 bravely refufed to meddle with, had been effeded by a 
 vote of feven to five of the biftiops and civilians it was 
 referred to ; the as infamous marriage, celebrated by Bacon 
 in a mafque, and honoured by beftowal of the earldom of 
 Somerfet on the bridegroom, had been folemnized in pre- 
 fence of the king ; and bride and bridegroom, triumphant 
 in their guilt, had received more than two years' worfhip 
 from the bafeft court in Chriftendom; before it was known, 
 beyond the precindts of that court, what a dark deed had 
 been done. George Radcliffe, afterwards the friend of 
 Strafford, then a law ftudent of Gray's-inn, wrote thus on 
 the 3rd of November 161 5 to his mother in York- 
 fhire : " There hath been a greate adoe about the poy- 
 " foninge a gentleman in the Tower ; one is hanged, 
 " another fled, fome examined, and divers imprifoned ; 
 " but fmall certaintye is yett knowne. It is confidently 
 " reported that the Earle of Somerfett is fent to the 
 " Tower yefterday night." The report was true ; and 
 after another fix months, Somerfet, fl;anding before his 
 peers a convidted felon, his George taken from his neck,* 
 received fentence of death as one of the murderers of 
 Over bury. The fair-faced fiend for whom the crime was 
 committed, had received her fentence on the previous day ; 
 but the fcaffold was cheated of them both. Four of the 
 lefler murderers had already perifhed, the laft of them 
 being hanged about a month after Radcliffe's letter ; and 
 as the firfl: of them, Wefl:on, Overbury's keeper in the 
 
 * In one of the accounts of the trial it is ftated that " he had taken off 
 " his George himfelf " immediately on hearing the verdift againft him. 
 Amos's Oyer of Poijbning, no. 
 
1 590-1619. Overburfs Murder. 
 
 ^5 
 
 Tower, had been on the point of afcending the ladder at 
 Tyburn, there had ridden up fhal-ply to the gallows four 
 hangers-on of the court, of whom the moft prominent was 
 Sir John Holies, afterwards Earl of Clare, father of 
 Denzil and father-in-law of Strafford, who were feen to 
 fpeak to the wretched man, urging him to clear Somerfet. 
 But Wefton was no longer acceffible to favour or fear. 
 One bitter remark had indeed fallen from him at his trial, 
 that the little fifhes would be caught and the big ones 
 efcape ; but he was now paft bitternefs alfo. He quietly 
 turned to the hangman, as the great men bawled to him 
 from their faddles ; and his laft word was an intimation 
 that the crime which had been committed was one 
 deferving punilhment. 
 
 Of the extent to which Somerfet was direftly im- 
 plicated, Eliot appears to have entertained fome doubt ; 
 and in later years we fhall find him making generous 
 allowance for fome points in that favourite's adminiftra- 
 tion, wherein, more efpecially as to the difpofal of manors, 
 and malverfation and wafte of crown parks and lands, he 
 held him to have contrafled advantageoufly with the 
 favourite of the fucceeding reign.* For Over bury him- 
 felf he had a genuine pity. Reverting to him after many 
 years, he called him "an unfortumate piece of merit." 
 Keen was his fympathy for wrong in every cafe; and, 
 befides his other reafons for viewing leniently the defedls 
 in Overbury's character, he entertained an honeft admira- 
 tion of his writings. The circumftances of his death had 
 attracted much attention to them, and efpecially to fuch 
 portions as were known to have been compofed while he 
 lay in the Tower, gradually wafting, month by month, 
 under flow but deadly poifon. There were pafTages in 
 his poem called The Wife alleged to have been fent to 
 
 * See poft, proceedings during the fitting at Oxford in the firft parlia- 
 ment of Charles I. MS. at Port Eliot. See alfo Somerfet's own addrefs 
 to Charles, in the Archaologia, xvii. 288-9. 
 
30 IV. Events in London. booki. 
 
 /ST. 
 
 Somerfet while his crime was adtually in progrefs,* as a 
 warning againft the falfe Dueflathat enchained him; and 
 thefe were efpecial favourites with EHot. He continued 
 to quote and admire them long after the temporary 
 intereft infpired by their writer had pafled away ; and, as 
 the fafhion then prevailed which has been the fafliion of 
 every generation fince, to praife lavifhly the pail and 
 grudgingly the prefent, it deferves mention, as charadterif- 
 tic of Eliot's opennefs and fincerity of nature in literary 
 criticifm as in matters more important, that he never 
 indulged that habit or left it unrebuked. On one occa- 
 iion, after quoting Overbury's warning on the vanity 
 of mere carnal beauty, which he held to have been per- 
 fectly exprefled in the lines wherein it is fpoken of as 
 " but to two fenfes known," lefs lovely than a picture, 
 and lefs durable than life, yet outlafting, ever, "the 
 " love that 's built thereon," he went on to fay that 
 in his judgment none of the paft writers it was fo 
 much the cuftom to laud could more perfedtly have 
 exprefled that fancy, "all plainnefs, yet elegantly 
 "rendered." To many, he remarks, it would doubt- 
 lefs feem a wonder that he Ihould claim authority 
 for any fancy "being fo new, and born amongfl our- 
 " felves. I muft comfefs my ignorance " he manfully 
 continues "if it be fo. I efleem it not the lefs as 
 
 * In Harleian Mifcellany, i. Z19, is a life of ElTex by Codrington, in 
 which it is ftatqd that Overbury had compofed the poem expreflly to difluade 
 the Earl from the marriage. Upon its publication after Overbury's death, 
 in 1 6 14, it had a moft extraordinary run, no lefs than five editions having 
 been ifliied in that year alone, when it came forth with the title of A Wife, 
 noiu the Widoiv of Sir Thomas O'verburie, Beingamoji exquijite and Jingular 
 Poem of the Choyfe of a Wife. The pafTage to which Eliot refers with 
 admiration ftands thus in the original : 
 
 " And all the carnall beautie of my Wife 
 Is but ikin-deep, but to two fenfes knowne ; 
 Short even of piftures, fliorter liv'd than life, 
 And yet furvives the love that 's built thereon." 
 
 The edition I quote from is dated 16 14, and is " the fift impreffion printed 
 " by T. C. for Lawrence Filh, and are to be fold in Paule's Churchyard at 
 " the Tygre's head." 
 
C( 
 
 1590-1619. Eliot's Praife of Overbury. 31 
 
 "begotten in this age, and as it is our own I love 
 " it much the more. 'Tis truth which I do look for, 
 " with propriety of expreffion to endear it not only to 
 " the judgment but the afFeftions ; and making infinua- 
 " tion by the language for the fense and reafon of the 
 thing. Why then fhould we not value it to the truth 
 " and merit which it bears, is a wifdom paft the appre- 
 " henfion of my weaknefs. I muft declare my folly in 
 " that point."* A founder canon of criticifm it would 
 be difficult to lay down. 
 
 Eliot had alfo further reafon, when thofe words were 
 written, to linger on Overbury's memory. " He died 
 " where now I live." The writer, who had been the 
 youthful aflbciate of the fecond and more powerful 
 favourite, then himfelf lay a prifoner in the Tower, and 
 hence this touching addition to the praife. "As it is of my 
 "country, I honour it the more; and as it was the pro- 
 " duftion of this place, my admiration is the greater, that 
 " in fuch folitude and darknefs, where forrow and diftrac- 
 "tion moftly dwell, fuch happy entertainments and 
 "fuch minutes were enjoyed."* But a far nobler pre- 
 fence than Overbury's peopled that folitude and darknefs 
 when another vifion arofe, and connected itfelf, even as 
 
 * I take thefe paffages from the unpubliftied MS. of Eliot's Treatife of the 
 Monarchy of Man, preferved (Harleian Coll. 2228) in the Britifh Mufeum. 
 It was written, as we (hall fee, in the Tower ; and I now difcover, from 
 Eliot's letters at the time (to be hereafter quoted), that he intended it for 
 publication. 'With this view, it had been fent to Richard James, the 
 learned librarian of Sir Robert Cotton, who returned it with certain critical 
 fuggertions, fome of which Eliot appears. to have adopted, and afterwards to 
 have made a fair copy, only juft completed at the time of his death. This 
 copy paffed into the poffeffion of the Holies family (probably through 
 Denzil, an intimate friend and warm admirer of Eliot) ; and finally, from 
 the ownerlhip of that fourth Lord Clare who was created firft Duke of 
 Newcaftle, became (according to an entry in the MS diary of Lord Oxford's 
 librarian, Humphrey Wanley, under date 6th May 1723, where he records 
 that " my Lord fent in a MS. compil'd by Sir John Elliot ") part of the 
 Harleian Colleftion, transferred to the Britifli Mufeum. Here it lay com- 
 paratively quite unheeded, until the prefent writer defcribed it at confiderable 
 length, giving large extrafts from it, twenty-feven years ago. 
 
1 2 IV. Events in London. ^"""^ ^■ 
 
 ^ JET, 
 
 Overbury's did, with what Eliot perfonally witnefled in 
 this early time. 
 
 Two years after Somerfet's trial occurred the execu- 
 tion of Raleigh. It was the climax and confummation 
 of the bafenefs of James's reign. It was a Ihamelefs 
 facrifice of one of the greateft men of the Englifh race 
 to the rage and mortification of the power moft hated 
 by Englishmen. The idle aflertion has been made that 
 no diredt influence in it was exerted by Spain, but the fa6t 
 was notorious at the time and is now eftablifhed irrefra- 
 gably.* A Spanifh alliance had thus early been projefted, 
 and Raleigh himfelf, who ftruggled hard for life while 
 there was hope, warned the king with prophetic truth 
 that by his death that fcheme might be fatally interrupted. 
 But old Lord Northumberland refted the fole excufe of 
 the court, undeniably, on the foul and fordid one of 
 money. If Raleigh had returned with the El Dorado he 
 had promifed, no plea of piracy or plunder would have 
 been fet up againft him. But he returned an unfuccefsful 
 man, broken down with the mifery of having feen his fon 
 perifh by his fide. To the greedy longings of James and 
 his court, the El Dorado had again fhifted to Madrid. 
 Yet better would it be for the Spaniard, faid Northum- 
 berland, if this match is to go on, that they fliould 
 fend over a million to fave that man from death; and 
 better for the Englifli, if the match is to be laid afide, 
 that rather than kill him they fliould give a million to 
 Spain. But all interceflion was vain. Vain were the 
 entreaties of the good-humoured kindly queen, re- 
 membering how Raleigh was loved and admired by her 
 beloved and lofl: prince Henry; vain the dying prayer 
 
 *■ Sir Francis Cottington was now in Madrid, and letters from him, ftill 
 exifting in the ftate paper office, fliow with what eager delire, and inceffant 
 pertinacity, the Spaniards had called for Raleigh's death. There is a 
 clofing letter of his (MS) dated little more than a month after the execution 
 (i8th December, 1618), in which Cottington tells Buckingham that the 
 king of Spain is delighted with the juftice done on Raleigh, and will him- 
 felf write his royal thanks to the king of England. 
 
.S90-I6I9.. Lafi Bays of Raleigh. 33 
 
 of the Bifliop of Winchefter, who for one kft favor 
 begged " the life of an old gentleman, a great offender, 
 "who was yet dearly refpedted by the great queen." 
 The king was mercilefs ; Bacon and the judges had 
 their inftrudtions ;* and the " old gentleman," fummoned 
 but once before the king's-bench, on the morning of 
 the 28th October 16 r 8, and there eloquently pleading, 
 but pleading in vain,againfl: a fentence pafled fifteen years 
 before, that had fmce been fuperfeded, as all competent 
 lawyers knew, by a commiffion giving him the power 
 of life and death, was told that on the next morning he 
 muft die. 
 
 When he went back to the Tower, that day, a divine 
 was in attendance upon him, who faid afterwards that 
 he found him the moft fearlefs of death that was ever 
 known, and the moft refolute and confident ; yet with 
 reverenoe and confcience. " When I began to encourage 
 " him againft the fear of death, he made fo flight of it 
 " that I wondered at him. When I told him that the 
 " dear fervants of God, in better caufes than his, had 
 " flirunk back and trembled a little, he denied not, but 
 " gave God thanks he never feared death, and much lefs 
 " then ; for it was but an opinion and imagination ; and, 
 " as to the manner of death, that to others it might feem 
 " grievous, yet he had rather die fo than of a burning 
 " fever." He had been fubjedt, ever fmce his return and 
 betrayal by the villain Stukeley, his kinfman and the 
 vice-admiral of Devon, to alternations of fever and 
 ague ; and from one of thefe fits he arofe on the morning 
 of the 29th of Odtober. He fmoked his laft pipe ; 
 drank his laft cup of fack, with the remark that it was 
 good liquor if a man might ftay by it ; and faid that he 
 was ready. 
 
 * It is faid to have been Bacon's opinion, exprefled before Raleigh failed 
 {Somers's Tra3s, ii. 457), that his commiffion giving him power of life and 
 death as marftial, with the epithets dikcto et fideli, was equivalent to a par- 
 don under the great feal ; but Bacon certainly acquiefced in his execution. 
 VOL. I. D 
 
•J 4 IV. Events in London. ^°°^ ^■ 
 
 y' JET. 
 
 The fcaifold was erefted in Palace-yard ; and among 
 thofe looking on from an oppofite window were fome 
 lords well known to him, one of whom was the fame 
 Sir John Holies whom we have feen at a very different 
 execution, and who had fmce bought his barony for fix 
 thoufand pounds. That Eliot alfo was prefent, may be 
 inferred from a defcription he afterwards gave of the 
 fcene, carrying with it a ftrong prefumption that he muft 
 himfelf have witneffed it. He had indeed many incen- 
 tives to fuch a fpecial intereft as would have led him to 
 watch narrowly the tragedy to its end. He, as well as 
 Raleigh, was of an old Devonfiiire family ; both were 
 new refidents in Cornwall ; and through the Champer- 
 nownes, one of whom had given Raleigh birth, their 
 families were in a degree related. The man, too, who 
 had betrayed his kinfman and countryman, held the 
 office which Eliot at this time defired to fill ; and upon 
 the quickly following difgrace of that confcience-fl;ricken 
 tool of the court, Sir Lewis Stukeley, vice-admiral 
 of Devon, Eliot firft entered public life. Hardly a 
 doubt therefore needs be entertained, that on that cold 
 Odtober morning, Eliot's was among the throbbing 
 hearts that were agitated by the fcene he has defcribed, 
 in which, whether forrow or joy predominated. One man 
 only remained calm and unmoved. 
 
 Matchlefs indeed, fays Eliot, was his fortitude ! It 
 was a wonder and example which, if the ancient philofo- 
 phers could have witnefied, they had acknowledged as 
 the equal of their virtue. " All preparations that are 
 " terrible were prefented to his eye. Guards and officers 
 " were about him, the fcaffold and the executioner, the 
 " axe, and the more cruel expedtation of his enemies. 
 " And what did all this work on the refolution of our 
 " Raleigh ? Made it an impreffion of weak fear, or a 
 " difliradlion of his reafon ? Nothing fo httle did that 
 " great foul fuffer. He gathered only the more ftrength 
 " and advantage ; his mind became the clearer, as if 
 
i|9o-i6i9. ^liot at Raleigh's Execution. 35 
 
 " already it had been freed from the cloud and opprefllon 
 *' of the body ; and fuch was his unmoved courage and 
 " placid temper, that, while it changed the affeftion of 
 " the enemies who had come to witnefs it and turned 
 " their joy to forrow, it filled all men elfe with admira- 
 " tion and emotion, leaving with them only this doubt, 
 " whether death were more acceptable to him or he more 
 " welcome unto death."* 
 
 So indeed it was. The only anxiety he fhowed was, 
 that his ague fhould not return before the axe defcended, 
 and his trembling be miftaken for fear. He felt its 
 edge, and fmilingly calling it a fharp medicine, faid that 
 it was a phyfician for all difeafes. As he calmly uttered 
 what finally he had to fay, the lords left their window, 
 and crowded upon the fcaffold to hear him. He fpoke 
 once again after he laid his head upon the block ; the 
 executioner having paufed and hefitated. " Why doft 
 " thou not ftrike ? Strike, man ! " With thefe words 
 that famous Englifhman pafled away ; doing more harm 
 to Spain by his death than ever he did in his life, though 
 he had never ceafed to hate and to aflail her. For he left 
 the legacy of his own hate to diffufe itfelf among tens of 
 thoufands of his countrymen ; with not one of whom 
 did it work to more decifive ends than with him who 
 turned from Palace-yard with the feeling he has fo elo- 
 quently exprefTed, and to which his public life, that may 
 be faid to have dated from this day, bore the further 
 and more eloquent teftimony of a never-ceafing refiftance 
 to the foreign power which had triumphed over Raleigh. 
 
 Retribution fwiftly overtook his betrayer. The court 
 deferted Stukeley under the load of ignominy which 
 fell upon him, and Eliot became afterwards a candidate 
 for the vice-admiralty of Devon. 
 
 * Monarchy of Man. (MS.) Brit. Mus. Harleian Coll. Z2z8. 
 
3^ 
 
 I. Appointed to Office. 
 
 Book IT. 
 
 Ml. 
 
 BOOK SECOND. 
 
 SIR JOHN ELIOT: vice-admiral of DEVON. 
 
 161^-1622. Mr. 1^-33. 
 
 I. Appointed to Office. 
 II. Capture of Nutt the Pirate. 
 III. Before the Admiralty Court. 
 IV. Juftice WITH refpeif of Perjons. 
 V. In the Marfhalfea Prifon. 
 
 I. Appointed to Office. 
 
 LIOT was in his nine and twentieth year 
 when, after the appointment, in January 
 16 1 9, of the Marquefs of Buckingham 
 
 to be lord high admiral of England, 
 
 lis intercourfe with his old travelling companion was 
 renewed. Soon after the difgrace of Raleigh's kinfman 
 and betrayer, we find Eliot doing duty as vice-admiral 
 of Devon, and it was undoubtedly at that time, in May 
 16 1 8, he received the dignity of knighthood; but he 
 does not feem to have obtained the patent of his office 
 until the following year, when the new lord-admiral 
 made a diredi? grant of it, with more extended powers, 
 to his old and early aflbciate, with whom the intermediate 
 difcharge of' its duties, under what conditions does not 
 clearly appear, had again brought him into perfonal com- 
 munication. 
 
 A vice-admiral then reprefented, in his particular 
 diftridt, the chief of the naval adminiftration. He was 
 
i6t9-i«a3. ^ Vice- Admiral's Duties. 37 
 
 himfelf judge, as well as adminiftrator and captain. He 
 prefled men for the public fervice at fea. He boarded 
 pirate fliips; decided upon the lawfulnefs of prizes; 
 adjudged falvage claims for wrecks ; * and, in return for 
 his charges and exertions, divided his various feizures 
 and fines with the lord-admiral. A neceflary condition 
 of his patent, was the rendering account of fuch fines, 
 feizures, and other emoluments, at ftated times. In 
 thofe days, when every part of the channel was fwept by 
 pirates, and lofles and damage at fea were perpetual, not 
 a little of the perfonal fecurity of inhabitants of the 
 coaft, as well as all the fafety of commercial enterprife, 
 depended on the honefty, capacity, and fpirit, with which a 
 vice-admiral difcharged his office. It had, however, great 
 dangers in addition to great refponfibilities. The vice- 
 admiral took the rifk, and where a feizure was fuccefs- 
 fully contefted, upon him the lofs fell. It was at 
 that time far from unufual that a pirate fhould have 
 powerful friends, not merely in the foreign governments 
 under whofe flag he failed, but among the very courtiers 
 and favourites at Whitehall whom he had bribed and 
 corrupted. The fame pofition of wealth and indepen- 
 dence, however, which made Eliot one of the firft men 
 In his county, and had pointed him out for his office, 
 kept him above the temptations in exercife of its fundions 
 to which other vice-admirals had been known to fuc- 
 cumb ; and the power and fuccefs of his admiralty ad- 
 
 * Denzil Holies, in a letter to his brother-in-law Wentworth, adverts to 
 the many difputes that arofe on queftions of prizes and wrecks. He is- 
 ■writing fin iSzj) of the miferies confequent on Buckingham's infamous 
 adminiftration, and of the ruin of trade in the weft that had refulted from 
 the ill-advifed war with France. " Why ! we weftern lads refpeft not fuch 
 " things as thefe, fo we may have wars, and be in aftion ; for, as you fay, 
 " our prizes make amends for all. Yea, but the craft is in the catching, 
 " and, I afTure you, we are not over-burthened with the ftore of them, and 
 " thofe few that are, now and then a barque of fifti or canvas from our 
 " neighbours and late friends by alliance, the French. By that time my 
 " lord-admiral and his vice-admirals be fatisfied, and all other rights and 
 " wrongs be difcharged, aflender gleaning is left for the takers." Strafford 
 Letters, 1. 40. 
 
38 /. Appointed to Office. 
 
 Book II. 
 
 JET, 
 
 miniftration were not more attefted by the good opinion 
 of his friends, than by the number and pertinacity of his 
 enemies. His knighthood, as I have faid, dates alfo at 
 the time of the grant from Buckingham ;* and it will 
 perhaps amufe the reader if I fhow in what fpirit this 
 incident of the knighthood has been dealt with by the 
 clafs of writers already quoted. 
 
 Echard leads the way, connecting it, unfortu- 
 nately for his purpofe, with the affair of Moyle.f 
 After giving the falfe account, formerly quoted, of that 
 youthful anecdote, the archdeacon proceeds : " And now, 
 " fuppofing he had perfefted his revenge, he imme- 
 " diately haftened to London to addrefs himfelf to his 
 " fure friend the Duke of Buckingham, in order to get 
 " his pardon : which, to his great difappointment, he 
 "■ could not obtain without advancing a confiderable fum 
 " of money into the exchequer. But as foon as his 
 " pardon was fealed, and the money paid, he received 
 " intelligence that Mr. Moyle was unexpeftedly re- 
 " covered. Upon the happy aflurance of this, he again 
 " applied himfelf to the duke, to procure the repayment 
 " of the money ; but that being fwallowed up in the 
 " occafions of the court beyond any recovery, all that 
 " he could obtain in lieu of it was to be knighted : 
 " which, though it might have allayed the heat of his 
 " ambition, was fo heinoufly taken at the hands of a 
 " perfon once his equal, that after that he never ceafed 
 " to be his mortal enemy, but helped to blow up fuch a 
 ^' flame in the houfe as was never extinguilhed." This 
 narrative, foolifh upon the face of it, has found its be- 
 
 * An amufmg miftake was made by Mr. D'Ifraeli, and has been repeated 
 by fubfequent writers, in fuppofing that befides the vice-admiralty of 
 Devon Eliot held " the office of Chairman of the Committee of Stannaries," 
 as to which he had drawn up a learned report. There was no fuch office. 
 The report drawn up by Eliot was the fpeech, to be hereafter noticed, in 
 which he detailed to the third parliament the refults of a committee of 
 inquiry over which he had prefided as chairman, into the grievances of 
 the Stannaries, and the malpradlices of the vice-warden, Lord Mohun. 
 
 f Echard's HHiory, p. 4.24. 
 
1619-1623. The Rife of Buckingham. 39 
 
 lievers.* It is idle to wafte words on its refutation. At 
 the period when the aflaffin Eliot is thus alleged to have 
 hurried up to his friend the duke, to crave protedlion 
 from the laws he had outraged, the " aflaffin" was a boy, 
 and the " duke" George Villiers, with lefs power than his 
 pretended fuppliant. 
 
 Rapid and furprifing, however, had been the rife of 
 Villiers fince the day, when, the king's eye having fallen on 
 his young cupbearer with vifible manifeftations of delight, 
 it occurred to certain great lords, enemies of the reigning 
 favourite, that Somerfet might be beft difpofed of by 
 putting a new favourite in his place.f It feems certain that 
 this notion had arifen before the profecutionfor Overbury's 
 murder J was in hand, and that it rendered eafier the prp- 
 ceedingsconfequent on that event. The plan fucceeded f^r 
 beyond the defign or the defires of its pFojedtors. Well f / 
 might Lord Clarendon exclaim, " Never any man, in ( 
 " any age, nor, I believe, in any country or nation, rofe 
 " in fo fhort a time to fo much greatnefs of honour, 
 " fame, or fortune, upon no other advantage or recom- 
 " mendation than of the beauty or gracefulnefs of his per- 
 " fon." At firft Villiers had, indeed, no other ; but, while 
 it would be fcarcely juft to himfelf to deny him qualities 
 of fpirit and boldnefs that to fome extent accounted for 
 his fudden and fuccefsful grafp at power, it would be 
 
 * DTfraeli's Commentaries, ii. 270. 
 
 f Few things in the ftory of this profligate time are more amufing than 
 the attempts fubfequently made by a rival party of lords to fet up young 
 Monfon. " They made account to rife and recover their fortunes by fetting 
 " up this nevf idol, and took great pains in tricking and pranking him up ; 
 " befides wafliing his face every day vpith poflet-curd." Letters in S.P.O. 
 a8 Feb. 1617-8. " Young Monfon's friends faint not for all the firft foil, 
 " but fet him on ftill." 
 
 X I avail myfelf of the repetition of this name to add to Eliot's eulogy, 
 on a former page, an opinion I have fince confirmed by renewing my 
 acquaintance with Overbury's profe as well as verfe. Whatever his defefts 
 of charailer may have been, he adorned literature by many delicate writ- 
 ings. Some paflages in the Witty CharaHers appended to his poem of 
 khe Wife, have a rare and choice merit ; joining to infinite shrewdnels of 
 expreffion, a quiet genuine humour. 
 
40 /. Appointed to Office. 
 
 Book II. 
 
 jET. 
 
 unjuft to one like Eliot, who recognized in him a 
 fomething not unworthy the allegiance of an independ- 
 ent and fuperior mind, not to admit that Villiers had 
 really no lack of fuch merits in abundance as might 
 fairly challenge the admiration of a nature akin to his 
 own in its vivacity and quicknefs of impulfe, though of 
 that purer purpofe and more fuftained refolution which 
 might well find excufe for hoftility and anger, in later 
 years, at the ill employment and abufe of what earlier 
 feemed fo fair.* Not yet, however, does that later time 
 prefent itfelf ; and with the fucceflive fteps in the afcent 
 of Villiers's fortunes, thefe pages have no immediate con- 
 cern. The poor but handfome young cupbearer had 
 become a knight ; the knight had become a baron, a 
 privy councillor, a vifcount, a knight of the garter, an 
 earl, a marquis ; the marquis had quitted the place of 
 mafter of the horfe to become lord high admiral, f 
 
 * D'Ewes, then a keen-witted lad of 19, thus defcribes Villiers as he 
 faw him at a tilt-match with the prince and fome French lords, in the 
 yard over againft Whitehall. " I crowded in after them, and feeing the 
 " Marquis of Buckingham difcourfmg with two or three French moniieurs, 
 " I joined them, and moft earneftly viewed him for about half an hour's 
 " fpace at the leaft ; which I had opportunity the more eafily to accomplifh, 
 " becaufe he flood all the time he talked bareheaded. I faw everything in 
 " him full of delicacy and handfome features ; yea, his hands and face 
 " feemed to me, efpecially, effeminate and curious. It is pofTible he feemed 
 " the more accomplifhed, becaufe the French monfieurs that had invefted 
 " him, were very fwarthy, hard-favoured men. That he was afterwards an 
 " inflrument of much mifchief, both at home and abroad, is fo evident upon 
 " record as no man can deny ; yet this I do fuppofe proceeded rather from 
 " fome Jefuitical incendiaries about him, than from his own nature, which 
 " his very countenance promifed to be affable and gentle." 
 
 f The fubtle and feiTile bifhop Williams, thus far an unqueftioning fol- 
 lower of Buckingham, and having no wifh but that he fhould " be upon 
 " earth as his piety would one day make him in Heaven, an everlalling 
 " favoritt," was too acute and farfeeing not to difcern the dangers that lay 
 a-head when he grafped the admiralty ; and in a letter of warning he 16 
 exaftly anticipated what afterwards gave occafion for Eliot's bittereft far- 
 cafms, that the paffage is well worth quoting. He is pointing out the 
 advantages of the Lord Steward's office over others : " The Maiiter of the 
 " Horfe is butt a knight's place at the moft, and the Admirall's (in time of 
 " aftion) either to be imployed abroad perfonally, or to li've at home in that 
 " ignominy andjiiame, as your grace will never endure to doe. I will trouble 
 " your grace with a tale of Dante, the firft Italian poet of note, who beinge 
 
1619-1623. Elm at Plymouth. 41 
 
 and difpenfer of all offices and favours ; and now the 
 patent of dukedom was preparing, and that marvellous 
 fortune was faft rifing to its culminating point; when 
 the fate of Eliot of Port Eliot became again inter- 
 woven with it. It is during the abfence of the lord 
 high admiral in Spain, whither he went in defiance 
 of popular feeling to play the game of the court, and 
 from which he returned in defiance of the court to play 
 a popular game more hazardous and which indiredly led 
 to his deftrudlion, that the vice-admiral of Devon enters 
 on the public fcene. 
 
 II. Capture of Nutt the Pirate. 1623. 
 
 Early in April 1623 Eliot was in communication 
 with the privy-council. It feems to have been his firft 
 exprefs employment under their direftion. He has been 
 bufy preffing feamen for the king's fervice, and has had 
 ill-fuccefs in the work. Following inftructions fent down 
 by the commiffioners of the navy (of which a Mr. 
 James Bagg, of whom much has hereafter to be faid, 
 was the bearer), he had iflued precepts to the conftables 
 in the weftern parts of the fouth of Devon to fummon 
 all the mariners and feafaring men within their precindts 
 to be at fuch places as beft forted with the eafe of the 
 country and the promptitude of the difpatch. Their 
 time was fo ftraitened however that his report could not 
 {how refults at all fatisfadbory. The appearances to 
 the fummons were fmall. A large proportion of mari- 
 
 " a great and wealthy man in Florence, and demaunded his opinion who 
 " fhould be fent ambaffador to the Pope, made this anfwer, that he knew not 
 
 " who. 
 
 " Si jo vo chi fta, fi jo fto chi va. 
 
 " ' If I goe, I know not who ftiall ftay at home ; if I ftaye, I know not who 
 " ' can performe this imployment.' Yeat your grace ftayeing at home, in 
 " favour and greatnefs with his M"', maye by your defigne and direc- 
 " tion foe difpofe of the Admirall, as to enjoy the gkrye 'with' running the 
 " hazard of his perfonal imployment." 
 
42 //. Capture of Nutt the Pirate: 
 
 Book II. 
 
 ^T. 
 
 ners had lately gone for Newfoundland. Others had 
 fecretly withdrawn themfelves on rumour of the intended 
 order reaching them ; for intelligence of the letters of 
 the council had been fufFered to get abroad almoft a 
 fortnight before they were delivered. The refult was 
 that in Eliot's belief there was not a tenth man prefent ; 
 and out of thefe there had been fuch fmall choice, that 
 any defed; of sufficiency was not to be imputed to his 
 negled, but to the inadequate time afforded. 
 
 Eliot appears to have ad:ed with much caution. He 
 called to his affiftance a man than whom none bore greater 
 authority in the weft, who had fat in two of Elizabeth's 
 and in all James's parliaments, and whofe eloquence 
 had been exerted with effeft on the popular fide. " I 
 "had the affiftance of Sir Edward Giles, and with 
 "his help have preft between this" (he is writing from 
 Plymouth) " and Dartmouth eighty men, the ableft we 
 " could meet, and not the worft, I prefume, that have 
 " been fo entertain' d, for whom we will rather fuffer the 
 " complaints of the countrie than your honours' cenfure." 
 He went on to fay that he had learnt from their mefTen- 
 ger, Mr. Bagg, that Mr. Drake had undertaken to raife 
 the reft of the number required in the eaftern parts of 
 that fouthern divifion ; but as yet he had neither been 
 afforded diredt advertifement, or a meeting therein, 
 as perhaps the time could not aptly grant fuch in the 
 fuddennefs impofed ; yet he doubted not all would 
 be complete, and that the men would be as good as 
 many. 
 
 The clofe of his letter had reference to failures of duty 
 on the part of perfons employed as well as fummoned. 
 He had been informed, fmce the " preft," of divers, 
 conftables and others, that had committed negleds ; and 
 of fome that in contempt of the command, after warn- 
 ing, had drawn their fhips and men out of the harbours. 
 Againft fuch, as foon as he could meet with them, he 
 fliould effedually take proceeding. For thofe others 
 
1619-1623. Pirates and their Patrons. 43 
 
 who had abfented themfelves in voyages, he fliould crave 
 the favour to be once again commanded what courfe to 
 hold at their return. As, in contempt of his majefty's 
 proclamation and their lordlhips' fpecial order, to have 
 thus departed deliberately and " of purpofe," was an 
 excefs of boldnefs, fo fliould their punifliment be fome- 
 thing extraordinary to make them an example. " I fhall 
 " omit nothing," concluded Eliot, " of my dutie in any 
 " of your lordfhips' fervices ; and in this firft imploi- 
 " ment, I take it as a happinefs that your honours have * 
 " caft an eye on me, from whence, if it refledt your ex- 
 " pe<5tations cleere as my defires, I ihall efteeme my vowes 
 "heard and granted; by which I doe remain your 
 " lordfhips' thrice humble fervante."* 
 
 There was much neverthelefs in this communication, 
 efpecially in its reference to the departures for New- 
 foundland, and in its clofing intimation of his defigns 
 againft defaulters, that muft have carried, to fome mem- 
 bers of the council, a meaning lefs satisfadlory than it 
 was intended to bear, or than it did convey to the 
 reft. It pointed at the extraordinary influence ex- 
 erted at this time, to the prejudice of the king's fervice, 
 by a man who had placed himfelf above the laws, and 
 who was fufpedled to derive, through the intereft or in- 
 fluence of privy councillors fworn to adminifter them, 
 the very opportunities by which he defied them. No 
 one at all converfant with this period of our hiftory can 
 have failed to be ftruck by the extraordinary lawleflhefs 
 that prevailed at fea. Our coafts for the moft part were 
 without watch or defence. The diflblute extravagance 
 of the court took no heed of the fubject's claim to pro- 
 tedtion ; and if a needy lord could fill his fpendthrift 
 purfe for a day by help of a freebooter of the fea, the 
 honeft merchant was helplefs againft the plunderer and 
 pirate. 
 
 * MS. S. P. O. g April 1623. Eliot to "the Rt. Hon. ye Lords of 
 " his Ma"«'» moft hon"^ Privie Counsell." 
 
44 II- Capture of Nutt the Pirate. 
 
 Book II. 
 
 mt:. 
 
 As a confequence^ the coafts fwarmed with fuch ; but 
 of all who had fo obtained infamous diftindtion, the 
 moft notorious was Captain John Nutt. This man had 
 poflefTed himfelf of feveral pirate Ihips, and no point 
 along the Irifh or weftern fea was fafe from his attacks. 
 His career had commenced as gunner of a fhip in 
 Dartmouth harbour bound for Newfoundland ; on arriv- 
 ing at which place he had coUedted a crew of worthies of 
 as defperate fortunes and purpofes as his own^ feized a 
 French fhip with which he fubfequently captured an 
 Englifh fhip from Plymouth of larger tonnage, added 
 afterwards to his force a Fleming of near two hundred 
 tons, and having enriched himfelf by ravaging the fifh- 
 ing craft in the Newfoundland feas, had returned, too 
 ftrong for capture, to the Englifh coafls. This was the 
 third year of his piracies. He tempted men from all the 
 fervices by higher wages and more certain pay. It was 
 by his help that the king's feamen, fo eagerly waited 
 for by Eliot in Plymouth-roads, had meanwhile fafely 
 pafTed over to the fhores of Newfoundland. Mayors 
 and municipalities of feaports and harbours, in both 
 channels, poured in upon the council complaints of his 
 outrages; of his laughing from his fafe retreat at Torbay 
 at the attempts to make feizure of him; of his impudently 
 wearing the very clothes of the men he had plundered ; 
 of his bragging of the pardons he had received. It was 
 too true. Copies of more than one pardon, on condition 
 of his furrender within certain dates (of which the effed: 
 would have been to leave him unmolefled in pofTefTion of 
 his plunder), had reached the hands of Eliot at the very 
 moment when that refolute vice-admiral had been prefTmg 
 him fo hard, that while the pardon alone prevented his cap- 
 ture, his purfuer had yet fo prefTed him to flight that he 
 was beyond its reach within the necefTary limit of time 
 fpecified. It appears to have been to Eliot altogether 
 due that the interceffion for fo worthy an object by fun- 
 dry of the courtiers and privy councillors, had thus far 
 
i6i9-i6z3. Eliot at Torhay. 45 
 
 failed, and that pardons twice obtained for the pirate 
 Nutt had hitherto been rendered ufelefs. 
 
 Shortly after his commiffion placing him in dired: 
 communication with the council, the proceedings of this 
 man were again brought under Eliot's attention. He 
 had returned from fea and once more put into Torbay. 
 Thither immediately went Eliot, and made what attempt 
 he could to effedt his capture. He watched the perfons 
 with whom he held correfpondence, obtained accefs to his 
 places of refort, and omitted no opportunity that offered 
 any chance or advantage of furprife. But the pirate was 
 too ftrong for the vice-admiral. Riding in a place that 
 could not be commanded, and landing in great force 
 when at any time he came afhore, he laughed at 
 the endeavours to feize him. The complaints againft 
 him were meanwhile of fuch a character that Eliot fent 
 up the particulars to the council-table, and defired 
 advice and inftruftions. No anlwer was returned to 
 that letter. 
 
 . At this very time, however, petitions from perfons 
 particularly aggrieved by Nutt's proceedings were 
 carried to the king himfelf, and by him appear to have 
 been handed to Conway, with a view to communication 
 with Eliot. The fecretary wrote accordingly ; and though 
 his letter, dated the 12th June, did not reach Eliot 
 until, being ftill left without reply from the council, he 
 had adted on his own view of the cafe, its fubftance may 
 be ftated here; to fhow both the urgent neceffity that had 
 arifen, and the kind of offender with whom Eliot had to 
 deal. 
 
 By an information taken in Ireland, Conway faid, it 
 appeared that Captain Nutt much infefted the Irifh 
 and weftern coaft, and had committed many infolent 
 and brutifti piracies, to the difturbance of quiet trade 
 and the great prejudice of his majefty's fubjedbs. Further 
 it feemed, that fome hopes having been held out to him 
 of a pardon from his majefty (his majefty had already 
 
4-6 //. Capture of Nutt the Pirate. 
 
 Book II. 
 
 with his own hand subfcribed two pardons !), the pirate 
 had been lately in the habit of making his retreat at 
 Torbay, near which he had a wife and children, and of 
 occafionally landing there. This information therefore 
 was given, to afford opportunity to the vice-admiral of 
 Devon to do a fervice very beneficial to the country, and 
 acceptable to the king; whofe exprefs pleafure and com- 
 mandment it was that he ftiould employ his befh dili- 
 gence, care, and difcretion to apprehend the pirate as he 
 came on land. For the better effefting whereof, it would 
 be very important that fuch direftions as the vice-ad- 
 miral might give in the matter fhould be carried with as 
 much fecrecy as pofTible ; that he fhould inform himfelf 
 what places and companies Nutt was like to refort unto, 
 either to treat refpedting his pardon, or in jollity to drink 
 and be merry ; and that fpecial order fhould be iffued 
 along the coaft, without naming Nutt, for the careful 
 watch of fuch feafaring men as fhould come on fhore, and 
 the flay of any that were fiifpicious. Thefe inftrudtions, 
 and what elfe he might himfelf, in his difcretion, expe- 
 rience, and knowledge of the country, find expedient 
 to be done in the affair, Conway concluded by com- 
 mending to Eliot's careful direcflion and efFedtual 
 purfuit, defiring account to be made to his majefty.* 
 
 But before this reached the vice-admiral, as I have faid, 
 the tafk it impofed, with fo evident a fenfe of its difficulty, 
 he had already, unafTifled, perfectly achieved. A chance 
 for succefs had unexpeftedly prefented itfelf. A copy of 
 the lafl pardon granted to Nutt having been brought 
 under the vice-admiral's notice, he obferved, upon ex- 
 amination, that a queflion might fairly be made whether 
 it did not flill poffefs efficacy. In reality Eliot feems to 
 have known that it would not hold in the admiralty- 
 court. It was a pardon for all piracies committed until 
 
 * MS. S. p. O. 12 June 1623. Conway to "Sir John Eliott, 
 " Vice-Admirall of Devon, at Plinaouth. Sent by poft at 8 a clocke in 
 " the morninge." 
 
1619-1623. Artifice of the Vice-Admiral. 47 
 
 the I ft of February, but with extenfion of time for notice 
 to the pirate that might make it vahd until the i ft of May ; 
 it was now, however, near the clofe of that month, and 
 there was hardly a poflibility of any queftion as to notice 
 being fuccefsfully raifed ; but if Nutt could be induced to 
 believe that it had force, there was fufficient ground for 
 q^ueftion to juftify Eliot before the council for having 
 appeared to adt alfo under that impreffion ; and, the man 
 once taken, the amount of public fervice done might 
 anfwer sufficiently to objeftions fubfequently raifed. 
 Eliot caufed intimation accordingly to be conveyed to 
 Nutt through one of his officers, and the refult fhowed 
 that he had not been mifmformed of the pirate captain's 
 difpofition to fall into fuch a fnare. Nutt argued the 
 matter doubtlefs from his own point of view, and be- 
 lieved that Eliot would be more eager to deal with him 
 for a valid pardon, when he would himfelf fhare the ad- 
 vantage of the fine with the lord-admiral, than to play 
 the lofing game of merely ferving the public by entrap- 
 ping him into a furrender, and vifiting upon him the 
 penalties of law. 
 
 In the latter end of May, accordingly, Nutt wrote to 
 him from Torbay, " being then aboard his man-of-war 
 *' there." In this letter he fpoke of his having had commu- 
 nication with Eliot's deputy, Mr. Randall ; of his willing- 
 nefs to pay 300/. if the pardon ftiould be forthcoming ; and 
 of his defire to come afhore for the purpofe of treating, 
 without expofure to the chance of arreft. Eliot at once, 
 on receiving it, rode from Plymouth to Torbay, "in- 
 " tending by fome conference to perfuade him to come 
 " in and fubmit:" but on hearing of the vice-admiral's 
 prefence, the pirate's heart feems to have failed him, for 
 by the meflenger who carried Eliot's meflage he fent 
 back reply, " that he would willingly have come aftiore, 
 " but his company would not fufFer him, and therefore 
 " defired to be excufed." 
 
 Eliot had now to confider whether the game was 
 
48 11. Capture of Nutt the Firate. ^"'"^JJ- 
 
 worth the candle; whether it befitted him to be lefs 
 wary than the pirate of perfonal danger ; and if it was 
 wife to rifk, amid a crew of outlaws, the chance of a dif- 
 covery of the artifice he meant to pradtife. But he 
 refolved to encounter the hazard, and he went on board 
 Nutt's fhip on the 6th of June. He then faw and fpoke 
 with him for the firft time. 
 
 The firft thing he became aware of, on reaching his 
 deck, was that Nutt, even while the negotiations for his 
 fubmiffion were in progrefs, had made prize of an Eng- 
 lifh merchantman, a Colchefter ihip with a cargo of fugar 
 and timber ; and one of Eliot's firft remarks appears to 
 have been that this capture ftiould at once be given up, 
 at which Nutt betrayed fo much fudden indignation as 
 to place the vice-admiral more decidedly on his guard. 
 It was, thenceforward, craft againft force for all the. reft 
 of the interview; and craft won the day. The three 
 hundred pounds originally promifed were enlarged to 
 five hundred. Nutt was to permit Eliot's officers to 
 feize, before he furrendered, and in earneft of the 
 further fines to be paid, fix packs of calvefkins. The 
 various terms were fettled in the pirate's cabin, over 
 a flafk of wine ; and when it was afterwards reproached 
 to Eliot, that, upon the captain of the Colchefter 
 ftiip kneeling to him in an agony of entreaty for his 
 interference to fave what he valued more than life, he 
 had difregarded the petition, Eliot made anfwer very 
 much to the point. " It is true, fuch a one came to the 
 " cabin-door, where the vice-admiral was drinking with 
 " Nutt, and petitioned for his fhip and goods when it 
 " was in no one's power to do him any fervice ; neither 
 " dared Sir John Eliot earneftly importune Nutt, at that 
 " time, on his behalf; for at his firft coming aboard, 
 " when he underftood that the captured fiiip was 
 " Englifh, ufing fome words fpecial to perfuade Nutt 
 " to quit her, in refpedt the king had now granted him 
 " a pardon, Nutt prefently fell into a paflion, and vowed 
 
i6i9-i6z3. q-he Pirate Captain's Surrender. 49 
 
 " not to accept the pardon but upon condition to enjoy 
 " what he had. Sir John had not even fpoken with 
 " the man that knelt." As to what Sir John meant to 
 do when he fhould have left the fliip, and Nutt had 
 completed his adt of furrender, it will be feen fliortly 
 that his determination was already taken. 
 
 The pirate himfelf had fome fufpicion of this, and made 
 an effort, before his furrender, to get the vice-admiral 
 once again into his power. When he was at the very 
 mouth of the harbour, ready to come in, he wrote to 
 Eliot to fay that warnings had been conveyed to him 
 that his pardon was naught, and he fhould expofe him- 
 felf to arrefl if he came on fhore ; and he had therefore 
 refolved not to venture, unlefs the vice-admiral would 
 firfl come on board. But Sir John, " knowing the 
 " danger of the firfl adventure he had made going 
 " aboard him in Torbay with a pardon out of date, and 
 " not willing to truft himfelf again with people of that 
 " condition, in a letter made an excufe for his not 
 " coming; and therein fought to give fome afTurances to 
 " difTolve his doubts, wherewith he prevailed, and fo got 
 " him in." * Placing him at once under temporary arrefl, 
 and taking fleps to fecure his fhip and her prize, Eliot 
 again wrote to the council. 
 
 Since his lafl unanfwered difpatch refpedting Captain 
 Nutt, he faid, the latter had, upon knowledge of a par- 
 don which his majefly had been pleafed to grant him, 
 fubmitted and brought his fhip into Dartmouth; whereof 
 he prefumed to give their lordfhips intelligence with a 
 view to fuch diredtions as they might impofe for his 
 majefly's fervice. The pardon was of the ifl of 
 February, but it bore extenfion " to fome liberty for 
 " notice which it feems he met not until now." In other 
 words, though out of date, the pardon might be fufl:ained 
 
 * The various fafts ftated in the text are taken from the original records 
 of the fubfequent examinations in ^the admiralty-court. MS. S. P. O. 
 24 July 1623. 
 
 VOL. I. E 
 
50 //. Capture of Nutt the Pirate. 
 
 Book It 
 
 -ffiT. 
 
 on the ground of time for notice of furrender, as to which 
 opportunity had only now been given. But EHot went 
 on to fhow how ill-deferved any fuch grace would be. 
 There were three months only prefixt (he means that 
 the condition of pardon was for surrender within three 
 months of its date) ; the time had expired ; and fince 
 that time, the man had committed many depredations 
 and fpoils. In one week he had taken at leafl: ten or 
 twelve fhips on the weftern coaft ; and only on the 
 preceding Thurfday or Friday, while thefe matters were 
 in progrefs, he had furprifed a Colchefter brig juft 
 returned from the Iflands laden with woods and fugars, 
 which ftill he detained as prize.* 
 
 Eliot's objedt in this letter appears clearly, when ftated 
 in connexion with the terms of the pardon. *Upon thofe 
 terms, it will hereafter be feen, and upon the fad; of 
 Nutt's pofTeffion of the Colchefter prize, turned confe- 
 quences that were ferious to the vice-admiral. Nutt 
 was to pay five hundred pounds as a fine to the lord- 
 admiral on the pardon being confirmed to him ; and 
 for payment of this fine (which Eliot by the terms of his 
 patent would equally ftiare), immediate fecurity in goods, 
 if not the money itfelf, was to be taken by the admiralty. 
 It was for the council therefore to decide whether the 
 pardon Ihould be treated as bona fide, the fine exadted, 
 and the man exempted from further confequences ; or 
 whether he fhould be held to have forfeited any aflumed 
 rights under it, and be made refponfible for his mifdeeds 
 in purfe and perfon. Of the view taken by the vice- 
 admiral himfelf, however adverfe to his own interefts, 
 the clofing paflages of his letter muft have left their 
 lordfhips little doubt. 
 
 " In thefe things," he wrote, " I am doubtfull what to 
 " doe without fome efpeciall order. Thefe infolencies 
 " which he has heer acted, and foe latelie, upon our owne 
 
 * MS. S. P. O., Eliot to the Council., Dartmouth, lo June 1623, 
 
1619-1623. Eliofs Energy and Humanity. 51 
 
 33 
 
 " merchants, makes me thinke his majeftle will refent' 
 " them as his owne wrongs, and not worthie of his par- 
 " don. The reputation of that grante is foe large, as I 
 " dare not difpute his majeftie's intention ; but, as 
 "fomething too high, I muft flie to your lordfhips' 
 " favors for conftruftion, which I moft humbly crave. 
 " My defires ftrive to avoid the danger of an ignorance; 
 " and as they would not conteft his majeftie's pleafure, 
 " soe I [ truft ] to be held free of negledt in my 
 " place. The leaft word from your honours ihall 
 " breake this difficultie, and levell me a waie to the 
 " fervice I profefs ; which I ftiall follow with my utmoft 
 " diligence, and in all thinges ftudie to be knowen his 
 " majeftie's and your honours' thrice humble fervante, 
 " J. Eliot;" A hard fervice, then, for an honourable 
 man to follow ! in which, the neceflary force for 
 protedtion of the fubjedt being withheld, craft had to be 
 employed in its place ; and officers of ftate, in mere 
 deference to its fupreme authority, had to cover with 
 elaborate forms and profeffions of refpedtful courtefy, 
 their indignation at pardons extended to public rogues 
 and plunderers. 
 
 We are ftill, however, only on the threshold of the 
 ftrange ftory of the capture of Captain Nutt. 
 
 While the affair of the capture was in progrefs, and 
 Eliot remained watching Nutt in Dartmouth, intelli- 
 gence was brought to him which called on the fudden for 
 official interference, and fliowed, in a charafteriftic way, 
 his energy and his humanity. One of his officers informed 
 him of a plot laid between the fkipper of a large Ham- 
 burgh ftiip laden with corn, and a Dutch crew that, after 
 difmifTal from a ftiip of war, had come from Plymouth, 
 by which the Hamburgh ftiip had been furprifed and 
 taken while ftie lay at anchor in Torbay ; " from 
 " whence," as Eliot afterwards wrote to fecretary Con- 
 way, " they were going with her to feeke fome other 
 " purchafe, and foe to have furniftit her for a man of 
 
52 11. Capture of Nutt the Pirate. 
 
 Book II. 
 
 are. 
 
 " warr." No fooner, however, had the tranfaftion been 
 difclofed to the vice-admiral, than, as he wrote to the 
 privy-council, " weighinge the lewdnefs of fuch adions, 
 " how much they tend to the publicke prejudice," he 
 manned forth himfelf a little barque with thirty or forty 
 men, attacked the plotters in pofTeflion of their prey, 
 recovered and brought the ihip into Dartmouth, and 
 packed oiF the delinquents to prifon. Both Intent and 
 plot were confefled on their examination, to which he 
 had called in aid the mayor of Dartmouth and the com- 
 miffioners of the cuftoms ; and the fkipper proving as 
 great a delinquent as any, if indeed not worfe than the 
 reft, he had fent him to gaol too. 
 
 A ftriking pafTage occurs in the account of the exploit 
 which Eliot appears immediately to have tranfmitted to 
 the council. After mentioning his retention of the prize 
 of which he had thus obtained pofTeflion, he continues : 
 " The corne beginns to heate, and will impaire much in 
 " a little ftaie ; soe that ther muft be fome prefent courfe 
 " taken to prevent the lofs that otherwife will follow. It 
 " is a good quantitie, and might be a great helpe to this 
 " countrie, which now fuffers a hard neceflitie and dearth, 
 " and labours much with the miferies of the poore. But 
 " therein I dare doe nothinge without your lordfhips' 
 " order, which in a matter foe important I hope your 
 " lordfhips will be pleaf'd to honor me with. The 
 " praiers of the poore will therein ever follow your 
 " lordfhips ; and the countrie fhal be bownd to acknow- 
 " ledge foe large a benifitt and fupplie." * 
 
 The letter clofes with affurance, on the other hand, 
 that, upon the leaft word from their honours, he would 
 fee the cargo carefully difpofed for the beft advantage of 
 my lord-admiral, or whom it fhould concern ; " and 
 " the provenewe to be jufllie accounted, which will here- 
 
 * MS. S. p. O. Eliot to the Council. Dartmouth, iz June 1623. 
 Endorfed " About a (hip feafed laden with rye, coram the V. A. the M. of 
 " Dart, the Com' of the Cuftoms." 
 
i6i9-i6^3. Diifficult and Thanklefs Service. 53 
 
 " after leflen much if it be not forthwith taken." He 
 wrote at the fame time to fecretary Conway, informing 
 him of the details of the occurrence ; and urging that in 
 thefe things the want of a fpecial commiflion difabled 
 many fuch occafions from being turned to account, where 
 refiftance was at all to be apprehended. " Becaufe I 
 " have no warrant ex-officio to hazard anie man's life, 
 " and I fliould be loath of myfelf to make an adventure 
 " upon the lawes." In what levelled with his power, he 
 added, no man fhould more faithfully, none more readily, 
 follow the fervice of his fovereign. He could fue to be 
 employed, and, if it were not a fault, therein be am- 
 bitious ; but his abilities were far fhort of fuch defert, 
 and he would not, under his weaknefs, have his majefty's 
 fervice fuifer. Yet in what Mr. Secretary fhould think 
 him worthy to be commanded, he would ftrive to exprefs 
 himfelf Conway's " moft affeftionate fervant." * 
 
 The defire expreffed in' thefe letters for the people's 
 help and benefit, is manifeft in all Eliot's official notices. 
 He appears to be on every occafion, alfo, fcrupuloufly on 
 his guard to keep the nature of his commiffion diftindtly 
 before the council, and, by pointing out the limits of his 
 powers, by adverting always to the claim of the lord- 
 admiral, and by claiming nothing in the way of profit 
 to himfelf that does not ftridly fall within his patent, to 
 avert the danger of perfonal imputations. It is not the 
 lefs neceffary to keep this in mind becaufe he will be 
 found to have failed in his objedt, fo important to an 
 honourable man in an age of vice and difhonour. 
 
 As to Nutt, though the lords of the council ftill con- 
 tinued filentjthey were not fuffered to remain at reft, for on 
 the very day, the 12th of June, when Conway had written 
 to Eliot at the king's defire, the mayor of Dartmouth, 
 Mr. Thomas Spurwaie, was addrefling my lords upon the 
 
 * MS. S. p. O. Eliot to " the Rt. Hon. Sir Edward Conway, K*, 
 " Secretarie to his Ma"% att Court." Plymouth, i6 June 1623. 
 
54 II- Capture of Nutt the Pirate. ^°°^jl; 
 
 fame fubjed. The recent return of Nutt from New- 
 foundland had affefted the diftrift as with a fudden panic, 
 and on all fides they were ftretching out hands for help, 
 when the help of Eliot fo unexpeftedly came. The 
 worthy mayor appears to have been filled with admira- 
 tion of the fubtlety and fuccefs, and " the wife and dif- 
 " creet carriage of our Sir John Eliot, vice-admiral," in 
 having at laft brought to bay a man who had committed 
 fuch barbarous ravages and cruelties ; and not lefs with 
 wonder at the circumftance of certain private gentlemen 
 having been folicitous to obtain pardon for him. Mr. 
 Spurwaie defcribes the lafl: robbery he had committed 
 on the fliip of Colchefter "which came from the Wefter 
 " Ilandes loaden with fugar and woade to the value of 
 " 4000/. or there aboute," and his cruelties to her crew. 
 He had literally fl;ripped them of their clothing, which 
 his own men put on ; and in this ftate Nutt and his fel- 
 lows had had the infolence to parade themfelves on the 
 quay fince they came in, counting on his majefliy's con- 
 firmation of the pardon, " boaftinge of its large extente, 
 " and not afhamed to weare the clothes of thofe poore 
 " men in there fighte, from whom they tooke them few 
 " dales fince ; a parte fo audatious and barbarous as was 
 " never hard or feene in our nation. My goode lordes," 
 the excellent magifl:rate continues, " feeinge thefe cruelties 
 " and uniufl: curfes, I have adventured to putt aborde 
 " thefe poor men, in pofeffion of there goodes, and have 
 " taken a fliore the fayles in my keepinge for the better 
 "faftie, waytinge whether your lordfliips will further 
 " command me herein." The good Mr. Spurwaie thinks 
 it right further to add to this account an admiring men- 
 tion of the good fervices alfo done by the vice-admiral 
 In the matter of a Hamburgh fliip,* captured by a crew 
 of rafcally Flemings, and retaken without bloodfhed by 
 the promptitude and gallantry of Sir John Eliot. And 
 
 * Ante, p. 51, 
 
1619-1623. Letter to Secretary Conway. ^^ 
 
 having counted it his duty fo to advertise my lords, he 
 prays God to increafe them " with all honour in this 
 "liiFe and in the lyfe to com eternal happinefs."* 
 
 This letter was delivered to my lords on the 1 5th of 
 June, by which day, though Eliot was ftill without reply 
 from the council to his own difpatches, he had received 
 the letter we havefeen addrefled to him by Mr. Secretary 
 Conway on the 1 2th of June ; and to this he had replied 
 on the 1 6th of that month. After ftating his wilhngnefs 
 to expofe himfelf to all hazards and travail for the hap- 
 pinefs of giving fatisfaction to his prince or his country, 
 he tells Conway of the proceedings taken as to Nutt be- 
 fore his letter was written ; of his having advertifed the 
 council-table of the fears of the country, and defired 
 advice from them; of fuch advice not having been 
 vouchfafed ; whereupon, while waiting their anfwer, and 
 having no hope by open attempts to efFed anything 
 upon Nutt, he had praftifed another way to allure him 
 whom he could not compel, and upon hope of favour 
 to make him ftoop ; to which end he had gotten an exem- 
 plification of an old pardon which his majefty formerly 
 granted, and with that, and fome perfuafions, had prevail'd 
 upon him and brought him to fubmit and to bring his 
 fhip into Dartmouth-port. The refult had been to free 
 the trade, which his lying on that coaft had fo much im- 
 peacht ; and to give no fmall content to all the merchants, 
 
 * The letter (MS. S. P. O.), which had been fent by meffenger, marked 
 " haft haft give thefe with fpeede," bears not only the endorfement 
 " Reed, at London the 1 5th at 4 afternoone," but alfo a note very curioufly 
 ftiowing the route taken by the meffenger, and the fucceffive dates and ftages 
 of his journey. 
 
 " Hartford bridge part 5 in the morning 
 
 " Stroud att 3 in the afternoone 
 
 " Exceter at 10 in the night the 13th of June 
 
 " Att Honyton about z in the morninge June 14th 
 
 " At Crewkerne paft 7 in the morninge June 14th 
 
 " At Sherborne at 10 in the morninge 14th 
 
 " At Shersbry paft xii. of the kloke at noone the fame day 
 
 " At Sarrem paft iij. in th the fame day 
 
 " Andever paft viij. of clocke in the xiiij. daye of June." •• 
 
56 //, Capture of Nutt the Pirate. 
 
 Book II. 
 
 who as much feared his going to Newfoundland as the 
 evils they fuffered from him at home. Having fecured 
 him thus, Eliot proceeds to fay, he inftantly again gave 
 intelligence to the lords of the council, fent them a true 
 relation of what had pafTed, and importuned them to 
 give him needful direction. He enclofes to Conway a 
 copy of this letter, which already has been quoted ; and 
 then acquaints him that Nutf s fhip remains in fafety 
 without danger of getting forth, having her fails all taken 
 from her, and a guard on board her which he had 
 placed : but for the perfons of the men, he had thought 
 it beft not to touch them, until he fhould be informed of 
 the extent of his majefty's intentions in the pardon, 
 whereof he dared not be interpreter.* 
 
 To this a fhort but emphatic reply t was fent by 
 Conway from Wanftead on the 20th, to the efFedt 
 that without having regard to any pardon he was to 
 apprehend and put in fafe cuftody Nutt and his 
 accomplices, and was further (if not already done) to 
 fend up Nutt himfelf to the lords of the council. He 
 was to feize, and place in fure hands, the pirate's fhip ; and 
 all the goods ("he being held to be verie rich") were to 
 be kept " without embezelling." He was alfo to enquire 
 of, and keep until further orders, all goods brought on 
 ftiore ; in what hands foever the fame fhould be found. l|; 
 And thefe infl:ru(5tions were accompanied by a letter in 
 which the higheft commendations were bellowed on Eliot 
 for his fervice ; and wherein it was intimated to him that 
 when the time fhould ferve for his attendance at court 
 to render perfonal account thereof, he would be admitted 
 to the favour of kiffing the king's hand. 
 
 * MS. S. P. O. Eliot to Conway, i6 June 1623. 
 
 f Conway could not afterwards pretend not to have been ftilly acquainted 
 with the circumftances of the capture at the time when 'this letter of 
 inftruftions was fent, for the copy bears the endorfement " acknowledgment 
 "of the receipt of his of the i6th" in the Conway letter book (MS.) 
 S. P. O. 
 
 X S. p. O. Conway to Eliot. This letter was to have been fent "by 
 " Gegh the meffenger ; " but it was ultimately " fent poft at noon." 
 
1619-1623. Royal Favour in ProJpeSi. 57 
 
 Before thefe inftrudtions arrived, as Conway appears 
 to^ have anticipated, Nutt had been already fent up 
 prifoner to the council-table. An order to that effedt 
 froni my Ic^p-ds, dated the 13 th, had reached the vice- 
 admiral four days later, with which he immediately com- 
 plied. To Conway's letter, Eliot makes grateful anfwer 
 of his unworthinefs for fuch grace as through his favour 
 he had received, to kifs the facred hand of his fovereign 
 in the account of his poor fervice concerning Nutt ; and 
 he muft acknowledge Conway's great noblenefs that 
 could defcend to the recommendation of fo mean endea- 
 vours, which in nothing fufficed to exprefs his affedions, 
 or fhow how much in fuch commands he coveted his 
 majefty's fatisfa6tion. Since fending up Nutt to London 
 he had placed his crew under arreft, and according to his 
 majefty's diredtions fhould continue them in fafe cuftody. 
 Concerning the fhip and goods, he had negledted nothing 
 that might fecure all that was brought in with the fur- 
 render, or make difcovery of any parcels that might 
 before have been landed. Some fuch he had found and 
 taken into his own hands, where they fhould remain until 
 his majefty pleafed otherwife to difpofe them. " One 
 " cheft I yefterdaie recovered, wherein it was fuppos'd his 
 " treafure laie ; but I finde it foe unfitt a mention in this 
 "place as I dare not fpeake what it does containe." 
 The reft would carry, he feared, Nutt's own emblem, 
 the worft ; which he could not yet make better. But 
 ftiould it appear hereafter lefs ill than he feared, he 
 would give his honour ail due intelligence.* 
 
 On the very day when that letter was written, however, 
 the 25th of June, a communication had been forwarded 
 to the mayor of Dartmouth, importing into the aiFair a 
 new and unexpected element. Through fome members of 
 the council, an order of the admiralty-court had been 
 
 * MS. S. p. O. Eliot to Conway. Plymouth, 7,5 June 1623. Endorfed 
 by Conway " Sir John Eliott, concerning his proceeding with Nutt the 
 " Piratt and his men and goods." 
 
58 //. Capture of Nutt the Pirate. 
 
 Book II. 
 
 obtained for reftitution to her owners of the Colchefter 
 fliip ; and immediate compHance with this order, iffued 
 by way of commiffion to the mayor and two others, 
 one being the provincial judge of admiralty ^Mr. Kifte, 
 was direded to be enforced without delay againft the 
 vice-admiral. Eliot appears inftantly to have fufpedted 
 fome unfeen influence working againft him. He had 
 himfdf, from the firft, made no fecret of any part of this 
 tranfadtion ; and had ftated that he temporarily held this 
 ftiip only in truft for the admiralty, until the queftion 
 as to Nutt's pardon, involving payments due to the lord- 
 admiral, fhould be determined by the council. Nutt, 
 who was known to be wealthy, remained primarily re- 
 fponfible to her owners ; and the temporary detention of 
 the ftiip by Ehot, to whom they would wholly be indebted 
 for her ultimate reftitution, was fimply to retain for that 
 time a power over Nutt, that might be ufed to compel 
 him yet to give back more largely of his ill-gotten gains. 
 In any cafe, Eliot feems to have felt that to proceed as 
 now propofed, fuperfeding his authority as vice-admiral 
 by an inferior officer of the court, and without further 
 notice of his reprefentations as to the conditions of the 
 pardon, was an unworthy and defigned flight to himfelf. 
 Believing that he was fecure in the good opinion of Con- 
 way and the favour of the king, which had juft been 
 exprefted to him fo ftrongly, he determined to relift. 
 
 His decifion was communicated to the council by the 
 mayor of Dartmouth, by Mr. Kifte, and their aflbciate, 
 Mr. Staplehill. "Right Honorable," they wrote, " May it 
 " pleafe your lordfliips to be advertifed that wee received 
 " letters dated the 25th of June laft from your lordftiips 
 " direded to us and to Sir John Eliot knight Vice-Ad- 
 *' mirall of the county of Devon, by which we were required 
 " uppon fight therof to deliver a fhip and goods belong- 
 " ing to certaine merchantes of Colchefter latelie taken 
 " and brought into Dartmouth by Captaine John Nutt 
 " a piratt : which (according to our duties) wee were 
 
1619-1623. £iiof Imprifoned and Nutt Pardoned. 59 
 
 " ready and willing to performe, and mett togeather, 
 " and attended onely this fervice thefe three dayes laft. 
 " But the faid Vice-Admirall hath not onely denyed the 
 "delivery of the fame, but hath now taken up and 
 " carried away your lordlhips' letters and alfoe a com- 
 "miffion directed to us, out of the high Court of 
 " Admiralty, for the fame purpofe ; by meanes wherof 
 " wee cannot performe that fervice which was by your 
 "lordfhips commanded. Soe in all duty we humbly 
 "take our leaves. Dartmouth this 4th July 1623. 
 "Your lordfhips' in all humble duty and fervice to 
 "comaund. Thos: Spurwaie Maio''. Will". Kifte. 
 "AldredStaplehill."* 
 
 But Eliot had mifcalculated his means of fuftaining 
 himfelf in the refolution he had taken, and had now 
 to learn the ftrength of the influence, which, from what 
 feemed to be a very abyfs of defeat, captivity, and hope- 
 lefs difgrace, the pirate captain could yet diredt againft 
 him. That month of July had not reached its clofe, 
 when the vice-admiral of Devon lay a prifoner in the 
 Marfhalfea ; and, by the middle of the month following, 
 there had pafled under the king's own hand, the fame 
 which Eliot was to kifs in full reward for having refcued 
 the land from Nutt's piracy and plunder, a free and 
 unconditional pardon to the pirate and plunderer.f 
 
 Before ihowing what other hand it was that fecretly 
 had been pulling the firings, and had effecfted fuch 
 fudden changes, it becomes neceflary to exhibit the na- 
 ture of the charges preferred againft Eliot before the 
 council. They are fufficiently curious to juftify fome 
 detail ; and, taken with the circumftances already related, 
 they complete a Angular pidlure and illuftration of 
 the time. 
 
 * MS. S. P. O. Endorfed " A le' from the Mayor of Dartmouth coii- 
 " ceming Sir John Elliot." 
 
 f The pardon bears date the 1 8th Auguft, and, under that date, remains 
 . in the ftate paper office (MS.) of that month. 
 
6o ///. Before the Admiralty Court. ^°°^'^; 
 
 III. Before the Admiralty Court. 
 
 The charge as to the Colchefter fhip and her cargo ap- 
 pears at once to have broken down. No pretext was found 
 for alleging that Eliot's proceedings in that matter were 
 in any refpedt wanting in good faith. There is never- 
 thelefs no doubt that the arreft of the vice-admiral had 
 been pafled at the council, upon a complaint handed in 
 by the captain of the Colchefter fhip, which, as it is in 
 its way a curiofity of letters, I prefent exactly as it may 
 ftill be feen in the ftate paper office. 
 
 "The 4"^ of June nowe p~fant Captaine Nutt tocke 
 " our fhipe fume twoe leags of Dartmouthe and caried 
 " hur into y^ road of Torbaye whear he and his cum- 
 " peny remained veuinge and ferchinge hur untell nexte 
 " daye in y' after none after ward Captaine Nutt went 
 " aborde his owne fhipe and thether y° vifambrall 
 " broughte y' faide Captaine his pdone, and havinge con- 
 " ferd clofly y^ spafe of twoe owers in y" cabine of y^ 
 " ihipe of -f faid Nutt y^ vifambrall returned afhore all 
 " this tyme y^ faid Nutt tocke nothinge from us butt 
 "y^ Ambrall Returninge aborde againe w"" all fpeed, 
 "went w"" y^ Captaine aborde our fhipe and in his 
 " p~fance hoyflted out 14 cheftes of fugar y^ w"*"^ beinge 
 " out y* Ambrall returned afhore againe he being gone 
 " Nutt cawfed y' haches to be fhett and noe more fugars 
 " to be tacken out of our fhipe, butt p~fantlie forced all 
 " y° men w'''' belonged to our fhipe to goe afhore only 
 " w'*" y' clothes thaie had onft their backes and after- 
 " wardes caried our fhipe into y^ harbour of Dartmouthe 
 " w"'out anny one of our men whear wee are informed 
 " y*" Ambrall makes price of hur." 
 
 The " vifambrall," by which the reader will have dif- 
 covered that the vice-admiral is meant, had little diffi- 
 culty, as may be fuppofed, in difproving the charge of 
 having attempted flagrantly to play the pirate himfelf ; 
 feeing that even Captain Nutt, eager to faften upon him 
 
i6i9-i6z3- Examinations by Sir Henry Marten. 6i 
 
 33 
 
 every kind of imputation, found this particular one too 
 ftrong for him. He had no recoUeftion of it, he faid 
 in his examination ; and the worthy owners of the fliip, 
 the Edward and John, by name Mr. John Eldred, Mr. 
 John Wells, Mr. William King, and Mr. Edward Hailer, 
 fubfequently bore teftimony that fhip and cargo had been 
 reftored to them without a cheft of fugar wanting. It 
 was yet upon a charge fo made, that the council fent 
 their meflenger to bring Eliot up to London ; com- 
 mitted him to the Marfhalfea prifon ; and afterwards 
 referred it to the judge of the admiralty. Sir Henry 
 Marten, to make report therein. 
 
 Nutt was the firft perfon examined by Marten. 
 Defcribing himfelf as of Limpfton, in the county of 
 Devon, mariner, and ftating his defire to obtain a par- 
 don, the overtures of Eliot, and the condition for pay- 
 ment of 500/., he went on to fay that he fignified at the 
 fame time to Sir John that he had no monies then ready ; 
 whereunto Sir John wrote him anfwer that he muft have 
 money, or money's worth, howfoever he, Nutt, came by 
 it, or elfe the pardon could not be procured. Then, 
 after Sir John had promifed to procure his pardon, that, 
 he then being with his man-of-war in Torbay, Sir John 
 fent him word either by Randall or Norber (one was 
 deputy, the other marfhal, to the vice-admiral), that 
 that was no place for him to ride in to get anything, 
 and therefore he ought to go out to fea. And further. 
 Sir John wrote, in a letter to him, that it was to no pur- 
 pofe for him to ride in Torbay, and willed him to go 
 out to fea until he had his pardon. (Being alked, upon 
 this, where the letter was, he replied that he had it not, 
 for that Sir John took it among others when he took 
 his cheft from him.) Alfo that Sir John's deputy, Mr. 
 Randall, on coming to him with a meflage, had told 
 him that at Dartmouth there were divers fhips laden 
 with goods and money out of Spain, whereof one had 
 received fifteen hundred pounds for freight ; they would 
 
62 ///. Before the Admiralty Court. ^°°^ * 
 
 ^T, 
 
 be worth the taking ; and if he could fingle out the one 
 with the moft money, his mafter (meaning Sir John) 
 would work for all. And that it was not till about ten 
 days after his meflage from Sir John, and eight or nine 
 after Randall's remark, that he feized the Colchefter ihip 
 with fugars. 
 
 Nutt alfo depofed, as to goods delivered to the 
 vice-admiral during the negotiation, that three or four 
 days after his firft letter, he fent unto Sir John, out of 
 his man-of-war, being then under fail not far from Tor- 
 bay (by Richard Randall and John Norber, who came 
 aboard him there in a boat), thirty dozen of calvelkins ; 
 and Sir John himfelf never had anything elfe, though 
 what benefit otherwife by the furrender might have been 
 made he knew not ; but Randall and Norber had four 
 pieces of baize for themfelves. He added that thofe 
 officers came to him four or five times aboard his man- 
 of-war, and treated with him to deliver them fome goods 
 for their matter's behalf; but he never delivered them 
 anything except the thirty dozens of calvefkins and the 
 baize. The reft Sir John had feized. All that he 
 brought into this kingdom. Sir John difpoflefled him of, 
 and took into his cuftody and charge ; comprifing his 
 man-of-war with twenty pieces of ordnance in her, and 
 with cloth, hides, tallow,* and fuch like things, worth 
 altogether about a thoufand pounds ; and the Colchefter 
 fhip and her goods, worth about four thoufand pounds. 
 
 Further, Nutt depofed that after he received his par- 
 don from the vice-admiral, he never took any fugars 
 out of the Colchefter ftiip, or forced or beat the men out 
 of her ; but he confeffed, that, a little before he received 
 the pardon, he did hoift ten or eleven chefts and a half 
 
 * The calvefkins given up and feized, as well as the tallovp, were after- 
 wards claimed as ftolen property. A petition lies with the other papers in 
 the ftate paper office from one Richard Holworthy, owner of a Briftol 
 fhip, defiring reftitution of certain calvefkins and Irifh tallow, captured from 
 his fhip by Nutt, carried into Dartmouth, and delivered up to vice-admiral 
 Eliot. 
 
1619-1623. Imputations againft Eliot. 6^ 
 
 of fugar out of the faid Colchefter fhip into his man-of- 
 war, and did turn her men out of her ; but fo foon as 
 his pardon came in, he gave over, and the vice-admiral 
 was not aboard when he hoifted out the fugars, neither 
 had he encouraged or willed him fo to do : but after the 
 fugars were received into his man-of-war, the vice- 
 admiral being then aboard her, one of the merchants 
 did kneel to the vice-admiral to fpeak to him, Nutt, 
 not to take his goods ; to whom the vice-admiral 
 replied, you may have your ftiip again to get more, al- 
 though you lofe your goods. 
 
 The moft material point of the firft charge againft 
 Eliot was thus denied by Nutt himfelf, though he could 
 not help alloying with a falfehood even that fmall grain 
 of truth. The charges advanced by himfelf carried with 
 them their own refutation; for it would have taxed even 
 the malice of particular members of the council to have 
 given femblance of belief to fuch a monftrous accufation, 
 as that Eliot had openly, by letter and by meflenger, 
 while at grave rifks purfuing this man's capture, en- 
 couraged Nutt in the moft fhamelefs and dangerous 
 clafs of his piracies, and pointed out to him profitable 
 fources of plunder. His officer Randall,* being fworn, 
 folemnly denied their truth. He faid it was foul 
 calumny to afcribe to the vice-admiral any fuch thing. 
 He denied emphatically having been fent on any fuch 
 meffages, at any time, as Nutt had fworn. But for him- 
 felf, he faid, he had replied to queftions put to him both 
 by Nutt and his company, on occafions when he had 
 boarded the pirate, refpedting fhips in the harbour of 
 Dartmouth ; and he certainly had mentioned that one of 
 them had received fifteen hundred pounds for freight. But 
 he did not thereby in any way encourage a defign upon 
 any of thofe fhips. He vehemently denied having 
 fpoken the words with any fuch purpofe, " but only on 
 
 * who defcribes himfelf in his depofition as " of Dartmouth in th? 
 " county of Devon, merchante." 
 
^4 III- Before the Admiralty Court. ^"^ ^^' 
 
 JET, 
 
 " the demand and inquiry of the faid Nutt and others of 
 '' his company ; " and he never in any manner had ufed 
 his matter's name. Not the lefs. Sir Henry Marten 
 told him at this part of his evidence, had he been guilty 
 of a grave mifcondudt in talking as he did, being deputy 
 to the vice-admiral. 
 
 Being afked as to the fubftance and effeft of the con- 
 ferences on the part of the vice-admiral, had with Nutt 
 on the occafions when he fo boarded his fhip, Randall 
 ftated that he did not go until Nutt fent for him, and, 
 then firft feeing him, Nutt told him he was at that time 
 defirous to become an honeft man and to forfake thofe 
 courfes that he then followed, if he might come in upon 
 his pardon ; to which end Randall, having been afked to 
 procure him conference with Sir John Eliot, rode to 
 Plymouth to Sir John and brought him to Torbay, but 
 Nutt would not then come afhore to Sir John, nor would 
 Sir John go aboard to him, and fo Sir John returned 
 and went to Dartmouth, from which place he wrote to 
 Nutt, who fent back by Sir John's meffenger (himfelf ) 
 an anfwer with a meffage that he ihould ftay till next 
 morning in Torbay for another letter from Sir John, 
 and next day accordingly Sir John fent him back to 
 Nutt with anfwer by word of mouth. What the 
 letters of Nutt and Sir John might contain, he knew not ; 
 but the anfwer by word of mouth was, that Sir John 
 was defirous to have Nutt ftay where he was till he 
 fhould receive fome news from London ; whereupon 
 Nutt faid he fhould ply off and on there upon the coaft, 
 but he durft not ftay long for fear of foul weather and 
 contrary winds. 
 
 Finally he was queftioned as to what monies, jewels, 
 or goods he had at any time received from Nutt, either 
 for himfelf or any others ; to which he replied that on 
 the fecond occafion of his boarding Nutt's man-of-war, 
 there was put into his boat by Nutt, who was then under 
 ikil going out to fea, fix packs of calvefkins containing 
 
i6i9 1623. ^iigf ^^^^^ Examination. 65 
 
 about thirty dozen, and four pieces of fingle baize; 
 which, on returning out of the man-of-war into his boat 
 he found therein, and with which he put ofF and went 
 afhore, seizing the fame for the lord-admiral's ufe, 
 landing them at Dartmouth-quay, making the cuftoras 
 men acquainted therewith, and then putting them into 
 the vice-admiral's cellar in Dartmouth; fince which 
 time the calvefkins had been delivered to the proprie- 
 tors, but the baize ftill remained in the cellar. He 
 again, at the clofe of his examination, emphatically de- 
 clared that no fuch meflage, o ' words in any manner 
 implying fuch a fenfe, as that " Torbay was no place for 
 " Nutt to ride in to get anything," had ever been fpoken 
 by himfelf, or borne to any one from Sir John Eliot. 
 
 Sir John was then put under examination. Of the 
 leading circumftances he gave plainly and fimply the 
 account already embodied, and occafionally quoted,* in 
 this narrative ; and which his letters, written while under 
 no fufpicion of the poffibility of fuch queftions as were 
 afterwards raifed, bear out ftriftly in each particular. 
 Until the interview at which he proffered the pardon, he 
 had never feen Nutt ; and excepting fix packs of calve- 
 fkins, laid afide at once for the lord-admiral's ufe, he had 
 received from him nothing. By boarding Nutt's war-fhip 
 as he did, he had placed his own life in peril ; and the paf- 
 fion exhibited by that worthy, on Sir John's remonftrating 
 at the piracy committed fince negotiation was opened with 
 him, fhowed how imminent fuch peril had been. In- 
 dignantly Eliot declared, that fo far from encouraging 
 Nutt's wickednefs in any way, he had done everything, 
 not only of himfelf but through others whofe teliimony 
 he challenged, to difTuade and difable him from its com- 
 
 * Ante, pp. 47-9. The paffages in inverted commas are taken from Eliot's 
 examination before Sir Henry Marten. By means of the feveral depofitions 
 before the admiralty-court, which are preferred in the ftate paper office, 
 and with the help of letters and other documents alfo ftill remaining there, I 
 have been enabled to fupply, in a form which is in all refpefts fubftantially 
 reliable and accurate, the narrative in my text. 
 VOL. I. F 
 
66 III. Before the Admiralty Court. ^"'"^ "■ 
 
 B.T. 
 
 miffion. Nutt's own brother-in-law had appealed to 
 him on the pirate's behalf, pending the firft overtures 
 from Nutt ; and to him he had made it the condition of 
 any poflible favour that there fhould firft be abandonment 
 and reftitution " of all thofe fpoils and rapines which he 
 " committed upon the coaft." 
 
 As for having ever fent him word that Torbay was 
 no place for him to ride in, Eliot laughed to fcorn that 
 ftatement. His great defire had been throughout to 
 keep Nutt by treaty in Torbay. It was the fpecial 
 objedt of all the endeavours he fo perfeveringly made, 
 that the man ftiould not remove from the coaft until 
 there might be fome means ufed to get him in ; and the 
 delays were in no degree attributable to himfelf, but to the 
 failure of replies which he had " daily expedted from the 
 " lords of the council." This laft was a home thruft ; 
 and he dealt not lefs effedtively with the extravagant 
 afTertion of his having fent to inform Nutt of fhips 
 worth taking that had come from Spain. 
 
 Let Mr. Rooper and Mr. Dove, of Dartmouth, be 
 fent for, faid Eliot. They would prove that imme- 
 diately at the time to which this ridiculous charge re- 
 lated, he had, through them, arranged with the mafters 
 of that very fleet of ftiips at Dartmouth of twenty or 
 twenty-one fail, which had juft come out of Spain, "to 
 " furprife Nutt in Torbay ; to which they agreed and 
 " appointed with him at the firft opportunity to go 
 " out upon him ; but before they could get forth, Nutt 
 " was chafed away by a Holland man-of-war." 
 
 To queftions having relation to the Colchefter fliip, 
 to the goods taken from Nutt, and to the amount of fine 
 to be exaded for the pardon, Eliot anfwered in the fame 
 frank and decifive tone. Upon the negotiation being 
 opened, Nutt v/as to give three hundred pounds for 
 the pardon ; but at the interview he agreed to give 
 five hundred, of which due entry was made for fatis- 
 fadtion of the lord-admiral. Nutt had never, in his 
 
1619-1623. Marten's Judgment. 67 
 
 33. 
 
 prefence, taken any chefts of fugar out of his Colchefter 
 prize or forced the men out of her; but though he 
 did not fee this done by Nutt, he heard, before 
 going on board his fhip, that fome chefts had been 
 moved and the men beaten out. He had himfelf re- 
 ceived from Nutt, before his furrender, nothing but the 
 fix packs of calvelkins that were feized by his officers for 
 the lord-admiral's ufe. The fad; of this feizure was 
 notorious in Dartmouth, and formal notice of it had 
 by his orders been immediately tranfmitted " to Mr. 
 " Kifte, the judge of the admiralty in thofe parts." 
 
 Such were the examinations taken by the chief judge 
 of the admiralty in London, Sir Henry Marten ; and it 
 now remains to tell what courfe was thought not unbe- 
 coming in a chief judge of thofe days (and a very fair 
 judge as times went, with certainly a favorable difpofi- 
 tion towards Eliot), to whom it had been referred to 
 decide upon charges againft an officer of ftate in his 
 own department, preferred by the lords of the privy 
 council. 
 
 IV. Justice with Respect of Persons. 
 
 The examinations were taken on the 24th of July, 
 and on the 25th Sir Henry Marten wrote to the council. 
 According to their reference, he faid, he had called 
 before him Sir John Eliot, Captain Nutt, and a man 
 (Mr. Richard Randall) whom Nutt avouched to have 
 uttered, as from Sir John Eliot, certain lewd fpeeches 
 importing an incitement of him to commit more piracies, 
 upon afTurance of his pardon as well for thofe as for the 
 former piracies. Herewith he had fent to their lordfhips 
 the anfwers of the three witnefles to his queftioning, of 
 which, fo far as they concerned the fubjeft propounded 
 in their lordfhips' reference, he conceived the fum and 
 fubftance to be — That Nutt charged Sir John to have 
 given him fuch encouragement as aforefaid, both by 
 
68 IV. Jujike with ReJpeSt of Perfons. ^ookji. 
 
 letter and by his meffenger Randall ; but Randall en- 
 tirely denied any fuch meflage, or any other ill office 
 done him by direftion of Sir John ; and the pretended 
 letter of Sir John, Nutt had not been able to produce, 
 alleging it was taken from him among other things in 
 his chefts. Randall had however confefled fome words 
 fpoken by himfelf to Nutt's company, which in his (Sir 
 Henry Marten's) opinion implied a very diflioneft and 
 wicked fenfe. Of Sir John's examination. Sir Henry 
 fmiply faid that he had completely and utterly denied 
 every accufation. And fo, without other remark, he 
 moft humbly fubmitted both them and the caufe to their 
 lordfhips' wifdom and cenfure.* He thus carefully 
 avoided any expreflion of opinion as to Eliot, though it 
 did not admit of doubt that he muft have formed one ; 
 and there will afterwards appear reafon for believing that 
 he was hardly more furprifed or uneafy than Eliot him- 
 felf at his continued detention in the Marfhalfea. He 
 was in truth a man with much fenfe of juftice in him, 
 and he appears from the fir ft to have wiflied that Eliot 
 fhould be treated with as little harfhnefs as might confift 
 with the convenience of Mr. Secretary and my lords. 
 
 He had not on fuch eafy terms, however, as at firft 
 he feems to have fuppofed, altogether got rid of this 
 troublefome aflfair. On the 28 th of July, the Duke "of 
 Buckingham's fecretary, Mr. Aylefburie, a perfon high 
 in his confidence, urgently wrote to fecretary Conway, 
 to inform him that Sir John Eliot, vice-admiral to my 
 lord in Devon, had told him there were divers cafualties 
 in his charge of which he was to make account to my 
 lord, being tied thereto by his letters patent ; and that 
 he feared left, by reafon of his forcible detention in Lon- 
 don, my lord might fufFer thorough fome negligence or 
 mifcarriage of bufinefles in Devon. With this he could 
 not but acquaint Mr. Secretary, in duty to my lord and 
 
 * MS. S. P. O. Sir Henry Marten to Conway. 25tli July, 16x3. 
 
1619-1623. cj^f^g j)i^^g ^„^ f^g 2)^^^.j ^^^_ g^ 
 
 33 
 
 no otherwife ; conceiving that it became him not to be 
 filent in his mafter's fervice, when matters of that nature 
 were in queftion. Which, in all humblenefs, he left to Mr. 
 Secretary's wifdom, defiring pardon for his boldnefs, 
 which had no other ground but Mr. Secretary's noble 
 and tender care of my lord's affairs ; whereof, though 
 the meaneft, he had yet been a true witnefs from time to 
 time.* 
 
 Well might Mr. Aylefburie fay fo ; for " my lord," 
 in all that pliant and fubmiffive court, had no fervice 
 more pliable than Conway's. He had been lifted into 
 favour, now fomething lefs than two years paft, by the 
 mere fadt of Buckingham pronouncing him to be " ex- 
 " cellent company ;"f and duty to " my lord " had fince 
 been the law of his being. Strong as had been his 
 acknowledgment of Eliot's fervice, in Nutt's capture, 
 before the objedlions interpofed by the council, his in- 
 tereft for him fince had appeared to have marvelloufly 
 flackened ; but the poffible anger of " my lord " was a 
 new confideration, and, replying to Mr. Aylefburie by 
 a letter which he defired him to take to Marten, he 
 wrote to Marten himfelf, and he wrote to Eliot.:}; To 
 the judge went the great duke's man accordingly ; and 
 on the 4th of Auguft reported to Conway that Sir Henry 
 would immediately be ready with the further letter de- 
 fired in the bufinefs of Eliot, and that Eliot had made 
 him acquainted with what Mr. Secretary had fent to him- 
 felf, which, though it gave him a notice he had never 
 expedled, he was yet much bound to his honour for. 
 Mr. Aylefburie clofed his letter by afTuring Conway that 
 his condudt declared his noblenefs to my lord, and jufli- 
 fied the high efteem in which the writer well knew that 
 
 * MS. S. P. O. Dated " Weftminfter," and endorfed " Mr. Aylefburie 
 " concerninge Sir John Eliott." 
 
 f This, wrote Chamberlain to Carleton on the 5th Oftober, 1622 (ftate 
 paper office, MS.), with a dafh at prophecy which the refult fhowed him to 
 have made not too confidently, " is like to make him fecretary. " 
 
 J Thefe letters all bear date the 2nd Auguft from " Salifburie." 
 
70 IV. Juftice with RefpeSi of Per/ons. 
 
 Book II. 
 
 his gracious matter held Conway's faithful love and 
 friendfhip.* 
 
 Sir Henry Marten's fecond letter in Eliot's bufinefs 
 bears date that fame 4th of Auguft, and its opening in- 
 timation reveals to us, as well the charadter of the re- 
 queft which Conway had made to him, as the name of 
 tile perfon who in fecret had been influencing all thofe 
 proceedings taken by the council againft Eliot that 
 had made fo vaft a change in his profpedts and pofition, 
 iince the day when his majefty's fecond fecretary 
 of fl:ate had eagerly and prematurely promifed him the 
 favour of kiffing his fovereign's hand. This was no 
 other than his majefty's principal fecretary. Sir George 
 Calvert, foon to avow himfelf a Roman-catholic and re- 
 tire acrofs the Atlantic with the title of Lord Baltimore, 
 and for the prefent fo bufy in looking after his colony in 
 Newfoundland as to have thought a fervice rendered to 
 his interefts there, by a pirate captain, atonement enough 
 for all that pirate's atrocious crimes, and reafon fufficient 
 for fetting up a confefled infamy above the fame and 
 fervice of an Englifh country gentleman of rank and 
 efteem, himfelf a high officer of ftate. 
 
 Marten begins by acknowledging Conway's letter 
 concerning Eliot. Already he had taken examination of 
 the latter by order from the council-table, as well as de- 
 pofitions from Nutt and Sir John's deputy, copies of which 
 he had fent to Mr. Secretary Calvert, with what feemed to 
 him the brief efFe<5t and fum thereof. Then, after re- 
 peating what in fubftance he conceives this to amount to, 
 and efpecially indicating Nutt's failure of proof as to any 
 of the charges made, he goes on to fay that to deliver fuch 
 a conjecture or guefs of the ftate of the caufe as his honour 
 required, would produce a long difcourfe, and one not 
 neceflary to the confideration of whether Sir John's pre- 
 fent liberation might not be expedient. It was his opi- 
 
 * MS. S. P. O. Dated " from VV^eftminfter for y' Honor." 
 
1619-1623. Conveniences and Inconveniences of Jujiice. 7 1 
 
 nion that he ought to be enlarged. To keep him longer 
 in imprifonment, at this time, muft of neceffity be very 
 mconvenient to his majefty's fervice and my lord- 
 admiral's profits ; whereas to enlarge him upon fitting 
 cautions until my lord's return could breed little incon- 
 venience. On the other hand the inconveniences to my 
 lord by his longer reftraint would be — 
 
 Could a judge, addrefling a fecretary of ftate in this 
 reign, have argued a man's title to imprifonment or 
 freedom in a fafhion more appropriate, having the 
 evidence and proofs of innocence or of guilt before him, 
 than by fhowing in how far the one or the other would 
 be convenient or inconvenient to my lord ? 
 
 — The firft inconvenience would be, that Sir John 
 having under his charge, to the ufe of my lord, 
 divers fhips and goods to a great value, he might 
 pretend for an excufe that in his abfence they perilhed 
 or were diminifhed. The fecond inconvenience was, 
 that he and his deputy Randall being both im- 
 prifoned, all things belonging to the lord-admiral 
 were negledted in thofe weftern parts. And the third 
 was, that this time of the year afforded ufually greateft 
 matter of bufinefs, and required by occafions moft care 
 and attendance of my lord-admiral's officers. As for his 
 majefty's fervice, that muft of neceffity fuffer, becaufe, by 
 the law of this realm, the principal employments of that 
 nature were fo tied to the perfons of the admiral and his 
 lieutenant or deputies that without them they could 
 not legally b'e performed by fequeftrators. As for ex- 
 ample, a feffions for the admiralty ought at this time to 
 be kept in the Devon vice-admiralty for the execution of 
 fome of Nutt's men, who, being twenty-three in number, 
 did fo pefter the prifon that an infedtion was feared ; as 
 to which. Sir Henry continued, he was daily importuned 
 by the magiftrates of that country, who did alfo advife that 
 if they ftiould all be fet at liberty they would undoubt- 
 edly do fome notable mifchief, and a feffion could not 
 
IV. Jujiice with Refpe5i of Perfons. 
 
 Book II. 
 
 poffibly be held there without Sir John EHot the vice- 
 ad mira] — 
 
 Such feverity on occafion can this conliderate and 
 impartial judge affume, that while he hefitates to declare 
 whether Nutt fhould hang Eliot or Eliot Ihould hang 
 Nutt, he entertains no doubt of the propriety of Eliot's 
 going down to hang Nutt's crew, whofe fole crime con- 
 fifted in the fad, that they had been the accomplices and 
 agents of Nutt's far greater crime. 
 
 — Since, therefore. Sir Henry continued, in his appre- 
 henfion it fo much imported the fervice of his majefty 
 and my lord, that Sir John Eliot Ihould continue in the 
 place of his government until my lord-admiral's re- 
 turn, and his being there in fuch interim could in any 
 cafe do little harm " if he be cautelouflie bayled," it was 
 to be hoped that that plan might be adopted. In the 
 mean time (he is really too j uft not to add), he muft do Sir 
 John Eliot this right to fay, that his bringing in of Nutt 
 ^?Lsfa£tum bonum if not bene; for, though Nutt did folicit 
 for his pardon, and offered thereupon to come in, yet he 
 ceafed not to pillage and commit outrage upon all the 
 vefTels he could meet and mafter, until the day when Sir 
 John Eliot did gull him with the fhow of an exemplifi- 
 cation of a pardon out of date. And fo, with thanks to 
 his honour for having eafed his heart by the affurance 
 tiiat his majefty had not withdrawn from his judge 
 of the admiralty his ufual annual favour of two bucks, 
 " the very conceit whereof would have done him more 
 '•' hurt than any bucks could do him good," he humbly 
 takes his leave, and refts Mr. Secretary's moft humbly 
 to be commanded.* 
 
 That was on the 4th of Auguft ; and whether Mr. 
 Secretary was likely to have given greater heed to its 
 moving interceffion for the rights of my lord, or to its 
 unmoved intimation of the probable innocence of Sir 
 
 * MS. S. P. O. Endorfed " for y' honour ;" and, by Conway, " S' 
 " Henrie Marten, concerning Sir John Eliott's bufmes." 
 
1619-1623. j^utfs Secret Friend. 73 
 
 33 
 
 John, it is not given to us to know ; for now his 
 fellow fecretary appears upon the fcene, not fcrupling to 
 exprefs under his own hand a fympathy for " that un- 
 " lucky fellow Captain Nutt," The effedt of Sir George 
 Calvert's letter was to trouble the judge of the admiralty 
 with two more queftions, which may be given, with the 
 replies, from Sir Henry's draft, ftill lying in the ftate 
 paper office. 
 
 " I have endeavoured according to yo'^ command to 
 " returne you fome fatisfadlory anfweres to the quef- 
 " tidns which yo' H. yefterday propounded to me, con- 
 " cerninge Captayne Nutt. 
 
 " ^teft. I. Whether Captayne Nutt did command 
 " any pyracy after S' John Ellyot had been with him 
 " and fliewed him his pardon ? 
 
 " An/were. I doe not find he did, but untill that tyme 
 " that S'" Jo. Ellyot was with him and fhewed him an ex- 
 " emplificaon of his pardon he did daylye continue his 
 " pillaging and fpoyling of all that he could meete and 
 " mafter, which were very many fhips as I underftand. 
 
 " ^ 1. What reftitution hath been made of the 
 " fhips and goodes taken by Captayne Nutt. 
 
 " An/were. Since he came in, the Admiralty, by 
 " diredtion of the L*' of his Majefties Councill, hath 
 " made reftitution to the proprietors of the Colchefter 
 " ftiip and goodes as alfo to the Briftow men of their 
 " goodes. 
 
 " And Nutte's man of warre and the reft of the 
 " goods by him brought into Dartmouthe doe ftill re- 
 " mayne there in fequeftraon. 
 
 "Henry Marten."* 
 
 Mr. Secretary Calvert pronounced thefe anfwers of 
 Sir Henry's to be fomewhat of the drieft, and thought 
 "he might have made his certificate fuller if it had 
 
 * Endorfed by Conway, " Sir H. Marten's opinion concerning S' 
 " John Elliot's bufinefTe, and touching Captayne Nutt the pyrate." 
 
74 IV. Jujiice with RefpeSl of Perfons. 
 
 Book II. 
 
 XT. 
 
 " pleafed him, and with as good a confcience alfo." So 
 difficult was it for the warieft of judges to pilot himfelf 
 through thofe quickfands and fhoals of my lord and two 
 ftate fecretaries. However, Sir George Calvert confoled 
 himfelf by thinking that Sir Henry's cold comfort 
 might yet fuffice to give his majefty fatisfaftion ; and 
 went on, with a very fufpicious earneftnefs, to proteft that 
 he was not himfelf to receive any diredt recompenfe from 
 the objedt of the king's grace, if fuch grace fhould be 
 extended. In other words he was not to have any fhare 
 in Nutt's well-known gains. " The poore man," he 
 plaintively continued, " is able to doe the king fervice, 
 " if he were employed ; and I doe affure myfelfe he doth 
 " foe deteft his former courfe of life as he will never 
 " enter into it againe. I have been at charge already of 
 " one pardon, and am contented to be at as much more 
 " for this, if his ma"' will be gratioufly pleafed to graunte 
 " it. Wherein I have no other end but to be gratefull to a 
 " poore man that hath been ready to doe mee and my 
 " aflbciates courtefies in a plantacon w'*" we have begunn 
 " in Newfoundland, by defending us from others w"'' 
 " perhapps in the infancy of that worck might have 
 " done us wronge. And this is all the end and intereft 
 " I have in it ; not looking for any manner of recom- 
 " pence from Nutt, or any friend of his whatfoever, 
 " upon the faith I owe unto God and his majefty."* His 
 majefty could not refift the appeal. Captain Nutt was 
 pardoned, and Eliot was left to the lords of the council 
 to be dealt with as they might determine. 
 
 In a letter addrefled to fecretary Conway from his 
 houfe in Alderfgate-ftreet, dated on the loth Auguft, 
 Sir Henry Marten makes a comment on this refult of 
 the aff^air much too charadteriftic not to be given in his 
 own words. " Right Honorable," he wrote, " I have 
 " rec : now two Ires from yo'' bono"' the latter dated the 
 
 * MS. S. P. O. Endorfed " for yourfelfe ;" and, by Conway, « Mr. 
 " Sec'. Calvert. Receipt of the copie of the award . . . Capt. Nutt's pardon." 
 
1619-1623. r he Brace of Bucks. 75 
 
 " 8 th of this, by w^'- I underftand his Ma'''=^ refolucon to 
 " continue S' John ElHott in prifon grounded as upon the 
 " informacon of the lordes. / am glad I did forbear to 
 " deliv my own opinion of the fiate of his cauje leaft 
 "■phaps it might have differed fomewhat. Weill I pray 
 " God this turn not moji to the dtjadvantage of my Lord Jd- 
 " miralll In yo' hono" former Ire of the 7th of this 
 " moneth I receaved inclofed warrantes from his ma"" for 
 '^.a Brace of Buckes, for w""- I moft humbly thanke his 
 "ma''^ and heerin allfo as for yo' many other noble 
 " favo" acknowledge my felf for ev obliged to bee Yor 
 "hono" faithfull fervant to bee commanded, Henry 
 " Marten." * 
 
 From which it is clear that the worthy judge of the 
 admiralty was at leaft the better by two of his majefty's 
 bucks at the clofe of this tranfaftion ; and it only 
 further remains to exhibit what was felt and faid by 
 Sir John Eliot while his fortunes thus were under confi- 
 deration, and with what degree of equanimity he has 
 feen the vice-admiral of Devon weighed in the balance 
 with that freebooter of the fea, whom fecretary Calvert 
 called the unlucky fellow Captain Nutt, but whom he 
 called a plunderer and affaffin. 
 
 V. In the Marshalsea Prison. 
 
 Conway was at Salifbury when the order for Eliot's 
 arreft was ifTued, and on his return Eliot addrefled him in 
 language of temperate complaint. His letter is dated 
 from the Marfhalfea in Southwark on the 29th of July. 
 As his fervices in the reducement of Nutt, he wrote, 
 had received large reward in his noble acceptance, and 
 had been by him recommended to his majefty, he ftiould 
 hope now, with the fame grace, to find fome favour for 
 himfelf who was in nothing more afFeftionate than to 
 
 * MS. S. P. O. Marten " to the right honble. Sir Edward Conway, 
 " Knt, one of the principall Secretaries to his M"'." 
 
76 V. In the Marjhaljea Prifon. 
 
 Book II. 
 
 JS.T, 
 
 become his fervant. The direftions in that bufinefs 
 which Mr. Secretary had given him, he had faithfully 
 profecuted; and in every point concluded fo happily, that 
 he had preiumed it fbould have given him fome fatisfac- 
 tion of his endeavours, whereof his honour already pof- 
 feffed a juft account. But thofe endeavours had been 
 otherwife interpreted. A fuggeftion had been made to the 
 lords of the council, and thereupon he had been fent 
 for up, and by them committed to the Marlhalfea until 
 further examination could be made. By order of the 
 table. Sir Henry Marten was to report what he found ; 
 and, to fhow his diligence upon the command of the 
 lords, that learned judge " fent for fome of my officers 
 " out of the countrie and ftridtlie examined both them, 
 " and myfelf, and others, concerning the paffages of that 
 " bufinefs ; but met not a circumftance which had anie 
 " appearance of my mifcarriage." Upon this, Eliot 
 continues, Marten had prepared his report to fatisfy the 
 lords (he had doubtlefs informed Sir John that fuch 
 was his intention, with what truth has already been feen) ; 
 but before it was defpatched, the fittings of the council 
 were diflblved, fo that nothing could be done. By that 
 delay he was like to be continued in the Marfhalfea 
 during the whole vacation, unlefs his honour, to whom 
 he was now a fuitor, pleafed to favour him. He aflured 
 himfelf that Conway's own noblenefs would incline to 
 fome refpecSb in the cafe, as well for the bufinefs itfelf, 
 wherein he had, as vice-admiral of Devon, fpecially fol- 
 lowed Mr. Secretary's command, as for the fervice of 
 my lord-admiral, to whom he knew that Mr. Secretary 
 was a friend, and whofe affairs in the country, at that 
 time committed to his vice-admiral's trufl, ftood very 
 uncertainly by reafon of the writer's having been hurried 
 fuddenly from thence. Befides a great charge of fhips and 
 goods, wherein my lord might fuftain prejudice by his 
 abfence, there was the lofs of "all new occurrents" that 
 would have to wait for his neceffary attendance. 
 
1619-1623. Petition to the King. 77 
 
 Poor Eliot ! he too is fain to ufe the argument for his 
 own hberation which he knew then to carry greateft weight 
 with the fovereign and the fecretaries ; and lefs to ftate his 
 claim as of right, to which any individual in thofe days 
 could fet up fmall pretenfion againft an order or warrant 
 of the council, than as matter of convenience to my lord. 
 Happily it was this, and other like experiences, that nerved 
 him to the later ftruggle for guarantees of perfonal liberty 
 to all his countrymen, in which though he loft his life, 
 he obtained his fame and his immortal remembrance. 
 
 His letter concluded with a requeft for Conway's help. 
 He had forwarded a petition for immediate liberation 
 to the king ; and as Mr. Secretary had been pleafed 
 already in the matter to reprefent his fervices to his 
 majefty, would he now alfo, in the fame, further that 
 petition for his liberty, and give it the affiftance of that 
 power which could foon accomplifti his defires ? " Were 
 " I in ariie thing faultie," Eliot touchingly added, " I 
 " would not diihonour your worth with the title of my 
 " patron ; but beinge onlie unfortunate, I hope to find 
 " you foe noble as I fhall not languifhe heer." Either 
 the judge of admiralty himfelf, or the duke's perfonal 
 fecretary, appears to have entirely mifled Eliot as to the 
 nature of the report fent in by Marten to the council ; 
 for he proceeds to repeat to Conway that fuch report had 
 been wholly favourable to him, and that his misfortune 
 now confifted folely in the fa6t that the breaking up of 
 the fittings of the council had prevented its taking effedt. 
 He goes on to fay that if the manner in which his own 
 anfwers before the admiralty-court had been fet down, 
 Ihould in any point feem to import not enough to fatisfy 
 his honour, he is confident that Sir Henry Marten would 
 readily, upon the leaft command, certify all he had depofed. 
 He fhould never prefent his honour with anything un- 
 true, and he prefumed to find fuch free entertainment 
 at his noble hands that his hopes might at once receive 
 both motion and life. He fhould therein become a 
 
78 V. In the Marfhaljea Prifon. ^°°'=JJ- 
 
 demonftration of Conway's, virtue; and though it might 
 exceed his own deferving, the world would have more 
 occafion thence to celebrate Mr. Secretary's worth, which 
 he fliould ftill admire, and in all duties be ready for his 
 commands, wherein he was devoted his honour's thrice 
 humble fervant.* 
 
 Conway's reply undeceived the prifoner of the Mar- 
 fhalfea upon fome points as to which he had been moft 
 confident. It informed him that other confiderations 
 were now in queftion befides Sir Henry Marten's report. 
 It told him that his carriage throughout the affair had 
 been diftafteful to fome of the lords, who had been able 
 in confequence to prejudice the king by complaint againft 
 him. It alfo ftated the interference of the other fecretary. 
 Sir George Calvert, and the offence which had been 
 given to him by the mode of Nutt's capture. f This 
 latter point had already, indeed, been urged againfl him, 
 when firfl brought before the council ; but he had 
 replied to it, there, by affurance that he adted without the 
 leafl knowledge that the pardon, of which he availed 
 himfelf merely as an artifice, had been obtained at the 
 intercefTion of a fecretary of ftate ; and the idea now 
 prefented to him in Conway's letter, of his having in all 
 likelihood fought to crofs fome claim of fecretary Cal- 
 vert's on Nutt by fubftituting one of his own, appears 
 in fome fort to take him by furprife. He at once re- 
 jeds and repudiates it. 
 
 It was true, then, he wrote in his rejoinder (dated from 
 the Marfhalfea on the 4th Augufl), that, as flated before 
 the council, the pardon was at firft procured by fecretary 
 Sir George Calvert, and he might therefore "fuppofe 
 " himfelf therein croft by me ; but my ignorance may 
 " be my apology." Both to Mr. Secretary himfelf, and 
 
 * MS. S. p. O. Eliot " From y= Marfhalfea in Southwarke, 29th 
 " Julij 1623," to Conway ; by whom it is endorfed " Sir John Eliott con- 
 " cerninge his owne bufmefle." 
 
 t MS. S. P. O. 
 
.619-.623. Conway and Eliot. 79 
 
 before the lords at the council-table, he had vouched 
 his ignorance of who it was that had obtained the pardon. 
 He had ufed it only as one out of date, and expreffly as 
 an artifice. He was fo far from feeking by its means 
 anything but Nutt's capture, that he imagined not of 
 any other thought hid under it. That main end he had 
 fteadily followed ; and out of the mere fhadow, which 
 he confidered the pardon to be, he had derived fo good 
 a fubftance, that he prefumed rather to merit than to dif- 
 pleafe, and did hope to receive a fair conftrudion in all 
 men's judgments for the fame. 
 
 Conway's expreffions, in the letter to which he is thus 
 making reply, conveyed probably fomethingnot altogether 
 pleafing to Eliot, whofe prefent communication had in it, 
 therefore, more of the charader of a fpirited and felf- 
 rehant proteft than any other writing of his in the affair. 
 " I am forrie," he faid, " my actions have beene miftaken, 
 " and that my carriage, which I intended with all refped to 
 " the fatisfacftion and fervice of the ftate, fhould diftafte, 
 " or give occafion to anie of the lords to informe againft 
 " me to his majeftie. I defir'd no more honor than to be 
 " publicklie heard and cenfur'd by the lords, had they 
 " fate ; and now, in refpedb of the time, I onlie feeke a 
 " cure for the delaie I am in, which will as well difeafe 
 " the bufineffe of my Lord Admirall, as my private for- 
 " tunes. If I have done anie thing unworthilie, I will 
 " not wronge the juftice of my fovereigne, or your noble 
 " favor, to ftudie an efcape. Not but that I caft my- 
 " felfe at his majeftie's feet, and onlie defire your hand 
 " to raife me up. But, being confcious of myne owne 
 " freenes in all that can be alleadgd, I dare not wave my 
 " juftification. That were to charge it with the implicite 
 " confeflion of a guilt, wherein I humblie praie to bee 
 " excufed." 
 
 In a tone and ftyle not lefs fpirited than this exordium, 
 Eliot then adverts to the charges which already he had 
 met, before the council and in his fubfequent examination. 
 
8o V. In the Marjhaljea Prifon. ^"""^ "• 
 
 ^T. 
 
 "At the council-table," he fays, "two things were 
 " objected. One, a fecuritie I had taken from the piratt 
 "to my Lord AdmiralVs ufe for five hundred pounds. 
 " The other, a receipt of certaine goods from him before 
 " his cominge in. Both thefe I acknowledg'd ; and, as 
 " I conceive, they are the proper duties of my place. 
 " For the goods, which were but of fmall value, I did 
 " not onlie take them, but would gladlie have gotten all 
 " the reft he had by any treatie, whileft I was uncertaine 
 " of his cominge in, that they might be p~ferved for the 
 "owners. And this I did, not fecretlie to aflume in 
 " private an intereft to myfelfe, but feizing them to the 
 "ufe of my Lo. Admirall and the proprietors; for 
 "whom they were fafelie kept, and have been fince 
 " reftor'd by order from the lords." 
 
 A fenfe of indignant truthfulnefs ran through the 
 whole of this letter. The fad:s were ftated fimply, and 
 with manly aflertion of the only legitimate intention or 
 conftrudlion they could poffibly bear, in the fight of men 
 of honour. The fole queftion that could have been 
 raifed had relation to the five hundred pounds fine 
 exadted, but in the fecurity it was expreffly named that 
 this was for the lord-admiral's ufe ; and Eliot now re- 
 minded Conway of the intimation which he had himfelf 
 in diftindt terms conveyed, that Nutt was believed to be 
 rich. For the fecurity, therefore, he continues, "my 
 " adte I thinke as lawfulle ; not tending to the prejudice 
 " of anie man, but to draw that benefitt to my Lo. 
 " Admirall from the pirat if he had laid up anie treafure 
 " in forraigne parts ; wherein, I hope, your honor will 
 " not thinke me an ill fervante." 
 
 The mofl: remarkable part of the letter, however, was 
 that which had reference to the perfonal accufations 
 brought by Nutt againfl: him. Here Eliot throws off 
 all referve ; and, with a full knowledge of the friends 
 whom the man had obtained, and of the ftrength of the 
 influence which yet might be brought againft himfelf. 
 
1619-1623. Plain-Speaking. 
 
 33 
 
 he denounces this client and protege of the king's chief 
 fecretary of ftate, as a malicious aflaffin. " I have been 
 " fmce," he writes, " upon the reference, interrogated of 
 " other points which the pirat had fuggefted for abetting 
 " him in his villanies, wherein, as I am free in myne owne 
 " knowledge, the examinations and circumftances will I 
 " hope likewife acquitt me to the world. Of myfelf I 
 "fpake not with him, nor ever fawe him before my 
 "goeinge aboard him with the exemplification of his 
 "pardon, upon which he fubmitted and came in. I 
 " neither by letter, or meflage, 'changed a fiUable with 
 "him to that purpofe, nor had foe fowle a thought. 
 " This, as I have dilated in my anfwers, I am readie to 
 " averr upon oath ; and cannot foe much yet undervalue 
 " my integritie, to doubt that the words of a malicious 
 " affaffine now ftanding for his life, ftiall have reputation 
 " equall to the creditt of a gentleman. In him I wonder 
 " not to finde that bafenefs, havinge in all things profeft 
 " himfelf a villaine, and ftained his countrie with bar- 
 " barifmes unheard of ! Seeinge himfelf train'd in by 
 " me, upon the color of a pardon which was out of date 
 " and of noe force, and fent up hither with a true rela- 
 "tion of his deeds, that he might be hang'd, malice, 
 " without an inftigator, were enough to put him upon 
 " this revenge ! " * But if he had wanted other inftigation, 
 doubtlefs it was at his fervice. Mr. Secretary Conway 
 muft have been fomewhat ftartled at this plain-fpeaking. 
 The dauntlefs and unyielding fpirit which made Eliot 
 afterwards illuftrious in the Tower, above all the men 
 whofe greatnefs and courage redeemed the fervility of the 
 time, fhone through every line of this proteft from his 
 prifon of the Marfhalfea. 
 
 At the clofe of his letter he made allufion to the 
 danger he had undergone in the fervice that had been fo 
 
 * MS. S. p. O. Eliot to Conway. 4th Auguft 1623. A fmall 
 brilliant feal of red wax is flill attached to this letter, of which the fubjeft is 
 it fi^re recumbent under a tree, with the legend " tvtvs in vmbra." 
 VOL. I. G 
 
82 V. In the Marjhalfea Prifon. 
 
 Book II. 
 
 JS.T, 
 
 undervalued. He befought his honour to give him 
 leave to point at the danger he adventured for that 
 fervice, in going aboard the war-fhip of a man of that 
 charafter ; for, had either Nutt, or any of his crew, dif- 
 covered the intended artifice, he could neither have 
 expedted the fuccefs that followed to the public good, 
 nor himfelf to have returned with life. Having weighed 
 or eftimated, therefore, no hazard therein, if he had not 
 otherwife deferved ill he fliould hope to find protection. 
 If he failed not much, the original caufe of the diftafte 
 conceived againfl him was his diligence in making avail- 
 able the exemplification of the pardon ; but he was 
 anxious to learn the terms of the complaint againft him. 
 He had been bold to enlarge himfelf in that difcourfe to 
 his honour. The aflurance he had of his favour continued, 
 and he fhould render humble thanks if his honour 
 would vouchfafe him intelligence of the complaint 
 againft him. He believed it to have been made upon 
 the fuggeftion of Nutt, before he had himfelf been heard 
 or examined, and that the examinations muft have given 
 fatisfadlion refpedting it. Wherein his innocence made 
 him fo confident, that he fhould ftill hope to retain his 
 honour's favour and to be thought worthy the title of 
 his moft humble fervant. 
 
 On receiving this letter Conway could not longer refift 
 making a final effort for Eliot. He obtained a fitting of 
 the council, and told him to hold himfelf in readinefs to 
 appear before them : but again Calvert proved too 
 ftrong for both. He forced fuch bufinefs before the 
 table, that to call or hear Sir John was impoffible ; and, 
 that occafion being loft, and Nutt ftill permitted to 
 ftand as accufer as well as criminal, Calvert had the lefs 
 difficulty in getting the king's fignature to his pardon : 
 though he remained in cuftody ftill, under the fame 
 reference of the council by which Eliot had been com- 
 mitted. In communicating to the latter the attempts 
 he had made on his behalf, Conway appears now to have 
 
.6.9-i6a3. £/^-5^>j Ill-Succe/S. 83 
 
 exprefled hlmfelf with unufual ftrength and warmth in 
 Eliot's favour, upon every point at iflue in the tranfaftion. 
 He had probably a wholefome fear of "my lord/' 
 operating with fuch other leaning as he might perfonally 
 have to the vice-admiral ; but, out of whatever motive 
 he had written, his letter was precifely of the kind to 
 touch a generous heart. Eliot's refentments were at 
 once flung down, and he defired that Mr. Secretary 
 fhould feel only the grateful fenfe he had infpired. 
 Thefe two contrafled letters of Sir John, following each 
 other fo clofely, are Angularly and happily charadteriflric 
 of a flirong, warm, high-fpirited, yet tender nature. 
 
 As all courtefies, he wrote (this letter bears date 
 the 1 8th of Auguft), were meafured from their own 
 centre, and by direft laws were drawn to more or lefs 
 according to the quality and greatnefs of the doer, fo was 
 the debt by like difl;ances enlarged. That confideration 
 made the writer's oweings infinite to his honour, who had 
 defcended to the refped: of one fo far beneath his worth. 
 It could not but be acknowledged noble in him, however 
 the unworthinefs of its objedl might oppofe the efFe<5b. 
 He confefled himfelf, looking back upon his troubled 
 life, an unapt fubjed: for any favour. It feemed as though 
 he had it caft in his fortunes to be unhappy, fince from 
 them fo many difficulties were refledted on his befl: hopes 
 that his defires were become troublefome. Sorry had he 
 been, of late, to be an occafion to his honour of fome 
 difturbance, in the thought of thofe bufinefles which con- 
 cerned him. He could not merit fuch great grace ; but 
 if his honour pleafed to pardon him, he fhould give his 
 whole endeavours for a recompenfe. Though thefe 
 might not fatisfy, they fhould be directed truly to ferve 
 him, and he would efleem them only as they fhould ex- 
 prefs his thankfulnefs. He had adted on Mr. Secretary's 
 diredion. He had prepared himfelf to move the lords 
 for his difcharge, and had the opportunity for their meet- 
 ing which gave him hope ; but fome ^ other bufinefs 
 
84 V. In the Marjhaljea Prijon. ^°°^jl- 
 
 intervenient, which fufFered him not either to be called 
 or heard, prevented all. In thefe bad fuccefles he muft 
 now fubmit to a long expedtation, fhadowing his inno- 
 cence under the protedtion of his honour's judgment ; in 
 which he was confident of a fair opinion. "Againft all 
 " croffes," he concluded, with a quiet manly refignation, 
 " I have that comfort, to be therein both rightlie knowen 
 "and underftood. My fufFerance will be little in 
 " reftraint, my reputation being free. In that, though 
 "I cannot fuddainlie fatisfie the whole world, having 
 "your honrable approbation I am fafe. Soe much 
 "now I crave, for which I fue to kifs your honor's 
 " hand ; and that I may have leave to be entitled as I 
 "am vowed your honor's thrice humble fervante J. 
 "Eliot."* 
 
 It is clear from this letter that Eliot had refigned 
 himfelf to a long imprifonment. Its exadt duration does 
 not appear, but he was certainly in cuftody at the 
 end of September. That is the date of a petition from 
 Nutt to the council which winds up the affair with 
 much appropriatenefs. The pirate is ftill under charge of 
 one of their meffengers ; but the fame favour to which he 
 owes his pardon, of which he fpeaks with becoming 
 pride, has alfo obtained him a grant of a hundred pounds 
 out of his fhip and goods feized by the vice-admiral of 
 Devon. Their lordfhips, that is, have granted, but the 
 vice-admiral won't pay. " Soe," complains this good 
 man, " it is, may it pleafe your good lo^', that S' John 
 " Elyott, being by the Judge of the Admiraltie required 
 " (in regard the goods were in his handes) to performe 
 " your lo""^ faid order, anfwereth that he cannot unles 
 " he may have libertie to go into the country. It was 
 " tould him that was noe excufe ; he might fend to his 
 "deputie. He anfwered he would not. Then the 
 
 * MS. S. P. O. Eliot to Conway. i8th Auguft, 1623. The fub- 
 joined memorandum is on the back. " Hartford Bridg. paft X aclock. 
 " Rec. at Bafinge Stoake at i afternoone." 
 
1619-1623. A Succejsful Villain. 85 
 
 "meflenger (in whofe euftody your petitioner is) 
 "offered him that he would take up a 100/. here in 
 " London if he would give fecuritie to paie it at Exeter 
 " to Alderman Provis in fome reafonable tyme. But 
 " he anfwered he would not ; faying the lordes might 
 " keepe him here 7 yeares, for ought he knew ; and that 
 " yo' lo'" faid order did nothing concerne him ! Neither 
 " would he deliver any goods unles it were taken from 
 "him by comifTion. So that y' lo''^ order is verie 
 " much flighted, and nothing at all regarded." * 
 
 That is the laft glimpfe we have of a connexion which 
 for the time, by fo ftrange a chance, linked, the for- 
 tunes of a man fo famous to thofe of one fo infamous ; 
 and it is fatisfadtory to obferve that Sir John's fpirit has 
 rifen, rather than flagged, with his prolonged imprifon- 
 ment. It may have proved to be a trial of his powers 
 of endurance, not inopportune, which was to fit him for 
 much that afterwards awaited him. When, in exadtly 
 nine years from this time, he was dying in another prifon, 
 " low in body, yet as high and lofty in mind as ever," 
 one of the news-letter men was writing to Lord Brooke 
 that Captain Plumleigh had been fent to the Irifli coafl; 
 with one of the fliips royal, and two whelps, to feek out 
 Nutt the pirate, but was met by him and twenty-feven 
 Turks who gave him chafe, and had the captain not hied 
 him the faflier into harbour, might have funk or taken 
 him.f With great propriety had the fuccefsful villain 
 repaid during thofe nine years, by a feries of fuch humilia- 
 tions as this, the royal favour and ftate proteftion which 
 alone faved him from the gallows Eliot had built for him. 
 He had become, at length, incomparably the greateft 
 nuifance in his majefl:y's dominions. Nothing on the 
 
 * MS. S. P. O. Addrefled " to the Right Honorable the Lordes and 
 " others of his Ma""'' raoft honorable Privy Counfell." 
 
 f Pory to Lord Brooke. MS. S. P. O. s5th Oaober 1632. The 
 fame letter contains the mention, hereafter to be quoted, of Sir John Eliot 
 dying of confumption in the Tower. 
 
86 V. In the Marjhalfea Prifon. 
 
 EooK IL 
 
 JS,T. 
 
 feas was fafe from him, and he ftruck at the higheft 
 quarry. Immediately after that Plumleigh adventure, 
 upon Lord Wentworth fending over to Ireland a fhipful 
 of luggage, furniture, wardrobe, and plate, for his due 
 equipment as lord-deputy, Nutt made prize of the 
 whole ; and there is no reafon to believe that he would 
 lefs have enjoyed this capture, if he happened to remem- 
 ber that Wentworth was very intimate firiend to his own 
 old friend and patron, ex-fecretary Sir George Calvert. 
 
 How long Eliot lingered, then, in the prifon of the 
 Marihalfea, is not known to us. Whether or not the firft 
 week in Odober, which witnefled Buckingham's return 
 from Spain, and found his vice-admiral ftill in prifon, may 
 be affumed to be alfo the date of Eliot's releafe, it is im- 
 poffible to fay. It is only certain that he was a free 
 man, and canvaffing for a feat in parliament, the fol- 
 lowing month. With what feeling the lord-admiral 
 viewed this long and monftrous imprifonment of his 
 own officer and reprefentative, for gallantly prote6ting 
 the fubjedt and fpiritedly enforcing the laws againft a 
 man who had paffed his life in plundering and outraging 
 both ; and whether Eliot's liberation was even at laft 
 attributable in any diredl way to himfelf ; no one has 
 cared to record for us. For a brief fpace after the return 
 from Madrid of the Prince and Buckingham, without 
 the Infanta, everything elfe was whirled away and for- 
 gotten in the fenfe of deliverance from Spain. Nothing 
 was audible but the fhout of popular welcome for the 
 prince and the favourite. " They came to London on 
 "Monday 6th Oftober," writes Laud in his Diary, 
 " and the greateft expreffion of joy by all forts of people 
 "that ever I faw." Perhaps Eliot himfelf thought 
 nothing for the moment of his wrongs. 
 
 To no man, even in that age, could the promife of 
 hoftility with Spain have come with more glad and eager 
 welcome than to Eliot. We have feen what his earlieft 
 impreffions on this- head are likely to have been, and we 
 
1619-1623. Hatred of Spain. 87 
 
 33- 
 
 know what were his later and fettled convidtions. It 
 is little to fay that he had never forgotten or forgiven 
 the death of Raleigh. It was his cardinal point of faith 
 in public affairs that the Spanifh power reprefented on this 
 earth the evil principle in politics and in religion. But 
 before the time (now imminent) arrives, wherein his 
 quick and ardent fpirit will be feen as refolute againft 
 evil in the council of the nation as heretofore againft its 
 champions on a narrower ftage, fome remark may pro- 
 perly be interpofed on the out-look of affairs at home and 
 abroad at this extraordinary period in England. 
 
 Matters of general hiftory or chara<5ler are neceffarily 
 here to be avoided, except fo far as may be needed for 
 illuftration of individual condu6t, or of particular quef- 
 tions calling forth its diftindtive energies; but it not 
 more belongs to my defign that the true weight and pur- 
 pofe fhould be given to individual charafter by fhowing 
 its relations to hiflory, than that light and life fhould be 
 carried into hiftory by particular details of character. 
 
/. The Meeting in \620. ^"""l"" 
 
 ^T. 
 
 BOOK THIRD. 
 
 KING James's last two parliaments. 
 1 620-1 — 1622-4- MT. 30 — 34. 
 
 /. The Meeting in 1620. 
 //. Proteft of the Commons of England. 
 
 III. Sfanifh Match and Journey. 
 
 IV. Calumny. 
 V. Preparation for the Meeting in 1623. 
 
 VI. Member for Newport. 
 VII. Prorogation and Dijfolution. 
 
 I. The Meeting in 1620. 
 
 O momentous a time as that at which the 
 parliament of 16 20-1 had met, now fome- 
 thing more than two years fince, had not 
 been known in England. Only eight years 
 were pafled fince the youthful German prince, Eledtor 
 Palfgraf, Count Palatine of the upper and lower Pala- 
 tinates, carried back to Heidelberg and Munich his newly- 
 wedded princefs, the eldeft daughter of England : but 
 events had filled thofe years fuch as make and unmake 
 kingdoms, and fettle for generations the deftiny of the 
 human race. Proteftant Bohemia had rifen againft her 
 Roman-catholic emperor; the young Count Palatine, 
 not waiting for his father-in-law's fanftion, had accepted 
 the crown offered him by the States ; and, after fix 
 months' pofl'efiion of an uneafy throne, was now a wan- 
 derer, ftripped of his Palatinate as well as of his crown. 
 
i6zo-i6.24- ji Chance for the Stuarts. 89 
 
 England, filled with hearts throbbing to affift him, had 
 been left fretting in vain and unfatisfied defire ; until 
 at length even James was fhamed out of his indifference, 
 and, haftily fummoning that parhament of 16 20-1, 
 feemed to promife the more a6tive interference to which 
 all that was devout and brave in the kingdom would 
 have urged and impelled the king. 
 
 When the news reached England of the offer, and 
 before the elector's acceptance, of the Bohemian crown, 
 there was one councillor of James whofe advice, if taken, 
 might have faved his dynafty. Archbifhop Abbot,* 
 attacked by gout, and unable to attend the board, fent 
 by letter to the fecretary of flate his opinion that the 
 Falfgraf fhould accept, that England fhould fupport 
 him openly, and that, as foon as news of his coronation 
 fhould arrive, the bells fhould be rung, guns fired, and 
 bonfires made, to let all Europe know that fuch was the 
 determmation. "Methinks I forefee in this," faid the 
 pious prelate, " the work of God, that by degrees the 
 " kings of the earth fhall leave the whore to defolation." 
 Dodtor Lingard makes merry with the phrafe ; but what 
 the brave old man went on to fay, is what wifer hiftorians 
 than Lingard, writing after better ufe of the experience 
 of two centuries, have feen to be verily and fimply true. 
 Out of the opportunities then lofl iffued diredfely the 
 Thirty Years' War. James's fon-in-law required only 
 hearty fupport, in that critical hour, to have maintained 
 
 * No better witnefs to charafler is borne in hiftory than that which this 
 brave old primate draws from the inftinftive difliice that exifted ever between 
 him and the man who was to fucceed him in his great office. " 1610. The 
 " Lord Chancellor Elftnere's complaint againft me to the king at Xmas. 
 " He was incited againft me by Dr. Abbot, Lord Archbifhop of Canterbury 
 " eleft." Diary of Laud — who was at that time flowly but furely creeping 
 up, by help of Carr, into the power and favour which Villiers confirmed and 
 extended to him. It was not in the open and courageous temper of Abbot 
 to be tolerant of a nature fo oppofed to his own, and it is, I repeat, among 
 the worthieft tributes to his charafter that the favourite of the two court 
 favourites, Somerfet and Buckingham, always knew him for his enemy. 
 " 1611. The Archbifhop of Canterbury was the original caufe of all my 
 " troubles." Diary. 
 
9© /. ^he Meeting in 1620. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 jET. 
 
 his crown, to have broken the power of the houfe of 
 Auftria in Eaftern Europe, and to have barred the pro- 
 grefs of Rpman-catholicifm for ever.* Our ftriking in, 
 continued the wife archbiihop, " will comfort the Bohe- 
 '' mians, and bring in the Dutch and Dane, and Hun- 
 " gary will run the fame fortune. As for money and 
 " means, let us truft God and the Parliament, as the 
 " old and honorable way of raifing money. This from 
 " my bed, September 1 2th, 1619; and when I can ftand, 
 " I will do better fervice." f 
 
 Alas for the poor old king, not capable of fervice fo 
 noble ; who thought it peftilent herefy againft divine- 
 right doftrine, that fubjefts fhould depofe their fovereign 
 for a difference in religion ; and from whom all the en- 
 thufiafm of his people could only win grudging confent 
 to the difpatch of a volunteer force of four or five thou- 
 fand men, which he left expofed and unfupported to the 
 attack of overwhelming numbers. He would not ac- 
 knowledge the kingihip of the eledtor, or permit in- 
 tervention, even then, except folely for protediion of the 
 Palatinate ; and while the braveft youths of the firfl: 
 Englifh families were flinging away their lives in the 
 quarrel fo ardently embraced, fighting againft fearful 
 odds in both Palatinates, the foolifti king was hugging 
 himfelf with delight over his dearly-loved Spanifh match, 
 which was to bring pricelefs bags of gold into the royal 
 treafury, and Gondomar, fecretly inftru6ted againft the 
 match, and incomparably the ableft as he was the moft 
 unfcrupulous diplomatift of the time, was egregioufly 
 out-witting him. 
 
 Never had the Stuarts any other fuch chance as of 
 leading that army of the Proteftant Union. It was the 
 tide in their affairs they then miffed for ever, and only 
 fhallows and fhipwreck remained for them. While they 
 
 * Thefe are almoft the very words employed by Ranke (ffi/?. of the 
 Popes). 
 
 t Cabala i. 12. Neal's Hift. of Puritans, ii. loS, ed. 182a. 
 
1620-1624. <rhe People and the King. 91 
 
 were going one way, the people they would have go- 
 verned were going the exa6t oppofite way, and foon or 
 late the breach could not but be irreparable. But as yet 
 there was hope; and the people were eager for any 
 chance to retrieve the lofles lately undergone. The king 
 himfelf had not been able to fee unmoved his daughter 
 and her hufband driven as beggars from their homes, 
 and he would certainly have got them back the Palati- 
 nate if coaxing or wheedling might have done it. He 
 tried embaffies ; he tried grants of money ; and with fuch 
 willingnefs had all men contributed to even a hateful 
 benevolence having that for its excufe, that he refolved 
 finally to try a parliament. A fhout of pleafure rofe at 
 that intelligence, and excitement and expedtation were 
 univerfal. Strangers crowded up to London, the ftreets 
 became thronged with people, and the belief everywhere 
 prevailed that a blow was yet to be ftruck for the good 
 caufe. 
 
 Simonds D'Ewes, a fhrewd, obfervant, quick-eyed 
 youth of eighteen, was among that " greateft concourfe 
 " and throng of people that hath been feen," which, on 
 a day of ill omen to the Stuart race, Tuefday the 30th 
 January 16 20-1, faw this parliament opened. He faw 
 the king, amid magnificent attendance, ride down to 
 the abbey, and obferved him, as all the great ladies 
 thronged the windows on his way, fingle out for recog- 
 nition only the mother and wife of Buckingham. He 
 faw him nodding particularly to the Spanifh ambaflador 
 Gondomar ; and heard him, contrary to his ufual wont of 
 bidding a " pox " or a " plague " feize fuch as flocked to 
 fee him, crying out a " God blefs ye ! God blefs ye ! " 
 to the crowds ftanding thick and threefold on all fides.* 
 He had probably never feen the Englifh people with fuch 
 expreflion as they carried on their faces then. Sympathy 
 and hope were there. There had not been a parliament 
 
 * D'EtJues's Autobiography ii. 215. 
 
92 I. The Meeting in 1620. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 for nigh feven years, and what but a parliament could 
 eiFeftually help thofe brave Proteftant hearts over the 
 fea? 
 
 Alas that fuch promife bore not its proper fruit 1 
 Neverthelefs this convention, aflembled amid cries of 
 eager hope and gladnefe unheard in England fince the 
 great queen's time, fucceeded in achieving refults that 
 made it memorable to fucceeding generations, though it 
 tranfadled not the fpecial work which it moft defired to 
 have done. It fat from the opening of February until 
 nearly the clofe of May, and never before had the voice 
 of the Engliili people been made fo audible to everyone, 
 fo terrible to many. To the hopes of the nation it had 
 fo far been able to refpond as to give vifible form and 
 preffure to the national grievances and complaints. It 
 had made itfelf, indeed, the Grand Inqueft of England. 
 Its fubfidies could not fave the Palatinate. In that 
 diredtion it was powerlefs but by entreaty and prayer. 
 But nothing that was fairly within its reach had been 
 dropped from its enquiry ; and, during the four months 
 pafled fince it met, an intolerable weight of oppreffion 
 and fraud had been lifted from the land. Trade had 
 been releafed, juftice purified, and the right to make 
 offenders againft the public refponfible by impeachment 
 refcued from the fleep of centuries. Hardly furprifing 
 was it, therefore, that notwithftanding the one great dif- 
 appointment, the ftill furviving hope and irrepreffible 
 defire of the people fliould have made itfelf felt on the 
 day of its adjournment, almoft as vividly as at the day of 
 its meeting. 
 
 On the previous morning the king had received 
 from both houfes reafons of urgency for prevent- 
 ing all export of ordnance from the kingdom until 
 their reaffembling, and for giving free liberty of 
 trade at the outports ; on which latter fubjeft, as 
 the commons were now about to feparate, fome 
 further queftion arofe, and feveral members had taken 
 
1620-1624. speech by Sir James Perrot. ^2 
 
 31 
 
 occafion fliarply to denounce abufes at the outports con- 
 nedted with the farming of cuftoms ; when Sir James 
 ■Perrot rofe.* The houfe had been very anxious, he 
 faid, about his majefty's cuftoms, and provifion for 
 the farming thereof at the various ports; but One 
 other port there was, not named, to which all muft 
 look as their fureft refting-place when the merchan- 
 dife, trade, and traffic of this life fhould have an 
 end, and for that it was more needful that provifion 
 ■fhould be made. Let them remember the maintenance 
 of true religion. (Interrupted for a time by the agi- 
 tation on all fides vifibly increafing, the fpeaker paufed 
 and then refumed.) He pointed out the defperate con- 
 dition of affairs abroad ; he referred to the king"'s 
 princely and pious proteftation at the opening of par- 
 liament; and he befought the houfe that in God's caufe 
 and that of his majefty's children they would declare 
 themfelves ready, on their return to that place, to adven- 
 ture their lives and eftates, all that belonged to them or 
 wherein they took intereft, for maintenance of that facred 
 caufe and of his majefty's royal ifl"ue. Let them place fuch a 
 declaration on record. Let each man be bound by folemn 
 obligation to the performance of that promife. So would 
 they difcharge their duty to Heaven, facilitate the treaties 
 his majefty had in hand with foreign princes concerning 
 this caufe, and peradventure enable their king to relieve 
 the diftrefled, to refcue religion, to recover the patrimony 
 of his daughter's children, and to perform his own 
 princely promifes. " Much joy was there at thefe words," 
 fays the old reporter, " and a general confent ; " where- 
 
 * He was the fon of Elizabeth's Irifti Deputy, and had inherited the capacity 
 and energy of his father. Let me here at once remark that the parliamentary 
 fpeeches to be quoted in this and the next following feftion are drawn from 
 a careful collation of journals, printed and in MS., with that moft full and 
 interefting report, by a member of the houfe, publiftied at Oxford in 1766 
 from the original MS. in the library of Queen's-coUege, and contained in 
 the two volumes entitled Proceedings and Debates of the Houfe of Commons 
 in 1620 and i6zi. (Clarendon Prefi.) 
 
94 I- The Meeting in iGio. Bookiii. 
 
 upon Sir Robert Philips rofe to fecond them with words 
 yet more bold and plain. Treaties or no treaties, he 
 faid, let them declare that if his majefty fhould not, by 
 peace, obtain recovery of the Palatinate, and a fettlement 
 of true religion, at that hour fo fhaken, they all would 
 undertake, on behalf of the feveral fliires and places they 
 ferved for, to adventure in that enterprife their fortunes, 
 their eftates, their lives ! As Philips refumed his feat, the 
 excitement had rifen to an extraordinary pitch ; and it 
 was amid " a general acclamation and waving of hats" 
 that Sir Thomas Wentworth, the member for Yorkfliire, 
 rofe to fpeak after him. 
 
 Even at that fupreme moment of national fervour and 
 religious afpiration (" I hope," Philips had taken occa- 
 fion to fay, " every man of us hath prayed for direction 
 " before coming hither this morning ! ") the thought of 
 Wentworth, fuppofed at this time by all the hiftorians 
 to have been folely for the people, was entirely and ex- 
 clufively for the king. " He moveth Mr. Speaker 
 " with the whole houfe may prefent fuch declaration to 
 " the king's majefty, and leave it with him as a teftimony 
 " of their duty." No, the houfe would not have it fo. 
 Not as a teftimony of duty to the king, but as a pledge 
 folemnly interchanged with each other, and entailing 
 every perfonal facrifice needful for the national religion 
 and the national honour, the declaration fhould ftand on 
 record in their clerk's book until the time came to re- 
 deem it, and each member ftiould tranfcribe therefrom 
 a copy for his own ufe. Whether or not it could be 
 made grateful to his majefty, was not then to be dif- 
 cufTed ; but hardly any pains was taken to fupprefs the 
 hope that it might coerce him ultimately into war. 
 " Rather this Declaration," cried Sir Edward Cecil and 
 Sir Nathaniel Rich, as, after entry into the clerk's book, 
 in befitting and noble language, it was read aloud by the 
 Speaker, " rather this Declaration, than ten thoufand 
 " men already on the march ! " 
 
I620-I624. Laft Day of the Seffion. 95 
 
 So grandly, to the end, pafled away that very me- 
 morable fitting of parliament. " Joy and confent," fays 
 the old reporter, "founded forth with the voices of 
 "them all, withal lifting their hats in their hands, as 
 " high as they could hold them, as a vifible teftimony of 
 " their unanimous confent, in fuch fort that the like had 
 " fcarce ever been feen in parliament." Nothing then 
 remained but that the Speaker Ihould pronounce the 
 adjournment, when Sir Edward Coke arofe, and de- 
 iiring the houfe to fay after him, recited the Gunpowder- 
 plot thankfgiving. Tears were in the old man's eyes, 
 remarks a member who was prefent, as feveral hundred 
 voices blended with him in the folemn utterance of 
 thanks to Almighty God for that in all ages He had 
 fliown His power and mercy in the miraculous and 
 gracious deliverance of His church, and in the protec- 
 tion of righteous and religious kings and ftates profeffing 
 His holy and eternal truth, from the wicked confpiracies 
 and malicious praftices of all the enemies thereof. 
 
 Acrofs the gulf of two hundred and forty years we 
 can ftill hear that prayer from the Englilh commons, 
 reprefentatives of the people their conftituencies, but 
 alfo fervants of God their creator ; and we can under- 
 ftand what tremendous fignificance the fad carried with 
 it for all who could read it truly. 
 
 Unhappily for the Englifh court, as it then was, 
 the fadl pofTefled no fignificance ; and when, after a recefs 
 of five months, parliament met again, the king and his 
 minifters were as far as ever from bravely aflcing the 
 people's reprefentatives to redeem that folemn pledge 
 of the 4th of June to which fubfequent events had given 
 even additional impreffivenefs. The engagement to 
 which pradtically the commons had bound themfelves, 
 was, that if the king's noftrum for peacefully recovering 
 the Palatinate fhould fail, they would cheerfully, on re- 
 affembling, give their lives and fortunes for that caufe, 
 and in a war for the true religion. But, alas ! now that 
 
96 /. 'The Meetifig in 1620. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 they were again met, his majefty had only to tell them 
 that, all his bargaining by treaty having failed, he was 
 yet as much as ever indifpofed to draw the fword. 
 
 And what, meanwhile, were the events that had filled 
 England more and more with indignation and forrow ? 
 The upper Palatinate had been conquered and feized by 
 Spinola ; and, in the lower Palatinate, ftill overrun by his 
 Spanilh wolves, only the hafty levies of one of the free 
 lances of Germany, Count Erneft Mansfeldt, had faved 
 from annihilation the fmall and gallant bandof Englifhmen 
 who volunteered to its defence under Sir Horace Vere. 
 In Heidelberg, in Manheim, in Frankenthal, fince the 
 commons feparated on that 4th of June, the nobleft 
 Englifh youths* had flood at bay againft overwhelming 
 numbers, and the fuccour promifed them had not been 
 fent. With war on all fides raging, nobody had talked 
 of peace but the Englifli ambafli,dors, who had become 
 the Iaughing-fl;ock of Europe.f The very union of 
 the German princes, as the poor unfortunate Palfgraf 
 could not but reproach his father-in-law, had been re- 
 laxed and weakened by the lukewarmnefs of the Englifh 
 
 * Sir Thomas (afterwards Lord) Fairfax, of Denton, grandfather of the 
 parliamentary general, had two fons, William and John, flain in this fiege. 
 Henry Lord Clifford, Wentworth's brother-in-law (afterwards Earl of 
 Cumberland), faw them die, and told their father that it was not until 
 " they had fcorned to accept of the enemy's offer of fafety, if they would 
 " yield therafelves prifoners." Another paffage of his letter is ftriking. 
 " The brave Tallies out of Frankenthal were fo often made with fuccefs by 
 " them, as I think it is impoffible for time to furvive the honourable 
 " memory of them, as for tears to reftore again to life the noble executioners 
 " of them ; for (with the lofs of fourfcore of our men) there were flain above 
 " two thoufand of the braveft Spaniards which Spinola left behind him in 
 " the Palatinate." 
 
 f In Flanders they prefented in their comedies melTengers bringing news 
 that England was ready to fend a hundred thoufand ambajfadars to the 
 affiftance of the Palatinate. They depifted the king in one place with a fcab- 
 bard without a fword ; in another place, with a fword that nobody could 
 draw, though divers perfons ftood pulling at it. In Bruffels they painted him 
 with his empty pockets hanging out, and his purfe turned upfide down. In 
 Antwerp the Queen of Bohemia figured as a poor Irifti " mantler," with her 
 hair hanging about her ears and her child at her back, her father carrying 
 the cradle after her. 
 
1620-1624, Opening of the Second SeJJion. 97 
 
 king ; and now matters were arrived at fuch a pafs, that, 
 as Lord Digby told both houfes, "his majefty muji 
 " either^ abandon his children, or begin and wage war." 
 His majefty neverthelefs ftill ingeminated peace, even in 
 his very fpeeches for fupply. Give me, he faid, fo much 
 for the aid of Mansfeldt to enable him to ftand his 
 ground in the Palatinate ; and fo much more for another 
 effort, by treaty, to avoid a religious war. The anfwer 
 of the commons to both points gave back no uncertain 
 found. 
 
 With what followed in detail, however, I have only 
 concern here, in fo far as it exhibits the juft detefta- 
 tion of the Englifh people at any intimate alliance with 
 Spain, and explains the ecftafy of infinite relief with 
 which they faw fuch a project abandoned. 
 
 The keynote of the tone taken on the requeft for fupply 
 was ftruck by Sir Dudley Digges, who had lately added 
 to his other accomplifhments fome foreign experiences, 
 and was now, with opinions yet indecifive and doubting, 
 lending his undoubted abilities. to the country fide. 
 He was for a fupply to maintain fuch hold as was yet 
 retained over the lower Palatinate, but with no hope of 
 other good except from a war of diverfion, and no defire 
 to contribute further unlefs for that exprefs defign. After 
 him rofe Sir Benjamin Rudyard, who, though connecfted 
 with the court by his office in the Wards, and earneft for a 
 prefent fupply, fpoke ftill more hotly for religion "battered 
 " abroad and mouldering here at home ; " which would 
 no more, he faid, be helped by treaties, but only by that 
 which none there valued his foul at fo low a price as to 
 refufe to give, fortune and life to maintain a war. Then 
 came Sir Miles Fleetwood, for immediate help to the 
 lower Palatinate, and for giving all that the king re- 
 quired ; but to him fucceeded Sir James Perrot, who, 
 claiming efpecially to be heard as having firft moved the 
 matter whereupon their declaration of June was made, 
 declared his readinefs to vote any amount of fupply 
 
 VOL. r. H 
 
9 8 1. The Meetin? in iSlo. Bookiii. 
 
 -^ O JET. 
 
 MT. 
 
 upon two conditions : of which the firft was, that " what 
 " we give, to have it difpofed to the end for which 
 " given ; " and the fecond, that no end fliould content 
 them which flopped fhort of war. He entered into 
 fome curious details. He would have them think 
 what pofition they were in. Their religion called 
 for help, and fuch help they could render. The country 
 was poor, but the kingdom was rich. The Eaft India 
 company had nigh two millions in bank in London, and 
 the ufurers of the city had at leaft more than a million. 
 Trade was languifhing, and the common people were lying 
 under grievous burdens ; but not the lefs in that great 
 town was money extravagantly fquandered, and it feemed 
 as though the nobility and gentry reforted thither to fpend 
 their eftates on jewels and clothes, on toys and luxury. 
 What would go far to the annual coft of a reafonable 
 armed force, upwards of a hundred thoufand pounds, 
 was yearly fpent in tobacco. He would have fuch a 
 fubfidy as might reftrain that wafte, without obftrufting 
 commerce ; and, at once providing laws to fecure them- 
 felves againft papifts at home, he would have them let 
 loofe war againft popery abroad. Heretofore they had 
 done many noble aftions. They had vanquiihed France, 
 they had fupported the Netherlands, they had fupplanted 
 Wales, they had affronted and refifted Spain ; and not 
 to fhow themfelves now for defence of religion and re- 
 covery of the Palatinate, would be a diilionour to their 
 hiftory and fame. 
 
 Amid the excitement created by this fpeech Sir Ed- 
 ward Sackville rofe. He was a man whom all regarded 
 with intereft. Supreme in beauty of perfon and feduc- 
 tivenefs of manner, grandfon to queen Elizabeth's Sack- 
 ville of Buckhurft, he was one who had travelled and 
 fought in many lands, and the fame who had that def- 
 perate duel, feven years ago, with young Lord Bruce of 
 Kinlofs in the wet green meadows between Antwerp and 
 Bergen ap Zoom. Since June he had been himfelf in 
 
1620-1624. Sir E. Sackville and Sir R. Philips. 99 
 
 the Palatinate, had talked with Mansfeldt and Vere, and 
 could fay, without fufpicion of court diflikes or puritan 
 prepoffeffions, how matters were faring there. Very- 
 brief, but ftriking, was the language he employed. 
 The paffing-bell, he faid, was now tolling for religion : 
 but as for one dying, not yet dead. Hope for recovery 
 exifting ftill, let them but confider only of two things, 
 what to do, and what not to talk about. Let them vote 
 fupply; lefs than the Lord Treafurer had aflced, but 
 enough for the fafety of the troops of Vere and Mans- 
 feldt; and let them difcourfe of nothing elfe till that 
 was eiFedled. 
 
 Thefe fliort fentences, ringing folemnly out upon the 
 houfe like the pafling-bell they fpoke of, had produced 
 an eiFed; of which the great fpeaker who followed knew 
 how to avail himfelf. Sir Robert Philips was againft 
 any prefent fubfidy. Let them raife the needful fupply 
 for the Palatinate by other means, and delay further 
 fubfidy till they fhould meet again as promifed. Could 
 the houfe doubt, after what they heard, wherein they had 
 moft fuffered ? Reputation and honour were great ad- 
 vancers of great defigns, and he doubted if any honour 
 remained to their nation abroad. God added a crown 
 to the crown of England. God took it away. The 
 crown might have been kept on the Palatine's head with 
 as good right as other Chriftian kings enjoyed their crowns 
 by, and with as little coft as it would now take to keep 
 what remained of their own in the Palatinate. In a war 
 for religion lay their only fafety. He faw not what 
 was to be done by war for the Palatinate alone. And 
 let them in any cafe firft fecure themfelves at home. 
 There could be no fecurity while the papifts, only half 
 fubjedls of the crown, increafed fo much in numbers 
 and confidence. Spain had their hearts, and how could 
 they be loyal fubjedls .' Let the houfe be warned. 
 They had grown infolent, and difputed of their religion 
 boldly, and talked of the Proteftant fa£lion ! Let timely 
 
loo /. The Meeting in 1620. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 means be taken to avert this great danger, not leaving 
 it to the chances of a late improvident repentance. Let 
 them, by contribution, fupply enough to maintain 
 Mansfeldt and Vere ; and at their next meeting, by all 
 needful fubfidies, let them prepare for a thorough war. 
 Yes, cried Sir Edward Giles, Eliot's countryman and 
 friend, taking up the note at the pitch whereto the 
 lafl: great fpeaker had raifed it ; yes, and to make a 
 thorough war we muft do as the great queen did, not 
 only defend but enrich ourfelves. Elizabeth fought the 
 Spaniard at home, and found out his Indies. Do you 
 the like. Guard, too, againft popery among yourfelves, 
 for now it is brave and daring everywhere ; and attempt 
 no more by treaty, unlefs with drawn Iwords in your 
 hands ! 
 
 In the fame bold outfpoken ftrain, taking up the 
 argument of Philips, and producing fcarcely lefs efFedt, 
 fucceeded the wife and honeft lawyer Crewe. He was 
 againft any prefent giving. Before even declaring him- 
 felf for war, he defired firft to know againft whom they 
 were to fight ; and he was not for fighting with a treaty 
 in one hand and a fword in the other. Ever was more 
 loft by the treaty than was gained by the fword. Let 
 them not give now, but firft know the?r enemy. He 
 warned them that if they did not bend their forces 
 againft the Spaniard, nothing would be gained. It was 
 he who fupplied the means for the war now raging ; v/ 
 it was he from whom all evil counfel had come ; it was ''^ 
 his encouragement that made popery in England fo 
 common and fo bold. They muft give good laws 
 before they impofed frefti burdens, and they muft pro- 
 ted: themfelves againft domeftic as well as foreign foes. 
 There could be no halting between two religions. Let 
 the kingdom be cleared of jefuits. Let the only walls 
 built around them be their ftiips. Let them but have 
 hope their prince would be matched to one of their 
 own religion. Then let them give willingly and largely, 
 celeri et plena manu I 
 
1620-1624. Debate on Spain. 101 
 
 II. Protest of the Commons of England. 
 
 The madnefs of the court in perfifting, againft fuch a 
 fpirit as this in the leaders of the nation, with the fcheme 
 for intermarriage of the prince of Wales with the Spaniih 
 infanta, feems almoft incredible. Though it had long 
 been rumoured and talked about, no one out of the 
 court believed it to be poffible. But nothing could 
 move the king from what he conceived to be his mafter- 
 piece of kingcraft, to outwit France by fo powerful 
 an alliance, to get back the Palatinate without a war, and 
 fo to fill his treafury with the dollars and doubloons of 
 Spain, fo to gather up fome part of her accumulations of 
 Weftern ore andof Eaftern fpices,as to have no more need 
 of a parliament at Weflminfter for many a day ! Thus, 
 while yet the commons were difcuffing conditions and 
 amount of fupply, the long talked-of and univerfally dif- 
 credited match had come again in queftion, and the 
 allufion of Crewe fupplied all that was needed to fet the 
 houfe aflame. 
 
 The very fped:acle of power and greatnefs at this 
 time prefented by Spain, and which had dazed and be- 
 wildered the poor old Englifh king, was precifely the fecret 
 of the refiftance made to her, and to the principle of evil 
 fhe was believed to reprefent, by the brave and gallant 
 men who reprefented the Englifh people. The people 
 themfelves fl:ill remembered for whom their favourite 
 Raleigh had been facrificed, and ftill awfully regarded 
 her power as the fource of every poffible difafler. 
 Though the great queen had dealt her fome heavy 
 blows, and foreign conquefl: had begun to make ravage 
 upon her both weflward and eaftward, fhe was flill the 
 empire largeil in extent, and apparently exhauftlefs in 
 wealth, exifting on the earth. The more need there 
 was that the truth fhould be told of her, and that it 
 fliould be admitted plainly who it was that occupied 
 
102 //. Vroteft of the Commons of England. book in 
 
 JVY. 
 
 that throne, outfliining indeed the wealth ofOrmuzorof 
 Ind, but aflbciated with as much arrogance, fin, perfecu- 
 tion, and darknefs, as had ever made war againft the Moft 
 High. 
 
 When the king's fecretary, Calvert, backed by his 
 colleague in the reprefentation of Yorkfhire, Sir Thomas 
 Wentworth, had done all that feemed poffible to allay 
 the ftorm. Sir Edward Coke arofe. His breach with the 
 court was at this time complete, and his fervice to the 
 commons had won for him, during the recefs, a profe- 
 cution inftigated and fupported by the party of the 
 favourite. After broadly avowing himfelf of the opinion 
 of Sir Robert Philips, that more ftiould be known before 
 anything was given, he proceeded to launch out into a 
 feries of the moft fierce invedtives againft Spain. He 
 detailed her cruelties and her treacheries, her fecret con- 
 fpiracies and affaffinations, her incurable falfehood and 
 bad faith. It was Spain who had prompted a long 
 fucceflion of attempts on the life of their great Elizabeth ; 
 who fent Lopez, a Spaniard, to read to her in philofophy, 
 and to poifon her while he read ; who bribed fervants in 
 her ftables to place poifon on the pommel of her faddle, 
 fo that, laying her hand thereon, flie might perifh ; and 
 who, thirty-three years ago, while her commiffioners were 
 in Madrid treating of peace, fent hither the Grand 
 Armada. Could anything good come out of that land? 
 Was not the firft rot, or fcab, that came among Eng- 
 liih ftieep, brought by one out of Spain ; and did not of 
 all difeafes the moft loathfome come firft out of Naples, 
 one of the dominions of the Spanifti king ? Let them 
 take timely warning, then, that never came there hither 
 anything from Spain that did not either damage us or 
 endeavour it ! 
 
 So fpoke the refolute old lawyer, acceflible no longer 
 to either hope or fear ; and his fpeech, of which thefe 
 are but the moft diftant hints, was long and bitterly 
 remembered. There was hardly a man in the houfe, ex- 
 
i6ao-i624. Roman Catholic claims Denounced. 103 
 
 eluding the minifters and their friends, among whom muft 
 be reckoned Wentworth, whofe heart did not leap to 
 that fcathing denunciation of the powerful enemy of his 
 country and his faith. Never yet had been levelled fo 
 daring an aflault on the darling projedt of the king ; 
 and in the temper excited by it. Philips rofe and carried 
 a propofal to refer the whole fubjedb of fupply to com- 
 mittee, which fhould be inftruded to include in their 
 report as well religion as fupply. A general Ihout of 
 aflent arofe. So we did in the great queen's time. So, 
 in 27th Elizabeth, when the fovereignty of the Low 
 Countries was offered her, we debated It in committee. 
 So, when the Low Countries alked for aid, it was de- 
 bated here. It is good to follow ancient precedents in 
 fuch weighty caufes and bufineffes. Thus therefore it 
 was determined; and two days had not paffed when 
 the committee brought in their report. 
 
 It was read amid great excitement. It declared the 
 recent dangerous increafe of popery in the kingdom, 
 and its caufes ; it fet forth the objedts of the Pope and 
 of his deareft fon, the King of Spain, as in the one cafe 
 a fpiritual fupremacy, and in the other a temporal 
 monarchy, over the whole of the earth; it defcrlbed 
 thefe two powers, neverthelefs, as claiming and obtaining 
 the allegiance of Roman-catholics in England ; It pointed 
 out the hopes that had been ralfed upon the difafters of 
 the Palatinate, and the ufes made of them; and It 
 aflerted that the Englllh Roman-catholic party, fo en- 
 couraged, and further exulting in the report of an in- 
 tended marriage between the prince of Wales and the 
 Spanifh infanta, were now reforting In crowds to mafs In 
 the chapels of foreign ambaffadors, were fending their 
 children to foreign parts to be educated In a faith alien 
 to that of England, and were permitted everywhere to 
 compound for forfeiture on eafy terms. It then, in wife 
 and well-meafured words, proceeded to juftify, for de- 
 fence of religion and the ftate, the repreffive meafures it 
 
I04 //. Troteft of the Commons of England. bookiii. 
 
 ^T. 
 
 demanded. The Popifh religion, it declared, was incom- 
 patible with Proteftantifm and with Freedom. It drew 
 with it unavoidable dependency on foreign princes.* Its 
 refllefs fpirit admitted no equality. If it once got a con- 
 nivancy, it would prefs for a toleration. If it obtained 
 toleration, it would infift upon equality. If equality 
 were achieved, it would afpire to fuperiority ; and never 
 would it reft till it could trample on the true religion. 
 Wherefore was his majefty adjured, by the glory of 
 God, whofe caufe it was ; by the zeal of right religion, 
 in which the members of that houfe had been born, 
 and by God's grace were refolved to die ; by the fafety 
 of his royal perfon, which was the life of his people ; by 
 the happinefs of his children and pofterity, and the 
 honour and welfare of his church and ftate — now, 
 fpeedily and efFedtually, to take the fword into his 
 hand ; to reunite the princes and ftates of the union, 
 weakened and broken by his falling off; to bend the 
 ftrength of war, and turn the point of his fword, di- 
 redtly againft the king of Spain ; to fruftrate evil hopes, 
 and fecure fucceeding ages, by marrying his fon timely 
 and happily to one of his own religion ; to give order 
 for the Englifh education of Englifti children ; and to 
 prefs all due and neceflary forfeitures. Which done, that 
 houfe, by their daily, hearty, and devout prayers to the 
 Almighty, the great King of kings, would contend for 
 a bleffing on his majefty's endeavours, and for his long 
 and happy reign, and for that of his children's children 
 after him, for many and many generations. In fine, the 
 fubfidy was offered, as voted conditionally. 
 
 No debate immediately followed. When the Speaker, 
 
 * It is extraordinary with what vividnefs each incident of the Low 
 Country campaigns of thirty-five years ago appears imprefTed on the minds 
 and hearts of this fucceeding generation. The furrender, by Englifli 
 Roman-catholic gentlemen, of Deventer and Fort Zutphen, was appealed 
 to frequently as the very type of Popifti dependence and untruftworthinefs ; 
 not with anger againft the Stanleys and Yorks, fo much as with horror 
 at a religious fyftem incompatible with loyalty, nationality, and freedom. 
 
1620-1624. A Royal claim Difputed. 105 
 
 who had read this remarkable paper {landing, refumed 
 his feat, the chancellor of the duchy. Sir Humphrey- 
 May, not aiFefting to conceal his amazement at lan- 
 guage " of fo high and tranfcendant a nature as he never 
 " knew the like within the compafs of thofe walls," 
 moved to fufpend further difcuffion till the next day ; 
 when the courtiers and privy councillors, who faw the 
 ftorm that muft arife if the claufe againfl: the prince's 
 marriage were perfifted in, attended in as great force as 
 they could mufter, and rofe in fucceflion to call attention 
 to the danger implied in fuch a claim, fince no treaties 
 could begin from that houfe. The danger was doubt- 
 lefs great, faid Sir James Perrot, but far more imminent 
 the peril of fuch a marriage. Let them refledl on what 
 was too often witnefTed in private families where man and 
 wife were of contrary religions. And he inftanced a 
 cafe that had juft occurred at Adton, where a recufant 
 wife had with her own hands murdered two of her 
 children rather than that her hufband ihould train them 
 up in a religion different from her own. On the other 
 hand. Vane, Wentworth, and others urged the danger of 
 grafping at more than they had any chance of holding 
 faft ; to which Crewe with great fpirit replied that they 
 were affuming no authority or intereft to which they had 
 not juft and irrefragable title as the Englifh commons, 
 whofe bounden duty it was humbly to ftiow, by petition, 
 whatever might be prejudicial to the king and the ftate. 
 For his own part, he added, as with forecaft of all the 
 mifery that awaited the family on the throne through 
 " many and many " generations from one fatal obftinacy, 
 he wondered to fee the fpiritual madnefs of fuch as would 
 fall in love with the Romifti harlot, now fhe was grown 
 fo old a hag. 
 
 Everything meanwhile had been told to the irafcible 
 old monarch. A copy of the report had been, .privately 
 laid before him at Theobalds, and in a towering rage 
 he had indited thofe letters to fecretary Calvert, which 
 
io6 //. Vrotefi of the Commons of England. Book in, 
 
 warned the houfe of commons againft further meddling 
 with his myfteries of government ; which declared not 
 alone his belief that he had the right, but his determina- 
 tion to exercife the power, of punifhing every man's 
 mifdemeanour in parliament as well during their fitting 
 as after; which rebuked them for their foul-mouthed 
 oratory againft the king of Spain ; and declared himfelf 
 a king too old and experienced to allow of their claim- 
 ing as their ancient and undoubted inheritance and right, 
 privileges that had been derived folejy from the grace 
 and permiffion of his kingly anceftors and himfelf. 
 
 Thefe letters, it hardly needs to fay, led to the memo- 
 rable Proteftation of Tuefday night the i8th December 
 162 1, entered on the journals as of record, and torn there- 
 from by the king's own hand, but remaining neverthelefs 
 among thofe moft indelible of all records, never to be 
 defaced or deftroyed, which are the fecurities and title- 
 deeds of Englifh freedom. 
 
 The days when this Proteft was debated, Saturday, 
 Monday, and Tuefday, the 15 th, 17 th, and 1 8 th of De- 
 cember, were remarkable for one of the fevereft frofts 
 ever known in London. " Such heat within," wrote an 
 old courtier to Wefton, "and the Thames impaflable 
 " without for froft and fnow." Yet was the heat tempered 
 by a fettled and folemn refolve. Another of the courtiers 
 informed Sir Dudley Carleton that on the day when the 
 king's letters were read, " letters of a kind that never 
 " fovereign in England had writ before," fuch was the 
 houfe's reception thereof that they deferred immediate 
 difcuffion and betook themfelves to prayer. The fa6t is 
 named with no accompaniment of wonder or derifion. 
 No man, however ftrong might be his fympathies with the 
 court, for a moment doubted that the ftruggle with it 
 now begun, and not again to clofe until refolved for ever, 
 was bafed upon conviftions of the very effence of life 
 itfelf, irremovable as its higheft purpofes here, and inde- 
 ftrudtible as its hopes hereafter. 
 
1 620-1624. Privilege of Parliament Debated. 107 
 
 All ordinary bufinefs was laid afide. It will be ill 
 news for our conftituents, faid Wentworth, if we take 
 no bills into the country with us. We (hall not carry 
 good news into the country, retorted Philips, if we tell 
 them we have brought them bills, but have loft them our 
 liberties and privileges. Bills are an accident of well- 
 being, but privilege is of the eflence of being. That 
 upright old Corniftiman, the moft intimate of Eliot's 
 friends. Sir Edward Giles, wrung his hands for very 
 pity of what he forefaw in the future. Never fo loyal 
 a parliament as this, he exclaimed ; but the honefter 
 men, the worfe luck ! Sure the end of the great enemy 
 is near, he fo much rageth and laboureth to crofs our 
 righteous purpofes. Then interpofed Sir Francis Seymour. 
 It became them for the prefent to be filent as to matters 
 they had in hand. Let them decline difputing further 
 of the match, and of religion and war. Yet would he 
 have it exprefled and put on record, that confideration 
 of the religion of the kingdom, and of whatever might 
 aiFedh the fafety of his majefty's perfon, the good of his 
 fubjedbs, and the welfare of his children, was not matter 
 out of the cognizance of that houfe. The bills they 
 could now pafs were not worth their labour. But it was 
 their duty to take at once fome courfe to fettle their 
 privileges, fo that they Ihould leave them not worfe than 
 they found them when they entered thofe walls. The sug- 
 geftion was put in more diftindt form by Philips. Since, he 
 remarked, his majefty hath faid we hold our privileges by 
 the grace of princes, and not by a right defcended to us, 
 it was indeed rendered neceffary that they fhould ex- 
 preffly declare their powers. And in fo doing they 
 would do no more than was difputed of in the firft par- 
 liament of his majefty, when the king faid that they 
 held their liberties by a toleration, not by right ; where- 
 upon there was entered a public declaration that they 
 held them by inheritance from their anceftors. He 
 would have that courfe taken now. 
 
io8 11. Vroteft of the Commons of England. Book in. 
 
 S.T. 
 
 But extraordinary as was the feeling difplayed, the 
 houfe had not rifen to the height of its argument un- 
 til after Crewe had fpoken. And happily, even in the 
 fragment preferved to us, grandeur of fentiment, and 
 matchlefs force of language, are fufEciently difcernible to 
 account for the profound emotion excited by this ad- 
 mirable fpeaker. As they owed to the king, he faid, 
 their duty, their lives, and all they pofTefled, fo did 
 they owe it to pofterity to hand down unimpaired 
 the liberties and privileges of that houfe. It could not 
 but be a great grief to them to hear fo wife a king to 
 doubt the right of thofe privileges, and that he would 
 have them ftyled a liberty derived by the permiffion 
 of princes. This did ftir all their hearts. Magna 
 Charta had renewed, confirmed, and eftablifhed unto all, 
 peers, barons, gentry, and commonalty of the kingdom, 
 as well their liberties, rights, and privileges, as their 
 lands and pofTeffions ; and if, by that great charter, itfelf 
 thirty times confirmed, the laws were declared a birthright 
 and inheritance, as all knew they were, then much more 
 thofe privileges and liberties of parliament that had 
 given to laws their force and efficacy. This was felt by 
 them all. Nay, this was of that importance to them, 
 that if they ihould yield their liberties to be but of 
 grace, thofe walls, that had known the holding them thus 
 many years, would blufli ! 
 
 And fo, while the bitter weather raged without, thefe 
 great-hearted men, moved to the noble warmth that ac- 
 companies all high actions, adopted by acclamation the 
 Proteft which declared — 
 
 nat the liberties, franchifes, privileges, and 
 jurifdiElions of Parliament, are the ancient and 
 undoubted birthright and inheritance of the fub- 
 jeSls of England ; and that the arduous and urgent 
 affairs concerning the King, State., and defence of 
 the realm, and of the Church of England, and the 
 
I620-1624. Entry of Protefi on the Journals. 109 
 
 making and maintenance of laws, and redrefs of 
 mif chiefs and grievances which daily happen within 
 this realm, are proper JubjeSfs and matter of coun- 
 fel and debate in parliament ; and that, in the 
 handling and proceeding of thofe hufinejfes, every 
 member of the houfe hath, and of right ought to 
 have, freedom of fpeech, to propound, treat, reajon, 
 and bring to conclufion the fame ; that the Commons 
 in Parliament have like liberty and freedom to treat 
 of thofe matters infuch order as in their judgment 
 /hall feem fittefl ; and that every fuch member of 
 the faid houfe hath like freedom from all impeach- 
 ment, imprifonment, and moleftation (other than by 
 the cenfure of the Houfe itfelf),for or concerning any 
 bill, fpeaking, reafoning, or declaring of any matter 
 or matters, touching the parliament or parliament 
 bufinefs ; and that if any of the faid members be com- 
 plained of and queftioned for anything faid or done 
 in parliament, the fame is to be fhown to the King, 
 by the advice and affent of all the Commons ajfem- 
 bled in parliament, before the King gives credence to 
 any private information. 
 
 They had fat long pafl: their ufual time on this wintry 
 December everfing, but every fuggeftion for adjournment 
 had been refifted on the ground that the king might 
 prevent their re-aiTembhng, and fo difable them from 
 making formal record of their Proteftation. Once upon 
 the journals, they knew that it was there for ever, 
 though the page containing it might be torn and fcat- 
 tered to the winds. And fo, " Mr. Speaker in the chair, 
 " it was ordered by queftion to be entered forthwith in 
 " the Book of the Houfe, and there to remain as of re- 
 " cord. And accordingly it was here entered, fitting the 
 " houfe, between 5 and 6 of the clock at night, by 
 « candle-light." 
 
 What followed is of fmall importance except to fhow 
 
no //. Proteji of the Commons of England. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 the frantic and impotent anger of the paffionate old king. 
 He came up in his coach from Theobalds, got together a 
 privy council and fix of the judges who happened to be 
 in town, fent for the commons' journal, tore out the 
 Proteft, ordered regiftryto be made of the adt, dif- 
 folved the parliament by proclamation, and wound up 
 the labours of the day by tumbling oiF his horfe into the 
 New River, "where the ice brake, fo that nothing but his 
 " boots were feene." * He was pulled out by Sir Richard 
 Yong, got into a warm bed with difpatch, and nothing 
 ferious came of it. 
 
 It was fomething more ferious, however, and not of 
 accident but defign, which befell the leaders of the parlia- 
 ment that day in reward of their honefty and courage. 
 The cafe of one was that of all; and, from a written 
 appeal made by the brother of Sir Robert Philips fome 
 fix months afterwards, an idea may be formed of the 
 penalties that then awaited a reprefentative of the people 
 who braved the anger of the court. Sir Robert had 
 hardly retired himfelf, fays his brother Francis, to his poor 
 houfe in the country, with hope awhile to breathe after 
 his labours in parliament, and ftill breathing nothing 
 but his majefty's fervice, when, before he had finifhed his 
 Chriftmas, he was arrefted by a fergeant-at-arms in his 
 own houfe, with as much terror as belongs to the ap- 
 prehending of treafon itfelf, was brought up a prifoner, 
 prefented as a delinquent at the council-table, and com- 
 mitted to the Tower. There he had fince been kept, 
 with every circumftance of harlhnefs, in clofe and folitary 
 
 * Harl. MSS. 389. I quote the letter : " The parliament was, on Wed- 
 " nefday, cleane diflblved by proclamation. The fame day his Ma'° 
 " rode by coach to Theobalds to dinner, not intending, as the I'peech is, to 
 " returne till towards Eafter. After dinner, ryding on horfeback abroad, his 
 " horfe ilumbled and caft his Ma'" into the New River, where the ice 
 " brake : he fell in, fo that nothing but his boots were feene. Sir Richard 
 " Yong was next, who alighted, went into the water, and lifted him out. 
 " There came much water out of his mouth and bodie. His Ma'" rode 
 " back to Theobalds, went into a warme bed, and, as we heare, is well, which 
 " God continue !" 
 
1620-1624. Leaders of the Houje imprifoned. iii 
 
 confinement. Even his wife and his brother had been 
 refufed accefs to him. And now, after five months of 
 that Hving death, their humble petition was, if he muft 
 ftill remain within the walls of bondage to expiate what 
 he had done in thofe privileged walls,* that his majefty 
 might at leaft be pleafed to mitigate the rigour of his 
 captivity fo far as to grant him the liberty of the Tower. 
 " Yet not ours," concluded the petition, " but your 
 " majefty's will be done."f 
 
 His majefty's will was, that fo Sir Robert Philips fhould 
 remain, and that fuch alfo fhould be the reward of Coke, 
 Pym, and others, until the ninth month of their monftrous 
 captivity ; when a general releafe of popifh recufants to 
 propitiate Spain, and the forecaft of another parliament, 
 rendered further reftraint of the Proteftant champions 
 dangerous to its cowardly perpetrators. Even then full 
 freedom was not given, but conditions within certain 
 diftances were impofed. The hardly more merciful fate 
 had meanwhile befallen Crewe, Sir Dudley Digges, and 
 Sir James Perrot, of being difpatched on forced miffions 
 into Ireland. And now, parliament being got rid of, 
 and what his majefty called its " fiery popular and tur- 
 "buleift fpirits" duly puniftied, it was hoped that the 
 Spanifli match might go uninterruptedly forward. 
 
 III. Spanish Match and Journey. 
 
 Everything at laft feemed to promife fuccefs. Whether 
 the Spanifti court at firft were really in earneft, may be 
 
 * The houfe of commons. 
 
 t State Paper Office. MS. April 12, 1622. The petition is printed 
 imperfeftly in the Cabala. Three months later, it appears from a letter in 
 the fame coUeflion (S. P. O. July 1622), Sir Robert Philips was ftill 
 clofe prifoner; and at that date only had Sir Edward Coke's eldeft fon and 
 his daughter been at length permitted to fee their father after his long im- 
 prifonment. The prifoners were releafed from the Tower, but confined 
 within diftances, in the middle of Auguft ; a few days after the Lord Keeper's 
 letters to the judges, and the iffue of his pardons under the great feal, for 
 numbers of popiih and jefuit recufants, S. P. O. MS. August 2, 1622. 
 
1 1 2 III. Sfani/h Match and Journey. 
 
 Book III, 
 
 doubtful ; but there was a point in the negotiation when 
 they had gone too far to recede, if faith had been kept 
 with them. It was quite true that OHvarez and Gondo- 
 mar tried every pofTible artifice to fecure larger indul- 
 gence for popery in England, to evade any diredt 
 pledge for reftoration of the Palatinate, and to obtain 
 even fuch an engagement for modified acknowledg- 
 ment of the papal authority as might favour the 
 hope of the prince's entire converfion; but all thefe 
 matters had been handled and made the fubjedt of re- 
 ciprocal conceffion and compromife, nor was there any 
 caufe to doubt that the Englifh ambaflador in Spain, 
 Digby, lately of fpecial favour made Earl of Briftol, 
 had brought the affair to a diredt and intelligible iffue, 
 when the jealoufy of Buckingham ftruck in. 
 
 Briftol afterwards afferted that the prince's fecret 
 journey to Madrid had been devifed between Buckingham 
 and Gondomar, but Buckingham declared the projedb to 
 have been his own ; and in its coxcombry and abfurdity 
 it was worthy of him. In reality, however, the notion 
 feems to have been Gondomar's, who believed that, with 
 pofleffion of the perfon of the prince, Spain might more 
 eafily get poffeffion of his religion ; and Buckingham had a 
 deeper motive than either vanity or caprice for his head- 
 long eagernefs in embracing the fcheme. There can 
 be no doubt that Briftol's fuccefs in an affair fo dear to 
 the king had been wormwood to the favourite, and that 
 his prefent hope was, even in the very inftant of the vic- 
 tory underftood to have been achieved by another, to 
 bear off the prize for himfelf. 
 
 The king refifted the propofal for fome time, and if 
 Clarendon's elaborate account,* given from a principal 
 ad:or in the affair. Sir Francis Cottington, be corred:, it 
 is the moft ftriking proof on record of the defpotic fway 
 of Buckingham over both father and fon. After much 
 
 * See mji. ofRebeUkn i. 17-35. (Ed. 1839.) 
 
1620-1624. j)ad and Goffip, Baby, and Dog. 1 13 
 
 bitter crying, baby Charles is at laft given over to dog 
 Steenie, who then dries the eyes of his dear dad and goflip, 
 and foon makes him merry again with the thought of 
 how the dear dad himfelf, and his father, and his grand- 
 father, had all gone gallantly from Scotland over feas to 
 fetch home their wives.* Whereupon baby and dog 
 become fweeter boys than ever, and indeed nothing lefs 
 than dear venturous knights, worthy to be put in a 
 new romanfo. And even fo, Charles and Buckingham, 
 travelling as Mr. John and Mr. Thomas Smith, each 
 with a bufhy black wig, and attended only by Francis 
 Cottington and Endymion Porter, fet off upon their 
 ill-omened journey, malked and difguifed from the 
 Englifh people.-)- It is certain that Briftol had received 
 no communication from either when, at the dufk of a 
 February evening, the Meffrs. Smith were announced to 
 him as vifitors at his houfe in Madrid. J 
 
 * S. P. O. MS. Calvert to Carleton. 27th Feb. 1622-3. For 
 fpecimens of the extraordinary ftyle interchanged between the king and hisi, 
 fweet boys, see Hard'wicke, i. 448 — 4.51. " I your baby will not let your 
 " dog trouble himfelf with writing," the prince begins one of his letters 
 when the favourite is (lightly indifpofed. " My thoughts are only bent," 
 writes the favourite, when they have been abfent a little while, " on having my 
 " dear dad and matter's legs foon in my arms." In another letter he 
 declares, that when once he gets hold of the king's bed-poft again, he 
 means never to quit it ! 
 
 f " 1622-3. Feb. 17, Monday, the Prince and the Marquis Bucking- 
 " ham fet forward very fecretly for Spain." " Feb. 21 . I wrote to my Lord 
 " of Buckingham into Spain." " 1623. March 31. I received letters 
 " from my Lord of Buckingham out of Spain." " April 9. I received 
 " letters from my Lord of Buckingham out of Spain." " June 13. I received 
 " letters from the Duke of Buckingham out of Spain." "Aug. 17. I 
 " received letters from the Duke of Buckingham out of Spain." Diary of 
 Laud, who, now created at Buckingham's inftance king's chaplain, biihop 
 of St. David's, and commiffioner of grievances, played the part of jackall 
 and court-fpy over court doings, in the favourite's abfence. While Abbot 
 was fuftaining the religious fpirit of the people with a manly fervour worthy 
 of their own. Laud was fpeculating on what it could poffibly portend that, 
 on the evening of St. Swithin's day, the lanthorn at St. James's houfe 
 fhould have been blafted by a ftorm of thunder and lightning, and the 
 vane bearing the prince's arms beaten to pieces ! 
 
 X With what inftant mifgiving of the iffue Briftol muft have received his 
 unwelcome vifitors, appears in a letter of Chamberlain to Carleton with the 
 date of the 5th April. " In the midft of all this jollity I hear the Lord 
 
 VOL. I. I 
 
114 III. Spani/h Match and Journey. Bookiii. 
 
 ^T. 
 
 Everything at firft went fwimmingly. The magnifi- 
 cence of the welcome exceedeaoelief. Proceffions, ban- 
 quets, tiltings, ceremonials, made gorgeous the nights and 
 the days. The dad and goffip at home was out of his 
 wits with joy. He fuperfeded Brlftol's embafly by 
 making Buckingham ambaflador-extraordinary, and 
 fent him over a patent of dukedom to put him on a 
 level with the higheft in Spain. Money and jewels for 
 the travellers to keep royal ftate, were collefted by def- 
 perate devices ; and orders were iflued for a fleet to be in 
 readinefs to fetch the bride. T^e firil letters from the 
 prince and duke had indeed thrown a little change of 
 vexation over the old king's delight. He was afked by 
 his dear boys, point-blank, how far he would acknowledge 
 the Pope's fupremacy ; to which he had to make anfwer 
 by fuflily quoting his own book againft Bellarmine, by 
 repeating his offtr therein to call the Pope chief bifhop if 
 he would but lay down the power of depofing and excom- 
 municating, and by telling his baby and his dog that he 
 was not going to fliift his religion as eafily as a monfieur 
 after coming from tennis might fhift his fhirt.* But he 
 made up for this prudery by giving two prepofterous 
 pledges ; firfl:, to keep fecret from the council all that 
 was writ to him from Spain, and next, to perform what- 
 ever the prince there promifed in his name ! Under his 
 diredtion, at the fame time, pardons for recufancy were 
 iffiied by Williams under the great feal to all papifts and 
 jefuits that fliould apply for them within five years ;f and 
 
 " Digby [Briftol] writes that, as he pretends no private benefit to himfelf 
 " in the good fuccefs of this bufmefs, fo he defires he may be blamelefs, if, 
 " by reafon of the prince's coming, matters fall not out according to expefta- 
 " tion. Here is a whifpering underhand of no good intelligence 'twixt 
 " him and the Lord of Buckingham which may arife upon divers reafons." 
 Harl. MSS. Birch Tranfcripts. 
 
 * See thefe letters in Hardnviche Papers, ii. 401-4.1 1. 
 
 t " Yet," writes Williams to the prince," in the relaxation of the Roman- 
 " catholic penalties, I keep off the king from appearing in it as much as I 
 " can, and take all upon myfelf, as I believe every fervant of his ought to 
 " do in fuch negotiations, the events whereof be hazardous and uncertain." 
 
J 620-1624. Coquetting with Popery. 115 
 
 the judges on the circuits were inftrudled by the Lord 
 Keeper to difcharge from prifon every popifh defaulter 
 wilHng to give fecurity for fubfequent appearance. Pro- 
 mifes of a yet larger kind for grace and favour to Roman- 
 catholics were alfo privately given; and meanwhile, 
 pra6tically, the penal laws were fufpended, and the 
 popiih worfhip permitted in private houfes. 
 
 The council afterwards fought to evade refponfibility 
 for thefe afts, but in efFed:, there is no doubt, their 
 fanftion had been obtained to them. Probably they 
 were not told of the fuggefted recognition of the Pope, 
 or made acquainted with the belief entertained by Buck- 
 ingham (the meafure of his further belief in his own 
 extravagant and unbounded power) that he could force 
 fuch a meafure on the Englifh people ; but it was no 
 fecret from them, or indeed from anyone, that the 
 prince's appearance in Madrid had let loofe fuch hopes 
 among the Roman-catholics, at home and abroad, as had 
 not found full expreffion or indulgence fince the great 
 queen's acceffion, and that to a letter from the reigning 
 pope (Gregory XV) to the prince, regretting the al- 
 tered ftate of Britain, eager to difcover no indifpofition 
 to the Roman fee in his purfuit of a Roman-catholic 
 princefs, calling him the flower of the Chriftian world, ex- 
 prefling hopes for his converfion and that he would prove 
 " enfranchifer " of his country, the prince had replied, 
 afluring his holinefs that he had no defign againft the 
 Roman see, but that his wiih was to fee a reunion of the 
 churches and to banifh {Irife from the Chriftian world, with 
 a diftindl and grave promife that he would himfelf ab- 
 ftain from every acft of hoftility to the Roman-catholic 
 faith. " This by your favour is more than a compliment," 
 faid Clarendon to Nicholas when he read the letter.* So 
 
 * Clarendon St. Papers n. 337. See the letter in Rufliivortk i. 78-83, 
 and Hardnuicke'' 5 State Papers i. 4.52-3. That it was " more than a compli- 
 " ment " might well be faid of it. Authentic copies in Latin and Engliih 
 of both letters are in the ftate paper office, under the dates refpeftively 
 of the loth April and the i8th June 1623. 
 
 I 2 
 
1 1 6 ///. Spanijh Match and Journey. ^"""^ ™' 
 
 had thought Sir Thomas Wentworth of Yorkfhire; but 
 meanwhile his kinfman and friend Sir Edward Conway, 
 the newly appointed fecretary of ftate, had been fending 
 him brilliant accounts of the proceedings in Madrid. The 
 reception, like the vifit, had been unexampled. There 
 was no doubt now in the affair. The prince's houfehold 
 jewels, apparel, and robes for St. George's day, were gone. 
 The duke had fent over his horfes, tilting armour, and 
 caparifons. The difpenfation was on its way. The 
 fleet was getting ready. Ten Ihips would fet out by the 
 end of April, and by the end of May would be back 
 with their precious charge. Don't believe anything you 
 hear to the contrary, wrote the confident fecretary of 
 ftate. None now but the defperately envious, or vile 
 almanack-makers arguing from conjunftion of planets, 
 talk of any delay ! * 
 
 Among the defperately envious and the vile, then, were 
 to be reckoned the Englifh people ; for the bulk of the 
 nation abfolutely refufed to believe that this unholy 
 compaift would be completed. Now was the prophecy 
 of the dying Raleigh to be fulfilled. The court were 
 not to have it all their own way. The feeds fown by 
 the murder of that great Englifhman, and by the eloquent 
 utterances of the parliament fo rudely difTolved, were 
 fpringing up daily in terrible difcontents. It was to 
 no purpofe that all the bells of London had been fet 
 ringing on receipt of the firfl letters from Spain ; it was 
 in vain that the conftables in charge of the various wards 
 had been ordered to fee bonfires lighted in every part of 
 the city.f No gladnefs appeared in the flreets, and the 
 bonfires burnt out without company. " It may be," 
 wrote the polite Mead to Sir Martin Stuteville, " that 
 " they run not about a bonfire in the city as they do in 
 
 * MS. S. P. O. Conway to Wentworth, 4th April 1623. ' 
 
 f " His Majefty expefted the city ftiould have exprefled their joy of 
 
 " their own accord, which, becaufe they forgot, they were thus commanded." 
 
 S. P. O. (MS.) 5 April 1623. 
 
1620-1624. Bifcontent of the Englijh People. iij 
 
 " the country." He was foon to be enlightened on that 
 point. The popular celebration for the prefent preferred 
 was of a diiFerent kind. Hardly a day paffed that the 
 Spaniards belonging to the embafly were not befieged in 
 their houfes, or ftoned in their coaches as they paffed 
 along. No lack of " company " in St. Martin's-lane, 
 when any of thofe gentlemen appeared ; and in the 
 tumults that enfued feveral lives were facrificed. 
 
 Graver and more dangerous expreffion had been mean- 
 while found for the emotion that ftirred the people. 
 While Eliot fretted in the prifon to which the council 
 had fo fliameleffly configned him, there came fuddenly 
 into circulation, and immediately afterwards into print, 
 a letter to the king bearing the fignature of archbiihop 
 Abbot. It was believed to be genuine, and the excite- 
 ment it created was extraordinary. The writer had at 
 leaft caught faithfully, and expreffed in very ftartling 
 form, the well-known fentiments of the chief of the Eng- 
 lifh church. " By your aft," he told the king, " you 
 " labour to fet up the moft damnable and heretical teach- 
 " ing of the church of Rome. You fhow yourfelf a patron 
 " of thofe doftrines which your pen hath told the world, 
 " and your confcience tells yourfelf, are fuperftitious, 
 " idolatrous, and deteftable. Hereunto I add what 
 " you have done in fending your fon into Spain without 
 " confent of your council, or the privity or approbation 
 " of your people. Believe it. Sir, however his return 
 " may be fafe, yet the drawers of him into this aftion, 
 " fo dangerous to himfelf, fo defperate to the kingdom, 
 " will not pafs away unqueftioned, unpunilhed. Befides, 
 " this toleration which you endeavour to fet up by 
 " your proclamation, cannot be done without a parlia- 
 " ment ; unlefs your majefty will let your fubjefts fee that 
 " you will take unto yourfelf ability to throw down the 
 " laws of your land at your pleafure."* The court were 
 
 * Dr. Lingard treats the letter as unqueftionably authentic, and quotes it 
 with much candour {Hiji. of England vii. 123) as proving the bitternefs of 
 
1 1 8 III. Spanijh Match and Journey. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 JS.'Y. 
 
 in confternation at this letter, and the moft extraordinary 
 exertions were made to difcover the writer. The arch- 
 bifliop was called upon to difavow "the counterfeit paper 
 " paffing under his name," but though he difclaimed the 
 authorfhip he declined to carry his difavowal further. 
 The " paper " muft be fupprelTed, wrote fecretary Cal- 
 vert (himfelf now fecretly a papift) to fecretary Conway;* 
 confefling at the fame time that further fearch after the 
 author was idle, as an expenfive, endlefs, fruitlefs talk. 
 The king had indeed caufe to infill on its fuppreflion, 
 for difcontent was riling to a frightful pitch, and his 
 majefty's perfon was even threatened. 
 
 But then became noifed about reports and rumours 
 of a ftrange complexion. The fleet had been fome time 
 ready for departure, but was ftill delayed. An adverfe 
 wind was faid to be the caufe, but the people called it 
 a Proteftant wind. Seven noblemen, all privy council- 
 lors, had fome time lince taken their departure for 
 Southampton, to fuperintend a pageant for reception 
 of the infanta, carrying with them Irjigo Jones and old 
 Alleyne the player, who could furely, writes Chamber- 
 lain to Carleton, have done as well without fo many 
 privy councillors. f But the pageant ftill hung lire ; and 
 on Sir Francis Cottington arriving fuddenly at Dover, 
 the truth was no longer to be concealed. There was a 
 ferious hitch at Madrid. The fcheme of Gondomar had 
 fo far taken effedt that the prince's prefence enabled the 
 
 the Archblihop's zeal as a divine and the foundnefs of his principles as a 
 ftatefman. Carte in his Hijiory of England (iv. io8) doubted its authen- 
 ticity, notwithftanding its grave quotation by Ruihworth, Piynne, the 
 Cabala, and other authorities. It will be feen by ray text that proof of 
 its fpurioufnefs exifts in the ftate paper office. I can never refer to Carte's 
 book, greatly as I differ from the opinions of its writer, without a tribute 
 to his wonderful induftry and patience, and, in fo far as confifts with his 
 avowed prejudices, his honefty. Hume owed to that book whatever credit 
 his Hiftory received for refearch, and much of the praife it deferved for 
 lucidity of arrangement. The philofophic remark, and incomparable 
 beauty of ftyle, were of courfe all Hume's own. 
 
 * S. P. O. (MS.) i+th Auguft 1623. 
 
 t S. P. O. (M.S.) i+th June 1623. 
 
i6ao-i624. The Match Broken Off. ii< 
 
 33 
 
 fubtle and keen Olivarez to undermine the Briftol 
 negotiations and re-open the affair on new grounds. 
 Briftol remonftrated warmly, but was met by Bucking- 
 ham's fcorn. Drunk with vanity and unbridled will, 
 the favourite thought a higher prize was in his reach, 
 and opening his hand to feize it dropped all that had 
 been gained. What it was eafy to overthrow, he found 
 it next to impofTible to rebuild. Baffled in his attempt 
 to get better terms, he loft his temper and his courtefy. 
 His noify arrogance, his prefumption, his airs of more 
 than regal fuperiority, only fhowed in humiliating con- 
 traft the calm predominance of the Spaniard. All the 
 hopes and defigns with which he entered Madrid were 
 now utterly broken down ; and the futility of the entire 
 fcheme had declared itfelf, even before the tidings, now 
 borne to him by every difpatch from Whitehall, of the 
 ftate of public feeling in London and of the dangers it 
 threatened to himfelf, firft had reached him. He at length 
 faw, or affedted to fee, what- the popular defire in England 
 was ; and he decided upon a rupture with Spain.* He was 
 not long in effedting it ; and immediately afterwards, amid 
 the piteous wailings and lamentations of the king, amid 
 confufion worfe confounded of the courtiers unable any 
 longer to feel or find their way, amid the people's riling 
 fhouts of gladnefs " as of thunder heard remote," he 
 hurried the prince home. 
 
 Now might Mr. Mead have had perfonal experience 
 of what a London bonfire was. The travellers landed 
 at Portfmouth on the 5 th, arriving in London on the 
 6th, of Ocftober ; and from that day onward, for many 
 
 * See the various hiftories as to this Spanifh bufinefs. Dr. Lingard has 
 treated the fubjefl very fully ; and fome able reafoning on the general 
 queftion will be found in Bolingbroke's Remarks, pp. 285-306. 8vo edit. 
 There are alfo important communications relative to it in Lord Hard- 
 wicke's State Papers ; in the fecond volume of Somers's Tracts, and in 
 Howell's Familiar Letters. Perhaps the beft account is by Howell, who 
 was himfelf in Spain. Mr. D'Ifraeli's " Secret Hiftory of the Spanifh 
 " Match " is pleafant and ingenious ; adding, with great vivacity, nothing 
 whatever to our knowledge about it. 
 
T20 IV. Calumny. Book in. 
 
 MT. 
 
 weeks, every part of the land was in a rapture of rejoicing. 
 The city and its fuburbs blazed with bonfires, and upon 
 one at Blackheath Mr. Chamberlain faw depofited 
 fourteen loads of wood. Every leading thoroughfare 
 had its flaming pile ; and fo mad were the populace with 
 excefs of joy, that out of every timber cart that rolled 
 along the ftreets the horfes were taken, and timber, cart 
 and all, were flung into the flames. They were well 
 allayed by London liquor, writes Conway to Carleton,* 
 or the whole city might have been confumed. Hogf- 
 heads of wine and butts of fack were feen flowing in 
 every diredtion, and this noife of riot and feafl;ing alter- 
 nated with fights and founds of deeper and graver 
 import. Thankfgivings rofe in all the churches, as of 
 deliverance from a great calamity ; and the anthem which 
 tells of Ifrael coming out of Egypt, and the houfe of 
 Jacob from a people of fl:range language, was taken up 
 and fung with aftonifhing fervour. Buckingham was 
 the hero of the hour, and became the objedt of extra- 
 ordinary and hyperbolical praifes. Old Coke went fo 
 far as to call him the faviour of his country. 
 
 It feems doubtful whether the poor old king ever 
 fmiled again. But to hifl:ory it belongs to tell of the 
 mifery and mortification that awaited him after this 
 downfall of the one cheriflied fcheme of his life, and 
 upon only fuch portions of hiflory may I now linger in 
 thefe pages as are eflentially connected with Eliot's 
 career. The tafk of explaining the fl:range and excep- 
 tional pofition of public affairs at Buckingham's return 
 to England has been accomplifhed, and my narrative, 
 unintelligible without fuch explanation, is now refumed. 
 
 IV. Calumny. 
 
 Re-entering the path of Eliot's fortunes, the fame 
 mifreprefentation and falfehood that dogged his fl;eps 
 
 * S. P. O. (MS.) October 1623. 
 
1620-1624. Impoffibk Charges. 121 
 
 during life, and have continued to harafs his memory, 
 wait as ufual to be cleared away. 
 
 The laft refuted calumny, if accepted for truth, 
 would have exhibited him, while in his boyhood, 
 a fuppliant to Buckingham for releafe from penalties of 
 crime, while Buckingham himfelf was younger fon to a 
 country gentleman of Leicefterlhire, with lefs than Eliot's 
 own opportunities and power. Mr. D'Ifraeli has never- 
 thelefs adopted that ridiculous ftatement, and has at- 
 tempted to corroborate it by the production of a letter 
 written by Eliot in 1623 to the duke.* That is to fay, 
 he declares Sir John to have repaid proteftion and 
 knighthood given him by the duke with immediate and 
 violent hoftility ; and propofes, in corroboration, to pro- 
 duce a letter written in terms of courtefy and deference, 
 by Sir John to the duke, fome confiderable time after 
 the period of the knighthood. I pafs the contradidtion, 
 however, and for a time alfo the letter itfelf, to confider 
 the pofition attempted to be eftablifhed by it, namely, 
 "that in 1623 we find. Sir John a fuppliant to, and at 
 "leaft a complimentary admirer of, the minifter, and 
 "only two years after, in 1625, Eliot made his firft 
 " perfonal attack on that minifter, his late patron and 
 " friend, whom he then felefted as a vidtim of ftate." 
 
 To the firft part of this charge, the ftiort and obvious 
 anfwer has already been fupplied in the account of 
 Eliot's vice-admiralty difputes. The letter is written 
 by the vice-admiral of Devonftiire to the lord high 
 admiral of England ; and, as will fhortly be feen, is 
 neither lefs nor more than a fimple demand of reparation 
 for injuries undergone in fupport of the office and rights 
 of the Duke of Buckingham. Its tone will be feen to 
 be expoftulatory ; and, courteous as its terms are, it is even 
 deficient in the elaborately complimentary phrafes that 
 were confidered due, in thofe days, to the ceremonious 
 
 * Commentaries ii. 270. 
 
122 IV. Calumny. Book in 
 
 MT, 
 
 obfervances of letter-writing. Not only does it in this 
 refpeft, indeed, fall fhort of« the notorious cuftom of the 
 age, but the barenefs of its language, confidering the 
 time at which it was written, may be charaifterifed as 
 even furprifmg. Hardly a month had pafTed fince 
 Buckingham's return from Spain ; yet Eliot offers him 
 nothing of the adulation which Coke and Philips* 
 were ready to lay at his feet. Mr. D'Ifraeli moreover 
 dates the letter as at "the clofe of 1623," which 
 would intimate that parliament had already commenced 
 its fitting ; and then takes leave to tell his readers, that 
 the patriotifm of Eliot was a " political revolution, 
 " which did not happen till two years after he had been 
 " a fuppliant to this very minifter."f Mr. D'Ifraeli really 
 knew nothing of the circumftances, or of the clofe re- 
 lations that will be feen to have continued, beyond this 
 date, between the vice-admiral and the head of the 
 admiralty. The truth as to the letter is, that it was 
 written in the eighth month of 1623 (old ftyle), two 
 months before the aflembling of parliament ; and there 
 the voice of Eliot was heard, in the tone it never after- 
 wards abandoned. Though none of his fpeeches at this 
 period have been preferved in the hiftories, I have been 
 fo fortunate as to difcover among the papers at Port 
 Eliot, ample notes, in his own hand, of fpeeches delivered 
 by him in this very parliament: and from thefe, from other 
 manufcript records, and from the journals of the houfe 
 of commons, I now undertake to prove that no 
 " political revolution " ever occurred in his life ; that he 
 was confiftent from the firft ; and that while his eloquence 
 was often exerted in this laft aflembly of James's reign, 
 
 * In the fame volume of letters (the Cabala, p. 340), is a letter to the 
 duke from Sir Robert Philips, on which a precifely fimilar charge to this 
 I am now difcuffing might be as eafdy founded. Mr. D'Ifraeli admits 
 Philips to have been emphatically an independent country gentleman, 
 but he does not feem to have known that there was a time in his life when 
 even Philips thought Buckingham to have deferred well of his country. 
 
 f Commentaries ii. p. 227. 
 
i6zo-i6z4. Eliot and Buckingham. 123 
 
 he never fpoke but in fupport of the principles, and 
 of the rights and the privileges, for which he afterwards 
 fuffered death. 
 
 V. Preparations for the Meeting in 1623. 
 
 "Right Honourable," wrote Eliot to Buckingham, 
 ' With what afFedtion I have ferved your grace, I defire 
 ' rather it fhould be read in my anions than my words, 
 ' which made me fparing in my lafl; relation to touch 
 ' thofe difficulties wherewith my letters have been checkt, 
 ' that they might the more fully fpeak themfelves. I 
 ' fhall not feek to glofs them now, but, as they have 
 ' been, leave them to your grace's acceptance, which I 
 'prefume fo noble, that fcandal or detradion cannot 
 ' decline it. It were an injury of your worth, which I 
 ' dare not attempt, to infinuate the opinion of any merit 
 ' by falfe colours or pretences, or with hard circumftances 
 ' to endear my labours ; and might beget fufpicion, 
 ' fooner than affurance in your credit, which I may not 
 ' hazard. My innocence, I hope, needs not thefe ; nor 
 ' would I fhadow the leaft errour under your proteftion. 
 ' But when my fervices have been faithful, and not 
 ' altogether vain, direded truly to the honour and bene- 
 ' fit of YOUR PLACE, Only fuffering upon the difadvantage 
 ' of your abfence, I muft importune your grace to 
 ' fupport my weaknefs, that it may caufe no prejudice 
 ^ of your rights and liberties, which I have ftudied to 
 ' preferve though with the lofs of mine own. My infift- 
 ' ance therein hath expofed me to a long imprifonment 
 ' and great charge, which ftill increafeth, and threatens 
 ■^ the ruin of my poor fortunes, if they be not fpeedily 
 ' prevented. For which, as my endeavours have been 
 ' wholly yours, I mofl: humbly crave your grace's 
 ' favour both to myfelf and them; in which I am devoted. 
 ' Your grace's thrice humble fervant, John Eliot. 
 'Novemb. 8. 1623."* 
 
 * Printed at the clofe of the Cabala (Ed. 1663, pp, 4.12-13). 
 
124 ^- Preparations for the Meeting in l6^2^ 
 
 Book III. 
 
 It may be doubtful whether the vice-admiral had, or 
 had not, left his prifon in the Marihalfea at the time he 
 thus wrote to the lord-admiral. While he employs ex- 
 preffions that confift with either fuppofition, they point 
 perhaps with greateft probability at the latter. But does 
 the fpirit or tone of the communication admit of any 
 queftion ? Is it not a manifeftation of a kind the exaft 
 oppofite of what has been alleged of it ? Nowhere 
 vifible in it to me is humility or fuppliance, but rather, 
 as addrefled to the favourite at that fupreme hour of his 
 popularity and triumph, a lofty reticence, and a high- 
 fpirited, almofl; haughty referve. 
 
 The vice-admiral, imprifoned and perfecuted for 
 having defended with fpirit and difcharged with faithful- 
 nefs the duties of an office in whofe proper maintenance 
 the lord-admiral has a deeper intereft than himfelf, begins 
 by fpeaking of more than one relation which already 
 he had made upon his cafe, and to which there feems 
 to have been no reply. He has yet no wifh that any- 
 thing fave his own adtions and labours fhould fpeak 
 for him ; and he " prefumes" the duke too noble to re- 
 quire falfe pretences for fupport of innocence, or to 
 deem the leaft error as having claim to protedtion. No 
 fuch petition does Eliot prefer to Buckingham. His 
 fervices as vice-admiral of Devon had been faithful, had 
 not been vain, had been uniformly diredted to the honour 
 and advantage of the more important office involved in 
 his, and had fufFered by the lord-admiral's abfence in Spain. 
 Therefore was he entitled to " importune" the duke fo to 
 fupport his weaknefs, that it might not further prejudice 
 thofe higher claims for which he had facrificed his own. 
 His maintenance of the claims of the admiralty had ex- 
 pofed him to a long imprifonment and great charge, 
 which ftill increafed, and, if not fpeedily prevented, 
 threatened the ruin of his fortunes. And fo, craving his 
 grace's favour for endeavours that had been wholly his, 
 he is his grace's thrice humble fervant. I fay, a manly 
 
1620-1624. Humiliation of the King. 125 
 
 33- 
 
 and independent letter ; fuch as ftrikingly contrafts, in its, 
 tone and terms, with the fulfome and not feldom blaf- 
 phemous adulation that had then become 'the cuftom 
 of'higheft dignitaries, bifhops, privy councillors, and 
 fecretaries of ftate, to addrefs to the all-powerful Buck- 
 ingham. 
 
 What anfwer was made by the duke, or whether any 
 anfwer was made, I have failed to difcover. The only cer- 
 tainty is that Eliot's inter courfe with the duke did not ceafe 
 or determine. It is alfo certain, however, that one part 
 of his requeft to his chief remained unfulfilled, and that 
 parliament itfelf, and not the duke, had to give order 
 for the flay of fuch fuits as were in progrefs againft 
 Eliot, threatening him with ruin. It may further have been 
 due folely to the fadt of a parliament approaching, that 
 Eliot obtained even his perfonal freedom ; fince the fa6b 
 does not with certainty appear to us, until the providers of 
 court news return his name among the lifts of candidates 
 for the new houfe of commons. 
 
 With fore difficulty had the poor king, thoroughly fub- 
 dued and humbled as he now was, been brought to con- 
 fent to the calling of a parliament. The very influence 
 over the popular leaders on which the favourite at prefent 
 counted, had only more difpofed the king to fhrink from 
 the propofal. He knew the irreconcileable hatred borne 
 by them to Spain ; and of his dog Steenie he now alfo 
 knew that there was no extreme, even of popular fubfer- 
 vience, to which he would not lend himfelf to carry the 
 objedt he defired. Briftol had braved his power in the 
 very intereft ftill deareft to James ; had come over from 
 Madrid to fupport the Spaniard; had crofTed from 
 Calais in an open boat, on an Englifh fhip being denied to 
 him ; and, at landing, had been put under reftraint by 
 the order of Buckingham.* The council fpecially 
 
 * Not until after the treaties had been declared broken, and fubfidies 
 voted for the war, was Briftol permitted to come to town ; and the courfe 
 then taken with him may be inferred from what Wentworth writes to 
 
126 V. Preparations for the Meeting in i6i2- 
 
 Book III. 
 
 fummoned to determine whether Spain had given caufe 
 for war had anfwered in the negative by five to three ; * 
 chancellor Wefton, whofe wife (if not himfelf) was a 
 Roman-catholic, and fecretary Calvert, a confefTed con- 
 vert to popery, having been reinforced by the Lord 
 Keeper and the Lord Treafurer, under the belief that after 
 all the king's was the fafer fide to vote with ; and Wil- 
 liams and Middlefex were now marked out for ruin. In 
 Buckingham's hands, thus far, the prince had been wholly 
 fubmiflive and unrefifliing. All thefe were reafons with 
 the king for dread of a parliament ; and efpecially hate- 
 ful to him was the neceffity of fubmitting to the delibera- 
 tion of that aflembly, as he knew to be the favourite's 
 intention, details of negotiations that were of the very 
 eflence of the myftery of government and kingcraft, and 
 to be kept fiiut among the arcana imperii. But, difap- 
 pointed of the infanta's dowry, he had no money, and no 
 other means of getting it. The writs went out, and the 
 eleflions began. 
 
 Williams had by this time feen his miftake, and in the 
 interval before parliament met he did his befl: to repair it, 
 by patching up a hollow and temporary truce with the 
 man who had lifted him to favour, and who now frankly 
 told him that though he would not feek his ruin, he 
 
 Wandesforde, on the 17th of June 1624. "My Lord of Briftol is in 
 " town preffing to have his charge, and to be admitted to his defence ; 
 " wherein, for fafhion fake, the two Secretaries and Mr. Chancellor of the 
 " Exchequer meet for drawing of the Interrogatories ; but it moves fo 
 " flowly, as if now being come to a full and complete time of birth, they 
 " had not ftrength to bring forth any well-formed or folid matter, no not fo 
 " much as in Idea. For fure, I conceive, it is not any good nature or 
 " tendernefs to the nobleman, that caufeth this leaden heavy march ; fo as in 
 " good faith I do begin almoft to think, there was no ground for their 
 " opinions who thought his offence fo great as he nenier ivould, nay never 
 " durft, return home hither into England." Strafford Letters i. 21. Went- 
 worth's fympathies were with Spain ; but no man was better informed of 
 what paffed in the court, and the laft-mentioned rumour had been fo bufily 
 fet on foot as to win confident belief from the anti-Spanifh party in the 
 commons. 
 
 * S. P.O. (MS.) 31 January, 1623-4. Carlifle, and fecretary Conway, 
 voted with Buckingham. 
 
1620-1624. Laud and the Lord-Keeper. 1 27 
 
 fhould ceafe to ftudy his fortune. He bufied himfelf in 
 perfonal communications between Buckingham and 
 feveral of the popular leaders ; and fwallowing his repug- 
 nance to the little obftinate bifhop of St. David's, he 
 for once in his life confented to ad with Laud, whom 
 he detefted,* in fmoothing the way to a parliamentary 
 triumph for Buckingham, whom he ftill more abhorred. 
 
 * A few extrafts from Laud's Diary will fufficiently and characSeriftically 
 ftiow the progrefs of thefe amufing, if not very creditable, court intrigues 
 and quarrels. " 1623. Dec. 14.. Sunday night, I did dream that the Lord 
 " Keeper was dead : that I paffed by one of his men, that was about a 
 " monument for him : that I heard him fay, his lower lip was infinitely 
 " fwelled and fallen, and he rotten already. This dream did trouble me." 
 " Dec. 15. On Monday morning, I went about bufmefs to my Lord Duke 
 " of Buckingham. We had fpeech in the Shield Gallery at Whitehall. 
 " There I found that the Lord Keeper had ftrangely forgotten himfelf 
 " to him ; and 1 think nuas dead in his affe{lions." He alludes to the vote 
 at council on Spanifti affairs. " Dec. 27. St. John's Day. I was with 
 " my Lord of Buckingham. I found that all went not right with the 
 " Lord Keeper, &c." " Dec. 30. I adventured to tell my Lord Duke of 
 " Buckingham of the opinion generally held touching the commiffion of 
 " fending Sir Edward Coke and fome others into Ireland, before the 
 "intended parliament." "Jan. 11. My Lord Keeper met with me in 
 "the withdrawing chamber, and quarrelled me gratis." "Jan. 14.. I 
 " acquainted my Lord Duke of Buckingham with that which paffed on 
 " the Sunday before, between the Lord Keeper and me." "Jan, 25. It 
 " was Sunday. I was alone, and languiihing with I know not what fad- 
 " nefs. I was much concerned at the envy and undeferved hatred borne to 
 " me by the Lord Keeper. I took into my hands the Greek Teftament, 
 " that I might read the portion of the day. I lighted upon the thirteenth 
 " chapter to the Hebrews ; wherein that of David, pfalm Ivi, occurred to 
 " me then grieving and fearing : The Lord is my helper ; I will not fear 
 " what man can do unto me. I thought an example was fet to me ; and 
 " who is not fafe under that ftiield ? Protect me, O Lord my God." 
 " Feb. 4. This day I waited on the Duchefs of Buckingham. That 
 " excellent lady, who is goodnefs itfelf " ((he had become a violent Roman- 
 catholic), " fliewed me a form of devotion, which another woman, unknown 
 " to me, had put into her hands. I read it. All was mean in it : nothing 
 " extraordinary ; unlefs that it was more like to poetry." Of poetry, we 
 may therefore infer, the afpiring little bifhop had an extremely " mean " 
 opinion. " Feb. 6. Friday. My Lord Duke of Buckingham told me of 
 " the reconciliation the day before made with the Lord Keeper." The 
 parliament was to have met on that reconciliation day, but was accidentally 
 deferred. This gave time for more complete reconciliation. "Feb. 18. 
 " Wednefday. My Lord Duke of Buckingham told me of the reconciliation 
 " and fubmijjion of my Lord Keeper ; and that it was confeffed unto him 
 " that his favor to me was a chief caufe. Invidia quo tendis ? &c. At ille 
 " de novo fcedus pepigit." Next day the parliament began. 
 
128 V. Preparations for the Meeting in 1623. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 The king had made it a condition that at leaft Coke, 
 PhiUps, Crewe, Sandys, Pym, and Dudley Digges fliould 
 be excluded from the houfe ; and though each had 
 been returned for more than one place, a commiffion had 
 been prepared for fending them all compulforily to Ire- 
 land. But at laft the difficulty was removed, and there 
 can be no doubt that thefe popular members took their 
 feats by fpecial interference of Buckingham. 
 
 As in the preceding parliament. Coke fat the chief and 
 centre of an iJluftrious group of lawyers, among whom 
 were Noye, Selden (now firft a member), Hakewell, 
 Heneage Finch, Edward Alford, and Glanvile. Went- 
 worth again fat for Oxford, and Crewe for Aylefbury. 
 Pym, returned to the laft parliament for Calne, has been 
 returned to this for Taviftock, and, undaunted by im- 
 prifonment undergone, and more recent danger narrowly 
 efcaped, is now, as to the laft hour of his life he continued, 
 deep in the counfels of all who held themfelves moft 
 aloof from the court, in the firft rank of impreffive and 
 weighty fpeakers, and a man of moft ardent religious 
 convitftions, with powers of application to bufinefs the 
 moft vaft and unwearied. Other friends much cheriftied 
 by Eliot are Sir Oliver Luke, Mr. Hampden of Great 
 Hampden, Sir Robert Philips of Montacute, Walter 
 Long, William Coryton, Bevil Grenvile, Richard 
 Knightley, and Sir Edward Giles. With another more 
 formidable group, the northern men as they were called, 
 he had no perfonal fympathy, though he frequently afted 
 with them. Prominent among thefe was Sir Thomas 
 Wentworth, near whom fat Chriftopher Wandesforde and 
 Sir Arthur Ingram ; Mr. Lowther and Sir John RadclifFe ; 
 Sir Henry Slingfby and that rifing Yorkfhire lawyer Mr. 
 Hutton, afterwards the Sir Richard who pronounced 
 againft ftiip money ; Sir Thomas and Sir Ferdinando 
 Fairfax ; Sir Thomas Bellafis and Sir John Stanhope ; 
 Sir Robert Jackfon, Sir Henry Anderfon, and the two 
 Saviles, father and fon. Thefe men for the moft part. 
 
1620-1624. Eliot's EleSlion for Newport. 129 
 
 33 
 
 even the Saviles in all county queftions, afted together ; 
 and conftltuted a fedlion formidable by their talents and 
 influence, whether marfhalled together againft the court 
 for public motives, or banded together againft the oppo- 
 fition for purpofes of their own. 
 
 No evidence appears, but rather perhaps indications 
 to the contrary, that the favourite had in any way pro- 
 moted or defired the return of his old acquaintance Eliot. 
 It is probable that if he had, he might not have fucceeded ; 
 for it is curious that Cottington, though put forward 
 with all the influence of the favourite and the prince, 
 whofe fecretary he was, only obtained a feat for Camel- 
 ford after two defeats elfewhere. Not a marked 
 man like thofe for whom the interference of Buck- 
 ingham became neceflary, Eliot was not indeed forced 
 upon the king for his independence of the crown ; 
 but neither was he forced upon the houfe for the lefs 
 creditable reafon of a dependence on the favourite of the 
 court. Wood and others have aflerted that he fat, and 
 was one of the prominent fpeakers, in the 1610 parlia- 
 ment ; * but much as this belief might receive favour 
 from the diftinguiflied place he took in the prefent af- 
 fembly, and the high part at once afTigned to him, it is 
 certainly a miftake. I have fliown that all his previous 
 parliamentary experience confifted in the filent part he 
 took during his youth in the four months' parliament of 
 1 6 14. But men like EHot are never unprepared or 
 unready ; and fuccefs that is born of the aptitude for great 
 duties, which lefs men have to ftruggle and contend 
 for, waits of right upon them. In that early parliament 
 he fat for St. Germans ; to this he was returned, in 
 "conjundion with Mr. Richard Eftcourt, as member 
 for Newport, another borough in his own county of 
 Cornwall. 
 
 And now, from the firft moment of his aftive public 
 
 * Wood is feldom to be relied on for any date, except thofe which are 
 fiimifced by the Oxford books. 
 
 VOL. I. K 
 
I JO V. Preparations for the Meeting in 1622- ^"o"™- 
 
 life, his honefty of fpeech and patriotifm of condudl 
 began. They who have afcribed it to diffatisfadtion or 
 fpleen, to pique or the fpirit of oppofition, have had to 
 aflume that he held an oiEce of which he had been de- 
 prived, and that either from mortification at having 
 loft it, or the hope of regaining it, his public life took its 
 firft tone. There is not a particle of truth in this. He 
 was ftill in the habit of clofe intercourfe with Bucking- 
 ham ; he was ftill, and for fome years continued to be, 
 vice-admiral of Devon ; and the office for whofe re- 
 tention he has been fuppofed capable of fuch unworthy 
 facrifices, he muft have known was put in peril by the 
 Gourfe he proceeded to take. But it had not been diffi- 
 cult, in the abfolute filence of all the hiftorians as to his 
 condu6t throughout this parliament, to put forth with 
 fome plaufibihty the aflertion of his having been, at the 
 time, a mere undiftinguiftied fubferver to the Duke of 
 Buckingham. I was formerly, therefore, at fome pains 
 to trace his exadt courfe, and have fince been fo for- 
 tunate as to find, among the papers at Port Eliot, feveral 
 manufcript notes of his fpeeches, heretofore wholly un- 
 reported, which bear out entirely the view I then took, 
 and ftiow decifively the incorreftnefs of the lefs favour- 
 able view. That his firft ftep was to feparate himfelf 
 from even thofe popular leaders who would have 
 waived, as matter of temporary policy, any prefent re- 
 vival of the queftion which had broken up the laft parlia- 
 ment ; and that, while earneftly upholding the policy of 
 refiftance to Spain, and eulogifing the king and the 
 prince, he abftained from introducing Buckingham's 
 name ; I had feen reafon to infer in the abfence of thefe 
 additional proofs. But in their prefence, it is no longer 
 poffible to affiame that Eliot might have been filent 
 about Buckingham only becaufe his mind was rankling 
 on the injury referred to in his November letter.* 
 
 * " Mr. Forfter, in his Life^of Sir John Eliot, written with confider ■ 
 
1 620-1624- Continued Inter courfe with Buckingham. 131 
 
 The explanations of that letter now for the firft time 
 produced, afford ample refutation on this point ; and 
 an eafy folution of other fimilar difficulties will be 
 adduced hereafter, in fimilar original letters and details. 
 Suffice it then to repeat, that the complaint made in 
 November was from the vice-admiral to the chief of the 
 naval adminiflration ; and that fuch official communica- 
 tions, befides other indications of private intimacy, 
 continued for fome time longer to pafs between Sir John 
 Eliot and the Duke of Buckingham. 
 
 " able care, has noticed the filence of Eliot refpefting the Duke of Buck- 
 " ingham in the parliament of February 1623, when the lauded name of 
 " the duke was frequently on the lips of other popular members, as evidence 
 " that Eliot was not a fubferver to the duke ; — I regard it as evidence that the 
 " mind of Eliot wa,'! then rankling on the fuppofed injury which he com- 
 " plains of in the November before." So writes Mr. D'Ifraeli, in his Com- 
 mentaries on the Life of Charles the Firft, Second Edition, 1850. When 
 I publilhed in my Statefmen of the Commonnvealth the memoir of Eliot 
 (a mere biographical Iketch, of which the prefent is not a reprodu6lion, 
 being an entirely new work), I had not obtained accefs to the manu- 
 fcript materials of which I have here made ample ufe ; but it was then 
 clear to me, as thofe fubfequent difcoveries eftablifli, that Eliot's intercourfe 
 with Buckingham had not been brought to a clofebythe injuries or wrongs 
 referred to in the November letter, but that they continued ftill for fome 
 time in communication with each other. I quote the palfage referred to 
 by Mr. D'Ifraeli : " After the moft anxious fearch, I can find no allufion 
 " from Eliot, refpecSling Buckingham, which indicates a feeling of any 
 " fort. His filence on this head is indeed remarkable, as the lauded name of 
 " the duke was then moft frequently on the lips of other popular members ; 
 " but in no place is the favourite alluded to, not even at the clofeof the Spanifli 
 " bufinefs, when thanks were moved by Eliot to the ' prince, the king, and 
 " ' to God,' for the refult of the deliberations {Journals, April 24). Yet, 
 " that this did not proceed from any vindiftive feeling at an abrupt ceffation 
 " of intercourfe, I think I am enabled to prove. From a minute of the 
 "journals of the houfe (April i, 1624), it appears that, on one of the 
 " debates refpefting the Spani(h treaties, fome private letters of the Duke 
 " of Buckingham were referred to, whereupon Eliot ftated that he had that 
 " morning feen thofe letters. This is fpecially entered in the clerk's book. 
 " No other member makes allufion to having feen them. This appears to me 
 " to offer a fair prefumption that Eliot ftill continued to meet Buckingham 
 " in private intercourfe ; and if fo much is admitted, it puts an end to the 
 " amiable theory of thofe writers who have concluded that the letter to the 
 " duke, previoufly quoted, was the laft of a feries of unanfwered appli- 
 " cations, and that, from the time of its date, a vindiftive feeling had been 
 " awakened in the breaft of the offended writer — that Eliot's patriotifm, 
 " in faift, was altogether a perfonal pique at Buckingham." Statefmen of 
 the Commonivealthi. 21-22. 
 
132 VI. Member for Newport. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 srt. 
 
 Be it only further remembered, in entering on Eliot's 
 public life, that in that day politics were neceflarily and 
 intimately connefted with religious dodtrine. The 
 Romifh caufe was the opprefTor's caufe, the Proteftant's 
 that of the opprefTed; and the Englifh conftitutional 
 party faw no chance for good government, except in 
 root-and-branch oppofition to the Roman-catholic faith. 
 The Proteftant ftruggle at home was weakened by 
 Popiih fuccefles abroad ; and the unequal conflidb of the 
 patriots of Bohemia, with the extenfive Roman-catholic 
 confederacy leagued againfl:them,feemed,to all thoughtful 
 as well as pious men, not vaguely to fliadow forth a like 
 poflible fate for the popular party in England. So at 
 leaft thought the leaders of this and the laft parliament : 
 the two " greateft and the knowingeft auditories," as a 
 political adverfary called them, " that this kingdom, or 
 " perhaps the world, had afforded."* 
 
 VI. Member for Newport. 
 
 Parliament met on the 12th of February 1623-4, but 
 was adjourned to the 19th, when the king, in a tone 
 very different from his fpeeches in former years, ~ad- 
 dreffed them. His old alacrity and cheer of fpirit were 
 gone ; and indeed the court goffips had reported, but a 
 week or two before, that his majefty had fallen into fuch 
 a habit of perpetual drowlinefs, that he was only kept 
 awake by playing cards. f There was nothing in his 
 fpeech about his darling myfleries of flate and govern- 
 ment. He had called lords and commons together in the 
 hope of removing previous mifunderftandings, and he 
 meant in future to cherifh his people as a good hufband 
 
 * Biftiop Hacket in his Life of Williams, 179. 
 
 f S. P. O. (MS.) 31 January 1623-4. The " perpetual drowfinefs" 
 was the forerunner of what fo foon was to follow. So is it, as Shake- 
 fpeare finely fays {Timon of Athens), that 
 
 — Nature, as it grows again toward earth, 
 Is fefliion'd for the journey, dull and heavy. 
 
i6ao-i624. Opening of the Lafi Parliament of James. 133 
 
 34- 
 
 his wife. He had long been engaged in treaties by 
 which he hoped to fettle the peace of Chriftendom ; but 
 on account of the repeated delays, he had allowed his 
 fon to go himfelf to Spain and had found thereby how 
 fallacious were treaties. Everything now depended on 
 their good advice. Upon one point efpecially he muft 
 requeft them to judge him charitably. (The poor king 
 muft have found it hard to give forth this part of his 
 leflbn, which in truth was a downright falfehood; but his 
 talk-mafter ftood by, and there was no help for it.) He 
 had never intended more than a temporary alleviation 
 of the penal ftatutes againft the Roman-catholics. He 
 had never promifed, or yielded, to difpenfe with any, or 
 to forbid or alter any. Never had he thought it with 
 his heart or fpoken it with his mouth. He hoped there- 
 fore they would not be jealous of him, or needleffly 
 exadting in points of privilege. Williams followed as 
 Lord Keeper; moft becomingly confirming what no man 
 knew, fo well as he, to require all poffible confirmation ; 
 and excufing himfelf, as a " croaking chancellor," for 
 fpeaking briefly after the king, on the ground that thofe 
 who heard the nightingale would hardly care to hear an 
 imitation. Then, the commons having chofen for their 
 fpeaker Sir Thomas Crewe, the fame who fo grandly had 
 upheld their privileges in the previous aflembly (" an 
 " ancient member of this houfe, and a man every way 
 " after our own hearts "), adjournment was moved to 
 the 23 rd ; when that day, and the two following, were 
 occupied by a narrative of the whole Spanifh bufinefs 
 made to the lords by Buckingham with the prince ftand- 
 ing by, fo ftiaped as to hit exadly the taftes of the lower 
 houfe, and only noticeable now, when viewed with the 
 comment of the prince's placid and entire acquiefcence 
 therein, for the proofs fubfequently given of its deliberate 
 garbling and falfifying of all that had occurred in Spain. 
 It was an ill promife for the fecond Stuart reign that fo 
 plaufible a demeanour could malk fuch deliberate 
 
134 y^I- Member for Newport. bookiii. 
 
 jET. 
 
 perfidy. " The prince," fays Rufhworth, " not only gave 
 " the teftimony of his filence to thefe untruths, but on 
 " its being reported to the houfe, approved thereof 
 "there alfo."* 
 
 On the 27th, bufinefs began in the commons ; and one 
 of the fir ft entries in the journals is a motion on behalf 
 of Sir John Eliot, by his countryman and friend Sir 
 Edward Giles, to make ftay of a trial inftituted againft 
 Sir John. Order was made accordingly that a warrant 
 fhould go out, and this was repeated three days later 
 with extenfion of the warrant to a fimilar trial againft 
 " Sir John Eliot's man." j- The trials were thofe profe- 
 cutions inftituted againft Eliot, and his " meffenger " 
 Richard Elmhirft, of which former mention has been 
 made. 
 
 This order had fcarcely ifliied when Eliot himfelf 
 arofe. It was the firft fpeech of the feffion, and as if 
 at once to fhow his own freedom from any compadb or 
 underftanding that others might have made, he took his 
 place on the forbidden ground. It appears to have been 
 an underftanding that the differences which broke the laft 
 parliament, and in efpecial the famous Proteft for their 
 privileges torn from their journals by the king's own hand, 
 fhould not for the prefent be revived ; but Eliot refufed 
 
 * Hijl. Coll. i. 76 et feq. Ed. 1682. Laud has an anecdote in his 
 Diary which connefts itfelf with the incident in the text. " Feb. i . Sunday. I 
 " flood by the moft illuftrious Prince Charles at dinner. He was then very 
 " merry ; and tallced occafionally of many things with his attendants. 
 " Among other things he faid, that if he were neceffitated to take any 
 " particular profeffion of life, he could not be a lawyer j adding his reafons. 
 " I cannot (faith he) defend a bad, nor yield in a good caufe. May you ever 
 " hold this refolution, and fucceed (moft ferene Prince) in matters of greater 
 " moment, for ever profperous ! " Was there ever an inftance of a tho- 
 roughly obftinate man not ready and eager to fay for himfelf what Charles 
 Stuart then faid ? See alfo Johnfon's remark, Bofwell, p. 250 (Ed. Croker). 
 
 -)- Commons Journals i. 719-722. The reader ihould be informed that 
 this publication of the journals contains two diftinft and feparate reports of 
 the parliament of 1623-4, following each other in the volume, but with 
 nothing from the Editor to indicate that they refer to the fame proceedings 
 of the fame feffion. The fecond copy will be found in pp. 715-798 of the 
 volume. 
 
his aflent. As little of advantage as of honour could pro- 
 ceed, he argued, from compromife or waiver of that on 
 which not their ufefulnefs only, but their exiftence, de- 
 pended. He muft therefore raife his voice for thofe 
 favours their anceftors had enjoyed ; and it is memo- 
 rable that he fhould thus have fpoken his firft fpeech 
 in the houfe elaborately to defend thofe parliamentary 
 immunities and rights for which afterwards he fuffered 
 death. 
 
 He began by reminding his hearers of the ancient 
 opinions held of reprefentative aflemblies, and how 
 happy their efFedts had been to the kingdom ; how like 
 a fandbuary they had been to the fubjefts, how like a 
 magazine to the princes. There, for the moft part, had 
 the princes granted fuch laws and reformations as were 
 covenable for the neceffities and welfare of the fub- 
 jeft ; and there had the fubjedt, making often larger 
 return than was expefted, reciprocated the affedtions 
 of his princes. " But," continued Eliot, " in the 
 " two laft conventions, at one of which I was prefent, 
 " and to the other a well-wifher ; wherein the neceffities 
 " of the king and country mutually fought for the 
 " interchange of help and affiftance from each other ; 
 " the king requiring fupply and aid from the country, 
 " the wants and grieva-nces of the country urging relief 
 " and remedy from the king ; when on both fides there 
 " was moft expefted and moft needed ; nay, when the 
 " king began moft gracioufly to off^er himfelf to the fub- 
 "je6t as in all things befitted a merciful and pious 
 " prince, and the fubjedt was again returning his thank- 
 " fulnefs with extraordinary demonftrations to the king ; 
 " — in thefe, I fay (Oh ! that I could not fay), in thefe 
 " laft meetings mifery crept into the place of happinefs, 
 "and byjealoufies and diftradtions took from us the 
 " benefit of thefe counfels which hope had made equal to 
 ■" the wifdom of our elders." 
 
 Whence, then, had come that lofs and defeat ? If 
 
136 VI. Member for Newport. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 they would prevent its recurrence, they mufl: confider it 
 now. Had the chara6ter of thofe aflemblies changed ? 
 Or had the times changed the reafon of them, and 
 brought it to new forms ? (The queftion probably 
 ftartled fome of his hearers.) " As I am ignorant," he 
 continued, " I ftiould be glad to learn. It was the 
 " charader of a wife man in the laft age, upon this point, 
 "that the greateft unhappinefs could befal this king- 
 "dom was that our parliaments fhould become imper- 
 " fed and inadequate ; and that the diffent between 
 " prince and people here was the moft dangerous ! Which 
 " how it hath of late been, quanquam animus meminijfe 
 " hot ret, as that wherein the foul of this kingdom hath 
 " already too much fuffered, — yet give me leave, I be- 
 " feech you, a little to revive it, that we may thence 
 " ftudy an eafier way for ourfelves. Faciunt aliena peri- 
 " cula cautos. It is a cheap way of learning upon the 
 " cofts of other men." 
 
 With much boldnefs Eliot then declared his belief 
 that if they had been careful to protedt their proceedings 
 by greater fecrecy, to truft the king more, and to con- 
 fide lefs in thofe about him, many rocks had been 
 avoided on which unhappily they ftruck. Some things 
 they would find in the king, but fome things alfo in 
 themfelves, that occafioned thefe breaches. The road 
 they walked was a troubled one, whether diffidence in 
 the king, jealoufy among themfelves, or want of fecrecy 
 in their bufinefs, led them into it. " The diftruft of a 
 " fovereign," purfued Eliot, " is ever as difadvantageable 
 " as the hate of an enemy ; and where we are not con- 
 " fident of ourfelves, what can we expe6t from others ? 
 " It cannot be but inconveniences will follow, where 
 " precautions are not taken ; and therefore I fhall 
 " earneftly defire, before you enter into any particular 
 " difputes, that you will, upon this general, a little reflect 
 " what hath been, and from thence confider what may 
 " now be done." 
 
1 620-1624. Former Parliamentary Experiences. 137 
 
 .34- 
 
 He then detailed his own experience (already quoted*) 
 of the elder of the two laft unfortunate aflemblies ; and 
 afterwards, with as much wifdom of purpofe as modera- 
 tion of tone, dwelt upon the clofing agitations of the 
 great parliament of 1620 by way of warning and teach- 
 ing for their prefent guidance. It would not do, he 
 faid, to evade them; nor, after fuch bold fpeaking of 
 their predeceflbrs, did it become themfelves to be filent. 
 " It were prefumption in me," he faid, "that have nothing 
 " but on credit from that laft aflembly, to make fo near 
 " a fearch or cenfure only of the effeft ; but you will 
 " pardon me to complain, who loft fome hopes in that 
 " public adventure ! I fear, Mr. Speaker, the rocks on 
 " which you then ftruck were not natural, but caft in the 
 " way by fome fubtle art to present the pafTage of your 
 " duties to the king. Neither can I think that by fuch 
 " means the intercourfe was more eafy for his majefty's 
 " love to you, but rather that, by oblique winds and tides, 
 " his graces were fometimes diverted or prejudicate. J 
 " This I am moft confident of, both concerning his ma- ' 
 " jefty and the houfe ; that never king with more gracious 
 " refolutiohs for the comfort and benefit of his fubjefts 
 " called a parliament, nor fubjefts with more fincere affec- 
 " tions came devoted to their prince. But in this doubtlefs 
 " there was fome mifprifion, and between his majefty and 
 " the houfe ftood fome falfe glafles, that refleded not 
 "the true fenfe of the obje6t, but with colours and 
 " illufions wrought deceit. 
 
 " The greateft doubts (as I conceive) the king had of 
 " the parliaments, concerned his prerogative : his majefty 
 " being perfuaded that their liberties did intrench upon 
 " him. The fears the parliaments had of the king were, 
 " that by his prerogative he fought to retrench and 
 " block up the ancient privileges and liberties of the 
 " houfe. This made the infiftance ftrong on both fides; 
 
 * Ante, p. 25. 
 
ij8 VL Member for Newport. book in. 
 
 " the king maintaining his royal power, the houfe contend- 
 " ing for their privileges ; whereas, being well diftin- 
 " guilhed, both might have enjoyed their own without 
 " impeachment of the other's right. For the king's prero- 
 " gative, no man may difpute againft it ; it being an in- 
 " feparable adjundt to regality. It has its example in the 
 " firft and greateft monarch, the King of kings ; who re- 
 " ferves to himfelf, befides his laws, a power to fave ; 
 " which Seneca calls proprium regis, and we his prero- 
 " gative. For the privileges of parliament, they have been 
 " fuch and fo efteemed, as neither to detract from the honor 
 '' of the king, nor to lefl'en his authority. They conduce to 
 " the liberty of this place, that we may here freely treat and 
 " difcourfe for the public good of the kingdom ; and I 
 " take them to be a main bafe and prop whereby fuch 
 " good doth fubfift." 
 
 In very noble and dignified phrafe, without com- 
 promife but without offence, he proceeded to vindicate 
 what had then been done, and thus to give in his 
 adhefion to the memorable Proteftation of the Commons. 
 " For, as parliaments have been ever held to be the chief 
 " fupport and pillar of the kingdom, fo is this privilege of 
 " parliaments eflential to their exiftence : by which opinions 
 " are plainly delivered, difficulties beaten out, and truth 
 " refolved upon. Were it otherwife, men fearing to dif- 
 " pleafe would blanch thofe propofitions that might have 
 " queftion, and filence their underftandings in matters 
 " of moft import. And in this, the Proteftation of the 
 " Commons laft made gives me great fatisfaftion, as 
 " proceeding from excellent deliberation and advice. Its 
 " reafons were well weighed. Such had been the habit 
 " and long ufe of this place. Still had its way been 
 " held with jealous regard to the honor and dignity of 
 " our head, the king. More for his fake, than ours, it be- 
 " hoved that fuch liberty be allowed. The bufmefs is 
 " the king's ; the kingdom hath its reprefentative in the 
 " king. In him our refolutions reft. We are only called 
 
1 620-1 624. Upholds the Proteji of \bii. 139 
 
 34- 
 
 " hither upon either the general affairs of the kingdom or 
 " the fpecial propofitions of his majefly, and therein but to 
 " dehberate and confult, not to conclude. Without our 
 " privileges we fliould fail to perform that duty. And 
 " can it be thought that in claiming them, in order that 
 " we may facilitate his majefty's refolutions and eafe him 
 " in the confideration, leaving the end ftill to himfelf, in 
 " this can it be thought there is any diminution or de- 
 " rogation to regality ? " This latter point he handled 
 with earneftnefs, fupporting it by reafon, by precedent, 
 and by confiderations of perfonal advantage to the king 
 himfelf ; all expreffed with an unmifgiving unaifedted 
 fincerity, never now to be read without pity and wonder 
 at that madnefs of mifgovernment which drove into 
 ultimate adtive refiftance to their princes men fo fimply 
 and fo profoundly loyal. 
 
 " It was held an incomparable wifdom in Henry the 
 " third, when, after many agitations and turns of ftate, 
 " wherein he had involved himfelf by other ways, he at laft 
 " applied himfelf to the parliament and made that his 
 " counfellor. Therein he loft neither authority nor repu- 
 " tation ; for both his eftate and dignity were before 
 " engaged to fuch low conditions, as I fear to fpeak of. 
 " By this, however, he not only recovered that again, but 
 " gained fo much upon the affections of his people and in 
 " the opinion of others, as there was nothing wanting 
 " to him, either withftrangers or at home, of what he could 
 " defire. In the hearts of his fubjedls, he had fo much 
 " as they voluntarily offered, or more than he did need. 
 " In the account of others, he was after held fo fingular as 
 " his government was a pattern. What he referred to the 
 " parliament, was not loft to himfelf; but all the wifdom 
 " and judgment expreffed there became merely his. Our 
 " whole ftory Jeems hut a continual injiance of this. Our 
 " ads of parliament have ever expreffed the wifdom and 
 " excellencies of our kings ; for, whofefoever be the labor, 
 " the honor ftill refledts on them, and the reputation only 
 
140 VI. Member for Newport. bookiii. 
 
 ^T, 
 
 " bears their names. And the advantages otherwife which 
 " the kings of this land have received byparliamentSj are 
 " fuch as they fhould not be forgotten. Befides the 
 " infinite fubventions and contributions granted here, 
 " the fines and mul6ts impofed upon great officers and 
 " dehnquents (I am ferry I fhould bring thefe two fo near 
 " together), their fines, I fay, that have been queftioned 
 " in this place, have often enlarged the treafures of our 
 " fovereigns. And it was a pra6tice much ufed in former 
 " times, when officers and great men were fwollen with 
 " corruption, to have them purged in parliament ; that the 
 " hate and envy might be taken from the prince, and yet 
 " he receive the benefit of their punifhment. And the fub- 
 "je6ts have been fo much affedted to fee thefe fponges 
 " of the commonwealth fqueezed into the king's coffers, 
 " that, as it were in congratulation, they have offered for 
 " themfelves when nothing hath been wanting. And 
 " this methinks fhould endear the credit of our par- 
 " liaments, that they intrench not upon, but extend, the 
 " power and honor of the king. The parliament is but 
 " the reprefentative body of the kingdom by contraftion 
 " drawn into the centre ; like the fun taken thro' a glafs 
 " to inforce the ftrength and heat of his refledlion ; and to 
 " this form and ftation it is not of itfelf that it is thus 
 " moved and occafioned. Corpus jacet inert e et cejfaturum 
 "ft nemo moveat, fay the philofophers. The body is dull 
 " and unapt where it hath not a fpirit to move it. 
 " Should not this fpirit be in the heart, the king that hath 
 " called us hither } Are not his graces the beams which 
 " thro' this perfpeftive, the parliament, are to be derived 
 " to the life and benefit of the fubjedts ? How then can it 
 "■ be imagined we fhould attempt againft him by whom We 
 " are ? The reafon of fympathy and participation, as well 
 " in policy as nature, holds inviolable. What prejudice 
 " or injury the king fhall fuffer, we muft feel. He is to 
 " us, as we are to the country, our very felf. He is the 
 " reprefentative part, our principal partj by the judgment 
 
1 620-1 624. Q^i^ gjr Secrecy for Debates. 1 4 1 
 
 3+- 
 
 " of all ancient and modem philofophers. For the con- 
 " troverfy hath only been between the head and heart, 
 " and he is both. He is vinculum per quod rejpublica 
 " coheret (as Seneca calls him) et fpiritus vitalis quern 
 " h<ec tot millia trahunt. He is, in the metaphor, the 
 " breath of our noftrils, and the bond by which we 
 " are tied one to another. Then can it not be we fhould 
 " attempt againft, or in anything negled, the honor of 
 " him who is fo much our own ! " 
 
 Whence, then, had proceeded the miftakes and mif- 
 interpretations by which they had all fo greatly fufFered ? 
 Eliot was prepared with an anfwer, and to fome partial 
 extent with a remedy. Tale-bearers to the king were 
 fitting in that houfe, and their powers of mifchief 
 might be abridged by fome general tie of fecrecy, not to 
 be broken without grave penalties. The power of fecur- 
 ing that their deliberations fhould not be prematurely 
 divulged, was wanting to no council but that. " More 
 " upon mif-report," faid Eliot, " than the defedts of any 
 " from thefe feats," turning from the benches occupied 
 by himfelf and his friends to thofe at the Speaker's right 
 where the privy councillors fat, " moji upon mif-report," 
 he refumed, " have been grounded the miftakes that 
 " have been this way heretofore. We, I know," again 
 glancing at his friends, " have made it ever our fpecial 
 " propofition, by all our labours and endeavours, to 
 " exalt and magnify the king, in whom confifts the glory 
 " and honor of the kingdom. But others have been 
 " aftive to fow diftruft. With them refts that fpotted 
 " fame which hath difperfed and fcattered jealoufies, 
 " thro' the untimely delivery, or report of thofe things 
 " ftill under debate, which are here conceived before they 
 " are brought forth. For, in the difpute, all things are 
 " doubtful and uncertain ; which, in the refolution, con- 
 " elude happily and well. Being fo taken before their 
 " times, they may eafily fall into mifprifion, and fo 
 " caufe their authors to be fufpeded. Thus is it, I fear," 
 
142 VI. Member for Newport. Bookiii. 
 
 ^T. 
 
 continued Eliot, with touching and manly reference to 
 the harflinefs of Philips's imprifonment, " that fome have 
 " been heretofore traduced whofe meanings were as far 
 " from danger as outward happinefs hath been fince 
 " from them. I fpeak it not in pity of their fufferings, if 
 " they have deferved it ; but in forrow for this place, 
 " that had not credit enough to judge of itfelf, but muft 
 " give up its members to fuffer from his majefty's dif- 
 " pleafure. To prevent fuch future inconveniencies fhould 
 " be now our labour. Let us endeavour that we be not, 
 " now, broken or interrupted in the fuccefs of our at- 
 " tempts. And let us watch, for the firft, our own 
 " private jealoufies and diftradtions. As the fault feems 
 " to be mainly in ourfelves, fo muft be the remedy. 
 " We can only fafely provide it by fome general tie or 
 " obligation here, of truth and fecrecy amongft ourfelves. 
 " In no council elfe, but this, is fuch a fecurity wanting. 
 " Let us further appeal to his majefty either to rejed 
 " the whifpers of our enemies or no longer to believe 
 " them. It is thofewho fear our parliaments that traduce 
 "them, and in the report deform ♦he privileges of this 
 " place according to their falfe intentions. Of himfelf 
 " his majefty cannot mifconceive us. He is wife ; et 
 " omnis Japens eft bonus, faith the mafter of wifdom. 
 " Therefore I have no doubt but of himfelf his majefty 
 " will allow us all the privileges and liberties that may 
 " advance our counfels ; and to this end I could wifh that 
 " we might now fpecially petition him, and with fome re- 
 " monftrance in this point humbly defire the continua- 
 " tion of thofe favors that our anceftors have enjoyed." 
 
 With a becoming dignity and fpirit Eliot clofed. 
 " I doubt not, when his majefty ftiall truly weigh us and 
 " our loyalties, and compare us with the former time, 
 "but he will be pleafed to grant what we now afk. 
 " Which, as it will beget confidence, fowill it add diligence 
 " to our endeavours both for the general good and his 
 " majefty's particular fatisfadtion. Without it the fame 
 
1 620-1 624. Oppofttion to Eliot. 143 
 
 "hazards may follow us that before have been to 
 " others. Let us be wife from others' fufFering. Let 
 " us take prudent counfel that it may not, after much 
 " travail and time, be faid of us as it was of the failor, 
 " who, when taken from his harbour and with contrary 
 " winds and feas much tofled in a long ftorm, was en- 
 " forced at length to put back again. Non multum tile 
 " navigavit Jed multum jaSlatus eft. Let not our epi- 
 " taph be, that the trouble and danger incurred by us was 
 " more than the profit of the journey." * 
 
 That a very great effedt was produced upon the houfe 
 generally by this fpeech, there can be no queftion ; but 
 to the fuggeftion with which it ended, that they iliould 
 then fpecially take means for enfuring the continuance of 
 thofe favours their anceftors had enjoyed, refiftance was 
 offered by two diftinguifhed men who on previous occa- 
 fions had been moft prominent in connexion with the 
 fubjedt of privileges, and who now ufed fuch language 
 as to leave little doubt that Buckingham had privately 
 communicated with them. Mr. Alford faid that " when 
 " time Jhould Jerve he would concur with that gentleman" 
 in his defire to leave that place as free to their fucceflbrs, 
 as their predeceflbrs had to them ; and the moft proper 
 courfe would in fuch cafe be, to have a feledb committee 
 and draw an a6t declaratory, ftating that thefe and thefe 
 were our privileges, and petition for the royal aflent. 
 But Sir Robert Philips fpoke altogether more decidedly. 
 Expreffing his gratitude to Eliot, he yet condemned his 
 propofal as ill-timed. He did not, he faid, that day 
 exped fuch a propofition. Serious matters prefTed, and 
 their meeting had been brought about by not much lefs 
 than a miracle. With no irreverence, but in all earneftnefs 
 and good faith, the pious fpeaker went on to fay that the 
 prince had been playing the part of the Son of Heaven by 
 mediating between them and his father. In gratitude, they 
 
 * From the MS. fpeech in Eliot's handwriting among his papers at Port 
 Eliot. 
 
144 J^I- Member for Newport. Book in. 
 
 ^T. 
 
 were bound to govern the proceedings of that parliament 
 wifely and obediently. Neverthelefs, Sir Edward Coke 
 came to Eliot's refcue, and having in efFedt fupported what 
 the other had faid, the matter refulted in appointment 
 of a committee " not above twelve" to take into delibera- 
 tion the liberties and privileges of the houfe, and confider 
 of a way to maintain them in time to come.* 
 
 The feeling as to Buckingham, and the pofition affumed 
 by the leaders in relation to him, were decifively fhown in 
 the fubjedt next brought forward. The Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer reported the duke's account of the Spaniih 
 bulinefs as delivered on the previous Tuefday, with addi- 
 tion of the comment it had provoked from the Spanifh am- 
 baflador, that fuch difhonour had been done to his royal 
 mafter by the narrative as nothing but the head of the 
 narrator could atone. And whereas, cried Philips fcorn- 
 fully, no other expiation will ferve but the duke's head, 
 yet fliould he hope to fee that head on its fhoulders when 
 
 many thoufands of their heads fhould be " Clear 
 
 " him, then, by unanimous vote ! clear him," fhouted 
 honourable members ; whereon old Coke took up the cry, 
 and delighted the houfe with one of thofe plays on words 
 which made the prince fay he never tired of hearing him, 
 he fo mixed mirth with wifdom ! " And fhall he lofe 
 " his head .'' Never any man deferved better of his country 
 " and king : and ftiall he lofe his head ? What ! is the 
 " Spaniard Mundimarre whom we thought Gondomar ? " 
 A general vote ftraightway acquitted the duke of all 
 blame, and declared his Spanifh narrative to have merited, 
 from that houfe and the commonwealth, a great deal of 
 thanks. When the poor king received this vote, he was 
 forely troubled between vexation at the duke's popularity, 
 and dread of giving utterance to it. Eliot had taken no 
 direct part in the refolution, but he was one of the deputa- 
 tion that carried it to James. His pofition was unufual 
 
 * Commons Journals i. 719-720. 
 
i6ao-i624. j^ar with Spain Propojed. 145 
 
 34- 
 
 and exceptional ; for he was known as one with whom the 
 duke was ftill nearly connected in official bufinefs, and 
 had been formerly on terms of intimate intercourfe, 
 yet he was the only prominent member of the country 
 party who held his courfe, at prefent, in manifeft indepen- 
 dence of the engagements which to fome extent appear 
 to have fettered all the reft. 
 
 Two days after thefe occurrences, Rudyard opened 
 a debate on the two treaties, for the marriage and 
 reftoration of the Palatinate, in a ftrong fpeech for war. 
 It was juft the occafion for Rudyard's effedtive interpofi- 
 tion. His eloquence gave him a polition with the 
 popular party in the houfe, and his place in the Wards 
 gave him truft and authority with the court. He had 
 more than once been the deus ex machind to reconcile 
 powers in confli6t ; and now that a union was to be de- 
 clared, he interpofed to confirm and cement it. Never 
 had he taken fo decided a tone. He was loudly for 
 war. That was the only chance left. Proteftantifm 
 appealed to them. Scattered and difunited in Ger- 
 many, fupplanted in France, threatened in Holland, fha 
 turned to them as to her laft hope of fuccour. The 
 Low Countries were her outworks and barrier ; and 
 therein was lodged the jewel moft precious to Englifhmen, 
 the eldeft daughter of England. Let them but make 
 Ireland fecure ; and then, by a war of diverfion againft 
 Spain, they might relieve the Low Countries, reunite 
 Proteftant Germany, and recover the Palatinate. To 
 like effedt fpoke Philips and Sir Francis Seymour ; the 
 latter calling to mind, that in the very thick of thefe 
 vaunted treaties, now crying out to be abandoned, Spain 
 had turned out of doors their king's daughter and her 
 children ; and afterwards followed Coke, who declared that 
 the very mention of war made him feven years younger. 
 Never had they been fo thriving as when at war with 
 the arch-enemy of freedom. With their forces ready, 
 Ireland fecure, and the Low Countries aided, they need 
 
 VOL. I. L 
 
] 46 VI. Member for Newport. ^°°^ "^• 
 
 not fear Turk, Pope, Devil, or Spanifh king. Then 
 rofe Sir John Eliot, and gave his voice alfo againft the 
 treaties, and for the " more manly Englifh way." 
 There had been fpeaking enough, and better for them 
 now to do than to fpeak. Let them look to their forts and 
 their fleet. At the laft conference it had been fignified 
 to them that feveral of our fhips were at prefent ftayed 
 in Spain. Let his majefty be counfelled of the urgency 
 of immediately providing a fufficient fleet. War alone 
 now could fecure and repair them ; and in fuch a caufe 
 let them obtain the fpecial funds required for additional 
 fhips, by enforcing arrears of penalties againft recufants.* 
 Quite as much to difpleafe as to fatisfy the court, muft 
 have prefented itfelf in this fpeech ; but Pym feconded 
 the eloquent vice-admiral, and an addrefs to the king 
 was unanimoufly voted advifing him to declare both 
 treaties broken, 
 
 Eliot went up alfo with the deputation that carried this 
 addrefs to Theobald's ; and it is noticeable that on 
 their report to the houfe a few days after, opposition 
 to any immediate decifion on the king's reply came from 
 Eliot. Mr. Recorder had declared his majefty's addrefs 
 to be of unequalled grace, and that their king was above 
 all recorded kings in wifdom and in fpeech. The mem- 
 ber for Newport neverthelefs had his doubts. Since 
 their return, he faid, ftrange reports had given a different 
 glofs to paflages in that gracious anfwer, and he would 
 move to interpofe fome time fo that all members might 
 have copies, and opportunity for debating and treating of 
 the things therein propounded.! I^^ the end the houfe 
 agreed, and fuch was the courfe adopted. 
 
 The king was in truth become now fo helplefs in the 
 hands of his fon and the duke, that they had not only 
 to vouch for what he faid, but to explain its meaning. 
 When the advice for breaking the treaties was firft carried 
 
 * Commons Journals i. 675. -|- Ibid, i. 679. 
 
1620-1624. The Commons and the King. 147 
 
 to him, he told the deputation he was very poor, and 
 
 that if they drove him into war they muft fupply him 
 
 largely. But he further told them that the money given 
 
 fhould be fpent by treafurers appointed by themfelves, 
 
 and that, though war and peace are the prerogative of 
 
 kings, he fhould accept no peace without confulting 
 
 them. However he alfo told them that whether he 
 
 could in honour and confcience engage in war, muft be 
 
 a matter for himfelf alone to determine ; and he again 
 
 informed them that his exchequer was empty and his 
 
 debts enormous. When both houfes afterwards went 
 
 up to him, he fnubbed their fpokefman, archbifhop 
 
 Abbot, for afluming him to be at laft thoroughly fenfible 
 
 of the infincerity of the Spaniard ; and he fent them 
 
 away with the ftartling demand of feven hundred thou- 
 
 fand pounds to begin the war with, and annual payment 
 
 of a hundred and fifty thoufand towards his debts. 
 
 Amid all his ebbs and flows of agreement and difcontent, 
 
 to only one thing he fteadily adhered.* If they were to 
 
 * A more curious contribution has feldom been made to hiftory than the 
 publication, in the Hardiuicke State Papers (i. 399-472), of the corre- 
 fpondence between the king, prince, and favourite, during the Spanifli 
 journey, and before and after the alTembling of this parliament. There is 
 one letter of Buckingham's in which the dear dad and gofllp's " moft 
 " humble flave and dog," as he fubfcrlbes himfelf, takes fo bullying a tone, 
 reveals fo plainly the lengths he is prepared to go in his paffionate fpleen 
 againft Spain, and is at fo little pains to conceal his fecret compafts with 
 the popular leaders in parliament, that it is almoft a neceflary illuftration 
 of my text. Its date is exaftly at the time named therein. " I befeech 
 " you to fend me your plain and refolute anfwer, whether, if your people 
 " fo refolve to give you a royal affiftance, as to the number of fix fubfidies 
 " and fifteenths, with a promife after, in cafe of neceffity, to affift you with 
 " their lives and fortunes ; whether then you will not accept it, and their 
 " counfel to break the match with the other treaties ; and whether or 
 " no, to bring them to this, I may not ajfure fame of them underhand ; 
 " becaufe it is feared that when your turns are ferved, you will not call 
 " them together again to reform abufes, grievances, and the making of 
 " good laws, for the good government of the country ■- That you will be 
 " fo far from that, that you will rather weary them with it, defiring nothing 
 " more than their loves and happinefs, in which your own is included. 
 " Sir, I befeech you think ferioufly of this, and refolve once conftantly to 
 " run one way. For fo long as you waver between the Spaniards and your 
 " fubjefls, to make your advantage of both, you are fure to do it with 
 " neither." Hardivicke, i. 466. 
 
148 VI. Member for Newport. Eookiit. 
 
 take his power, he would have their money ; and this 
 led to fundry debates and conferences for a more precife 
 fettlement of terms, in all of which Eliot took adtive 
 part. He was one of a committee with the lords " on 
 *' his majefty's eftate," to which, after conference on the 
 nth March, the Lord Treafurer fent aflurance next day 
 of " his majefty's refolution to call parliaments oft, to 
 "make good laws, and redrefs public grievances."* 
 But that was not the explanation wanted. " We had no 
 " doubt here yefterday, as among the lords," was the 
 anfwer. The king's "particular debts" were a thing 
 apart from the neceffities of the war. They would be 
 in no fit ftate to relieve them, till they had enabled the 
 fubjedts to do it by relieving their grievances. At lafl; 
 the prince and duke had to interfere with aflurance that 
 a fmaller fum would fuffice than had been alked, and 
 with explanations on other points. f " Only let my 
 " father get his fword out," faid Charles, foftly, to thofe 
 about him. " It is a long one, and he'll not find it eafy 
 " to get it in again." j; 
 
 The pofition of Eliot at this time, as I have faid, was 
 in every way {Iriking. Though not pradtifed in debate, 
 he was already not only a leading fpeaker, but accepted 
 as mediator between two fedtions of what were called the 
 country members ; thofe who had " undertaken" for the 
 manageability of the commons on certain conditions 
 obtained from Buckingham, and thofe who refented all 
 fuch undertaking upon doubt of its expediency or of 
 the fmcerity of the parties to it. The houfe had mani- 
 feftly been imprefl'ed by the pradlical turn of all the 
 Speeches he had made ; by his courageous and frank 
 aflertion of their privileges ; by his choice of fuch points 
 of a fubjedt in debate as his public experience in the naval 
 
 * Commons Journals nth and 12th March 1613-4. 
 
 f See Ruftiworth i. 119-131. The whole of the account is worth ftudy. 
 The reader will obferve the clear participation therein of the prince as well 
 as the duke (p. 125). See alfo Hardwicke's State Papers i. 467. 
 
 I S. P. O. MS. 17th March 1623-4. 
 
1610-1624. Eliot's Pofition in Parliament. 149 
 
 34- 
 
 adminiftration gave him moft authority to treat ; even by 
 the known fadts of his old connexion with Buckingham ; 
 and, befides his power of eloquent expreflion, by his bufi- 
 nefs-like decifion of tone. But his ability as a fpeaker, 
 pre-eminent as it was, would never fo quickly have ob- 
 tained for him this pofition, if the independence fo 
 conftantly denied to him in later time, had not been 
 unrefervedly conceded to him by his contemporaries ; and 
 it was the fa6t of his being able honeftly to combine 
 with it fo ardent an advocacy of the war as to become 
 pra(5tically the moft efficient fupporter as well of the 
 " undertakers" as of Buckingham, which gave him fo 
 important a place in the prefent deliberations. What 
 Mr. Chamberlain wrote to Sir Dudley Carleton at the 
 moment thefe matters were in progrefs, will make It ftill 
 more intelligible. " Divers fpeeches and anfwers from 
 " the king have had need of interpretations and ex- 
 "planations, which neverthelefs are not fo fatisfaftory 
 " but that fcruples remain ; and they are fo wary and 
 " cautious on all fides as if they were to treat with 
 "enemies, and in danger to be overreached. Where 
 " tlie fault now is I know not, but they are very 
 "fufpicious. Neither will they be led away by Sir 
 " Edwin Sandys, Sir Dudley Digges, and Sir Robert 
 " Philips, for they have fo little credit among them, that, 
 "though they fpeak well and to the purpofe fometimes, 
 " yet it is not fo well taken at their hands ; for ftill they 
 " fufpedt them to be favourites, and hold them for under- 
 " takers."* Among men fo fufpicious, and with fuch 
 grounds for fufpicion, it behoved all to walk warily ; 
 and Eliot, whofe antecedents were known, and of 
 whofe recent imprifonment none could be ignorant, was 
 
 * State Paper Office, MS. Chamberlain to Carleton, aoth March, 
 16x3-4.. The letter has been printed from a tranfcript by Dr. Birch. 
 {The Court and Times of James the Firji), 1848, a book fo incorreaiy 
 printed, that no quotation can be fafely made on its fole authority. The 
 iame remark applies to the companion volume on Charles the Firft's reign. 
 
150 VI. Member for Newf or t. Bcokiii. 
 
 the laft to have efcaped queftion, if fuch had been 
 poffible. 
 
 He did not fcruple indeed diredlly to invite attack, 
 if it could with any fairnefs have been made. The 
 occurrence was trivial in itfelf, but is of value as an 
 illuftration ; becaufe the remark it drew frojn him he 
 could hardly have hazarded, if his own pofition had 
 been one of perfonal dependence or political fubfer- 
 viency. He was aftive in all the committees revived 
 from the laft parliament for inveftigation of complaints 
 againft the mal-adminiftration of the various courts of 
 juftice. Among the petitions prefented in confequence of 
 thefe committees, was one from the wife of a perfon 
 named Grys, complaining of wrongs ftie had fuffered 
 from the court of chancery, and appealing againft the 
 long delays of that court. To this petition, however, 
 which Sir Robert Philips fpecially reported to the houfe. 
 Sir Edward Coke objefted; telling the houfe that the 
 woman was half diftradied; that the wrong fhe com- 
 plained of occurred in " Egerton's time ; " that he was 
 now gone ; and that it was unufual to complain againft 
 the dead. But after fome difcuffion it was refolved that 
 the grievance in queftion, with others, ftiould be argued 
 by counfel before a fub-committee ; and this fub-com- 
 mittee was about to be chofen, when Sir John Eliot in- ' 
 terpofed. He warned them to be careful in their choice, 
 for he knew of what importance it was that the " cries 
 "of the vexed fubje6l" ftiould be heard by unbiaffed 
 men. He defired them to " have a fpecial care " that 
 its members ftiould " have no dependence upon men in 
 " place." He fuggefted further that it would be better to 
 have no lawyers upon it ; that it were more juft to " have 
 " countrymen, that have no dependence."* There are 
 probably not many who will think thefe words likely 
 to have been fpoken by one who laboured himfelf 
 
 * Commons Journals i. 739. (17th March,) 
 
.620-1624. Buncombe's Cafe. 151 
 
 under the odium of what they fo earneftly condemn. 
 Not on that occafion, nor any other, did his opponents 
 hint at fuch a charge. I find the patriotic old lawyer 
 replying to this earneft appeal, with a ftatement of 
 " great inconvenience by having fuch a fub-committee," 
 and an entreaty to "have it well confidered of:" — but 
 no reproach to Eliot. It will occur to me hereafter to 
 fliow, explicitly, what kind of character his relations 
 with Buckingham were now flowly affuming ; but for the 
 prefent thefe indications mark it fufficiently. 
 
 Shortly after that friendly encounter with the famous 
 ex-chief juftice, Eliot had occafion to deliver himfelf, 
 upon difcuflion of a private bill, in a manner yet more 
 charadleriftic of the opinion he had formed both as to 
 law and lawyers. A fuit called "Buncombe's cafe" 
 had caufed great excitement in the courts. The law 
 of England appeared to have fettled that the rights 
 of a fon born in wedlock, though the mother was fo 
 living at the time that the hufband could not for a period 
 of more than two years have had accefs to her, were in- 
 defeafible ; and a bill had been introduced for difinherifon 
 of this fuppofed but fpurious fon. Eliot fupported it 
 with his utmofl: warmth and vivacity of manner. * 
 
 " Mr. Speaker," he faid, " though the letter of the 
 "law, by the judgment of thefe lawyers cited, does 
 " approve it, the reafon of the law (and all law was firft 
 " grounded upon reafon) does deny it. Can a man 
 " beget a child that never yet knew woman ? Or can 
 " that man be father that never got a child ? Surely, 
 " whatever the law may fay in determination of this 
 " point, whatever may be fuggefted by the lawyers, both 
 '^ reafon and nature are againft it. In this cafe I had 
 " far rather truft the judgment of phyficians than of the 
 
 * No trace of the fpeech I am about to give has yet found its way into 
 print. The notes of the fpeech, with a memorandum of the occafion 
 on which it was fpoken in the houfe, are among the Port Eliot raanu- 
 fcripts. 
 
152 FI. Member for Newport. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 " law. I know what will be faid : not that law would 
 " affirm it, but only for certain fecrets would fuppofe it, 
 " and {o by admiffion in particulars make a conclufion for 
 " the general. A hufband, having been within fuch a 
 " diftance in fuch a time, may have had accefs unto his 
 " wife, and fo have begotten her with child. Therefore, 
 " not becaufe of the individuals in this cafe but of the 
 " generals, he fhall father it. To which I anfwer, that in 
 " this particular cafe the mafters of the law themfelves 
 " will anfwer No, unlefs he have lain with her ; unlefs he 
 " have known her in fuch time as is naturall for women 
 "to go with child. Ponere impoffibile abjurdum eft. 
 " To fuppofe an impoffibility is not worthy of the law ; 
 " and this man, that has not known his wife, that has not 
 " feen her within two years' fpace and more, can be no 
 " more adjudged the father of the child in queftion than 
 " the language in which that law was written (if fuch 
 " there be) may be efteemed the primitive tongue." 
 
 With much point and humour Eliot added : " But per- 
 " chance it will be faid the law in this cafe does difpenfe 
 " with reafon, and afTume a property in itfelf to make this 
 " lawful. Sure I am, however, that herein neither reafon or 
 " nature can fo difpenfe with the law. That were to give 
 " it a power the pope pretends to, to legitimate or other- 
 " wife at pleafure : wherein, befides the prejudice of his 
 " holinefs, what inconveniences would elfe follow I fhall 
 " leave it to your judgments. Let us all here. Sir, refleft 
 " upon it. We are here in this fervice for our counties 
 " or the like. We may be continued here a long time ; 
 " and we have wives and eftates at home." We may 
 imagine the laughter and cries of affent that interrupted 
 Eliot at this home-thruft. With a quiet dignity he re- 
 fumed and clofed his fpeech. " I take no pleafure in this 
 " difpute, nor am willing to fearch too far the myfteries 
 " of the law. Our fathers might have errors, as our- 
 " felves; and where there is error in the man, there may 
 " be error in his works. But as I have always thought the 
 
1620-1624. y/,^ Debate on Supply. 153 
 
 34' 
 
 " law was grounded upon reafon, I fhall ftill believe fo ; 
 " and, with the confent of the lawyers in this point, I ihall 
 " likewife be confirmed in that opinion which I have ever 
 " had of their defervings. But to be taken with a word, 
 " becaufe they fpeak it ; or to believe that law, which is 
 " not reafon ; I muft crave pardon for my ignorance. 
 " Their eloquence cannot lead me ! " The refult was 
 that the bill pafTed. 
 
 Two days after that incident the debate on fupply 
 began, and in the courfe of it Coke explained to the 
 houfe that if the entire demand made by his majefty 
 were complied with, it would, taken with the hundred 
 thoufand pounds already promifed in a fingle fubfidy and 
 fifteenth (a fubfidy being feventy thoufand and a fifteenth 
 thirty thoufand pounds), and with the twenty thoufand 
 offered as fubfidy from the clergy, amount to no lefs a fum 
 than nine hundred thoufand pounds. " Almofl; a million !" 
 cried Coke ; " more than all England could ever raife with 
 " any conveniency ! " His propofition therefore was to 
 divide this fum into three parts, and to vote only the 
 firft three hundred thoufand for the prefent ; which, in 
 order that all the burden fhould at firfl: be laid on the 
 wealthier fort, he would raife wholly by fubfidies, with- 
 out fifteens. Some were neverthelefs for at once voting 
 all. Old Sir John Savile of Yorkfliire, who took adtive 
 part in the difcuflion, would have had it referred to a 
 committee ;* but this, though fupported by Mallory, 
 
 * This propofition for an adjournment (for fuch it would praftically have 
 been) was fo violently refifted, that (as I find from a report in the Harl. 
 MSS.) Sir Dudley Digges had to interpofe with the remark that " it was the 
 " old faftiion of parliament, if a man fpake abfurdly or diftaftefuUy, not to 
 " cry him down, but for him to be anfwered or checked :" whereupon Mr. 
 Selden, famous already for his Titles and Tithes, and whom Lancafter had fent 
 for the firft time to parliament, made his maiden fpeech. " I will not fpeak 
 " to the great matter in hand," he faid, " nor to the orders of the houfe, being 
 " fo young a parliament man, but yet I have been no ftranger to the journals 
 " of either houfe, and have found that the pettieft bufmefs hath not been 
 " fo precipitated." He was favourable to adjournment, but his argument 
 was not found. The pettieft bufinefs might for that reafon admit of 
 delay, when the moft grave did not. 
 
154 ^I- Member for Newport. bookiii. 
 
 Alford, and Seymour, who doubted if the people could 
 give fo much, was overruled. Sir James Perrot thought 
 the entire fum would be infupportable, unlefs moderated 
 by the time and manner of the levying. Mr. Pym did 
 not objedl to the amount, but a limitation as to time was 
 neceflary, for the eafe of the fubjedt. Sir Henry Ander- 
 fon of the north defcanted ftrongly on the danger of not 
 giving. What the vice-admiral of Devon had recom- 
 mended, on the addrefs, he would now repeat. Let them 
 fhut the back door, throw up at once their wooden walls, 
 and give fuccour to their beft friends : in other words, 
 fecure Ireland, raife fpeedily a fleet, and help the Pro- 
 teftants of Bohemia. In effedt the vote was ultimately 
 what Coke had fuggefted ; but, upon objedtion from the 
 Solicitor-General, who thought it a dangerous example 
 in fuch a cafe to omit fifteens, it was taken in the form 
 of three fubfidies and three fifteens to be paid in one 
 year, with conditional pledge for more when more 
 fhould be indifpenfable. 
 
 Eliot fpoke early in the debate, and with an efFed 
 that contributed to the immediate decifion. He was 
 againfl; delay. He was for as much as could be voted 
 then, and for all when the time fhould admit of it. 
 Much needed to be done for the ports and harbours, 
 which for the moft part were defencelefs. Let them 
 not vote grudgingly. All that there prefented itfelf for 
 confideration lay within a narrow ftrait. On the one 
 fide were prefent neceffities, on the other future incon- 
 veniences ; and of the evils it was their duty to choofe 
 the leaft. He had himfelf been much dejedted, at firft, 
 becaufe of his majefl:y's anfwer. But thofe mifgivings 
 had fince been refolved by the prince his highnefs 
 [Buckingham he named not, nor referred to]. That 
 wrongs had been committed by the treaties, no one 
 could doubt. The extent was too apparent to which 
 they had prejudiced England. Nor was it any real 
 force or power in Spain that had done it. Non tarn 
 
1620-1624. Eliot's speech againji Spain. 155 
 
 potentia Jua, quam negligentia noftra. Let them now 
 repair the wrong. The inclination and difpofition of the 
 king they all knew. Their common interefts were at 
 hazard, their friends at pawn, their religion at ftake. 
 He would have them ftrain at once, to be made fafe for 
 once and all. " Are we indeed poor ?" cried Eliot. 
 " Be it fo. Spain is rich. We will make that our 
 " Indies. Break with her, and we fliall break with our 
 " neceffities alfo." But above all, let their decifion be 
 fpeedy, or their very intention might turn againfl: them. 
 Sui|ch was the impreflion on Eliot's refuming his feat, 
 that Mr. Treafurer thought it right to ftate his objedtion, 
 at that time, to fpeeches of which the objedb was " to flir 
 " up our afFeftions." 
 
 Certainly there was fmall need of excitement, either 
 within or without. Quite unexampled was the popular 
 feeling that broke forth when the voting of the fupplies 
 became known. Not till then, it would feem, had the 
 common people trufted themfelves to believe that the 
 intentions againft Spain were real. Bonfires were made 
 thick to the very gates and doorways of the Spanifh 
 embafly.* All the world in the city ran in debt for 
 faggots and gallons of wine. The Spaniards conneded 
 with the embaffy were everywhere infulted, to the great 
 joy and exultation, as the ariftocratic Wentworth 
 phrafed it, of the coblers and other bigots and zealous 
 brethren of the town.f One of their friends brought 
 it before the houfe next day. Well then, faid Sir 
 Robert Philips, let the people be punifhed. Better 
 
 * Laud records them charaifterifticaUy in his Diary : " March 23, Tuef- 
 " day. That afternoon the king declared to the committee, that he would 
 " fend a meifenger prefently into Spain, to fignify to that king that his 
 " parliament advifed him to break off the treaties of the Match and the 
 " Palatinate, and to give his reafons of it ; and fo proceed to recover the 
 " Palatinate as he might. Bonfires made in the city by the forwardnefs of 
 " the people, for joy that vfe fliould break with Spain. O quoties tenuit me 
 " illud. Pfalm Ixviii. 30. Dijfipa gentes, qua bella •volunt : fed fpero quia 
 " coafti." 
 
 f Strafford Letters I. 21. Wentworth to Wandesforde. 
 
156 VI. Member for Newport. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 make inquiry, faid Eliot. Coke had his doubts. Mr. 
 Maynard protefted he had walked up and down the ftreets 
 from eight to ten the previous night, and faw nothing 
 but enjoyment, no diforder. The matter had better reft 
 where it was, for it was probably a fidtion. And fo it 
 was left. 
 
 But at court itfelf things were now little better than 
 among the coblers, bigots, and other zealous brethren. All 
 the fine leffons of Caftilian, learned while the prince was in 
 Madrid, had been unlearned on his return with a mighty 
 rapidity. Sir George Goring was a model courtier ; and 
 he could not now exprefs better his devotion to a patron 
 than by wifhing that, if he failed to ferve him, the 
 hotteft Spaniard, furfeited with raw bull's flefh and 
 garlick, might fpit in his face.* Our courtiers that were 
 in Spain, wrote Chamberlain to Carleton, " begin now 
 " to open their mouths and fpeak of where they found 
 " nothing but proud beggary, coarfe ufage and entertain- 
 " ment, befides all other difcourtefy." In no lefs a degree 
 was the poor king driven to change his tone alfo, at the 
 bidding of his unpitying tafk-mafters ; and he who, 
 but eighteen months ago, had declared himfelf, as an 
 old and experienced king, free and able to punifh any 
 man's mifdemeanours in parliament, was now fain to tell 
 the Spanifti ambaflador, through his fecretaries, upon 
 perfonal complaint of the language of Eliot and other 
 members of the commons, that the houfe was an aflembly 
 of the chief gentlemen of the kingdom, and that free- 
 dom of fpeech was their hereditary privilege.f 
 
 One more incident of fome importance occurred in 
 the matter of fupply. Upon the report of Sir Edwin 
 Sandys from a conference with the lords, on the ift of 
 April, a recommendation was made for anticipation of 
 the fubfidies by an immediate loan, on the ground of the 
 
 * S. p. O. (MS.) Goring to Carleton. 31ft October 1623. 
 f S. P. O. (MS.) March 1623-4. The matter had been referred 
 to Calvert and Conway. 
 
1620-162^ NeceJJity for Naval Preparation. 157 
 
 34' 
 
 preffing urgency of at once fetting forth a fleet. Intelli- 
 gence had been received of as great a navy in prepara- 
 tion in Spain as in 1588; and that, at Dunkirk, a great 
 many flat-bottomed boats were in readinefs to land men. 
 And for all this preparation the only pretence urged 
 hitherto had been, the journey of the infanta. Philips 
 hereupon adverted to the thinnefs of the houfe, and fug- 
 gefl:ed a day's delay for fo weighty a propofition. Eliot 
 did not refifl; this, but added his teftimony to that of 
 Sandys and the Solicitor-General upon the great im- 
 portance of the fubjedt. The intelligence had been con- 
 veyed, he faid, in letters to the lord high admiral, of 
 which he had that morning had fight. The debate 
 ought to be taken early next day. The feafon of the year 
 required hafte. The vice-admiral had doubtlefs been 
 called to fudden council at the admiralty upon the courfe 
 to be purfued. 
 
 On the 24th of the fame month the money voted was 
 ordered, on the motion of Eliot, to be paid into the 
 chamber of the city of London ; and the proceedings 
 on the fubfidy bills were clofed by a further fpeech 
 from the vice-admiral propofing thanks " to the prince, 
 " the king, and God for the happy refult of their 
 " deliberations. He would have a mefTage of thanks to 
 " the prince, to defire him to be our mouth of thanks to 
 " the king, and to intreat him there may be throughout 
 " the kingdom a general thankfgiving to God."* W'on- 
 drous fine this fpeech is faid to have been,-t- but it has 
 periflied. 
 
 Before quitting this branch of the labours of the 
 parliament fo brought to a clofe, it is right that 
 a few words fliould be faid as to the condition pro- 
 pofed by the king and accepted by the houfe, that, 
 in order to infure the application of the rnoney to the 
 purpofes of the war for which it was raifed, it fliould be 
 
 • Commons Journals i. 690. 
 
 f S. P. O. (MS.) Netherfole to Cirleton. zsth April, 1624. 
 
158 VI. Member for Newport. Book in. 
 
 paid into the hands of commiffioners appointed by the 
 commons, who fhould fuperintend its receipt and difburfe- 
 ment. Writers of authority have called this " unpre- 
 " cedented ; "* but the remark feems founded on a 
 mifapprehenfion of the drift of the propofal. The king 
 referved to himfelf the direction of the war, and deter- 
 mination of the fpecial objedts ' for which difburfements 
 were to be made ; but detailed accounts were to be 
 placed before the houfe by its own commiffioners, adling 
 for the time as treafurers to the king, and refponfible 
 againft any expenditure other than for the purpofes of 
 the war. The origin of the propofal, in fhort, which 
 has been overlooked, explains its intention. It was to 
 guard againft the firft fuggeftion of the king, fo diftafteful 
 to Eliot and the reft, that they fhould confider his private 
 debts in their vote. A pity that full efi^edt could not 
 have been given to a principle fo excellent, and that the 
 expenditure of the kingdom could not then have been 
 feparated, once and for ever, from the debts and expendi- 
 ture of the king. Much after mifery and lofs might 
 fo have been prevented. It is much to the purpofe to 
 add, however, that thefe commiffioners were bound to 
 have regard to the fpecific and defined objedt to which 
 hoftilities were to be reftridled ; and in the event of this 
 being over-pafTed or evaded, the further condition for 
 
 * Hume declares it to have been " unufual in an Englifh monarch" (v. 1 8), 
 and Dr. Lingard ftyles it as a conceffion which transferred to the houfes 
 of parliament a branch of the executive authority (H^. vii. 130). But if 
 the praftice had then become " unufual," it was common at a former period 
 of Englifh hiftory; and Brodie {Hiji. of Britijh Empire, ii. 39) has given 
 fome examples. The exaft language employed by the king, however, feems 
 to me to have been ftrangely overlooked by the hiftorians. The keeneft 
 ftickler for prerogative might think that James guarded his rights fufficiently 
 in the fubjoined fentences : " I defire you to underftand, that I muft have a 
 " faithful fecret council of war, which muft not be ordered by a multitude, for 
 " fo my defigns may be difcovered before hand. One penny of this money 
 " fhall not be beftowed but in fight of your committees ; but whether I Ihall 
 " fend 2,000 or 10,000, whether by fea or by land, eaft or weft, by diverfion 
 " or otherwife, by invafion upon the Bavarian or the emperor, you muft 
 " leave that to your king." 
 
j62o-i6z4. General Buftnefs of the Houfe. 159 
 
 additional fubfidies was void. The objedt was to be the 
 recovery of the Palatinate. What had heretofore been 
 fought by treaty was now to be achieved by war ; and 
 as the Spaniard was believed to be inextricably pledged 
 to affift in withholding that territory from its lawful 
 owner, war was to be made with Spain. It will be feen 
 hereafter how far thefe terms were kept; in what manner 
 the condudt of the war correfponded with its origin and 
 motive ; and to what extent Eliot was juftified in the 
 views on which he afterwards aded in oppofition to 
 Buckingham and Charles. 
 
 VII. Prorogation and Dissolution. 
 
 But now, the war queftion difpofed of, the houfe had 
 breathing-time for fubjedts not inferior in importance, 
 and did not omit the opportunity. Before mentioning 
 thefe, however, Eliot's fhare in what may be called its 
 ordinary bufinefs fhould briefly be adverted to. His 
 name conftantly recurs in the journals; and his attend- 
 ance in committees appears to have been as unremitting 
 as his participation in the bufinefs of debate. Queftions 
 of legal reform,* difputed points of univerfity privileges, 
 more equitable fettlement of crown lands, are fubjedis in 
 which he was prominent ; and, with Coke, Philips, and 
 Giles, he was repeatedly alTociated in carrying Cornifh 
 private bills. In the majority of the conferences with 
 the lords, he adted as one of the managers ; and we have 
 feen with what jealoufy he oppofed, even againft the popu- 
 lar members in communication with Buckingham, a re- 
 laxation of the privileges of the lower houfe, or an attempt 
 
 * Commons Journals, pajftm. In the queftions afFefting Wadham and 
 Magdalen colleges he appeared very frequently. Often he fuggefts (as i. 684) 
 the proper aftion of a committee, and practical folution of fome difficulty 
 in proceeding. Not feldom he is oppofed in view, even in matters of no 
 ftriking public concern, to Wentvporth ; as in a queftion affefting the lands 
 of the Hertford family, which he oppofed (loth March) on the ground that 
 "as informed thefe lands are entailed upon the crown." 
 
1 60 VII. Prorogation and DiJJblution. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 to put in abeyance any conftitutional ufage. So, when 
 the minlfters propofed, through Sir Guy Palmes, to have 
 a bill drawn for continuance over to next feffion, in 
 ftatu quo, of all bills in progrefs, that fo they might 
 "hufband time" (and at any time have excufe for pro- 
 rogation), the name of Eliot, in connexion with thofe of 
 Coke, Philips, and Digges, was found fuccefsfully op- 
 pofed to it. Monopolies of every kind had a ftrenuous 
 and unceafing opponent in him ; and he never tired of 
 reminding the houfe of the petitions (thofe " flinging 
 "petitions" as the king bitterly called them) "not to be 
 " forgotten againft recufants : " but he never prefled 
 harflily againft an offender. A kind heart came in refcue 
 of the ftric5i: feverities of judgment. When Sir John Savile 
 and others of the popular party pufhed hard againft the 
 under-fherifF of Cambridge for an irregularity at the 
 election, Eliot humanely interceded ; fuggefting that the 
 cuftody already undergone, and the expenfes incurred, 
 were punifhment enough. Coke feconded him ; and 
 "difmiffal with a check" was all that befell the under- 
 fherifF. 
 
 To the profecution and punifhment of a more important 
 culprit which made this parliament memorable, Eliot, 
 though not one of the managers, nor taking any early 
 prominent part, beyond afting occafionally on the com- 
 mittees that conduced the preliminary inquiries, con- 
 tributed at the clofe of the proceedings a brief but 
 powerful fpeech. The facrifice of the lord treafurer 
 Middlefex to the juft refentment of the popular leaders, 
 had formed, there is no doubt, a principal item of the 
 negotiation with the favourite that preceded the open- . 
 ing of the feffion.* Eliot was no party to that negotia- 
 
 * See the proceedings in the Pari. Hi/}. Even Carte thinks him to have 
 been clearly guilty ; and Nicholas Ferrar, a very confcientious perfon, was 
 certainly one of his ardent accufers. Clarendon, Hacket, and others,, 
 believe him to have been facrificed to Buckingham's refentment. For the 
 committees of inquiry in which Eliot a£led on the impeachment with 
 
1620-1614. Impeachment of Lord Middle/ex. 161 
 
 tion, and may have been reluctant in the firft inftance to 
 take prominent place in a tranfadlion diredlly refulting 
 from it. Without implying the remoteft doubt of the 
 lord treafurer's guilt, as to which the line he took on 
 queftions incidental to it ftiowed prominently his ftrong 
 belief, this abftaining from any active interference in 
 the early ftages of the impeachment may have implied 
 fome mifgiving as to the propriety of motive which 
 impelled the proceeding at the particular time. That 
 Lord Middlefex had been extortionate, had taken bribes, 
 and committed malverfation in his office, was as little 
 queftionable as that Buckingham gave him up to his 
 profecutors for none of thefe reafons. As he had raifed 
 Cranfield from obfcurity for fervile compliances, he was 
 now hunting Middlefex to difgrace for having kicked at 
 his patron. Williams himfelf only efcaped the fame 
 doom by more fupple and agile fubmiffion.* In vain 
 the fhrewd old king remonftrated. " By God, Steenie, 
 " you are a fool ; you are making a rod for your own 
 " breech !" To no eifedt did he tell both houfes that 
 the lord chancellor's impeachment in the previous 
 parliament was no precedent againft a great officer of the 
 ftate who denied the guilt charged againft him, feeing 
 
 Sandys, Digges, Philips, Wentworth, Pym, &c., fee Journab, April 12, 
 1624, &c. &C. 
 
 * See letter of Williams to Buckingham, 27th April 1624 (S. P. O. 
 MS.) in which he has, with great opportunenefs, a fudden fever ; 
 defires a fubftitute as fpeaker of the lords ; and protefts himfelf weary of 
 this unthankful world, which he would not regret to leave, but from his 
 wilh to ferve " fo good a matter, fo fweet a prince, and fo faithful a 
 " friend and patron." Poor Middlefex was not lefs difpofed to make his 
 fubmiffion, too, but it came too late. There is a piteous appeal from 
 him to Buckingham, dated the 5th September 1624 (S. P. O. MS.) 
 in which, grovelling at his feet, he tells him that he has had proof of his 
 power. Do n't utterly ruin me, he prays. He has paid dearly for his 
 fault, he declares, and now grieves for his high and ftiff carriage. By his 
 hope of mercy he implores his grace — But his grace turned a cold ear, 
 only not interfering with the crumbs of favour dropped by the king. 
 Neverthelefs, again the wretched ex-treafurer wrote, on the 21ft February 
 1624-5 (S- P- O. MS.), to tell my lord duke his grace that he grieved 
 far lefs at his own ruin, than at his eftrangement, by mifinformation of 
 villains, from the duke ! 
 
 VOL. I, M 
 
1 62 VII. Prorogation and Dijfolution. ^°°^ ™- 
 
 MT. 
 
 that the Lord St. Albans had confefled his. In vain he 
 warned both his fon and the duke that they would live 
 to have their bellies full of parliamentary impeachments. 
 The commons were fufFered to proceed, and they 
 did fo with an effedt that was memorable. It was no 
 longer poffible for Eliot not to take final part, when, 
 the cafe being proved in all its aggravation, attempts 
 were made to exempt the offender, by very reafon of 
 the magnitude of his offence, from the due punifhment 
 that fhould attend it. For this he had referved himfelf, 
 and on this he fpoke with a force and decifion that con- 
 tributed greatly to the refult. The king had been cor- 
 real in urging that the cafe of Bacon had been too feeble 
 to eftablifh a precedent with any certainty. But now, 
 the grand conftitutional principle that had lain dormant 
 for more than two centuries was put into rigorous prac- 
 tice; the guilt of the accufed having been made manifeft, 
 his punifhment was deliberately voted; and a vital 
 parliamentary right was reftored, beyond further chance 
 of poffible recall, againft all future minifters of the 
 crown. " Oh ! parliaments work wonderful things," 
 cried Coke. " It was to no purpofe my lord began to 
 " caft his circle and fall to his conjuring. Better he had 
 "not left his fhopboard !" 
 
 With fomething of the fame fcornful and bitter allu- 
 fion to Cranfield's origin, Eliot put in contrail the 
 height to which he had fprung, not by honourable 
 ambition but by bafe and unworthy practice. " The par- 
 " ticulars of this cafe," he faid, taking up the reference 
 of a preceding fpeaker, " and the career of the perfon 
 " now in queftion feem indeed like a mathematical expref- 
 " fion or defcription of fome ftrange prodigious meteor, 
 " new obferved, of which the effedls may fooner be dif- 
 " covered than the reafons. The original of fuch bodies 
 " being uncertain, their natures hidden, their operations 
 " fecret, and everything relating to them corrupt, they 
 " beget rather aftoniihment than admiration, and (the' 
 
.620-1624. Eliofs speech againfi Middle/etc. 163 
 
 " they fhine glorioufly for a while) threaten only ruin 
 " and difafter. They are nothing but as they derive 
 " from a higher than themfelves. Aftuated only, and 
 " fet in motion, by the influence or attradion of the fun, 
 " their own matter and fubftance is an imperfedt com 
 " pofition of elements the very lowefl: and the bafefl:. 
 " By that great power drawn up from their own fphere 
 " to be refined, but by reafon of their natural hardnefs 
 "and refiflance becoming monfl:rous in fuch height, 
 " their ends are too well known to be commended. I 
 " am loth," continued Eliot, as if with fudden recollec- 
 tion that his allufions might be more widely applied, 
 "to flirain this metaphor too far. I know, where 
 "now I am, what the times are of which I am to 
 " fpeak. Neither fhall I willingly detrad from honor. 
 " But I cannot impeach the fincerity of mine own 
 " confclence, which I hope fhall always render me, to 
 " your opinions, worthy the fervice of this place. The 
 " greatnefs of the perfon whofe caufe is now in hand, 
 " gives me the greater will to fpeak that freely which all 
 " men will imagine. Where there is fault, there fliould be 
 " punifhment. The juflice of this houfe is too perfed: 
 " and exadt to decline to favour or refped. Reafon does 
 "herein lead me. Where offences are committed, the 
 " greater the delinquent I muft always deem the greater 
 " the delid ; becaufe fuch fin not only in themfelves but 
 " are the caufe of fin in others, whofe ads their great ex- 
 " amples have mifled. I confefs they are a happy thing, 
 " great men and great officers if they be good, and one 
 " of the greatefl blefTmgs of a land : but power con- 
 " verted into evil, as Tacitus notes in corrupt magiflrates 
 " and officers, is the greatefl curfe and cruelty can befal 
 " it." Soon was that page of Tacitus to fupply the 
 fpeaker with comparifons of other and loftier application, 
 and of a meaning more terrible. He now fimply clofed 
 with a plain and manly flatement of the opinion he had 
 himfelf formed. 
 
164 VII. Prorogation and Dijfolution. Bookiii. 
 
 "I ihall not trouble you again with repetitions. 
 " The enumeration of thofe particulars that have been 
 " charged and proved is needlefs : and the defence, 
 "how weak it is you know. But upon all to give 
 " you the fentence of a true Englifh heart, though with 
 " much forrow and grief that any man fliould fo deferve 
 " it, I fhall be bold to fay of this great lord, how great 
 " foever, that I hold him to be, by that which is already 
 "known, which I am confident is the leaft part of that 
 " which he has done, unworthy the favor of his country, 
 " unworthy the favor of his prince, unworthy the em- 
 " ployments of either ! And fo I would have him tranf- 
 " mitted to the 'ords, from whom I doubt not but he jfhall 
 "receive a judgment equal to his demerit." 
 
 The judgment he did receive was not inappropriate 
 or unequal to the fordid nature of the man. He was 
 condemned to a fine of fifty thoufand pounds, to be 
 imprifoned during pleafure, and to be excluded from 
 parliament and the verge of the court.* 
 
 James remitted as much of this punifhment as he 
 dared fafely do ; but there was no longer even the fhow or 
 mafk of a good underftanding between him and the 
 commons, though he was happily too deeply committed 
 to be able to refufe his affent to various bills which had 
 been in progrefs all the fefTion, and above all to that 
 ever famous bill revived from the previous parliament, 
 abolifhing monopolies for the fale of merchandife, or for 
 ufing any trade. 
 
 In promoting this enadtment Eliot was prominent; 
 and I have been fo fortunate as to difcover, among his 
 
 * " 1 624, May 1 3th, Thurfday. Lionel Earl of Middlefex, Lord Treafurer 
 of England, and Matter of the Wards, cenfiired in parliament for bribery 
 " and extortion, and deceiving the king, &c. To lofe his offices. To be for 
 " ever difabled to bear any. Fined to the king in 50,0001. Imprifoned in the 
 " Tower during the king's pleafure. Never to fit again as a peer in parlia- 
 " ment. Not to come within the verge of the court." Laud's Diary. It 
 was moved alfo, fays Heylin, to degrade him from all titles of honour, 
 but in that the biihops flood his friends and daiht the motion. Life, 118. 
 
1 620 1624, Impofitions by Prerogative. 165 
 
 34- 
 
 papers, the notes of a fpeech In relation to it, taking 
 rank with his moft mafterly efforts, in which he opens 
 up the whole queftion of impofitions by prerogative. 
 Still this all-important matter remained unfettled. Since 
 the judgment of the exchequer in the merchant Bates's 
 cafe, by which the judges affirmed the king's right to 
 impofe a duty of five fhillings the hundredweight on 
 currants over and above that of half a crown granted 
 by the ftatute of tonnage and poundage, heavy duties 
 on ^ every kind of merchandife had continued fo to 
 be impofed ; but from each fucceflive fitting of parlia- 
 ment had iflued the moft determined remonftrances 
 againft the aflumed power, as ruinous to the ancient 
 liberty of the kingdom, and to the fubjedt's right of 
 property in his lands and goods. Such remonftrances, 
 and bills prepared in accordance with them, had in effedt 
 led to the diflblution of the two parliaments of 1 6 1 o and 
 1 6 14, in the latter of which EHot fat; and theconfe- 
 quences to commerce itfelf had been difaftrous in the 
 extreme. The power which the king claimed for his 
 prerogative, by the fame afiumed right he had extended 
 to others ; and out of the companies and individuals who 
 had become the king's farmers in this matter, fprang 
 the mifchievous monopolies againft which the bill was 
 dired:ed. But even thefe were not the worft evils. Some 
 of the exports moft in demand had been diminiflied more 
 than half; many large traders had been beggared; and 
 the merchant ftiipping of the country had fallen away to 
 an alarming extent. All men out of the purlieus of the 
 court faw the danger ; but it was difficult to get fome men, 
 either without or within them, to fee that the greateft 
 fuiFerer after all was the king's revenue, which in a pre- 
 eminent manner robbed itfelf by the means it took to 
 plunder the king's fubjecfts. Eliot's keen obfervation, 
 while engaged in the duties of his vice-admiralty, had 
 fufficed to fhow him this. The condition of thofe great 
 harbours of the weft had daily revealed it to him. And 
 
1 66 VII. Prorogation and Dijfolution. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 now, applying the experience with a knowledge reaching 
 far beyond his time, he undertook to exhibit it to others. 
 Nor could better proof than this fpeech be given of the 
 pracflical charadter of his mind, and of the manly fenfe 
 with which, rejeding affumptions and everything unreal, 
 he applies to the judgment and difcrimination of public 
 affairs that which obvioufly has lain within the range of 
 his own obfervation. 
 
 Impofitions by prerogative, he began by telling the 
 houfe bluntly, were as little agreeable with policy as 
 with reafon. Reafon affedted not the cries and exclama- 
 tions of the people, nor policy the unftrengthening of 
 the ftate ; yet thefe did both, and were in effed a griev- 
 ance to the people and a weakening of the ftate. " But 
 "what is more," he continued, "tho' I know it will 
 " feem more ftrange, they are ex diametro oppofed to the 
 " main point of their intention, the benefit of the king. 
 " And when they fhall be taken upon a juft counterpoife 
 " and weight, they will be likewife found unprofitable 
 " to the impofer, to him who hath obtained that mono- 
 " poly : for however they carry a fair fhow at firft, and 
 " for a while relilh like all new things, in conclufion, 
 " with that hyena's face, they bite." 
 
 Eliot proceeded, after this ftriking commencement, 
 with reafoning that, however far in advance of his time, 
 could hardly have failed to produce a ftrong effedt, by the 
 mere force of its plainnefs, and fimplicity of ftatement and 
 illuftration. That fuch impofitions were a grievance to the 
 people, he faid, no man could doubt, if he confidered that 
 commodities which ought to be free received thereby fuch 
 a tax as made them cheaper to the feller and yet dearer to 
 the buyer. Ofttimes were men thereby enforced to pay 
 for their own labours. The country was ever complaining 
 for that which is here at home ; the merchant ever in 
 need of that which comes from abroad ; and all men in 
 general were undergoing the kind of inconvenience which 
 they fooner feel than fee. The fyftem was eating, not 
 
1620-1624. Eliofs Spech againji Impofttions. 167 
 
 only by itfelf, but by its accidents in the fliape of ex- 
 adting and extorting minifters, into the heart and bowels 
 of the kingdom. By detailed examples he then went 
 on to fhow that impofitions and monopolies were a 
 weakening to the ftate by diminishing both the ftrength 
 and power which naturally it pofTefled. It might appear 
 niany ways. " Firft, by difheartening the fubjedts, and 
 " making them not only lefs able but lefs afFedled ; for 
 " the rule is potejias humana radicatur in voluntatibus 
 " hominum. Secondly, by impoverifhing the fubjedb and 
 " leflening his treafures, which are the nerves and finews 
 " of occafion. For the gain to individuals is fubftituted 
 " for good to the general. The treafures brought in by 
 " the merchant are not of his own ; and he, being difcou- 
 " raged in his benefit by the great charge of trade, wholly 
 " negleds it, or retires it to fome fpecial place or thing 
 " that may fatisfy his own particular without intention 
 " of the common good. Of this we have had too much 
 "and late experience. Thirdly, they are a manifeft 
 " weakening of the ftate in the decay of our navy. For, 
 " as the trade declines, the goodnefs and number of our 
 " fhips muft needs impair ; of thofe fhips which have 
 " been heretofore fo famous, which have been heretofore 
 " fo fearful to all our enemies, even with their name or 
 " fight obtaining victories. However of late they may 
 " not have been fo fortunate, the fault was not theirs. 
 " They are ftill that wooden wall that muft defend us, 
 " if there be caufe, or the ancient oracle that fo prophefied 
 " for the Athenians will fpeak us loft ! Methinks this 
 "fhould of itfelf, without more reafon, fufRciently dif- 
 " prove thefe impofitions, and difliiade their ufe." 
 
 But the eloquent vice-admiral had a more ftartling 
 argument in referve. "Yet with the favour of your 
 " patience," he went on, " I will in the third place a little 
 " further urge, in proof of my fuppofition that they are 
 " likewife unprofitable to the impofer. This may feem a 
 " harder tafk ; becaufe experience will not yield to reafon. 
 
1 68 VII. Prorogation and Dijfolution. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 " and for the moft part we look but to the prefent, not 
 " heeding what is to come or what hath paft. Yet in 
 " this if we will but confult our memories, and view the 
 " times before us, comparing them with thofe former, and 
 " thenfuffer our judgments to weigh with reafon what is 
 " like to follow by confequence from both, I doubt not 
 " but we ftiall derive fomething to fhow thefe impofitions, 
 " thefe fair-looking monfters, not upon all parts alike. 
 " In the face I confefs they are fair, and promife much. 
 " They are a clear addition of a new income, where 
 " nothing was before. They are a pure creation to thofe 
 " that are to have them. To them they feem at firft as 
 " growing out of nothing, being raifed fo infenfibly as 
 " they perceived it not. But they are as the rib tdken 
 " from the man's fide, which did both weaken and deceive 
 " him. So it is in thefe. When we have had time and 
 " experience to view their back parts well, there we fhall 
 " find them altered. Mulier formoja fuperne definit in 
 " pifcem." 
 
 Eliot then, amid ftrong affent and fympathy from the 
 powerful northern party, inftanced the condition of the 
 woollen cloth trade, their great ftaple. Here the reftric- 
 tion on exports, met by correfponding prohibitions in the 
 States of Holland and other countries, had operated moft 
 difaftroufly throughout all the great cloth diftridls of 
 Yorkihire and Lancalhire. Nor lefs, Eliot now had 
 undertaken to fhow, had they proved difaftrous to the 
 king's revenue. " Take any large trade," he faid, " and 
 " confider how it ftood for its commodities before they 
 " became feverally charged with impofitions. Then 
 " compare it with the prefent condition and ftate it now 
 " ftands in, and you will find the fmall increafe to re- 
 " venue that fuch additions make. The trade of cloth 
 " fhall fpeak it for the reft. As it is the greateft, it may 
 " well deferve moft credit. Was the king's benefit ever 
 " fo much in that, now fo heavily burdened, as when it 
 " paid but the noble of the pack ? Surely no ! And 
 
I620-I624- Eiiofs Argument for Free Trade. 169 
 
 " thofe that will, may fee it both in the efFedt and reafon. 
 "For that eafmefs made the merchant's benefit more, 
 " while yet he fold the cheaper. That it was which fo 
 "enlarged the vent beyond fea, where now, for the 
 " price, others under-creep us, and fo foreftall our mar- 
 "kets. From 80,000 they have brought us down to 
 " 40,000 cloths a-year ; and as it is in this fo it is in all. 
 " The greatnefs of the charges lefiening the merchant's 
 " benefit, difcourages him from trade, and makes him to 
 " defift, and every man fo loft to commerce is loft to the 
 " king. Projeftors fatten upon individual lofs, but the 
 " king and the ftate are weakened. His majefty derives 
 " profit not from heavy duties on fome, but cheapnefs in 
 "all. The number it is that will fupply his majefty's 
 " profit, if there be vent, and not only with advantage 
 " outgo all projedts in that particular, but with an in- 
 " finite enriching to the whole kingdom, not only in the 
 " commodities, but in the labours of our men, to make 
 "them more induftrious who now ftand idle and do 
 " devour us. The town of Amfterdam can give us good 
 " teftimony in this. There, as I am credibly informed, 
 " their cuftoms come to more than in all England, and 
 " yet the proportion and rate not a third part of ours. 
 " What is the caufe of this ? The eafinefs of the charge. 
 " It is that which does not only quicken their own but 
 "draws other merchants thither. For, wherever the 
 "merchants' benefit is moft, there they refort; and 
 " efpecially that nation whofe inclination hither we may 
 " eafily difcern. And would it not then be fo with us 
 " upon the like reafon ? Yes, and much more. Much 
 " more ; as we exceed in many opportunities and advan- 
 "tages which they affed; and ftudy, but poftefs not. 
 " Our harbours are more, our harbours are better, our 
 "harbours are nearer in the courfe and way of trade. 
 "And that which they fear there, the danger of an 
 " enemy, in whofe view they pafs into their own country, 
 "ourcoaft is free from. So that, abate the cuftoms. 
 
170 VII. Prorogation and Difjolution. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 JET. 
 
 " and they will be foon drawn hither. Here they will 
 " come to make their ftaples ; and herein his majefty 
 " fhall not only gain by the multitude of exotic impor- 
 " tations, but by the expe6tation of the fame commodities 
 " that will pafs hence to ferve our neighbours. Their 
 " example too, with the fame reafon, will likewife ftir 
 " our merchants ; and this I conceive to be a clear 
 " demonftration of my third argument in proof of my 
 " opinion." 
 
 Anything more convincing it would indeed be difficult 
 to imagine than this plain and irrefragable ftatement. 
 Among the elaborate arguments againft impofitions and 
 monopohes handed down to us, exhaufting the learn- 
 ing on one fide and the other, this ftands apart and 
 alone. It goes at once to the root, and exhaufts 
 the common fenfe, of the matter. It was no part 
 of Eliot's bufinefs here to difcufs the legality. The 
 illegality of fuch impofitions had been repeatedly 
 declared by parliament. His obje6t was to fhow that 
 they had none of the effefts even alleged or defired by 
 their promoters, and for this he had relied on what his 
 own experience in the weftern harbours revealed to him. 
 He had feen the carrying trade almoft perifh, and the 
 pirate the only profperous merchant of the fea. But 
 there was another confideration he could not fhut out, 
 though apparently he had no wifh on this occafion to 
 fet it forth too prominently. The difcontent of the 
 people under thefe impofitions was becoming every day 
 more formidable ; but with confummate ta6t, as became 
 the fuppofed prefent, however temporary, accord between 
 the court and the country party, he contented himfelf 
 by figuring it, and its dangers, under form of an hiftorical 
 anecdote. 
 
 " I am loth," he faid, " by inftances to prefs It 
 " further or to fhow what bad effeds almoft in all 
 " parts of Chriftendom thefe new impofings have had. 
 " Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Low Countries, all 
 
1620-1624. Jn Eloquent Bijh of Baftl. 171 
 
 ' could fpeak too much in this. Nor will I ftay to 
 ' vouch the judgment of our elders, from whom I could 
 * have good authority. Only one further reafon I will 
 ' give you out of Fulgofius ;* and if you pleafe to take 
 tlie ftory, it will not be found impertinent. The 
 ' Genoefe, fometime fubjedt to the Duke of Milan, 
 ' grieved at fome great impofition which he had laid 
 ' upon them. They fent an orator to the duke to 
 ' entreat his favour and juftice that the impofition might 
 ' be laid down again. The orator, being come to 
 'Milan, found the duke celebrating the feaft of St. 
 ' John Baptift, which they there hold with fuch great 
 ' folemnity as he could have no accefs for the delivery 
 ' of his meflage to th^ duke. But from Genoa having 
 ' been commanded to return a prefent anfwer, in the 
 ' ftrait he invented a new rhetoric. Inftead of an oration, 
 ' he fent in a difh of bafil and got it to be placed jull 
 '■ before the duke. The duke, feeing the herb, and 
 ' knowing it was not of common or ordinary ufe, en- 
 ' quired from whence it came ; and hearing it was from 
 ' the Genoan orator, he inftantly commanded him to 
 ' give the fenfe of this novelty. The orator being 
 ' therefore brought to the prefence of the duke, know- 
 ' ing it concerned his defires moft fhortly to be delivered, 
 ' told the duke by that fymbol he exprefled the nature 
 ' and condition of his people, with which it had great 
 ' refemblance. For, being gently touched and handled, 
 ' it rendered an excellent Imell ; at ft tritum feu freffum 
 '■fit narihus moleftum eft. The reafon was there liked, 
 '■ and the refemblance, I beheve, may hold with us. 
 ' Which, how it does conclude upon my arguments, I 
 ' leave it to your judgments. My endeavour has been 
 ' only to fliow the inconveniences of thefe impofitions, 
 '■ in refped of ufe ; and to prove that, being a grievance 
 '■ to the people, a weakening to the ftate, and not pro- 
 
 * For an account of this writer (Cardinal Frederic Fregofe, or Fulgofe), 
 fee Biographic Uni'verfelk, xvi. 6. 
 
172 VII. Prorogation and Dijfolution. Book in. 
 
 " fitable to the impofer, they are neither agreeable with 
 *' true policy or reafon." 
 
 Eliot then in conclufion fuggefted the courfe which 
 he held it defirable that the propofed legiflation fhould 
 take, and pradtically thefe fuggeftions were made to form 
 the bafis of the bill. " And now," he faid, " to draw 
 " this to fome conclufion fit for the prefent time, and to 
 " give you my opinion what I conceive neceflary to be 
 " done. We are to confider that in point of right, as 
 " it has been often and long fince in this place declared, 
 " thefe impofitions are not legal, and that, in fad; and 
 " ufe, they are inconvenient and full of prejudice ; and 
 " yet we are to have regard to the reputation they hold 
 " in the revenues of his majefty, *and that our affedions 
 " may therein appear defirous not to abridge or lefl*en, 
 "^but rather to augment the profits of the crown. I 
 " fhall defire, therefore, there may be a fpecial coUeftion 
 " made of all impofitions that are extant ; that they may 
 " be particularly weighed and confidered in thefe feveral 
 " importances and refpedls ; and that fuch as fiiall be 
 " found and adjudged lefs dangerous in their confequence, 
 '' may be pafl: into an a6t and fo made known and cer- 
 " tain lawfully to continue. But that, in the fame bill, 
 " all others may be revoked, with a declaration for the 
 " future that no impofition more be laid but by the 
 "^ general confent of parliament, and that he that Ihall 
 " counfel or colledt them may be held for an enemy to 
 " the ftate. I hope this may give his majefty fatisfac- 
 "^tion that we defire not to retrench his juft profits 
 " and revenues, and yet to preferve the interefts of the 
 " fubjedt freed from thefe great burdens and oppreflions, 
 " and preventing for the future fuch kind of difficulties 
 " and difputes. To which end I defire there may be a 
 '^'^ committee appointed to prepare it and fo to prefent it 
 " to the houfe." 
 
 This was in effe6t what the bill did, in abolifhing 
 monopolies for the fale of merchandife, or for ufing any 
 
1620-1624. cj^hg Statute againji Monopolies. 173 
 
 34. 
 
 trade. The manner in which it was drawn up is 
 eminently worthy of note. Its form was fimply declara- 
 tory that fuch monopolies were contrary to law and the 
 known liberties of the people. The wording of this 
 great ftatute invited every man to take note that it 
 enadted no new thing ; that every fubjed of England 
 had entire power to difpofe of his own aftions, provided 
 he did no injury to any of his fellow-fubjedts ; and 
 that no prerogative of the king, no power of any magif- 
 trate, nothing but the authority alone of laws, could 
 reftrain that otherwife unlimited freedom. The full pro- 
 fecution of which noble principle, adds Hume, in re- 
 marking upon it, " into all its natural confequences, has 
 " at lafl, through many contefts, produced that fingular 
 " and happy government which we enjoy at prefent." * 
 Legiflation had been filent in England for thirteen years 
 when it thus found fitting voice once more. One fub- 
 fidy bill had been the fole contribution to the ftatute 
 book from the two preceding parliaments. But their 
 long counfels which had been weather-bound, as Wil- 
 liams's racy and choice biographer exprefles it, came to 
 a quiet road, and their veflel was lighted of ftatutes 
 which are of immortal memory. j- 
 
 The fame ingenious perfon, in relating how it was 
 that his majefty interpofed no veto to the unloading of 
 
 * Hiji. of England, v. 18. See alfo Lord Coke, on the fubjeft of this 
 great ftatute, 3 Injiitutes, 181. 
 
 f Hacket's (Bifhop of Lichfield) Scrinia Referata (Life of Archbifhop 
 Williams), i. 200. For an account of this book, which is quite acuriofity 
 of literature, fee my Arreft of the Finje Members, § ix. He goes on to fay, in 
 thepaffage juft referred to, after the faftiion that makes his book, apart from 
 its many prepofterous ftatements and opinions, extremely agreeable reading : 
 " The voices all went one way, as a field of wheat is bended that 's blown 
 " with a gentle gale, one and all." Hacket's reading among the poets 
 (excepting always the heretic Milton) was large and various ; and he had 
 remembered here the PMlajier of Beaumont and Fletcher — 
 
 *' And the people, 
 Againft their nature, are all bent for him ; 
 And like a field of ftanding corn, that 's moved 
 With a ftifF gale, their heads bow all one way." 
 
174 ^11' Prorogation and DiJJolution. Bookiii. 
 
 rnT. 
 
 the firft precious freight, explains for us alfo, in another 
 allegorical flight, his objection to let a fecond come to 
 land. " He let fall feme flowers of his crown, that they 
 " might gather them up ; which indeed was no more 
 "than defluvium pennarum, the moulting of fome 
 " feathers, after which the eagle would fly the better." 
 Much to the old bird's difcontentment and difguft, how- 
 ever, he faw daily other meafures in hand of which the 
 objedt could only be to clip his wings fo abfolutely as that 
 further flights might be marred altogether. Efpecially 
 there were proceedings for enforcement of penal fl:atutes 
 againft recufants, and for depriving them of offices in 
 the fl:ate ; and meanwhile there lurked concealed in 
 corners of his palace, jefuits and agents of Spain, ready 
 with their leporous difl:ilments for his ear upon any 
 moment's abfence of the prince and duke. " See," faid 
 Father Maeftro, * " what the young duke, precipitate and 
 " paffionate, hath done. He hath brought enmity be- 
 " tween two powerful kings ; hath transferred the con- 
 " fideration of the Palatinate from the council to parlia- 
 " ment, which he called together that the puritans might 
 " help his plot ; and now at length, in England, hath 
 " made parliament more powerful than the king ! " 
 Vexed even more than humbled, James tried a mo- 
 mentary refifl;ance, but was foon brought back within 
 the toils. " In obedience to your commands," wrote 
 Buckingham,! " I will tell the houfe of parliament that 
 " you have taken fuch a fierce rheum and cough, as, 
 " not knowing how you will be this night, you are not 
 " yet able to appoint them a day of hearing ; but I will 
 " forbear to tell them that, notwithftanding of your 
 " cold, you were able to fpeak with the King of Spain's 
 " inftruments, though not with your own fubjedts." Of 
 courfe the houfe were received next day ! 
 
 * S. p. O. (MS.) Dom. Cor. 3rd May, 1614.. He is called Pedro, 
 evidently a miftake for Padre, 
 f Hardiukke Papers i. 4.60. 
 
1620-1624. q-he French Match. 17 c 
 
 34. /o 
 
 It is not neceflary that I ihould purfue further the 
 humiliating ftory through the intrigues and counter- 
 intrigues of Buckingham, WilHams, and the Spaniards.* 
 Suffice it that the favourite remained triumphant ; and 
 that the king would not even have had permiffion to get 
 rid of the commons when he did, but for their awkward 
 interference in a matter which the duke had become as 
 fuddenly interefted in as James himfelf The match 
 with France was now under fecret negotiation; and 
 rumours of it having gone abroad, the houfe addrefled 
 the king in what, with his favourite phrafe, he called 
 
 * The reader will find them told with rare humour and wit in Racket's 
 Scrinia Keferata i. 195-197. See alfo the letters in the Cabala (Ed. 1663) 
 pp. 13, 300, and 34g. Hacket mentions incidentally the lord-keeper's mode 
 of obtaining fecret information for ufe againft the Spaniards, and, apart 
 from the fpecial intrigues it relates to, the palfage is worth quoting for its 
 illuftration both of the man and the time. He introduces the matter by- 
 faying that " the lord-keeper fpa'red not for coft, to purchafe the moft 
 " certain intelligence of thofe that were his fee'd penfioners of every hour's 
 " occurrencies at court ; and was wont to fay that no man could be a jiatef- 
 ^^ man 'Without a great deal of money. ''^ He then fubjoins particularsof a 
 dialogue with the prince as related to him by the lord-keeper himfelf, in 
 which that right reverend ftatefman, with amuiing candour, tells Charles 
 which of his "fee'd penfioners " it was that he had fet as a fpy upon the 
 Spaniards. " Sir, " fays the keeper, " I will go on direilly with you. 
 " Another perhaps would bluftx when I tell you with what heifer I plow ; 
 " but knowing mine innocency, the worft that can happen is to expofe 
 " myfelf to be laugh'd at. Your highnefs hath often feen the fecretary 
 " Don Francifco Carondelet. He loves me, becaufe he is a fcholar ; for he 
 " is archdeacon of Cambray. And fometimes we are pleafant together, 
 " for he is a Walloon by birth, and not a Caftilian. I have difcover'd him 
 " to be a wanton, and a fervant to one of our Englifh beauties, but above 
 " all to one of that gentle craft in Mark-lane. A wit flie is, and one that 
 " muft be courted with news and occurrences at home and abroad, as well 
 " as with gifts. I have a friend that hath brib'd her in my name, to fend 
 " me a faithful conveyance of fuch tidings as her paramour Carondelet 
 " brings to her. All that I inftrufted the duke in, came out of her chamber. 
 " And (he hath- well earn'd a piece of plate or two from me, and fliall not 
 " be unrecompenced for this fervice about which your highnefs doth ufe me, 
 " if the Drab can help me in it. Truly, Sir, this is my dark lanthorn, and 
 " I am not afhara'd to inquire of a Dalilah to refolve a riddle ; for in my 
 " ftudies of divinity I have glean'd up this maxim, licet uti alieno peccato : 
 "though the devil make her a finner, I may make good ufe of her fin." 
 " Yea," fays the prince merrily, " do you deal in fuch ware .' " All which, 
 it muft be confefled, remembering that this ftatefman was alfo a biftiop, is 
 highly edifying. 
 
176 VII. Prorogation and Dijfolution. 
 
 a " flinging " * remonftrance againfi conceffions to any 
 Roman-catholic court. The required pledge was out- 
 wardly given, and at the fame moment fecretly broken, 
 entailing future mifery to all ; f but it became clear not- 
 withftanding, that parliament, if allowed to fit further, 
 would dangeroufly obftru6t the intended alliance. 
 
 Notice of prorogation was given, therefore, for the 
 29th of May ; and upon the commons going up to the 
 king that day with intimation of the matters ftill wait- 
 ing deliberation and redrefs, the parting, to quote the 
 account of it fent to Carleton by Chamberlain, was with 
 no more contentment than needed on either fide. " The 
 " king fpared them not a bit for undertaking more 
 " than belonged to them in many things ; and for 
 " anfwer to their grievances, which were prefented in two 
 " very long and tedious fcrolls, he faid that, having 
 " perufed them, he thanked God with all his heart they 
 " were no worfe." J And fo the people's reprefentatives 
 were difmifled to their feveral fhires, and Sir John 
 Eliot returned to his official duties in the weft. 
 
 That thefe duties kept him in clofe communication 
 with the admiralty during the few remaining months of 
 the reign, there can be no quettion. It is needlefs to 
 add that James never met the two houfes again. They 
 were prorogued, and again prorogued, from time to time, 
 the French match meanwhile bringing itfelf to a con- 
 clufion; until at length a power higher than that of 
 kings diflblved them. 
 
 * Rufhworth i. 140. Coke's Deteftion i. 185. 
 
 t When the lords (on the 6th of April) had dealt unfatisfaaorily with 
 a reprefentation from the commons on this.fubjefl:, taking out of it all 
 " words of aufterity," the prince openly declared in the houfe and bound 
 it by an oath, that " whenfoever it (hould pleafe God to beftow upon him 
 " any lady^ that were Popifli, fhe fliould have no further liberty but for her 
 " own family, and no adnjantage to the recufants at home." 
 
 X S. P. O. (MS.) Dom. Cor. 5 June, 1624. 
 
1624-1625. jit Plymouth with MansfeUt. i-j-] 
 
 BOOK FOURTH. 
 
 SIR JOHN ELIOT AND THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM. 
 
 1624-1625. Mt. 34-35. 
 
 /. Inter courje with the Lord High Admiral. 
 II. Spani/h Ships and Turkifli Pirates. 
 HI. Laji Letters to the Duke of Buckingham. 
 IV. Mr. James Bagg ; from the Life. 
 
 I. Intercourse with the Lord High Admiral. 
 
 HE vice-admiral of Devon was at Plymouth 
 on the arrival of Count Mansfeldt in Septem- 
 ber, and took part in the neceflary recruiting 
 
 of men and fhips confequent on that event. 
 
 Difficult was the levy by prefs of foldiers and feamen, 
 and inceffant the labours of Eliot. Altogether it would 
 feem that a force of about eighteen thoufand men was 
 raifed ; but their condition and equipment, and the 
 manner in which they ultimately fet forth from Dover, 
 muft have revealed to Eliot more vividly than anything 
 heretofore fliown in his experiences, the refults of 
 government by perfonal favour and intrigue, where 
 fecurity had never been taken for due difcharge of any 
 public fervice, and, with a profligate fquandering of 
 money on all fides, there was no provifion of any kind 
 for the commonefl neceffities of the ftate. 
 
 And as this firft tranfadtion in the war began, fo was it 
 carried to appropriate clofe. Wretched in equipment, and 
 in condu(5b a mere depraved rabble, mifery and diforder 
 
 VOL. I, N 
 
178 /. Inter courje with the Lord Admiral. '^°°^ ^• 
 
 ^T. 
 
 followed wherever they went. They were refufed land 
 pafTage through France, and driven back to their over- 
 crowded fhips, where a peftilence feized them, and the 
 greater part found their grave in the fea, or had their 
 bodies flung upon the Dutch coaft to be " eaten by 
 "hogs." When Mansfeldt reached the Rhine, half his 
 force had difappeared thus miferably, and with the reft 
 he could do nothing. Such was the firft adventure in 
 the favourite's grand fcheme ; wherein, among the few 
 nobler viftims, poor Lord Southampton perifhed with 
 his eldefl fon, and, fomewhat later, the gallant Lord 
 Oxford. 
 
 To what extent Eliot's friendly intercourfe with 
 Buckingham may have been refumed during his un- 
 avoidable communication with the lord-admiral at 
 Plymouth, or whether their connexion was folely 
 official, it would have been difficult fatlsfadorily to 
 decide upon the only letters I can difcover to have 
 pafled between them ; but, from what I fliall be able 
 diftindtly to fhow of the relations fubfifting between 
 them at the opening of the firft parliament of the new 
 reign, it will be manlfeft, I think, that their prefent 
 intercourfe was fomewhat more than official, though far 
 lefs, in the way of confidence or intimacy, than it 
 formerly had been. Archblfhop Williams, when he 
 afterwards drew up the abjed: apology to Charles in 
 which he difclalmed connedllon with any of the 
 " ftirring men," declared that " Sir John Eliot, the 
 '■'^ only member that began to thruft in a complaint 
 " agalnft me, was never out of my lord duke's cham- 
 " ber and bofom ; " but if this phrafe meant anything 
 more than the notorious fadt of Eliot's official con- 
 nexion with the duke, the time chofen to give effedt to 
 the flander declfively rebuts It. Eliot had then been 
 adtually appointed one of Buckingham's accufers. As 
 the difhoneft prelate, however, may only have mifdated 
 what he had to fay, ample evidence will fhortly be 
 
i6z4-i625. £/w/'j Views as to France. 179 
 
 afforded of its falfehood, even on that fuppofition. 
 Meanwhile it is at leaft certain that the moft reliable 
 prefumption for any other than official intimacy to be 
 drawn from their prefent correfpondence, refts upon an 
 allufion in one of Eliot's own letters. From this it would 
 feem to have been the intention that he ihould have 
 accompanied Buckingham to France, in the miffion 
 contemplated fhortly before James died. Eliot's pofition 
 in regard to the defired French alliance, however, was 
 fomewhat peculiar. Foremoft among the members of 
 the houfe of commons pledged againft any relaxation 
 of. the penal laws againft popery, he was yet known to 
 be not oppofed to a marriage with a French princefs. 
 It was not more his opinion that Spain fhould be refifted, 
 than that a friendly hand fhould be held to France. 
 He beheved her to be England's natural ally ; and one 
 of his charges againft Buckingham urged afterwards 
 with bittereft efFe6t, was that of having needleffly broken 
 peace and faith with fo important a friend. 
 
 Quite confiftently upon this queftion, therefore, might 
 Eliot have been in " my lord duke's chamber and 
 " bofom ; " and, anything of perfonal intimacy apart, it 
 was not unnatural that the lord high admiral, charged 
 with a miffion to Paris involving many difficult 
 queftions, ftiould have defired to carry with him the 
 moft diftinguiftied of his vice-admirals, and a member 
 of that country party in the Englifli parliament which 
 foreign ftatefmen regarded with falutary dread, and had 
 an honeft defire to conciliate. It may further explain 
 the pofition of . Eliot if allufion is made to that of 
 Sir Thomas Wentworth. He difliked the match with 
 France as much as the rupture with Spain, and though 
 he difguifes his feeling under playful fallies to fecretary 
 Calvert,* one can fee that his fympathies were with the 
 " unruly fellows in parliament " who might have been 
 expedted, if fuffered to meet, to prove as agile againft 
 
 * Strafford Difpatches, 12th Oct. 1624. i. 24.. 
 
 N 2 
 
i8o /. Inter courfe with the Lord Admiral. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 MT. 
 
 France as others had been againft Spain. Wentworth 
 was neverthelefs a fuitor to the duke at this very time, 
 in. circumftances that were far more likely to bring in 
 queftion his fidelity to his own opinions than any that 
 could be urged in the cafe of Eliot. At leaft the vice- 
 admiral was not oppofed to the public policy his chief 
 was at the time purfuing, to whatever extent his recent 
 experience on the coaft may have ftrengthened the 
 opinions we have already feen him fearleffly uttering 
 in the houfe of commons as to the general unpre- 
 parednefs and defencelefs ftate of the land. 
 
 At the clofe of the year, Eliot, ftill engaged in his 
 official duties in the weft, appears to have been fum- 
 moned to London to receive certain fpecial matters in 
 charge from the lord-admiral. Their tenor is only 
 to be inferred from letters addrefled by Eliot to Buck- 
 ingham, preferved in the ftate paper office : but thefe 
 will fufficiently indicate the relations that exifted be- 
 tween the vice-admiral and the chief of the naval ad- 
 ministration ; and will ferve alfo to elicit fome perfonal 
 traits in a high degree chara6teriftic of both thofe 
 celebrated men, while they offer important illuftration 
 of the incidents as well as of the manners of the time. 
 I propofe here to treat feparately of each fubjedt handled 
 in the letters ; fupplying, from other incidental fources, 
 fuch information as may be needed to explain obfcure 
 allufions. The interval they occupy is that of the laft 
 three months of James's reign. Buckingham was now 
 preparing, for his embafly to bring over the French 
 princefs; and, eagerly feconded by prince Charles 
 though no war had been regularly proclaimed, was de- 
 vifing every means to cripple and harafs Spain. Among 
 other arrangements with this view, certain Englifti veffels 
 had been, under the French marriage treaties, hired to 
 France for employment againft Genoa as the friend of 
 Spain; and upon the latter engagement, and circum- 
 ftances arifing out of it, very important confiderations 
 will hereafter turn. 
 
1624-1615. Prize taken for the Duke. 1 8 1 
 
 34- 
 
 Eliot left London in December 1624, with an under- 
 ftanding that he fhould return in March to accompany 
 Buckingham to France. The firft fubject requiring 
 attention was a commiffion, at which he was to prefide, 
 for arrangement of a difpute concerning the clearance of 
 the harbour of Catwater ; and in conjundtion with its 
 members he was afterwards to hold an admiralty fef- 
 fions for trial of certain Turkifh pirates who had com- 
 mitted capital offences in the weft. But the incident 
 that firft detains us happened on the way. 
 
 Stopping at Exeter as he pafled to prefide at the 
 commiffion, he writes fpecially to Buckingham of a 
 particular occurrence on the journey. As the matter 
 will not be unprofitable to the lord-admiral, he begs 
 from him, though at the coft of fome fmall trouble, a 
 fpeedy anfwer. A Dutch man-of-war had taken up 
 floating at fea, " as a derelidl," a fhip of two hundred 
 tons laden with rye, and brought her in at Teignmouth. 
 Eliot had afcertained the Dutch captain's readinefs to 
 prefent her to the Englifti lord-admiral, exped:ing only a 
 gratuity for his fervice, and payment of the charge he had 
 been at, and for hindrance of his own voyage : as to all 
 which the vice-admiral is confident that his chief would 
 not have the Hollander go unrewarded. The ftiip was 
 leaky, and the neceffity of having men continually to 
 pump her caufed a confiderable outlay. Her cargo of 
 corn moreover was in great danger, and, if not prefently 
 difpofed of, was like to be all, or certainly the moft part, 
 loft. Some fudden courfe therefore was abfolutely 
 effential, fo that the cargo might forthwith be fold ; and 
 in this Eliot had prefumed to crave Buckingham's order, 
 being defirous only of fuch things as he might diredt, 
 and holding himself in readinefs, on receiving it, inftantly 
 to appraife and fell the corn. " The neceffitie and valew 
 " of the matter," he concluded, " makes me impor- 
 " tune for your fpeedie order, which as I fhall receave, 
 " I fliall attend with all refpedt and diligence that may 
 
1 82 I. Intercourfe with the Lord Admiral. bookiv. 
 
 JS-T. 
 
 " exprefs me your Grace's moft devoted fervant, J. 
 "Eliot."* 
 
 After interval of little more than a week, about the 
 8 th or 9th of January, the defired diredtions appear 
 to have been received from Buckingham himfelf ; but it 
 is not until the 2nd of the following month that the 
 refult is reported by the vice-admiral. He had pro- 
 ceeded in it, he fays, with his beft care and ftudy for the 
 lord-admiral's advantage ; and, as " articulately " as he 
 might, he had obferved the words of his diredtions. It is 
 indeed curious to obferve with what minute precifion he 
 renders his account. If we are not to infer from it 
 diftruft of himfelf, which is not at all probable in fuch a 
 cafe, it might feem that he muft greatly have diftrufted 
 the duke. He had begun by obtaining the help of the 
 neareft magiftrate, alfo a member of parliament, Mr. 
 Hockmore, an ancient fervant of the prince's,f " and 
 " then," as he writes, " the place affording no officer, 
 " nor man of quality in itfelf, I uf 'd likewife the further- 
 " ance of Sir Edward Giles, a neighbouring gentleman 
 " of reputation and eminence, whom I found foe readie to 
 " your fervice, as I prefume your lordfhip commands 
 " not anie thing more freelie than his affedlions." The 
 reader will obferve, in thefe expreffions, the forms of 
 refpedt and deference then univerfally ufed to men in 
 Buckingham's pofition ; and will not require to be told 
 that there was nothing of dependency on prince or 
 
 * MS. S.P.O. Eliot " to the r' honora'>i= y= Duke of Buckingham his 
 " Grace Lo. High Admirall of England. Exon. i Jan. 1624." 
 
 f Hockmore was a Cornifh member in James's later parliaments, and a 
 man of wealth and Handing in the county. He represented St. Mawes. 
 He died not long after this time (in Oftober i6z6), and his eftate became 
 the fubjedl of a fmall confpiracy among certain worthies, who will here- 
 after be found playing a not very reputable part againft Sir John Eliot. 
 The Devon judge of admiralty, Kift, wrote not many days after Hock- 
 more's death to Edward Nicholas, Buckingham's fecretary at the ad- 
 miralty, to tell him that he had left an eftate of 800I. a year to an heir 
 fifteen years old, and that if Nicholas could get from the duke the wardfliiip 
 for himfelfj " Sir James Bagg, and me," he fliould have soool. 
 
1 624-25- Account conjcientioujly rendered. 183 
 
 34- 
 
 favourite in Sir Edward Giles, but a frank and indepen- 
 dent country gentleman, a county member and moll 
 eloquent fpeaker, who had on a former fimilar occafion 
 affifted his friend and countryman Eliot, and was ready 
 to do it again. 
 
 Fortified by thefe affiftants, Eliot fummoned a jury of 
 four "fufficient and underftanding " men; put them 
 upon their oaths ; and charged them to take an inventory 
 of the Ihip with her cargo and provifions, and make a 
 valuation and appraifement of both. Then, having 
 meanwhile caufed the corn to be cried abroad in the 
 country, according to the felling prices of the markets, 
 he required the jury to attend the fale and delivery of it, 
 and to keep a true account ; certifying the fame, with the 
 inventory and appraifement, under their hands and feals, 
 to himfelf, Hockmore, and Giles. They having wlt- 
 neffed thefe documents, Eliot had fince tranfcribed them, 
 and they were now tranfmitted to the lord-admiral, 
 with a duplicate for the judge of his court. The fhip 
 with all her furniture and apparel remained unfold, and 
 he fhould wait Buckingham's further order thereon. 
 For the Dutchmen who preferved and took her up, he 
 had as yet done nothing ; but as they fhould repair to 
 him and make their reafonable demands, he fhould 
 acquaint the lord- admiral, and in that alfo crave his allow- 
 ance. Some charges would have likewife to be difburfl 
 upon the harbour men who brought the Dutchmen and 
 their prize into Teignmouth ; for a ftorm had arifen, and 
 they were in fuch great diftrefs when they came to the 
 mouth of the harbour, that with much difficulty they 
 were relieved by the boats that adventured out to them. 
 The recompenfes for thofe men, the Dutchmen had 
 themfelves proportioned in a manner which Eliot con- 
 fidered to be fair ; and thefe, with fome few other items 
 incurred for the keeping of the fhip and corn fince fhe 
 came in, he had reduced into a particular computation, 
 that Buckingham might have the exadt details before him. 
 
 VOL. I. * N 4 
 
184 /• Intercourfe with the Lord Admiral. Bookiv, 
 
 -ffiT. 
 
 Eliot clofes his letter, of which every detail is as con- 
 fcientioufly minute as if handed in upon oath, by inform- 
 ing the lord-admiral that he fhall place the laft-mentioned 
 account in his own hands on coming to London. Bucking- 
 ham feems again to have urged his perfonal attendance ; 
 and his vice-admiral afTures him that he fhall ufe the 
 greatefl; expedition he can for difpatch of the other bufi- 
 nefles and commands in that place, " that I may come 
 " feafonablie to attend you, in whofe favour I repofe both 
 " the opinion and happinefs of your grace's moft devoted 
 " fervant, J. Eliot."* There is no more meaning, in any 
 literal fenfe, to be drawn from thefe ordinary doling 
 fentences of the letter-writing of that age, than from the 
 ornamental flourilh that frequently accompanies a modern 
 fignature ; and they are quoted with exaftnefs that the 
 reader may fee all that is to be alleged againft Eliot on 
 this fcore. His compliments are always in the fame place, 
 and carry neither help nor hindrance to the bufinefs they 
 accompany. 
 
 In the hope of being able fo foon to attend the lord- 
 admiral in perfon, Ehot had mifcalculated. He could 
 not leave the weft without communications from Buck- 
 ingham upon matters of importance, which failed to 
 arrive ; and he had even to write again, three weeks after 
 the letter laft-mentioned, ftating his willingnefs to leave 
 other things to a time of greater leifure, but reminding the 
 duke that his plans as to one particular flood in grave 
 prejudice of his own interefts.f The fhip at Teignmouth, 
 referved upon fale of the corn, had bulged in difcharge 
 of her loading, being old and weak ; and had fince im- 
 
 * MS. S.P.O. Eliot "to the r' ho"'' my verie good Lo. the Duke of 
 " Buckingham his Grace Lo. Highe Admirall of England." 2 Feb. 1624. 
 
 f " Since my feverall letters to y' LoP. of the tenth of the laft, and of the 
 " Ibcond and thirteenth of this month, being prevented by y" greater 
 " thoughts of the inftruftions w°" I thereon hoped for the fervices formerlie 
 " corrimanded me ; the neceflitie and importance thereof, w"" my longing 
 " to attend y' Lop. in the preparation of y' journey, foUiciting a fhort dif- 
 " patch 5 I am now enforiS for myne owne excufe," &c. &c. &c. 
 
1624-25- BiJfatisfaSfion of Buckingham. 185 
 
 34- 
 
 paired fo much by lying that fhe would be of little worth 
 unlefs fpeedily fold. The particular time, too, might 
 prefent fome chapmen to fit her for Newfoundland ; but 
 if that opportunity were loft, fhe was likely to return 
 herfelf an unprofitable fervant. It being his duty to 
 inform the lord-admiral of all things affefting his 
 intereft, he had already made Mr. Aylefburie acquainted 
 with the urgency of the cafe ; defiring to guide himfelf 
 wholly, and to level his courfe, by the duke's directions.* 
 The argument here ufed proved to be a potent one with 
 Buckingham, whofe reply was dated on the firft of 
 March, or lefs than a week from the date of Eliot's 
 reminder. 
 
 Eliot received it at Exeter, which he had reached on 
 his way to London, partly to keep his engagement to at- 
 tend Buckingham on his journey, and partly becaufe the 
 day was approaching to which parliament had again been 
 prorogued. But the command from the duke for fale of 
 the Teignmouth fhip, conveyed in his reply, took Eliot 
 back to that place. He could no longer, he faid in 
 acknowledging its receipt, get the help of the gentlemen 
 whofe affiftance he ufed in the fale of the rye, they being 
 both parliament men, and at that moment (with himfelf) 
 on their way to London ; but fuch others as he might 
 with convenience draw to the place, he would folicit to 
 further him in difpofing of the fhip ; and the courfe he 
 would fo order, as he doubted not but it would render a 
 full fatisfadbion. 
 
 Yet this might be called a fanguine remark, feeing that 
 even the minutenefs and painful care for the duke's 
 benefit that had diftinguiihed Eliot's former communica- 
 tion appear to have failed to give Buckingham a " full 
 " fatisfaftion." In his prefent letter he is obliged to fay 
 
 * MS. S.P.O. Eliot " to the r' honorable my verie good Lo. y" Duke 
 " of Buckingham his Grace Lo. High Adrairall of England." 21 Feb?, 
 1624. 
 
1 86 I. Intercourfe with the Lord Admiral. ^°°^^^- 
 
 *-' JET, 
 
 that his grace feems to have miftaken the fcope of the 
 firft valuation of the cargo by the appraifers, as that 
 eftimate was not a fhortening of the benefit to the lord- 
 admiralj but a formal conclufion againft further claim to 
 proprietors ; limiting their poffible recovery to the fum fo 
 Itated, and thereby referving in every cafe, wholly for the 
 ufe of the admiralty, the overplus and advantage of the 
 fale. Such had been his unvarying praftice in all 
 inftances ; and although others, he knew, followed it 
 not, he had never forborne, but in that way had juftly 
 accounted in all his former fervices. And though he 
 might fo have incurred diflike from thofe who acfled with 
 him, he was glad to have made a precedent for his grace's 
 advantage, having his affedlions without limitation en- 
 tirely devoted to that way.* 
 
 And now, returning to the point from which this 
 incident has detained us, we are called to accompany the 
 vice-admiral to the commiffion for clearance of the har- 
 bour of Catwater, to which great prejudice and dangers 
 had accrued by the finking of a fhip therein. A man 
 afterwards well known, William Strode, was joined with 
 him in this commiffion ; and with them were aflbciated 
 one Richard Buller, and another perfon already named, 
 not only conne6ted very clofely with Buckingham, but 
 hereafter to be more intimately than honourably con- 
 nefted with the fortunes of Eliot, Mr. James Bagg. 
 The character of this man will very fliortly be permitted 
 to unfold itfelf. 
 
 The duty of the commiffion was to fee that the 
 neceflary charges for clearance of the harbour were 
 undertaken by the authorities of Plymouth and Saltafh, 
 to which towns the commiffioners prefented letters from 
 Buckingham requiring fuch aid. But their taflc proved 
 the reverfe of eafy. Plymouth would readily have under- 
 
 * MS. S.P.O. Eliot " to y" righte honoable y= Duke of Buckingham 
 " his Grace Lo. Highe Admirall of England. Exon. xi. Marcij 1624." 
 
1 624-1 625. Plymouth and Saltajh in difpute. 187 
 
 34- 
 
 taken what was to be done, if permitted to do it without 
 the intervention of Saltafh, which, jealous of the more 
 Important town, and too poor to undertake the work 
 Itfelf, threw obftrudtlons In the way. Such a precedent 
 would Infringe upon the prince's interefts, and we cannot 
 confent to it, faid Saltafh. Let us be permitted to 
 become ourfelves the prince's tenants, replied Plymouth, 
 and give us the privilege of the harbour fees, and we will 
 gladly ourfelves do the work. The entire eftimated coft of 
 weighing the funk vefTel does not appear to have been 
 more than 300/, and it is amuling to fee fuch an amount 
 made matter of fo much conflict, artifice, and diplomacy. 
 The firfl; defpatch refpedting It Is figned by all the 
 commlflion, Eliot, Bagg, Strode, and Buller ; its objedt 
 being to acquaint the duke that they with all fpeed had 
 fnet the towns of Plymouth and Saltafh, and obtained 
 two feveral conferences, ufing thereat both the duke's 
 arguments and fuch others as had occurred to themfelves, 
 to urge the neceffity and hafle of the work, to abet It by 
 their counfel and advice, to encourage the towns in under- 
 taking it, and to remove fuch difiiculties and impediments 
 as they might find ; but this lafl; they had not found eafy, 
 to even their utmoft care and diligence. By both towns 
 much readinefs was profefTed, but always ultimately with- 
 held upon refpedt of their feveral interefls. So ftrong 
 the difference, indeed, that they have found it uncon- 
 querable but by the power of fome fuch wifdom as the 
 duke's, to which accordingly they are forced to remit it. 
 Each town had undertaken to certify for itfelf Its fpecial 
 cafe, and the commiffioners prefumed that each would 
 fubmit to his lordfhip's order. Continuing therefore the 
 tender of their fervice, and In honour of the duke's great 
 employments and ftudles forbearing other repetitions, 
 they fubmitted themfelves to his commands, being 
 devoted his grace's in all duty.* 
 
 * MS. S.P.O. The letter is dated " Plimoulih, i" January 1624," and 
 is endorfed " 7, Febr. 1624. S' John Elliot conc'ning the Shipp funke in y" 
 " harbor of Catwater." 
 
1 88 I. Inter courfe with the Lord Admiral. Bookiv. 
 
 •^ JET, 
 
 To this Buckingham appears to have replied by a 
 requeft addreffed to EHot perfonally that the courfe pro- 
 pofed might not be taken, but that the towns fhould 
 forward their refped:ive ftatements to the vice-admiral, 
 who fhould himfelf take the decifion of the commiffion 
 thereon. After three weeks' interval, however, Eliot is 
 obliged to write to the lord-admiral that he remains ftill 
 unable to render the account defired, the difficulty being 
 greater than all their labours could reconcile; but that 
 he will fpeedily give his grace a more full certificate.* 
 Within three days accordingly he writes again, conveying 
 the only refult to which they had been able to arrive, and 
 why they had been obliged to forbear the fervice impofed. 
 The gentlemen given to him as afliftants had ufed 
 great diligence in conferring with artificers and men 
 experienced in the fubjedt matter concerned, and had 
 travailed hard to encourage and perfuade the towns, and 
 feek them help to advance the work ; and the towns had 
 themfelves profefTed fome readinefs, but always with fuch 
 refervation that nothing was determined. " Their pre- 
 " tences were alike," continued Eliot, " both infifting 
 " upon the point of right, what they ought to doe ; and 
 " their ends, as I conceive, were foe different, as they 
 " excluded all convenience and neceffitie. Plimouth 
 " feems to envie Saltafhe for the priviledg of that har- 
 " bour, soe neer unto it, and would, upon the other's 
 " refufall, undertake the talke to become his highnefs' 
 " tenant therein : Saltaftie, weaker than Plimouth for 
 " fuch a charge, fearing to refufe it, pretends the danger 
 " of the prefident how it may trench upon the interefts 
 " of the prince, f I know not what excufe they will ufe 
 " themfelves, but this I take to be the maine difficultie 
 " — the difabilitie of Saltalhe, and the defire of Plimouth 
 
 * MS. S.P.O. Eliot to Buckingham, 27 Jan. 1624.. 
 f The allufioo is to the prince's interefts in the weft, connefted with 
 the Duchy of Cornwall. 
 
1624-16Z5. Spanijh Preparations. 189 
 
 " for fome advantage thereon to opportune itfelf for your 
 " lordfliip's favor; which that your lordfhip may difpofe 
 " in the readieft waie for the expedition of this and the 
 " like fervices, I have prefum'd to make this intimation: 
 " and what you fhall thereon command me, I am readie 
 "to execute with the utmoft power of your grace's 
 " moft devoted fervant, J. Eliot."* With which defpatch, 
 wherein the writer's gravity hardly conceals his lurking 
 fenfe of the abfurdity of the difputants, and to which he 
 appends a note intimating that " the charge of the worke, 
 " it 's fuppofed, will not exceed 300/," the vice-admiral's 
 connedtion with this notable difpute clofed. 
 
 He had commiffions of more importance in hand 
 relating to the proceedings againft Spain. It is remark- 
 able, however, that, ftrong as his own views on this fubjedt 
 were, he lent up refpeftful remonftrance againft certain 
 projects of Buckingham in connection with it which 
 he held to be exaggerated and indifcreet. 
 
 II. Spanish Ships and Turkish Pirates. 
 
 Eliot's firft report as to Spain was made in the middle 
 of January. Writing from Dartmouth he informs the 
 lord-admiral that the news received there Ihows that 
 the Spaniards' preparations for the feas are great, but as 
 yet there was no mention or fpeech of Brazil. Through- 
 out Spain, he goes on to fay, " our Englifh " had been 
 recently treated with extraordinary refpedt ; and a 
 general command feemed to have pafled through the 
 whole country that no man ihould impeach or trouble 
 them in their bufinefs, or give any one the leaft perfonal 
 diftafte. So unufual, indeed, and fo full of ground for 
 
 * MS. S.P.O. Eliot " to the r' honora''^ ray verie good Lo. y= Duke 
 " of Buckingham his Grace Lo. High Admirall of England. Plimouth 
 " z° Febr. 1624." Endorfed, " S' Jo. Elliott conc'ning y° ihipp p'ifh'd in 
 " y° harber of Catwater and y' difference betweene y= townes of Plimouth 
 " and Saltaflie for y" weighing thereof." 
 
190 //. S'pamjh Ships and Turkijh Pirates. bookiv. 
 
 fufpicion as a mere blind to other preparations, was this 
 courtefy, that it had filled the Englifh fadhors and agents 
 refiding in Spain with jealoufy and alarm, fo that they 
 had been haftening all they could to withdraw themfelves 
 from the country. Their opinion was that the defign in 
 reality looked northwards. All this had been reported 
 to Eliot by a faftor who very lately had arrived, and 
 who thought it no unhappinefs to be quit of his employ- 
 ments ; " which," the letter concludes, " as a part of my 
 " dutie that in all things I covett to exprefs, by waie of 
 " intelligence, I have prefum'd fhortlie to deliver, and 
 " in honor of your excellence, kiffing your handes, I reft 
 " your grace's humble fervant, J. Eliot."* 
 
 One of his moft fpecial commifTions from the duke 
 appears to have related to the ftay of fhips and pro- 
 vifions (chiefly fifh) bound for Spain. Upon this he 
 addreffed an elaborate paper to Buckingham, from whom 
 he differed as to the courfe propofed to be taken. After 
 ftiowing the ftrength and ftore of the weftern country 
 in that particular, and the provifion that might be relied 
 on as available from thence for his majefty's ufe, he 
 made the duke acquainted with fome neceffities which, 
 if they were not prevented, might greatly prejudice the 
 Englifh merchants, and put the country at a difadvan- 
 tage for the fervice required. " I muft defire your grace 
 " in that," he concludes, " to give me an intimation 
 " of your pleafure, which I fhall in all thinges feeke 
 "to fatisfie, beinge vowed y" grace's moft humble 
 "fervant, J. Eliot."f Three days afterwards he again 
 urged upon the duke . that in the report he had fent to 
 him as to the ftay of fifti he had touched upon the 
 
 * MS. S.P.O. Dated, "Dartmouth x"" January 1642." Endorfed, 
 " S' John Eliott to the Duke of Buckingham. Gives an accompt of fome 
 " direccons from his grace. Gives advertifement of great fea p'paracons in 
 " Spaine. Extraordinary kindnes ufed there to the Englifh. That breeds 
 " jealoufie and manie doubt their deffignes looke northward." 
 
 t MS. S.P.O. Eliot to Buckingham, 27 Jan. 1624. 
 
1624.-I625. Forebodings of IVar. 191 
 
 neceflities of the vendors in that country for their 
 preparations of the year then commencing ; and he 
 pointed out the ill confequence and mifery that would 
 enfue if, afluming that his majefty's provifions were 
 all duly ferved, the traders had not fome liberty of 
 vending for themfelves, and were unable to fet forth 
 again. "They doe earneftlie expedt a refolution therein," 
 he concluded, "for which I am likewife a humble 
 " fuitor ; and foe defiring your pardon for prefling foe 
 " greate a heap of bufineS upon your lordfhip's patience 
 " at once, I reft your grace's moft humble fervant, 
 "J. Eliot."* 
 
 Upon another head of his principal charge from the 
 duke, as to the detention of fhips defigned for Spain, he 
 reports more confidently. One of his letters has refer- 
 ence to an Eaftland fhip of Pomerania, which had arrived 
 in Plymouth harbour " bound for Spain " ; and as ftie was 
 new, of good ftrength, and with little or no lading, it 
 was fufpedted that in going thither fhe had the end of 
 her voyage, and might be expeded to be employed there- 
 after to the prejudice of England. Her burden was 
 four hundred tons, and fhe carried at that time twelve 
 pieces of ordnance, but was capable of more. A(5ting 
 therefore on the duke's intimations to him at his coming 
 down, he had thought fit to ftay that flaip until further 
 diredlions ; but thefe he now defired to be fent with all 
 ipeed, if the duke did not agree in the fufficiency of the 
 reafon for her detention, becaufe the men would be preff- 
 ing earneftly for her voyage. At the clofe of his letter 
 he makes the important addition that there were expedted 
 immediately in the harbour feven or eight more vefTels 
 of the like burden and new build, which had never made 
 voyage before, but alfo bound for Spain ; and this ren- 
 dered him more anxious to have the duke's decifion.f He 
 
 * MS. S.P.O. Eliot to Buckingham. " Plimouth i" Feb. 1614." 
 t MS. S.P.O. Eliot to Buckingham. "Plimouth, 2° Febr. 1624-.' 
 
192 //. Spani/h Ships and 1'urkijh Pirates. ^°°^^J^ 
 
 ftates alfo, in a letter of later date, that fome Englifli 
 fhips had juft arrived in Plymouth from the Spanifh 
 coaft that complained much of injuries done them by- 
 Spaniards, and of great lofTes in their cargoes taken 
 from them upon the feas by men-of-war of that nation. 
 Thofe Spanifh war-fhips were indeed equipped only 
 againft the Hollanders, but now, pretending authority 
 from their ftate, they fell likewife on Englifh shipping. 
 " The merchants," concluded Eliot, " importune me 
 " much with thefe complaints, in which I make bold to 
 '' acquaint your lordfhip, and soe in reprefentation of my 
 " humble dutie I refte your grace's moft devoted fervant, 
 " J. Eliot."* 
 
 One of the intimations in thefe letters tranfmitting 
 notices as to Spain, and upon matters connedbed with the 
 hoftilities impending, would have had peculiar intereft if 
 the difcoveries at which it hints had been given. -They 
 referred to intelligence from France of fome new troubles 
 begun about Rochelle by the leader of the huguenots, 
 M. Soubife ; but being unable, as he fays, through hafte, 
 to give it an apt form for his grace's views, Eliot had 
 included what he had to fay in a few words to Conway, 
 afluring himfelf that the duke would receive it more com- 
 plete from Mr. Secretary.f Unfortunately Mr. Secretary 
 has not difclofed it to us ; and we cannot therefore judge 
 to what extent it might have borne upon later difclofures 
 in the fame diredion which helped to widen and make 
 irreparable the breach between Eliot and Buckingham. 
 For a brief fpace longer there is no hint of an ill-under- 
 ftanding, and thefe letters fhow, from time to time, the 
 arrangement that had been fettled for Eliot's taking part 
 in the miffion to France. " I fhould be happie," he 
 fays in one of them, " from your lordfhip to underfland 
 
 * MS. S.P.O. Eliot "to y= rightho'''^ my verie good Lo. y= Duke of 
 " Buckingham his Grace Lo. Highe Admirall of England." Dated 
 " From Exon, xiij Februarij, 1624." 
 
 t MS. S.P.O. Eliot to Buckingham, 17 Jan. 1624.. 
 
1624-1625- Prifoners tried by Eliot. 193 
 
 " likewife the time of your jorney, in which I have 
 " devoted myfelf to your attendance ; and, as I would 
 " not negledt the leaft occafion to advanc your honor, I 
 " fhall in that labor to exprefs myfelf your grace's thrice 
 " humble fervant, J. Eliot,"* In another he hopes that 
 the time may not be fo fixed as to prevent his due atten- 
 tion to the commiffion for trial of the Turkiih pirates. 
 The difpatch having reference to that fubjedt pofTefTes 
 peculiar intereft. 
 
 The extent to which the pirates of the Eaft took part 
 in the plunder of our defencelefs coafts at this time, has 
 been the fubjeft of remark by many writers ; but it has 
 received no illuftration fo ftriking as the fadt, which 
 appears to be undoubted, that pirating had become fo 
 much more profitable than honeft trading that feveral 
 Englifhmen adlually went into the bufinefs, turned 
 Turkifh and renegade, and lived at Tunis. One of the 
 captures at fea by Algerines was eftimated at more 
 than a quarter of a million. Nor was it that the corfairs 
 only fcoured the channels, for they frequently difem- 
 barked, pillaged the villages, and carried into flavery 
 the inhabitants to the number of feveral thoufands. It 
 will occur to me hereafter, from papers I have found 
 in Eliot's handwriting, more particularly to detail the 
 charaifter and extent of thefe outrages.f 
 
 No wonder then that the vice-admiral ihould open his 
 account of the feflions he had held on the Turkifh prifoners 
 at Plymouth, with aflurance of the extraordinary fatisfac- 
 tion its refult had given to the merchants in thofe parts, who 
 had fo long and reafonably complained of wrongs againft 
 
 * MS. S.P.O. Eliot to Buckingham, zi Febr. 164a. 
 
 ■f- See the fubjeft treated in my Grand Remonjtrance, 228, note. (Second 
 Ed.) The writer of the Remonftrance moft juftly connefted the mention of 
 thefe outrages with the monftrous taxation of Charles's government under 
 the pretence of "guarding the feas," while "the feas meanwhile were 
 " left fo utterly unguarded that the Turkiih pirates ranged through them 
 " uncontrolled, repeatedly taking (hips of great value, and configning to 
 " flavery many thoufands of Englifti fubjefts." 
 VOL. I. O 
 
1 94 I^- Spanifli Ships and 'Turki/h Pirates. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 them. The proceedings had alfo cleared the admiralty 
 from afperfions that heretofore had been caft on its juris- 
 didtion, and the honour of the lord-admiral had been 
 vindicated by the free and open juftice allowed to the 
 accufed. Twenty-five had been put upon their trial, con- 
 fifting of twenty-three " Turks and Renegadoes " and two 
 Chriftians, the latter being a Dutchman and an Englifh- 
 man, feized in the fame fervice ; and all had been con- 
 demned, "■'■ both thofe that this yeare came in at Plymouth 
 " and fome others that have been auncientlie in the gaole, 
 " and upon former tryalls negledted." Intereft had fince 
 been made to obtain reprieve or delay of fentence, but 
 Eliot had peremptorily refufed even to communicate with 
 the admiralty on the fubjed;, and had ordered execution 
 in all but five cafes. T'w enty had been hanged accord- 
 ingly. As to thofe reprieved, he had advifed with the 
 refl; of the commiffion ; and, while he earneftly recom- 
 mended them for mercy, he had yet given no pledge that 
 could juftly operate againft future execution of the fen- 
 tence, if fuch Ihould be held effential. Eliot hoped 
 otherwife, and his reafons for mercy are as juft as thofe 
 by which he vindicated his not lefs juft feverity. 
 
 Two of the men reprieved were the Englifhman and 
 the Hollander, not for the fadt of their being Chriftians, 
 but becaufe their deeds were proved to have been much 
 lefs criminal. It was yet for his grace's decifion whether 
 they ftiould finally be referved " to be charadlers of his 
 "mercy." As to the reprieve of two of the Turks he fpoke 
 more confidently. Thefe men had already in a large mea- 
 fure expiated by feven or eight years imprifonment (fo 
 imperfed: were gaol deliveries then !) the offence they had 
 committed; and upon enquiry Eliot had found, that during 
 their time .of detention they had made themfelves fervice- 
 able, and given goodteftimonies of fair behaviour and con- 
 verfion. The fifth perfon reprieved, or rather exempted 
 from fentence, was a mere boy " young and not capable 
 " of the knowledge or reafon of doeing good or ill," 
 
1624.-1625- Judgments of Eliofs Court. 195 
 
 34- 
 
 and upon him Eliot would not even permit judgement to 
 be pafled as on the reft. He leaves the fubje6t with 
 renewed aflurance of his belief that the laws had been 
 fufficiently aflerted. " The example," he fays, " will be 
 " large in the refte ; and fuch a prefident as I beleeve this 
 " countrie has not feene. Wherein I have ftudied nothinge 
 "more than to accord the direccon of your lordlhip, 
 " with the expectacon of the merchantes, in whofe re- 
 " fpe6b you fhall retaine perpetuall honor. This as my 
 " dutie I prefent for an accompte of my fervice ; and 
 " as your lordfhip ftiall difpofe it upon anie alteracon, I 
 " fhall ftiow the like diligence." * He fends him with 
 the fame difpatch a general calendar, drawn up in Latin, 
 of the prifoners tried before him. 
 
 An intimation clofes his letter which fubfequent occur- 
 rences will make very noteworthy. He tells Bucking- 
 ham that he is not fatisfied with the commiffion, and 
 fhould make bold to acquaint him hereafter with fome 
 diflikes. He obje(5ls evidently to ftate them in writing, 
 and therefore defers them until he fhall prefent himfelf to 
 kifs his grace's hands. In all probability, however, his 
 grace had already received fome hint of the caufes, 
 for Eliot goes on to fay that he doubts his former 
 defpatches upon his orders refpedbing Spain muft have 
 had fome mifcarriage, as no new inftrudtions had fince 
 been fent to him. " And the importance which I conceave 
 " therein moves this intimation, upon which if your 
 " lordfhip fhall require a newe endeavor or accompte I 
 " will not faile to expreffe my readines." The reader 
 will fhortly have good reafon to infer that the prefence 
 of Mr. Bagg on the commiffion explains both the 
 diflikes of Eliot and the filence of Buckingham ; and 
 that the imperfeft allufions and inuendoes here given, 
 are to find their explanation in fome intrigue againft the 
 writer. 
 
 * MS. S.P.O. Eliot to Buckingham. "From Exon, xiij Pebruaii], 
 " 1624." 
 
 2 
 
I ^6 III. Laft Letters to Buckingham. '^°°^ ^■ 
 
 S.T. 
 
 III. Last Letters to the Duke of Buckingham. 
 
 In the very next letter from the vice-admiral, written 
 at Port Eliot within a fortnight after the laft, graver 
 matter of complaint appears more openly. Eliot had fud- 
 denly difcovered attempts in progrefs to check the due 
 execution of his office in the northern divifion of his 
 county. And here it is neceffary to explain that on the 
 grant to Eliot, by Buckingham's favour, of the patent held 
 by Stukely, it was made to include a reverfion of the nor- 
 thern divifion which before had been exempted from its 
 profits, the latter being paid to the Earl of Bath for his life, 
 but on his death reverting to Eliot. Thefe circumftances 
 were now recalled to Buckingham's recolledtion in a tone 
 of not unmanly or undignified remonftrance. The letter 
 indeed is worded in the ftyle of the time ; and, though par- 
 taking far lefs than was ufual of the felf-abafing and fub- 
 miffive phrafe in which everyone now addrefl"ed the 
 favourite, majefty hardly excepted, it has expreflions 
 that might be open to mifconftruftion if not read with 
 the context and fome acquaintance with the prevailing 
 epiftolary cuftom. When for example Eliot, referring 
 to the new powers granted him in Buckingham's patent, 
 and his own fubfequent exercife of thefe powers, calls 
 himfelf the duke's " creature," the meaning is fimply 
 what the word literally implies, that thofe larger powers 
 and their ufe had been of the duke's " creation." * 
 
 " My moft honored Lord," he writes, " as I am 
 " devoted whollie unto your fervice, I fhall ever covett 
 " that which maie be moft for your advantage, and for 
 " myfelfe retaine noe other ambition than the honor of 
 " the imploiment and your lordftiip's favor, which, if I 
 " meritt not, it is my fortune not my will that's faultie, 
 
 * It has been feen (ante, p.i6i) how one of the higheft officers of ftate, 
 the lord treafurer, flavered and licked the hand that had ftruck him from 
 power to difgrace and ruin ; and it will occur to me in the courfe of my 
 narrative to give many additional examples. 
 
1 624-1 625. Infringement of Eliot's 'Patent. 197 
 
 34- 
 
 " and wherein I fear to be miftaken. I befeech your 
 " grace, pardon me to excufe myfelf, or to be humbled 
 " at your feet.* In the execution of your commands 
 " in the north divifion of my vice-admiraltie, I finde 
 " myfelf checkt by a report and rumour ther that the 
 " Lntereft of thofe parts you have refum'd from me, 
 " and promif 'd to confer it on the Earle of Bathe : 
 " which intention, if it arife from anie particular diftaft, 
 " I am unhappie ; if it be grounded on the afFedtion of 
 " fome greater worth, I fhall foe farr preferr your lord- 
 " ihip's fatisfaftion, as to advance it with the facrifice of 
 " all my hopes. But I believe it rather proceeds from 
 " fome mifprifion, or fuggeftion that that place is voide 
 " of anie former graunt and now to be difpof 'd. If 
 " foCj and that the eftimation of my fervice be not 
 " leffen'd, I fhall repofe a confidence in your lordfhip's 
 " favor, and when ther is occafion prefume ftill to waite 
 " on your affaires. How your lordfhip paft it to me in 
 " my patent ; how I have uf 'd it fince the death of the 
 " ould Lord of Bath, for whofe time onlie ther was a 
 "^particular exception; what benefitts it has rendered 
 " through my indeavors ; I need not to account. This 
 " expreflion I have made of my defires to fhew how 
 " fullie I am your creature, and that your word in all 
 " things maie difpofe me, being vowed your grace's 
 " thrice humble fervant, J. Eliot."t 
 
 Take away the phrafes of form, and what is here faid 
 is no other than that, in the adminiftration of the office 
 he ferved, the writer had ftudied the advantage of the 
 lord-admiral rather than his own, and that his ambition 
 had been chiefly rewarded by the honour of the employ- 
 ment; that what it is now reported is about to be beftowed 
 
 * He means that if he ftiould fail in the one he will be content to be the 
 other. 
 
 f MS. S.P.O. Eliot to " the r' bono*"' my verie good Lo y° Duke of 
 " Buckingham his Grace Lo High Admirall of England. Port Eliot 
 " Febr. 1624." Indorfed " R 28 Febr. 1624." 
 
198 ///. Laft Letters to Buckingham. 
 
 Book W. 
 
 JET, 
 
 on another, had been pafled to himfelf in his patent, had 
 been exercifed by him, and had been made beneficial 
 through his exertions ; that if he is now to be deprived 
 of it through any perfonal diftafte, he muft regret and 
 feel unhappy at that circumftance, though if with a view to 
 its beftowal on a perfon of greater worth, he ftiall be con- 
 tent to facrifice his own hopes to the duke's greater fatis- 
 fadlion ; but, as he believes the propofed change to have 
 arifen from forgetfulnefs or mifunderftanding of the exadl 
 terms of his patent, he recites them, and, prefuming that 
 the eftimation of his fervice has fuffered no diminution, 
 will prefume ftill, until otherwife advifed, to wait on the 
 lord-admiral's affairs. In his reply, Buckingham feems 
 to have avoided the main point at iffue, and to have 
 fimply conveyed his approval of Eliot's fervices. " The 
 " intimation," fays the vice-admiral, in a letter of 
 three weeks later date, "which was imported in your 
 " letter of the favor which your grace retaines of my 
 " weak endeavors, does much oblige me ; and wherein I 
 " may find an opportunitie to exprefle myfelfe worthie 
 " that opinion, I fhall not be flowe to acknowledge foe 
 " greate an honor ; for which I am vowed your grace's 
 " thrice humble fervant, J. Eliot."* It is at the fame time 
 not without intereft to obferve that the duke's letter, of 
 which fuch acknowledgement is made, met Eliot at Exeter, 
 on his way to London to join Buckingham for the 
 French million ; and that its effedt was to turn his fteps 
 back to Plymouth for a work, which,f however in itfelf 
 important to be done, might as well and effecftually 
 have been done by his officers or agents. It is clear to 
 me that at this time a fecret influence was exerting itfelf, 
 and that it had ceafed to be Buckingham's defire that 
 Eliot fliould accompany him to France. 
 
 The nature of that influence will appear very 
 
 * MS. S.P.O. Eliot to Buckingham. " Exon, xi. Marcij, 1624." 
 f See ante, p. 185. 
 
.624-i6as. Death of King James. 199 
 
 fliortly. But as, up to this time, the lord-admiral and 
 his vice-admiral were agreed in their public policy, any 
 caufe of diflatisfadtion with Eliot muft have turned rather 
 on fome fufpedted deficiency in pliable qualities than 
 any alleged abfence of patriotifm. I fhall indeed be able 
 hereafter to fhow this, as I think fatisfadtorily, under 
 Eliot's own hand. And, fhould it then ftill feem that there 
 is any uncertainty in the manner in which the fubjed; of 
 their final feparation will have been left (which I cannot 
 myfelf believe), one fad at leaft will remain unalterably 
 to Eliot's honour, — that the point of 'time at which they 
 parted, marks his own adherence to the policy he had 
 originally efpoufed, and the duke's divergence from it ; and 
 that not until the death of James, and the acceffion of 
 his fon, when the favourite had completely thrown off 
 the mafk by which a whole nation was deceived, did Eliot 
 take up a pofition of antagonifm to Buckingham never 
 again to be abandoned, as the enemy of his countrymen 
 and a traitor to the ftate. 
 
 The laft of Eliot's letters to the duke is dated on the 
 firft of April, 1625, a little more than a fortnight after 
 the letter laft quoted. Only four days before, the old 
 king had died at Theobalds ; and when the violent re- 
 aiStion came, on difcovery of Buckingham's bad faith in 
 the Spanifti and French marriages, it was very generally 
 believed that the king had been poifoned by the favour- 
 ite, from the hands of whofe mother, immediately before 
 his death, he had undoubtedly taken a draught not pre- 
 fcribed by his phyficians. If the charge had been more 
 tempered, it would probably have been more true. In 
 trampling down the one grand folitary objed: which the 
 poor king had fteadily purfued throughout his reign, 
 Buckingham had broken his fpirit ; and petty infults and 
 tyrannies did the reft. Thofe were the poifons Bucking- 
 ham dealt in, and now they had done their work.* On 
 
 * " Xhe difeafe appeared to be a tertian ague," fays Laud in his Diary. 
 " But I fear it was the gout, which, by the wrong application of medicines 
 
200 ///. Laft Letters to Buckingham. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 the firft of April, Eliot had again advanced towards 
 London as far as Exeter to keep his pledge as to 
 the French journey, when a letter from the council- 
 table was placed in his hands. Its purport can only 
 be inferred from the letter he . at once fent to the 
 duke, 
 
 " My moft honored Lord," this ran, " In the greate 
 *' delire I have unto your grace's fervice, nothinge 
 " has more unhappied me than the wante of opportu- 
 " nitie in which I might expreffe the charadter of my 
 " harte that onlie takes of your impreffions. The times 
 *' feeme therein envious to me, prefenting oppofition 
 " to everie purpofe which I make : as if misfortune were 
 " their projedl, I the efFedt. This fecond time I had now 
 " advand: my journey thus farr to attend your grace, 
 " and long ere this I had hoped to receave the honor 
 '■'■ to kifs your hands ; but the fad intimation of his 
 *' majefty's deceafe, meeting me here in fome letters from 
 " their lordlhips implying a caution for the late intended 
 " preft of mariners, has impofed not only a forrow, but 
 " an aftonifhment in all my faculties, that of myfelf I 
 " have not power to move in anything without new direc- 
 " tion. The apprehenfion of foe greate a lofle, and the 
 *' particular fenfe which I knowe remaines in your 
 " grace, whofe afFedtions I muft beare, makes me doubt 
 " a generall indifpofition untill the grief male fomewhat 
 " be digefted. Upon which I dare not prefume far- 
 " ther, but as I fhal be warranted by vour commands. 
 " In expedtation whereof I will, in the meane time, 
 " fettle all my refolutions, and become whoUie devoted 
 " to the contemplation of your excellenc ; retaininge 
 " my indeavors in the fame readinefs which has alwaies 
 
 ''was driven from his feet to his inwai'd vital parts." Irritation, humilia- 
 tion, and the conftant vforry of difappointment, to a man ordinarily unac- 
 cuftomed to thefe vexations, are better drivers of the gout from the foot to 
 the ftomach than the worft mifapplication of medicines that quackery can 
 devife. 
 
1624.-1625. A Mifchief-Maker. 201 
 
 " been profeft in your grace's moft humble fervant, 
 " J. Eliot." * 
 
 The writer appears to have received no more com- 
 mands or direftions from Buckingham, for anything of 
 mere perfonal fervice ; and, though in many expreffions 
 employed in that laft letter there is a tone of perfonal 
 fympathy for the duke's lofs, which fhows as yet no 
 fufpicion of any altered favour, there can hardly be a 
 doubt that this fecond ftoppage of Eliot's journey, by 
 means of fo prompt a communication from the privy- 
 council, had been the duke's own work. His vice- 
 admiral was not to attend him into France, or be his 
 humble fervant any more. The intrigue which had 
 been fome time in progrefs againft him in his own 
 country and office, has continued fteadily to work to its 
 end, and the chief ad:or in it muft now be introduced. 
 
 IV. Mr. James Bagg ; from the Life. 
 
 Mr. James Bagg was a weftern man, who, through 
 fome family connexion with Nicholas, the fecretary to 
 the admiralty, had rifen from various incidental employ- 
 ments in that department to a pofition of confidence 
 about the perfon of Buckingham himfelf, which as he 
 had earned, fo he kept, by the moft complete abafement 
 to the duke's purpofes and will. He had been joined 
 with Eliot, as we have feen, in fome admiralty commis- 
 fions during the early part of the year, and from the 
 moment of that connection with him appears to have 
 fteadily begun the procefs of undermining him. Eliot 
 refented the man from the firft, yet feems to have 
 thought him not ftrong enough to be dangerous ; but 
 immediately after the king's death the reftridtions in the 
 duties of his ofiice, of which he had formerly complained, 
 
 * MS. S.P.O. Eliot to " R' honora'i^ my verie good Lo y= Duke of 
 " Buckingham, his Grace Lo High Admirall, &c. Exon, i° April, 
 " 1625." 
 
202 IV. Mr. James Bagg ; from the Life. '^°°^ '^■ 
 
 took a more decided form, and he faw agencies for the 
 duke which belonged of right to his vice-admiralty, 
 affumed and difcharged by others. Upon his remon- 
 ftrance, explanations and denials enfued ; and fhortly 
 afterwards, in the two months' interval before the writs 
 went out for parliament, Eliot was certainly abfent from 
 the weft on fome foreign employment or pretext con- 
 nedted with the preparations for the war. 
 
 I am now able to fliow, alfo from letters preferved in 
 the ftate paper office, fome detail of what the character 
 and progrefs of this intrigue had been which Bagg was 
 carrying on againft him. On March 21, 1624-25, fome- 
 what lefs than a month after we have feen Eliot complain- 
 ing to Buckingham of interferences with his due execution 
 of his office,* I difcover that Mr. Bagg was addreffing 
 from London a letter to " my lord the duke of Buck- 
 " ingham his grace, lord high admiral of England, 
 " my very good lord and maifter," to the effedl that he 
 thought it a fault any longer to keep from him a docu- 
 ment which he enclofed, and which would fhow him that 
 his, Bagg's, fervice during the laft twelve months in the 
 weftern parts, had brought to his lordfhip's coffers better 
 than twelve hundred pounds. Jt agreed not with his 
 duty, Bagg went on to fay, to be tedious with his grace 
 in words or long lines ; and he would now, therefore, 
 only remind his grace of his " favorable promife con- 
 " cerning the colledtion of his tenths in Devon and Corn- 
 "wall." Though this was not neceflarily a part of the 
 duties of a vice-admiral, it was one which he ordinarily 
 difcharged, and Bagg reveals by the fubfequent part of 
 his letter the entire drift of his petition. After obferv- 
 ing that he fhould recommend his grace, in any future 
 grant of warrants of market, to provide at the fame time 
 a receiver for the dues (" which," he flyly interpofes, 
 " trufted in me, fhall not only be profitable to you but 
 
 * See ante, p. 197, 
 
162+-1625. Intrigues againft Eliot. 203 
 
 35- 
 
 " make me great in your grace's efteeme for an honeft 
 " man "), he goes on to fay : " I doubt not, if you order 
 " your vice-admiral's fervice according to what is fit for 
 " them to doe, which after my way I have formed in 
 " fome lynes enclofed, but you will have better accomptes 
 " made to your lordfhip hereafter." He then winds up 
 by faying that he is going into the weft immediately, that 
 he defires his grace's commands, that he humbly prays 
 he may return as the duke's colleftor, and that he hopes 
 to live to fee the day when by that way he fhall fill his 
 grace's coffers, and fo be known his grace's " beft accompt- 
 " ing and moft humble fervant."* 
 
 To what extent all this had been influencing Buck- 
 ingham may be inferred from the fad; that Bagg went 
 into the weft with a commiffion for vidtualling the fhips 
 at Plymouth to the amount often thoufand pounds, and 
 for fuperfeding the ufual fundrions of the vice-admirals in 
 preffing feamen for the fervice. From this time he is 
 the duke's moft adliv'e, confidential, unqueftioning, and 
 entirely devoted fervant in thofe parts ; " his Jlave," as 
 he delights to fubfcribe himfelf ; and what immediately 
 followed in the man's hfe fliows the objed: of all he now 
 aimed at. Before the clofe of the year he was knighted, 
 and made vice-admiral of Cornwall ; and as foon as 
 pretence could be found for fequeftering Eliot's patent, 
 he received half the profits (the reft being apportioned 
 to Sir John Drake, who will alfo fhortly enter on the 
 fcene) of the vice-admiralty of Devon. 
 
 But having faid fo much to fliew what the man at pre- 
 fent was, and was intriguing for, the reader had better per- 
 haps at once be put in poffeflion of what, within ten years 
 from the prefent time, became notorious refped:ing him. 
 Thofe ten years, which witnefled nothing but difgraces 
 
 * MS. S.P.O. James Bagg " to my Lord the Duke of Buckingham his 
 " Grace Lord Highe Admirall of England, my very good Lorde and Maifter, 
 " theis at Court. London xxj. Martij 1624." Indorfed, "Mr. Bagg to 
 " my lord." 
 
204 IV. Mr. James Bagg ; from the Life. ^°°^ ^• 
 
 x.r. 
 
 and humiliations in our naval hiftory, were the time of 
 Bagg's moft adbive employment as diredtor of the naval 
 adminiftration in the weftern harbours ; and the extent 
 of his refponfibility in tranfadtions which had almoft 
 driven the poor of thofe feaports into rebellion, was un- 
 expectedly revealed by two actions in the ftar-chamber. 
 "When quarrelling with a man who had been connedled 
 with him in his knaveries, and for whom he had adtually 
 obtained a peerage by felicitation from Buckingham, 
 this worthy affociate. Lord Mohun, filed a bill againft 
 him in the ftar-chamber, charging him with having re- 
 ceived 55000/. to provide viftuals for the king's {hips, 
 with having embezzled the greater part of it to himfelf, 
 with having incurred debts in the king's name which he 
 compounded to the grievance of the people, and with 
 having provifioned the ihips with victuals of fuch vile 
 quality that they had killed four thoufand of the king's 
 fubjefts. Frightful as were thefe charges, Mohun was 
 held fubftantially to have proved them ; yet Bagg was in 
 fome myfterious way exempted from the penalties. 
 
 But then came another bill againft him, of which it 
 could not be alleged, as of the former, that plaintiff and 
 defendant were rogues together, and it was hard to choofe 
 betwixt them. The plaintifi^ in the fecond cafe was a 
 young fimpleton of fortune. Sir Anthony Pell, who had 
 fome fair claims on the treafury which he wiftied to 
 move my lord Portland, then lord treafurer, to confider, 
 and his charge againft Bagg was for having defrauded 
 him of fundry large fums under pretence of paying 
 them as bribes to the earl, to induce him to favour Pell. 
 Bagg's impudent defence in effedl was that he had bribed 
 the lord treafurer, who had flung over both Pell and 
 himfelf. The caufe excited extraordinary intereft ; and 
 Laud's fpeech upon it in the chamber having been pre- 
 ferved, we have archiepifcopal authority for repeating that 
 Bagg was a rafcal. Laud pronounces him, over and over 
 again, fraudulent and criminal; compares him to a highway- 
 
1624-1625. ji Bottomlefs Bagg. 205 
 
 35' 
 
 man ; and contracts his " ingenuity " with the fimpKcity 
 of Sir Anthony. " Look," fays the archbiihop, at the 
 clofe of his cenfure, " look but upon and fee the many 
 " letters he writ, James Bagg, your moft real friend ! 
 " Tour bujinejs will be better done if you leave it to your 
 '■'■friend fames Bagg ! Here is his hand againft his oath, 
 " and his oath againft his hand. He was a moft bafe 
 " fellow to fay your moft real friend, and to ferve Sir 
 " Anthony as he did. I have now done with that 
 " bottomlefs Bagg and my cenfure, leaving my lord of 
 " Portland to do what he thinketh fit againft him."* 
 
 The reader will obferve with what furprifing nicety of 
 tuth Laud hits off the m an as juft revealed to us in 
 the letter intriguing againft Eliot. Tour bufinefs will be 
 better done if you leave it to fames Bagg I But a portion of 
 the ftory remains to be told, to which few even of Bagg's 
 contemporaries had the clue, and which will firft be made 
 fully manifeft by the fubfequent courfe of this narrative. 
 Laud pronounced for B.;gg's convi(5tion in a heavy fine; 
 but of the eighteen who voted in the cafe, nine fupported 
 that view and nine were againft it, and the fine was only 
 carried by the lord keeper's cafting vote. No one could 
 doubt that extraordinary influences had been at work for 
 Bagg, but no one was prepared for what followed. At 
 the opening of December 1635, Garrard thus writes to 
 Lord Wentworth : " In my laft, of the middle of 
 " November, I gave you an account of Sir James Bagg's 
 " bufinefs, cenfured in the ftar-chamber. It pleafed fince 
 " his majefty to fhew him extraordinary favours. For, 
 *'the Monday following the cenfure, the king fent his 
 " prohibition to the lord keeper that the fentence ftiould 
 " not be drawn up, nor entered againft him, nor no 
 "warrant fhould be awarded forth to imprifon him. 
 " Some have endeavoured with his majefty to take off^ 
 
 * See Laud's Works (Ed. 1857) vi. 29 — 33 ; and fee Rufliworth ii. 
 302-313. 
 
io6 IV. Mr. James Bagg ; from the Life. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 " thefe prohibitions, upon good grounds of reafon, and 
 " the praftice of the court ; alleging further the infolency 
 " of Bagg's carriage fince his cenfure, his open coming 
 " abroad, his feafting, for which even his friends con- 
 " demn him. Tet nothing is altered ; he is fill at liberty ; 
 " neither is the fentence entered.''* 
 
 Not until this narrative is clofed ; not until it is feen 
 how Bagg was ufed by Buckingham to dog the heels of 
 Eliot with perjury and falfehood ; not until the revela- 
 tion is complete which jfhows the complicity of the king 
 with the duke, and of both with this vile inftrument, in 
 a happily unfuccefsful confpiracy againft Eliot's characfter 
 and honor ; will the reader fully underftand the hold 
 that, after Buckingham's death, Bagg kept upon the king, 
 and which even Laud can only imperfedtly have known. f 
 Enough meanwhile has here been faid to illuftrate and 
 ftrengthen all the many felf-revelations which Bagg will 
 fupply to thefe pages. One has been given in his letter 
 before departing for the weft, fix days before the old 
 king's death. Another awaits us which he difpatched 
 from Plymouth three weeks after that event. 
 
 It will be remembered that in that interval Eliot ad- 
 drefled Buckingham for the laft time. His letter was 
 dated on the firft of April, and Bagg wrote on the eight- 
 eenth to his " very good lord and mafter." His pen 
 never feems able to proftrate itfelf sufficiently, and this 
 
 * Strafford Difpatches,\. /\.%<j. 
 
 -f- With all his natural defire to fcreen Lord Portland, Laud would hardly 
 have done as he did if the king's confidence on this point had been extended 
 to him. That court influence had been ufed to run the divifion in the 
 ftar-charaber fo clofe, is clear ; but no one acquainted with Charles's cha- 
 rafter, with his ftrange reticences upon nnany fubjefls from men whom he 
 otherwife trafted moft, and with the way in which, after Buckingham's death, 
 he played off one minifter againft another by half confidences and entire 
 concealments, will need any explanation why in this cafe (efpecially when 
 the imputation againft the lord treafurer is alfo remembered) Laud (hould 
 have been left to his " cenfure " without a previous injunftion or warning. 
 Though the archbifhop afterwards himfelf wrote to Wentworth about the 
 cafe, he cautioufly abftains from repeating any opinion refpefting it, either 
 abfolving Portland or further denouncing Bagg. 
 
I624-I62S. Slave and Mafter. 207 
 
 35 
 
 efFufion begins as with a falute to an eaftern poten- 
 tate : " Moft Great and Gratious Sir, the joyes of all hap- 
 " pienes praied for with comfort to attend you. My 
 " penn in fervice reportes unto your lordfhip the occur- 
 " ranees in the weft." He then proceeds to defcribe 
 the capture, by a Turkifh pirate, in the very mouth of 
 Plymouth harbour, of a Dartmouth fhip and three 
 Cornifh fifher-boats, enlarging upon " the bouldnes of 
 " thofe Turkes." He tells his grace that he has ready 
 for the fleet the proportion of victuals left to his pro- 
 viding in thofe parts. He informs him that " Taylor,* 
 " Gondomar's fervant," had fet fail from Plymouth in a 
 barque of twenty tons, on the laft day of March, not 
 then acquainted with the death of his late moft blefled 
 majefty ; and that his grace may reft aflured he will 
 " laie waite " for all the news the Spanifh coaft can give, 
 and will report it to his grace as he receives it. But the 
 important part of his letter is his reference to the prefs 
 for feamen. " I have," he writes, " with the affiftance 
 " of fuch commiffioners as much honnored your grace, 
 " difpatched the prefTe for Devon for three hundred and 
 " fiftie men, and the moft part of the Cornifti number for 
 " two hundred more, foe as the beft men fhall attend his 
 "majeftie's fervice ; and the Newlanders are gonn with a 
 " profperous faire winde, and as much eafed as his majes- 
 " tie's fervice would admitt. Sir John Elliott is difpleafed 
 " hee was not foly imployed, and therefore could not be 
 " invited to afTift." To which fucceeds the everlafting 
 Bagg befeechment of his grace not to credit, if he hears, 
 any mifreport, for that man doth not live that hath done, 
 and fliall perform, his lordfliip's commands with more 
 fpirit, faith, honefty, diligence, and care than Bagg ; 
 who begs pardon for his boldnefs, humbly kifles his lord 
 
 * Mr. Taylor was Englifti interpreter at the Spanilh embafly, ferving 
 Nicholaldie as he had ferved Gondomar ; and many references to him will 
 be found in the Strafford Dijpatches. 
 
2o8 IV. Mr. James Bagg ; from the Life. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 and mafter's hand, and lives moft honoured whilft he is 
 his grace's faithful fervant.* 
 
 And thus were my lord duke's efpecial affairs in 
 the weft transferred gradually into fit and congenial 
 keeping. Though Eliot was ftillj and continued for a 
 confiderable time longer to be, in the fervice of the 
 ftate, and vice-admiral of Devon, it is no longer, when 
 occafion arifes, with the lord-admiral that he holds 
 intercourfe, but with Mr. Secretary Conway. One per- 
 fonal interview more, on which much will be feen to turn, 
 and the paths of Eliot and Buckingham will have di- 
 verged for ever. To the defpotic minifter of the new 
 reign there will then be only left, — in one who had 
 been the companion of his youth, and in maturer life fo 
 ready faithfully to ferve and honor him, — an affailant 
 inexpreffibly formidable, and, by fheer force of eloquence 
 and courage, wielding a power over men more abfolute 
 and lafting than his own. 
 
 * MS. S.P.O. James Bagg "to my Lord the Duke of Buckingham, 
 " his grace Lord High Admirall of England, my very good lord and 
 "mailer. Plymouth, the i8th of Aprill, 1625." Indorfed, "R.'zz; 
 " Apr. 1625. Mr. Bagg to my Lo*." I may add, in confirmation of 
 what has been said as to the mifconducS of this man, and thofe large de- 
 falcations to the crown from the confequences of which Charles I. 
 was fo ready to fcreen his favourite's (hamelefs instrument, that in the 
 Royalill Compofition papers (MSS.) after the Reftoration, depofited in the 
 ftate paper office (" Re Sir James Bagg's son, George Bagg"), it is 
 ftated that there was one debt of 22,500/. 15J. 5^. and another of i^8o/, 
 due to the late king by Sir James Bagg, 
 
1625. 
 35- 
 
 MS. dif covered at Port Eliot. 
 
 209 
 
 BOOK FIFTH. 
 
 FIRST PARLIAMENT OF CHARLES THE FIRST 
 AT WESTMINSTER. 
 
 1625. 
 
 ^T. 
 
 35' 
 
 /. " Negotium Pojlerorum." 
 II. Opening of the Seffion. 
 111. Rules and Orders of the Houje. 
 Grievances and Religion. 
 Wentworth's EleSlionfor Torkfhire. 
 Supply. 
 
 Eliofs final interview with Buckingham. 
 Laft Two Days at Weftminfier. 
 
 I. " Negotium Posterorum." 
 
 IV. 
 
 V. 
 
 VI 
 
 VII 
 
 vin. 
 
 PERIOD of Eliot's life has now arrived 
 where guidance is happily vouchfafed to 
 US which we may accept without a mif- 
 givlng. Among the papers at Port Eliot 
 in his own handwriting, and of which the author- 
 fhip is as manifeftly his, exifts a memoir of the firfl: 
 parliament of Charles the Firfl: . 
 
 That this manufcript, pofTeffing great hifl:orical im- 
 portance and an unrivalled perfonal interefl:, ihould 
 have failed to attradt any kind of notice for more than 
 two centuries, which have yet been filled with a vivid 
 interefl: for the fubjed it relates to, and with enquirers 
 eager for any fcrap of authentic information concerning 
 it, is one of thofe accidents that not unfrequently attend 
 old family papers. Its appearance is not inviting ; it is 
 
 VOL. I. P 
 
aio I..." Nezotium Pojlerorum." Book v. 
 
 on the face of it a fragment, or intended portion of a 
 larger work ; and it bears a Latin title, of which the 
 meaning is not immediately perceived. But upon 
 examination it is found to be in itfelf complete; to 
 contain a narrative of every incident and debate in the 
 lower houfe, during its two fittings at Weftminfter and 
 Oxford ; and to include, befides admirable fummaries of 
 the leading fpeeches, reports of every ipeech delivered 
 by Eliot himfelf * 
 
 The objed with which it was compofed declares itfelf 
 beyond any queftion. It was defigned, evidently, to 
 ftand as portion of a work that fliould relate to other 
 generations, the parliamentary labours and ftruggles in 
 which Eliot and his friends of that exifting generation 
 had been engaged. Its plan would doubtlefs have 
 embraced the parliaments of James in which he fat, as 
 well as thofe in which he took part under Charles ; and 
 the unfinished ftate in which the manufcript of this 
 " fecond " portion, as it is termed, reaches us, might 
 have suggefted its date, even if internal proofs did not 
 determine it pofitively. At the clofe of the firft ftormy 
 feffionof the great parliament of 1628, during the recefs 
 when Buckingham was murdered and Wentworth went 
 over to the court, it appears to have been begun ; though 
 not likely to have been brought into the ftate in which 
 we find it, until the author's later imprifonment. It pro- 
 bably then afllimed the double charadter — of a memorial 
 of the ftruggles by which the ancient liberty had been 
 reafi!erted, and of a monument to fufi^erings undergone 
 in fo wrefting the petition of right from the king. 
 The fulfilment of the defign was interrupted by death ; 
 and how far it had proceeded, even, cannot with certainty 
 be faid. It is quite poflible that this fecond part com- 
 
 * As if to clear all doubt, other copies of the fame fpeeches, many of 
 them in greater detail (and notably one refpefting Sir Thomas Wentworth), 
 fet down in Eliot's handwriting at the date of their delivery, and with his 
 name affixed as the fpeaker, exift alfo among the Port Eliot MSS. 
 
'^^5- Eliofs Story for Pojierity. ii\ 
 
 prifes all that was ever written, as undoubtedly it is all 
 now remaining at Port Eliot ; though the fa6t of many 
 books and manufcripts having been loft or deftroyed when 
 the manfion was repaired forty years ago,* leaves it 
 doubtful whether fome of the patriot's papers may not 
 alfo then have perifhed. More cannot be known ; but 
 in what has furvived we have the record, not infufEcient 
 however incomplete, of the opening fcenes of one of the 
 grandeft conflidls in which the men of one generation 
 ever engaged, to fecure the happinefs and freedom of 
 generation's that were to follow. 
 
 In the very title given to his manufcript by Eliot, 
 that idea appears. Not for ourfelves we did thefe things, 
 made thefe facrifices, underwent thefe toils and fufFerings ; 
 but for you. It was not our own bufinefs we were then 
 tranfafting, but yours — Negotium Pojlerorum. 
 
 Under the various fedtlons that follow in the prefent 
 and fucceeding book of Eliot's life, an unreferved and 
 liberal ufe will be made of thefe remarkable papers. 
 Upon careful confideration it feemed beft fo to employ 
 them, as materials for this portion of my biography, with 
 filent elucidation and enlargement when fuch might be 
 required ; rather than to print them merely as they ftand, 
 at the rifk of the reader's confulion, or, at the beft, of his 
 very imperfedt underftanding of them. In every inftance 
 in which an opinion is expreffed, or a judgment pafled, by 
 Eliot, his exaft words are quoted. Wherever incidents 
 are defcribed that are new to hiftory, his authority is 
 given. Where fpeeches are cited exclufively from his 
 abftradts or reports, the fadt is noted. Every allufion 
 borrowed from him with any perfonal bearing, is carefully 
 affigned to him. All the charafteriftic features of what 
 he had thus coUedted for pofterity are in eff^ed: minutely 
 preferved ; and even the order of the feveral fubjeds as 
 they arofe on fucceffive days is followed, though each is 
 
 * I learn this circumftance, with much regret, from Lord St. Germans. 
 
 p z 
 
212 I. " Negotium Pojierorum." book v. 
 
 completed and kept apart. The reader may rely with 
 perfedb confidence on the fcrupulous precifion and 
 accuracy with which all that is eflential in this remark- 
 able manufcript will thus be laid before him ; nor 
 probably will he follow with abated intereft through the 
 fcenes it will open to him, if brief mention is here 
 prefixed of the nature and variety of the fubjecfts treated 
 in the courfe of it, and of the importance of the dis- 
 clofures made. 
 
 It bears remarkable evidence to the ftate of feeling 
 on the acceflion of Charles, and to the eager loyalty with 
 which the new reign was welcomed by the men who were 
 foon to be its bittereft opponents. Nor lefs curious and 
 attradlive are its fketches of leading orators on both fides, 
 whether minifl;ers and privy councillors, or their adver- 
 faries ; divines who talked, as it is faid, like lawyers, or 
 lawyers who fpoke with the veracity and gravity of 
 divines. Eliot fketches almofl: every fpeaker who 
 prefents himself. He explains to us why Rudyard, in 
 fpite of his ornate and laboured preparation, had yet a 
 refpedtful hearing from all ; and what it was that gave 
 fuperior life to the oratory of Philips, redundant though 
 it was, and with defeats of manner in delivery, but 
 always ready and fpirited, fuited ever to the occafion as 
 it arofe, and in no refped: laboured or premeditated. 
 The houfe of commons two hundred and fifty years 
 ago, was in thefe refpedls what the houfe ftill is ; and 
 Eliot's remark that " in that place, always, premeditation 
 " is an error," might have been written yefl:erday. So, 
 of the dry comment he makes upon the break-down in 
 the houfe of a crack orator from Cambridge, when the 
 gentleman " found that the cold rhetorick of the fchools 
 "was not that moving eloquence which does afFedt a 
 " parliament," is it not precifely what would now be 
 faid? 
 
 It was to be expedled that one who facrificed fo much 
 to uphold parliamentary privileges fhould have noted 
 
'^*5- SubjeSis treated in Eliot's MS. 213 
 
 with intereft their growth within the houfe, their recogni- 
 tion beyond it, and their efFeft in promoting order, and 
 infpiring deference and refpeft, by a fettled and digni- 
 fied procedure. On all liiefe points Eliot fpeaks with 
 peculiar knowledge. He fcrupuloufly defines the 
 refpedtive relations of the two houfes ; he details the 
 rules whereby not alone their joint proceedings were 
 regulated, but the independent authority of each main- 
 tained; he explains the reafons that dictated what too often 
 inconfiderately were ftyled mere caufelefs jealoufies ; and 
 with manifeft pride he dilates upon the right which at 
 laft had been achieved by the commons, of determining 
 within their own walls everything relating to their own 
 eleftions. In efpecial, there Is one difputed return that 
 aiFords him fubjedt for a ftriking narrative, in which 
 himfelf and Wentworth are the principal adtors ; and 
 where not only a flood of light is thrown on their 
 relations with each other, but the charadter of Wentworth 
 receives vivid illuftration. At the very moment when 
 he fl:ands at the turning point of his life, a profound and 
 fagacious obferver fees both his weaknefs and his flirength ; 
 and, as well in the power that raifed as in the pride that 
 ruined him, reveals to us the future Earl of Strafford. 
 Such and fo memorable is Eliot's notice of the petition 
 preferred by Savile againft Wentworth's eleftion for 
 Yorklhire, written immediately upon Wentworth's going 
 over to the court after the firft feffion of the third 
 parliament. 
 
 Worthy of remark alfo is the confpicuous prominence 
 given in this memoir by Eliot, not only to the flirength 
 and earnefl:nefs of his own religious belief, but to the 
 peculiar views he held upon the connexion of politics 
 with religion. He fpeaks of the readinefs of the houfe 
 to take fire upon queftions in which religion was involved, 
 as of a weaknefs in which he does not himfelf fhare : but 
 he points out, at the fame time, how rare were the cafes 
 in which the religious queftions then prominent did not 
 
214 I. " Negotium Pojierorum." 
 
 Book V. 
 
 JS,T. 
 
 include alfo confideratlons that ftatefmen could not over- 
 look; and he fhows what a danger ahd unfettlement to 
 the ftate was impliedj in the almoft general relaxation of 
 the penal laws againft popery. The courfe taken in both 
 fittings as to the high-church champion, Montagu, only 
 half-told hitherto, he tells at length; he fhows how 
 much the fubjeft was embittered in the Oxford feffion, 
 by the claim put forth to fcreen that offender as the king's 
 chaplain, which would equally have protedted from all 
 cenfure by the houfe every fervant and minifter of the 
 king ; and the intrigues of bifhop Laud againft arch- 
 bifhop Abbot, hitherto admitted but imperfedly, receive 
 from him frefh illuftration. 
 
 The charges moft often, and with greatefl apparent 
 fhow of reafon, brought againft the firft parliament of 
 Charles the Firft, by the favourers or advocates of that 
 prince, have turned upon the alleged niggardlinefs with 
 which, during a war to which the preceding parliament 
 had been a ftrong confenting party, they doled out 
 fupplies that it had never been ufual, even in time of 
 peace, to ftint at the opening of a reign ; and, above 
 all, upon the affront offered to the young fovereign by 
 the propofed limitation to one year of the grant of 
 tonnage and poundage which his predecefTors had enjoyed 
 for life. So much, it has been always faid, was this 
 refented, that the lords refufed not merely to pafs but 
 even to entertain the bill. 
 
 As to this lafl charge, it will be feen that Eliot puts 
 the matter in a new light. The bill when firft introduced 
 renewed the grant for life, but it was not laid on the 
 table until nearly three- fourths of the members, believing 
 that all matters of fupply had been voted, and alarmed 
 by the advancing ravages of the plague, had quitted 
 London for their country houfes. Several queftions then 
 arofe as to the new book of rates, and as to irregularities 
 in colledtion ; which, in the abfence from the houfe of the 
 principal lawyers, led of necefTity to the propofed limita- 
 
'^^5- Eliot's Vindication of the Commons. 11 c 
 
 tion, not as a permanent but as a temporary meafure. 
 Every fuppofed right of the monarch was at the fame 
 time carefully proteded ; and fo far were the lords from 
 refufmg to entertain, that they had adually paffed the 
 bill, when the royal aflent to it was refufed. 
 
 Not lefs remarkable is Eliot's elaborate narrative of 
 the debates on fupply in the fittings both at Weftminfter 
 and Oxford. Now began the difputes which culminated 
 in 1640 ; and, upon whichever fide lay the firft wrong of 
 fuggefting or inflaming them, there refted, as it has been 
 always juflly felt, a moft grave refponfibility. Eliot's 
 vindication of the parliament upon this point is triumph- 
 antly complete. The flory is gradually told, purfuing 
 each day's fitting at Weftminfler, from the firft propo- 
 fition and grant of fupply, not unaccompanied by diftindt 
 remonftrance on the mifufe of fupplies formerly voted, 
 but yet freely given and accepted as freely ; through a 
 feries of fubfequent intrigues by Buckingham to compafs 
 ! his own private defigns, in defpite even of the more in- 
 dependent of the king's council, and manifeftly to the 
 injury of the king's fervice. -For the firft time in 
 hiftory a fufficient explanation is afforded, of the extra- 
 ordinary unpopularity of this firft and only minifter that 
 Charles ever really confided in. Buckingham at the 
 outset, for reafons of his own, connected partly with his 
 previous pledges to fome of the popular leaders, but more 
 direftly arifing from the ufes to which already he con- 
 templated applying the great fleet then preparing for fea, 
 had manifeftly refolved to break with the parliament at 
 whatever coft. Moft clearly is this eftabliflied, and it 
 is a fadt of the laft importance. Buckingham's con- 
 duct on any other fuppofition would be utterly incre- 
 dible. He permitted the king to accept gracioufly a 
 money- vote, which was not illiberal or infufficient; he 
 fuffered three-fourths of the members, under the belief 
 that all the important bufinefs was over, to quit London ; 
 and from the few that remained he fought to wreft an 
 
21 6 /. " Negotium P after orum." 
 
 Book V. 
 
 additional vote, by a ftatement and meflage compro- 
 mifing the king, and not fubmitted by any minifter 
 but by an officer of his own. So difmayed indeed were 
 fome of the other minifters at his interference to difturb 
 the fettlement of what they could not themfelves but 
 admit to be a fair vote of fupply, that they reforted 
 to the extreme meafure of attempting to exert in- 
 fluence over him by means of one who had formerly 
 enjoyed his confidence, and who, though now prominent 
 among the leaders of the country party, had not been 
 mixed up with the fecret underftandings of the laft 
 parliament. This curious incident marks definitively the 
 clofe of Eliot's perfonal intercourfe with Buckingham. 
 
 At the fpecial requeft of the chancellor of the duchy. 
 Sir Humphrey May, the vice-admiral went to the duke ; 
 and, though he failed to turn him from his purpofe, 
 the record of their interview, as the reader will hereafter 
 find it in this memoir, completes a piece of fecret and 
 as yet unpubliftied hiftory remarkable as any upon 
 record. It proves that Buckingham's defign, exprefied 
 in almoft fo many words to Eliot, was to obtain ground 
 and excufe for a rupture with the commons ; and no 
 doubt can further reft, after reading it, upon either 
 the character of the former intercourfe of the duke and 
 his vice-admiral, or the circumftances of their final 
 feparation. They never met again until they met as 
 accufer and accufed ; and if anything of fervility or 
 dependence had entered into their preceding relations, 
 Eliot could neither have fpoken as he did at his ex- 
 friend's impeachment, nor have written as he does in the 
 memoir of his fycophants and flatterers. In his own 
 private chamber as in the lords' houfe his tone is the 
 fame. He holds ever to Buckingham the fame front of 
 felf-refpe6t, reliant and independent. 
 
 By the failure to bend the favourite from his purpofe, 
 and the refolve of the houfe notwithftanding to adhere 
 to theirs, the Weftminfter feflion was brought abruptly to 
 
1^*5- Buckingham's Betrayal of the Commons. 217 
 
 35 
 
 its clofe ; but it will be feen that while the commons had 
 fucceeded in paffing the fupply bill in its original ftate, 
 they were utterly unprepared, upon going up to the lords 
 on the day of prorogation, for the announcement that 
 there awaited them. That was Buckingham's retort to 
 the affront he had received. They had defired a recefs 
 that fhould enable them to ftay at their refpedbive 
 homes until the plague fhould have abated fomething of 
 its virulence ; and, by voting what was believed to be 
 fufficient for the immediate wants of the ftate, they had 
 entitled themfelves to fo much confideration. But, to the 
 difmay of all who were prefent at the prorogation, they 
 were told that they muft meet again in little more than a 
 fortnight, and at a place where already it was known that 
 the plague had fhown itfelf. From that hour no man of 
 the country party in this parliament doubted what the 
 favourite had in view, or believed that any good under- 
 ftanding with him was for the future even poffible. 
 
 Brief as the interval of the fortnight was, fome notice- 
 able incidents occurred therein ; and it will be feen how 
 nearly they concerned Eliot, and what effefb they had in 
 finally determining his pofition of unrelenting antagonifm 
 to his former friend. In this portion of the memoir, as 
 in that where he relates his unavailing intercefTion with 
 Buckingham, he fpeaks of himfelf in dire<5t terms as the 
 vice-admiral" of Devon ; and what he flates as his official 
 experience of the ill-working of the commiffion, which 
 together with the lord-admiral then adminiflered the 
 affairs of the navy, is an important contribution to our 
 knowledge of thefe matters. 
 
 The proceedings of the Oxford feffion are reviewed 
 in even greater detail than thofe of the fitting at Weft- 
 minfter ; and the interefl deepens as the narrative goes 
 on. Each day adds to the growing difcontent, until at 
 lafl the meafure overflows. The members meet amid 
 fears and fufpicions, flrong though filent ; but before they 
 feparate, thefe have taken the form of expreffed distruft. 
 
2i8 /. " Negotium P after orum." Book v. 
 
 and all but open defiance. Hiftory adls itfelf over again 
 before ns, and, connedted with its leading incidents, we 
 have its fecret adtuating caufes. The difafters of the 
 reign have had no fuch praftical or conclufive comment as 
 Ehot's pi6ture of its opening fcenes will afford. It is not that 
 we are liftening to the arguments and reafoning of a parti- 
 zan and a(5tor in the ftrife ; but that, by a rare and unex- 
 pe6ted privilege, the curtain of the paft is uplifted for us, 
 and we fee and hear what was faid and done on either fide, 
 at the critical moment which was to decide the pofition of 
 both. The pains which Eliot takes plainly and fl:rongly 
 to fet forth the fl:eady and increafing march of difcontent 
 againft one, are not more marked or remarkable than his 
 manifefl; wifh to do jufl:ice, irrefpeftive of that principal 
 offender, to all. Thefe portions of his memoir contain 
 {ketches of fome of the fpeeches delivered, as well by 
 minifters as their opponents, which even in this com- 
 pendious form exhibit a tranfcendent merit. In efpecial, 
 befides his own fpeeches, there will be found fpeeches by 
 Sir Francis Seymour and Sir Robert Philips, and one reply 
 by Sir Humphrey May, that feem to me to take rank 
 with the higheft examples of eloquence in this great time. 
 Enough has been faid, however, to indicate the charac- 
 ter and general contents of the manufcript from which the 
 prefent and next following book of this biography will be 
 found to derive fuch value and interefl: as 'they poffefs. 
 To name here more fpecially the eloquence thus preferved 
 of which we have no other record, the fpeakers defcribed 
 to whofe peculiarities no witnefs elfe has fpoken, and the 
 incidents that receive an explanation until now withheld, 
 would be to anticipate what will appear in its proper 
 place, in all needful detail. It is to be regretted that the 
 narrative ftiould clofe where it does, but its value does not 
 flop at that point of time. By the clue it gives, and the 
 light it affords us, we fhall find our way more clearly 
 through fome later events and occurrences. Nor, after 
 the ftory of this parliament is told, when, upon that 
 
'^^5- Welcome to the new Reign. 219 
 
 fudden and angry diflblutlon which no one more than 
 Clarendon has deplored, the country is feen breaking 
 itfelf up into two parties oppofed indeed to each other 
 but neither of them zealous for the king, could Eliot by 
 any elaboration of eloquence better have exprefled the 
 ftate of men's minds and purpofes, tlian by the brief 
 but pregnant fentences which clofe his narrative. 
 
 " Thofe that were fearfull, did encline to fome accom- 
 *' modation and refped:. Thofe that were refolute, and 
 " had hearts anfwearable to their heads, infifted on their 
 " grievances." 
 
 II. Opening of the Session. 
 
 The death of James had been followed generally, there 
 can be no doubt, by a fenfe of extraordinary relief. 
 The fecurity that is full of fear, becaufe founded on the 
 degenerate vices born of a long-corrupted peace, with 
 him had pafled away. Men arofe as if from a dream. 
 The appeal of the leaders of the two laft parliaments had 
 reached them, and with it the expectation, that, as the 
 power which fought to filence them was now for ever filent, 
 the country might refume its place at the head of the 
 proteftantifm of the world. A new fpirit of life, fays 
 Eliot, poffeffed all men ; as if the old genius of the king- 
 dom, having with Endymion flept an age, were now 
 awake again, and a fucceflbr to their great queen at laft 
 was come. 
 
 What imperfeftly was known of the charadter of 
 Charles the Firft favoured thefe expedtations. His reli- 
 gious pradtice and devotions had given him a reputation 
 for piety ; and, as well by his having refifted the tempt- 
 ations of Spain, as by " his publick profeffions being 
 " from thence returned," joy and hope gathered about his 
 perfon. What, through all the darknefs and mifery of 
 his fatal government has yet been accepted as probable 
 by modern inquirers, his contemporaries were eager to 
 
220 11. Opening of the Seffion. 
 
 Book V. 
 
 JET. 
 
 welcome, and more than ready to believe. Many were 
 moved, fays Eliot, by what feemed to be the innate 
 fweetnefs of his nature ; the calm habit and compofition 
 of his mind ; his exadt government while prince in the 
 economy and order of his houfe, in the rule of his affairs, 
 and in the difpofition of his fervants ; whereby his honour 
 had been maintained, yet no thrift negleded. Nor lefs 
 had he been dutiful and decorous in his care for public 
 bufinefs, in apparent ftudy to improve his knowledge in 
 the ftate by diligent attendance at councils, and in felec- 
 tion of his modes of exercife and recreation. But above 
 all, his condu6t in the Spanifh bufinefs had coupled ex- 
 pedtation with his name. The diffolution of the treaties 
 was in effed: his. To him pradtically was due "the 
 " untying of thofe knots, the cutting of thofe Gordian 
 " yokes." If the old national wifdom and prowefs were 
 to revive ; if the memory was to be loft of later fuffer- 
 ings and fhame ; if the end had come to what fo long 
 had impoverifhed and lowered England, confuming at 
 once her honour and her treafure ; his would be the glory. 
 In confirmation of which hopes of a happier future, Eliot 
 adds, " as that which was to be the affurance of them all, 
 " and of whatever elfe might import the happinefs of the 
 " kingdom," there went forth writs for a parliament. 
 
 Such emulation for fervice in the commons had not 
 been feen till then. Several eledlions were hotly con- 
 tefted, and many favourites of the court beaten : but 
 the latter were fuppofed to belong to the fyftem of which 
 the new reign was expedted to be the clofe, and candidates 
 moft oppofed upon the huftings yet rivalled each other 
 in proffered fervice to their young king. " The mem- 
 " bers chofen," fays Eliot, " forthwith repaired to 
 " London, to make their attendance at the time ; no 
 " man would be wanting ; love and ambition gave them 
 " wings ; he that was firft feemed happieft ; zeal and 
 " affedlion did fo work, as even the circumftance of 
 " being firft was thought an advantage in the duty." 
 
^^^5- AJfemhling of the Members. ii\ 
 
 35- 
 
 Such is the remarkable language (itfelf an ample re- 
 futation of the reproaches in which Hume and his 
 followers have largely indulged), ufed at the opening of 
 this reign by the man who was deftined to be its moft illus- 
 trious vidim. Some change was to be wrought, however, 
 even in the brief interval before the new parliament. 
 Two prorogations delayed the meeting, firft to the clofe 
 of May, and then to the middle of June ; after which, 
 formal adjournments made further delay, to admit of the 
 king's arrival with his young Roman-catholic queen 
 from Canterbury, whither he had gone to meet her. At 
 laft, on Saturday the xSth of June, while increafing 
 ravages of the plague were faddening London, and the 
 iplendour of the new Roman-catholic alliance was 
 already overfhadowed by rumoured conceffions made to 
 it, EUot found himfelf ftanding near the throne of the 
 lords, with a crowd of his colleagues from the lower 
 house, hftening to Charles the Firft's firft speech to 
 parliament. They faw the young queen herfelf as they 
 entered ; and, " in a place below the corner of the feats," 
 the French king's kinfman Chevereux and bis duchefs, 
 who had accompanied her to England. 
 
 Many faces more familiar Eliot muft alfo have {^^n, 
 as he looked around. Bedfordshire had fent up Sir Oliver 
 Luke, and from Launcefton and Lifkeard had come Bevil 
 Grenvile and William Coryton. Mr. Hampden of Great 
 Hampden had been returned for Wendover, Sir Robert 
 Cotton for Thetford, Sir Edward Giles for Totnefs, Wil- 
 liam Strode for Plympton, and Richard Knightley for the 
 county of Northampton. The men who chiefly had led 
 the laft two parliaments were alfo here; Philips for 
 Somerfetftiire, Wentworth for Yorkfhire, Coke for Nor- 
 folk, Pym for Taviftock, Sir Dudley Digges for Tewkes- 
 bury, Seymour for Wiltfliire, Sandys for Penrhyn, 
 Glanvile for Plymouth, Rudyard for Portfmouth, and 
 Edward Alford for Beverly. The northern men had 
 muftered ftronger than ufual. Wentworth and Fairfax had 
 
222 //. Opening of the Seffion. Bookv 
 
 MT. 
 
 beaten the Saviles in Yorkfhirej not fairly, it was alleged; 
 but Mallory fat fafely for Ripon, Wandesforde for Rich- 
 mond, RadclifFe for Lancafter, Vane for Carlifle, Fen- 
 wick and Brandling for Northumberland, Anderfon for 
 Newcaftle, Lowther for Weftmoreland, the two Hothams 
 for Appleby and Beverly, Hutton and Slingfby for 
 Knarefborough, Beaumont and Jackfon for Pontefradt, 
 Ingram for York, Bellafis for Thirfk, and Selby for 
 Berwick. Some capable men there were to reprefent 
 the king's council, too ; as indeed fore the need was 
 that there fliould be. Wefton, chancellor of the exche- 
 quer, fat for Kellington ; Edmundes, treafurer of the 
 houfehold, for Oxford-univerfity ; Naunton, mafter 
 of the wards, for Cambridge ; Heath, folicitor-general, 
 for Eaft Grinftead ; and Sir Humphrey May, chancellor 
 of the duchy, for Lancafter. Of thefe the ableft was 
 the laft. In early life. May had ferved in Ireland 
 under the Earl of Devonfhire ; and his experience of 
 public aifairs, at a time when men of capacity diredted 
 them, had rendered him fomewhat impatient of the 
 incapacity of Buckingham. He would hardly at this 
 time have been retained in the council, but for the 
 fa6t of his being almoft the only man there who could 
 oppofe to the popular leaders an eloquence only inferior 
 to their own. 
 
 To counteraft this better influence, however, the 
 favourite had provided himfelf with an efpecial inftru- 
 ment ; pofTeffing no brilliance of talent, and yet rather 
 bookiih and clerkly than of efpecial aptitude for bufinefs ; 
 formerly fecretary to Sir Fulke Greville, but to whom 
 the lord-admiral had lately given one of the commis- 
 fionerfhips for the admiralty ; and whom he now 
 defigned to put forth, though with no official refponfl- 
 bility, and in the illnefs and abfence of Sir Albert 
 Morton, as a fubftitute ftate-fecretary for the lower 
 houfe. This was Sir John Cooke, of whofe fortunes here 
 was the beginning ; returned for the borough of St. 
 
'^^5- T;he King's Speech. 22J 
 
 35 
 
 Germans much to the diflike of Eliot, who neverthelefs 
 had been able to make his local influence fo far felt as 
 to compel Cooke in turn, quite as much to the favourite's 
 diflike, to accept for his colleague Sir Henry Marten, 
 with whom, fince the old Marflialfea days, the vice- 
 admiral had improved his friendly intercourfe. They 
 would feem to have been gradually drawn together by 
 a common experience of the defefts of Buckingham's 
 character; and it was this growing diflatisfadtion on 
 Marten's part with the condudt of public affairs which 
 had impelled him, while fl:ill holding place under the 
 chief minifter as judge of the admiralty, to feek now, 
 for the firfl; time, a feat in the commons. 
 
 There, for the firfl: time alfo, had been returned three 
 men from his own county whom Eliot would perhaps 
 have regarded with greater intereft, if he could have 
 fufpedted how clofely, and on whofe behalf, they were 
 likely to be watching him. Thefe were Mr. Drake, 
 member for Lyme; Mr. James Bagg, member for East 
 Loo ; and Mr. John Mohun, member for Grampound. 
 
 The royal fpeech was fliort, Charles opening it by 
 referring to the phyfical defedb that indifpofed him to any 
 long addrefs. He afllimed that they were all ready to 
 carry out what their predecefl'ors in the lafl parliament 
 had begun, lie knew their zeal and affeftion to reli- 
 gion, and that matchlefs fidelity to their king which was 
 the ancient honour of the nation. The lord keeper would 
 explain to them further. His own natural difability to 
 fpeak held good corrffpondence with the time. That 
 being defigned for action, difcourfe would not fit there- 
 with. 
 
 We did not diflike either the fenfe or fhortnefs of this 
 expreflion, fays Eliot. " Wearied with the long orations 
 "of king James, that did inherit but the wind," this' 
 brevity and plainnefs drew a great applaufe. Liker to 
 truth than art, it fell in with the opinion thofe country 
 gentlemen of England ftill dared to cherifli, that with 
 
224 I^- Opening of the Seffion. Book v. 
 
 the manners of their anceftors they might refume their 
 fortunes, and in that turn and revolution of events 
 " meet the old world again." 
 
 From the lord keeper's paraphrafe of the royal text, 
 however, there dropped a note of difcord. After highly 
 ornamental exordium, and Intimation that their new 
 fovereign had work in hand whereby Europe would be 
 ftirred as the Pool of Bethefda by the angel, he told 
 them that the Mansfeldt army, and the fitting out a navy 
 that might be called invincible, had fwallowed up all the 
 money voted in laft parliament, and now their bufinefs 
 would be to give, without flicking too much to prece- 
 dents. If they found the ufual way too flack, they were 
 not to fear, in an occafion of fuch confequence, to refort to 
 others more fit. All were fubventions that they granted, 
 nor could that be unparliamentary which was re/olved by 
 parliament. At this remark of the too clever bifhop 
 immediate murmurs of difTent were heard. To fu£Fer it 
 to pafs unchallenged, would have been to place at the 
 difpofal of the hour rights that had been acquired 
 through centuries ; to make the fervants of the parlia- 
 ment its mafters ; and to fend both houfes adrift, without 
 compafs or rudder, upon the rocks and breakers that fur- 
 rounded them. As they crowded back to their own 
 chamber for eledllon of a Speaker, the commons' leaders 
 doubtfully exchanged thefe thoughts. 
 
 They were fomewhat reafTured when one of the privy 
 councillors rofe and fuggefted ferjeant Crewe for the chair. 
 He was the younger brother of the honeft chief-jufllce, 
 and he had ferved the office in the preceding parliament ; 
 an office theretofore too frequently filled, Eliot remarks, 
 by " nullities," men feleded for mere court convenience. 
 On the other hand, their privileges might be counted 
 fafe in keeping of a man whofe eloquence had mofl nobly 
 guarded them when in danger. Nature and art, fays 
 Eliot, concurred to make him equal to his place. He 
 was a great mafler of the law ; in his fludies religion had 
 
'^^5- Speaker Crewe's Addrejs. niS 
 
 fo fhared, as to win for him fpecial name and reputation ; 
 and his life and pradtice anfwered to both. Moft apt 
 alfo to the employment he fuftained, was his elocution.* 
 On all occafions of the time he could exprefs himfelf 
 " pulchre et ornate," even as Quintilian conceives the 
 perfeft orator, " pro dignitate rerum, ad utilitatem tem- 
 " porum, cum voluptate audientium." 
 
 His eleftion over, with what Eliot calls its formalities 
 of " pretended unwillingnefs in him, and importunity in 
 " us, with much art and rhetorick on both fides, ufual 
 "more than necelTary," they returned to the 'lords' 
 houfe; and, in the old conftitutional form, Crewe alked 
 the king for immunity to themfelves and their fervants 
 eundo et redeundo, freedom from arreft, continued accefs 
 to the royal prefence, and free fpeech according to their 
 antient privilege. Frankly, in proifering this petition, 
 the Speaker advifed the young fovereign, that in com- 
 parifon of a parliamentary way he would find all other 
 courfes to be out of the way ; told him that his imperial 
 diadem fhone all the brighter, in that it was enamelled 
 and compafl"ed with a beautiful border of the antient and 
 fundamental laws ; and gravely counfelled him to have it 
 in perpetual remembrance, that thofe fundamental laws 
 were what held the body of the commonwealth together, 
 and that, being Juitable to the nature of the -people, they 
 were Jafeft for the fovereign. Again through his lord 
 keeper, and more gracioufly, the fovereign f replied. He 
 called the fubjefts of their petition the four corner fl:ones 
 of that noble building, their houfe, and granted them all 
 without any bound or limitation more than their own 
 wifdom and moderation fiiould impofe. 
 
 The remark made by Eliot, in charafterifing and 
 contrafting the fl:yles of the refpeftive fpeakers on the 
 
 * For fpeeches by him, fee ante, pp. 105 and 108. 
 
 f " The interim was little," fays Eliot's MS, " yet a while he feem'd to 
 " ftudy the recoUeftion of feme notes he then had taken." 
 
 VOL. I. Q» 
 
226 //. Opening of the Seffion. Book v. 
 
 MT, 
 
 occafion, ought not to be omitted. There was moft 
 of the divine, he fays, in the lawyer ; and moft of the 
 law-like in the divine. The biftiop difplayed a ftudy 
 and afFeflation both in his compofition and delivery, 
 which the ferjeant declined, feeming thereby more 
 natural, and not lefs eloquent. In both were to be re- 
 marked oratorical brilliancy and ornaments ; but in the 
 one flaring forth without relief, and in the other har- 
 monifed by fhadow and repofe. " Both had their igniculi 
 "Jententiarum and flojculi ingeniorum : but by the bifhop 
 *' they were rendered to all fatiety and fullnefs, as beauty 
 " fet to fale ; whereas the other made them like ftars 
 " fhining in the night, admirabili quadum illuminatione, 
 "Jed umbram habens et recejfum." 
 
 In concluding this portion of his paper, Eliot again 
 obferves upon the ill-relifti and refentment provoked by 
 the lord keeper's " infinuation to new ways, under the 
 *' fallacy put forth that all that is done by parliament is 
 " parliamentary ;" contrafting it with another of his 
 phrafes that had been better liked, wherein he had termed 
 their privileges the corner ftones of the houfe ; and with 
 a mournful fignificance he adds, that that latter expres- 
 fion feemed at firft to carry promife, but foon was blighted. 
 " States, as divines, ufe glofTes on their texts. But, for 
 " the inftant, fatisfadhion was pretended ; and both houfes 
 " thereupon prepared them to their bufinefs," 
 
 Having prefented this pidture of the opening of 
 Charles's firft parliament, as viewed by one of the leaders 
 of the houfe of commons while yet the hope of con- 
 ciliation and agreement had not abandoned either fide, it 
 is now neceftary to place befide it what hiftory has fince 
 difclofed, of events only partially known to their con- 
 temporaries when thofe firft speeches were delivered, 
 and of which the full revelation brought on Ipeedily 
 the ftorms and troubles of the feffion. Eliot marks the 
 
'^*5- EleSivn Excitements. 227 
 
 35- ' 
 
 doubts that had arifen, between the iflue of the writs 
 and the aflembling of the members ; but, as all his 
 fubfequent narrative tends to fhow, they went, even at 
 firft, deeper than he has above related. 
 
 Notwithftandingthe breaking out of the plague, Charles 
 had been eager at once to get parliament together. But 
 this, which Eliot and his friends took for fo fair an omen, 
 had no better motive than the confciousnefs that his 
 chance for moft money was to afk before certain difclo- 
 fures were made, fhortly to be inevitable. He would 
 have fummoned the parliament of the preceding reign 
 without delay of a new eleftion ; but, on his lawyers 
 telling him that a parliament dies with a king, he 
 dire6ted writs to iflue for the 17 th May, ten days after 
 his father's funeral. 
 
 Of the excitement that prevailed at the eledions there 
 can be no queftion, though it may be doubtful whether, 
 as Eliot ftates, the eagernefs to ferve under a new king 
 may not have been as operative as the defire to oppofe 
 abettors of the old policy. Conway, now principal Secre- 
 tary by Calvert's retirement, and raifed to the peerage not 
 many days before James died, was fain to congratulate 
 himfelf on his efcape, in that ferene elevation, from the 
 troublefome neceflity of facing the people. In Middlefex 
 the comptroller was defeated ; and Sir Edwin Sandys* loft 
 Kent becaufe of the rumours that he was to be made 
 fecretary in Calvert's place, though the office had been 
 given to Sir Albert Morton. Eliot offered again for 
 Newport, and was returned with a new colleague, Mr. 
 Ralph Specot. But even in the month's interval between 
 the day when the writs were returned, and the day of the 
 parliament's afl'embling, there had occurred what might 
 have ferved to deftroy far greater grounds of con- 
 
 " Sir Edwin, one of the greateft fpeakers in James's parliaments, became 
 treafurer to the undertakers of the Weftern Plantations, and died in 1629. 
 He took little part in public affairs after James's death. Six of his fons 
 fided with the parliament in the civil war. 
 
 S 2 
 
228 II. Opening of the Seffion. Book v. 
 
 ^T. 
 
 fidence than any to which poffible pretence could in 
 this cafe be made, as from a new parliament to an un- 
 tried king. 
 
 The French match had brought with it much unpopu- 
 larity. The marriage to a Roman-catholic princefs was 
 bad enough, after all that had pafTed in the previous reign; 
 but it was found to have been accompanied by fecret con- 
 ceffions to popery, which violated every folemn pledge 
 given but a few months before ; and fo much of Lord 
 Briftol's cafe was become matter of common rumour 
 as revealed the deceptions pradifed by the king and 
 Buckingham.* The conceffions to the faith repug- 
 nant to the Englifh people had been alfo fitly accom- 
 panied by disfavour to the opinions they mofh ardently 
 cherifhed. Eight days only had pafTed after the death 
 -of James when Laud went to Buckingham with a paper 
 he had been directed to prepare. " I exhibited a fchedule, 
 " in which were wrote the names of many churchmen, 
 " marked with the letters O and P. The duke of 
 " Buckingham had commanded to digefl their names in 
 " that method, that as himfelf faid, he might deliver 
 "them to king Charles." f The Orthodox, or thofe 
 who held church dodirines favouring moft of popery, 
 were alone now to be promoted; the Puritan, or all 
 
 • Buckingham left for Paris tobring over the young queen on the day fol- 
 lowing the funeral. It is curious and inftruftive to obferve the entries in 
 Laud's Diary: "May ii. Early in the morning, the duke of Buck- 
 " ingham went towards the fea fide, to pafs over into France to meet the 
 " queen Mary. I fent letters to the duke that day, which might follow 
 " after him ; for he went in great hafte." " May 19. I wrote letters the 
 " fecond time to the duke of Buckingham, then flaying for a while at 
 " Paris." " May 29, Sunday. I gave a third letter into the hands of the 
 " bifhop of Durham, who was to attend the king " [Charles was to meet 
 his queen and Buckingham at Canterbury], " that he might deliver them to 
 " the duke of Buckingham on his firft landing." " May 30. I went to 
 " Chelfea, to wait upon the duchels of Buckingham." " June 5, 
 " Whitfunday. In the morning, juft as I was going to prayers, I received 
 " letters from France, from the moft illuftrious duke of Buckingham." 
 " June 6. I wrote an anfwer.'"' " June 8. I went to Chelfea." "June 
 " 12, Trinity Sunday. Queen Mary croffing the feas." 
 f Laud's Diary, Tuefday, 5th April, 1625. 
 
^^"5. Laud's O and P Schedule. 229 
 
 who were in favour of fimpler worfliip and moft oppofed 
 to Rome, were in future to be perfecuted. And thus 
 began the fyftem of which the effedts were fo appalling 
 to its authors. 
 
 Though the whole of this was not known at the open- 
 ing, or during the firft fitting, of parliament, fufficient had 
 even by that time oozed out to throw changes of vexation, 
 as we Ihall fee, on what Eliot has fo forcibly defcribed as 
 the eager and popular welcome to the opening reign from 
 the people to their new fovereign. Already, when he went 
 to open parliament that day,thofe frefh and natural fprings 
 of confidence had been poifoned.* In his very pro- 
 grefs, founds of the fame diftruft had reached him which 
 was foon to fcatter feeds of difaffedion everywhere, and 
 to plant bitter thorns in the crown that as yet he had 
 fcarcely aflumed. Nor, though the royal fpeech was 
 plain and brief, as Eliot celebrates it, were he and his col- 
 leagues more difposed, a very few days later, to think it 
 other than churlilh and ungraceful, when, by the light 
 of the difcoveries they had then made, they read over 
 again its blunt avowal that parliament had drawn him 
 into a war and parliament muft find him means to main- 
 tain it. 
 
 Upon that war, though not yet formally declared, 
 the extent to which the court had committed itfelf, was 
 then made only too obvious by difclofure of the meafures 
 they had adopted to facilitate the raifing of troops, 
 and to haften equipment of the fleet. Martial law was 
 found to have been proclaimed in diflridts occupied by 
 troops and seamen ; and there had been a levy of coat 
 
 * " Though it had been cuftoraary to give credit to the profeffions of a 
 " new fovereign, nothing vpas heard but the mifleadings of fanaticifm and 
 " the muiTnurs of diftruft." So fays Lingard. But furely he gives fuiE- 
 cient reafon, by a remark which (hortly precedes this : " If he had refufed 
 " one Popifla princefs, he had fubftituted another ; if he fwore to grant 
 " nothing more to his future wife than the private exercife of her religion, 
 " he had within a few months violated his oath, by promifing in her favour 
 " toleration to all the Roman-catholics in his dominions." Hifl. yii. 14^. 
 
230 //. opening of the Sejfion. '^°°^ ^■ 
 
 and condudt money by the king's fole authority, upon 
 engagement to the counties for reimburfement from the 
 exchequer. At the fame time, the pretence on which 
 the old court had joined in the popular clamour for 
 war, the earHest afts of the new court now ihowed to 
 be a falfehood. The fole condition of further fupply 
 from parliament had been violated. The money given 
 had been fcandaloufly wafted. To much that was for- 
 merly complained of, much had been added ; and more 
 than ever, notwithftanding royal engagements folemnly 
 entered into during the laft fitting, were all offices and 
 favours of ftate, and the application of all moneys and 
 revenues of the crown, entrufted irrefponfibly to one 
 man. Popifh divines, difqualified by Abbot, had been 
 reinftated in power ; penal laws had fecretly been fus- 
 pended ; fpecial pardons for offences againft thofe laws 
 had been granted to many Roman-catholic priefts ; and 
 the very fhames and refentments had again been aftively 
 roufed, which were to have been fcattered for ever by 
 the war with popifh Spain. 
 
 Not yet, however, as I have said, was this entirely re- 
 vealed. Eliot's defcription of the proceedings of the 
 fitting at Weftminfter will be found ftridlly confined to 
 what pafl*ed in that interval ; while the difclofure of much 
 of this mifgovernment, not fully known till the fubfe- 
 quent fitting at Oxford, was only as yet in progrefs. But 
 it will be feen how fpeedily the grounds of fufpicion that 
 had arifen were confirmed ; in what a deliberate inten- 
 tion on Buckingham's part the difagreement with parlia- 
 ment began ; and that the courfe ultimately taken by 
 the commons arofe from no ungenerous or preconcerted 
 plan of oppofition to a young and untried fovereign, 
 as frequently has been alleged, but from the gradual 
 difcovery of plan and concert on the part of the court, 
 involving danger to the government and to religious 
 freedom. 
 
 Before relating, from Eliot's papers, the way in which 
 
1625. Intrigues of Lord Keeper Williams. 23 1 
 
 these difcoveries were made, and the refults that followed 
 hard upon them, it will be well to defcribe the pofition 
 aflumed by the lord keeper, which had fome Important 
 confequences. The wily biftiop was now playing a fecret 
 and fomewhat bold game. He knew enough of the 
 fecret councils to fee the danger Buckingham was in ; 
 and with what alacrity of finking he was likely to fall, 
 when once the defcent fhould begin, " from the greateft 
 " height of popular eftimation that any perfon had as- 
 "cended to" (to quote Clarendon's expreffion), down 
 to the depth of calumny and reproach.* He had, 
 moreover, the wit to fee that if the prefent favours 
 to bilhop Laud continued, his own further chances were 
 for ever gone. The communication, therefore, with " the 
 " dangerous men of the houfe of commons," " the chief 
 " fticklers," as he called the principal parliamentary men, 
 which formerly he had opened in Buckingham's intereft, 
 it had now occurred to him to try for his own ; and it is 
 clear, from the nature of the revelations made by his 
 friend and biographer, that his plan was to play off fome 
 of the more influential men againfl; the others, to get fuch 
 maflery of their plans againft Buckingham as he might 
 ufe upon occafion either for or againfl him, and, accord- 
 ing as he found the temper of the king, either to eftablifh 
 himfelf upon the favourite's ruin, or by faving him, to 
 prefer fuch a claim for favour to himself as would give him 
 the advantage over Laud.f The courfe of the intrigue, its 
 incidental unfeemly quarrels,^ and Its refult, will fhortly 
 
 * Hiji. 1. 9. (Ed. 1839.) 
 
 ■f- Scrinia Referata. Part ii. p. 14-16. 
 
 X A lively account of it, with the faults of ftraining and over-ingenuity, 
 will be found in Mr. D'Ifraeli's Commentaries, i. 249-272. It was a 
 Peachem and Lockit affair, and Mr. Brodie has aptly fo illuftrated it. 
 " Never," fays that thoughtful moralift Jonathan Wild, " never truft 
 " the man who has reafon to fufpeft you know he has injured you." 
 Williams and Buckingham afted with decifion on this maxim ; and 
 while the lord keeper intrigued for the duke's ruin, the lord-admiral counter- 
 jjlotted for the ruin of the biftiop. See Brodie's B%it. Emp. ii. 81 ; and 
 Hacket's Scrinia Referata, fa.vt ii. pp. 13-25. See alfo Rulhworth's firft 
 
232 //. opening of the Seffion. 
 
 Book V. 
 
 S.T. 
 
 be feen. Two of the chief perfons meant to be in- 
 volved were Eliot and Wentworth. 
 
 Hacket has defcribed their relations at the outfet of 
 the parliamentary ftruggle. " Sir John Eliot of the 
 " Weft, and Sir Thomas Wentworth of the North, both 
 " in the prime of their age and wits, both confpicuous 
 " for able fpeakers, claflied fo often in the houfe, and 
 " cudgelled one another with fuch ftrong contradidtions, 
 " that it grew from an emulation between them to an 
 " enmity." The good bifhop-biographer might have ex- 
 prefTed himfelf more fimply. The diflike between the 
 men was of lefs gradual and far-fetched growth ; having 
 at once declared itfelf, with reafons perfedhly intelligible, 
 while the parliament ftill fat at Weftminfter. This will 
 have ample illuftration in its proper place ; and here it is 
 only neceffary to add, before refuming a narrative to which 
 extraordinary intereft will be given by Eliot's defcrip- 
 tions of what pafTed within his own obfervation, that the 
 pofition of antagonifm to Buckingham into which that fa- 
 vourite's perfonal diflike, feconded by Williams's intrigue, 
 had for a time forced Wentworth, appears for a time alfo 
 to have held Eliot doubtful as to his own courfe. The 
 lord-admiral continued to be chief of the department 
 in which he was himself a high officer, and they were 
 ftill in the habit of intercourfe, though the old confi- 
 dences and compliances had certainly ceafed. The rela- 
 tion Eliot once held to Buckingham was now borne by 
 fycophants and flatterers ; but the duke had not openly 
 broken the bond between them, and Eliot could not be 
 the firft to break it. It is to be added that his diflikes, 
 and Wentworth's partialities, to Spain, put ever a wide 
 
 volume. In all their difputes, however, I think Williams, abominably fervile * 
 and difhoneft as he is, has the advantage ; and he muft have ftaitled Buck- 
 ingham not a little when he offered him one very fenfible piece of advice, 
 which has continued to be as applicable to all generations of ftatefmen fince 
 as it remains for all to come : " Let the members of the houfe of commons 
 " be treated fairly ai»d friendly, for no man that is wife will Ihow himfelf 
 " angry with the people of England." 
 
^^^5- Gains of the Parliamentary Leaders. 233 
 
 diftinftion between them as to public policy. Eliot ap- 
 proved of the war, only defiring that the enemy fhould be 
 openly declared ; and, while protecting againft the mifufe 
 and wafte of what already had been granted, he would 
 have voted, under better security for their application, 
 all needful further fupplies. At the very outfet of the 
 feffion, it will be feen, this brought him into difagree- 
 ment with Wentworth ; but a graver conflict between 
 them was to follow. 
 
 III. Rules and Orders of the House. 
 
 The tone adopted by Eliot, even before clofing his 
 defcription of the opening-day of parliament, fhows how 
 quickly hope was to give way to difappointment. Only 
 two days later, and the reply to the Speaker's addrefs 
 had confirmed the evil omen. They muft not, they were 
 told, be impatient in the matter of jefuits, priefts and 
 recufants ; but muft leave it wholly to his majefty's direc- 
 tion, for matter, manner, and time. They accepted the 
 untimely afTurance as a warning to protedt themfelves. 
 It was clear that the ill-cemented league of the laft feffion 
 had fallen afunder, and that men were again ranging 
 themfelves on oppofite fides, as preparing for a conflidt. 
 
 The parliamentary leaders had no call to fhrink from 
 the ifiiie likely to be raifed, or from the duty it prefented 
 to them. The popular ftruggle with the court had now 
 continued unceafingly for more than twenty years ; and 
 though the commons had gained little in the way of 
 formal enaftment, there had been gains of another kind 
 which made the ftruggle lefs unequal. By their fuccefs 
 over James in the matter of impositions ; by their defeat 
 of the afliimed prerogative to bind the fubjed by a pro- 
 clamation, and to levy cuftoms at the outports ; and by 
 their reliefs to trade in overthrowing monopolies ; they 
 had drawn their conftituents clofer to them, and made their 
 influence fenfibly felt in the daily life of the people. But 
 
234 III- Rules and Orders of the Houfe. 
 
 Book V. 
 
 above all, they were themfelves now better equipped for 
 battle. They had, after long and arduous ftruggle, 
 achieved the exclufive right of determining their own con- 
 tefted eledlions. They were at laft fupreme in their own 
 affairs. They had compelled the admiffion of their 
 claim to debate freely all public matters. They had 
 folemnly protefted againft any member's refponfibility 
 except to the houfe, for words fpoken within it. And 
 they had won back the awful right of impeachment againft 
 minifters of the crown. Whatever remained to be done, 
 thefe things made it eafier to do ; and in a daily-increas- 
 ing energy in the nation itfelf, they faw their own ftrength 
 refledted, and knew that the confidence they felt had its 
 root in the fympathy of the people. 
 
 The methods of procedure now eftablifhed in the com- 
 mons' houfe comprifed already much that hiftorians are 
 too apt to fuppofe had no exiftence before the parliament 
 of 1640, and in themfelves they are evidence of a fettled 
 confcioufnefs of power, and of a knowledge of the means 
 whereby the power was to be fuftained, in every refpedt 
 remarkable. In confidering them the fad is never to be 
 loft fight of, that none of the opportunities for dired: 
 communication with the people which exifted even a cen- 
 tury later, exifted then ; that, upon their own rules and 
 orders, and internal management of their affairs, refted 
 not merely the hope of fupport from friends without 
 their walls, but the fole chance of protedlion againft 
 treachery within them ; and that what is now too readily 
 affumed to have been jealoufy or tyranny, feldom or 
 never exceeded what was barely neceffary to maintain for 
 them independent exiftence as a body in the ftate. 
 
 The firft thing done on the affembling of a new parlia- 
 ment was the appointment of a committee for privileges ; 
 precedence belonging of neceffity to that on which their 
 very being depended. To this, which was a ftanding 
 committee, were referred all adls refleding againft, or 
 tending to impeach, the rights of the commons; where- 
 
'^*5- The 'Three Grand Committees. 235 
 
 35 
 
 upon, examinations and evidence being taken, reports were 
 made to the houfe for needful prevention and punifh- 
 ment. The grand bufinefs of this committee in a new 
 parliament was determination of eleftion difputes. All 
 doubtful returns were referred to it; and moft jealoufly 
 did it guard the invaluable privilege, won at fo much coft 
 and pains, of determining the rights of memberfliip 
 within their own walls. 1 
 
 But befides the committee of privileges, it had now 
 become the cuftom to appoint, ever, at the opening of a j 
 parliament, three grand committees, alfo permanent and ' 
 ftanding, for religion, for grievances, and for courts of \ 
 juftice. The whole houfe fat in thefe committees, the i 
 Speaker only quitting his chair ; and they had their 1 
 weekly days affigned to them. They took general cog- 
 nizance of all matters under thofe feveral heads, examined 
 all complaints, and had power to fend for all perfons and 
 records. The corruptions and injuftices of courts, exac- 
 tions by their minifters, oppreflions of the people, abufes 
 and enormities in the church, were brought before them 
 refpedtively ; " and thefe," Eliot remarks, " they difcufs 
 " and handle for the knowledge of the fadts, and if they 
 *' find them faulty, worthy a publick judgement, thence 
 " they are reported to the houfe, which thereupon pro- 
 " ceeds to cenfure and determine them." 
 
 In the fame paper Eliot refers to the procedure in 
 private committees, which he defcribes as tranfient, and 
 feledted of fome few proportionable to the caufe, but as 
 having in their fphere and compafs an equal power and 
 intereft with committees of the whole houfe. He 
 explains the courfe taken as to the firft and fecond read- 
 ing of bills, in terms that fliow how faithfully the tradi- 
 tions of this great time were continued through the later 
 years. The firft reading, he fays, was only formal : a bill 
 being feldom or never then fpoken to, unlefs on points of 
 rejection and denial ; and on thefe rarely, if there were 
 colour for the intention, even though there might be 
 
236 ///. 'Rules and Orders of the House. Book v. 
 
 JET. 
 
 jmperfedions in the draught. But at the fecond reading 
 all objedlions came in. Then were particulars both of 
 the form and matter argued and debated ; and thereupon 
 it pafTed to commitment, where, by anfwer and reply, 
 the difcuffion might be freer in the counterchange of 
 reafon and opinion. "This latter," continues Eliot, 
 " is not admittable in the houfe, where, to avoid conteft- 
 I " ation and diforder, which replies and contradictions 
 ] " might induce, and to preferve the gravity, no man may 
 ! " fpeak in one day, and to one bufinefs, above once ;* 
 i " though he would change opinion, which in committees 
 " is allowable. And therefore, upon the fecond reading 
 " of bills, they have fuch reference and commitment ; 
 " that, there, they may the more punftually be confidered, 
 " and fo come to the exacfter reformation and amendment. 
 " In general, all committees are for preparation and dif- 
 " patch : the judgment and conclufion is the houfe's. 
 " To facilitate that court in the multiplicity of her 
 *' labours, thefe are the Argus and Briareus. The com- 
 " mittees are the fentinels upon all affairs and interefts : 
 *' diffolving the difficulties, which their greatnefs or 
 " numbers do impart." And clofely connedled with 
 them, it will be feen, and with the powers and duties they 
 reprefented or enforced, were the grounds firft taken for 
 confli(5t and oppofition in this firft of Charles's parlia- 
 ments. 
 
 But before I proceed to defcribe thefe, fuch other few 
 notices from Eliot's papers may be added as will further 
 ftiow into what a fettled fyftem the lower houfe had 
 already thrown its forms of procedure, and its laws for 
 its own government. They derive additional intereft 
 from eftablilhing an earlier date thanis fixed in Hat/ell 
 for fome of the rules moft identified with modern parlia- 
 mentary practice. 
 
 * This rule appears to have been fettled, " for avoiding replies and heat, 
 "and not to fpend time," duringthe great debating excitements which pre- 
 ceded the diffolution of the parliament of 1620. See ante, 105-110. 
 
1625. Privileges and Procedure settled. 237 
 
 35- 
 
 With extraordinary jealoufy the commons watched , 
 any interference by the fovereign, or the other houfe, | 
 tending to limit their right of adjourning themfelves. | 
 This will more fully appear from incidents to be named 
 in their proper place. The rules prevailing at con- 
 ferences, the right of the lords to appoint place and 
 time, and that of the commons to appear always by 
 double the fpecified number of the lords, which had been 
 very ancient, were now reaffirmed. The diftindtions 
 between the houfe with its Speaker and mace, and 
 committees of the houfe without that formality, were 
 now not lefs eagerly contended for than during the trial 
 of Strafford in later time. No man could lawfully fit 
 under the age of twenty-one ; though it would feem, 
 from a remark by Sir Edward Coke, that many by con- 
 nivance did fo fit, who muft, if queftioned, have been 
 turned out. Unlefs a man were prefent at prayers, his 
 place could not be kept. Unlefs forty were afl'embled 
 in the houfe, the Speaker could not take his chair, j 
 If a bill had been rejedted, no fecond bill of the fame • 
 fubfl:ance could in the fame feffion be introduced. "Great 
 " is their gravity in all things," exclaims Eliot ; " and to 
 " avoid confufion and difturbance, on noe occafion, at 
 " noe time, is it lawful for a man, in one dale, to fpeake 
 " to one bufinefs above once ; though his opinion 
 " alter 'd, though his reafon fhould be chang'd, more 
 " than in fuffrage with the general vote at lafl:, when the 
 " queftion is refolv'd by a fingle yea or noe." 
 
 So in regard to other rules for fecurity of order and 
 decorum. All were bound to be filent when the Speaker 
 fhould offer to fpeak. Matters formerly claimed by the 
 houfe, as the decifion for choice of members rifing to- 
 gether to fpeak, were now firft referred to the Speaker's 
 arbitrament. " No perfonall touches," continues Eliot, 
 " are admitted in anie argument or difpute. Noe cavills 
 " or exceptions, nor anie member to be nam'd. Nor, 
 " where ther is contrarietie or diffent, may ther be mention 
 
23 8 IV. Grievances and Religion. ^°°'^ '^■ 
 
 JET. 
 
 " of the perfons but by periphrafis and defcription. All 
 " bitternefs is excluded from their dialed:, all words of 
 " fcandall and afperfion. Noe man maie be interrupted 
 " in his fpeech, but for tranfgreffion of that rule, or breach 
 " of fome other order of the houfe (as, for the intermix- 
 " ing of their bufinefs, when one matter is on foote, to 
 " ftirr another before the decifion of the former, which 
 " in noe cafe is allowable). In all other thinges the 
 *' priviledg houlds throughout. The bufinefs, as the 
 " perfon, has that freedome to pafs quietlie to the end. 
 " Noe difparitie or odds makes a difference in that courfe. 
 " He that does firfb ftand up, has the firft libertie to 
 " be heard. The meaneft burgefs has as much favour as 
 " the beft knight or counfellor ; all fitting in one 
 '' capacitie of commoners, and in the like relation to 
 " their countries.* If two rife up at once, the Speaker 
 " does determine it. He that his eye fawe firft, has the 
 " precedence given : foe as noe diftaft or exception can 
 " be taken, either for the order or the fpeech." 
 
 With chara6teriftic pride in what before all things he 
 valued, and was ready to facrifice all things to keep 
 inviolate, Eliot adds his reafon for fo naming what might 
 feem to be inconfiderable things. " I name thefe," he 
 fays, " for the honour of that houfe. Noe wher more 
 " gravitie can be found than is reprefented in that fenate. 
 " Noe court has more civilitie in itfelf, nor a face of 
 " more dignitie towards ftrangers. Noe wher more 
 " equall juftice can be found : nor yet, perhaps, more 
 " wifdom." 
 
 IV. Grievances and Religion. 
 
 Hardly had the committee for privileges been moved 
 (one a(5b only preceding it " to exprefs the devotion of 
 " the houfe, expefling all blefiings from above "f ), when 
 
 * " Countries " was then ufed for what we now fliould exprefs by 
 " Counties." 
 
 f I quote one of thefe opening paffages, at length, from Eliot's MS : 
 
'^^5- Savile and Wentworth. 239 
 
 a petition was handed in againft Sir Thomas Wentworth's 
 return for Yorkfhire. The party complaining was Sir 
 John Savile. His and Wentworth's conteftation in the 
 country, Eliot remarks, had been great, " as their former 
 " emulation in that place ; nor wanted they a reputation 
 " good in either, nor merit, if well-exercifed, to fupport 
 " it. I mention here but that particular of Wentworth, 
 " becaufe the whole bufinefs turned on him ; his colleague 
 " in the fervice being but paffive in the work, and fo 
 " involved with Wentworth, as what was accidental to 
 " the one, was neceflarily contingent to the other for the 
 " quality and merit of their caufe ; the fame virtue and 
 "the fame fortune being to both." 
 
 The petition being referred to committee, and the 
 houfe proceeding to the ufual formal arrangements for 
 fettling its order of bufinefs, a ftartling propofition was on 
 the fudden quite unexpeftedly made by Mr. Mallory, 
 one of the northern men. Thefe men, it fhould be ob- 
 ferved, who during the laft two parliaments had for the 
 moft part followed Wentworth's lead, formed a kind of 
 fpecial party in the houfe ; deriving unufual importance 
 
 " The commons began with an aft for obfervation of the fabbath, and 
 " to prevent the abufes of that daie. This being read, for the honour of 
 " religion, and to that end having the firft precedence given to it ; as well as 
 " further to exprefs the devotion of the houfe, expefting all bleffings from 
 " above ; the next thing that followed it was the defire of a communion, 
 " that all the members of that bodie might joine, and in that worke of 
 " pietie the better to unite them in themfelves and reconcile them to their 
 " head. And this religious motion was forthwith feconded by another for a 
 " day of preparation to that worke, and a generall humiliation to be made, 
 " by a publick faft i' th' kingdome, for which four reafons were affigned : 
 " 1 . The miferies of the church abroad. 2. The plague and mortalitie at 
 " home. 3. The fleet and preparation then in hand. 4. The expeftation 
 " of the parliament. To implore a bleffing upon thofe ; and deprecate the 
 " calamities of the others. Which reafons were approved and the defires 
 " refolved on. The communion was appointed for the Sundaie fe'nnight 
 " after, and a committee named to fee that all performed it. The private 
 " faft and preparation was to precede it on the_ Saturday. Preachers were 
 " defigned for both ; and it was ordered for the generall faft o' th' kingdom 
 " that a petition fliould be framed to move his majeftie therein. Which 
 " afts of pietie being refolved, they defcended to the ordinairie bufinefs of 
 " the houfe." 
 
240 IV. Grievances and Religion. ^"""^ ^■ 
 
 MT^ 
 
 not more from the extent and wealth of the diftrifts 
 
 reprefented by them, than becaufe of the various, 
 
 flu6luating, popular grievances that had no where fuch 
 
 fharp and pungent expreffion as from thofe bufy manu- 
 
 fadturing communities. To the general furprife, what 
 
 the northern members now propofed was " to decline 
 
 " the whole proceedings of that meeting, and to petition 
 
 " for an adjournment to the king. The reafon pre- 
 
 " tended," Eliot continues, " was the ficknefs, which had 
 
 " a great infection and increafe : but moft men did 
 
 " fuppofe that but the colour and pretext, and fomething 
 
 " more within it, which jealoufy the fequel did confirm."* 
 
 In plain words, this ftartling propofal had for its 
 
 obje6t the hope of fome ultimate evafion of the York- 
 
 fhire-eleftion enquiry, by interpofing prefent delays ; and 
 
 this being feen, feveral of the county members joined the 
 
 privy councillors in refitting it. The reafon urged by 
 
 the latter was the abfolute neceffity of prefent fupply ; 
 
 to which Wentworth himfelf, or as Eliot calls him " the 
 
 " ele& of Yorklhire," did not fcruple to make anfwer 
 
 that for his part he was prepared to oppofe any further 
 
 grants to his majefty until full account Ihould be 
 
 rendered of the fubfidies and fifteenths formerly given, 
 
 " faying it was more necefl'ary that that account were 
 
 " rendered than to require new aids." Eliot thereupon 
 
 replied to him : fpeaking, as he faid, in the intereft of the 
 
 country itfelf. He was for having due account rendered 
 
 of the expenditure of the laft fubfidies, and hoped for 
 
 fatisfadlion in that particular ; but he held alfo, looking 
 
 at the difl"olution of the treaties and preparation of the 
 
 fleet, that the new demand might be necefl"ary. And 
 
 fuppofing this to be the cafe, who would weigh the 
 
 * " It had its original," he fays " from the north, and by fome other 
 " northern fpirits was fecohded ; who after praftifed all the artifice of 
 " delay to defer the quejlion of their knights, and fmce have been 
 " declared fo affefted to themfelves,and to their own advancements, that all 
 " oonfideration of juftice and the publick they poftponed." 
 
'^*5- Eliot againji Adjournment. 241 
 
 35 
 
 danger from the ficknefs, how great foever, againft the 
 danger of not providing againft an enemy ? Who would 
 not, as Mr. SoHcitor had done, cite David's example for 
 a direftion in the cafe, that fhowed it better to fall into 
 the righteous hands of God than into the wicked hands 
 of men ? But further, he maintained, any prefent ad- 
 journment would be contrary to the order of the houfe 
 itfelf, which in giving direftion for a publick faft had 
 publickly implied a refolution to continue its fitting. 
 To that end alone had the prayers of the church been 
 defired to implore a bleffing on its labours, and if it 
 then declined, the a6t of devotion was in vain, and the 
 pradlice and profeflion were incongruous. Nor did Eliot 
 hefitate to add other reafons drawn from the circum- 
 ftances of the new reign. He dwelt upon the confid- 
 eration due to that firft meeting with the king : " the 
 " expedhation great upon it, the reputation of much 
 " importance that fhould follow it ; and this, with the 
 " other reafons, finally fo fwayed the fenfe of the houfe, 
 " as, though new names were ufed to turn it, feeking only 
 " an alteration of the place* not of the time and bufinefs, 
 " yet the motion was rejedted as improper, and by fome 
 " held ominous and portentous." 
 
 This difficulty over, however, another took its place. 
 Ready acceptance having been given to Eliot's plea for 
 confideration to the new reign, feveral of the court 
 fpeakers, backed alfo by fome of the popular men, 
 now reproduced the fame circumftance as a reafon why, 
 at this fpecial parliament, the committee for grievances 
 fhould not be moved at all. A debate followed, not 
 only ftriking in itfelf, but remarkable for the widely 
 differing motives that animated even thofe that took the 
 line of oppofing the committee. " Divers oppofitions 
 
 * sir Robert Philips, according to the Journals, (i. 799) was for ad- 
 journment " to other time and place." The refult was, according to the 
 fame authority, "the petition for adjournment not now to be put to 
 " queftion." 
 
 VOL, I. R 
 
242. IV. Grievances and Religion. ^°°'^ ^• 
 
 JS.T. 
 
 " it received," fays Eliot, " for divers interefts and re- 
 " fpedts, publick and private, wherein contraries did meet. 
 " Some did diflike it for accident and circumftance, others 
 " fimply and abfolutely for itfelf. That it might have 
 " reflection on their errors who were confcious of a guilt, 
 " made thefe laft averfe, being obnoxious to the publick. 
 " Others, that thought it not feafonable at that time to 
 " begin the queftion of grievances which could not 
 " then be perfedled, would, for the more certain punifh- 
 " ment of the offenders, have had their caufe referved. 
 " Others were moved to the fame view in real apprehen- 
 " fion of the ficknefs, and defiring the difmiffion of peti- 
 " tioners. Some had in contemplation the new entrance 
 " of the king, whofe reign had not aiforded opportunity 
 " for oppreffion, and Ihould not therefore be difhonoured 
 " with an expreffion of complaint. Others remembered 
 " the old grievances exhibited to king James in his lafl: 
 " parliament, to which there had been no anfwer ; and 
 " advifed only to petition, then, for that." 
 
 For this laft-named courfe old Sir Edward Coke was 
 the leading advocate ; but his fpeech having elicited from 
 Wentworth the decifive avowal that nothing ihould con- 
 tent him but their proceeding more majorum as to griev- 
 ances and all things elfe, Eliot promptly interpofed 
 thereon with the remark that, whether or not the griev- 
 ances committee were fpecially moved, the objefts for 
 which it fat could not be forborne without forbearing also 
 the firft duty of a parliament, which was to redrefs griev- 
 ances ; and though the diflikes exprefled might be obvi- 
 ated by naming a fpecial committee to regulate the bufi- 
 nefs of the houfe, to whom fliould be referred the duty 
 of apportioning the public and private matters to be 
 entertained, it would fimply be reaching the fame end by 
 another road. He might have regretted, but he made 
 no attempt to conceal, that here his fympathy went far 
 with Wentworth. 
 
 At this ftage of the debate Sir Benjamin Rudyard rofe. 
 
'^^5- Rudy ar is Eulo^ of the King. 243 
 
 35 
 
 His pofition between the two parties, as already remarked, 
 was a peculiar one ; and when he interfered at any critical 
 divifion or difTenfion, he was fuppofed not to do it with- 
 out a purpofe and very elaborate preparation. He now 
 rofe to counfel moderation and temperance. He reminded 
 the houfe that certainly the difagreement betwixt the 
 king now with God, and his people, was begun and con- 
 tinued by mutual diftaftes in parliament, and had been 
 the caufe almoft of all that they could call amifs in the 
 ftate ; whereas it was the king that now is, who firft gave 
 the happy turn in that refpedt, whereby in the laft parlia- 
 ment more grace had defcended from the crown to the 
 fiibjedt than in any parliament fome hundreds of years 
 before. And if all this befell when he was prince, how 
 much more might be looked for now he was king. From 
 which the fpeaker pafled to eulogium on Charles's feeling 
 for religion, and its influence on the exemplarinefs of his 
 life ; infomuch as he might fl:ri6tly fay there could hardly 
 be found a private man of his years fo free from ill, 
 which, as it was more rare and difficult in the perfon of 
 a king, fo was it more exemplary and extenfive in the 
 operation ; and no doubt, being a bleffing in itfelf, would 
 call down more bleffings from heaven upon the kingdom 
 for his fake. Then, after praifing his orderly tendencies 
 (" order being indeed the very foul of outward things"), 
 Rudyard pointed out that Charles's breeding had given 
 him an advantage above all the kings in chriftendom ; 
 for he had been abroad, and had treated with a wife and 
 fubtle nation in a bufinefs fo great, that himfelf was the 
 fubjedt of it ; which had not only opened and enlarged, 
 but quickened and fharpened his natural abilities, and 
 made him underftand his own kingdom the better. For, 
 to know a man's own country alone was but a folitary 
 kind of knowledge, in refpe6t of knowing it by compari- 
 fon with others. He would have them, therefore, carry 
 themfelves in that firft feffion with fweetnefs, duty, and 
 confidence in and toward his majefly ; for which no 
 
244 I^- Grievances and Religion. ^°™ "^' 
 
 doubt they would refpedtively receive fuch grace, 
 fatisfadtion, and favour, as the dangeroufnefs of the time, 
 and therefore the fhortnefs of it, could poffibly allow. 
 Towards the happy effedling thereof, Rudyard begged 
 further to move, that they fhould fall upon fuch things 
 only as were neceffary, clear, and of difpatch ; and that 
 thofe bufineffes which had in them perplexity, diffi- 
 culty, or afperity, might, if the houfe were not pleafed 
 altogether to omit them, yet be touched only by way of 
 claim or grievance, and fo be remitted to the next feffion, 
 when they would have fitter opportunity and better 
 leifure to debate them. " Laft of all," Rudyard added, 
 with a confcioufnefs of the prevailing impreffion concern- 
 ing himfelf, " to take off the leaft fcruple of prejudice 
 " which mifinterpretation may caft upon me, I do here 
 " folemnly proteft, that, as heretofore I did never fpeak 
 " with king, prince, or favourite, of parliament bufinefs, 
 " fo with our prefent king I never had the honour to fpealc 
 *' forty words of any purpofe whatfoever. Infomuch, 
 " as what I have faid, I have fpoken it out of the fincerity 
 " of mine own heart, without any other end but the good 
 " of the commonwealth, whereof this affembly is the 
 " abridgement." 
 
 Eliot defcribes the eifedl; of this fpeech, and fays that 
 for a time it certainly reduced to temper the affedlion 
 that was ftirred. Rudyard's reputation, he fays, was 
 high both for learning and wifdom ; " and as he was in 
 " ufe and eftimation with fome great ones, more was ex- 
 " pe6led from him than from others ; which made the 
 " fatisfadtion to feem lefs, and thofe that were more criti- 
 " cal to adjudge his compofition more ftudied than exaft. 
 " All men difcerned in him no want of affediion to be 
 " eloquent ; but his expreffion was thought languid, as 
 " the conclufion was unapt : generals being fitter for dis- 
 " cpurfe than in council or debate." The truth how- 
 ever was, as he afterwards ftates in a ftriking way, that 
 whatever effedl this fpeech might or was intended to have 
 
1625. ][ff.^ Pym's unexpe5ied Qjieftion. 245 
 
 produced was completely deftroyed by what fell, immedi- 
 ately afterwards, from a fpeaker of a diiferent order. 
 Mr. Pym unexpedledly aiked, what, in the event of 
 the committee for grievances being difpenfed with for 
 the prefent, they propofed to do as to the committee 
 for religion ? Was that to be poftponed also ? Then, 
 taking advantage of the agitation his queftion awakened, 
 he urged the great danger and neceffity upon the prac- 
 tice of the jefuits, the " infinuation " of the priefts, the 
 exercife of the mafs in defpite if not in derifion of the 
 laws, and the confidence and increafe of papifts there- 
 upon. Which plague and infedtion of the foul was far 
 more to be feared than all the plagues or infeftions of the 
 body. 
 
 There was no getting rid of either committee after 
 this. The debate at once was carried into ground inac- 
 cefTible to arrangement or compromife. Defcribing what 
 enfued, Eliot fuppHes us with an invaluable comment on 
 the entire courfe of this unhappy reign ; acutely difcri- 
 minating what it is the common praftice to confound, 
 and fhowing what fuccefs might have attended a ftates- 
 man in the intereft of the court whom a like difcrimina- 
 tion had guided to the real temper of the people. 
 " It is obfervable in the houfe of commons," Eliot 
 remarks, " as their whole ftory gives it, that wherever 
 " that mention does break forth of the fears or dangers 
 " in religion and the increafe of popery, their affeftions 
 "are much ftirred; and whatever is obnoxious in the 
 " ftate, it then is reckoned as an incident to that. For 
 " fo it followed upon the agitation of this motion. Firft 
 " the danger of religion was obferved in forne general 
 " notes of prejudice ; then by induction it was proved 
 " in the enumeration of particulars ; and to that was urged 
 " the infelicities of the kingdom fince this difeafe came 
 " in. This then had aggravation by a fyncrefis and com- 
 " parifon with the days of queen Elizabeth ; whereto 
 " were added the new grievances and oppreffions, wholly 
 
246 IV. Grievances and Religion. 
 
 Book V. 
 
 " inferred and raifed fince the connivance with the pa- 
 " pifts. The monopolies that had been, the impofitions 
 " that then were : all were reduced to this ! Which I 
 " mention but to fhow the apprehenfion in the point, 
 " and the afFedlion of that houfe in matter of religion." 
 
 This pafTage is in every way remarkable. While It 
 exhibits ftrongly that difpofition of the commons to 
 fudden and paffionate refentments in queftions of religion 
 by which it is always fought to extenuate the condudt and 
 policy of their opponents, it fhows yet more ftrongly the 
 reafons on which the refentments were bafed. In effedb 
 it difpofes of the charge of fanaticifm fo often brought 
 againft the leaders of Charles's parliaments. Religion 
 was not then a thing apart from but effentially mixed 
 up with politics. There had been no attempt of the 
 minifters of the reformed church to bring back the 
 fuperftition and revive the tyranny of Rome, which had 
 not also marked fome correfponding decline in the 
 government of the ftate, or malpraflice in the minifters 
 of the crown ; while it had ever been accompanied by 
 perfecution and injuftice to men who upheld what they 
 believed to be the purity of teaching and doctrine. 
 " The infelicities of the kingdom fince that difeafe came 
 ^' in," was the anfwer to thofe councillors who would have 
 maintained the king's right with his bilhops to judge of 
 do6trine and difcipline as a thing apart from his claim to 
 fo many fubfidies. No, faid the leaders of the commons, 
 we cannot deliver into the judgments of men what we 
 believe to be the ordinance and will of God. His 
 wrath has vifited us in the precife degree wherein we have 
 tampered with the purity of the teaching delivered to us 
 in tht facred writings ; and His bleffing has attended us fo 
 long as we championed what we believed to be the true 
 faith. We will have no countenance, therefore, extended 
 to what we hold to be falfe ; and before we proceed to 
 vote the king's fupply, we muft be fatisfied that a difpofi- 
 tion exifts to remedy juft complaints in matters of 
 religion. 
 
'^^5- Eliot's Speech upon Religion. 247 
 
 The fubjeft was refumed on the following day, after a 
 conference of both houfes on the petition for the faft ;* 
 when Eliot took occafion himfelf to addrefs the com- 
 mons. The reafon which influenced him, he tells us, was 
 the confideration he defired to imprefs upon the houfe 
 at that early ftage, that the exifting laws were fufficient 
 for the maintenance of religion in the unity and purity 
 of its eftablifliment, provided fome check were inter- 
 pofed to the continual remiffion of thofe laws ; and his 
 fpeech, befides being remarkable in this refpedt, is valu- 
 able evidence of his ftatefmanlike manner of regard- 
 ing queftions of that nature, and of the objeds of govern- 
 ment he moft defired to promote by upholding the 
 interdependence and infeparability of politics and re- 
 ligion. 
 
 Let not his majefliy's councillors believe, faid Eliot, 
 that the matters then brought forward were intended for 
 interruption to preffing affairs of ftate. It was the 
 flate which had deepefl: intereft in them. Religion 
 was the touchftone of all adlions, and the trial by which 
 they were known. It was that upon which all policy, 
 all wifdom, all excellence, muft be grounded; and 
 what refted not on that centre, could have no perfec- 
 tion or afTurance. For what the power of man was with- 
 out God, or what without religion might be expefted 
 from His favour, his own words and fl:ories did fufE- 
 ciently declare. Religion only it was that fortified all 
 
 * At this conference archbiftiop Abbot, juftly a favourite with the 
 commons, took occafion to rebuke them for what he appears to have 
 thought a precipitancy and over-eagernefs on their part j and his rebuke 
 was not unkindly taken. "At the conference,'' fays Eliot, " the commons 
 " did prefent a draught of the petition and their reafons, with a motion to 
 " the lords for their concurrence in the work ; who, by that reverend 
 " father of the church, the archbiftiop of Canterbury, returned this 
 " anfwer and reply : that they approved both their intention and their 
 " reafons, and were therein ready to affift them, but withal, out of a text 
 " in Joel, gave them fuch a caution and advice againft private undertakings 
 " of that kind, as, upon their return unto their houfe, the former day was 
 " altered, and fome time given for expectation in that point." 
 
248 IV. Grievances and Religion. ^°°*^ '^■ 
 
 policy, that crowned all wifdom. That was the grace 
 of excellence, the glory of power. " Sir," continued 
 Eliot, "the ftrength of all government is religion; 
 " for though policy may fecure a kingdom againft 
 " foreigners (and soe I pray God this kingdom may 
 " always ftand fecure !), and wifdom may provide all 
 " neceflaries for the rule and government at home ; yet if 
 " religion feafon* not the afFeftions of the people, the 
 " danger is as much in our own Achitophels, as from 
 " Moab and all the armies of Philiftines. Religion it 
 " is that keeps the fubjed in obedience, as being taught 
 " by God to honour his vicegerents. A religando it is 
 " called, as the common obligation among men ; the 
 " tie of all friendlhip and fociety ; the bond of all office 
 " and relation; writing every duty in the confcience, which 
 " is the ftriifteft of all laws. Both the excellency and 
 " neceffity hereof, the heathens knew that knew not 
 " true religion ; and therefore, in their politics, they had 
 " it always for a maxim. A fhame ic were for us to be 
 " therein lefs intelligent than they ! And if we truly know 
 " it, we cannot but be afFeftionate in this cafe. Two 
 " things are confiderable therein ; the purity, and the 
 " unity thereof: the firfh refpefting only God, the other 
 " both God and man. For, where there is divifion in 
 " religion, as it does wrong divinity fo it makes diftrac- 
 " tions among men. It diflblves all ties and obligations, 
 " civil and natural ; the observation of heaven being 
 " more powerful than either policy or blood. For the 
 " purity of religion, in this place I need not fpeak; feeing 
 " how beautiful the memories of our fathers are therein 
 " made by their endeavours ! For the unity, I wifh pos- 
 " terity might fay we had preferved for them, that 
 " which was left to us." 
 
 Words of noble and folemn import, which, if then 
 
 * In the former quotation of fome fentences from this fpeech, ante p. 1 1, 
 the word " feafon " has been miftakenly printed " fecure." 
 
'^='5- RemiJJion and Sufpenjion of Laws. 249 
 
 35 
 
 received in their true fignification by thofe whom more 
 efpecially they addrefled, might have given a quite 
 different iflue to this reign. 
 
 Such being what their fathers had riflced every- 
 thing to win, how flood they in regard to continu- 
 ance ? It was idle to deny that this unity, purchafed 
 by fo much facrifice, had been broken. But, a difeafe 
 once entered, though it were pafl prevention, muft 
 have cure ; and, as the danger or infedtion became greater, 
 the greater care and diligence muft oppofe it. " What 
 " divifions," Eliot exclaimed, " what factions, nay,, what 
 " fraftions in religion, this kingdom does now fuffer, 
 " I need not recapitulate. What divifions, what tranfac- 
 " tions, what alienations have been made, no man can be 
 " ignorant. How many members, in that point, have 
 " been diffefted from this body, I mean the body of the 
 " land (which reprefentatively we are),fo as the body itfelf, 
 " though healthy, cannot but feem lame. How have 
 " thofe members fludied to be incorporate with others ! 
 " How have they threatened us, their own, not only by 
 " prefumption, but in greatnefs ; and given us fear, more 
 " than they have taken ! Bleffed be that hand, that has 
 " delivered us ! Bleffed this day that gives us hope, 
 " wherein the danger and infedion may be flayed. For, 
 " without prefent remedy, the difeafe will fcarce be 
 " curable. To effed this, the caufe mufl firfl be fought 
 " from whence the ficknefs fprings ; and that will be 
 " befl found in the furvey of the laws. Certainly it lies in 
 " the laws, or in the manner of their execution. Either 
 " there is fome defec5t or imperfedhion in the laws ; or their 
 " life, the execution of them, is remitted. For, if the laws 
 " be perfedt, how can diviflon enter but by a breach of 
 " them ; if the execution be obferved, how can the laws be 
 " broken. Therefore in this does refl the caufe, and here 
 " mufl be the remedy. To that end, now, my motion 
 " fhall incline ; for a review of the laws, and a fpecial 
 " confideration as to their prefent inefficacy. If the 
 
250 IV. Grievances and Religion. Book v. 
 
 JS.T, 
 
 " divifion have gott in by imperfedtion of the laws, J 
 " defire they may be amended ; if by defed:, that they 
 " may be fupplied ; and if (as I moft do fear it) through 
 " negledt and want of execution, I pray the houfe to 
 " give diredtion that the power may be enforced with 
 " fome great mul6t and penaltie on the minifters, who 
 " for that will be more vigilant, and we thereby fecure." 
 This fpeech led to an animated difcuffion on the ftatutes 
 in force againft recufants, and the extent to which they 
 had been rendered .nugatory by privileges and pardons. 
 Underlying all that was urged in the latter fenfe, was a 
 ftrong refentment at the indifferent meafure dealt out to 
 recufants of another clafs ; but no man in this debate 
 fpoke of the wrongs fuffered by the Puritan. He left 
 them to be fuggefted in the mere filent and preg- 
 nant contrail afforded by incefTant favours to the 
 Roman-catholic. That in themfelves the laws againft 
 popery were fufficient, as Eliot afTerted, no one took 
 upon him to deny ; but fo inoperative were they by 
 frequent evafions, that they had loft eftimation and 
 refped:. Four fuch modes of pradtifing on the law itfelf 
 {"fraus legi, or cozenage of the ftatute"), and four 
 others of efcaping the law by pra6tifing on the king's 
 prerogative (^"fraus contra legem, or cozenage of his 
 " majefty for what the law allowed him"), were 
 particularly alleged and defcribed. Thefe were, under 
 the firft head, by delinquents obtaining fuch favour with 
 great men at court that not only were informers in- 
 timidated from moving againft them, but the very de- 
 linquents, papifts, priefts, and jefuits, were able adually 
 to procure informations againft themfelves, which they 
 had thus the power either to prefs or ftop. By the 
 fame favour they were further permitted fo frequently to 
 change places and names, as to render public indidtments 
 next to impoflible ; and in the rare cafe of indidlments 
 adlually preferred, they were afTifted to remove them by 
 " certioraries " from their refpeftive counties, fo as to leave 
 
^^J-s- Indulgence to Recufants and Jejuits. 251 
 
 35 
 
 almoft every cafe without a profecutor. Under the 
 fecond head, it was fhown that for the hke purpofe the 
 king's authority had been freely and dangeroufly ufed. 
 All fufficient levy of forfeitures had been prevented by 
 the removal of goods into privileged places ; by the 
 granting of the forfeitures to thofe about the fovereign 
 who intended not punifhment but favour to papifts ; by 
 letters of prohibition giving flay to proceedings ; and by 
 diredt royal pardons too frequently granted, " not only 
 " to recufants but to jefuits." 
 
 Such, at the opening of Charles's reign, while the 
 laws againfl; puritan diflent were prefTed with eager 
 feverity, was the condition of the laws to which the great 
 bulk of the nation in thofe days looked f6r their only 
 fafeguard and fuccour againfl: Rome. The pidlure will 
 ftartle many whom the fliatements of writers otherwife 
 difpofed have familiarifed with oppofite views; who 
 have quoted the fl:atute-book to Ihow how harfh were its 
 provifions ; who have condemned this parliament for 
 defiring to exaggerate what it was the duty of the 
 council to keep within fliridher limit; and who have 
 afcribed the difafl:ers of Charles's later parliaments 
 to the intemperance that would now have fingled out 
 a young king's acceffion for addition of frefh penalties 
 to a perfecution already intolerable. Eliot places the 
 real ftate of the cafe entirely beyond quefliion. After 
 giving various inflances under the feveral heads named 
 above, he proceeds : " All which did hinder the 
 " execution of the laws, and rendered them fruitlefs in 
 " that point ; and herein were found the caufes of 
 " difeafe and ficknefs. Examples were cited of all thefe, 
 " to warrant their reafons and opinions, whereof it was 
 " thought neceflary there Ihould be a true information 
 " to the king, and an addrefs and petition to reform 
 " them. For a preparation to that work, the clerk was 
 " appointed to bring in, at the next fitting, all the 
 " petitions of that kind which formerly had been made. 
 
252 IV. Grievances and Religion. ^°°^J^ 
 
 " but of which the further confideration was referved." 
 This was done accordingly ; and the petitions of the 
 1 8th and 21 ft of James having been read, together with 
 the declaration publicly made in the latter year by the 
 prince upon his deliverance out of Spain, a committee 
 was appointed to frame a new petition and addrefs. 
 Both houfes then completed their arrangements for 
 obfervance of the faft; and, continues EHot, "one 
 " church being not capable of both houfes, as the 
 ' " lords did take the abbey, we chofe the parifti church 
 " at Weftminfter, in which our communions were before, 
 " atid now our firft of fafts." 
 
 Thefe things were done in the houfe during the laft 
 days of June ; and as, in even the fcanty and imperfeft 
 records of the commons' journals, there is a complete 
 blank from the 22nd of that month to the 4th of July, 
 the papers by Eliot alone remain to offer any indication 
 of what was paffmg. We read them all therefore with 
 a fpecial intereft, and among them the firft day's pro- 
 ceedings againft Richard Montagu. 
 
 This reverend doctor, who had obtained his firft pre- 
 ferment nine years ago by his triumphant aflertion againft 
 Selden of the facred origin of tithes, and who had fince, 
 notwithftanding formal complaints very ferioufly enter- 
 tained in James's laft parliament againft his New Gag for 
 an Old Goo/e, rifen fteadily in favour, was on the firil: of 
 July reported to the houfe from the committee of religion 
 as having publiftied a fecond book under the title of Ap- 
 pello Cafarem,oi z charadter yet more objectionable than 
 the firft.* Shortly before the old king's death this book 
 had made its appearance, and on the new king's acceffion 
 its author had been felefted for promifed preferment. 
 Though not yet one of the royal chaplains, he headed 
 
 " The Nenv Gag was a title fuggefted by the papift book, A Gag for 
 the New Go/pel, which it profeffed to reply to. The Appello was of courfe 
 an appeal from aflallants to his royal patron.' 
 
1 625- 'The Archbijhop and Richard Montagu. 253 
 
 35- 
 
 Laud's lift under the letter O : his efpecially orthodox 
 claims being, that in all his -^Vritings he had ridiculed the 
 puritans ; that in his laft work he had laborioufly upheld 
 the divine right exifting in monarchy ; and that, as well in 
 it and its predecefTor as from his pulpit in the proteftant 
 church of England, he had taught and preached confes- 
 fion and abfolution, the dodlrine of the real prefence, 
 ordination as one of the facraments, the ufe of images 
 and of the fign of the crofs, and the eifficacy of the faints. 
 
 The debate opened with a ftatement volunteered 
 through one of the members by archbiihop Abbot, 
 curious in itself, and decifive of the fatal oppofition to 
 moderate councils within the church itfelf, which, through 
 his influence with Buckingham, Laud had for fome 
 years been fecretly preffing againft Abbot's authority. 
 Upon complaint made of Montagu's firft book in James's 
 laft parliament, it was now ftated that the archbiftiop had 
 called the author before him ; and telling him of the 
 troubles he had caufed, and what difturbance had grown 
 in the church and in parliament by his book, had given 
 him this advice. " Be occafion of no more fcandal. Go 
 " home. Review your book. It may be fome things 
 " have flipt in, which upon fecond cogitation you will 
 " reform. If anything be faid too much, take it away. 
 " If anything too little, add unto it. If anything be 
 " obfcure, explain it. But do not wed yourfelf to your 
 " own opinion ; and remember, we muft give accompt 
 " of our miniftry to Chrift." With which having dis- 
 mifled him, he had heard no more of him for feveral 
 months ; when, going one day to attend the old king in 
 his illnefs, the archbiftiop came fuddenly upon Mon- 
 tagu, who " prefented him in curfu, as it were, his fecond 
 " book ; for which being ftiortlie queftioned, as the place 
 " and time permitted, of that bouldnefs and negled:, he 
 " made a flight anfwer and departed." 
 
 The impreflion produced upon the houfe by this 
 ftatement, Eliot informs us, was of a mixed kind. Much 
 
254 IJ^- Grievances and Religion. 
 
 Book V. 
 
 wonder there was at Montagu's infolence, that dared fo 
 to affront the dignity of the head of the church ; and 
 ftranger ftill many thought the lenity of the archbifhop, 
 which had pafled unpunifhed fuch an indignity to his 
 place and perfon. But Eliot and fome few others took 
 a nearer view, and found in it matter for more grave 
 refleftion. Thofe that lookt more narrowly, he fays, 
 conceived one reafon for both ; and that Montagu's 
 boldnefs, and the archbifhop's remiffnefs, were by com- 
 mand. They turned the difcuffion off from the perfonal 
 matter introduced, thanked my lord of Canterbury, and 
 carried a vote that the books themfelves fhould be re- 
 ported on by the committee for religion. 
 
 Six days later that report was made ; the vote of fub- 
 fidies and the petition for religion having both, in the 
 brief interval, been fent up to the lords.* A fharp 
 neceffity for promptitude had arifen. The plague was 
 increafmg upon them. By this feventh of July, Eliot 
 tells us, it had rifen to a great infe6lion and mortality. 
 " Noe part of the aire did ftand free. Divers fell dead 
 " downe in the ftreets. All companies and places were 
 " fufpe6i:ed. All men were willing to remove ; and they 
 " of the parliament were eager to fliorten and expedit 
 " their bufinefle." The petition for religion had gone 
 up to the lords on the fourth. A committee of both 
 houfes carried it next day to the king ; and on the 
 fixth a partial anfwer had \iZQn vouchfafed, the complete 
 anfwer being referved until the houfes fhould reaffemble. 
 Unhappily it was fuch that " the hope and expeftation 
 " which was held, from thenceforth did decline ; " and on 
 the day following, Montagu flood at the bar of the 
 commons. 
 
 * After ftating that in all fuch fpecial meetings and committees the differ- 
 ence is always obferved that whatever the number of lords the proportion of 
 commons ftill doubles it, Eliot thus remarks upon that mle : " It is a funda- 
 " mentall order of their houfe, not without wifdome in the inftitution foe 
 " appointed, not luith profitt practis'don all occajions ; and as it was at other 
 " times, foe followed now in this." 
 
'^*5- High Church at the Bar. 255 
 
 35 
 
 In reply to their queftlons he confirmed the arch- 
 bifhop's ftatement, but declared that he had adted in con- 
 formity with the wifh of king James. His majefty's 
 warrant had authorifed his firft book ; and when the pri- 
 mate fent for him, the king left it to his own choice 
 whether or not he fliould attend the fummons. His 
 fecond book, he went on to fay, had the like warrant and 
 authority ; and his majefly had indeed declared with an 
 oath, upon view of the tenets and opinions therein, that 
 if that were to be a papift he was himfelf a papift. He 
 concluded by referring the houfe to the work itfelf, which 
 bore oppofite to its title the printed approval of the 
 king's cenfor, dodtor White. 
 
 This confeffion of Montagu's was, in Eliot's opinion, 
 more confident than ingenuous. He means that the 
 accufed had told only a portion of the truth ; that he 
 had made the old king his fcapegoat, and kept back his 
 real fupporters. His former powerful patron being 
 dead, Eliot remarks,, it could not be imagined he ihould 
 now affume that boldnefs of himfelf. They were living 
 and not lefs powerful patrons with whom the houfe would 
 have to deal. He points at Laud. 
 
 After Montagu had left the bar, a warm debate en- 
 fued ■ in which the leading members, including moft of 
 the privy councillors, took part. The latter urged 
 ftrongly their difTent from thofe who had been moft 
 adtive in the cafe, upon one point. Without doubting 
 that there might be large .matters of exception to the 
 dodlrine in Montagu's books, they yet held that " for 
 " the dispute o{ them, as noe fitt fubjedl for the parliament, 
 " the wifdom of the commons fliould decline." Others, 
 not going fo far, would yet have had all innovations of 
 dodtrine referved for another kind of cenfure, upon which 
 the houfe might adl ultimately with greater confidence. 
 Eliot leant to that view, but at the fame time pointed 
 out what appeared to him to offer occafion for fuch 
 immediate cenfure as the houfe might properly exercife. 
 
2^6 IF. Grievances and Religion. '^°°'^ ^■ 
 
 ^T. 
 
 This man had done his beft to difturb the ftate, both 
 as to church and government. He had accufed well- 
 aiFedled fubjefts of the defire for anarchy. He had adted 
 in derogation of parliament, and in contempt of the 
 privilege and jurifdidlion of that houfe. Being under 
 complaint there for his firft book, he publifhed the 
 fecond in maintenance of the firft, whofe opponents he 
 had therein calumniated. Mr. Pym dwelt with yet 
 greater force upon this argument. Between the king and 
 his good fubjefts Montagu had fown jealoufies, and had 
 declared the puritans to be a potent prevailing faEiion 
 in the kingdom. By way of irony and fcorn he had 
 termed their moft pious divines " faint-feeming, bible- 
 " bearing, and hypocritical ; " their churches, " conventi- 
 " cles; " and their preaching, " prating." Calvin, Perkins, 
 Reynolds, and Whitaker, he had fneered at and flighted ; 
 while he had affirmed the church of Rome to be the 
 fpoufe of Chrift. What otherwife could be defigned 
 thereby but fedition and difturbance to the ftate ? Would 
 they have a fire kindled here, as in the Low Countries by 
 Arminius ? If not, let them prefer againft the author of 
 thefe books a charge to be tranfmitted to the lords ; 
 and let him meanwhile be committed for contempt to 
 the commons, with diredlions to remain in cuftody of 
 their ferjeant. 
 
 Vehement refiftance was made to this by the court 
 party. They took firft the ground, that an exifting par- 
 liament had not fuch cognizance of any preceding par- 
 liament as to make offences to the latter queftionable, 
 much lefs punifhable, in the former ; and upon this being 
 overruled, they again ftrongly urged that matter of dogma 
 and do6trine was not fubje6l to parliamentary jurifdidlion. 
 But here alfo the majority went againft them. Thofe 
 articles being oppofed which parliament had enadted, was 
 it not the duty of parliament to maintain them ? This 
 however was lefs the ground taken than that of the ten- 
 dency of Montagu's teaching to fuch difturbance of the 
 
'^^5- Commitment of Montagu. 257 
 
 peace and quiet of the ftate, as well as of the unity and 
 tranquillity of the church, as Fleta and other conftitu- 
 tional authorities had pronounced to be eminently of 
 civil concern, and within the province of the fecular 
 court and magiftrate.* In the end, Montagu was 
 brought back to the bar, and there kneeling received 
 cenfure as having been guilty of a great contempt, and 
 was committed to the cuftody of the ferjeant of the houfe. 
 At this point a very fignificant remark is made by 
 Eliot. " Some," he fays, not naming them, immedi- 
 ately before Montagu was fent for, fuggefted that the 
 houfe might do well for its own honour to paufe a 
 little, and confider further before ordering that man's 
 commitment ; left, contrary to their meaning, it fhould 
 prove not a puniftiment, but a preferment. The fug- 
 geftion at the time was made light of, but the time was 
 very ftiortly to arrive when its wifdom became manifeft. 
 Before the houfe adjourned Montagu was made king's 
 
 * I give the exa6l words of Eliot in defcribing this part of the debate. 
 After ftating the propofal for the charge and commitment of Montagu, 
 he proceeds : " Thefe opinions, though moft agreeing with the houfe, had 
 " yet fome oppofition and refiftance. It was firft objeifted, againft the 
 " authoritie of the houfe, that one parliament had not cognizance of an- 
 " other ; nor were the offences to a former queftionable, much lefs punifhable, 
 " in a latter. But the vanitie of that argument was difcovered by the cleer 
 " light of reafon and authoritie. The whole courfe of parliament fpoke 
 " againft it ; the praftife of all times, the example of all courts. Divers 
 " precedents were cited for illuftration in the pointe, which foone compof d 
 " that queftion. Others that had an inclination to that partie (for even 
 " with Chrift there was one Judas in the fellowfcip), objeiled the nature of 
 " the caufe, and by making it feeme doctrinall would exclude the jurlfdiftion 
 " of that court; and for the doiftrines likewife labor'd to infinuat a defence, 
 " for that they were not by anie publicke aft condemned in the cenfure of 
 " the church. But thefe as foone were rejefted and caft off, by difference 
 " and diftinflion of the faft, in that the points infifted on were but civill, 
 " for the honor of the king, the priviledg of the parliament, the peace and 
 " quiet of the ftate, the unitie and tranquillitie of the church, which, it 
 " was faid by Fleta, were appropriat to the fecular courts and magiftrates. 
 " Thefe reafons were a fatisfaiSlion to that doubt. But further it was 
 " added, that, the articles bein^ oppofd which were confirmed by parlia- 
 " ment, the parliament ought in dutie to raaintaine them. Upon which it 
 " was without difficultie refolv'd both for the commitment and the 
 " charge." 
 
 VOL. I. S 
 
258 V, WentwortKs Election for York/hire. bookv, 
 
 IVT. 
 
 chaplain, and releafed from cuftody, though not from his 
 bond.* No prophets were they that had given the caution, 
 fays Ehot, no revelation had been vouchfafed to them. 
 They were fimply men who had taken more accurate 
 meafure than their fellows of the counfels and coun- 
 fellors predominant with the new king ; who had been 
 able, from careful obfervation of the meridian of the 
 ftate, to caft thus early its difpofition ; and the latter 
 he proceeds to put in a formula of words expreflive of 
 the entire tragedy of Charles Stuart's reign. " Ti? make 
 " men mojl obnoxious moft Jecure, and thoje that were mojl 
 " hateful to the fublick to be moft honoured and efteemed." 
 But before the brief interval is pafled when Montagu 
 will reappear, and that truth begin to be more fully 
 known, the two fubjedts that were to occupy the houfe up 
 to the time of its adjournment call our attention away. 
 Upon the Yorkfhire eledtion difpute, and upon the 
 courfe taken in matter of fupply, Eliot has that to fay 
 which none of the hiftories have faid, and will communi- 
 cate fome fadts of ftriking intereft and importance. 
 
 V. Wentworth's Election for Yorkshire. 
 
 More clearly to underftand the intereft excited by this 
 difputed eleftion for Yorkfhire, it is necefTary to revert to 
 a fimilar difpute in the parliament of 1620. Sir John 
 Savile, who was beaten in that year, had again feated 
 himfelf and his fon for the county during the popular 
 agitations of 1623 amid which the laft parliament of 
 James affembled ; but for the fecond time, in the prefent 
 year, young Wentworth had managed to defeat that 
 powerful intereft. It was with the help indeed of 
 
 * " July 7, Thurfday. Richard Montagu was brought into the lower 
 "houfe of parliament." "July 9; Saturday. It pleafed his majefty, king 
 " Charles, to intimate to the houfe of commons that what had been there 
 " faid and refolved, without confulting, in Montagu's caufe, was not pleafmg 
 "to him." "July 13, Wednefday. I was the firft who certified hira 
 " (Richard Montagii) of the king's favour to him." — Laud's Diary. 
 
'«^5- The old Conteft of 1620. 
 
 35 
 
 ic,^ 
 
 another Yorkfliireman, Sir Thomas Fairfax of Denton, 
 that at this eledtion of 1625 he had carried Yorkfhire 
 againft his rivals; but in 1620 he had forced in as his col- 
 league a non-refident in the county, Sir George Calvert, 
 the king's fecretary of ftate, and though Savile's petition 
 againft the return failed, the impreffion left by the 
 enquiry had been of a charafter to attradt increafed 
 attention to any revival of charges fuch as Savile formerly 
 had made, and had in fadb greatly contributed to the 
 return of himfelf and his fon in the next following par- 
 liament. 
 
 He then charged Wentworth perfonally with having 
 threatened the freeholders, and with an " unlawful pre- 
 " paring them " to eled himfelf and his kinfman ; and to 
 prove his cafe, he produced two warrants written in Went- 
 worth's name as juftice of peace, and figned by two 
 high conftables : the one requiring, the other requefting, 
 the freeholders of fuch a place or parilh to be at York on 
 Chriftmas-day, there to make eleftion of him and Cal- 
 vert ; and both of them infor<ming the freeholders that 
 the fubfcribing conftables refpe6tively were to certify to 
 Wentworth all the names, as well of thofe giving as of 
 thofe refufing him their voices. He produced alfo an 
 attorney named Johnfon, who profefled to have read in 
 Wentworth's own hand, and to have heard twice read 
 by others, a letter to a third high conftable named Stan- 
 hope, willing and requiring him not only to fummon the 
 freeholders to attend Wentworth at York with a view to 
 his own and Calvert's eledtion, but to inform them that 
 the names of fuch as refufed would be duly reported. 
 
 Wentworth took the accufation very loftily at the 
 opening debate on the petition, before its reference to 
 committee. As he fhould meet Savile's charges at the 
 due feafon, he faid, he declined then to enter upon them. 
 Neverthelefs the opinion was ftrongly and generally ex- 
 prefled that, although a man might write to his friends to 
 induce eledlors to give their voices, it was unlawful to 
 
26o V. WentwortKs EleEiionfor Yorkjhire. Book v.. 
 
 JS.-Y 
 
 require, or to threaten, or to order the names of refufers 
 to be reported ; for in fuch cafe, when a man was 
 " powerful in his county," the eledtion ceafed to be free. 
 The committee met, feveral witnefles were examined, 
 and the excitement and intereft created appear to have 
 been extraordinary. The committee room was so 
 crowded that Sir WiUiam Herbert had to make com- 
 plaint to the houfe that the place was fo poifefled by 
 thofe not of the committee, that they of the committee 
 could not hear. It was not believed poffible however, 
 nor was it attempted, to difplace.the interlopers ; and the 
 room remained equally crowded to the end. 
 
 Everything turned on the evidence the high conftables 
 might give.* It they fhould attempt to fcreen them- 
 felves by pleading anything of compulsion on Went- 
 worth's part, his feat was gone. But the two who were 
 firft called both fwore, that for the wording of the war- 
 rants complained of they were themfelves refponfible. 
 What they underftood from Wentworth's inftrudtions 
 was, that he only defired the freeholders to come and 
 
 * I limit myfelf in this rapid fketch to the moft material points, but there 
 were other incidental queftions raifed. The charge, for inftance, as further 
 opened by Savile (the fon of old Sir John, himfelf fubfequently Lord 
 Savile in the Scotch peerage, after his father had taken an Englifh barony), 
 involved the high iheriff as in complicity with the conftables unduly to 
 favour Wentworth. Witnefles were produced to fwearthat he had excluded 
 great numbers who came to vote for Savile, and had never troubled himfelf 
 to enquire whether they who (houted for Savile's opponent were freeholders 
 or not. Three perfons fwore ftoutly that on the day of eleftion about " a 
 " thoufand perfons crying A Sa'vile /" and preffing to the town hall, had 
 been refufed, the door being kept by halberds, and that, upon one of them 
 offering to break in, his head wasbroken in. To this was oppofed the evidence 
 of Sir Arthur Ingram, who (bowed that the place in York where the 
 knights were chofen is where the prifon is, and that the reafon why there 
 were men with halberds at the entry of the hall was, not to overawe the 
 eleflors, but to fecure, and, for that time of the eleftion, keep fafe the 
 prifoners. Several other members depofed to the evidently manifeft fuperi- 
 ority in numbers of Wentworth's fupporters over thofe of his opponent ; 
 ■ and Lord Clifford craved leave to inform the committee that his brother 
 Wentworth had only confented to fliand for Yorkftiire at his inftance and 
 ftrong defire, and was it likely he fhould afterwards labour to be returned by 
 vmdue and unlawful means ? 
 
"^^5- Pine DifiinElions. 261 
 
 35 
 
 choofe him and Calvert if they thought them fit men 
 and Hked of them ; and they declared that there was 
 nothing unufual in the language tranfmitting thofe 
 inftruftions. Queftioned more clofely as to the obliga- 
 tion fought to be impofed upon them to difclofe to 
 Wentworth the names of fuch as might refufe to vote for 
 him, they replied lefs diftinftly to the point of clearing 
 Wentworth, but they urged that fuch taking of the names 
 was only to let Sir Thomas know who would be for him, 
 and for whom, and how many, he ihould make provlfion 
 among his friends at York. The third high conftable, 
 Stanhope, ftated by Johnfon to have received the moft 
 imperative commands from Wentworth, produced the 
 letter alleged to contain them ; and it turned out to be, in fo 
 many words, not a command, but an entreaty to the high 
 conftables to defire the petty conftables to fet down the 
 names of all freeholders within their townfhips, and which 
 of them had promifed to be at York and beftow their 
 voices with Wentworth, that fo he might poflefs a tefti- 
 mony of their good afFeftions, and know whom he was be- 
 holden to. Pradlically there was no great difference be- 
 tween this and the language complained of; but there was 
 no expreffed threat, and the law had not been diredtly 
 violated. The refult was that the committee, leaving 
 the conftables to the cenfure of the houfe, declared the 
 eledtion good ; but a propofition to clear Wentworth for 
 the preparation was ftrongly refifted, and only pafTed by 
 a bare, majority. The feeling thereby expreffed fhowed 
 itfelf more remarkably on the day when the committee 
 reported their decifion. 
 
 A vote to clear the election was followed by a debate 
 as to the condudl of the high conftables, very obvi- 
 oully animated by ftrong perfonal refentments. The 
 character of Sir Thomas Wentworth had declared itfelf 
 with fufRcient plainnefs throughout the proceedings. 
 It was not merely that he had excluded the old popular 
 member, Sir John Savile, from the reprefentation of this 
 
262 V. Wentworth's EleSion for Tork/hire. bookv. 
 
 ^T. 
 
 great county, and had forced into it a ftranger, a minifter 
 of ftate, a man having neither property nor connec- 
 tions there ; but that, from the firft ftage of the bufmefs 
 to the laft, from his appearance as a candidate to the vote 
 that had juft declared him lawfully feated, he had 
 carried with him a perfonal influence of that predominant 
 kind which exadls complete fubmiflion where it fails to 
 provoke timely refiftance. It was intolerable that the 
 right of free eleflion Ihould be fo overborne. The 
 general fenfe was frankly avowed in an exclamation from 
 Sir Samuel Sandys in the courfe of the debate, " No 
 " man right here to think himfelf fo great as to opprefs 
 " any member of this houfe with his greatnefs ! " Taking 
 the fame ground, one of the gentlemen out of Yorkfhire 
 fpoke fo bitterly that it was thought beft to bring the 
 debate for that time to a clofe, and give order for the 
 attendance of the conflables in three days to receive 
 judgment. The third day palfed, and brought them ; 
 but without bringing calmer temper to the houfe. 
 
 Amid the heat and anger however which the tone 
 afl"umed by Wentworth in defending his feat, quite as 
 much as his condud: at his eledlion, flill provoked, two 
 remarkable fpeeches, by quitting the ground of mere 
 perfonal attack, gave unexpectedly a higher charadler 
 to the debate. The member for Oxford, Sir John 
 Brooke, quoting the language of the old writs of elec- 
 tion and of the ftatute of Henry the Fourth, ftigma- 
 tifed it as grave mifconduft to have employed the 
 conftables at all. That fuch fundKonaries Ihould be told, 
 no matter in what language, to fummon freeholders to 
 vote for a particular candidate, was without ground, 
 without example. High conftables had nothing to do 
 in it. Notice to freeholders was to be given, not in con- 
 ftables' warrants, but in pleno comitatu. A man who 
 offered himfelf for elediion was as a man put upon his 
 trial. He might claim his jury, but had no claim to 
 control its opinion. " But I did not," cried Went- 
 
^J'/'^' speech by Noye. 263 
 
 35 
 
 worth from his feat ; while the explanation tendered by 
 the friends who reftrained him from rifing, that his 
 requeft had merely been for lifts of all that could vote 
 with fuch names marked as were favourable to him, and 
 that this did not warrant the conftrudtion attempted to 
 be given, called up the great lawyer Noye. No autho- 
 rity flood fo high in the houfe, faving Coke's alone; 
 and it was thrown into the fcale againft Wentworth. 
 Eledions, he faid, ought to be free. If thofe conftables 
 had done ill and now went unpunifhed, it would encou- 
 rage them ; and the country would think, they being 
 queftioned and cleared, that parliament approved the 
 ill-doing. He could not fee the difference between the 
 explanations and the charge. Lifts of all the eledors; 
 marking fuch as had promifed votes, were alfo lifts of 
 thofe who had not promifed ; and Sir Thomas Went- 
 worth had gone too far when he fo defired a certificate of 
 fuch as refufed to come. What was it but to fear them* 
 with a reminifcar ? For uttering that folitary word to 
 the chief baron after an adverfe judgment in the exche- 
 quer. Lord Bruce of Bremar had been fentenced by the 
 council to walk round about Weftminfter-hall in his 
 doublet and hofe, without cloak, hat, or fword ; and fit was 
 it that thefe conftables, for foreftalling freedom of elec- 
 tion by their warrants, and terrifying men with as much 
 as a reminifcar, fhould go to the Tower ! 
 
 It was a hard fentence for the poor Yorkfhiremen, 
 but it was of courfe levelled really againft Wentworth. 
 It was, as his friend Hutton, fon of the fhip-money 
 judge, bluntly remarked, to " blemifh the member 
 " chofen." Again therefore there was ftrong refiftance. 
 It was pointed out that the men were poor, and that 
 they had been put to great charges, for that they had 
 now been five weeks out of Yorkfhire, and all the time 
 at their own expenfe. The opinion was alfo thrown out 
 
 * "Fear them" — daunt them. 
 
 ■,/.(■ 
 
264 V. WentwortKs Ele5lionfor Torkjhire. BookV, 
 
 S.T. 
 
 that the Tower would be a lefs efFedlual punifhment than 
 public fubmiffion at the feffions in their own county. 
 On the other hand it was urged that the houfe had no 
 power to order fuch fubmiffion ; and Mr. Mallory, who 
 ftated this, went on to fay that fufficient account had not 
 been taken of what was due to the freeholders of York- 
 fhire, whofe rights fhould be " more valued." He had 
 been himfelf an eye and ear witnefs of the difcontent of 
 the gentlemen of the county at the conftables' doings. 
 The like had never been known before, nor had there 
 been even due fcrutiny of the votes given. It was a 
 very ill precedent. Other fpeeches followed in the fame 
 tone, until at laft the folicitor- general clofed the ftormy 
 debate by offering a compromife. Adopting the fug- 
 geftion for a public fubmiffion at the next Yorklhire 
 feffions, he would alfo have the conftables then and there 
 called in and feverely reprimanded at the bar ; and he 
 explained that though the houfe had no power to com- 
 mand the execution of a punilhment in any place out of 
 that town, they might enjoin formally the penalty, and 
 \ipon its non-performance might command the offending 
 party thither again. This was accepted. It feemed a 
 fatisfa6tion, as Sir Robert Philips terfely faid, for the 
 double wrong. " A wrong to the houfe, therefore an 
 " acknowledgment here. A wrong to the county, fo a 
 " confeffion there." 
 
 The offending conftables were brought in accordingly ; 
 and having made, kneeling at the bar, the fubmiffion re- 
 quired, and having received Mr. Speaker's fevere cenfure 
 " for meddling with what belonged not to them, for 
 " undue preparation, for warrants of command to petty 
 " conftables, and for menaces, by requiring the names of 
 " refufers to be delivered ; " they were informed that if, 
 at the next quarter feffions for the weft-riding, they 
 did not make fubmiffion in the fame terms before their 
 county, they would have to appear again before that 
 houfe. 
 
'fi^5- An Adventure of Knighthood clofed- 265 
 
 And what then was to be faid to the high conftable 
 Stanhope, who had produced the letter falfely defcribed 
 by Savile's witnefs Johnfon ? To this queftion, put by 
 Wentworth himfelf, the houfe repHed by direfting Stan- 
 hope's charges; amounting to 5/, to be paid by Savile. 
 But this did not fatisfy Wentworth. He rofe again 
 and made appeal to the juftice of the houfe for punifh- 
 ment of Savile's witnefs, " one Johnfon a folicitor." 
 Johnfon had ftated that of himfelf, which Stanhope, by 
 production of the letter, had fhown to be untrue. This 
 ftatement could not ftridlly be denied. There had been 
 undoubted mifreprefentation. Johnfon was brought 
 before the houfe, knelt at the bar, and received his 
 reprimand. 
 
 Still Wentworth, whom the proceedings altogether had 
 deeply moved, remained unfatisfied. Again he fpoke ; 
 and with much vehemence prefTed the fad:, that Savile's 
 charges had been brought againft himfelf, and that they 
 had failed in proof. Againft him perfonally nothing 
 whatever had been eftablifhed, and he therefore defired 
 judgment upon Savile alfo. A lefs haughty, determined, 
 and pertinacious fpirit than Wentworth's, would hardly 
 have claimed fuch abfolute acquittal while any found 
 ftill lingered in the houfe of the extraordinary debates 
 I have rapidly Iketched ; but his was a temper that rofe 
 in proportion to the refiftance it provoked, and, fhort of 
 everything, counted nothing gained. On this point, 
 however, the commons would not give way. If Savile 
 had not brought home his charge againft the member 
 for Yorkfhire, he had yet produced matter of grave 
 import to the charge, and had vindicated freedom of 
 eledtion. "Not fit," faid Sir Thomas Roe, "to dis- 
 " courage any that fhall inform in fuch cafe." 
 
 And fo clofed the firft chapter of what Wentworth 
 called his " Adventures of Knighthood," the knowledge 
 of which is effential to any thorough underftanding of 
 that fecond and more important chapter now waiting 
 
iG^ V. WentwortK s EleSlionfor Torkjhire. 
 
 Book V- 
 
 JET, 
 
 to be defcribed. For this reafon the fadbs have been 
 brought together here ; but they fupply alfo the earlieft 
 detailed narrative known to me in our hiftory of the 
 incidents of a contefted election. They mark the 
 advance made thus early in a juft appreciation of the 
 relations that fhould fubfift between eledtors and elefted, 
 and which lie at the root of all civil freedom. They 
 were lightly put afide by him who ought moft to have 
 been imprefled by them : but it is important to note 
 that the warning was at leaft thus emphatically given, 
 however deliberately difregarded ; and that, on the very 
 threfhold of his great career, this remarkable man en- 
 countered, not the fubjugated England he facrificed his 
 genius and his life to reftore, but a people who already 
 had rifen againft their bonds, and were under the 
 guidance of leaders well-born and independent as him- 
 felf, as far removed from fervility, and as inacceffible 
 to fear. 
 
 And now, in this firft parliament of the new reign, the 
 leffon was to be adminiftered again, more roughly than 
 before. The fliarpnefs of the expedled ftruggle had 
 declared itfelf on the firft day's meeting, in the attempt 
 of the northern men to evade the enquiry altogether by 
 forcing an adjournment. This having failed, the refource 
 left was to interpofe all the delays permitted by the forms 
 of the houfe, or fuggefted by the courfe of the proceed- 
 ings ; and with what fuccefs this was pradlifed, and what 
 bitternefs it provoked, Eliot ftrikingly defcribes. From 
 the firft day of the fitting, he fays, up to the 5th of July, 
 the matter had been in continual agitation. It was not 
 merely that in the committee it led to inceflant exami- 
 nations and debates, but that feveral reports and motions 
 were made upon it in the houfe, infomuch that in 
 both the ordinary bufinefs had been greatly difturbed. 
 Almoft all the members ftiared in the excitement, and 
 took one fide or the other. On either fide, if fuch a 
 thing (interpofes Eliot) might be imagined in the in- 
 
16^5. jsfe'w Knighthood Adventure opened. 267 
 
 tegrity of that court, the power and influence of the 
 refpeftive antagonifts drew numbers over to themfelves. 
 There were alfo fome, himfelf for inftance, who inter- 
 fered not in affeftion to the parties, but in diflike of the 
 praftifes that had been ufed ; and fo fharply from every 
 quarter were the arguments prefTed, that it became im- 
 poffible to keep them within the limits of the queflions 
 raifed. Thefe were repeatedly abandoned for faUies of 
 perfonal invedtive. Great diftaftes and bitternefs in 
 Confequence arofe, and a fierce fpirit took pofleffion of 
 almoft every one. Such is EHot's ftatement generally as 
 to the tone and charadter of the debates on the Yorkfhire 
 election. 
 
 Savile's cafe, fupported by a petition from a hundred 
 and fifty of the freeholders of the county, briefly was, 
 that upon the day of the eledtion at York, he had a 
 majority of the voters on his fide, and that he had duly, 
 within the proper time, demanded a poll ; that the flierifF, 
 being altogether in Wentworth's intereft, " wholly 
 " Wentworth's," had with much difiiculty and manifeft ' 
 reludtance been brought to grant this ; that whilfl; it con- 
 tinued, he took meafures to exclude all freeholders who 
 had not been prefent at the reading of the writ ; and that, 
 after about thirty-five had polled, when he faw that the 
 greater chances were for Savile, he made an excufe for 
 abandoning the poll, and took upon him to decide by 
 view for the return of Went worth. Befides the peti- 
 tion, feven freeholders prefented themfelves to depofe, 
 viva voce, to the circumfl:ances alleged ; and the fub- 
 ftance of what they faid may be as briefly ftated. There 
 had been unufual excitement, it feemed ; the emulation 
 in the choice for parliament, always fl:rong in that 
 county, having rifen to unexampled height ; and never 
 had fo large a concourfe been brought together in the 
 county court at York. But the confufion alfo confe- 
 quent on that multitude, became too great to admit of 
 the poflibility of any decifion either upon the cry or the 
 
a68 V. WentwortKs EleSlionfor Yorkfliire. ^<""'"^- 
 
 K.T. 
 
 view, as the taking voices and fliow of hands were then 
 called; and Savile's friends had therefore claimed, as 
 the touchftone and only means of trial, a poll. This 
 the fherifF at firft refufed, alleging fome point of time ; 
 under the fame pretence, he had unwarrantably clofed the 
 caftle gates againfl; many voters outfide ; nor was it 
 until greatly prefled he at laft had yielded fo far as to' 
 concede a poll, and then as of courtefy, not of right, 
 and reftrifting it to fuch as had been prefent when the 
 writ was read. Even fo, however, hardly had thirty- 
 five votes been taken, when, feeing that Savile was like 
 to carry it, he made a pretence for affuming the judg- 
 ment to himfelf and pronounced, the choice for Went- 
 worth ; " whereas the other had more voices ;" double, 
 it was afferted. Such were the averments of the friends 
 of Savile. 
 
 Wentworth deigned at firft but a brief reply. He 
 denied every ftatement made. But, fuppofing there 
 were any truth in what was pretended, he conceived 
 that he was not himfelf under any obligation to repel 
 thofe charges. They did not concern him but the flieriiF, 
 who would doubtlefs be fent for. At the fame time 
 he reminded the houfe, that, as the enquiry affefted his 
 feat, he and his colleague. Sir Thomas Fairfax, would 
 have claim to be heard by counfel, and to obtain time to 
 bring up witnefles if neceffary ; and the houfe would 
 remember that the diftance was great, and that there 
 muft be ample opportunity allowed for the purpofe. The 
 refult was that the fheriff was fummoned to come up, 
 a fortnight being allowed for his appearance ; and inti- 
 mation was given that Wentworth and Fairfax might 
 inftrudt their counfel. 
 
 Nothing, Eliot remarks at this point, could equal the 
 vexation exhibited at this difplay of a fixed determination 
 not to drop the enquiry. The fpirit continued to fhow 
 itfelf that had impelled the firft daring attempt to force 
 adjournment of the fubjetfl by adjourning the houfe 
 
•625- Wentworth outwitted by Savile. 269 
 
 35 
 
 itfelf. But it was north againft north, he adds fignifi- 
 cantly ; and Savile had the older experience. All the 
 arts that northern policy could invent, therefore, to gain 
 advantage in the carriage, met in the end but their own 
 likenefs. The care and diligence that oppofed them 
 were no lefs than theirs, and the craft was more. Savile 
 knew too well thofe paths of fubtlety not himfelf to 
 follow the hunter on his track; and, being more beaten in 
 the way, he was able in his own trap to enfnare him. The 
 occafion for evincing this will fhortly prefent itfelf ; and 
 meanwhile Savile offers no retort to Wentworth's denials, 
 nor makes any correfponding application to have his own 
 cafe argued by counfel. Of courfe the fortnight allowed 
 to the fummons had not been permitted to expire without 
 renewed efforts to evade the houfe's order ; but thefe had 
 not availed, and two days after the time appointed* the 
 fheriff made reludtant appearance. 
 
 In the following fafhion he ftated his cafe. Immediately 
 after eight o'clock, he faid, on the morning of the elec- 
 tion, he made proclamation and read the writ, at the 
 ufual place. Then, the gates according to cuftom being 
 fhut, he took a view of the freeholders ; and returning, 
 declared his opinion that Wentworth and Fairfax had 
 double the voices to Savile. Upon demand of the poll, 
 he admitted that he had ftarted fome difficulty in grant- 
 ing it ; but excufed this by reafon that It was paft the 
 proper hoi:y before the demand was made. He admitted 
 alfo the interruption of the poll by his authority, as 
 alleged ; and that, five and thirty having been numbered, 
 it was proceeded In no further ; but the occafion he im- 
 puted wholly to Savile himfelf. For this he gave two 
 reafons : charging Savile, by the firfl, with having attempted 
 to bring unqualified perfons up to the polling-booth, and, 
 by the fecond, with having frightened or driven away 
 by unauthorised reprefentations qualified perfons who 
 
 * " Even at the laft," fays Eliot, " affefting not the fervice, he made no 
 " hafte." 
 
^yo V. Wentworth's EleSiionfor Tork/hire. book v. 
 
 had come to vote for Wentworth. He was prefled very 
 clofely with queftions from all fides on both thefe 
 points. To fome, fays Eliot, he anfwered negatively, to 
 fome dilatorily and doubtfully, uncertainly to all; fo 
 that little truth could be gathered from his words, and 
 lefs content and fatisfadion from himfelf. But in the end 
 the ftory took the following fhape. 
 
 For the more perfedt taking of the poll, he had 
 caufed all the freeholders prefent at the reading of the 
 writ — holding fuch only as duly qualified to vote — to 
 be drawn by the foregate into the caftle yard, and there 
 enclofed between that gate and the poftern ; with pro- 
 vifion that each freeholder, as he was fworn and num- 
 bered, fiiould be let out at the poftern gate, where the 
 polling clerks were ftationed. His objedt in this was 
 not merely to prevent confufion and diforder, but to 
 avoid the abufe and fcandal not unfrequent on fuch occa- 
 fions, of the fame electors prefenting themfelves more 
 than once, and under divers names getting themfelves 
 each counted for feveral. Savile having good reafon, he 
 continued, to regard this as an objeftionable precaution, 
 his refiftance became fo determined that it led to the 
 breaking open of the foregate ; through which there then 
 poured numbers of his fupporters who had newly come, 
 who had not heard the reading of the writ, whom he, 
 the fherifF, believed to be not qualified to take part in 
 the eledlion, and whofe interference he therefore regarded 
 as an illegal difturbance to the courfe and due order they 
 were in. Nor was this all. Even before thofe outrages 
 began, and the gates had been fhut, Savile had raifed and 
 circulated a report among the freeholders that he meant to 
 keep the poll open for feveral days ; whereupon a great 
 many of Wentworth's voters, difinclined to encounter 
 more of the crowding and excitement at that time, and 
 apprehending a long attendance, left the court diftieart- 
 ened ; which he, the fherifi^, conceived to be itfelf fo 
 grave an interruption to the work as to juftify him in 
 
1^-5- EUofs Argument againji Wentworth. 271 
 
 abandoning the poll. And on this having no doubt, 
 either by view or hearing, of Wentworth's majority, he 
 aflumed the judgment to himfelf, and announced the 
 return. 
 
 Seeing the houfe indifpofed to admit his ftatements 
 without corroborative evidence, the fherifF excufed him- 
 felf for not having brought witnefles by declaring that 
 he had interpreted the houfe's order as requiring his own 
 attendance fimply ; and therefore he now claimed it as of 
 right, if his ftatements were difputed, that he fhould have 
 a new liberty of proof, and additional time for the 
 purpofe. 
 
 At this ftage Eliot appears firft to have interfered. 
 He fhowed to what thefe various pleas and pretences for 
 delay tended. Referring to the daily increafe of the 
 plague, he reminded the houfe that any prolonged fitting 
 could not be expedted ; that more than ufual hafte and 
 brevity were now unavoidably impofed on all matters in 
 hand ; and that already they were under the neceffity of 
 contracting, for eafier difpatch, many bufinefles of great 
 importance. For what, then, were the fuggeftions of 
 further and ftill further adjournment made in the matter 
 before them ; for what, on the firft day of their fitting, 
 had been that prodigious motion for adjourning the 
 houfe itfelf ; but to avoid a decifion altogether ? If they 
 granted this, it would but bring forth another. Let 
 them not doubt but that it muft be fo. Such was the 
 corruption of fome hearts in the fear of what affefted 
 themfelves, that for their private humours they were at 
 all times ready to put afide the public interefts. He 
 would move therefore that the flierifF's ftatements fliould 
 be dealt with by the houfe as they ftood, without giving 
 further time for examination of additional witnefi^es; and 
 he carried this in committee by a majority of 25 to 17. 
 
 Wentworth, who according to invariable cuftom 
 had retired during the difcuffion, now returned, ap- 
 pealed to the houfe, and forced on another paffionate 
 
272 V. WentwortKs EleStion for Yorkfliire. Eookv. 
 
 S.T. 
 
 debate. He declared that he had never fought to delay 
 his caufe, and was only defirous to have it heard in a 
 legal manner. As for the number of the freeholders, 
 it would be fully proved that beyond all queftion the 
 far greater number were for him and Sir Thomas 
 Fairfax. And as for their pofition and rank, he had 
 been fupported on the day of the eledtion by the greateft 
 number of men of quality that had taken part in any 
 return thefe twenty years. On the other hand. Sir John 
 Savile had brought with him numbers not entitled to 
 take part in the ele6bion ; and the occupier of the very 
 houfe in which the Savile party chiefly were, had con- 
 feffed that he was himfelf no freeholder. Then, as for 
 the poll, the cafe flood thus. It had been demanded by 
 his opponent out of a mere fpirit of cavil, and with no 
 intention that it fhould proceed. The demand was made 
 after eleven o'clock. Neverthelefs the fherifF gave way ; 
 and the poll was proceeding at the poftern gate, the fore- 
 gate having been fhut by the fheriff's diredbion, when, 
 by the unlawful adt of Sir John Savile himfelf, it was 
 interrupted. In the recent cafe of Pontefra6t, where the 
 eledtion was void, the poll had been broken off by the 
 parties returned. In that of Cambridgelhire, the fherifF, 
 on being demanded the poll, had performed it not. His 
 own cafe differed altogether ; and he defired the houfe 
 at once to determine that it fhould, as now ftated, be 
 either granted him or denied him. If granted, he would 
 claim that his counfel, already conceded by the houfe, be 
 heard at the bar the following day, to maintain in that 
 flate of fadts the law to be on his fide. If, as fubmitted, 
 the cafe were denied, he demanded to prove it by wit- 
 neffes, a right not refufed to any ; and time mufl be 
 given him to bring up thofe witnefTes. 
 
 The debate that enfued on this appeal (at which per- 
 mifTion feems to have been given for Wentworth him- 
 felf to be prefent, the merits not being in queftion fo 
 much as the manner of procedure) was in feveral points 
 
ifi^s- Supporters and Oppofers of Wentworth. ^ys 
 
 35 
 
 remarkable, and not the leaft for the very modified fup- 
 port given to Wentworth by fome of the king's council, 
 while others fharply oppofed him. Coke liked not the 
 fheriff's anfwer, for he held him to have been bound to 
 grant the poll. But neither did he like to ftrike the 
 fitting members through the fheriiPs fide. The matter 
 of fa6t was not yet clear to him. Before judgment could 
 be given it mufl: be afcertained whether the poll was de- 
 manded in due time, and whether he who demanded it 
 broke it off, or was the means whereby it was broken 
 off. Sir Francis Seymour was for Wentworth. Sir 
 Edward Giles went ftrongly againft him. Mr. Glanvile, 
 " that pregnant weftern lawyer," as Eliot calls him, fl:arted 
 a doubt whether, even as it was, the poll being demanded 
 but not granted before eleven o'clock, the flieriff could 
 be held to have granted it at all in the fenfe of a legal 
 compliance with the demand. The folicitor-general and 
 the chancellor of the duchy both fpoke with much re- 
 ferve ; but their view pracftically was, that the hearing of 
 witneffes could not be refufed unlefs the houfe were pre- 
 pared to admit the cafe as ftated by the flieriff. To this 
 Eliot fpoke. Contrafl:ing the ftatements of both parties, 
 he had found nothing in the flieriff's cafe that met the 
 clear, affirmative, and particular proof alleged on the 
 other fide. The fa6t of the poll being demanded in due 
 time and interrupted by the flieriff, though it might fliill 
 be altogether doubtful where the majority of voices were, 
 was enough to avoid the election and return made, though 
 it concluded not another. In his opinion, therefore, they 
 might with fafety pafs to judgment. For he held, in effedt, 
 that to admit the cafe of the flieriff, which was Went- 
 worth's cafe, would not place either of them in a better 
 pofition ; and that any further evidence in proof or 
 difproof was needlefs. Hereupon Wentworth rofe again 
 vehemently to protefl; (" but by more heard than 
 " credited," Eliot interpofes), that he affeded not delay in 
 contemplation of himfelf, but defired only legally to be 
 
 VOL. I. T 
 
274 ^- WentwortK s Election for Torkjhire. '^°°^ ^■ 
 
 S.T. 
 
 heard, and that for the honour of the houfe. What he 
 had alked for was the mere common rule of juftice. He 
 expedled it in that court, and fhould therein accordingly 
 apply himfelf. At this the northern lawyers backed him 
 ftrongly, urging that Savile's cafe had broken down on the 
 fadts as declared by him. The reafons for the alleged 
 interruption were infufficient, feeing that no man was 
 compellable to be prefent at the eledion, but all had 
 free liberty to depart. A fheriiF, befides, had the whole 
 power of the county ; and that being fo, what other power 
 was to be fuppofed fufficient to force interruption upon 
 him ? The refult was that, upon a fuggeftion from Sir 
 Edward Coke, bringing the houfe back to the point of 
 what was demanded by Wentworth, and in which Coke fo 
 far agreed as to hold that fome admitted ftatement of 
 the fadts was become indifpenfable to any decifion, it was 
 ordered that a ftatement of the circumftances of Savile's 
 alleged difturbance of the poll Ihould be immediately 
 drawn up by the fitting members, Wentworth and Fairfax, 
 in conjundtion with the fheriff ; that this fhould be put in 
 as their cafe ; and that in the event of Savile difputing 
 any matter ftated therein, the houfe fhould give fuch 
 further diredtion as it thought fit. So accordingly it was 
 fettled ; and Savile, upon receiving the cafe in writing, 
 was to prefent himfelf at the next fitting to give in his 
 anfwer upon it. 
 
 Hardly had it fo been arranged, however, when Went- 
 worth faw the advantage upon one point given to his 
 adverfary, though he was unprepared for the advan- 
 tage immediately feized by him upon all. The fitring 
 member's policy was delay, yet the courfe taken muft 
 bring the matter to ifTue. Fain would he ftill have 
 prevented, fays Eliot, the prefent decifion which he 
 feared, and have kept a little longer at diflance upon the 
 points of examination and defence. " Delaie and pro- 
 " craftination was his hope. Manie things, by that, might 
 " occur to worke his faftie. Divers are the intervenients 
 
1^5- Savile at the Bar. 275 
 
 35 
 
 " of time. The remotenefle of his witnefles was a faire 
 " pretext for this, if that occafion had been granted 
 " him ; but now, that opportunitie depending upon the 
 " difcreation of his adverfarie, his hopes therein were 
 " leflen'd ; and what he hadmov'd himfelf,himfelf againe 
 " repented." But it was too late, and the cafe went on. 
 
 On Tuefday the 5th of July, Savile prefented himfelf, 
 and defired " in fome few things " a hearing. He was 
 at once brought into the houfe, and heard without the bar 
 being put down. He apologifed for the trouble he had 
 occafioned. He grieved that any concerns of his fhould 
 fo long have been an interruption to their bufinefs. His 
 anxiety now was to prevent their further vexation in the 
 matter. With this view, though the writing he held in 
 his hand had been delivered to him but late the night 
 before, and fmall time had been vouchfafed him for con- 
 fideration of the cafe, he was ready then and there to 
 accept it for conclufion of the work ; only defiring that 
 two things might be conceded to him. The written ftate- 
 ment of the fitting members having been handed to 
 him without any name affixed to it, he requefted, firft, 
 that it might be fubfcribed by Wentworth ; and, next, 
 that Wentworth might be called upon to avow, upon his 
 reputation in that houfe, that fo much therein fet down 
 as came within his knowledge was true, and that the reft 
 he thought fo. 
 
 The words had fcarcely dropped from Savile, fays 
 Eliot, when Wentworth faw that he had fallen into his 
 own fnare. It was not merely that by ftating his cafe 
 in any form in writing, he had put into a feafible fhape 
 what the houfe had to decide ; but that Savile, by 
 not contefting the cafe even as fo put by his ad- 
 verfary, had barred all further poffibility but of imme- 
 diate decifion one way or the other. " Nothing he 
 "firft doubted lefs," Eliot remarks, "than admifiion 
 " of his cafe ; fuppofing the jeloufie of his adverfary 
 " would have made him fight at diftance. But he, that 
 
276 V. Wentworth's EleSiionfor Torkflnre. book v. 
 
 JS.T, 
 
 " was his countryman and equall, feeing the advantage 
 " readiHe, clofed prefentHe upon him in that grant, and, 
 " by conceffion of the cafe, furprif 'd and foe difarm'd 
 " him." 
 
 With or without arms, however, Wentworth was not 
 the man to ceafe fighting to the laft ; and he now form- 
 ally preferred his claim to have witneffes heard. It 
 would feem that in the paper drawn up for Savile, he 
 and Fairfax had contented themfelves with what they 
 held to be a fufficient counter-ftatement to the ftrong 
 point of Savile's cafe, the demand and interruption of 
 the poll ; but now he urged that the houfe was bound 
 to confider alfo the alleged plurality of voices prefent for 
 himfelf and Fairfax. This, though it had been overlooked 
 and omitted in their ftatement, was moft effential to their 
 cafe ; their opponent had denied it ; and upon it he now 
 had witneffes ready to avouch the truth. Having fo ftated 
 this claim, Wentworth, as the cuflom always was with 
 members whofe perfonal affairs were in debate, retired, 
 and the difcuffion proceeded in his abfence. 
 
 The demand for the hearing of witneffes appears not 
 to have been entertained. " The queftion being ftated 
 " by himfelfe," fays Eliot, " and that depending meerlie 
 "upon the demand and interruption of the poll, the 
 " other was impertinent." The debate turned entirely 
 therefore on the cafe as ftated ; and it was pointed out by 
 ohe of the privy councillors, as already Eliot had inti- 
 mated, that nothing in it as now put forth by the fitting 
 members pradlically differed from what the ftieriff 
 " had pretended." The interruption objected to Savile 
 refted altogether on the rumour or report whereby he 
 was alleged to have induced many qualified voters to 
 quit the caftle yard, or on that fo-called illegal forcing 
 open of the gate through which unqualified perfons had 
 entered. But of thefe allegations there had been no proof. 
 The only proofs offered went to fhow that the demand 
 for a poll by Savile had not been unfeafonably made ; 
 
■^^5- speeches for and againft Savile. 277 
 
 35 
 
 and indeed fo much had been implicitly confefled by the 
 admitted pradlice of the iheriff. Mr. Whiftler, a 
 lawyer of great ability who reprefented the city of 
 Oxford, exprefled more ftrongly the fame view. He 
 held the eleftion to be not good upon the cafe as now 
 ftated. He was againft the fhutting of the gate. AfTum- 
 ing for true what the fheriff had faid of the condudt of 
 Savile's friends, the general body of freeholders had an 
 intereft fuperior to Savile's, and no mifcondud of his 
 could be pleaded in juftification of a wrong to the 
 county. The member for Surrey, Sir George Moore, 
 exprefled fome doubt whether the mifcondudt of the 
 fherifF, which he thought had certainly been eftablifhed, 
 fhould fuffice to render the eledtion void ; and the foll- 
 citor-general. Sir Robert Heath, replied to the argument 
 of the member for Oxford. Heath was clofely allied 
 to Buckingham, and his prefent interference connects 
 itfelf as well with the part taken fo ftrongly by Eliot on 
 the other fide, as with fome fubfequent overtures to 
 Wentworth himfelf which will fhortly have mention. 
 Mr. Solicitor's opinion was that Savile was in the wrong 
 upon the fhowing of the cafe. The ftieriff having 
 decided for the return of Wentworth and Fairfax, this 
 neceflarily muft ftand good until avoided by good and 
 plain matter. If indeed the ftieriff had denied the poll, 
 or himfelf done anything unfitting in the courfe of it, that 
 might be caufe to avoid the eleftion ; but if fuch dis- 
 turbance as occurred had been not upon his part, but 
 upon that of Savile, and if this made it impoffible for 
 the ftierifF to proceed rightly, he could not fee that 
 this was any default of that officer. To this feeble ar- 
 gument one of the Cornifli members, Sir Samuel Rolle, 
 replied promptly and decifively. He pointed out that 
 denying the poll, and not purfuing the poll, amounted 
 in reality to the fame thing ; that to exclude qualified 
 voters by ftiutting the gate was unwarrantable; that 
 fuppofing the poll to have continued, and Savile to have 
 
278 V. Wentworth' s EleSlionfor Torkjhire. 
 
 Book V. 
 
 been elefted, his eledlion muft have been held good ; 
 and that no mere interruption on the part of Savile, as 
 alleged, could be interpreted as neceflarily making 
 good the return of Wentworth. Hereupon fome of 
 the northern men again interfered, fliifting the ground 
 Wentworth himfelf had taken ; and claimed that as the 
 points juft raifed were matter of law, the fitting members 
 fhould be heard by counfel. But fo ftoutly was this 
 oppofed, and not the leaft by fome of the court party, 
 that a divifion had to be taken, when there appeared for 
 Wentworth, the tellers being his intimate friends. Sir 
 Francis Seymour and Chriftopher Wandesforde, 94 ; 
 and againft him, the tellers being Lord Cavendifh and 
 Sir Dudley Digges, 133. 
 
 Eliot's narrative exifts to fliow what followed this 
 majority of 39, or it might well nigh have feemed in- 
 credible. After defcribing the much oppofition created by 
 the propofal as to counfel, the queftion being of fa6t, and 
 the " great conteftation it begott, even to the divifion 
 " of the houfe," he goes on to fay that this being over- 
 ruled and the debate refumed, " a new interruption it 
 " receaved by a new motion for himfelfe " (Wentworth) 
 " once more to be heard before they went to judgment ! 
 " Great labor was for this, and as great care to ftop it ; 
 " intending but delaie. Againfl: him was objed:ed the 
 " long time he had had from the beginning of the 
 " parliament ; the often-hearing he receaved att the 
 " committee, and in the houfe, wher his whole defence 
 " was knowne ; that before he was withdrawne to give 
 " wale to the debate, as in all fuch cafes it was ufuall, he 
 " had a full libertie to exprefs himfelfe, and his whole 
 " apologie was heard. Nothing could be added but 
 " protra6tion, which would be a further injurie to the 
 " houfe ; and therefor was nott to be admitted or 
 "receav'd. Upon this it was foe refolv'd, and the 
 " debate proceeded. When, contrarie to the funda- 
 " mentall order of the houfe, by which no man may be 
 
'^^s- Eliot and Wentworth in Collifton. 279 
 
 " prefent at the agitation of his own caufe, Wentworth 
 " came in confidentlie to his place ; and gave occafion to 
 
 " him that was then fpeaking " 
 
 EHot was fpeaking. He was charging the flieriiF with 
 having wronged the houfe by hmiting the rights of 
 voters, when the incident occurred fo charadleriftic of 
 the man whom we now know as StraiFord, but who as 
 yet was imperfedlly known ; and, what the orator feized 
 occafion to fay having been preferved among his papers 
 at Port Ehot, I can complete the narrative of an incident 
 in all refpedts very memorable. 
 
 It fhould be premifed, before printing the attack which 
 Eliot now made on Wentworth, that ever fince the break- 
 ing of the Spanifli match and the fubjeftion of king James 
 to Buckingham, Wentworth's opinions and condudt had 
 been undergoing manifeft change. Immediately after 
 the diflblution of parliament in 1621, the newfwriters 
 defcribed him as having been fingled out for a peerage,* 
 to which his fervices to the court in that parliament 
 entitled him ; and at the clofe of the following year there 
 is evidence of his employment in the old king's fpecial 
 affairs.f But in the parliament of 1 6 23 he had taken 
 up the tone of a tribune of the people, and fince that date 
 had held aloof from Whitehall. Hence doubtlefs the 
 oppofition from court quarters that had lately difplayed 
 itfelf againfl: him, but not from any fource fo unworthy 
 fprang the indignation now exprefl"ed by EHot. At the time 
 when the Negotium Pofterorum was written, Wentworth 
 had declared himfelf once more for the king, after fpeeches 
 
 * S.P.O. MS. Chamberlain to Carleton. " Sir Thomas Wentworth 
 " of Yorkfliire and Sir Edward Montagu to be made barons." In another 
 letter he fays that his title was to be Viscount Raby. Jan. 19, 1621-22. 
 
 f S.P.O. MS. " Order of Charles Lord Stanhope for poft-horfes and 
 " a guide for Sir Thomas Wentworth repairing to York and back, on the 
 " king's fpecial affairs." Dec. 21, 1622. To the fame femce he alludes 
 himfelf, in a well-known letter to Wefton, " calling to mind the faithful 
 "fervice I had the honor to do to his majefty now with God, " &c, — 
 — Strafford Difp. i. 35. There is alfo a letter of Conway's to Calvert (MS.) 
 in the S.P.O. in which he mentions the " juft praife" the king had beftowed 
 on Wentworth, July 5, 162J. 
 
a8o V. WentwortKs EleSiion for Tork/hire. ^°°^ 
 
 v; 
 
 -ffiT- 
 
 for the popular caufe which had placed him in front 
 rank with its defenders ; but here Eliot fpoke without 
 any fuch experience. He faw but before him, braving 
 parliamentary privilege, the man who moft loudly had 
 afferted it in 1623 ; and coupling what was manifeft of 
 his power with that obfervation of his recklefl'nefs, the 
 thought not unnaturally arofe to Eliot from the read- 
 ing moft familiar to him in Roman ftory, of men 
 gaining their ftrength in the fervice of liberty to employ 
 it in attempting her overthrow, and coming in to the 
 fenate-houfe to deftroy the fenate. Whatever we may 
 think now of the juftice of his unfparing invedtive, 
 we cannot but deeply be impreffed by the eftimate he 
 had thus early formed of the capacity of Wentworth, 
 and of the dark and dangerous iffues it might involve. 
 
 " But, Mr. Speaker," he faid, interrupting his argu- 
 ment againft the fheriff's violation of their rights as he 
 faw Wentworth moving up from the bar, " any violation 
 " of our rights may be well excufed in others when they 
 " fuffer violation by ourfelves. Strangers, perfons not 
 " members of our houfe, foreigners, may be pardoned 
 " who have ignorance to plead for them, when we fuffer, 
 " as at this inftant, from our own members. No fuch 
 " attempt or adtion can be fo prejudicial as this ; and 
 " this," he continued, confronting Wentworth with a 
 korn provoked doubtlefs by his own, " done in con- 
 " tempt of us, yea, in the height of fcorn and injury. 
 " If we admit the difhonour of ourfelves, how then ftiall 
 " others value us ? And if we admit a diftionour by our 
 " members, how fhall we avoid it in ourfelves ? I fay, 
 " Sir, a greater difhonour and contempt this houfe has at 
 " no time fuffered than what now affronts it here. No 
 " abilities, no power, no ftation can excufe it. To be 
 " excluded by a fundamental order of the houfe fo well 
 " known to all men, and that fo lately urged by him 
 " that now does break it ; to be debarred on queftion 
 " by a particular adb and rule, and yet to intrude againft 
 
'^^5- Eliot denounces Wentworth. 281 
 
 " it ; what is it lefs than to bid defiance to your power 
 " and a farewell to your privilege ? Should I compare 
 " it, it could have no parallel but that Roman's whom 
 " Cicero denounced and deftroyed. In Jenatum venit ! 
 " He comes into this fenate, but with a will to ruin it. 
 " How elfe interpret the intention of that acSt, that would 
 " deftroy our privilege ? But did I fay it was a member 
 " did it ? I muft retradt that error in the place, or be 
 " falfe to the opinion which I have ; for, either by the 
 " eledbion he pretends or for this adt and infolence, I 
 " cannot hold him worthy of the name. And fo, involv- 
 " ing both queftions. under one, as a full determination 
 " of his cafe, let us from hence expel him." 
 
 " Yet hear me firft," cried Wentworth, as, with a 
 general feeling unmiftakeably againft him, he rofe to 
 leave. He fpoke briefly, and without interruption. 
 He thought the fheriff had been treated hardly. It was 
 not denied that new men were let into the courtyard after 
 the gates were clofed ; and how could the fherifF in fuch 
 cafe tender them the oath whether they had been prefentor 
 not at the reading of the writ ? Having no power by the 
 ftatute to minifler the oath, he muft have incurred a prae- 
 munire. He would urge them, then, to ftay the refo- 
 lution of this bufinefs, being matter of law ; and he would 
 pray that it might be referred to a full houfe. With 
 this Wentworth left; and a leading northern member 
 who reprefented Newcaftle, Sir Henry Anderfon, having 
 propofed that the matter fhould at leaft be deferred till 
 next day, the member for Maldon, Sir Henry Mildmay, 
 moved an amendment which was at once carried, and the 
 houfe proceeded to judgment. Nor was it till this final 
 ftage that the greateft authority in the houfe on eledion 
 matters interpofed decisively, and ferjeant Glanvile 
 produced a number of cafes to fhow that fo many as 
 came in during the polling, whether prefent or not 
 at the reading of the writ, had right of voices. After 
 this no further queftion could be made. The demand 
 
282 V. WentwortKs Ekmonfor Torkjhire. ^°°''^_^- 
 
 for the poll being admitted, the interruption was proved 
 to be frivolous, and two refolutions were ftraightway 
 pafled. The firft declared, that, the cafe concerning 
 the eledlion of the knights for Yorkfhire being admitted, 
 the eledtion of the faid knights was not duly made, and 
 a warrant muft ifTue for a new eledtion. The fecond 
 conceded fo much to the powerful and perfevering men 
 of the north, as to order that the fheriff fhould be no 
 further queftioned for his part in the affair. 
 
 Eliot clofes his account in the Negotium by antici- 
 pating the furprife that might probably be occafioned by 
 his having travailed in the queftion fo elaborately, and in 
 fo feemingly fmall a matter made fo particular a relation. 
 But he had done this, and had dwelt upon the incident fo 
 largely, becaufe of the ftrange and lurid light it threw 
 on Wentworth's fubfequent career. " It being the occa- 
 " fion of greater thinges to come, wee thought it not 
 " unneceffarie the more carefullie to expreffe it, that 
 " the power and influence may be feene of fuch fmall 
 " flarrs and planets, from whence great works, as Tacitus 
 " has obferved, often receave originall." More plainly 
 he adds, in words that are filled with meaning. " The 
 "major part of courtiers in this queflion banded 
 " maynelie againft Wentworth, whereof he retained a 
 " memorie ; and others that for pure reafon did oppofe 
 " him, he forgott not. The efFedt and operation followed 
 " after, of the fenfe he then contradled; which, from that 
 " fpark, did rife to a great flame and burning." 
 
 When Eliot thus wrote, in the recefs before the final fit- 
 ting of the third parliament, the flame which rofe fo high 
 againft the court had funk again, and Wentworth was in 
 the fervice of the king. But the writer's memory flill was 
 frefh of the part they had played together in the debates on 
 the petition of right. And though the language of Cicero 
 to Catiline would again intrude itfelf; though with it alfo 
 came the image of a triumvir and viceroy of the eafl: whofe 
 thirfl for power and aggrandifement extinguiflied his 
 
i625- Wentworth defcribed by Eliot. 283 
 
 35 
 
 career of glory, and Eliot had to make bitter allufion to 
 opportunities wafted and genius abufed ; no contemporary 
 has written with a ftronger defire to do juftice to a great 
 intellect, and nothing comparable to his eulogy of Went- 
 worth is on record at fo early a part of that ftatefman's 
 career. Very worthy of note is it alfo that the clofe of his 
 career is here prefi gured, and the fecret of Strafford's ruin as 
 plainly pointed out as the fource of Wentworth's power. 
 
 " There was in that gentleman," fays Eliot, writing 
 twelve years before Strafford's fall, but in a paper 
 defigned for pofterity and not for his own time, 
 " a good choice of parts, naturall and acquifit, and 
 " noe lefs opinion of them. A ftrong eloquence he 
 " had, and a comprehenfion of much reafon. His ar- 
 " guments were weightie and acute, and his defcriptions 
 " exquifit. When he would move his hearers with 
 " the apprehenfion of his fenfe, he had both acumina 
 " dictorum and i^us Jententiarum to affedt them. His 
 "abilities were great, both in judgment and perfua- 
 "^ fion ; and as great a reputation did attend them. But 
 " thofe manie and great virtues, as Livy faies of Han- 
 " niball, as great vices parallel'd. Or rather, they were 
 " in him, as Cicero notes in Catiline, figna virtutum, 
 " formes of virtue onlie, not the matter ; for they 
 "feldom were directed to good ends, and when they 
 " had that colour fome other fecret mov'd them. His 
 " covetoufnefs and ambition were both violent, as were 
 " his waies to ferve them. Neque in fecunia, neque in 
 " gloria concufijcenda, as CrafTus is render'd by Pater- 
 " cuius, aut modum novat aut capiebat terminum. And 
 " thofe afFedtions raifed him to fo much pride and choler, 
 " as anie oppofition didtranfport him. Which rendered 
 " him lefs powerful to his adverfaries, wher the advan- 
 " tage was followed and perceaved." 
 
 So difmifTmg Wentworth moft chara<5teriftically, but 
 not fo the fubjed: altogether, Eliot lingers to extratft 
 from it a higher intereft than any merely perfonal. He 
 
284 V- WentwortKs Election for York/hire. Book v. 
 
 fhows the value towards future ele6lions of the rules 
 which the decifion of the houfe had laid down. Thefewere : 
 that the poll might be demanded at any time between the 
 reading of the writ and eleven o'clock ; that no excufe 
 might ferve for its interruption ; and that all who offered 
 themfelves during its continuance, though not prefent at 
 the reading of the writ, had their votes and fuffrage free. 
 " Which fhews the libertie of the commons in the adt of 
 " fuch eleftions, and the great care of parliament to 
 '^juftifie and preferveit ; in which, yet, noe man is com- 
 "pellable to attend." He mentions alfo the principle 
 eftablifhed by two other difputed returns adjudged during 
 the feffion. Sir William Cope, member for the county 
 of Oxford in the 16 2 3 parliament, having been arrefted 
 and taken in execution during its prorogation, got his 
 liberty by habeas and went abroad, ftaying there until 
 again elefted for Banbury to the parliament of 1625, 
 when he returned and claimed his feat. This however 
 was refufed him on two grounds; the firft, that a proroga- 
 tion, unlike an adjournment, gives no privilege from 
 arreft beyond the fixteen days immediately following it; 
 and the fecond, that no one in execution is eligible to 
 parliament, becaufe his enlargement would by law deprive 
 the creditor of his debt. That was one cafe. The other 
 was Mr. BafTet's, a Devonfhire fquire who had been for 
 two years a prifoner upon original and mefne procefs, his 
 arreii being for fo large a fum that no man dared bail him, 
 but who neverthelefs had been returned for the borough 
 of Fowey, on which he was fet free and admitted. " I 
 " mention thefe cafes," Eliot adds, " to fhow their differ- 
 " ent judgments, and the rules of proceeding in that houfe; 
 " which, as they are exadt to preferve the publick interefts, 
 " are curious alfo and intentive for the private. Juftice, 
 " in all, being the ground on which they build ; though 
 " the firft ftone and foundation be their privilege." 
 
 Through the later career of the two illuftrious men 
 whom we have feen thus brought into collifion by this 
 
^ ^^ 5 • Eliot, Wentworth, and Buckingham . 285 
 
 Yorkfhire eleftion, the remembrance of what has fo been 
 revealed to us never pafled away ; and many circum- 
 ftances in the after-lives of both, till now unaccounted 
 for, have here their explanation. As Eliot by degrees 
 took, up his place of extreme antagonifm to Bucking- 
 ham, that minifter, ftruggling ftill againft a former 
 diflike of Wentworth, yet faw the advantage of a better 
 underftanding with one whom Eliot* fo ftiarply had 
 aflailed; and when thefe overtures, entertained for a time, 
 failed through other caufes, and Wentworth in the third 
 parliament took his place by Eliot, intrigues to win either 
 to the court were woven around both, whereof the then, 
 ex-keeper Williams, at his wit's end in thofe days to 
 recover the favour he had loft, was chief contriver and 
 artificer.! It was no ill guefs by Mr. Hallam, when 
 
 * " At the diflblved parliament in Oxford," writes Wentworth to 
 Wefton, chancellor of the exchequer, " you are privy how I was moved 
 " from and in behalf of the duke of Buckingham, with promife of his 
 " good efteem and favour ; you are privy that my anfwer was, I did honour 
 " the duke's perfon, that I would be ready to fei-ve him in the quality of an 
 " honeft man and a gentleman ; you are privy that the duke took this in 
 " good part, fent me thanks. As for refpefts done him, you are privy Aotv 
 " during that fitting I performed 'what I had prof effed.:" Straff. Disp.'i. 34-35. 
 Thefe allufions, and the furprife he goes on to exprefs at the ill return he 
 had received for fuch performance of his promife, will be better underftood 
 when the narrative of the Oxford fitting (in which "Wentworth, having carried 
 a new eleftion,again fat for Yorkfhire) is laid before the reader. It will 
 befeen that though he refrained from joining in the attack on the duke, he 
 oppofed the demand for further fupply. 
 
 f When his intrigues for the time had failed, Williams made a partial 
 confeffion in his apology before cited (pp. 178 and 231), wherein, while 
 manifefting the utmoft fpleen againft Eliot, even he unconfcioufly clears 
 him. " I never," he fays, " fpake at Oxford with any of the ftirring men, 
 " as was untruly fuggefted to your majefty, excepting once with Philips, 
 " with the privity and for the fervice of the duke ; and with Wentworth 
 " at his firft coming to town, and before his coming to the houfe, who 
 " promifed (and I do verily believe he performed it) to carry himfelf 
 " advantageoully to your majefty's fervice, and not to join with any th;.t 
 " ftiould fly upon my lord duke. The reft are all ftrangers to me ; and I 
 " never fpake with anyone of them concerning any parliamentary matters." 
 This is the very paper neverthelefs, in which, as we have feen, though at the 
 time when it was written Eliot had been appointed to draw up charges for 
 Buckingham's impeachment, he charged him as having been " never out of 
 " my lord duke's chamber and bofom." Scrinia Referata, ii. 19. Ample 
 
286 V. Wentworth's Election for Torkfhire. Book v. 
 
 mT, 
 
 feeking to explain a difference of whofe real origin he 
 was neceflarily ignorant, to furmife that Wentworth, 
 always jealous of a rival, might then firft have contradted 
 his diflike for Eliot, from the fufpicion that he was likely 
 to be anticipated by that " more diftinguifhed patriot " in 
 royal favours ; * and Williams's biographer has indeed 
 gone fo far as to fay that Wentworth never forgave Wil- 
 liams for having offered to bring Eliot over, at the time 
 when Wefton was carrying over Wentworth himfelf.f 
 Very worthily at this does Mr. Hallam exclaim, that the 
 magnanimous fortitude of Eliot, " the moft illuftrious 
 " confeffor in the caufe of liberty whom that time pro- 
 " duced,"j: forbids us to give credit, on authority fo in- 
 different, to any furmife unfavourable to his glory ; § 
 and that the difclofures now made would eagerly have 
 been received by that candid judgment, it hardly needs 
 to fay. Intrigues thickened more and more, and were fo 
 rife as the councils of the king became more and more 
 defperate, that the poffibility of even Eliot's momentary 
 involvement in them might without harftinefs be enter- 
 tained ; but happily, as to that charge at leaft, we have 
 now the means to clear him altogether. Out of the 
 unceafing court-plotting and confpiring which tarnifhed 
 
 opportunity will be ftiortly offered further to teft this ftatement ; both as to 
 the degree of intimacy which continued between Eliot and Buckingham, 
 and the amount of credibility due to Williams. 
 
 * Conft. Hiji. ii. 42. 
 
 -[■ " The L. Treafurer Wefton," fays Hacket, in his racy way, " picked 
 " out the Northern Cock, Sir Thomas Wentworth, to make him the 
 " king's creature, and fet him upon the firft ftep of his rifmg ; which was 
 " wormwood in the tafte of Sir John Eliot, the Weftern Cock, who re- 
 " venged himfelf upon the king in the bill of tonnage, and then fell upon 
 " the treafurer, &c., &c. The bifhop of Lincoln, who had fpies abroad in 
 " many private conferences, informed the L. Wefton before, who was his 
 " adverfary, what coals he was blowing at the forge, and proffer'd himfelf 
 " to bring Sir J. Eliot to him to be reconciled, and to be his fervant ; for 
 " which Sir T. Wentworth fpleen'd the bifhop for offering to bring his rival 
 " into favour ; but L. Wefton took it as a courtefie as long as he lived, and 
 " bade the bifhop look for more favour from the king than it was his luck 
 " to find." — Scrinia Referata, ii. 83. 
 
 I Conft. Hi/}, i. 378. § Ibid. ii. 42, note. 
 
16^5- WentwortK s later Memories of Eliot. iZn 
 
 35- ■' ' 
 
 fo many fair reputations, Eliot's reaches us without a 
 ftain. From this fo early date it will be feen, by con- 
 tinued and irrefragable proof, that with a fteadinefs which 
 never wavered for an inftant he kept his courfe ftraight 
 onward to the end. Even from Wentworth himfelf, in 
 later years, when altered time and circumftance muft in 
 all ways have embittered his recolledion of the man who 
 had periflied in the caufe he had himfelf forfaken, no 
 imputation againft Eliot's honour was permitted to 
 efcape. As the very type and imperfonation of refin- 
 ance, and not as connedted in any Ihape with yielding or 
 vacillation, the image of his former affailant remained with 
 him. When Cottington fent him word, with an ill- 
 chofen phrafe of mirth, that his old dear friend Sir John 
 Eliot was very like to die,* "Wentworth had a grateful 
 word for all his correfpondent's pleafantries, but not for 
 that. When Laud defcribed to him the growing plagues 
 of popular difcontent which had ftruck with incapacity 
 and fear his half-hearted colleagues, Wentworth flafhed 
 out anger at the Englifh council that the "fantaftic 
 " apparition of an Eliot " fhould appal them.f When 
 matters had grown more ferious, and after twelve years 
 intermiflion the name of parliament again founded 
 through the land, Wentworth's fpirit rofe to the danger 
 by raifing up Eliot's image, and nerved itfelf for the 
 coming ftruggle by thinking of that old antagonift, to 
 whofe memory no greater tribute has been ever offered 
 than the words he uttered then. 
 
 " Sound or lame, you fliall have me with you before 
 " the beginning of the parliament. I fhould not fail, 
 " though Sir John Eliot were living."'^ 
 
 VI. Supply. 
 
 Thus had religion, grievances, and matter of privilege 
 been firft difcuffed ; but in referve there was a fubjedt to 
 
 * Strafford DifpaUhes, i. 79. f ^^^^y '• '73- X Ibid, ii. 393. 
 
288 VI. Supply. ^"""V- 
 
 s.y. 
 
 which the king and court attached an importance pre- 
 dominant over all, and for which only in their view 
 was it worth affembling a parliament. How much 
 money would be given ? The debates that determined 
 the anfwer filled the interval between the 22nd of June 
 and the 4th of July, when even the commons' journals 
 are a blank to us. With the greater intereft, therefore, 
 we read thefe papers by Eliot. 
 
 " A gentleman of the countrie " pitched the tone of 
 the firft difcuffion ; below what was known as the defire 
 of the court, but fo much in agreement with that of the 
 houfe that " all the court rhetorick and labour could 
 " hardly thence remove it." He named a fubfidy and a 
 fifteenth as a fufficient fum, confidering that three entire 
 fubfidies and three-fifteenths* had been voted fo recently, 
 and that fome fimilar application muft fhortly be re- 
 newed. Upon this again there was employed as media- 
 tor. Sir Benjamin Rudyard ; " who but at fuch times, 
 " and in fuch fervices, did fpeake ; never but premedi- 
 " tated, which had more fhow of memorie than affedlion, 
 " and made his words lefs powerfull than obferved." 
 Again he was unfuccefsful. His reafons for enlargement 
 of the vote were grounded on the domeftic charges of 
 the king, the expenfes of his father's funeral, and the 
 neceflary entertainment of ambaffadors ; not lefs than 
 upon the preparations for war, the large foreign expenfes, 
 and the engagements to Denmark, the States, and Mans- 
 feldt : all which, he pointed out, required fuch a fupply 
 as the people alone could give. But the coldnefs of the 
 houfe difcouraged him, and he fat down without even 
 naming the fum he would have had them vote. Then 
 did divers others follow him, " and in divers waies and 
 " motions. Some would have an addition of fifteenths, 
 " others of fubfidies ; and there wer that prefs 'd for both : 
 " but in little they prevail'd. The pitch being fett at 
 
 * Upwards of 350,000/. See ante, 153, 154.. 
 
'^^5- Speech by Sir Robert Philips. 289 
 
 " firft, was not fo eafilie exceeded ; yet the quindecem* 
 " thought grievous to the poore, chang'd the propofi- 
 " tlon in that part ; which was concluded, in the whole, 
 " for two fubfidies alone." 
 
 The fpeech that fo far determined it as to make fur- 
 ther appeal unavailing was Sir Robert Philips's. He 
 began by referring to the time when this fupply was 
 afked. It was then but tlie beginning, whereas fupply 
 was anciently a work of the concluding, of a parliament. 
 The grant itfelf, he next declared, taken in connexion 
 with what had preceded it by but a few months, was of 
 fuch value as not four of our preceding Englifh kings 
 ever had received the like. He defired the houfe to re- 
 member, moreover, the condition of the people ; and 
 their fmall ability to contribute, through the many 
 violations of their rights, in the general liberties of 
 the kingdom, in the particular privileges of that houfe, 
 in their burdens, in their oppreffions, which no times 
 elfe could parallel. If, deferring fuch complaints, they 
 confented to give at all, did it not fpeak them more 
 than ordinarily affedtionate ? He denied altogether 
 that they were under any engagement to give. The laft 
 parliament of James had indeed declared for a war, 
 and made promifes for its fupport ; but where was their 
 enemy ? None fuch was even yet declared. Where, 
 too, was the reckoning that had been promifed them for 
 the grant then made ? What reckoning, alas ! could be 
 rendered of the many thoufand men who had perifhed 
 in the Palatinate and with Mansfeldt ; or of the mil- 
 lions of treafure that had been fpent, without fuccefs to 
 the kingdom, and without profit or honour to the king ? 
 Other days there were when fuch was noted not to be 
 England's fate ; days when God and fhe were friends ! 
 And for this were inftanced the glories of queen Eliza- 
 
 * The "ffteentk" within which came men of fmaller means and for- 
 tunes than the " fubfidy " reached. 
 VOL. I. U 
 
290 VI. Supply. ^°'"'^ 
 
 &T. 
 
 beth, who, with lefs fupplies and aids, increafed herfelf at 
 home, wafted her enemies abroad, confumed Spain, raifed 
 the Low Countries, revived and ftrengthened France. 
 Upon all which it was defired that there might be a peti- 
 tion to the king to move him to confideration of thefe 
 things, and to reform the government, then at his entrance 
 and beginning, by the like counfel and advice. A peti- 
 tion and remonftrance would further tell him how affec- 
 tionate in fuch circumftances was that grant ; which for 
 himfelf, Philips added, he was fo far from defiring to aug- 
 ment, that he fhould feel ftiame if any man further could 
 be found to fuggeft it. 
 
 A great eiFe6t was produced by this fpeech in the 
 apprehenfion of the houfe, Eliot remarks, both for its 
 fettlement of the queftion at ifTue, and its refleftion on 
 the times. It ftruck a chord to which the refponfe was 
 immediate and decifive. " The prefent povertie was 
 " felt in the generall neceffities of the countrie. The 
 " caufe of that was knowne to be the grievances and 
 " oppreflions. The lofs of men, lofs of monie, the late 
 " infortunities of king James, were too obvious and un- 
 " doubted ; as the contrarie felicities of queen Elizabeth. 
 " Soe as all men of themfelves fawe the prefent want of 
 " counfell, and/ome refolv'd, in time, morejpecially to com- 
 " plaine it." The taik was difficult in the circumftances 
 that furrounded him, but Eliot had by this time, for 
 himfelf at any rate, refolved to undertake it. 
 
 He proceeds to fay of Philips that there was in him 
 a natural grace of oratory, " a moving and Neftorean 
 " waie of rhetoricke. A choife ftore he had, and elegance 
 " of words ; a readineiTe and dexteritie in fancie and con- 
 " ception ; a voice and pronunciation alfo of much Iweet- 
 " nefs ; the whole expreffion profluens et canora, but, as 
 " fome judg'd of Cicero, fo by fome thought in him, 
 " tumens et exultans. A redundancie and exuberance he 
 " had, and an aifedted cadence and deliverie : but upon 
 " all occafions, at all times, 'he fpoke from the occafion, 
 
'*^s- A MeJJage from the King. 291 
 
 35 
 
 " ex re nata^ which made his arguments, as more genuine 
 " and particular, foe more acceptable and perfuafive. 
 " For in that place, alwaies, premeditation is an error ; 
 " and all fpeech of compofition and exaftnefs being fup- 
 " pos'd ex ore non a feElore, thofe children onHe of the 
 " mouth fall ever fhort of the true iffues of the heart." 
 
 No oppofition further was made, after the fpeech of 
 Philips, to a bill for the grant of two fubiidies.* Even 
 the king received it gracloufly, and from this arofe the 
 general hope of a fpeedy conclufion and fuccefs to that 
 fitting. Charles had at this time withdrawn to Hampton- 
 court becaufe of the fpread of the peftilence in London 
 and Weftminfter, and his mefTage was delivered by the 
 lord keeper on the 4th of July, the day before that ap- 
 pointed for the fecond reading of the bill. Williams then 
 told them that his majefty had received great fatisfadtion 
 and contentment in their gift both for the form and 
 matter, it coming as an earneft of their love.. That he 
 took into confideration their fafeties far more than his 
 own, in refpeft of the danger of the ficknefs ftill increas- 
 ing ; and that when he Ihould hear the commons were 
 ready, though he would not haften them in anything, he 
 would not defer one minute for any other reafon to put 
 an end to the fitting by his prefence or otherwife. 
 
 Eliot gives an importance to this meflage not hereto- 
 fore underftood by defcribing the fenfe in which it was 
 received and the efFedt produced by it. What men 
 defire, he remarks, they are ready to believe; and it 
 occurred to no man to doubt but that the king meant 
 unrefervedly what was faid in his mefTage. The great 
 majority of the members, therefore, difpofed themfelves 
 prefently to leave for their homes. Their grant being 
 accepted, and all things left to the difcretion of the houfe, 
 
 * Philips's fpeech, Eliot elfewhere remarks, " was a charme upon the 
 " courtiers to fuppreffe their further craving. Yet fomething was added by 
 " the reft for the improvement of the gift, that the recuiants (hould paie 
 " double : which after fome fmall letts was likewife recorded and concluded 
 " on, whereof the acceptation and fuccefs (hall be noted in their order." 
 
292 VI. Supply. 
 
 Book V. 
 
 they knew that the bufinefs ftill depending was incon- 
 fiderable, and that its tranfaftion might be matter of 
 courfe. The few queftions that remained were of no 
 very great importance ; moft of them were but forma] ; 
 and more, they prefumed, would not be entertained. Adt- 
 ing on the king's exprefled and fuppofed defire, therefore, 
 that they ftiould regard their own fafety as of an import- 
 ance paramount to any further immediate attendance, and 
 relying on the implied aflurance which his majefty had 
 alfo given, that, after interval fufficient for fuch fafety, 
 the means of reafTembling would be duly afforded them, 
 they believed their attendance to be for the prefent dis- 
 penfable, and no longer felt the neceffity of remaining in 
 a plague-vifited city. 
 
 " In this confidence," Eliot adds, " the greateft part 
 *' went off. Hardlie were the commons a fourth part 
 " of their number. And thofe that ftaied, refolv'd 
 " with all the hafte they could to follow thofe that were 
 " gone." How natural this was will appear further from 
 the fa6t that at this date the deaths from plague 
 had reached an average of 5,000 a week ; and that the 
 city had become fo empty of its ordinary inhabitants 
 that grafs was beginning to grow in the ftreets. Lily 
 the aftrologer, who lived in a houfe over againft 
 Strand-bridge, and was in the habit of going between 
 fix and feven on thefe fummer mornings to prayers 
 at St. Antholin's church in Watling-ftreet, tells us that 
 in this now prefent month of July, on going there, 
 " fo few people were then alive and the ftreets fo un- 
 " frequented " he met only three perfons in the way.* 
 
 Scarcely had the houfe thus quickly cleared itfelf of 
 three-fourths of its members, however, when one fubjedt 
 afllimed fuddenly an importance not expedled. The 
 bill for tonnage and poundage had been introduced in 
 the ufual form with the fubfidy bill ; but, upon the 
 fecond reading coming on before that fragment of a houfe, 
 
 * Lily's Obfervations, 15, And See Whitelocke's Memorials, i. 5. 
 
i62S- Eliot on the Tonnage and Poundage Bill. 293 
 
 fuch ftrong reafons prefented themfelves againft the 
 ordinary courfe of procedure as to lead to the fuggeftion, 
 firft made by Sir Francis Seymour, which has raifed 
 againft this parliament its fharpeft affailants. It will 
 neverthelefs appear to us, as here explained by Eliot, 
 both juftifiable and natural. The matter is too im- 
 portant not to be defcribed in his exadt words. 
 
 The bill, he fays, " was drawne in the ufiiall forme, 
 
 " as formerlie it had been in the dales of king James ; 
 
 " for the like terme of life and in fiich latitude as to 
 
 " him. At which fome exceptions were then made,- and 
 
 " motions for change and alteration ; upon which it was 
 
 " referr'd, for the better difcuffion and debate, to the 
 
 " grand committee of the houfe, into which, the 
 
 "Speaker leaving his chair, they prefentlie refolv'd 
 
 " themfelves. Some did objedt, in that, the exadtions 
 
 " of the officers, and the inequalitie of the cuftoms then 
 
 " required ; and urg'd therein a neceffitie for the mar- 
 
 " chantes to have a new book of rates, to fettle and 
 
 " compofe it ; which could not be prepared in (o ftiort a 
 
 " time and fitting. Others alleged the pretermitted 
 
 " cuftoms, grounded upon the mifconftrudtion of that 
 
 " lawe, which ought to be examined likewife ; and the 
 
 " lawyers that then remayn'd were thought to be incapable 
 
 " of that worke. Therefore, on thefe reafons, they 
 
 " infer'd a defire for a limitation in the adb, and that it 
 
 " might but continue for one year ; againft which time, 
 
 " thofe difficulties being refolv'd, they might againe renew 
 
 " it with a larger extenfion and continuance. Others to 
 
 " this added the queftion of impofitions in the generall, 
 
 " and crav'd a fpecial care not to have that excluded. 
 
 " The elder times were mentioned to note the former 
 
 " grants, wherin, though there were colleded a great 
 
 " varietie and difference, yet all were within the limitation 
 
 " of fome years. Sometimes for one, fometimes for two, 
 
 " feldome above three, and that in the beft raignes and 
 
 " governments, and to the wifeft princes ; but never for 
 
294 VI- Supply. 
 
 Book V. 
 
 " life till towards the end of Henry VI, in whofe beginnings 
 " alfo it had had other limitations and reftraints, and for 
 *' the time a lefs extent and latitude. Upon which like- 
 " wife it was concluded for a prefent alteration in that 
 " pointe. The king's councell oppos 'd this with much 
 " foUicitation and indeavor, and urg'd the diftafte it 
 " might occafion, having fo many defcents held conftant 
 " in that forme. The hopes and meritts of the king 
 "wer compar'd with all his anceftors ; and it was preft 
 " as a prejudice therein if the grant fhould then be 
 '' limited, having been abfolute to the others. // was 
 " thereuppon confented that a provifo jhould he added for 
 " thejaving of thofe rights ; and in this forme the bill paft 
 " that houfe, and had its tranfition to the lords, wher 
 " it receav'd like favor and difpatch ; but. was not made 
 " a law, wanting the roy le veut ; which being denied it, 
 " Jhowed what muji be lookt for." 
 
 But other things had fhown it before that denial came. 
 The modified tonnage and poundage bill pafled on the^ 
 morning of Thurfday the yth July, up to which time all 
 had gone reafonably well. Some threatenings there had 
 been, but no ftorm ; and fufpicious as many felt in the 
 matter of Montagu, all elfe fhowed fairly, at the leaft. 
 On the evening of that day, however, a check and change 
 came in. He whom Eliot calls " the Eolus" of the time 
 had caft an '' alteration in the aer," and the winds were 
 fuddenly let loofe. Haftily and unexpeftedly the 
 gentlemen in attendance on the duke of Buckingham 
 who formed his council, and the major part of whom 
 belonged alfo to his majefty's privy council, were fum- 
 moned, late that Thurfday night, to meet the duke at 
 his refidence in York-houie. He had come diredt from 
 the king at Hampton-court, and a propofition was to be 
 fubmitted next morning to the houfe of commons. It 
 was to aflc, in the name of the king, for an additional 
 fupply ! 
 
 All doubts as to Eliot's exifting relations to the duke. 
 
»^^5- Council of the Duke's Privadoes. i<^c^ 
 
 if any remained, are clofed by the terms in which he 
 defcribes this council. It was called together, he fays, 
 fome time after midnight; and by reafon of the fudden- 
 nefs and unfeafonablenefs of the hour, the attendance was 
 not only fmall, but confined chiefly to the clafs who were 
 called " the duke's privadoes." Not only were few 
 prefent, he adds, but they were fuch as had little judg- 
 ment; the men ever ready to be attendant on the great 
 being commonly thofe who are moft " obnoxious " * to 
 their humours, and who fl:udy not to counfel but to 
 pleafe. No objedtion was made that night, therefore, 
 to the propofal of the duke. But on the following 
 morning Eliot received ftartling proof of the efFedt it 
 had produced upon the better clafs of Buckingham's 
 counfellors. 
 
 VII. Eliot's final Interview with Buckingham. 
 
 The morning of Friday the 8 th of July brought an 
 early and unexpedled viiitor to Eliot. This was no lefs 
 a perfon than the chief of the king's privy councillors in 
 the lower houfe. Sir Humphrey May. Difmayed by the 
 previous night's council at York-houfe, and hopelefs 
 himfelf of making impreffion on the duke, he fought the 
 good offices of that popular member of the commons 
 who alone could exert upon the favourite the double 
 influence of his prefent pofltion and a former friendly 
 intercourfe. " To that gentleman," writes Eliot, refer- 
 ring to himfelf, " whom he thought might be powerfull 
 " with the duke, and knew to be affedionat to the 
 " publicke, he came in great hast." He told him what 
 the duke propofed, and already had direfted to be 
 done. He believed that a demand for additional fupply, 
 made in fuch circumftances, would be fatal ; that both 
 
 * He means moft dependant upon, or liable to, their humours ; as where 
 Milton fpeaks {Samson Agonistes) of being 
 
 made thereby obnoxious more 
 
 To all the miferies of life, &c. 
 
296 VII . Eliofs final Interview with Buckingham. ^°°^ '^• 
 
 difhonour to the king and danger to the duke, were 
 involved in it ; and he importuned Eliot to give his help 
 to " ftaie or divert " it. Their meeting was at Weftmin- 
 fter, very near the time of the fitting of the commons ; and 
 the duke was at York-houfe. Eliot objecfted that his in- 
 terview, if he ihould undertake it, might be long ; in fo 
 great a difficulty it was not likely to be fhort ; and if the 
 propofition were meanwhile made to the houfe, before he 
 could finifh the work, his labour would all be thrown 
 away. " But, to remove this doubt, the chancellor 
 " undertook to ftop the motion till he came. Onlie he 
 " wifht him to haften his returne, and in his talk to inti- 
 " mat that ftaie unto the duke." 
 
 Eliot confented; and the next fentence of his narrative 
 gives us a curious glimpfe of the habits of the time. He 
 is ftill fpeaking of himfelf. " Upon this he makes his 
 " paffage, and addrefs ; and comming to York-houfe, 
 " findes the duke with his ladie yet in bed. But, notice 
 " being given of his comming, the dutchefs rofe and 
 " withdrew into her cabanett; and foe he was forthwith 
 " admitted and lett in." 
 
 Ourfelves admitted alfo to this ftrange interview, the 
 curtain of the paft is uplifted for us at a critical time. 
 Whatever elfe it might involve, the fcene was at the 
 leaft to determine finally the future pofition of its aftors 
 to each other. Certain caufes tending lately to eftrange 
 them have been feen ; but as yet even Eliot has only 
 partial knowledge of the extent of the influence adverfe 
 to himfelf, which has been altering and alienating his old 
 patron and friend. It was no fufficient folution of the 
 change that he had himfelf now taken up his pofition with 
 the country party in parliament. Very recently Bucking- 
 ham had found his own intereft lie that way ; and Eliot 
 might fairly believe, that, upon the common ground of 
 what was fafeft for the king and kingdom, agreement 
 and cooperation were poflible to them ftill. Nor, judging 
 the prefent moment of time by what we now know to 
 
'^^5- A Turning-point of Hijiory. sgy 
 
 35- 
 
 have followed it, will it be too much to fay, that if Eliot 
 could here have prevailed with Buckingham, and if the 
 refult had been that better underftanding between the 
 parliament and the 'court which he defired to eftablifh, the 
 courfe of Englifh hiftory might have changed. To 
 Charles's quarrel with his firft parliaments Clarendon 
 afcribes all the troubles of his reign; and now the good 
 or the ill underftanding publickly is to date from this 
 day. What privately is to flow from its two hours' con- 
 ference, not alone to the men fitting in that bedchamber 
 of York-house, but to the royal mafter they would both 
 have ferved, will not have exhaufted itfelf for many years. 
 It will not have clofed when Buckingham's wretched 
 death has come. When Eliot finks beneath the king's 
 unrelenting perfecution of his favourite's fierceft afi"ailant,, 
 it will be working ftill. Nor until that harfli perfecution 
 of Eliot is remembered and put forth, in later years, to 
 juftify the harftinefs dealt out to an imprifoned king, 
 will the cycle of wrong and retribution be complete that 
 this day begins. 
 
 The firft argument ufed by Eliot had reference to the 
 king ; refpedl to whofe fafety, he urged, as well as confi- 
 deration for his honour, ftiould difluade the duke from 
 the courfe propofed. He pointed out the pofition in 
 which the fovereign had been placed by the meflage 
 accepting the bill now pafTed for the two fubfidies, and 
 profeffing fatisfacftion therewith ; a mefiage which the 
 duke's prefent propofition muft neceflarily impeach, 
 either in truth or wifdom. In reply, the duke difputed 
 this conftrudtion of the meflage; declaring that the 
 acceptance fo made of the two fubfidies granted, was but 
 an acknowledgment of the affeftion thereby fliown to 
 the king, and not any admiflion of its adequacy. 
 
 Eliot then with additional reafons reafl"erted his own 
 view, and begged the duke to recolledt that the bulk of 
 the members who liftened to the meflage were now, 
 upon the very confidence infpired by the language em- 
 
•298 VII. Eliofs final Interview with Buckingham. Book v. 
 
 mt. 
 
 ployed in it, abfent from their places in the houfe. He 
 dwelt upon the fmall number, not a fourth, that remained; 
 and faid that If any demand to vote additional fubfidies 
 fhould be forced upon that fragment remaining, it would 
 be regarded by the members who were gone as an 
 advantage taken of their abfence, in the nature of an 
 ambufcade or furprife. At no time, Eliot added empha- 
 tically, could fuch a ftep be efteemed honourable dealing 
 with fubjefts, and far lefs at the commencement of a new 
 reign, " in the very entrance of the foveraigne." The 
 rule then fafeft to obferve refted on higher authority than 
 his. Ut initia froveniant fama in c ceteris eft:. To all 
 which, including the hint from Tacitus, Buckingham lis- 
 tened gravely ; but contented himfelf with the dry com- 
 ment that " the abfence of the commons was their own 
 " fault and error ; and their negledt muft not preju- 
 " dice the ftate." 
 
 Better fo, rejoined Eliot, than prejudice the perfonal 
 honour of the king. Take away that^ and " noe prince 
 " was great, hardly anie fortunat. And on thefe grounds 
 " a larger fuperftrudlure was impos'd, as occalionallie the 
 " conference did require. For his own," the duke's, 
 " faftie," he continues, " manie things were faid ; fome 
 " more fitt for ufe than for memorie and report. The 
 " generall difopinion was obje<5led which it would furelie 
 " worke to him, not to have oppof 'd it whofe power was 
 " knowne to all men. Naie, that the command comming 
 " by himfelf, would render it as his a6t ; of which impu- 
 " tation what the confequence might be, only a higher 
 " power could judge, men that are much in favour being 
 " obnoxious to much envie." Though Eliot cares not 
 to remember or report all he faid, what he does report 
 will fhow how pregnant was his warning. The anfwer 
 returned though weak, he adds, was yet fuch as 
 implied no yielding. In the duke's opinion the 
 perfonal honour of the king ftood, not on the con- 
 ftrudion of any particular meffage, but wholly on the 
 
'^*S' jl Secret Difcovered. 299 
 
 expedation of the fleet then bufily preparing. He 
 would not fay for what fervice it was bound. But the 
 vice-admiral might account it certain that the fervice, all 
 important as it was, could not be performed unlefs the 
 fhips were fpeedily fet forth ; that they could not be fo 
 fet forth without more money ; and that to the king's 
 chief minifiier this was the matter wherein pre-eminently 
 the honour of the king was fo engaged, as to outweigh 
 all confiderations for himfelf. 
 
 One more argument remained, which Eliot . had 
 referved to the laft. It was an argument that probably 
 he would fain not have ufed at all, but which happily 
 elicited the reply that gives to his account of the confer- 
 ence its greatefl value. It fupplies the clue to Buck- 
 ingham's character, and explains the failure of thefe 
 early parliaments of the reign. 
 
 Plainly, then, Eliot told the duke that even though 
 he were difpofed, as indeed he was not, to admit any 
 force in the replies that had been made to the confidera- 
 tions he had urged, he had yet to inform his grace that 
 it would be better the fcheme were laid afide, for it 
 would fail. It would fail; and not merely in the fenfe 
 of that immeafurable lofs to the king which in fuch cafe 
 mufl attend what the duke would call fuccefs, " by 
 " alienation of the afFedions of the fubjeds, who being 
 " pleas'd were a fountaine of fupplie without which 
 " thofe ftreames would foon drie up." Not even fuch 
 ill-omened fuccefs, not even the ihow or furface thereof, 
 would it obtain. Better than the duke he knew the 
 temper of the houfe of commons. Though hardly fixty 
 members were on the benches that morning, and of thefe 
 the country members were the minority, he yet took 
 upon himfelf to warn the duke that a propofal for 
 another money vote that feffion could have no other 
 poffible fruit than caufes of frefli difagreement between 
 parliament and the king. Such a vote would not pafs. 
 Buckingham liftened impatiently, let fall a hafty word. 
 
300 VIII. Laji Two Bays at Weftminfter. 
 
 Book V. 
 
 and the whole truth flafhed upon EHot. Succefs was 
 not fo much defired, as reafonable ground for quarrel. 
 " The propofition muft proceed without confideration 
 " of fuccefs ; wherin was lodg'd this projedtj meerlie to 
 " be denied." 
 
 Further eiFort was hopelefs ; and yet, excited by dis- 
 covery of that " fecret," Ehot fo prefTed the favourite as 
 to " draw on others that fupported it of greater weight 
 " and moment." Thefe he does not name, but it was 
 plain that now no other courfe was open to him than to 
 bid the duke farewell. Unexpedledly he had obtained 
 guidance for himfelf through fuch danger and fufpicion 
 as yet might lie before him. From what had pafled, 
 that at leaft was clear ; though, as he fays, in the fignifi- 
 cant fentences which clofe his narrative of this extra- 
 ordinary conference — 
 
 " — For the prefent it gave that gentleman" (himfelf) 
 " fome wonder with aftonifhment : who with the feale 
 " of privacie clos'd up thofe paflages in filence, yet 
 " thereon grounded his obfervations for the future, 
 
 " THAT NOE RESPECT OF PERSONS MADE HIM DESERT 
 " HIS COUNTRIE." 
 
 VIII. Last Two Days at Westminster. 
 
 From York-houfe Eliot went with all difpatch to the 
 houfe of commons. The labour he had given to the 
 interview, " not milpent, had taken up much time. Two 
 " bowers, at leaft, went into the treatie and difcourfe, 
 " which with the intercourfe had foe wafted the fore- 
 " noone, as ther remayned but little at his comming 
 " back to Weftminfter ; wher the like difficultie had 
 " been to retard the propofition for that time." 
 
 Sir Humphrey May's promife to keep back the 
 duke's propofal, he had found it difficult to keep. For 
 the meftage had been put " not as other meflages from 
 " the king into the mouths of his councillors and great 
 
'**5- Eliot's Account of Sir John Cooke. 301' 
 
 35 
 
 " officers, whereof there are never wanting in the com- 
 " mons' houfe too manie," but by the duke's fpecial 
 choice, and as indication of further intended prefer- 
 ment, to a member not yet holding office, whofe felec- 
 tion for that employment had so elated him that he 
 " labour'd as a woman does with child, in defire to 
 " bring it foorth." Poor Sir Humphrey had had much 
 ado, before Eliot's appearance, to prevent a premature 
 delivery. But the very afpeft of the member for New- 
 port, as he entered the houfe, fufficed to Ihow that he 
 had failed ; and the duke's feledted inftrument arofe. 
 
 " The man fo chofen," fays Eliot, " was Sir John 
 " Cooke, raifed from a low condition to that title by the 
 " duke. To him he had beene recommended by that 
 "^ ould courtier Sir Foulke Grevill ; under whom he had 
 '^ had his education as a fchoUer, and foe was his fervice 
 " and imploiment. But his converfation being with 
 " books, and that to teach not ftudie them, men and 
 " bufinefs were fubjedls which he knewe not; and his 
 " expreffions were more proper for a fchoole than for a 
 " ftate and councell." 
 
 The fpeech in which he introduced the duke's pro- 
 pofal as from the king, may be briefly defcribed. His 
 majefliy thanked them, he faid, for the earneft of their love 
 in the gift lately made ; and had diredted him, in ac- 
 knowledging the munificence, the royalty, of that gift 
 of three fubfidies and fifteenths which the laft parliament 
 had voted, to give some general account of the expen- 
 diture. In Ireland, there had lately been difburfed thirty 
 two thoufand pounds ; for the navy, up to that date, thirty- 
 feven; for the ordnance and forts, forty-seven; for the regi- 
 ments in the Low Countries, ninety-nine ; and for Mans- 
 feldt's levies, fixty-two. It had been complained that there 
 was no exprefs declaration of war, but every one knew their 
 enemy. Even then Cooke refrained from naming Aufl:ria 
 and Spain ; but he added that the powers which now ruled 
 the continent were known to all, as well their defigns gene- 
 
302 VIII. Lafi Two Bays at Weftminfter . '^°°^ ^• 
 
 Mt. 
 
 rally upon the German ftates as their ultimate defigns upon 
 England, which, if not timely checked, would leave to them 
 only the favor UlyfTes obtained from Polyphemus, to be the 
 laft devoured. He named, without detailing their terms, 
 the treaties with the kings of France and Denmark, with 
 the ftate of Venice, with the duke of Savoy, and with 
 the Low Countries. He handled warily the one exploit 
 of the war, the fole achievement they had to fhow for 
 their expenditure hitherto. He could not but admit, 
 what a worthy gentleman had related to them, the 
 difafters of the Mansfeldt enterprife. The faults in 
 thofe troops at Dover could not be excufed, men having 
 been chofen fuch as would be kept under no government. 
 But the objedlion was not a juft one that had condemned 
 the feledtion of a foreigner to lead thofe troops. It was 
 to be confidered that the whole army comprifed French 
 and Dutch, as well as Engliih ; that if an Englifhman 
 had commanded it, the French would have been difcon- 
 tented, and fo the Engliih if a Frenchman ; that more 
 generals than one would have raifed difficulties of pre- 
 cedence ; and that on thefe grounds, the man moft 
 indifferent might be fairly held the moft fit, as being leaft 
 likely to fuggeft objecftion. It had feemed right to the 
 worthy gentleman already referred to, to take a further ob- 
 jedtion from the event ; but as to that, let them like- 
 wife confider that it was not man's to ordain fuccefs, 
 and that he was no equal judge who fo meafured what 
 paffed in this world. Nor, though there had been im- 
 peachment of fome good effedls expedted, and Breda 
 had not been faved, had the defign been altogether un- 
 profitable ; keeping divers princes of Germany, as it had 
 done, from declaring themfelves for the enemy. Such, 
 then, was the account he had to render for the vote of the 
 three fubfidies and fifteenths. But his majefty had further 
 commanded him to give account of what muft necefla- 
 rily be fpent upon the preparations then in hand. The 
 houfe had voted fomething ftiort of two hundred thoufand 
 
1625. q'fie Buke /peaks by Sir John Cooke. 303 
 
 pounds. But the charge of the fleet then preparing would 
 much exceed that fum. In the navy office alone it would 
 be two hundred thoufand, befides forty-eight thoufand in 
 the ordnance, and forty-five for the landfmen. Nor was 
 this all. Monthly fubfidies of twenty thoufand each 
 were promifed to Mansfeldt and the king of Denmark, 
 and an additional fum was to be paid to the latter prince 
 to draw him into Germany. To all this his majefly's 
 ordinary revenues were unequal. Thefe being exhaufted, 
 and the crown lands overcharged with other expenfes 
 both of neceffity and honour, the king's engagements 
 could not be fupported without more help by parliament 
 or elfe fame new way. His majefl:y was in debt. The 
 lord-admiral had engaged his eftate. Other minifters 
 had helped in their degrees. Should it be faid that thefe 
 men were left to be undone for their readinefs to the 
 public fervice ? Would they proclaim their own 
 poverty by lofing all that had been bellowed upon the 
 enterprize becaufe they could not go through with it ? 
 What were they to fay to the honour of the king ? But 
 that was not all. Even his majefty's eftablifliment on 
 his throne, the peace of Chrifl:endom, the ftate of 
 religion, depended on that fleet. Their adverfaries (ftill 
 he avoided employment of the word enemy) had indulged 
 in very infolent fpeeches ever fince the taking of Breda. 
 The French inclined to civil war. The people brandled * 
 in Italy, and fainted, as their forefathers were wont to do, 
 after the heat of the firfl: enterprize. Germany only was 
 to be counted on. The catholic league had been pre- 
 vented from aflembling to the ruin of the proteftants by 
 their German allies alone. To reunite the princes, to 
 encourage the French, to fupport the States, to oppofe 
 the catholic league, what had they but the reputation of 
 Mansfeldt's army, and the expedation of the fleet then 
 
 ' From the French word brandiller. It is ufed in the fenfe of wavering or 
 fliaking. Jeremy Taylor fo ufes it, but it is of rare occurrence after the 
 reign of James. 
 
304 VIII. Laft Two Days at Weftminfier . Book v. 
 
 ^T. 
 
 preparing ? Was it to be faid, that, forfaken of his fub- 
 jedls, the king had been enforced to abandon religion, and 
 to feek a difhonourable peace? It was Sir John Cooke's 
 conclufion, upon all thefe confiderations, that money alone 
 could fave them ; and he would therefore move that they 
 fliould prefently make an addition of fupply. 
 
 " Thus fpoke that worthie," fays Eliot, proceeding to 
 explain how it happened that he fpoke to no purpofe 
 whatever. He found only one hearty feconder. This 
 was " a council-clerk and fervant of that time " who 
 reprefented Dover, Sir William Becher, a creature of the 
 lord-admiral's, poflefTrng neither reafon nor authority ; 
 and fuch was the effed: of a prompt reply " by a worthie 
 ^ gentleman of Lincolnshire, Sir Thomas Grantham, who 
 " was never wanting to the fervice of his countrie," that 
 the motion " forthwith died and perifhed, though from 
 " the duft therof more troubles did fpring up." 
 
 Why it Ihould have died without debate, was of courfe 
 in a meafure alfo attributable to what Eliot relates of the 
 difafFedtion of the feftion of courtiers headed by Sir 
 Humphrey May. Their fears had not been leflened by 
 the tone of Cooke's fpeech ; and though Eliot more than 
 hints that their disfavour had arifen from the fadt that 
 " it came not in particular by them, and they were not 
 " preconfulted for the worke," he is yet careful to ftate 
 that " the immenfe calculations and accounts, the far- 
 " fetcht and impertinent relations, the artificial pofitions 
 " and conclufions," of Buckingham's feledted fpokes- 
 man, received no fandtion or adhefion from them. Neither 
 did they make any attempt, he adds, to refift the difap- 
 proval ftrongly excited among the country members by 
 what Cooke had put as a poffible cafe, that the houfe 
 might forfake the king and that the king might aban- 
 don religion. " This," he remarks, " was deem'd both 
 " fcandalous and ofFenfive ; as was that mention of new 
 " ivaies, which the more was noted becaufe it had hap- 
 " pened once before, and therefore was not thought to be 
 
'^^5- Defeat of the Duke's Orator. 305 
 
 35 
 
 " accidentall or by chance." What the ifTue might have 
 been, however, even as regarded May and his friends, if 
 the motion had been prefled to a divifion, Eliot avoids 
 difcufling. He contents himfelf with faying : " Ther 
 " was noe deniall, nor noe queftion : it being never 
 " brought foe farr. Which had almoft a miracle within It ; 
 " for ther were hardlie then threefcore in the houfe, and, 
 " of thofe, countriemen not the moft. Anie fupport or 
 " agitation it had had, muft have needs driven it to a 
 " conceffion, or the contrarle ; but through the wifdom 
 " of the time, exceptions were declin'd, and It vanlfli'd 
 " through its own lightnefs or futilitle." Even fo. But 
 not therefore were its confequences lefs difaftrous. It 
 v/as the prefent avoidance of an open conflidt that gave 
 the duke his future opportunity. 
 
 As a thing of courle, after this incident, all frefh bufi- 
 nefs was abandoned. Early on the following day, 
 Saturday the 9th of July, upon the motion of Mr. 
 William Strode, member for Plympton, the commons 
 joined the lords in an addrefs to which the king replied, 
 that obferving their reprefentations of the plague and the 
 abfence of members, the thinnefs of the houfe and the 
 danger of the time, which had indlfpofed them te further 
 bufinefs, he acceded thereto. " His neceffities were 
 " great, yet the confideration of their faftles fhould difpofe 
 " him to difmifs them for that time, though they muft 
 " fhortlie meet againe. That Jhortlie was not then rightlie 
 " underftood." Much lay In the word which no man 
 underftood who heard It at the time, though he had not 
 to wait long In uncertainty. " Noe man," fays Eliot, 
 " did doubt that which the word intended. Moft men 
 " did refer It to the winter or the fpring, the conventions 
 " of that councell being feldom neerer, or more frequent. 
 " But an effect It was of the pawerfull influence of the 
 "D, which not long after was more perfpicuous and 
 "apparent." In other words, the duke had refolved to 
 punifh the houfe of commons for their late difaffedllon 
 
 VOL. I, X 
 
3o6 VIII. Laft 'Two Days at Weftminfter. ^°°^ '^ 
 
 B.T. 
 
 to himfelf, and the rod which was to make them fmart 
 for it was preparing. On this very day, " being but the 
 " daie before," he overbore Williams at the council, and 
 carried what he had determined. So ended all hope of 
 any future right underftanding. The miferable ftrife 
 fet in that was to laft to the clofe of the reign. 
 
 Eliot flops, at this point, to dwell upon the temper now 
 fliewn by Buckingham ; to defcribe the eiFe6l produced by 
 rejeftion of his propofal, on his intercourfe with even his 
 dependants ; and to deplore the mifery which awaited 
 England from that wanton and unbridled will. It was 
 doubtlefs the turning point of the deftiny of Charles the 
 Fir ft, for if the young king had ftartedwith a difpofition 
 to treat the commons fairly, he would have kept at his 
 fide the moft powerful and moft loyal of his fubjedbs, 
 who were then the trufted leaders of that houfe. As it 
 was, he facrificed everything to the man of whom Eliot 
 proceeds to fpeak in thefe weighty and pregnant words, 
 
 " That unexpedled ilTue to the duke caus'd likewlfe a 
 " new trouble and diforder. All his privados were con- 
 " demn'd, as remifs and negligent in the fervice. His 
 " frends were all complain'd of, thus to have fail'd his 
 " hopes. Everie man was blam'd, but him that was moft 
 " faultie. What he intended in his corrupt reafon, or 
 " affeftion, to that he would have had even the Heavens 
 " themfelves confenting. Soe unhappie are fuch perfons, 
 " through the diftradtions of their greatnefs, that fuccefle 
 " they thinke muft follow the Via Laftea of their fancies, 
 " and that the rule of that, naie of the world itfelf, 
 " ftiould be ever by the proportion of their wills ; and 
 " rather than fail therin, if the fuperiors be not flexible 
 " the infernal powers flial be ftudied, with their arts. 
 " That was the infelicitie of this man ; and at this time 
 " it firfl open'd and difcover'd, though not cleerlie but 
 " by fliadows. Being diforder'd in his purpofe, v/hich 
 " almofl noe man yet did know, he condemns both his 
 " fortune and his friends. But for himfelf, nothing was 
 
'^*5- Bill of Continuance fajfed. 307 
 
 " lefs refolv'd on than that which was moft neceflarie. 
 " Noe retraSlion of the courfel That which had beene, 
 " becaufe it was done by him, muft be both juftified and 
 " maintain'd. And that juftification must appeare in the 
 " approbation of the worke, by a future profecution that 
 " was worfe." This evil confequence followed quickly. 
 
 Monday, July 11, being appointed for adjournment, 
 the reft of Saturday was given to the completion of a 
 bill of continuance. It was ftill at that time doubtful 
 if a feflion were not neceflarily determined by the fadt 
 of bills receiving the royal afTent ; and the objedt of 
 the Ihort ad: now framed was to provide that fuch aflent 
 ftiould not fo operate (" as was fuppofed by fome " in- 
 terpofes Eliot, " though prefidents fpake the contrarie); * 
 " but that the feffion fhould continue by adjornment, 
 " and all things ftand in the condition that they left them, 
 " foe to be refum'd againe at the next time of meeting." 
 This done ; and, in the opportunity afforded by the brief 
 interval remaining, other- matters alfo difpofed of ; f the 
 morning of Monday arrived. 
 
 Hardly had prayers been faid when the lords intima- 
 
 * Siraonds D'Ewes differs from Eliot on this point. Mentioning the faft 
 of fo many bills having paiTed, he adds : " And therefore it was doubtlefs a 
 " prorogation of the parliament, and not an adjournment ; although fome 
 " of the members of the lower houfe themfelves ftyled it, as did alfo the letter 
 " I received from London, by the latter appellation." Autobiography, i. 275. 
 
 t Eliot thus refers to them : " This done, and the aft of confirmation 
 " being paft for three fubfidie.s then granted by the clergie, ther being a 
 " little time remayning it was fpent upon a petition from the prifoners in the 
 " Fleet. They bad been fuitors to the lords, in refpeft of the great danger 
 " of the fickneffe, to have libertie by order from the parliament, by habeas 
 " corpus, to goe abroad. The lords imparted the motion to the commons. 
 " The commons, thereupon, taking confideration at this leafure,upon thefe 
 " reafons thus refolved it to be repugnant to the lawe. Firft, that it 
 " was againft the intention of the writt, wh'', commanding the keeper 
 " to bring his prifoner to a judge, implies the neereft waie he has, not, as 
 " the abufe went, to let him travell wher he lift, to hunte and hawke the 
 " whole vacation in his countrie, and at terme againe to refort unto his 
 " prifon. Then, that it was legallie an efcape, and foe the creditors 
 " fhould be prejudiced ; for w''° ther were divers judgments cited, 
 " and fome cafes demonftrative in the pointe ; as 5 H. 6, when, in confidera- 
 " tion of the State, ther being fpeciall fervice at that time for fome 
 " minifter then imprifoned, and the like libertie was defir'd, the judges, 
 
3o8 VIII. Laft two Bays at Weftminfter. ^°°^ ^■ 
 
 mr. 
 
 ted to the commons their receipt from the king of a 
 commiffion for the double purpofe of adjournment of 
 the parliament, and of royal affent to certain bills which 
 had paffed the houfes. Comparatively few as the mem- 
 bers attending were, at the time when this meflage was 
 delivered from the lords, it raifed a hot debate on privi- 
 lege. Our knowledge of the fadt we derive folely from 
 Eliot, and it is very charadteriftic of the temper of the 
 commons at the time. 
 
 The fubfidy bill was the principal one waiting aflent ; 
 and it was pointed out that this bill had never been 
 returned from the lords, whereas the rule was that all 
 fuch bills having paffed the lords fhould be returned 
 again as the peculiar property of the commons, with 
 whom it refted, upon their attendance either for diflblu- 
 tion or adjournment, to prefent them by their Speaker 
 as their free aft. This was not difputed ; but it was 
 pointed out that the fubfidy bill had been appended with 
 the reft to a commiffion properly belonging to the lords, 
 and that therefore it could not be detached. A com- 
 promife was thereupon fuggefted, and the Speaker was 
 required to give affiirance that " in an expreffion at the 
 " place " he would be careful to fave the right of the 
 commons. 
 
 As to the adjournment, however, no compromife was 
 poffible. " This," fays Eliot, " having alwaies been 
 " their owne fole a6t and worke, in admitting it by com- 
 " miffion from the king it was then thought an innova- 
 ^'tion of the right, which might induce a prefident 
 
 " upon confultation, did denie it. And before that, it was noted, that all 
 " kinde of eafe or remove from one prifon to another was wholie refufed, 
 " w^out confent and liking of the creditors. For this, therefore, it being 
 " fo contrarie to the lawe, and in favor of abufe, however pittie did move 
 " in contemplation of the men, yet their dangers being not equall to the 
 " danger of the kingdome w"^"" would foUowe the exinanition of the laws, 
 " it was thought fit not in that particular to admitt it, or that admiffion, at 
 " the lead, not to be made by parliament. W"'' opinion being fignified to 
 *' the lords, they in like manner did refolve it, and foe all inltance ceas't. 
 " This was the ninth of Julie, being Saturdaie." 
 
*^^^5' Eliot Jums up the Sitting. 309 
 
 " againft them ; and foe retrench their libertie for the 
 "future. And for this purpofe the difference was 
 " obferv'd between adjornment and prorogation, as pro- 
 " rogation and diflblution have their odds. That the 
 " two latter in their kindes were in the prerogative of 
 " the king ; the adjornment, in the priviledg onlie of 
 " the houfe. Therefor a meffage in that cafe was dis- 
 " patcht for accomodation with the lords ; who there- 
 " upon agreed to read onlie in their prefence the com- 
 "miffion for aflent, and in the other to leave them 
 " wholie to themfelves." 
 
 The difpute of privilege thus arranged, the Speaker 
 and fuch of the commons as remained prepared to 
 depart to the upper houfe ; and the feeling which pos- 
 feffed them that day, differing fo widely from the hope 
 and eagernefs of the day of their affembling, is remarked 
 by Eliot. Of fatisfaftion we had not much, he fays, and 
 of promife far lefs. " In the matter of religion, though 
 " ther were a faire anfwear in the generall, yet Montagu 
 " was protedled, and to that end made chaplain to the 
 " king. In other things, the anfwear to the grievances 
 " was but flight, and fuch as imported fmall fruite and 
 " benefit to the fubjed:. The bill of tonnage and pound- 
 " age was refpited, and yet thofe levies made ; which 
 " was held an indication of more love to the waies of 
 " power than of right. The lawes that had approbation 
 " were not manie, and the choice of them not great. 
 " That againfl recufants was not pafl ; and, in all, their 
 " number was but feven : whereof the fubfidies of the 
 " laitie and clergie made up two, foe as the reft imported 
 " little to publick happinefs." He proceeds to name 
 each in fuccefTion,* and his character of them juftifies 
 his ftatement. 
 
 * In the following terms : 
 
 " I . An aft for puniftiing of divers abufes committed on the Lord's Daie. 
 " 2. An aft to enable the K to make leafes in the Dutchie of Cornwall. 
 " 3. An aft for eafe in obtaining liveries of alienation. 
 
jio VIII. Laft Two Days at Wejlminfter. 
 
 Book V. 
 
 srs. 
 
 " That for Religion, for foe it was pretended, onlie 
 " did provide againft bullbaitings, enterludes, and the 
 " like unlawful paftimes on the Sundale ; and therin 
 " alfoe with a mixture of civill confiderations and refpefts. 
 " That for the Dutchie, had afpecft but to the profitt of 
 " the king, though with fome ftiadow and pretence of 
 " advantage to the tenants. That for Alienations onlie 
 " lookt at fome fmall decreafe of fees, and had reference 
 " but to few, and rarlie of ufe to them. That for 
 " reftraint of Alehoufes, was in eiFeft but what had been 
 " before, for the repreffing of tiplings and diforders ; 
 " which both before and then were more decried than 
 " punifhed, as reformation is lefs eafie than complaint. 
 " The reft need no comment to explane them ; fenfe 
 " without reafon making demonftration of the Subfidies ; 
 " and for the Other, if it had wanted midwives much 
 " trouble had been fav'd which afterwards did followe 
 " that prodigious birth at Oxford." Better for us there 
 had been no ad: of continuance, he means ; better to have 
 been diffolved at once. The prodigy ripening for birth 
 at Oxford, was the propofed reaflembling in that city 
 after a few days ; on which Buckingham had refolved, and 
 of which with amazement they were now to hear. 
 
 Rumour of it feems fuddenly to have reached them 
 before the mefTenger called them to the lords ; and there 
 are indications of a hurried debate, but of no want of 
 accurate perception of the drift of Buckingham. That 
 he was bent upon preventing any continuance of the 
 united adlion of the commons, and failing this had re- 
 folved to get rid of them, was perhaps difcernible with 
 no great difficulty, apart from the fpecial knowledge 
 Eliot poffefTed. By the pretence of reaflembling them, 
 they were to be fcattered apart more widely ; and if that 
 
 " 4. An aft for reftraint of alehoufes and viftualling houfes. 
 " 5. An aft for confirraation of the fubfidies granted by theclergie. 
 " 6. An aft for two entire fubfidies granted by the temporaltie. 
 " 7. An aft that the feffion fhould not then determine by the roiall 
 " affent to other afts." 
 
jj^^" Adjournment to Oxford. 3 1 1 
 
 plot for a diminiflied attendance fhould fail, or a compact 
 oppofition ftill prefent itfelf, the caufe of quarrel lately 
 found yet furniflied plaufible pretext for a dlflblution. 
 But, be it fo, we muft meet at all hazards, was the tone 
 at once taken equally by Sir Edward Coke and Sir John 
 Eliot ; the latter at the time knowing well, as he enables 
 us now to know, what Buckingham defired and was pre- 
 pared for. Some on the other hand would have aflced, 
 even yet, whether there might not be a winding up of the 
 feffion and a prorogation to Chriftmas. Too late, cried 
 Eliot ; adding with charafteriftic fpirit, that he ftiould 
 himfelf, before they feparated, move for a full attend- 
 ance at their coming together again. " Move it when 
 "we return from the lords," faid the member for Surrey, 
 Sir George Moore ; and the words were fcarcely uttered 
 when the ufher appeared. 
 
 The lord keeper was chief commiffioner, and had to 
 announce to the commons what he had himfelf moft 
 ftrongly, for purpofes of his own, refilled at the council.* 
 But Mr. Speaker firfl: did the part afTigned to him. 
 Laying his hand upon the bill of fubfidy, " as it was 
 " hanging with the others to the commiffion that muft 
 " pafTe them," he made as if to take it to himfelf ; and 
 then, claiming it in the name of the commons, returned 
 it formally as their prefentation and free gift to the king. 
 Whereto, in the fovereign's name, Williams briefly 
 anfwered. 
 
 * He appears to have been fupported in this refiftance by Sir Humphrey 
 May and fome others, but they were powerlefs againft the duke. In a later 
 part of his narrative Eliot tells us that during the excitements of the Oxford 
 fitting all this became known. " Upon privat difgufts amongfl. the courtiers, 
 " thefecret ivas let out of the confultation thereupon, and how the keeper with 
 " fome others, when the propofition for the adjornment to Oxford was firft 
 " made, being but the dale before it was, had w"" much violence oppof 'd it 
 " to the king, w"" reafons both of honor and profitt to perfuade him, and 
 " yet were therein raafter'd by the duke, who, like a torrent at refiftance, did 
 " forthw"" fwell againft them, and threatned w"" his weight their ruine for 
 " that fervice." What Eliot adds of the fubfequent contention between the 
 lord-keeper and the lord admiral, and the manner in which the unfeemly 
 difference was ufed for advantage of partizans on either fide, will be feen 
 hereafter. 
 
312 VIII. Lafi Two Bays at Weftminfter . ^"""^ '*^- 
 
 iET. 
 
 The king thanked them, he faid; and he had it in 
 charge to inform them that he intended his anfwer to the 
 petition for religion to be real and not verbal. Very 
 fhortly after their reaffembling they fliould have a par- 
 ticular fatisfadtion in that point, and in the mean time he 
 would command a ftrid; execution of the laws. The bills 
 defcribed by Eliot received then fucceffively the royal 
 aflent ; and Williams declared the king's pleafure to be 
 that the houfes fhould adjourn, and reaflemble at Oxford 
 on Monday the firft of Auguft. 
 
 The commons returned to their houfe, fays Eliot, 
 troubled and wondering ; though he does not fay that he 
 partook himfelf of the amazement and difmay. The 
 reafon for which fufpenfion of their fittings had been 
 promifed, was the fpreading of the plague ; and now, 
 while that danger hourly increafed, their fittings were to 
 be refumed in a fortnight. So greatly had the terrible 
 diforder been increafing, that fears had come to prevail 
 of its breaking out wherever a crowd might aflemble. 
 " All perfons now," fays Eliot, " were fufpeefled, and in 
 '^jelousie; men, if they could, even flying from them- 
 *' felves. The houfes, fl:reets, and waies, naie, even the 
 " feilds and hedges, almoft in all places neere London 
 "and about it (befides the miferable calamities of the 
 *' citie), prefenting dailie new fpeftacles of mortalitie." 
 Moft fpecial reafons were there alfo why Oxford fhould 
 not have been chofen, for already the difeafe had aiflually 
 fhown itfelf there.* " It was entred," Eliot tells us, 
 " into fome few houfes of the towne, and fome of the 
 " colledges were infecfted. Moft of the fchollers were 
 " retir'd.; and that was an aggravation to the danger, 
 " which being apprehended to the full became an aggra- 
 *' vation of the fear." This could not fail to be known, 
 he fays, though ignorance of it was afterwards pretended. 
 
 * Williams, than whom none is more likely to have known the truth, 
 expreffly told Buckingham that two colleges in the univerfity and eight 
 houfes in the city had already been vifited by the plague. Scrinia Re- 
 ferata, ii. 14.. 
 
'^*S- Anticipations of Evil. 313 
 
 35' 
 
 He adds that apart from all this, and fuppofing fear 
 to have been felt unneceflarily, the fhort interval allowed 
 for recefs involved in itfelf fo much manifeft inconve- 
 nience and annoyance that Its purpofe could not be mis- 
 taken. " Some," he remarks, " had but opportunitie, 
 " whofe habitations were remote, to make onlie a vifit to 
 " their families, and at firft fight to leave them. Hardlie 
 " anie one had leafure for their fit accomodation and 
 " provifions, but fuffer'd fome inconvenience or defedt. 
 " Their travell on the waies, their danger in the inns, 
 " and the little faftle could be promis'd at the period, 
 "tooke off all pleafure from the jorney ; while the occa- 
 " fion that did move it was more difl:afl:full than the 
 « reft." 
 
 Neverthelefs, no oppofition was made when, immedi- 
 ately after reaching their own houfe, Eliot rofe and 
 moved " that within three days after our next meeting 
 " the houfe fliaJl then be called, and cenfure to pafs upon 
 " all fuch as fliall then be abfent." Sir John Cooke only 
 ventured upon the remark that his majefty could have 
 no alternative but to call parliament together fpeedily 
 again, for fupport of the war in which they had engaged 
 him, and which could not be given without money or 
 credit. The fubjedt was not purfued. It was well 
 known, Eliot intimates, who the perfon really refponfible 
 was ; and that what they accepted for " a juftice in the 
 " king," they could not but account " an injurie in his 
 " fervants. But obedience was refolv'd on ; and through 
 " all the difficulties of the time, the king's pleafure was 
 " prefer'd." What he adds of the adjournment is a 
 curious illuftration of the difference between the houfes, 
 and the greater jealoufy of the commons, in regard to 
 fuch matters. " The lords, upon the departure of the 
 " commons from their houfe, read ther the commiffion 
 " for adjornment, fo much they differ from the others 
 " in order ; who, having likewife the writt brought down 
 " to them, refus'd to read or open it ; but, as their owne 
 
314 J^III- Lafi Two Days at Weftmtnfter. Book v. 
 
 m-\. 
 
 " adl, not varying in the circumftance, pronounc't it by 
 " their Speaker that the houfe adjorn'd itfelf ; and foe 
 " difTolv'd that meeting." 
 
 A forrowful clofe to what had opened with fo much 
 promife. The report of it flew prefently, Eliot tells us, 
 to all parts, and affected men everywhere with wonder at 
 the ftrangenefs. For " London then was the conftant feat 
 " of parliaments, which noe wher els had beene for divers 
 " ages pafl: : that in the vulgar fenfe they were incorpo- 
 " rat to that place." The place fubftituted, too, had in 
 itfelf an evil omen. " It was noted," Eliot continues, 
 " as fomething ominous and portentous, for the fuccefs 
 " it gave to the like meetinge in foretimes. It rais'd a 
 " contemplation of the miferies which follow'd that unfor- 
 " tunat convention in the dales of Henry the Sixth, with 
 " the reafons and intentions that had mov'd it ; and 
 " from the refemblance of the caufes was deduc'd a like 
 " fuppofition for the effedts. Which gave a fear to all 
 " men, who in their hearts deplor'd the unhappinefs of 
 " thofe princes that expofe themfelves to the corruption 
 " of their minifters." 
 
 So clearly Eliot forefaw what he did not live to wit- 
 nefs. Hardly more than twenty days had paffed fmce 
 thefe reprefentatives of the Englifh people were hafl;ening 
 eagerly to London to be the firft to offer loyalty and 
 fervice to their young fovereign, and now they were 
 leaving London with forebodings drawn from the dark- 
 efh days of their hiftory. The fhort interval had fufEced 
 to determine the charafter of the new reign. When the 
 commons met again it would be to anfwer the chal- 
 lenge Buckingham had flung down to them, and to 
 begin the momentous talk of determining which was 
 indeed the ftrongeft power in the ftate. The wifeft of 
 the Plantagenets, the flrongeft and boldeft of the 
 Tudors, had never raifed that iffue ; and even Charles's 
 father, while ftraining the prerogative as they would never 
 have attempted, had been fhrewd enough always to fhuffle 
 
'^^5- Eliot's Courje determined. 315, 
 
 35- 
 
 back before the ftep that would finally have committed 
 him. If there was yet a hope to avert the ftruggle, in 
 the intereft of the fovereign himfelf, it could be only by 
 affailing, and if poffible overthrowing, the influence of 
 Buckingham. The fuddennefs with which that minifter 
 became the objed: of a combined attack, led by men 
 with whom very recently he had been in familiar or offi- 
 cial intercourfe, is thus accounted for. Hiftory heretofore 
 has explained it imperfedtly, but the revelations made 
 by Eliot leave it no longer doubtful. Himfelf fliill an 
 officer of the {late, he had to decide upon the inftant 
 whether nominal fervice heretofore paid to Buckingham 
 fhould avail to intercept or weaken a higher allegiance 
 due to the public fervice and the king ; and his very 
 firft official act, on returning to the weft the day after 
 parliament adjourned, will ftiow us that already his deci- 
 fion had been irrevocably taken. 
 
 He was thenceforward to work out pradtically, in what 
 remained to him of life, the thought that had rifen to 
 him in his memorable laft interview with the minifter. 
 " With the feal of privacie he clos'd up thofe paffages in 
 " filence, yet thereon grounded his obfervation for the 
 " future — that no reJpeS of perjons made him dejert his 
 " countrie." Yet the refpeft of perfons was even now 
 fo far to influence him, carrying with it memories and 
 influences of youth, that it was not his voice which raifed 
 itfelf firft againft the man whom in the interefts of his 
 country he could no longer hefitate to oppofe. 
 
3 1 6 /. Recejs : Eliot in the Weft. 
 
 Book VL 
 
 7ET. 
 
 BOOK SIXTH. 
 
 FIRST PARLIAMENT OF CHARLES THE FIRST : 
 AT OXFORD. 
 
 1625 (jULY AND august). ^T. 35. 
 
 /. Recejs : Eliot in the Weft. 
 II. ReaJJemhling : Firft and Second Days. 
 
 III. In Chriftchurch Hall ; and the Morning after. 
 
 IV. A Memorable Debate. 
 
 V. C hoofing Parts ; and ajfifting at a Vlay. 
 VI. "The Serious After-piece. 
 VII. Laft Scene but One. 
 VIII. Cataftrophe and Falling of the Curtain. 
 
 I. Recess : Eliot in the West. 
 
 jLIOT quitted London on the day of the ad- 
 journment, traveUing to the Weft. Exciting 
 news reached him as he pafTed along. 
 Turkifh pirates had appeared in large 
 numbers off the coaft, and done mifchief to an unufual 
 and extraordinary amount. They had feized numbers 
 of {hips, rifled their cargoes, and carried the crews off 
 captive. Such had been the terror infpired, that hardly 
 a veffel fince dared venture from the weftern harbours. 
 Nay, even the latter were not fafe. In fome parts the 
 enemy had entered and ftiown himfelf in the very 
 mouths of the clofe havens ; and all the open roads he 
 ufed as confidently as if they had been his own. No 
 
'^*5- Raids and Ravages of the Turks. 3 1 7 
 
 35' 
 
 refiftance had been offered, or was poffible. From 
 under forts and caftles, left helplefs and unguarded, the 
 Turks had taken Englifh fliips.* The whole of the 
 weftern fea was at their mercy ; and they had alfo car- 
 ried off their prizes from the fhore, having landed in 
 various parts of Cornwall. Not a fifherman could ftir 
 along that coaft but for prey and purchafe at the pleafure 
 of his plunderers ; and whether rich or poor fufFered 
 moft, no man could fay. Befides the actual lofs in fhips to 
 the merchants, trade had been completely interrupted ; 
 and this threw a damp over everything, " commodities 
 " being not vendible where the tranfportation is denied." 
 Such is the account given by Eliot of the complaints 
 that reached him as he journeyed home. He eftimates 
 the number of Chriftians captured during the outrages 
 at not lefs than twelve hundred. " This man bewayl'd 
 " his fonne ; that, his father ; another, his brother ; a 
 " fourth, his fervant ; and the like. Hufbands and 
 " wives, with all relations els of nature and civilitie, did 
 " complaine." That fuch diftrefs, increafing in its cries 
 with every frefh alarm, ihould at laft take the form 
 of a panic, was not furprifing ; and while Eliot admits 
 that the feeling he witnefTed ("even the chief towns 
 " and ftrengths not privileged or excepted ") fhowed 
 fome exaggeration, and that " the people, as their man- 
 " ner is, fain'd or enlarg'd the caufe after the apprehen- 
 " fion of their fancies," he proceeds in the ftrongeft 
 manner to ftate that the danger and the lofs had been 
 unprecedented ('^noe former times having been ex- 
 " ampled with the like "), and that there were attendant 
 circumftances well accounting for the indignation that 
 
 * All this was in addition, be it remembered, to the ordinary dangers of 
 the coaft from which captains and owners were conftantly fuffering, at a 
 time when, though all feaport towns were heavily taxed for their preierva- 
 tion, no pains were taken to preferve them, and even the provifion of light- 
 houfes at dangerous points of the coaft was made matter of jobbing and 
 monopoly. 
 
■J 1 8 /. Recefs : Eliot in the Weft. ^°°'^ ^'^- 
 
 accompanied the fear, and more than juftifying the im- 
 patience difplayed againft the " minifters of ftate." 
 
 To thofe minifters prompt and inceflant intelligence 
 had been fent of the " raids and ravages" of the Turks. 
 Sir Walter Erie, immediately before the adjournment, 
 had publicly warned the privy councillors of their 
 approach. Special prayers for relief had fince, day by 
 day, been • addrefted to them. Nor would relief have 
 been difficult. After referring to the preparations in 
 hand for the great fleet, whofe deftination the commons 
 had vainly endeavoured to afcertain, but in which there 
 was no doubt that all the hopes mofl; cherifhed by Buck- 
 ingham and the king now centred, Eliot makes this 
 remarkable ftatement. 
 
 '' Divers fliips were then readie of the ffleet, w* might 
 '■ have been commanded to that fervice. They lay idle 
 ' in their harbours, in the Thames, at Portfmouth, and 
 ' elfwhere ; all their men and provifions being aboard. 
 ' They were to attend the preparation of their fellows, 
 ' for w'^'" generallie was appointed the rendezvous at 
 ' Plymouth ; foe as this imploiment would have drawne 
 ' them to that place. Their countenance in the pafTage 
 ' would have difpel'd thofe pirates. Noe charge had 
 ' beene occafion'd to the king : noe wafl; of the provi- 
 ' fions, nor unreadinefle in the fhips, nor diforder to the 
 ' fervice : but rather an advantage given in all. Yet 
 ' nothing could be gotten, nor ihip might be remov'd. 
 ' The trade and mar chants were negledted. The coaft 
 ' was left unguarded. The countrie ftood expos'd. As 
 ' if, in expiation of fome finne, it had been made a facri- 
 '■ fice to thofe monfters." 
 
 This was the condition of affairs when Eliot reached 
 Plymouth ; and hardly had he done fo, when, from 
 fome of the principal weftern traders, he received, in his 
 chara6ter of vice-admiral, an urgent entreaty for help to 
 prote6t their defencelefs fliores and fea, fuch as already 
 he knew had been fent without effed elfewhere. In 
 
i6i5- q'he Commiffioners of the Admiralty. 319 
 
 ordinary circumftances his courfe would then have been 
 to crave inftrudtions from the lord-admiral or from the 
 admiralty commiffioners. Now, he applied to neither. 
 Manifeftly he had clofed his intercourfe with Bucking- 
 ham ; and he tells us, in a curious pafTage of his memoir, 
 why in fuch circumftances it would have been idle to 
 make appeal to the commiffioners. 
 
 They had become mere inftruments in the lord-admi- 
 ral's hands. Defigned originally to check his mifdoings, 
 they had degenerated into a cloak and cover for them. 
 Eliot fketches their decline and fall ; and we find it to 
 be an old ftory, abundantly exemplified fince, and very 
 familiar to us. " Thofe commiffioners were the men, 
 " that had the great bufinefs of that time. The whole 
 " ftrength and preparation being navall, they were the 
 " mafters of it. Either for that particular then in hand, 
 " or anie other fervice and defigne for the honor or 
 " faftie of the kingdom, w* confifted in thofe arks, 
 " theyr judgments and difcreations muft difpofe it. They 
 " were firft inftituted, in the creation of their office, under 
 " the admiraltie of the E. of Nottingham ; for a check 
 " and fuperintendance to the admirall, that the whole 
 " kingdom ftiould ftand not too much entrufted to one 
 " man. But after, through the converfion of the times, 
 " they became onlie fubfervient to the admirall : his in- 
 " ftruments to negotiat his ends ; and his objedts againft 
 " envie. Inani nomine, as thofe minifters in Tacitus, 
 " aliens culp^ prehendebantur. They had a great power 
 " in name, but little libertie to ufe it. Onlie they were 
 " an apt difguife and fhadowe, and a common ffather for 
 " all faults. I obferve this the fooner, to ftiew the 
 "varietie of efforts w'^'" may be emergent from one 
 " caufe ; and how from the fame roote and principle, 
 " both good and ill derive themfelves. This office, in 
 " the inftitution, was w"" reafon for the common good 
 " and benefitt ; to redtifie the adtions of the admirall 
 " (though laterallie it might have fome obliquitie) ; but 
 
320 I. Recefs : Eliot in the Weft. ^"'"^ ^i. 
 
 jET. 
 
 " the execution of it after was foe preftigious and cor- 
 " rupt, as nothing more dangerous and obnoxious. The 
 " admirall had w"" them a free command and libertie. 
 " Whatever he but intimated, they did ; and if com- 
 " plainte fucceeded it, the error was their owne." 
 
 Hopelefs of a hearing in this quarter, with charac- 
 teriftic decifion Eliot made diredb appeal to the king ; 
 and the courfe and ifTue of the application ftiow ftrik- 
 ingly, apart from the illuftration they afford of the 
 now opening antagonifm of Eliot and the duke, the 
 manner in which public affairs were at prefent adminis- 
 tered, and the impofTibility of any man obtaining, fo 
 long as Buckingham and his parafites ruled, any fhare 
 of that fettled proteftion for property as well as perfon 
 without which all government is impofture. It will be 
 beft given in Eliot's exa6h words. 
 
 Defcribing himfelf, in connexion with the application 
 made to him, as " a gentleman of thofe parts to whom 
 " it had relation by his office, being vice-admirall of 
 " Devonfhire," he relates what it was that had caufed 
 the fo fudden application. " That there were fourtie 
 " faile of Turks befides thofe w"*" formerlie kepte that 
 " coafl, then in one ffleet come w*''in the channell : and 
 " this warranted by the depofition of the mafler, and 
 " fome others, of a fmall barke that had paft them in 
 " the night. The vice-admirall refolved to reprefent itt 
 " to the king. The king refenting trulie the danger of 
 " his fubjedls, prefently recommends it to his councell, 
 " commanding that gentleman to attend them. Who 
 " meeting, and having the confiderations laid before 
 " them of the difhonor to the king, the prejudice to the 
 " countrie, the neceffitie and facilitie of releife, for w""" 
 " fome few good fhips would ferve ; and thofe, being 
 " readJe, importing noe charge unto the king, nor 
 " hindrance to their fervice ; it was thereupon refolv'd 
 " that eight fhifs for that purpofe Jhould be fent, w*, 
 "having done that worke, fhould await the refi: at 
 
1625. ^Yi Order of Council di/regarded. 321 
 
 " Plimouth. This being fettled by an order of the 
 " board, was diredtedto the commiffioners of the navie, 
 " certified by letters to the countrie; wh* thereupon 
 " conceav'd good hope and fatisfadion, though the 
 " fequell did not anfwear itt." The only point left 
 doubtful in this narrative is its mention of Eliot's having 
 attended before the council. He may have done fo on 
 his return to refume attendance in parliament ; but for 
 the prefent certainly he remained in the weft. 
 
 Buckingham and his ever-ready inftrument Sir John 
 Cooke now enter again upon the fcene. Of all the 
 exifting commiffioners of the navy, Cooke was the moft 
 busy and influential. " The reft were but cyphers to 
 " him." To him the order of council was referred, and 
 by him it was coolly laid afide. It was never again heard 
 of, until Cooke was queftioned refpefting it in the fecond 
 parliament.* It had fufficed that Eliot was the intended 
 inftrument of the propofed grace of the king. " The direc- 
 " tion of his maj"**, the refolution of the lordes, the expec- 
 " tation of the countrie," all counted for nothing before 
 the will of Buckingham and the unreafbning obedience 
 of his fervant. Very ftrange and fearful it was thought, 
 fays Eliot, that fuch could be ; that any private grudge 
 could intercept fuch a promised boon ; and that the 
 public good, and the fafety of the kingdom, lay at thefe 
 rifks. " Enemies at home were more doubted upon this 
 " than thofe pirats and enemies abroad." 
 
 But while thus the vice-admiral, difcarding thought of 
 himfelf, revolved fad thoughts of his country under a 
 government of enemies at home, more ftartling illuftra- 
 tion of their treachery was in courfe of enadtment abroad. 
 He appears to have been one of the firft to become ac- 
 quainted with, and from him the commons at Oxford 
 were earlieft to afcertain, the exiftence of a defign to 
 
 » It will be hereafter feen, from a note preferved among Eliot's papers, 
 that Sir John Cooke was taxed for his conduft in the matter, during the 
 parliament of 1626. 
 
 VOL. I. Y 
 
■5 22 /. Recefs: Eliot in the Wefi. book vr. 
 
 lend Englifli iliips of war to France for fervice againfb 
 the proteftants of Rochelle. The fadb carried with it 
 the heavieft charge yet brought againft the king and the 
 favourite, of withholding ftate-fecrets from the council. 
 That it was communicated primarily to Eliot as a popu- 
 lar fpeaker in the commons, is more than probable ; but 
 that his official pofition as vice-admiral had alfo in a 
 degree induced the difclofure, would feem to be implied 
 by the referve and caution that marked his firft alluiions 
 to it. In his memoir he reftridhs himfelf to faying that 
 the fa6ts became known to him at this time ; but from 
 other fources we know, now, who his informant was. Ex- 
 preffly he adds, however, that the confignment of the 
 fhips, " feven great marchant Ihips, and the Vantgard of 
 " the king's," with all their apparel and munition, was 
 fo abfolute and unreferved, that the cardinal might have 
 ufed them not merely (as he did) againft the port of 
 Rochelle, but againft the port of London. The leading 
 fads may be ftated briefly. 
 
 In the unequal yet powerful ftruggle which the hugue- 
 nots were now maintaining, under the duke de Rohan and 
 his brother the prince de Soubise, with the government 
 of France under Richelieu, the free town of Rochelle 
 had become their ftronghold. Here, affifted by Spain, 
 in revenge for French help of the Netherlands, Soubise 
 had obtained fuch maritime fuccefles, that Richelieu, 
 comparatively powerlefs on the fea, bethought him of 
 the claufe in the marriage treaty* and claimed the eight 
 Englifti Ihips. Upon this, Buckingham and the king, 
 
 * See ante, p. i8o. For notices of Rochelle, which give a lively im- 
 preffion of the ftrength and importance of the place, and of the afpeft of its 
 people, fee Howell's Letters, 46 and 108. " I do not find them," he fays, 
 " fo gentle and debonair to ftrangers, nor fo hofpitable as the reft of France ; 
 " but I excufe them for it, in regard it is commonly fo with all republic and 
 " hanfe towns, whereof this fmells very rank." Thofe fturdy citizens made 
 up the deficiency by nobler qualities, for more heroic endurance under un- 
 exampled fufFering has never been difplayed than that by which they vainly 
 endeavoured to retain what was doubly endeared to them as the gift of the 
 greateft of French kings. 
 
i6z5. Private Councils of the Duke and the King. 323 
 
 concealing their purpofe from every member of the 
 council,* prefled feven firft-rate merchantmen and fent 
 them to fea under Captain Pennington, who had hoifted 
 his flag in the Vanguard Ihip of war. Neither Penning- 
 ton nor the other captains knew at firft their deftination, 
 but the rumour went that they were to be employed 
 againfl; Italy and the Valtoline ; and to the merchant 
 owners, who were efpecially deceived and maltreated 
 throughout, there was given an exprefs aflurance that 
 the Ihips were to adt againft Genoa as the ally of Spain. 
 Pennington with the fmall fleet was ftill waiting in the 
 Downs, when, on the 8th of May, about the time which 
 had been firfl; named for the meeting of the parliament, 
 he and the other captains received peremptory infl:ruc- 
 tions under Buckingham's own hand, to place them- 
 felves unreflridtedly at the fervice of the French ambas- 
 fador.f He at once remonfl:rated againfl: the poflible 
 confequences of such inftruftions ; and ten days later 
 Sir John Cooke wrote to him, by diredhion of Buck- 
 ingham, to ftate in diftindt terms that the fliips were 
 not to be engaged in the civil, wars of the French. J 
 Tranquillised by this afllirance, they failed ; and though 
 a little fcandalifed on arriving in Dieppe-roads, at a 
 pretenfion fl:ill made by the French ambaflador " to 
 " exercife power over the whole fleet in as ample manner 
 " as the lord-admiral of France,"§ it was not until the 
 15th of June, three days before the parliament met at 
 Wefl:minfl:er, that Pennington difcovered the deceit prac- 
 tifed upon him, and that the preparations going on, in 
 the very teeth of his inftrudbions, were againft Soubife and 
 the Rochellois. On that day he wrote in urgent and piteous 
 terms to the lord chamberlain, lord Pembroke, one of 
 the great minifters known to have no friendly difpofition 
 
 * See Whitelocke's Memorials, i. 3. 
 
 -f- (MS.) S. P. O. Buckingham to Pennington. 8th May, 1625. 
 J (MS.) S. P. O. Sir John Cooke to Pennington. 1 8th May, 162.5, 
 4 (MS.) S.P. O. Pennington to Sir John Cooke. 27th May, 1615, 
 
324 I- Recejs: Eliot in the Weft. Bookvi 
 
 JET 
 
 to Buckingham, imploring him to mediate with the king 
 and fave him.* 
 
 It was high time. Aheady had the men of the Vanguard, 
 as well as of the other fhips, on difcovering their deftina- 
 tion, refufed to fight againft their brother proteftants. 
 They figned a round robin, and placed it, where they 
 knew it to be moft fure to catch their commander's eye, 
 between the leaves of his bible. The brave and pious 
 failor waited but a few days after receiving it, and then 
 brought his ftiips back to the Englifh coaft. On the 
 29th of June he wrote, from the Nefs, to lord Pembroke, 
 to announce his return ; mentioning the fa6t that the 
 admiral of France having continued to prefs his claims, 
 his people of the Vanguard fwore they would be hanged 
 or thrown overboard before they would fight againft 
 Soubife. Thefe expreffions, derived from either Pem- 
 broke or Pennington himfelf, were repeated in a letter 
 written by Cooke to Conway on the nth of July, the 
 day of the adjournment of the houfes ; f Conway 
 having meanwhile, on the third and tenth of that month, 
 written to inform Pennington (from Buckingham), that 
 the command of the fleet was to be altogether the French 
 king's, and (from the king) that, the difpofal of the 
 fhips being left to his dear brother the moft chriftian 
 king, Pennington was, according to his majefty's exprefs 
 pleafure, to obey entirely the command of the admiral 
 of France. Five days later, Buckingham, not content 
 with thefe written diredtions, fent his fecretary Nicholas 
 in perfon to fee the ftiips " abfolutely" delivered. 
 Under this peremptory prefTure, and further deceived 
 by a report bufily fpread about the court, and which we 
 
 * (MS.) S.P. O. Pennington to the lord marflial. 15th June, 1625. 
 Seventeen hundred foldiers, he tells Pembroke, were to be put on board his 
 ftiip. 
 
 t " Our feamen generally are moft refolute proteftants, and will rather 
 " be killed or thrown overboard than be forced to fhed the blood of proteft- 
 " ants." All the letters cited in the text are from the originals (MS.) in the 
 ftate paper office. 
 
1625. English Ships fent againfi Rochelle, 325 
 
 3S' 
 
 fhall find even repeated by a minifter on the reaflembling 
 at Oxford, that there was to be peace between the king 
 of France and the huguenots,* Pennington again failed 
 for Dieppe-roads, whither he was followed by Nicholas 
 in the Neptune, perfonally to witnefs the execution and 
 performance of his majefty's " exprefs pleafure." 
 
 Again the pretences ufed were proved to be without 
 foundation, and again upon his arrival Pennington re- 
 monftrated. The fadts, as I now recite them, are drawn 
 from the papers of Nicholas depofited in the record 
 office, only lately acceffible ; and it is remarkable with 
 what clofenefs, even to the moft minute and important 
 dates, they confirm the charges alleged in the feventh 
 and eighth articles f of Buckingham's impeachment, and 
 difpose of every attempt made, either then or fince, to 
 fcreen the minifter and the king, j: Their public profes- 
 
 * There is alfo proof in the ftate paper office of his majefty having 
 fent to his lord marfhal an affurance, doubtlefs with the intention that it 
 fhould be conveyed to Pennington, that " it is far from his wifh that any 
 " of his fliips ftiould go againft the proteflants." Note by Edward Ingham 
 indorfed by lord Pembroke, undated, but written in June 1625. 
 , -j- See State Trials, ii. 1338-1350. 
 
 j Even apart from the proofs in the ftate paper office, Lingard has 
 quoted a letter of Buckingham's written from Paris ftiortly before the 
 opening of the parliament at Weftminfter, in which he fl;ates that " the 
 " peace with them of this religion depends upon the fuccefs of the fleet 
 " they (Richelieu) had from your majefty and the Low Countries." And 
 yet more decifive is a paflage from the fecret inftruftions fent by Charles to 
 Buckingham when the latter was at Paris in the middle of October, two 
 months afterparliament was diflblved at Oxford. " We conceive that the work 
 " which was required to be done by them (the (hips) being the suppreffion 
 " of Soubife, is accomplilhed." Mr. Difraeli {Commentaries, i. 352-53) has 
 attempted to explain that the " suppreffion of Soubife " here meant " the 
 " fuppreffion of Soubife's maritime force," which was intended by means of 
 an expedition againft Genoa ; but while his fancy is enchanted by this 
 imaginary expedition, he overlooks altogether the folid fail that on the 1 6th 
 of the preceding September the Vanguard and the other ftiips, no longer 
 manned by Englifti crews, had "accompliffied " their objeft by opening fire 
 againft Rochelle and mowing down the huguenots " like grafs." It would 
 be hazardous to fay of this too ingenious writer, that if he could have had 
 accefs to the letters cited in my text, he muft have feen that his theory was 
 a hopelefs one ; for it is juft as probable that he might have clung to it 
 more fondly. But to plain readers and reafoners the fafts are quite 
 irrefiftible. 
 
326 I. Recefs: Eliot in the Weft. bookVI. 
 
 ^T. 
 
 fions, put forth from time to time while the aflPair went 
 on, that the fliips would not be employed againft the 
 huguenots, were but a continuation of the fcheme to 
 get the fleet into a French harbour, of which the original 
 falfe inftru6tions to Pennington were the commencement; 
 and the Itatement made in the fecond parliament by 
 the duke, as well as in his fubfequent manifefto againft 
 the French, that Richelieu's intention was not known to 
 himfelf and the king, and that they fuppofed Genoa ftill 
 to have been the deftination, was but the natural and 
 even necefTary fequel to a ftatement by which he had 
 already committed himfelf and mifled the parliament at 
 Oxford. The fimple fadts cannot be impeached. 
 
 Before Pennington found himfelf the fecond time 
 entrapped, he had written direft to Buckingham. It 
 was too difficult a bufinefs, he faid, for him to wade 
 through ; and therefore, while yet in the Downs, he 
 implored his grace to recall him, and fend out fome 
 other more able for it. He would rather, he adds, 
 put his life at the king's mercy at home than go 
 forward in the bufinefs. On the fame day, the i8th 
 of July, he had written alfo to Conway that he muft 
 leave the fhips and return, for that he rather defired to 
 fuffer in perfon than to fuifer difhonour. The anfwer 
 to both letters was a peremptory refufal of his prayer.* 
 The duke marvelled that he, a captain, fhould, upon the 
 inftant of his obedience required, afk leave to withdraw ! 
 He was however to have no fear of the iffue, for news 
 of peace between the French king and his fubjedls was 
 not far off. Upon this Pennington once more failed, fol- 
 lowed by Nicholas ; but he reached Dieppe-roads alone, 
 for the merchant captains had refufed to follow him. 
 
 The day after his arrival, fending his boat to bring 
 
 * (MS.) S. P. O. Though Buckingham fpeaks confidently in his reply 
 of the profpefts of peace between the French king and the proteftants, he is 
 more than ever unyielding that D'Effiat, the French ambaffador, is upon 
 every point to be conciliated and obeyed. 
 
'^^5- A Religious Mutiny at Sea. 327 
 
 35' 
 
 Nicholas on board, he writes to tell him why it was that 
 he had come out alone, and that even this he had not been 
 able to do without " great trouble from his crew." The 
 2 1 St and 22nd of July were occupied with negotiations 
 through the fecretary and the French ambaflador ; the 
 refult being that poor Pennington, convinced that the 
 huguenots and the French king were as far as ever from 
 agreement, is again obliged flatly to refufe to deliver up 
 the Vanguard. Come aboard to me, he writes to 
 Nicholas on the 23rd, for my people are in a mighty 
 mutiny, and fwear they will carry me home by force ! 
 Again there is remonflrance, a renewed attempt at 
 negotiation, and again complete failure. On the 25th 
 Pennington finally writes to Nicholas that he can fend 
 him no other anfwer than that formerly given. He 
 was willing to do anything he might with fafety of his 
 life; but for delivering of the fhip without exprefs warrant 
 from the king, his company would not yield to it. He 
 had read to them Nicholas's letter, and it put them in 
 fuch a rage that they fwore nothing fhould prevent their 
 carrying away the Ihip for the Downs.* Nicholas did 
 not at the moment think this ferious. He could not, he 
 fays, bring himfelf to credit it. The intenfe religious feel- 
 ing, the paflionate proteftant zeal, which now animated 
 the common people of England, and never more fl:rik- 
 ingly fhown than in this incident, he was as little able 
 to underfland as the king and the minifl:er whom he 
 ferved, and whofe infenfibility to it proved their ruin. 
 
 But the evening of the day undeceived him. He 
 had then to write to Buckingham, after reporting the 
 proceedings of the day before and that morning, that in 
 the afternoon, while waiting on the French ambaflador, 
 there came news that the Vanguard was under fail. He 
 did not believe it. Going to fee, however, he found it 
 
 * (MS.) S. P. O. Thefe various letters will be found under the dates 
 refpedlively named. 
 
328 /. Recejs: Eliot in the Weft. Bookvi. 
 
 «T. 
 
 true, which he would have fworn was a thing impoffible. 
 The ftiip had left the roads about four or five o'clock, 
 and amid very tempeftuous weather too ! What was he 
 to do ? The French ambaflador was deeply troubled, 
 and for himfelf he prayed he might not again be trufted 
 with an employment fo much above his abilities. 
 
 The fcene changes to the Englifh coaft, and again 
 Pennington makes manful and touching appeal. This 
 time he writes to the king himfelf. He relates what had 
 pafled in the roads at Dieppe from the time of his 
 arrival to that of his company's weighing anchor and 
 returning to the Downs. They did it without acquaint- 
 ing him ; but he adds frankly that of himfelf he knew 
 it and had connived at it, otherwife they fliould never have 
 done it. He concludes by declaring that he would rather 
 for the reft of his days live on bread and water than be 
 an adtor in that bufinefs.* He writes fimilarly to Conway. 
 On this the old artifices were again employed. The lord 
 chamberlain, Pembroke, was made to convey affurance 
 to Pennington, and alfo to Sir Fernando Gorges and the 
 other mafters of the merchantmen, that peace was really 
 to be made with the proteftants, and that war would be 
 declared againft Spain and Milan ; wherefore they all 
 were peremptorily, and without reply, to obey the 
 direftions given them. At the fame time Buckingham 
 wrote to tell Nicholas that he was to wait in the roads, 
 for that the fliips would be delivered up; and by a 
 letter of the fame date he told Pennington that there was 
 then on its way to him an exprefs warrant from the king 
 who was " extremely oiFended " with him, and whofe 
 orders, if he now defired to make his peace, he muft 
 not fail punftually to obey. Finally, the royal warrant 
 followed, formally requiring Pennington to put his fliip 
 the Vanguard, and all the other feven fliips, with their 
 equipage, artillery and ammunition, into the fervice of 
 
 * (MS.) S. P. O. 27th July, 1625. 
 
35^^' ^^^P^ delivered without Seamen. 329 
 
 his dear brother the moft chriftian king ; and, in cafe of 
 backwardnefs or refufal on the part of the crews, com- 
 manding him and the others to ufe all means poffible to 
 compel obedience, even unto the finking of the /hips. 
 " See you fail not," are the doling words of this decifive 
 document, " as you will anfwer to the contrarie at the 
 " uttermoft peril." * 
 
 Little more remains to be told. For the third time 
 Pennington took his Vanguard into the French harbour ; 
 and with him went this time, with a defperate reluctance, 
 the feven merchant fhips. One of the latter notwith- 
 ftanding, commanded .by Sir Fernando Gorges, who 
 became thereafter a marked objedb for Bagg's treach- 
 erous hoftility, broke through and returned upon 
 learning that the promifed aflurance of peace with 
 the proteftants was falfe, and that the deftination of the 
 fleet was no other than Rochelle. On the other hand, 
 Pennington, for himfelf and the reft, doggedly obeyed 
 the letter of the king's warrant, and delivered up the 
 ihips and their ftores, without their crews. Declaring 
 for the laft time that he would rather be hanged in 
 England for difobedience than fight himfelf, or fee his 
 feamen fight, againft their brother proteftants of France, 
 he quietly looked on while the crews of all the ftiips 
 deferted;f left every ftiip, including his own, to be 
 manned by Frenchmen ; and came back to fet himfelf 
 right with his countrymen. 
 
 His firft intention was to fubmit in perfon to the 
 two houfes of parliament his proteft and defence ; but 
 
 * (MS. at Port Eliot.) This, with the original inftruftions, and the 
 proteft fubfequently made by Pennington, had been tranfmitted to Eliot at 
 the time. According to Ruftiworth (i. 176), Pennington had adually to 
 fire upon the merchant fliips, to compel their compliance with the king's 
 direftion ; but there is no evidence in fupport of this ftatement, though it 
 was certainly current at the time, and is mentioned in Walter Yonge's 
 Diary, 85. 
 
 •f- One Englifhman alone remained, a gunner ; afterwards ftiot in charg- 
 ing a cannon before Rochelle. Hume's dry remark on the incident is one 
 of the moft charadleriftic paffages of his hiftory. v. 67, 68. 
 
3 JO II. ReaJJembling : Fir ft and Second Days, bookvi. 
 
 m-T. 
 
 he was baffled in this purpofe by orders from Whitehall, 
 and was adlually kept away by means of agents em- 
 ployed by the court, until after the houfes were dis- 
 mifled.* Neverthelefs, from his place of concealment, 
 he appears to have managed to fend a portion of his 
 papers to Eliot. That vice-admiral was ftill officially 
 connefbed with Pennington's chief, the lord-admiral, and 
 had not as yet taken any public part againfl; him ; but 
 he was one of the moft eloquent members of the com- 
 mons, and he was a brother-Corniihman and friend. 
 The papers comprifed not only a copy of Pennington's 
 proteft, but the original diredions by Buckingham, and 
 the final warrant by the king ; and they remain at Port 
 Eliot to this day. If there had been any momentary 
 wavering in the purpofe with which, very fhortly before 
 receiving them, Eliot had again turned his face, to the 
 fouth, they might well have fufficed to determine it for 
 ever. On the night of Sunday the 30th of July, Eliot 
 arrived in Oxford, and before the 5 th of Auguft there 
 is reafon to conclude that thefe papers were in his 
 po/Teffion. 
 
 II. Reassembling : First and Second Days. 
 
 Eliot's threatened call of the houfe had produced its 
 effedt, and the attendance in the divinity fchools, where the 
 meeting had been appointed, on the morning of Monday 
 the 1st of Auguft, was very large. This was the morning 
 on which we now know that his right reverence the lord 
 keeper had once more warned the king that the duke 
 would be brought upon the ftage ; and fome hint of 
 that purpofe might probably have been read even upon 
 
 * " The faid Capt. Pennington returned fpeedily into England, and took 
 " his journey towards the city of Oxford, where the parliament was then 
 
 " fitting, by adjournment from Weftminfter thither Before the 
 
 " parliament was diffolved, Capt. Pennington came to Oxford, but was there 
 " drawn to conceal himfelf by means of the duke." — Impeachment of 
 Buckingham ; arts. vii. and viii. 
 
^^^5- Complaint by Sir Edward Giles. 331 
 
 the faces of honourable members as they took their feats. 
 But the lord keeper was himfelf to be firft brought upon 
 the ftage, a circumftance he was not prepared for.* 
 
 Hardly had bufinefs begun when Sir Edward Giles 
 earneftly craved attention for a matter of ferious 
 moment. As he paffed through Exeter on his way to 
 that affembly, he found forrow and confternation pre- 
 vailing in the town. The authorities there, fome little 
 time before, had committed a jefuit prieft to prifon for 
 aggravated defiance of the laws ; but immediately after 
 the late adjournment of the houfes a royal meffenger had 
 arrived from London with a pardon under the great feal, 
 demanding inftant liberation of the prifoner. Upon the 
 mayor hefitating, and pointing out the contempt and 
 infolence that had accompanied the offence, he was threat- 
 ened " with the authorities above," and made to comply. 
 Sir Edward went on to fay that he held in his hand a 
 copy of the pardon, and that it was expreffed in unufual 
 terms of latitude. It did not imply only a prefent par- 
 don, but was in effect an indulgence for future offences. 
 Befides being a releafe of the exifling imprifonment, it 
 was a fuperfedeas to all officers who might hereafter im- 
 peach the man. Nor was this all. The claufe inva- 
 riably inferted in fuch pardons, and indeed neceffary 
 under the ffcatute, requiring fureties for good behaviour 
 before difcharge, had been likewife omitted. Finally, 
 faid Sir Edward, let the houfe obferve the date of this 
 pardon. And having reminded them of the fpeech of 
 
 * At a later point in his narrative, Eliot, after defcribing the refiflance 
 made by Williams to Buckingham when the adjournment to Oxford was 
 propofed, refers to the effeft which the fubfequent hoftility of the duke had 
 upon the lord keeper's fortunes. " This being then diffus'd and credited 
 " as 'twas truth, caft noe fmall prejudice both on his perfon and his afts : 
 " that alsoe then begann to be fomented by thofe oppofites, who, for the 
 " prefervation of themfelves, ftudied his fubverfion. Both could not ftand 
 " togeather j but they muft doe or fuffer ; and the after-game is not pleafant 
 " in the court. Those therefore did infuse into the humour that was ftir'd 
 " what gall and vinegar they might ; and by their privat inftruments blow- 
 " ing the coales then kindled, added alsoe more fewell to the fire." 
 
33'^ II- Reajfembling: Fir ft and Second Days Book vi. 
 
 &T, 
 
 the lord keeper on the day of their adjournment, and of 
 the folemn promife he then made in the king's name that 
 the royal anfwer to the petition for religion fhould be 
 real and not verbal, and that the penal laws againft re- 
 cufants fhould not be relaxed, he held up the docunient, 
 and pointing to the lord keeper's feal declared its date to 
 be the 1 2th of July. On the day next following after 
 that grave and ferious promife, the very man through 
 whofe lips it ifTued had been made the instrument of its 
 violation. 
 
 " An ill comment on a faire text," exclaims Eliot in 
 his Negotium ; " an unhappie performance of a royal 
 " promifs, which likewije was the firft ! Itt being in 
 " favour of that order alfo wh''"' is moft dangerous in 
 " religion, and for a perfon as obnoxious as his order. 
 " The whole houfe, upon the apprehenfion of thefe 
 " things, aflumed one face of forrowe. Wonder it 
 " wrought in fome, fear generallie in all. The confu- 
 " fion of their thoughts impos'd a filence on their 
 " tongues : wh*, having held awhile, thus at length it 
 " brake." 
 
 The speaker who broke it was Eliot himfelf, and he 
 has entered the fpeech in his memoir in a form only 
 flightly differing from that in which I have found it re- 
 ported by himfelf among the MSS. of his other fpeeches 
 at Port Eliot. Its tone and purpofe were in complete 
 agreement with what we know now to have been his 
 temper at the time, and with what we fhall find him 
 to have fteadily prefcribed to himfelf for the future. 
 Smarting from his recent experience of having feen 
 the king's fair difpofition in the matter of the Turkifh 
 outrages overborne by the fudden caprice of Bucking- 
 ham, his objedl in the fpeech now delivered is the fame 
 that was to diredt him unalterably for the reft of his 
 public life. It was to fix the refponfibility for fuch 
 violation of royal promifes not upon the king but upon 
 the minifters of the king. 
 
i6^s- Eliot's Speech on Jejuit Pardons. ^33 
 
 " Sir," he faid, " Seneca reports it of an emperor that 
 *' being prefled to fign his warrant for execution of a 
 " man, he gave this form and elegy to his forrow, Uti- 
 " nam nejcirem literas ! He wifhed he knew no letters 
 " rather than employ them to fuch ends. In the like 
 " fenfe, I may at this time aflume the like expreffion for 
 " myfelf, Utinam nejcirem loqui. I would I could not 
 " fpeak, fo there were not this occafion. But having 
 " this liberty of my mouth it behoves that I deal faith- 
 " fully with my heart. The conlideration of religion, 
 " the honour of the king, the fervice of this place, re- 
 " quire that I freely render what I do conceive upon this 
 " cafe, and what I would defire upon the judgment 
 " of it. 
 
 " I cannot think that this pardon we have feen, iffued 
 " from the king ; or, if it did, that he rightly under- 
 " flood it. I cannot believe he gave his pardon to a 
 " jefuit, and that fo foon upon his promife unto us. His 
 " favour perchance was intended to the man, and the 
 " man's guilt concealed by thofe that did procure it. I 
 " believe the guilt to lie with thofe who fecretly extended 
 " to the order, fo hateful and dangerous to true religion, 
 " the mercy defigned for the man. It is not feldom 
 " among princes that fuch things are drawn from them. 
 " They cannot read every grant that pafTes them ; and, 
 " if their leifure ferved, yet fometimes their confidence 
 " would decline it. Though they are princes, they 
 " leave not to be men. Hearts they have ftill, and 
 " affedtions like to others ; and trufl: will follow where 
 " love has gone before." It became Eliot, in the cir- 
 cumftances, fo to characterife the relations of the king 
 and his friend ; and to afcribe to no unworthy motive a 
 perfonal influence of which he knew himfelf the Itrength 
 and fafcination. But he would not therefore hold lefs 
 fharply accountable the minifter of the king. 
 
 " Sir," he continued, " I do not doubt this pardon to 
 " be fome abufe of minifters, who prefer their own 
 
334 II- Reajfembling : Firfi and Second Days. '^°°^ '^^■ 
 
 ^T. 
 
 '^ corruptions before religion or the king. They are 
 " the fame who have chofen for advancement divines 
 " under the cenfure of this houfe. The time perhaps 
 " is not now feafonable to queftion them ; but yet I 
 " would have the matter fearched to know the fecrets of 
 " it. The lord keeper has been made the inftrument. 
 " Let the lord keeper be required to attend here, and be 
 " examined by what warrant he did ifTue this pardon ; 
 " and that being known, let us fee who procured it. 
 " Much may be difcovered' in this little, and from an 
 " evil caufe fome good eifedls may flow." 
 
 Some interruption occurred at this, to which Eliot re- 
 plied. He repeated his belief that they might all profit 
 by the ill which had been done. He held that the king, 
 when he ihould be more truly informed as to thefe mat- 
 ters, might recall his grant. " It has an example. Sir, with 
 ^ the French, who in the like report it of faint Louis, 
 ' that when a murderer had petitioned him and received 
 ' a promife of his pardon, being then at his religious 
 ' exercifes and devotions, upon coming to that in the 
 ' psalms Beat us eft qui facit juftitiam in omni tempore, he 
 ' revoked his promife and conceffion and caufed the 
 ^ malefailor to be executed. This to a private mur- 
 ' derer that pious prince did do. How much more, 
 ' then, may we hope it from our king upon this trai- 
 ' tor to the kingdom ? Infinite is the difproportion of 
 ' the oifences ; equal the piety of the princes. There- 
 ' fore what juftice was done in that, I cannot doubt 
 ' in this ; when our fovereign fhall rightly underftand 
 ' it. And to that end my motion fhall incline. Sir, 
 ' I conclude that we fhould proceed forthwith to the 
 ' examination of the fa6t ; and that being known, then 
 ' to reprefent it to his majefty with our petition for fome 
 ' help and redrefs in this particular : and for a general 
 prevention of the Hke." * 
 
 ' MS; colleflions at Port Eliot. From the same coUeftions, I ought to 
 
'^''S- Reply of the Ministers. 335 
 
 But the courtiers (the " king's councill ") too well 
 knew what Eliot was driving at, and that to confent to 
 any fuch examination would not bring only the lord 
 keeper on the fcene, but alfo Laud and Buckingham. 
 Several of them rofe therefore, of whom the moft pro- 
 minent were Sir Thomas Edmundes, treafurer of the 
 houfehold, and the folicitor-general Heath, Bucking- 
 ham's fpecial advocate ; " lefs," Eliot tells us in his 
 memoir, " to make an extenuation or excufe, than, as 
 " fome thought, to divert the inquifitlon that was mov'd 
 " for." They could not deny the fadt of the pardon, or 
 what it imported ; but they defcribed it as incident to 
 the French marriage, and granted as a conceffion to the 
 ambaflador extraordinary who had come over with the 
 young queen. It being a particular cafe, the danger 
 was not much ; and they " alledg'd it as a cuftom of king 
 " James, at the departing of ambaffadors, to make a 
 " gratification of that kinde." Let the weftern gentle- 
 men refolve their fcruples as to this particular, then, 
 into more hopeful expectations; for they might be affured 
 that the anfwer which was coming to the petition for re- 
 ligion would in the general give fatisfaftion. The ap- 
 peal was not fuccefsful, Eliot adds ; the debate went on ; 
 and the views he had himfelf exprefled received unex- 
 pected fupport from a grave and learned perfon, who 
 then, though full of years and official experience, made 
 his maiden fpeech in parliament. 
 
 This was no other than Eliot's old acquaintance, Sir 
 Henry Marten, returned as one of the members for St. 
 Germans. Eliot had been concerned in returning him ; 
 and, doubtful as their relations once had been, he remem- 
 bered now only the better qualities of the man fo long 
 connected with Buckingham, who at laft, like himfelf, had 
 broken off aUiance with his chief rather than fail in alle- 
 
 have noted, were derived the fpeeches ante, 162,163, and 166-72. All are 
 now publifhed for the firft time. 
 
23^ II. Reaffembling: Firfi and Second Days, bookvi, 
 
 ^T, 
 
 giance to his country. " There was in that gentleman," he 
 " fays, great years, great knowledge, great experience, and 
 " great abilities of nature to fupport them. He was a 
 " do6tor of the laws, and had almoft all the civill juris- 
 " didion in his handes, being judge of the admiraltie, 
 " judge of the prerogative, judge of the arches. In the 
 " firfh he ftoode as an officer to the duke ; but the chiefe 
 " dutie he profeft was to juftice and his countrie. This 
 " was the nrft parliament he had ferv'd in. This, al- 
 " moft his firft entrance to the parliament. This, the 
 " firft triall of his fervice. W'' had fuch a reward from 
 " the court, as might have beene a difcouragment to 
 " fome others ; and was not without trouble unto him." 
 Some of that trouble will hereafter appear ; and may 
 help to explain how it was that this grave civilian's fon, 
 now a bright and joyous youth of two-and-twenty, was 
 beginning his manhood with an utter diftruft of courts 
 and kings, to end his life a regicide in the caftle of Chep- 
 ftow. It would be no violent effort of fancy to fuppofe 
 that this fpeech of the old judge and courtier might have 
 affifted, with other confequences ftrange and unexpedhed 
 to that official houfehold, in the growth and development 
 of the moft unflinching and refolute of wits and repub- 
 licans, Cromwell's well-beloved Harry Marten. 
 
 The fpeech was ftaunch and uncompromifing. Sir 
 Henry addreffed himfelf almoft wholly to the argument 
 of the courtiers drawn from the practice of ambafladors. 
 He denounced their intervention in fuch cafes as one of 
 the grievances of the time. He pointed out that no 
 other ftate admitted it, and afked how it was, if the con- 
 trary were maintained, that even the prefence of their 
 prince had not availed to releafe one proteftant in Spain. 
 But in this. Marten added, we but ftiared the infelicity 
 with which treaties were made, and embaffies conduced. 
 It was not always so. In former times, when old am- 
 bafladors of wifdom and experience were employed, our 
 treaties had not been unfuccefsful. Now they were 
 
'^^5- Toung and Gamefome Ambajfadors. 337 
 
 become a byeword. It was common in the mouths of 
 Frenchmen, that we could fight but could not treat ; and 
 that what our dexterity gained in the one, our clumfinefs 
 loft in the other. " He concluded in the general], that 
 " ther might be fought alfoe a remedie for this." 
 
 What gave bitternefs to this fpeech, Eliot remarks, 
 was its perfonal fignificance. Though no one had been 
 named, it was well known who were aimed at. " The 
 " ambaffadors w""'' had treated with the French, then, for 
 " the marriage of the queene, being the duke, the earl 
 " of Holland, and the earl of Carlile. The firft two, 
 " young and gamefome ; fitter for fportes than bufinefle :* 
 "the other foe ceremonious and affefted, that his judg- 
 " ment and realitie were in doubt ; and his aptnefs con- 
 " ceav'd more to have beene deliciarum arbiter, as Pe- 
 " tronius, than arbiter regni or negotii regis, as Pallas 
 " under Nero. Thofe did take that note of old ambas- 
 " fadors to have a contrarie refledtion upon themfelves, 
 " w"'' without doubt was fignified ; and for this they were 
 " incenfed againft him, whereof he had not long after, a 
 "fulltafte." 
 
 Meanwhile the fympathy of the houfe for the prefent 
 fupported him. What he faid met with good approba- 
 tion and acceptance, fays Eliot, becaufe " it did fpeake 
 " that truth w"*" was written in each hart : and, the gene- 
 " rail being laid up for fome other opportunitie, the par- 
 " ticular was refolv'd on to be followed by a petition to 
 
 * Holland is faid to have been the only man in the court, not of his own 
 kindred, whom Buckingham trufted or cared for; and the choice was cha- 
 rafleriftic, for Holland managed to make himfelf confpicuous, even in that 
 court, as much by duplicity as by frivolity of nature. The . character of 
 Buckingham himfelf, fo lightly thrown out in this paifage, by one who 
 knew him fo well as Eliot did, is curious ; but in the main it is doubtlefs 
 true. All his life he was young and gamefome, moft fit for fports, and 
 fafcinating where he liked ; but a ftatefman he never was, and to the laft 
 there wa-s probably as much of the thoughtlefsnefs of the child fporting 
 with what fliould never have been intrufted to it, as of any matured and 
 deliberate purpofe, in his moft mifchievous aftions. But their evil refults 
 and confequences were not lefs terrible. 
 
 VOL. I. Z 
 
23^ II. Reajfembling : Firft and Second Days. 
 
 Book VI. 
 
 " the king, and a committee to that end appointed to 
 " prepare it." 
 
 So clofed the firft day of the reaflembling ; but yet 
 graver warnings of what the favourite had to expedl 
 broke forth upon the fecond day. Immediately on 
 their affembling " after the firft reading of fome bills, as 
 " the ufuall manner is, before the houfe be full, for en- 
 " tertaynement of the morning," Sir Edward Coke in- 
 troduced the fubjeft of Richard Montagu. All knew it 
 to be unavoidable, but fome had ftrongly wiftied it kept 
 back to a later time of the feffion. But, befides what 
 was known of the man's appointment as a king's chap- 
 lain immediately after the proceedings againft him in the 
 laft fitting, that very morning it was known that Laud, 
 adling with Buckingham's fandtion, had addreffed to the 
 favourite, and through the favourite to the king, a 
 letter fubfcribed by himfelf and the bifhops of Roches- 
 ter and Oxford, charafterifing the opinions oppofed to 
 Montagu as " fatal," calling his doftrine the fettled doc- 
 trine of the church and that alone which was compa- 
 tible with civil government, prolefting againft fubmitting 
 it to any fecular tribunal, and defcribing the man him- 
 felf as every way able to do great fervice to God, his 
 majefty, and the church of England.* It was notorious 
 alfo, that fince his cenfure, and the reward of a royal 
 chaplaincy that followed it, the king and his minifter had 
 given him other proofs of favour ; f and everything fo 
 
 * See Heylin's Cypr.Angl. 131-2. I fhall hereafter have to refer to the 
 claim fet up in this letter that the king and bifhops in convocation alone 
 were the judges of any doftrlnal difpute in the church of England, and 
 exclufively empowered to decide thereon. 
 
 f There is a letter from Montagu to Buckingham in the Harleian MSS. 
 7000 (106) dated two days before the fitting at Oxford, gratefully acknow- 
 ledging his and the king's interference for him, but dating that the latter 
 had not yet entirely freed him from the control of parliament. He was 
 indeed free from imprifonment, but the commons had not anfwered his 
 majefty on other points. He befeeches Buckingham, therefore, for fuch 
 further preffure as may obtain immediately his abfolute difcharge and re- 
 delivery of his bond extorted by the commons. 
 
1625. cj'j^g King's Chaplain and the King. 339 
 
 plainly declared the determination of the court to iden- 
 tify with the fcandal of this man's opinions the future 
 government of the Englifh church, that if the commons 
 had hefitated to accept the challenge they would have 
 contradidted and difhonoured their traditions. 
 
 Coke, after pointing out the falfity of Montagu's 
 views in government and religion, and remarking that 
 he had never read a more dangerous book, moved that 
 the writer be brought to the bar. " Send the ferjeant 
 " for him," cried Philips, fpeaking yet more ftrongly. 
 The ferjeant hereupon being called, declared that Mon- 
 tagu, though releafed from imprifonment by his ma- 
 jefty's order upon his appointment as a royal chaplain, 
 had not been releafed from the bond or fureties impofed 
 by the houfe. But he was fufFering from ficknefs ; 
 and had that morning, by a letter, announced himfelf 
 as too weak to be able to travel. Alford, Strode, and 
 Seymour replied vehemently to this that it was a mere 
 pretence to avoid their juft difpleafure, and Seymour 
 propofed at once to fend for the man by one of their 
 meflengers. This called up the folicitor-general Heath, 
 who faid he had It In charge from the king to acquaint 
 the houfe that Montagu was one of his chaplains in or- 
 dinary, that his majefty had taken into his own care the 
 caufe relating to him, and that his anfwer to their peti- 
 tion for religion would fatlsfy the houfe refpeding it. 
 Would It not be well, then, Mr. Solicitor continued, to 
 draw up a meflage to the king commending the matter 
 more fpeclally to his decifion, and Importuning him for 
 that remedy therein which he doubted not would be 
 granted to' the full fatisfadion of their hearts; much 
 trouble thus being faved, and yet the work accom- 
 pllfhed ? 
 
 Eliot rofe after Heath. He regarded what had been 
 faid as rather for diverfion than advice ; and much lefs 
 a fafe retreat or IlTue to the difficulty they were in, than 
 a way conducing to new prejudice and danger. Afiu- 
 
J40 11. ReaJJembling : Firji and Second Days. Eookvi. 
 
 ranees of fatisfadhion were only words, and the fatisfac- 
 tion could not be much when deeds contradidbed them. 
 It was true doubtlefs that this divine was now king's 
 chaplain, but let them remember at what time he was 
 made fo. He was a ftranger to the court until that 
 houfe had objefted to him. Their cenfure had been 
 promotion to him, and they fhould thereby take warn- 
 ing. He difliked the counfel of going by meflage or 
 petition. It was unparliamentary and unfafe. The 
 other courfe was juridical, and more majorum. He 
 offered Inftances in fupport of his view that to their 
 houfe courfes extrajudicial had feldom been fortunate or 
 aufpiclous,.* But the moft dangerous of Mr. Solicitor's 
 arguments he held to be the claim of exemption from 
 punifhment for this divine on the ground of his being 
 the king's chaplain. Why, that being granted, all jus- 
 tices and deputy-lieutenants in the counties might have 
 the like privilege and proteftion. Nay, the folicitor 
 muft go farther ftlll. It was impoffible that any man 
 could commit a public crime or injury but by colour of 
 feme employment from the king. And fo, all being 
 made his iervants, as that was then required, all, by the 
 fame reafon, fhould be free from the jurifdldtlon of par- 
 liament. And what parliaments would be then, and 
 what the country by fuch parliaments, he offered to the 
 confideration of the houfe, " with a ftrong caution in 
 " that point to be carefull for Pofterltie." 
 
 Be careful for pofterity. Forget not the men who 
 are to come after you. Look out of the narrow ftrip 
 of time in which you ftand, and be mindful ever of what 
 lies beyond it. This is ftill the thought of Eliot — nego- 
 tium pofterorum. He fpeaks for It ; he writes for it ; 
 
 * Among them " the like remiffion to king James of the caufes of Ire- 
 " land and Virginia, 18° of his raigne ; and that of S' Symon Harvey 21°. " 
 Sir Simon Harvey was one of the clerks of the green cloth, and purveyor to 
 the king's houfehold ; cenfured in James's laft parliament for " many 
 " offences to the fubjeft." 
 
'^^5- Another Debate on Montagu. 341 
 
 and is ready when the time arrives, not merely to yield 
 up life for it, but to make the more difficult facrifice of 
 everything that renders life worth having. 
 
 Wentworth of Oxford, Sir Gilbert Gerrard, and others 
 took up the fame argument ; with the farther comment 
 from Mr. Wentworth, that fuch notice of their ads by 
 his majefty as the folicitor general had pretended, before 
 thofe afts were made public and reprefented by the 
 houfe, was of very ill precedent. Neither for encourage- 
 ment nor warning was it expedient or endurable. The 
 example of all times warranted their intentions, and all 
 qualities of men had been fubjedt to their queftions. In 
 the fiftieth year of that great prince, the third Edward, 
 the duke of Gaunt and the lord Latimer were there im- 
 peached for giving ill counfel to the king ; and no 
 dukedom or greatnefs could exempt them from the juris- 
 diftion of that court. The right was flill the fame. 
 Many then prefent remembered, in the twelfth of 
 James, the cafe of Sir Thomas Parry, for whom, being 
 a councillor of ftate, the king had by like meflage inter- 
 pofed ; but the privilege of the houfe governed then, 
 and the cafe went to judgment and fentence. Nor was it 
 likely that thofe who had taken part in more recent 
 proceedings againft a lord chancellor and a lord treafurer, 
 would agree now to exempt a chaplain or other fervant 
 of the king's. Eliot remarks that there was unufual 
 agitation among the members during thefe allufions, for 
 that what was intended was plainly feen, and the duke 
 was in the minds of all. 
 
 The refult was a determination to proceed againft 
 Montagu, notwithftanding the king's expreffed wifti ; and 
 Coke's original motion to fend for him was revived. Eliot 
 then interpofed an objedtion of form, Suggefting that 
 the former order of committal fhould be read, he 
 pointed out that they could not fend for a man in the 
 cuftody of their ferjeant as if he were out of prifon, but 
 that a time muft be given to the ferjeant ; and the fer- 
 
34'2 II. Reaffembling: Fir ft and Second Days. 
 
 Book VI. 
 
 jeant accordingly was " commanded to produce him, or 
 " at his perill to anfwear the negled." The very preg- 
 nant remark with which Eliot then clofes the cafe, by 
 anticipation difpofes of the ridicule with which Hume 
 and others have attempted to conned: it.* The fana- 
 tical grounds alleged for the purfuit of Montagu had 
 been formally difavowed at the time. If the members 
 now at Oxford were enthufiafts for religion, it is the 
 proof that they were also ftatefmen ; and it was the 
 continued foolhardy refiftance to their wife warnings 
 and juft demands that raifed up the other clafs of 
 men and of opinions againft which not churchmen 
 only, but the church itfelf, proved powerlefs and were 
 ftruck down. " Some in this difpute had fallied upon 
 " the confideration of his booke, and therein tooke 
 " occafion to argue his opinions ; defcending into the 
 " subtilties of the schoolmen about the infallibilite of 
 " grace, the antecedent and confequent wills of God ; 
 " but their zeale being more commended than their 
 " judgmente, those do6lrinall points were wav'd, as not 
 " proper fubjefts for that place ; and the difpute was 
 " carried onlie upon the confideration of his perfon." 
 
 The difpute was in other words only to notify to the 
 favourite and the king, that their continued patronage of 
 this man and his abettors would identify them with his 
 opinions ; and that parliament were prepared to refift to 
 the laft fuch government and adminiftration of theEnglifh 
 church. Eliot fays that already this was perfeftly under- 
 ftood ; that the church had begun to divide itfelf into 
 parties accordingly; and that the ill effed: upon the Oxford 
 
 * Take the following paffages : " They attacked Montagxi, one of the 
 " king's chaplains, on account of u moderate book which he had latterly 
 " publifhed, and which, to their great dX^^xiSi., fa-ved 'virtuous catholics, as 
 " nuell as other Chriflians, from eternal torments." " Some men of the 
 " greateft parts and moft extenfive knowledge that the nation at this time 
 " produced, could not enjoy any peace ofmindbecaufe obliged to hear prayers 
 " offered up to the Divinity by a prieft covered with a white linen veftment." 
 Hume,^. 63. 
 
'^*-- Oxford High Churchmen. 343 
 
 churchmen of the favour extended to Montagu ofFenfively 
 difplayed itfelf in the feledtion of that one of their heads 
 of houfes who had moft publicly avowed his fympathy 
 with Montagu's opinions. Doctor Arican, to preach before 
 the two houfes at the appointed faft on the day follow- 
 ing the Montagu debate. The commons treated this as an 
 affront to parliament, and fent the two members for the 
 univerfity to expoftulate with the vice-chancellor. That 
 dignitary remonftrated with the divine chofen, and on 
 his refufal to defift called together the delegates, by 
 whom, not without great difficulty, he was difcharged, 
 and another named in his flead. " This," fays Eliot, 
 " fhowed likewife the fpirit of that partie which ftudied 
 " an innovation in the church, and was taken for an 
 " indication of more danger. It was a new bouldnefs, 
 " and thought improper for fuch men ; fchollers and 
 " churchmen being not alwaies found foe confident. Still 
 *' it increaf t the feare ; and, with that, the jelofie grew 
 " more hott ; w"^*" then appear'd in fparks, and after 
 " flam'd more cleerlie." 
 
 What farther was done upon the fecond day's fitting 
 tended flill in the fame diredtion. The next was to be 
 the faft day ; appointed by the houfe before adjournment 
 with a grave fenfe of the dangers that furrounded them ; 
 and a number of complaints preferred by members from 
 their refpedive counties, fhowed that even in the pre- 
 parations for this folemn adt of humiliation, church parti- 
 fanfhip had difplayed itfelf. Laud had now the power 
 to oppofe whatever Abbott fandtioned, and he carried 
 with him a majority of the bifhops againft the primate's 
 authority.* The archbifhop's orders for the fafl had 
 been only partially carried out ; and the printed papers 
 of inftru(ftions had not been tranfmitted to each parifli 
 
 * Abbott himfelf now faid of him bitterly : " This man is the only 
 " inward counfellor with Buckingham, fitting with him fometimes privately 
 " whole hours, and feeding his humour with malice^ and fpite." — Narrative 
 ill Ku.Jli'worth, i. 440. 
 
344 I^- Reajfembling : Firft and Second Days. 
 
 Book VI. 
 
 according to the diredion of the houfes. The hardship 
 thus cccafioned throughout the kingdom was fliown by 
 Eliot from what had happened in his own county. The 
 common people at Plymouth had been obliged to pay 
 as much as half a crown and three fhillings for engrofled 
 copies of what they fhould freely have received in print.* 
 This was now too late for remedy, but it increafed the 
 gloom and diffatisfaftion that prevailed ; and even the 
 manner in which the facred ceremonial was held upon 
 the morrow, in that chofen place and ftronghold of the 
 church, was not fatisfadtory or fuited to a time when fo 
 much need prevailed for religious obfervance and devo- 
 tion. " The outward pietie," says Eliot, " seem'd great; 
 " and manie, doubtlefs, had it trulie in their harts. Yet 
 " fome infinceritie was fufpeded, wher the pra6tice and 
 " profeffions did not meete : that holinefs being dis- 
 " trufted w"** has not righteoufnefs to accompanie it." 
 
 Thus opened the Oxford fitting of Charles's firft par- 
 liament. The king could not read the figns of the 
 times, or the temper of his people ; and Buckingham, 
 to whom they were better known, believed he- had fuffi- 
 cient ftrength to difregard them. Charles was thus 
 carried unconfcioufly to the open rupture which his 
 minifter had invited and planned. On the very day 
 when the commons were debating Montagu's opinions 
 as not compatible with civil government, the king was 
 giving adhefion to Laud's letter, written to Buckingham 
 at his own inftance, and declaring it impoflible to con- 
 ceive how civil government was to be fupported if 
 the contrary of Montagu's doftrines were maintained. 
 And fo, clofing up their fenfes againft every warning of 
 danger, blindly they went on to what awaited them. At 
 each fucceffive ftep in the fatal journey, this man Mon- 
 tagu will again and again appear. Buckingham will 
 fucceed in breaking this parliament, only to make its 
 
 * See alfo Commons^ Journals, i. 8io, Auguft 2. 
 
'^*5- JJoiju a Story becomes Hijlory. 345 
 
 fuccefTor more formidable. Laud will attrad; power to 
 himfelf and honour to Montagu, until, himfelf arch- 
 bifhop and Montagu receiving confecration at his hands, 
 there will burft upon them both, at that fupreme hour of 
 their triumph, the news of Buckingham's violent death 
 amid the ill-concealed rejoicing of the people. But no 
 uneafy vifions difturb the prefent profpedt. Laud and 
 his patron have a common obje6t at prefent in breaking 
 with the parliament, a feftion of the council who had 
 refifted have been frightened or cajoled into acquiefcence, 
 and the king is their unrefifting inftrument. He has 
 fent word to the houfes that he will meet them on 
 Thurfday morning in Chriftchurch hall, and will there 
 tell them all he expedts from them. 
 
 Before we meet them there it may not unufefully 
 fhow how hiftory is fometimes treated, if, reverting to 
 the firft day's incident of the jefuit pardon, I enable 
 the reader to compare that authentic relation with the 
 falfe colouring and exaggerated form given to it by 
 writers who have fought to build upon it another charge 
 againft Eliot's honour. 
 
 Only one pardon was in queftion, as has been feen ; 
 and of this the circumftances had efpecially commended 
 it to the notice of the weftern members. Giles called 
 attention to it ; Marten and others fpoke upon it ; and 
 Eliot's fpeech, which propofed direftly to fix refponfi- 
 bility for the ad: upon the minifters rather than the king, 
 was doubtlefs levelled indirectly at Laud and Bucking- 
 ham. 
 
 We have now to obferve how the ftory gets itfelf told. 
 Hacket, Williams's biographer, writes of the firft day's 
 fitting at Oxford : " The fpeaker had no fooner taken 
 " his chair but a weftern knight enlarges the fenfe of his 
 " forrow that he had feen a pardon for fix priefts bear- 
 " ing teft July 1 2 ; whereas but the day before it, when 
 
346 II- Reajfembling : Firfi and Second Days. '^°°^ ^^■ 
 
 " they were to part from Weftminfter, the lord keeper 
 " had promifed them in the king's name before them all 
 " that the rigour againft the priefts fhould not be de- 
 " luded." In due courfe this is copied into the his- 
 tory by Oldmixon, who, after giving it corredlly 
 enough, fupplies a name to Racket's blank and makes 
 the weftern knight Sir Robert Philips of Somerfetfhire.* 
 Then followed the huge hiftory-book by Echard the 
 archdeacon, who, eager for anything that could be made 
 to tell againft Eliot, not only in copying it converted 
 the weftern knight into Sir John, but blundering over 
 fome preceding words by Hacket to the eff^ect that " it 
 " was my lord Buckingham's hardftiip to move the 
 " king to command the warrant to be fealed in his fight 
 " at Hampton-court," and confounding this with the 
 king's reported promife in prefence of them all, finally 
 tagged to it the ftatement as if made by Eliot, that the 
 pardon to the fix jefuits had been figned by the king 
 under preffure by the duke in Sir John Eliot's prefence 
 at Hampton-court.f 
 
 In that form the paragraph reached Mr. D'Ifraeli. It 
 was bad enough. Eliot had fimply reminded the houfe 
 of the power of the king's minifter, covering the king's 
 refponfibility by Buckingham's ; whereas Echard made 
 him charge the duke with having forced the king, in his 
 prefence at Hampton-court, to fign the pardon. This 
 was a fufficient perverfion of the truth to have been 
 allowed to ftand without addition. 
 
 But there is no blunder fo great that Mr. D'Ifraeli will 
 not make fertile and fruitful by ingenious fuggeftion and 
 philofophical indudtion. Here was tempting illuftration 
 for his favourite theme, and thus he improves it. 
 
 " That Sir John Eliot was well known to the king, and 
 "■ often in the royal circle, appears by Sir John's complaint 
 
 * Oldmixon's Hifiory, 78. Ed. 1730. 
 t Echard's Hifiory, 4x2. 
 
^^.^5- King's Speech at Chrift church. 347 
 
 "inthe parliament at Oxford in 1625, of fix Romifli 
 " priefts being lately pardoned, which the duke had pre- 
 " vailed upon the king to be done in his prejence at 
 " Hampton-court. Eliot, like Sir Dudley Digges, was 
 " infaSi a great Jervant of the duke."* 
 
 ^ And in this way, too often, materials are fupplied for 
 hiftory and hiftorians. 
 
 III. In Christchurch Hall, and the Morning 
 
 AFTER. 
 
 At nine o'clock on the morning of Thurfday the^ 4th 
 of Auguft, the two houfes, the commons having firft 
 aflembled in the divinity fchools, met the king in the old 
 hall of Chriftchurch. This was to be the firft fcene of 
 what no man fo well as Eliot knew to be only an elabo- 
 rate comedy got up by Buckingham, and in which even 
 a fedlion of the minifters themfelves were to be but 
 half-confenting partly-confcious a6tors. 
 
 Charles fpoke briefly, as his cuftom was ; and not 
 gracioufly. He referred to the preparations in hand and 
 the neceffity of the work, as a thing admitted ; though 
 well aware that what was known out of his own council 
 was the magnitude of preparation only, and of its defti- 
 nation nothing at all. He told them that in his judg- 
 ment it were better that half the fhips fhould perifli in 
 now fetting forth, than that all the preparations made 
 fhould be loft by their not going forth at all. But this 
 
 * Commentaries, ii. 272. This is one of thofe paflages, I ought to remark, 
 which Mr. D'Ifraeli, after the publication of my firft Iketch of Eliot, 
 filently withdrew from his book. It does not appear in the edition of 18 51 
 referred to in a previous page (131.) But, as neither in this nor in the 
 other inftances where he has been compelled to withdraw fpecial charges, 
 has he frankly ftated that he had done fo, or permitted the fadl of his having 
 been mifled in thofe fpecial inftances to modify the view which he had built 
 upon them, and to which he continues to adhere, of Eliot's fubferviency to 
 Buckingham, I have thought it right to comment in the text as I have 
 done, by way of proteftion from any poffible reproduftion of the calumnies 
 either from Mr. D'Ifraeli's firft edition or from thofe older authorities which 
 led him into error. 
 
348 III. Chriftchurch Hall, and Morning after . ^°°'' '^^^ 
 
 ^T. 
 
 he left to their opinion ; again urging (" in his manner," 
 interpofes EHot) the expenfe which had been incurred, and 
 that without a farther aid there was an impoffibiHty to 
 proceed. Then he alluded to their gift of two fubfidies 
 at the previous fitting, " and his acceptance but not 
 " fatisfadlion in that pointe." And next he fpoke of 
 the time, how dangerous it was ; ftating for himfelf that 
 he knew not the diforder had already broken out when 
 the adjournment to Oxford was fuggefted ; and putting 
 it to them " whether they fhould hould greater, the fear of 
 " ficknefs to themfelves or the difhonor of their nation." 
 His clofing remark had reference to the promifed anfwer 
 to their petition for religion. Within two days they 
 fhould have it. Eliot drily adds that this was offered 
 " as a cordial] and reftaurative which was to fweeten the 
 " operation of the refte." 
 
 To the king fucceeded the fecretary of ftate. Lord 
 Conway. He had received his inftruftions from Buck- 
 ingham, and he alfo fpoke briefly. The parliament, he 
 faid, in counfelling the rupture of the treaties had occa- 
 iioned the war, in which now confifted the honour of the 
 kingdom, the fafety of religion, and the general good of 
 chriftendom. If anything fhould obftru6t the prepara- 
 tions on foot, the Germans would divide, the French dis- 
 band and reunite with the catholics, and the king of Den- 
 mark would retire to make his peace with the emperor. 
 What was wanted, then ? He reckoned the particulars of 
 outlay, and made what Eliot calls " an immenfe calcula- 
 " tion of the treafures exhaufted," with this ftartling refult, 
 " that ther wanted onlie fome thirtie or fortie thoufand 
 " pounds to doe the worke." Therefore had the king 
 reforted to his fubjefts to crave the help which his 
 anceftors in like cafes had received. 
 
 Greatly to the furprife of the country leaders of the 
 commons, as foon as Lord Conway refumed his feat. 
 Sir John Cooke left his. " A member of the com- 
 " mons," exclaims Eliot, " as yett no publick minifter 
 
'^^5- An Expounder of Oracles . 349 
 
 " of the ftate, was, without leave from them, and that 
 " never done by anie man before, in their prefence made 
 " a didlator for the king !" With amazement they faw 
 Cooke go up to where his majefty and the duke fat, and 
 " after fome formalitie of feeming to take inftrudiions, 
 " at the prefent, in that which he had ftudied long 
 " before," come back and prepare to addrefs them. 
 He had " the honor in the face of that aflemblie," adds 
 Eliot with a grim fort of humour, " to be cal'd upp pri- 
 " vatlie to the State, and from thence returning,as from an 
 " Oracle infpired w"" a new fpirit and wifdome, he pro- 
 " pounded the facred reafons he had gathered." And 
 ftartling as the preparation was, the reafons gathered 
 were not lefs fo. 
 
 His beginning was at the end of the Spanifli treaties, 
 " wherein he fhow'd that the late king at the inftance of 
 " the parliament, by the co-operation of his majefty that 
 " now was and the duke of Buckingham {giving them 
 " that conjunction), was drawne to breake with Spaine." 
 Avoiding then the plain fa6t that the caufe of all the 
 blundering that enfued was the old king's reludlance to 
 keep the path into which he had been driven, the orator 
 gave very grand reafons for very filly adlions. " In 
 " refpedhe of the qualitie of his people, through a long 
 " peace and quiet become unapt for warre, at leaft in much 
 " want of art and preparation, he prudentlie diflembled 
 " his intentions for awhile, and fufFer'd himfelfe to be 
 " entertain'd with- mediations and entreaties, and new 
 " propositions to be made him, untill by degrees he 
 " came to that w* he intended." In other words, having 
 work of preffing urgency to do, he did not do it or at- 
 tempt it until too late.* 
 
 » " Sir Richard Wefton, Sir Edward Conway, ray lord Carlile, Sir 
 " Arthur Chichefter, and the Lord Digby have all been employ'd in quality 
 " of ambaffadors in lefs than two years." — Howell's Letters, 105. If he had 
 named all the lefler luminaries of James's diplomacy he might have added 
 a dozen more. 
 
350 Til. Chriftchurch Hall, and Morning after. Bookvi. 
 
 After fimilar fafliion the orator proceeded to handle 
 other delicate fubjefts. There was the French mar- 
 riage, fo encumbered with conditions as already to have 
 become extremely adverfe to the feelings of the people ; 
 .but Sir John Cooke was ready to explain that their 
 crowned Solomon had " in France feene all thinges in 
 " combuftion, and the king ther inclininge to fheathe 
 " his fword in the bowells of his fubjecfls rather than to 
 " turne it againft others," and therefore, " to make the 
 " more ftrickt conjundion with the French, he fought 
 " their alliance for his fonne, and by that match to make 
 '' the bond inviolable between them." So, in regard of 
 the unfortunate affair of Mansfeldt. The fagacious old 
 monarch had obferved the Low Countries to be " in 
 " greate danger and neceffitie, by the potencie of their 
 " adverfaries and the fadlion of the Arminians, w"' 
 " begann to make an interruption in their government 
 " and threatned them in more," and therefore, " weigh- 
 " ing thofe things, for an encouragement to the ftates, 
 " he lent them fix thoufand men, and pay'd for their 
 " entertaynment for two years ;" which led on to the 
 league between the Low Countries, France, Savoy, Ve- 
 nice, and himfelf, for the raifing of the army to ferve 
 under Mansfeldt. And though he might admit, with 
 worthy gentlemen who formerly had fpoken, that it had 
 not anfwered the expedtation at the full, " yet it had pro- 
 " duc'd fome fruites worthie of that defigne : as the put- 
 " ting off of the Dyett in Germanic favorable to the catholic 
 " powers ; the encouragement of the proteftant princes ; 
 " the comming of the king of Denmarke into the field ; 
 " the attempts of the French upon Milan ; the reconci- 
 " liation of the French proteflants to their king ; and the 
 " fcattering of the enemies' forces in the Low Countries." 
 This recital, Eliot adds, was new to the houfe, and not 
 a little aftonifhed thofe who fo lately, at Weftminfler, 
 had liftened to the fame fpeaker on the fame theme. 
 He does not, however, think any other remark necefTary 
 
1625. gjy John Cooke Surprijes the Commons. 351 
 
 than that " it was thought to be more ftudied, not more 
 " true ; nothing either of intelligence or faft having 
 " happened in that time, to give itt other colour than 
 " his fancie." 
 
 Having thus celebrated the wifdom of king James^ 
 the orator defcended from thefe altitudes to defcribe the 
 pofition of king Charles. Of all that had been fo 
 fettled " in preparation or in adl " by his late majefty-j 
 he had now to inform them that the full " fruite thereof 
 " is yet fhadow'd under hope, but that his prefent 
 " ma"'' is not willing to defert it. Being the effed 
 " of the councill given by parliament, by parliament he 
 " defir'd to follow and accomplifh itt." But it required 
 a greater charge than his treafure would fupply. The 
 fleet was now upon the feas, going towards the rendez- 
 vous at Plymouth. Ten thoufand landfmen were on 
 board, for the a6tion which had fo great an expe6tation in 
 the world (and of which, Eliot is always careful to note, 
 the houfe had been allowed to know nothing). Yet 
 there wanted fome money to fupply them ; fome 
 neceffaries for the Jfhips, fome provifions for the men. 
 Would they, by refufing thefe, leave both men and fhips 
 utiferviceable ? It was the firft fruits of their warfare, 
 the -primitive of their king. Not merely upon formality, 
 or occafion of the acceffion to the crown, had they 
 been called together, but fpecially for the confultation 
 of this bufinefs ; to which the hope of his majefty's 
 allies, the honour of his kingdom, and the interefts of 
 religion were engaged. He might further add that 
 his majefly had received intelligence of a defign to 
 trouble Ireland, in connexion with a large increafe of 
 the enemy's navy in the Low Countries for the purpofe 
 of thrufting over part of their armies into England. 
 And this being fo, he left it " wholie to their choife 
 " whether, by ballancing the occafions, they ihould 
 " thinke fitter, upon the confideration of the time, to let 
 " the aSlion fall, or to give him more releife." 
 
352 ///. Chrift church Hall, and Morning after. 
 
 Book VI 
 urt. 
 
 This conclufion, fays Eliot, aftoniflied not only thofe 
 who were not in the fecrets of the council, but fome 
 that fuppofed themfelves more knowing. It was judged 
 fo little anfwerable to the premifes that few men who 
 heard it underftood it. Here was a work upon which, 
 as alleged, immenfe treafure had been fpent ; as to which 
 the preparation had been infinite, as the neceffity was 
 faid to be urgent ; which was now advanced to fuch 
 forwardnefs that it wanted but forty thoufand pounds 
 to complete it ; and with the fuccefs of which, as pre- 
 tended, the honour of the kingdom and the interefts of 
 religion were bound up. Yet were they told now that 
 they might defer it, or proceed with it, according to 
 their choice ; and, whether they affented or refufed, that 
 was to be their fole bufinefs. Ignorant of the favourite's 
 real obje6t, fays Eliot, various opinions were formed 
 thereon. The more charitable believed, that, the oppor- 
 tunity for the fpecial fervice firft intended having \izzrx 
 loft, the original defign really no longer exifted. The 
 more jealous and diftruftful fufpedted that a fecret 
 reconciliation had been made with the enemy. The 
 only thing generally credited, as the members in dis- 
 cuffion with each other returned to the divinity schools 
 from Chriftchurch hall, was that the fcheme, whatever 
 that might be, for which the preparation had been fet 
 on foot, was about to be abandoned. The falfe pofition 
 in which the members of the council not wholly wedded 
 to Buckingham thus found themfelves placed, had, it 
 will fhortly be feen, important and unexpedled refults. 
 
 " All believ'd," fays EHot, " the preparation would 
 " be left, nor fhips nor men be drawne further in the 
 " imploiment ; that the ftudie was how to impute itt to 
 " the parliament, fo that either their counfell or deniall 
 " Ihould be an occafion to diftblve it ; and that fome 
 " color onlie was fought for the fatisfadtion of the 
 " world, that, whatever did occurr, a caufe might be in 
 " readineffe, and, if the reafon pres't it, a faire excufe 
 " at hand." «. 
 
'**5- Farts overdone by the ASlors. n^t^2 
 
 35 
 
 To Eliot himfelf, as we have feen, it was fecretly 
 known that only a portion of this was true. The duke 
 had merely overacited, through his inftruments, the part 
 which in fubftance he had confefled to Eliot his intention 
 to play. His objedt was to get rid of the commons 
 for that time ; and it had been eafy to draw the kifcg 
 into it, apart from the influence he had exerted over 
 him all his life, by alarm for their treatment of Montagu, 
 their attitude as to religion, their claim for redrefs of 
 grievances, and their attacks on great officers of ftate. 
 But the fpeeches of Conway and Cooke in Chrift- 
 church hall had fo fliated the cafe as to involve equally 
 in Buckingham's defign every member of the council. 
 They had taken it too exclufively for granted that the 
 commons had a predetermined purpofe to oppofe what- 
 ever was fubmitted, and in their eagernefs to ftrengthen 
 Buckingham's cafe againft the commons had in far 
 greater proportion weakened the cafe of the king. The 
 lefs we alk for, Buckingham had reafoned, the worfe 
 for them to refufe. The more indifferent we feem to 
 either iffue, the more overbearing they will be for their 
 own. Give them fimply the alternative of compliance 
 with what we alk, or of refufing and feparating. So 
 fhall we break with them, yet not appear to have defired 
 it ; and be juftified in proceeding by other ways for the 
 fervice of the ftate. This had been his argument to the 
 king ; but it was not one that the lord-keeper, or even 
 Sir Humphrey May and the few members of the 
 council who followed him, were at all prepared to adopt 
 in its confequences. 
 
 The miftake committed in this refpedb had become 
 obvious by the time the commons returned to their 
 chamber. The fmallnefs of the fum afked for was 
 fpoken of as a " miracle." They difcuffed the fudden 
 and extraordinary change of counfel fince the fame 
 arguments they had juft heard were employed to juftify 
 a demand for fix times the amount. Why were they 
 
 VOL. I. A A 
 
354 ^^I- Chrijichurch Hall, and Morning after. Bookvi. 
 
 brought together at fuch inconvenience, and in a time 
 of so much danger, if this was all the bufinefs to be dis- 
 patched, and if redrefs of the fubjedls' grievances was to 
 be deferred indefinitely ? The proceeding would have 
 feemed incredible, were it not that the privy councillors 
 and their mouthpiece fpoke in the prefence of the king. 
 Eliot adds that a remark to this effedt efcaped from one 
 of the gentlemen of his county. It was immediately 
 filenced; " but that parallel and conjun6ture of co-opera- 
 " tion w"" the king was not, though filenc't, yet for- 
 " gotten." 
 
 Two refolutions were paffed before the commons 
 feparated that afternoon. One, that the matters of which 
 they had heard in the morning fhould be difcufled at 
 nine o'clock next day ; and the other, that no one was 
 to depart on pain of cenfure. No debate was permitted 
 upon either. " The remayne of that day was referv'd 
 " for meditation." 
 
 The feats were crowded on the following morning, 
 Friday the 8 th of Auguft, and the debate, which proved 
 to be a ftirring one, was opened by the member for 
 Oxford, Mr. Whiftler. He was for a conference with 
 the lords. He declared he faw no other way out of the 
 difficulty. His defire had been to continue their fitting 
 and to give, until he heard the worthy member (Cooke). 
 But, the king having left it indiff^erently to their choice, 
 " ballancing the importance of his fervice w'* the dan- 
 " gers of the time," he was not now for continuing to fit 
 to " think of a new fupplie." The greater good muft 
 of courfe be preferred. " Fancie and afFe6tion mufl: not 
 " governe in fuch counfells." Perhaps the lords might be 
 able to refolve them as to the real importance or other- 
 wife of the preparations in hand. The plague was now 
 around them ; at their very doors ; but the fafety of 
 the kingdom was more than the fafety of their lives. 
 If the former were involved, " he was noe Englifhman 
 " that would leave his poft, to die refolutelie for their 
 
'^^5- A formidable Spirit raised. 355 
 
 " countrie having been the honor of their nation ;" but if 
 it were otherwife, " he was no friend to England that 
 " defired it, nor could they in wifdom give themfelves as 
 " a facrifice to their enemies." For himfelf he was now 
 for feparating and not giving. Why fhould they con- 
 tinue ? " The fupplie w'^'' was demanded being too little 
 " for their valewes ; lefs than they ihould spend, if they 
 " continued ther awhile." 
 
 Mr. Whiftler's argument appears thoroughly to have 
 difconcerted that fe<5tion of the council which May re- 
 prefented. He was a moderate man, not as yet committed 
 ftrongly to either fide ;. and what he faid fo far had 
 fpecial weight that it brought out vividly, apart from 
 any views held by the " fhicklers " and " dangerous " 
 men, the unmeaning pofition in which they had per- 
 mitted themfelves to he. placed. But they did not fee 
 all they had been betrayed into until Sir Francis Seymour 
 rofe. They had refilled the propofal for a conference ; 
 and other members had claimed to ha\ie propofitions 
 from the council laid before them in detail that they 
 might "by ca-pitay debate them;" when the member 
 for Wiltfhire not only clofed difcuffion on thefe points, 
 but ftarted in the place of them a difcuffion of quite 
 other temper, " whofe fpirit," fays Eliot, " once up, was 
 " not foe eafilie conjur'd down." 
 
 Seymour was a man of great powers and high fecial 
 pofition. The third fon of Lord Beauchamp of the 
 famous family of the great protestor Somerfet, he was 
 younger brother to Arabella Seymour's hufband, and, 
 upon fubfequently going over to the court at the meet- 
 ing of the parliament in 1640, became Baron Sey- 
 mour of Trowbridge. He was probably firft driven 
 into oppofition by the court's harfh treatment of his 
 brother, but while he continued with the country party 
 he difplayed a ftriking ability and rendered effective fer- 
 vice. It was he who had propofed in the previous 
 fitting the limitation to one year of the tonnage and 
 
356 in. Chrift church Hall, and Morning after. 
 
 EooK VI. 
 
 poundage bill ; and upon his arrival in Oxford for the 
 prefent fitting he was, if the lord keeper is to be believed, 
 the firft member whom Buckingham's creatures had tried 
 hard to get upon their fide.* He was now about to 
 fhow how ill their fuccefs had been ; " and this he did," 
 fays Eliot, " with much bouldnefs and fome afperitie." 
 
 He began by declaring that he could difcover no other 
 reafon for that meeting and affembly, nor that there 
 could be other end thereof, than the corrupt and felfilh 
 gratification of fome who defired to put a jealoufy 
 and diffenfion between their fovereign and his fubjecfls. 
 The declared obje6l was money. But the king had pro- 
 fefled himfelf content with their firft grant at London, 
 which was now in courfe of coUeftion ; and even if more 
 fhould then be given, it could not be levied till the rais- 
 ing of the other fubfidies fhould be over, and againft 
 that time, which would be the fpring, in the ordinary 
 courfe they muft have met again. It might be faid that 
 upon a vote of the houfe to give, there would be credit 
 to raife what was wanted ; but what an argument was 
 that to the difhonour of the king ! It was in the general 
 affedtions of his fubjedis that a king was rich. A par- 
 ticular declaration might fhow him entitled to a part, but 
 the other made him free of the whole. All that his 
 fubjedls pofTefTed belonged to the monarch who could 
 fhow any true occafion for fuch fervice. But that the 
 fmall fum named, the forty thoufand pounds of which 
 they had heard, and which he blufhed to think of, that 
 this fhould need a parliament to procure it, were to 
 exhibit too great a fhow of want and poverty in the 
 government ! Where was that old treafure of the king- 
 dom, THE REPUTATION OF THE STATE, which the times of 
 
 * " Sir Francis Seymour," fays Williams in his apology to the king, 
 " a knight whom I knew not by fight, told many of that houfe who im- 
 " parted it unto me, that on his firft coming to Oxford he was dealt with by 
 " a creature of my lord duke's, whom I can name, to fet upon the lord 
 " keeper, and they Ihould be backed by the greateft men in the kingdom." 
 — See Racket's Scrinia Referata, 11. 19. 
 
'*^5- Sir Francis Seymour's Speech. ^57 
 
 queen Elizabeth enjoyed^ when the leaft of many min- 
 ifters of hers, if there had been occafion, could of his 
 own credit have fupplied a greater fum than this ? Where 
 were the days when that famous, never-to-be-forgotten 
 princess, having no want, nor ufe, but only in prevention 
 of her enemies, took up at once of the moneyers then in 
 Germany almoft all the coin of chriftendom ? Where 
 was that credit now ? Where were fuch examples in 
 this age ? He doubted their worth and fidelity were 
 gone. The minifters now, he feared, were the men who 
 had themfelves brought to their mafter his neceflity ; who, 
 by unneceffary preparations, had exhaufted his treafures 
 andfpenthis revenues; and who now, confcious of faults 
 fo committed, were seeking to colour them by fome 
 others, and, if they could, to ky the blame on the com- 
 mons of England. The gentleman that fpoke on the 
 previous day had talked to them of peace in France, 
 and of a late reconciliation for the proteftants there. 
 But who knew not the violence againft the huguenots 
 at prefent ? fVho did not wijh that our own /hips might 
 not he made abettors in that violence ? Within the re- 
 colledtion of them all,, five fubfidies and three fifteenths 
 had been given for the fuccour of the queen of Bohemia. 
 In what had fhe been thereby bettered ? What had been 
 done therewith worthy of the intention ? No enemy 
 was declared, nothing attempted, but the confumption of 
 themfelves. Happy the prince who was counfelled by 
 men of worth and knowledge ! Miferable he who refted 
 on the confidence of men that could but beg or flatter ! 
 Glorious the memory of a queen who could be munificent 
 to her fervants, by feeding them not on the marrow of 
 her fubjedts but from her own ftores ! Nor would he 
 defpair to fee the like glory and greatnefs wait upon that 
 prince from whofe true fervice no dangers fhould deter 
 them, if he would but give them leave to do fomewhat 
 for their country, whereby it might be enabled and en- 
 couraged, through them, to yield him feafonable fupply. 
 
358 11^- Chrijichurch Hall, and Morning after. 
 
 Book VI. 
 
 J£.T. 
 
 This fpeech difmayed the courtiers. They had not 
 
 confidered the third courfe it prefented to them, of 
 
 refufing to give, and yet (for the reafon that only by 
 
 redreffing the fubjeds' grievances could they be able or 
 
 qualified to give) of continuing to fit. With the 
 
 weapons they had hoped to ufe againft others they found 
 
 themfelves afTailed, and their own pretences turned againft 
 
 them. " That charge," continues Eliot, " upon the 
 
 " minifters of ftate ; the fallie on their councills ; the 
 
 " paralell of the times ; was no good muficke in their 
 
 " ears. All mention of the elders had antipathie to 
 
 " them, and the glories of that princefs were like bafalilks 
 
 " in their eyes. The mention of "^ flattery' and ' begging' 
 
 " alfo was knowne to have refledlion on the favorite ; 
 
 " that bouldnefs gave fufpicion yett of more ; and to 
 
 " prevent it, and what was like to followe it, the Chan- 
 
 " cellor of the Duchie did ftand up with reafons and 
 
 " perfuafions to ftaie the ftorm." 
 
 May took up at once the fubjed: of the war expenfes 
 and preparations, confining himfelf to it, and avoiding 
 a.11 reference to Seymour's ftartling allufion to the hugue- 
 nots of France ; for the reafon doubtlefs that though a 
 member of the council, he knew much lefs of Penning- 
 ton's .ftory at this moment than either Seymour or Eliot. 
 In the few firft words he uttered, he feparated himfelf 
 from Conway and Cooke. They had left it to the op- 
 tion of the houfe whether the war preparations were to 
 proceed or be abandoned; whereas Sir Humphrey began 
 by declaring that if the credit of all that had been done 
 fhould be loft, befides the difadvantage of the work, it . 
 would be a general lofs to the honour of the nation, and 
 impeach the reputation and efteem which were the foul 
 and life of every ftate and government. He went over 
 the old ground that parliament had advifed the diffolution 
 of the treaties, and defcribed as its refults the feparation of 
 France from Spain, the reuniting of Germany, the weaken- 
 ing of the pope, and the emboldenment of Denmark to 
 
^ji'5- Sir Humphrey May's Re-ply. 2,^9 
 
 take the field. Were they now to defert their allies ? The 
 credit of minifters in paft times had been appealed to ; 
 but if the plate and jewels of the king, or of fome others 
 they had heard dafht upon, could have procured money 
 in the prefent need, and money enough, they had not met 
 there then. But it was for them to give, not for others. 
 The king's engagement was by them. He undertook 
 but the defign which they propounded. They ought 
 not to recede now. It was no excufe for fuch a courfe 
 that they knew not the means, or difapproved the men, 
 whereby the defign was in progrefs. He would 
 give them a different example from thofe times that 
 were fo precious in their memories. When the Earl of 
 Devonfliire went deputy into Ireland, the court and the 
 council were oppofed to him. But when the Spaniards 
 joined the Irish rebels at the memorable fiege of Kin- 
 fale, the court, though enemies to the lord-deputy, 
 yet furnished him with all things needful in that hour 
 of danger ; and Lord Salilbury, then lord-treafurer, 
 took pride to himfelf and the council that the deputy 
 could not complain of them. Nothing had been wanting 
 of their help, and if there were mifcarriage the blame 
 mufl; be his own. Let the houfe profit by that example 
 now. Let them agree to make fupply, and lay the burden 
 of its proper use on others. — Sir Humphrey was never 
 without ftore of apophthegms, and with one he concluded, 
 warning them that they incurred more danger in being 
 referved than in being adventurous. Money given 
 there might be cafl: into the fea, and fo fome treafure 
 lost; but not given, pofterity might have to rue it. 
 
 " The witt of this gentleman," fays Eliot at the clofe 
 of his report, " alwaies drew the attention of the houfe, 
 " though his motions feldom relifh't it." As he had been 
 a fervant to Elizabeth's deputy,* bred under his com- 
 
 * This was the fame Mountjoy, Earl of Devonfliire, with whom Laud 
 was lefs creditably connefted as chaplain at the opening of his public life. 
 
^6o III. Chrijichurch Hall, and Morning after. 
 
 Book VI. 
 
 mand and with him in thofe troubles, his illuftration 
 had excited intereft, but no man felt it to be properly- 
 applied. The general tone of his fpeech, however, in 
 direft contradidtion as it was to thofe of Conway and 
 Cooke, gave rife to much fpeculation. Could it really 
 be defired that a pretext for diffolving the parliament 
 fhould be afforded by its denial of fupply, when the 
 chancellor was now fo urgent the other way ? " The de- 
 " fire and expedtation of deniall," fays EHot, " w"*" moft 
 " men did beleeve, feem'd to have a contradi6lion by his 
 " waie, preffing foe direftlie for fupplie, he being noe 
 " ftranger to the cabanet. This caus'd a diftradlion in 
 " fome thoughts, that by the fuperficies judg'd the 
 " bodie. But thofe that took the dimenfion of all partes, 
 " in the depth thereof found another fenfe and mean- 
 " ing ; w"^'' was, but to qualifie the jeloufie conceav'd, 
 " and to divert that confideration of the councells, w"" 
 " he perceav'd, having a fharp judgment and infpedion, 
 " had foe inflam'd the affeftion of the houfe that noe 
 " fmall matter could allaie it ; oppofition being like fuel 
 " to fuch fires ; and therefore he endeavour'd it, by 
 " changing that fuppos'd ftate o' th' caufe, that foe, if 
 " poffible, he might change the order in proceeding." 
 
 This view was confirm'd when Edmundes, the treafu- 
 rer of the houfehold, rofe after May, and throwing afide 
 altogether the limit firft propos'd, fubftituted for the 
 forty thoufand pounds a demand for two hundred thou- 
 fand, or two entire fubfidies and two fifteenths. Eliot 
 tells us afterwards that this had not been done without 
 previous application to Buckingham, who replied fimply 
 that the more they afked the lefs likelihood was there 
 
 having abufed his facred office to the celebration of what he knew to be a 
 falfe marriage between his patron and the married woman with whom he 
 was living, Lord Rich's wife. But Laud's fubfequent remorfe for the aft 
 appears to have been deep and unafFefled, quite apart from the injury it had 
 entailed by obftrufting for fome years his promotion. — See Abbot's Narrative 
 in Ru/hnuort/i, i. 440. 
 
1^25- Eliot on the fate of Buckingham. 361- 
 
 35 
 
 now of obtaining it. "They would but haften the de- 
 " niall the fooner by enlarging the demand." 
 
 But it was all in vain. " The propofition of thofe 
 " counfellors for fupplie had but a could acceptance ; 
 " and the intention w'^'" it carried to divert the former 
 " motions, was wholie rejected and in vaine." The 
 morning had pafTed in thefe fruitlefs attempts to undo the 
 mifchief done, and there was yet no fign of yielding. 
 On the contrary, excitement was manifeftly on the in- 
 creafe among the country party, and was finding expres- 
 fion in unaccuftomed language. A motion was made 
 for adjournment until next day, but in place of this it 
 was refolved to meet again that afternoon. And in the 
 afternoon accordingly they reaffembled, to hear one of 
 the mofl: remarkable fpeeches ever fpoken within thofe 
 walls. 
 
 At this point Eliot flops to indulge in a tone of reflec- 
 tion Angular and interefting in itfelf, and fhowing deci- 
 £vely when his memoir was written. Buckingham had 
 lately fallen by the hand of his aflaffin, at what feemed 
 to be a time fupremely teftifying to that continued and 
 unhappy predominance over the king which the noblefl 
 of his fubjedts, the befl: and ableft of Englifhmen, had 
 failed even to weaken ; and Eliot makes no attempt to 
 conceal, what no one thoroughly acquainted with the 
 period can doubt, that the miferable fanatic who com- 
 mitted that murder adted as much under the incentive of 
 the public hatreds as under that of his own wrongs, and 
 that among Felton's contemporaries the difpofition largely 
 exifled to account his deed in the nature of a judgment 
 rather than in that of a crime. 
 
 " But that labor," fays Eliot, again referring to the 
 fpeeches of May and Edmundes, " was in vaine. The 
 " quarrell being begunn, all men were apprehenfive of 
 " the injur ie, and many did exprefle it. Soe hard it is, 
 " wher publick wrongs are done, to keepe them from 
 " vindication or complaint. Minions maie enjoie the 
 
-162 IV. A Memorable Debate. Bookvi. 
 
 '' favor of their mafters ; but if they once abufe it, noe 
 " priviledg can proted: them. The fubjedts' crie will 
 " followe them ; and if it prevaile not upon earth, heaven 
 '' will heare and help them. Juftice is provided for 
 " their adverfaries. Seldome they efcape itt here; never 
 '■'• hereafter. Vengeance does attend them ; and when 
 " the offences done are foe hardlle left unpunifhed, this 
 " fliould make them more cautious in offending. The 
 " meeting of the commons might have been prevented 
 " with much faftie ; but, being mett, that crime was 
 " thought unpardonable. He that was the occafion of 
 " the trouble, muil have his fhare therein ; and by that 
 " means or more, till the meafure of his iniquities was 
 " full. And then. Vengeance muft furprize him like a 
 " whirlwind, and noe favor or greatneffe may deliver him. 
 '' But as his meritt, fuch muft be his reward." 
 
 IV. A Memorable Debate. 
 
 Upon the realTembllng of the commons after the 
 dinner hour, Sir Robert Philips arofe ; and before he 
 refumed his feat, the relations of the country party 
 to the government, and the pofition of members in the 
 houfe to each other, had been changed more decifively 
 than in any previous parliament within memory. The 
 leaders, taking up for the firft time a compa6t position 
 together, had abandoned the narrow queftion of mere 
 giving, or refufmg to give, of being fubjedt to this or 
 that perfonal caprice of an individual minifter, and had 
 taken their ftand upon the broader ground, on which the 
 conflict thereafter was continued and fought out, of the 
 fubjedts' grievances and claims to redrefs, and of the old 
 right of parliament to offer advice and counfel to the 
 fovereign. Eliot prepares his readers for " a high ftraine 
 " of eloquence by that matter of exprefTion, Sir Robert 
 " Phihps ; " and is careful even to defcribe the un- 
 
i6zs. Great Speech by Sir Robert Philips. li^d^ 
 
 35 
 
 wonted gravity of manner and ferioufnefs of prepara- 
 tion difplayed by him on this occafion* " Cafting his 
 " notions into a quadripartite divifion, for method and 
 " order to his fpeech, in more than wonted gravitie, to 
 " raife the expedtation of his hearers, having compos 'd 
 " himfelf, thus he fpoke." 
 
 Firft he took the fadt of their having been affembled 
 after fo brief a recefs, and at that place. It was to him, 
 he faid, not inferior to a miracle. He adverted to the 
 fatisfadtion that had been exprefled in their work at 
 London, fo that no fervant of the king, nay, if they 
 muft be diftinguifhed, no minifter of ftate, but approved 
 what they had done. He reminded the houfe that his 
 majefty himfelf, who was more than a thoufand others, 
 had given fuch acknowledgment thereof, that, in very 
 teftimony of his feeHng, the adjournment had been 
 fuggefted for prefervation of their healths, which he 
 balanced equally with the confideration of his own. 
 Such having been the fatisfaftion of that time, and 
 nothing afterwards occurring to account for change or 
 alteration ; no new enemy difcovered, no nev/ defign 
 in hand, no new danger preffing ; yet were new counfels 
 fuddenly taken. Why, no man could judge. How 
 the former fatisfadtion fhould be loft, and by that, their 
 favour with his majefty ; fo that what then was thought 
 enough, fhould of a fudden feem too little ; no reafon 
 could refolve him in the point, nothing but divinity 
 could judge. 
 
 Philips then, with extraordinary bitternefs, adverted 
 to the part played by Cooke at the clofe of the Weft- 
 minfter fitting,* pointing by inference at the perfon 
 of whofe will and pleafure he had then made himfelf 
 the inftrument, and further illuftrating the diftindtion 
 now heard of firft, and pregnant with fo much danger, 
 between minifters of ftate and fervants of the king. 
 
 * See ante, 301-30J. 
 
364 IV. A Memorable Debate. EookVI. 
 
 Strange indeed was the precedent to which he had 
 called their aftention. It was without example that 
 upon the declaration of his majefty before named and 
 his acceptance of their gift, moft of their members being 
 retired, indeed fo few left they could be hardly called 
 a houfe, that then a new propofition fhould be made in 
 his majefty's name ! Who was it that had done this ? 
 Who was it that had planned it, like a furprife of 
 enemies, not as an overture from friends ? Friends 
 fhould deal clearly and above-board, not circumvent 
 the innocent, not make fuch requital of their love. 
 This, neverthelefs, had been the aft of the fame gentle- 
 man who yefterday again, before his majefty, did that 
 which never before was done, and for both deferved to 
 render an account. For, though the danger at the 
 former fitting had been put afide, the attempt was not 
 lefs guilty ; and for what they had all fo recently 
 witnefled, no excufe could be made. Strange, he 
 repeated, were thofe things ; but far more ftrange the 
 adjournment for only a few days, and that meeting 
 there in Oxford ! As it could not be that the king 
 fliould have fuch mutability in himfelf, was not the real 
 caufe manifeft to them ? To have the whole kingdom 
 hurried in fuch hafte for the will and pleafure of one 
 JubjeSt ! That the fubjeft fhould prefume to transfer 
 his errors to the parliament ! That the parliament 
 fhould be thought a fit father for great faults ! All 
 this, he protefted, was beyond example and comparifon. 
 But the mifchief was done, and he would rather now 
 take advantage of fuch good as might be procurable 
 from it. He was himfelf, therefore, in no refpedt of 
 opinion with thofe that were difinclined to continue to 
 fit. He valued not his fafety befide the fafety and 
 welfare of the kingdom. God had brought them 
 thither ; and, as Jofeph went for Egypt, by that com- 
 ing, though unwifhed for, fome glorious work might 
 be. What was not intended among men, the pro- 
 
'^^5- Refers to his own Imprisonment. ^^c^ 
 
 35- 
 
 vidence of heaven could induce. 'They were to a£i 
 their parts, and leave thejuccejs to God. 
 
 To the fecond divifion of his fpeechj which concerned 
 the counsels of the kingdom whereby thefe evils had 
 become poffible, Philips next addrefled himfelf. As to 
 the Spanifh labyrinth of treaties out of which fo much 
 mifchief had proceeded, he was of opinion that God had 
 made It a national punifhment for their fins. By thofe 
 treaties were induced that dangerous journey of their 
 prince, led on by the flattering counfels of fervants 
 who had brought king James in love with the deceitful 
 face of friendfhip held by Spain, and betrayed him to 
 the nets of a fubtle, fox-like, artificial, faithlefs people. 
 Well had he reafon to remember what was fuifered in 
 that caufe, when, for the oppofition made in the parliament 
 of 1620, their liberties were harafled and their perfons 
 in refl:raint,* whereof, by the ill influence of thofe planets, 
 he had himfelf borne a fhare. For what had he, and 
 others before whom he was then fpeaking, been taxed, 
 but for arguing againft the Spanifh match ? For that 
 time, however, a deliverance came through a higher 
 power, and the very journey into Spain, which began 
 not to that end, was the means itfelf of releafing them. 
 What enfued in the following parliament was frefli in all 
 their memories ; the defires entertained, the pledges de- 
 manded, the promifes given and broken. He would 
 name to them three for which, at the rifmg of that par- 
 liament, it was believed that fecurity had been taken. 
 The firfl; was, that for prevention in the future no 
 more fuch treaties might endanger them, but the prince 
 fhould match with one of his own religion. The fecond 
 was, that there might be fuch refped: held to our neigh- 
 bours and fellow-proteftants in France, as to preferve 
 their fafeties who reciprocally were " a fafety unto us." 
 The third was, to maintain the religion of the kingdom 
 
 * See ante, no, in. 
 
'\6G IV. A Memorable Debate. Bookvi 
 
 ^T, 
 
 that the laws might have their life, and delinquents 
 not be fuffered to afFront them. How thefe promifes 
 had not been kept, the certainty was, alas ! too great. 
 They knew what articles had been propofed for the 
 Spanifh match, and what conditions had been made at 
 the French marriage they had too much reafon to 
 doubt. Let them look around them before it was too 
 late. They would fee the papifts ftill increafmg, the 
 priefts and jefuits growing more bold, little done for 
 fupport and much for difcouragement of their allies, 
 and coldnefs and indifference everywhere in place of 
 warmth and zeal. Let them ask themfelves by what 
 counsels this was fo, and fuffer truth and reafon to 
 anfwer it. 
 
 The orator then took up, for the third divifion of his 
 fubjed:, the prefent ftate and condition of the people. 
 He told the ftory of impofitions, and of the title fet up 
 to a royal prerogative therein, from fo early as the feventh 
 of James's reign. He defcribed how the queftion had been 
 handled in that houfe, and how argued and debated for 
 the interefts of the fubjed:. He cited the refolutions 
 paffed declaring it their right, their inheritance, to be 
 free ; and with thefe he contrafted a feries of adts delibe- 
 rately committed in prejudice of that liberty. He dwelt 
 upon well-remembered fcenes in the parliament of 1 6 14 : 
 when, upon a conference having been fettled with the 
 lords for which all the great lawyers of the commons, 
 being appointed leaders, had prepared arguments to 
 vindicate the fubj efts' rights againft the pretended prero- 
 gative, a plan was hit upon for difpofing of those elabo- 
 rate arguments in a manner much more effedhual than 
 by handling them in conference, it being refolved to burn 
 th.^ arguments inftead of attempting to reply to them ; 
 and thereupon, in the prefence of the council, before 
 whom arguments, books, and records had been brought 
 by royal order, while his majefty looked on through a 
 hole of the arras from the adjoining clerk's chamber, a 
 
'^^5- q'ells the Story of Impositions. 367 
 
 bonfire was made ! * As far, continued Philips, as prefent 
 power might rule the judgment of pojfterity, it was 
 then meant that the liberties themfelves ftiould be con- 
 fumed, with the records and books that held the evidence 
 of them. But ftraightway they rofe again. Never had 
 a large bounty been taken of the fubjeft, as when two 
 fubfidies were given in 1620, as when three fubfidiesand 
 three fifteenths were given in 1623, but furrender was 
 exafted of the claim of the prerogative in that point. 
 Neverthelefs, fo little had the bounty of the people 
 availed, fo little had been the regard given to their mo- 
 defty and forbearance, that now while he fpoke, and in 
 violation of the law pafTed in the parliament laft named, 
 this grievance was ftill upon them ; and a wrong had 
 been added to it which never was before. The dues of 
 tonnage and poundage were at that infant in courfe of 
 levy and colle£iion without a grant from parliament. 
 Were power and force, then, alone to be extant ; and 
 was right to be held an impertinence to ftates ? He 
 declared it for his convi6tion that there had been more 
 prefTures on the people within the fpace of feven years 
 then laft paft than almoft in the feven ages next before 
 it. Let them infer, from that, in what condition the 
 fubjedt now muft be ; what ability was left him, and 
 what afFeftion he was like to have ! Was confideration 
 of the ftate more encouraging than that of the people ? 
 He had ftiown them the councils there monopolifed, as 
 the general liberties elfewhere. The whole wifdom was 
 fuppofed to be comprehended in one man. Mafter of 
 all favour, he was likewife mafter of all bufinefs. Nihil 
 unquam prifci et integri moris, as Tacitus had obferved 
 
 * sir James Whitelocke, Bulftrode's father, in his Liber Famelicus 
 (pp. 41, 43) hasalfo defcribed the fcene. " I fawthe king," he fays, after 
 mournfully recording the faft of his having juft before feen his own 
 twenty-four fides in folio, written with his own hand, burnt by Mr. 
 Cottington, then clerk to the council, " look throughe an open place in 
 " the hangins, about the bignes of the palm of ons hand, all the while the 
 " lords wear in withe us." 
 
■5 68 IF. A Memorable Debate. Bookvi. 
 
 upon the decline of Rome, fed exuta aqualitate omnia 
 unius jujfa afpeSiare. Many were the councillors in 
 name, but few retained more than the name. Mquales 
 ordinis magis quam operis, as Paterculus had noted 
 of the like. Their reputation might be fomewhat, but 
 their authority was fmall ; and their aiFeftions as much 
 under check as their greatnefs and power. Nor could 
 any ftronger argument be ufed to ihow the ficknefs 
 of the ftate, than that which thofe very gentlemen 
 had prefented to them ; that its credit was fo weak it 
 could not without a parliament take up forty thou- 
 fand pounds ! 
 
 Someuneafy expreffions of diffenthere falling from the 
 councillors, Philips feized the occafion with the refource 
 of a great fpeaker. He did not name thefe things, he 
 faid, to caft obloquy upon any member of that houfe. 
 They bore other meaning to him. They were an argu- 
 ment that God was not their friend. By thofe abufes 
 of favour among them, they had loft the favour of the 
 Almighty. He was become their enemy ; and unlefs 
 they had peace with Him, it was in vain to think of war 
 with others. An inward preparation muft precede, before 
 their outward preparations could be hopeful ; the watch- 
 man waking but in vain if the Lord watched not with 
 him. Let no one, he added, clofing in this moft ftriking 
 way the third branch of his addrefs, be content to repofe 
 in a fancied fecurity. It might truly be held an impos- 
 fible fuppofition that the Engli/h would leave their king. 
 Yet in refpedt of the great abufe of counfels, let the 
 councillors then prefent bethink them who was indeed 
 refponlible; and that if any man made a stand the 
 blame muft light on thofe who had occafioned it. If they 
 would get heaven again upon their fide let them follow 
 the examples of their fathers. The way of parliaments 
 was the only fafe one ; and wherever the ill counfel was, 
 it ftiould be left to parliament to remove it. 
 
 The fourth divifion of this remarkable fpeech dealt 
 
'^*5- AJJerts the Duties of the Commons. ^6^ 
 
 generally with the matters embraced in it, and gave the 
 orator's opinion on the whole. Let them not think that 
 he defired to tread too near the heels of majefty. He 
 craved only to keep majefty from danger. All things were 
 now fufFered under that name, and could they believe 
 that the name itfelf did not fuffer ? There could be no 
 greater wrong to the king than the injury of his fubjedts ; 
 and it was their duty, in that houfe, to vindicate both the 
 fubjed; and the king. He would not have them reafon 
 of what they underftood not. Too much time had been 
 wafted there in talking of the fleet, and whether the ftiips 
 fhould go or ftay. How could they judge, not knowing 
 the defign ? Let it be carried out by thofe who planned 
 it; of the event it would be their fundtion to judge ; and 
 meanwhile -higher duties awaited them. The eftate at 
 home, the affairs civil and domeftic, thefe were the pro- 
 per objects of their cares. To fettle the government of 
 the kingdom ; to redtify the diforders, to reform the 
 grown abufes, to heal the divifions thereof: this was 
 their bufinejs. And for this he would not have them 
 think of parting, but would have them earneft fuitors 
 to his majefty that he give them leave to continue to fit. 
 The great fervice they might thereby render to their fo- 
 vereign would afford him more ample aid and credit than 
 many fubfidies could give. It would bring him what- 
 ever was needed now to clear the ftreams of his revenues, 
 to refill the fountain of his exchequer, to replenifti his 
 exhaufted ftores, to colled his Scattered beams ! // 
 would lay at his feet the love and fatisfaSfion of his fub- 
 jeSis. Defiring therefore that fuch might be the refolu- 
 tion of that houfe, he moved a committee to prepare, 
 in accordance therewith, an addrefs to the king. 
 
 The efFedb of this extraordinary fpeech, fo quiet yet 
 determined, fo brief yet comprehenfive, loyal in the 
 higheft fenfe but filled with the confcioufnefs of power, 
 earneft not lefs than eloquent, and pregnant with fignal 
 warning, was decifive in one refpedb. From the hour of 
 
 VOL. I. B B 
 
170 IV. A Memorable Debate. bookvi. 
 
 ^ ' JET. 
 
 its delivery the ftruggle between Charles and his parlia- 
 ments took the form which, through many fubfequent 
 changes and viciffitudes, affured to it its ultimate triumph. 
 Days were to come in which this old boundary would of 
 neceffity be overpaffed, but for the prefent the limits were 
 defined, and the purpofes declared. The narrow ifTue 
 which Buckingham had fought to raife was put afide for 
 ever. With the queftion of fitting or feparating ; of giving 
 or refufing to give ; of fupplying the wants of the court 
 for purpofes not permitted them to difcufs, or betaking 
 themfelves to their homes ; of making laws to a minis- 
 ter's caprice, or not legiflating at all ; were now joined, 
 in fuch wife that none might feparate them, a quite 
 different queftion. It was not to be a perfonal quar- 
 rel, little or great. It was to be a contention for 
 the liberties of England in the intereft of her king. 
 Through the side of Buckingham it was hoped that 
 thefe might be reached ; and Charles was firft to be 
 faved from that ill counfellor. This was a novel turn in- 
 deed to the perfonal ifTue which the duke had himfelf 
 raifed in his interview with Eliot ; and from this point, 
 it is clear, he fuffered that part of his fcheme to drop. 
 The daring and infolent expedtation with which the 
 houfes had been fo fuddenly adjourned and fo preci- 
 pitately reafTembled, appears at this time to have de- 
 ferted even him. His plan had failed, after Philips's 
 fpeech, even fhould they be difTolved at once ; and that 
 fome compromife might be pofTible fo that they fhould 
 not be difTolved without giving, feems clearly to have 
 become, from the moment that Philips refumed his feat, 
 an objed: of fudden and extreme defire with the reft of 
 the councillors. 
 
 Never, fays EHot in his memoir, had difafFe6tion . 
 declared itfelf in the houfe of commons with fo much 
 ftrength and fharpnefs. The mere injury of that meet- 
 ing was forgotten in the entire prejudice of the time. 
 For all the miflakes committed, for all the misfortunes 
 
^j_*5- Effe£i produced by Philips. 371 
 
 fufFered, both foreign and domeftic, refponfibllity had 
 been fixed upon the court. Its minifters and fervants 
 had ufurped powers not belonging to them ; had abufed 
 the favour of their prince ; had drawn all things to their 
 own defires ; and had then yielded what was grafped to 
 the difpofal of one unbridled will. " Againft this pro- 
 " digious greatnefle, which like a comet was fufpeded 
 "to threaten great difafters to the kingdome, the 
 " generall intention of that houfe beganne then to be 
 "inflam'd; and neither parting nor fupplie was any 
 " longer thought confiderable in the cafe, but the 
 " reformation that was fpoken of, the reftauration of 
 " the government." So violent on the fudden became 
 the ftream and current, that it was to be ftayed at any 
 rifk ; and to attempt to ftay it, another of the privy 
 councillors ftood up. Sir Richard Wefton, chancellor of 
 the exchequer. Eliot's remark thereon is further proof 
 of the time when he was writing. When the favourite 
 was murdered, Wefton had become lord-treafurer ; and 
 we fhall find Eliot devoting his laft fpeech in the com- 
 mons to a denunciation and warning of that follower of 
 Buckingham, againft reviving the fpirit of his dead 
 mafter. In the fame tone he fays here that chancellor 
 Wefton now had " to pra6tife for others what he muft 
 " after endeavour for himfelf. Such being the fatalitie 
 " of great perfons, that example of misfortunes cannot 
 " move them. This man muft fee in others, what were 
 " the dangers of exorbitance ; how Phaeton rofe, and 
 " fell wanting a moderation to containe him. Yet honor 
 " and ambition muft tranfport himfelf, let fortune rule 
 " the reft ! " 
 
 Wefton's fpeech was elaborate, but made fmall im- 
 preffion after Philips's. As to religion, he doubted 
 not the fatisfaftion would be fpeedy, and that therein 
 would be no more fear. He did not deny that the 
 long time of peace had bred errors in the ftate by a too 
 much dependence on treaties, but it was now for them 
 
-J72 IV. A Memorable Debate. »°°'=^^' 
 
 *^ I JET. 
 
 to redtify thofe ills, and to feize the advantage " under 
 "hope." Two leading reafons he alleged as decifive 
 for a further vote of fupply. The firft was the neceffity 
 of the work in hand ; the caufe of rehgion being in it 
 and the general good of chriftendom, befides the honour 
 of the kingdom and reftitution of their friends. For, the 
 princes engaged with them had but followed their 
 enthufiafm ; to hate, to love, and to fear at their bid- 
 ding ; and as there had been warmth, there would be 
 coldnefs, if fuch were the example now. The next was 
 the king's neceffity, on which the chancellor greatly 
 infifted ; dwelling upon the debts and expenfes inherited 
 from his father, the charge for the royal funeral, for 
 ambafladors and the like, by which his chefts had been 
 emptied ; and pointing out alfo how ferious might be 
 the danger, if the king and themfelves fhould now part 
 abruptly, of thereby declaring abroad the exiftence of 
 an ill underftanding. His majefty when in Spain had 
 obferved how his father fuffered by the prejudice of fuch 
 difagreements with his parliament. It was from feeing 
 how the home-bred jealoufies and diftra6tions between 
 his fubjedis and himfelf had brought him to contempt 
 among that people, that the prince endeavoured, during 
 the lail parliament, as a happy ftar and planet to com- 
 pofe all fuch. The refult had been more grace to the 
 people, in the laws then pafTed, than at any time before. 
 Such and fo real, therefore, being the demonftration of the 
 virtues of their fovereign, and fo manifeft his occafion 
 and neceffity, they ought not to be backward in trufting 
 him. There and then was the opportunity. Whatever 
 might be contemplated as defirable hereafter, the pre- 
 fent time was indifpenfable to the adion in hand. Let 
 them put other queftions afide for the prefent, and fpeak 
 only to that. Affairs abroad were not to be commanded. 
 Other things might ftay. Two fubfidies and two fif- 
 teenths would be dearly purchafed to be then withheld. 
 The expeftation of the world being upon that firft 
 
'^^s- Reply of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 373 
 
 aftion of the king, if he loft thus his honour it was no 
 fmall thing he parted with ; it being the honour also of the 
 nation, which had no medium between their glory and 
 their ftiame. The fruit of their former labours was in 
 that ; and if they there fliould leave it, both that and 
 all their bounties were in vain. Moreover, not confirming 
 then the counfels they had given, beyond that day there 
 would he no place for counfel. 
 
 The fting of this addrefs, its point as well as its 
 meaning, was in its clofe. The final fentence was a 
 threat. If they did not that day ratify what had 
 formerly been advifed, the opportunity was gone from 
 them. Beyond that day there would be no place for 
 counfel. Neverthelefs, Eliot contents himfelf with 
 remarking drily refpeding it, that there being deemed 
 to be in it lefs of prophecy than menace, the diflike it 
 moved was greater than the fear. Generally it was 
 noted too, he fays, how much it varied from the fpeech 
 which was made before the king, wherein thirty or 
 forty thoufand pounds was talked of. And all this, 
 he adds, " quickening ftill the humour that was ftir'd, 
 " drew this expreffion further from that great father of 
 " the law. Sir Edward Coke, who, in much obfervance 
 " to the houfe, much refpedb unto the caufe, having 
 " confulted with his memorie of the proceedings in like 
 " cafes from the precedents of the antients, made this 
 "introduction and beginninge" — An abftrad; of the 
 fpeech follows. It was one of Coke's greateft efforts, 
 and the imperfeft fragment of it in the hiftories has led 
 to many a regret that it fhould not have found 
 completer record.* Now for the fir ft time we may 
 obferve its general fcope, and underftand the elFed pro- 
 duced by it. 
 
 * The editors of the new edition of the Parliamentary Hijiory (vi. 364) 
 with fome reafon congratulated themfelves on having been able, by the 
 help of " an old manufcript of the proceedings of this parliament," to 
 preferve certain* ftrokes at the lord treafurer and the lord admiral not 
 preferred in the fragment of Coke's fpeech contained in the Journals 
 
374 I^- A Memorable Debate. BookVI. 
 
 jET. 
 
 He began by faying, that, in the 37th of the third 
 Edward, when, though that prudent warlike king was 
 in the exaltation of his glory, the fubjeds yet were 
 fufFering through the abufes of fome minifters, the 
 commons fent up a petition that Edward fhould com- 
 mand his bifhops and clergy to pray for three things : 
 the ftate and happinefs of his majefty, the peace and 
 good government of the kingdom, and the prefervation 
 and continuance of unity and love between his fubjefts 
 and himfelf. Thefe had been put in hazard by the 
 condud: of his officers ; and till the doers of fuch wrong 
 to the king, obfcurers of his glory, were removed, no 
 fubvention would be poffible. If, without diftafte or 
 injury, that petition might be made to fuch a prince, 
 why in their own cafe fhould they fear it ? In that con- 
 fidence he would freely fpeak his heart, for the honour 
 of his fovereign ; not doubting but his goodnefs would 
 fo take it. After which preamble he reduced his fubjedt, 
 through many divifions, to the queftion of whether they 
 fhould then make an addition of fupply, or by fome 
 other mode give fubfiftence to his majefty. 
 
 For the firft, then, he rendered his opinion frankly, 
 not to give. It was not parliamentary to engraft fub- 
 fidies upon fubfidies. Were they then to give, collec- 
 tion could not be made until the fpring ; in itfelf not 
 merely a long credit, but one that would put in peril 
 what was far beyond all grants or payments, the good 
 affeftions of the fubjed:. And let them remember the 
 afflidtions of the time ; the interruption to trade by the 
 peftilence ; the fhutting up of London ; and the confe- 
 quent decay and poverty of the commons. Abundant 
 were the examples of foretimes, to warn them never to 
 prefs too far the people's ability to contribute. In the 
 fourth of Richard the Second, and in the third of Henry 
 
 (i. 811) ; but a coraparifon of either of the fragments with the complete 
 abftract now before the reader will ihow the value of what Eliot has pre- 
 ferved for us. 
 
I^i'^- speech by Sir Edward Coke. 375 
 
 the Seventh, rebellions followed. And when, in the 
 fourteenth of Henry the Eighth, the attempt was re- 
 peated, the colledtors were all flain; nay, fo fearful was the 
 apprehenfion raifed throughout the ftate, that to mode- 
 rate the excitement the king had to difclaim the fa6t, 
 tranflating it to his counfellors ; who from themfelves 
 imputed it to the judges, by whom it was laid upon 
 the cardinal. Thence might be eftimated the dangers 
 incurred at that time, by rifking too great a load and 
 preflure on the fubjed ; and the fame he held to be 
 a reafon irrefiftible againft giving now. As for the 
 argument of neceffity, it was but the convenience of 
 thofe who employed it. Nothing fo eafy as to retort 
 that argument againft the fupply of the neceffity pre- 
 tended. Ufing the diftindlion made by Bradlon, of the 
 three forts and orders of neceffity, affeSlata, invincibilis, 
 and improvida, he thought the neceffity in this cafe to 
 be neither affefted nor invincible, but improvident and 
 voluntary. And where was the encouragement to 
 giving, when thofe that had fpent the former gift muft 
 be mafters of the new ftore, and the people would be 
 contributing of their fubftance for nothing but their own 
 ruin ? 
 
 The great lawyer next took up the fecond branch 
 of his fubjedt, or the modes other than a fubfidy by 
 which fubliftence might be found for his majefty. And 
 here the reader has to remember that what is now called 
 the civil lift was then unknown ; * that parliament had 
 as little check over the private expenditure and gifts 
 of the king, as over the fources of his ordinary income 
 and revenue ; that, from the abfence of all neceflary 
 controul over the farming of the cuftoms and the dis- 
 tribution and fale of offices, the moft frightful abufes 
 were prevalent ; and that the uncontrolled power of the 
 fovereign over the enormous wafte lands, parks, and 
 
 * See ante, 157, 158. 
 
176 IV. A Memorable Debate. BookVI. 
 
 forefts, formed a fubjed of conftant complaint as it was 
 a fource of fruitful oppreffion. 
 
 Coke began by laying it down for his ground-work and 
 pofition that fubfidies were not proper for the ordinary 
 expenfe and charge, but that the provifion, for this, fhould 
 be in the ordinary income and revenue. Commune pericu- 
 lum commune trahit auxilium : common fupport and aid 
 fhould be for common dangers. The proper ftore of 
 princes lay in lands and revenues. Such was the inftitu- 
 tion of their government, and fo had been the pradtice 
 in foretimes. Three things, he went on to fay, were 
 requifite to a king, and for thefe there muft be a con- 
 ftant ability in the ftate. The firft, to defend himfelf 
 againft the invafions of his enemies ; the fecond, to give 
 help to his confederates and allies ; the third, to reward 
 the merits of his fervants. Should any of thefe be 
 wanting at this time, it was wanting to the king. No 
 arguments were needed to prove this, which to the full 
 he admitted. There was a leakage in the fhip of the 
 ftate when fo much could be faid. But to repair the 
 deficiency, to ftop and not increafe the leakage, and in 
 the manner that would commend their work, they muft 
 firft fearch the caufes, and then propound the remedies ; 
 which, as his reafon fhould fuggeft them, he now pro- 
 pofed to do. 
 
 For the caufes he named eight. Firft, the frauds 
 of officers and fervants ; inftancing the farmers and 
 colleftors of cuftoms, " the cuftomers " as they were 
 called; of whom it was notorious that one farmer had 
 been deriving to his private gain during the laft feven 
 years not lefs than 50,000/. a year. Secondly, the 
 Spanifh leagues and treaties ; wherein was lofi and 
 fpent more than arithmetic could count, whereas from 
 that faithlefs people nothing was ever got but by war. 
 Thirdly, the erecting of new offices with large fees, and 
 the continuance of others both unprofitable and un- 
 neceffary, indicating firft among the latter the prefident- 
 
'^^5. Expo/es the Diforders of Government. 377 
 
 35 
 
 fliips of York and Wales. Beware of fuch irregular 
 jurifdidlions, cried the great ex-chief juftice. They are 
 a monftrous burden to the king and no lefs oppreflive 
 to the fubjedt. A fimilar prefidentfhip had been in- 
 tended for the weft, and, by an order of council in the 
 thirty-firft of Henry the Eighth, was fo refolved ; but 
 the wifdom of that county declined it, preferring to reft 
 upon the common law of England. Fourthly, the mul- 
 tiplicity of offices in one man ; who not only could not 
 ferve them faithfully, but excluded from them others 
 worthy of preferment, whofe rewards, fuch places being 
 poffefled, muft come diredlly from the revenues of the 
 crown. Fifthly, the diforders of the royal houfehold, 
 through the abuie of fuch minifters as Cranfield* and Har- 
 vey, who had been fuffered to leap prefently to the green 
 cloth out of fhops and warehoufes in the city. Sixthly, 
 excefs of penfions and annuities, of which he declared 
 that the ftate had then more charge than the whole 
 government had borne from the conqueft to that time ; a 
 market having been eredted for fuch wares, which, by fo 
 being bought and fold, had grown into a perpetuity and 
 continuance. Seventhly, grants for portage of money, 
 carrying allowances of twelvepence a pound out of the 
 revenues gathered ; whereas the fervice might be done 
 without the leaft dedudtion. Eighthly, grants of fee- 
 farms and privy feals ; whereas gifts and rewards from 
 the crown fhould confift of offices and honours, not of 
 the royal treafures or inheritance. Such among others 
 Coke alleged to be the caufes of the wafte complained 
 of ; and from thence he paffed to confideration of the 
 remedies. 
 
 He diftinguiftied them, after the manner of phyficians 
 with their cures, into two, removent and promovent. 
 
 * Ante, 160, 162. "From walking about the exchange he has come to 
 " one of the higheft places at the council table ; he is married to one of 
 " the tribe of fortune, a kinfwoman of the Marquis of Buckingham." 
 Honjuell, 116. 
 
778 IV. A Memorable Behate. BookVI. 
 
 For the removent, he would have the ftated caufes at 
 once be attacked by their diredt contraries. The frauds, 
 he would expofe and punifh. The treaties, he would 
 abandon. The needlefs offices, the oppreffive and irre- 
 gular jurifdiaions, he would retrench ; citing for this 
 courfe precedents from nineteenth Henry the Seventh 
 and twenty-fecond Henry the Eighth, when the like was 
 done. The multipHcity of places held fingly, he would 
 abolijfh. The abufes of the houfehold, he would reftify 
 by recurrence to old inftitutions and forms. The an- 
 nuities and penfions in excefs, he would remove. The 
 portage of monies, he would fuperfede by direfting the 
 iheriffs of each county to bring in the revenues to the 
 exchequer. And all royal largefs, of whatever kind, he 
 would be fparing of until treafure fhould abound ; quot- 
 ing for ijluftration what was provided by the ftatute of 
 ninth Henry the Fourth, " that no man fhould beg till 
 " the king were out of debt." Such for the removents 
 having propounded, he handled then the promovents. 
 Firft among thefe, he held that large augmentation to 
 the crown, and increafe and benefit to the kingdom, 
 would refult from the inclofmg of wafte grounds ; the 
 king having thirty-one forefts, befides parks, containing 
 a mafs of land that might be brought into various ufes, 
 but which then yielded nothing but a charge. Secondly, 
 the government of Ireland fhould be redtified. That 
 government, in the days of Edward the Third when 
 filver was but five groats the ounce, brought in more 
 than 30,000/. a year ; whereas now, notwithftanding the 
 increafe in the value of money, its returns were worfe 
 than nothing. Thirdly, the king's rents ought to be 
 improved. They would bear, he faid, under proper 
 management, an increafe to a full third ; and that in 
 itfelt would be a large addition to the ordinary revenue, 
 which ought to bear the ordinary expenfe. But how 
 fhould fuch improvements be effedted ? There was but 
 one way ; by the Jele£iion of good officers and minijters. 
 
'^^5- Befcribes the Navy dancing a Pavine. ^19 
 
 35- 
 
 the incapable and bad being dijmijfed. So, in the 
 iixth of Edward the Third, that king undertook it, and 
 brought to an equal balance his expenfe and his re- 
 venue. So was it alfo accompHfhed and declared, in the 
 fiftieth of Edward the Third, in the fixth of Richard the 
 Second, in the fifth of Henry the Fourth, in the firft of 
 Henry the Fifth, in the eleventh of Henry the Sixth, in 
 the firft of Edward the Fourth, in the firft of Henry the 
 Seventh, and in the eleventh of Henry the Eighth. It 
 ftood on record, moreover, in the roll of the twenty- 
 feventh of Edward the Third, folio nine, that that king, 
 during fourteen years' war with France, had not once 
 charged his fubje6ts becaufe he had good minifters and 
 experienced officers. Upon all which. Sir Edward clofed 
 with a defire that they fhould continue their fitting, to the 
 end that a committee might be appointed to confider the 
 matters of which he had fpoken, to fet down thofe or 
 fuch other heads as might be thought hopeful to that 
 fervice, and to obtain from his majefty time to treat and 
 handle them, according to the importance of the work. 
 
 The fcope, gravity, and weight of this fpeech, Eliot 
 remarks, had a prodigious efFefl: ; and there was one 
 particular pafTage in it, he adds, that more than all the reft 
 feemed to gall the privy councillors. Lefs apparently on 
 that account, however, had Eliot thus referved it for fepa- 
 rate mention, than as having fpecially made appeal to him- 
 felf as a vice-admiral. It occurred where the great lawyer, 
 dwelling on the improvidence and incapacity of minifters, 
 fhowed it by diforders in the admiralty, and by the mis- 
 management of the naval preparation, of which they had 
 heard fo much and which had done fo little. It was a new 
 fafhion, he faid, that had come up in fuch things. In the 
 days of queen Elizabeth, the navy had other things to do 
 than "dance a pavine" lying upon the water fo long time 
 in readinefs without adion. But it was now, forfooth, the 
 charge of his highnefs the lord admiral. In the old time, 
 that great place was not committed to fuch truft. Places 
 
38o IV. A Memorable Debate. ^°°''^^' 
 
 ^T, 
 
 of great title had always indeed been ready for en- 
 joyment by great perfonages ; but to offices fuch as the 
 admiralty, it had been the wifdom of their elders to 
 appoint only men of fufficiency and merit. Up to the 
 twentieth of Henry the Eighth, the mafters of the 
 ordnance were tradefmen; and after the nobility once 
 pofleft it, that office had never been well executed. Now, 
 however, the moft laborious and difficult duties were far 
 from too much for one grand perfonage. In the reign of 
 Edward the Third the admiralty was divided into the 
 fouth and north, as being in the judgment of that prince 
 too much for one command; but now it feemed that 
 both this and a vaft many others were much too little for 
 one! 
 
 When Coke finifhed It was expefted that fome coun- 
 cillor would have rifen, whereas all of them on the 
 right of the chair waited, confidered, and fpoke not. 
 Members of the country party continued neverthelefs. 
 to addrefs the houfe, and among them, Mr. Alford, 
 Sir George Moore, and Mr. Strode ; applying them- 
 felves chiefly to the two arguments of the courtiers, that 
 the parliament was committed to what its predecefTors 
 had undertaken, and that the work to be accomplifhed 
 by the naval preparation was one of neceffity. To the 
 firft it was anfwered that there was no engagement, as 
 was urged ; that there was no power to engage the 
 kingdom but by a6t, and that if there had been an 
 engagement, it was quit ; the lafl: parliament having 
 given four hundred thoufand pounds towards It, befides 
 the fubfidies granted fince, and yet even now no war 
 proclaimed, nor any enemy declared. To the fecond, 
 by Indudlon It was argued from the form and incidents 
 of the preparation, that the alleged neceffity could not pos- 
 fibly exifl. Having ralfed a laugh againft fome reafoning 
 of an Indifcreet friend of the Palfgraf and his wife. Sir 
 Francis Netherfole,* Mr. Strode pointed out that the 
 
 * Netherfole's argument had been," that juft when the treaties were 
 broken, a great lump of the Palatinate was going to be difgorged, and that 
 
'^^5- Paufe in the DiJcuJJion. 381 
 
 35 
 
 land foldiers for the fervice had been all preft, and at 
 their rendezvous, in May ; that the feamen were there in 
 April ; and that the vidtualling and provifionswere fhipped 
 in March. Of the latter nearly five months ftore, there- 
 fore, had been fpent without moving from the harbours. 
 At a vaft expenfe and charge, and without any fervice to 
 the king, the landfmen had been three months, and the 
 feamen four, under pofitive pay and entertainment. 
 More had adually been wafted monthly, fince March 
 laft, than the fum of what was now alked for. And was 
 all this covenable with the neceffity pretended ? * 
 
 The ftrange filence of the councillors was at length 
 broken by the re-entrance, after brief abfence, of Heath 
 the foHcitor general, whofe very clofe connexion with 
 Buckingham gave a marked intention to the tone 
 he aflumed, and leaves us to infer from it what Eliot 
 more plainly ftates ; that as, from time to time dur- 
 ing this memorable day, notices of the debate and its 
 incidents found their way to the minifter, his arrogant felf- 
 confidence for the moment had been Ihaken. Heath 
 fain would have blunted, with conciliating proiFers and 
 phrafes, the keen edge turned againft his mafter ; but 
 it was too late. 
 
 if the preparations were now abandoned, the Palfgraf would be in a worfe 
 pofition than even the treaties put him in. But the argument raifed nothing 
 graver than a fmile. " It had," fays Eliot, " fmall authoritie or beliefe, 
 " comming from a gentleman that was feldom fortunat in that place " 
 (the houfe of commons). " He was a fervant to the Palfgrave, fecretarie 
 " to his queene ; and one that had a faire education, and fome hope in his 
 " younger days of ftudie ; but in his exercife and pvaftice, art had fo con- 
 " founded nature, or time both, that moftlie his affeflions had prejudice by 
 " his reafons." — Eliot Papers, 
 
 * Strode 's argument againft the pretended "neceffity" of the naval 
 preparation, fays Eliot, he baulked altogether. " For to denie the argu- 
 " ment, he could not; the inference being fo cleere that fuch unneceffarie 
 " preparations and expenfes prov'd rather an excefle than a neceffitie. To 
 " denie the particulars that made up the induftion, he dared not ; their 
 " truth being knowne to all men. To grant both the induflion and the 
 " inference, and in the faft denie it, was as dangerous as abfurd ; it fup- 
 " pofinge a neceffitie without reafon, and an improvidence more (hamefull 
 " than the wante." — Eliot Papers. 
 
t82 IV. A Memorable Debate. -BookVi 
 
 JS.T, 
 
 He began by protefting for himfelf that having two 
 capacities, one as a member of that houfe, the other as a 
 fervant to the king, he would without partiality exprefs 
 himfelf; not as holding of Cephas or Apollo, but to the 
 reafon of the cafe and in the integrity of his confcience, 
 as his judgment and opinion fhould direft him. Well, 
 then, he held that they were bound by the declaration 
 of the laft parliament, involving the diffolution of the 
 treaties and a war as the confequence. * In this view 
 their grant at the laft fitting was not a fatisfaftion, but 
 an " earneft ; " the obligation holding not to the time but 
 to the occafion. For the not knowing the enemy, it was 
 but a point of form, of ceremony, at the moft but a 
 difpenfation for the prefent ; a diffolution of the bond it 
 could not be; and he fhould himfelf humbly join with thofe 
 who might be fuitors to the king to remove that fcruple of 
 their jealoufy, and let the enemy be declared. For the 
 holding of places by men of no experience, he knew the 
 perfon aimed at, as the houfe knew his own relations 
 to that perfon ; but if he had been in fault, that was no 
 reafon why the public fervice fhould be prejudiced, or 
 that this, which had the firft claim, fhould not be pre- 
 ferred, and the particular complaint dealt with afterwards. 
 For the afHidlions of the time, they were in God's dis- 
 pofal, and could not be prevented ; nor might they be 
 pleaded in excufe for not refifting aftively their enemies. 
 Their enemies were armed, and would not be idle if they 
 themfelves fat ftill. Either in Ireland or elfewhere they 
 might expe6t fome attempt upon them, which would put 
 
 * Remarking upon this argument in another portion of his papers, Eliot 
 fays : " That point of the ingagement from the previous parliament was 
 " againe anfwear'd, not onlie from the fa£l but from the intention of the 
 " house : wherin it was remembered that foe careful! they had beene to 
 " avoid that rocke and (helfe, as both in the declaration which preceded, 
 " and in the preamble of the aft which was made an explanation of the 
 " former, all words and fiUables were ftroke out that might carrie an 
 " interpretation to that fenfe." Eliot himfelf, it will be remembered, had 
 taken aftive part in thofe proceedings, and fpoke with perfonal knowledge 
 both of what was done and intended. 
 
'^^5- Solicitor General's Speech. 383 
 
 35' 
 
 them to more trouble and more charge than was aflced of 
 them now. The feafon of the year had been objedled to by 
 fome, as if the time were paft for the fleet to put to fea ; 
 but to this he anfwered that a.5 the defign was fecret, 
 the right feafon for it could not be known. A learned 
 perfon whom he profoundly refpedted, had compared the 
 king's eflate to a leaking fhip, not to be ventured further 
 in until it were careened ; but if a leaking fhip were fet 
 upon by enemies, it would not be the bufmefs of the 
 crew to look to the flopping of the leak and let the fhip 
 be taken, but firfl: to oppofe the greater danger. Out- 
 ward attempts were to be met, though inward difeafes 
 might brook delay. He concurred with the councillors, 
 therefore, that it was fit, and fhould be the fole bufmefs 
 of that time, to give ; but for the quantum he would 
 refer it to the houfe altogether. 
 
 The day was now far fpent ; no difpofition exifted to 
 accept Heath's overture as anything conciliatory from 
 the duke ; and no attempt was made torefift a further 
 adjournment of the debate to the following morning. 
 The ihort interval of time was to be bufily and anxioufly 
 employed by both parties. 
 
 V. Choosing Parts ; and Assisting at a Play. 
 
 " The dale being farr o're fpent," fays Eliot, " much 
 " time and labour paft in thofe arguments and difputes, 
 " and manie more intending ftill to fpeake, the houfe 
 " perceav'd the refolution was not neer." Plainly there 
 was not any hope that a day might bring the debating to 
 its clofe. It had affumed proportions too formidable 
 for the old limits and rules. 
 
 Such a fpirit, Eliot informs us, had never been fhown 
 in his recoUedlion. In that Oxford divinity fchool had 
 been heard many a debate tough with the oig and 
 oug of polemical controverfy, but unknown to the old 
 walls till now was the fiercenefs of a debate upheld by 
 
384 V. Choofmg Parts, and Affifting at a Play. ^ 
 
 OOK VI. 
 
 ftern refolutioti and inflamed by paffionate refolves. 
 Never before, in the houfe of commons itfelf, had 
 men fo vehemently fpoken out their differences, or fo 
 eagerly ranged themfelves on oppofite fides. Nor was 
 this the fole or the main diftinftion from previous periods 
 of excitement otherwife refembling this. Much as they 
 pofleffed in common, there was yet a peculiarity very 
 marked at prefent, and not noted in former times. It was 
 not, as Eliot fays, that " the courtiers, being fearfull, 
 " grew exafperated for their friends, whom they fawe 
 " aym'd and pointed at, and did doubt fome neerer 
 " touch." It was not that the country party, as he 
 candidly admits, " by the oppofition made more quicke, 
 " in openinge their grievances finding ftill more grievance, 
 " their own motions warm'd them, and their affeftions 
 " were inflam'd by refleftion on themfelves." It was not 
 even that what he defcribes as a fharper fpirit, and larger 
 iflues, " the danger of the kingdome, their owne par- 
 " ticular dangers, hazarded for the pleafure of one man," 
 had fo generally embittered the apprehenfion of injuries 
 and the refolution to requite them, that now hardly 
 any " neutrals " were left untouched by thofe paffions 
 or unfharing in that " conteftation of affecflions." But 
 what difl:inguifhed efpecially this time from the former, 
 were the efforts made to win thefe very "neutrals," few 
 as they were. Nothing, Eliot tells us, could be more 
 broadly marked than the two fides into which the houfe 
 had now divided. " Thofe whom noe privat interefts 
 " did move were bent wholie to complaint : thofe whom 
 " the court poffeft were as earneft to decline it." But 
 between them, divided by fear and ignorance, ftood 
 fome in expedtation of the iffue, waiters on providence, 
 " without reference to the caufe, but defiring to be with 
 " the viftors." In number they were few, " the truth 
 " of what was urged being mofl: obvious and apparent; " 
 but though far from confiderable in the queftion, they 
 were important to the refult, and extraordinary efforts 
 
''^^5- Canvajfing on both Sides. 385 
 
 were made on both fides to fecure to either fide their 
 adherence. In very prefence, as we read, we fee govern- 
 ment by party in its germ ; and the firft fhoots of that 
 gigantic growth which has fince for good and ill over- 
 fhadowed England, are vifibly ftarting up before us. 
 
 As foon as the houfe rofe, the canvafling began. What 
 had been violent to-day, all men felt would be more 
 violent to-morrow ; and the whole of what remained 
 of the afternoon was fpent by the leading members and 
 privy councillors in paffing to and fro among the waver- 
 ing and undecided, urging and prefling them to 
 choofe their fides. It was the afternoon of Friday, 
 the 5th of Auguft, and " either party," fays Eliot, 
 " in the remainder of that dale fo labor'd the 
 " ftrengtheninge of their fides. Infinitt was the prac- 
 " tice uf'd w"* all men, to found and gaine them ; 
 " wherein the courtiers did exceede. Noe promife or 
 " perfuafions were too much, to make one profelyte 
 " in that faith. Whom ambition had made corruptible, 
 " their oiFerings did allure ; and what reafon could not, 
 " hope did, then efFedt." 
 
 Yet the next day did not open hopefully for them. 
 Befides the debate on fupply, the Montagu affair had to 
 come on again, and was to be made even more bitter by an 
 untimely difcovery. It is all pafl'ed away now, the Old 
 Gooje as well as the New Gag, leaving of the very 
 names only their derifive found ! but it was ferious then as 
 life and death to pious proteftant men, that fuch dodlrines 
 ihould find fuch favour ; and that a partisan fo recklefs, 
 loving popery as much as he hated freedom, and under 
 cenfure of the houfe and the difpleafure of his primate, 
 fhould be felefted for religious duties about the perfon 
 of the king. The good archbifhop attended at the bar, 
 but could add nothing to what formerly he had commu- 
 nicated ; * and Montagu himfelf kept away, alleging 
 ftill a bodily ficknefs, and moving further the houfe's 
 
 * Ante, 25Z-57. 
 VOL. I. C C 
 
386 V. Choofmg Varts, and AJfifting at a Play. ^°°^ 
 
 VI. 
 
 indignation by writing to their ferjeant inftead of peti- 
 tioning themfelves, as became a man under penalties for 
 appearance. Then rofe the member for Dorfetfhire, 
 Sir Walter Erie, having papers in his hand received from 
 certain juftices of his county, and defiring the houfe to 
 take notice what kind of disfavours as well as favours were 
 ftiown by minifters of the crown. Not many days 
 before, it appeared, thefe juftices, by a warrant of fearch 
 under the law againft recufants, had found in the houfe of 
 a difaffefted perfon " an altar, copes, crucifixes, books, 
 " relickes, and other popiih ftuffe ; " whereupon, having 
 committed the owner for refuling to take the oaths pre- 
 fcribed by the law, " a letter was fent them from the 
 " court, fign'd by the fecretarie of ftate, requiring them 
 " forthw* to redeliver the ftuife w*"" they had taken 
 " awaie, and to fett at libertie the partie." * Very 
 bitter comments were palTed on this before referring it 
 to the committee on the jefuit pardons, for mention in 
 a remonftrance to be addreffed thereon to the king. " It 
 " wrought powerfullie on the houfe," fays Eliot, " fo- 
 " menting their jeloufie, increafing the difficultie of 
 " atonement, and making the conteftation farr more 
 " ftrong." 
 
 In this temper the debate on fupply was refumed ; 
 vv^hen, after fome fharp fpeaking, in the courfe of which 
 Sir Henry Mildmay declared againft any fubfidy as 
 long as papifts were connived at, avowing his belief that 
 indifference to religion was the caufeof all their miferies; 
 
 * " This," continues Eliot, " by thofe juftices was certified to their 
 ■" freinds. They, as they thought it neceflarie, did reprefent it to the 
 " houfe : w"', taking it into the number of their grievances, though they 
 " did not much difpute it, did much revolve it in the connderation of 
 " their thoughts, that at that time such contenance (hould be given to foe 
 " great offenders of the law ; that the law muft be control'd in the favor of 
 " fuch perfons ; and that minifters of juftice ftiould receive an increpation 
 " for fidelity to their offices and duties, and that where religion was involv'd. 
 " Though the formal deliberation, in point of remedie and redrefie, were 
 " refer'd to the committee appointed for the pardon, yet the evill was then 
 " refented, and the caufe not doubted to be knowne." 
 
1 625. Propofal by Eliot for Addrejs to the King. 387 
 
 35 
 
 wherein Mr. Coryton was alfo for giving the firft place to 
 religion, and would have no compromife by fubfidy on 
 fubfidy, but proceed after the old parliamentary way ; 
 and in which Sir John Cooke, urging once again that a 
 frefh fubfidy to be colledled in April and Odober of the 
 following year would not clafh with the colleftion of 
 that already voted, or violate any ufeful parliamentarv 
 ufage, was replied to by Mr. Strode, who created no fmall 
 merriment by afking how the two fubfidies and fifteenths 
 payable more than a year hence were to fupply a fleet 
 that was to go out in fourteen days.. — Eliot rofe with a 
 propofition for an addrefs to the king for permiffion to 
 continue to fit. He fpoke briefly ; but infifted that this 
 was a point requiring to be fettled before the vote on 
 fupply was taken, becaufe the means to give really de- 
 pended upon it. He was followed by Sir Nathaniel Rich, 
 the member for Harwich, who fupported the propofition, 
 and with that view would have certain matters at once 
 referred to a committee, and included in the propofed 
 addrefs. He then read from a paper, doubtlefs a re- 
 fult of the previous night's confultations, five heads of 
 fubjedts that they ought to have full time to confider 
 and decide on, before voting further fubfidy ; and Eliot 
 proceeds to name thefe in his memoir, without direftly 
 fl;ating that he had been concerned in preparing them, 
 but with the remark (which may help us to a fufpicion 
 on that point as well as to a reafon why they were 
 formally fubmitted by another) that his conneftion 
 with the fervice of the fl;ate made him more zealous to 
 rectify its diforders. 
 
 Religion was the firfl:. So far had the boldnefs and 
 cunning of the adverfary prevailed herein, that unlefs 
 fuccefsftil countermine were made, no more was to be 
 expedled from their enterprifes than happened to the 
 Ifraelites while the accurfed thing was with them ; and 
 the king's promifed anfwer to their petition fliould be 
 rendered therefore, not in ordinary conference, but " in 
 
388 V. Chooftng Parts, and Ajfifting at a Flay. Bookvi. 
 
 " full parliament, that it might be recorded in both 
 " houfes to receave the qualitie of a law." The fecond 
 fubjed: was the preparation for hoftilities ; as to which 
 it was afked, that if there were a real purpofe for a war 
 the enemy might be known by public declaration to 
 that effedt. The third had relation to the diforders in 
 public affairs, for remedy whereof a grave council was 
 defired to advife with the king. The fourth was his 
 majefty's revenue ; which it had become necefTary fo to 
 look into as to ftop its leaks and reftore its fulnefs, or 
 there muft for ever be poverty in the crown, and grievance 
 and oppreffion in the government. Laftly it was urged, 
 that all doubt as to impolitions fliould be cleared ; for 
 without it, no man could fay what truly was his own, 
 or know how to promife or to give. Sir Nathaniel 
 Rich clofed the ftatement with which he preferred 
 thefe demands, by declaring that in form they were 
 ftriftly parliamentary ; that nothing was further from 
 intention than to put them forth as a " capitulation " 
 with the fovereign ; that in the twenty-fecond of the 
 third Edward the like courfe had been taken, a like 
 petition being exhibited upon lefs reafons from that 
 houfe ; and that in this cafe there was further a neceffity, 
 becaufe without fome help therein the kingdom could no 
 longer either fupply the king or fupport itfelf. 
 
 No reference of any kind, it is very obfervable, was 
 here made to Buckingham ; yet the abfence of perfonal 
 allufion, so far from being accepted as conciliatory by 
 the " privados " of the minifter, feems to have alarmed 
 them as at a danger lurking or concealed. Sir N. Rich 
 had fcarcely refumed his feat, when a connecftion of 
 Buckingham's who reprefented one of the cinque ports 
 of which the duke was lord warden, Mr. Edward 
 Clarke, undertook to prove that what they had juft 
 liftened to was only another form of the " bitter invec- 
 " tives " they had heard launched againft the lord high 
 admiral on the previous day. " At which," fays Eliot, 
 
'^^5- jln Exciting Scene. 389 
 
 defcribing the curious fcene that followed, " being inter- 
 " rupted by a generall exclamation of the houfe, to 
 " preferve their wonted gravitie and the dignitie of their 
 " members he was cried unto the barr. Upon this he 
 " was w"'drawne for the confideration of his punifh- 
 " ment, that had not more expreffions than new waies. 
 " Manie delivered their opinions, and moft, different. 
 " Some to have him excluded from that house, others 
 " for ever to debarr him. Some likewise did propound 
 " an imprifonment and mulct ; and with varietie in thofe 
 " both for the place and fumme. Others more favour- 
 " able, mov'd onlie for an acknowledgement of his 
 " fault ; and that alfo w"' fome difference. Some would 
 " have had it adted at the barr, others but in his place. 
 " And ther wanted not, that would have wholie had him 
 " pardon'd, and perhaps that fcarcelie thought him 
 " faultie. But the receav'd opinion was that which 
 " divided betweene thefe : not to make the feveritie too 
 " great, leafl it might relifhe of some spleene, nor yet 
 " by lenitie to impeach the juftice of the houfe, but 
 " that the example might fecure them from the like pre- 
 " fumption in the future. Therefore his cenfure was, to 
 " be committed to the farjant, and ther to ftand a pri- 
 " foner during the pleafure of the houfe. This being 
 " fo refolv'd on, the delinquent was call'd in, who, kneel- 
 " ing at the barr, had that fentence there pronounc'd ; 
 " and foe the farjant did receave him." Thus ended the 
 flrange fcene, and the day's fitting unexpedledly pro- 
 longed by it ; but not fo the effedt produced.* 
 
 The moderate fedtion of tJie privy councillors went 
 that afternoon to the chief minifter with a compromife. 
 It feems probable, from the manner in which it is 
 defcribed by Eliot, that May had brought them pre- 
 viously to confult with him ; but the extent to which he 
 
 * It has been frequently alleged that fuch incidents as this of a member 
 called to account and puniflied for a fiery or paffionate word, were peculiar 
 to the Long Parliament : how juftly the reader fees. 
 
390 V. Choofing Parts, and JJftJiing at a Play. ^°°^ "^^• 
 
 entertained it, or whether at all, does not appear. It 
 does however feem that the duke himfelf did not 
 immediately rejedt it. The events of the three pre- 
 ceding days had been fo unexpedled, the tone taken fo 
 unufual, the prospe6t opened fo fraught with undefined 
 and fcarcely definable danger, that a bolder man might 
 have paufed at the ifTues raifed ; and, obferving that the 
 houfe had not hefltated at this moment to make 
 prifoner of one of his agents and friends, might with 
 reafon, as Eliot remarks, " think it necefTary, even for 
 ' him, to refled: more fenfiblie on himfelfe, and by his 
 ' neighbour's fire to thinke his houfe in danger. Cer- 
 ' tainlie all his adherents tould him it was an approach 
 ' upon his faftie.' 
 
 Eliot adds an outline of the propofal and of its fate. 
 ' The advice he had was, much to indeavour an accomo- 
 ' dation w"' the parliament. The errors mofh infifted 
 ' on, were faid to be excufable, if retradled. That the 
 ' diforders of the navie might be imputed to the officers. 
 ' That the want of counfells might be fatisfiedby a free 
 ' admifTion to the board. The greateft difEcultie was 
 ' conceav'd to reft in religion and the fleet : for the firft, 
 ' the jelofie being derived from his protection given to 
 ' Montagu ; for the latter, that it had foe unnecefTarie a 
 ^ preparation and expenfe. And yet in both that ther 
 ' might be a reconciliation for himfelfe. Sending the 
 ^ fleet to fea, and giving others the command, was 
 ' propounded as a remedie for the one : having thefe 
 ' reafons to fupport it, that the defigne could not be 
 ' knowne, nor, if ther wanted one, that judg'd by the 
 ' fuccefs ; and the fuccefs was anfwearable but by thofe 
 ' that had the aftion. For the other it was faid, that 
 ' the leaving of Montagu to his punifhment, and the 
 ' w'Mrawinge all proteftion, would be a fatisfac- 
 ' tion for the prefent ; w"" some publick declaration in 
 ' the pointe, and a faire parting of that meeting, facili- 
 ' taring the waie to a future temper for agreement. 
 
'^^5- The Buke and his Parafites. 391 
 
 35' 
 
 ' Though noe deniall could be lookt for in the refolutions 
 ' of the parHament, the fleet mufl needs goe forth to 
 ' color the preparation, and the returne might yeelde 
 ' fomething to jufl;ifie the worke ; at leaft in excufe and 
 *^ apologie for himfelfe, by tranflation of the faulte. 
 ' Thofe and the like counfells were prefented to the 
 ^ D, and wrought an inclination for the infliante that 
 ' gave his freinds fome hope. But thofe that were 
 ' about him gave it an alteration in the cabanet. Soe 
 * unhappie are great persons, to be obnoxious to ill 
 ' councells; and come by everie aer of flatterie to be 
 ' moveable, not having cenftancie in themfelves. Of w"** 
 ' the D was a full character and inftance ; and being 
 ' uncertaine to his councells prov'd unfaithful! to him- 
 ' felfe. He had once determined to be guided by his 
 ' friends, but his parafites were more powerful! ;* w* 
 'then increas'd his troubles, and after prov'd his 
 ' ruine." 
 
 The parafites had a plan of their own. There fhould 
 be another field-day in Chrifl;church-hall : the king not 
 to be prefent, but the duke to play the part with the 
 lord keeper in waiting upon him, the principal fecretary 
 of flrate for fubordinate points, the lord treafurer for 
 finance, and the well-known "old artift"t for any 
 emergency. Honourable members hitherto had con- 
 fined all the eloquent fpeaking to themfelves, but 
 now his grace in turn would difplay a little elo- 
 quence and fkill, and flioot fome arrows of his own. 
 None of them were like to mifs the mark, but there was 
 one that was fure to ftrike home. " To wh'" end," fays 
 Eliot, " was hafl:ily prepared (for all things were readie 
 " at his beck) the king's anfwear to the petition for 
 
 * Sir Simonds D'Ewes, in a paffage of his Autobiography which will 
 hereafter be quoted, reports what Sir Robert Cotton had told him of Buck- 
 ingham's habit of lending his ear to fycophants and flatterers againft the 
 counfel of wifer friends, in almofl the exaft terms here employed by Eliot. 
 
 f Sir John Cooke, fee ante, 301, 348 ; znApoJi, 4.30. 
 
2g2 V. Choofing Parts, and AJfifting at a Play. Book vi. 
 
 " religion, then to be prefented by his hands, as the 
 " influence of his labor ; robbing his mafler both of the 
 " honor and the worke." That the houfe fliould make 
 further ftand after a triumphant effort of this fort ; that 
 it fhould be able any longer to keep its " harbor'd 
 " jelofies " together ; or have fenfe enough to fee through 
 the comedy artfully and pleafantly played before 
 them ; was not fuppofed poffible. " Soe ignorant 
 " are fuch parafites," continues Eliot, " in the knowledge 
 " of great councells, that what in their weake judgments 
 " does feeme probable, they thinke feafable w"" others ; 
 " like conies having fcarce a fhadow for their ears, who 
 " take all their bodies to be cover'd." * So it was fettled, 
 therefore ; and the duke and his friends, being all of 
 them in this highly expofed condition, were to carry 
 both houfes by an unexpected and invifible manoeuvre, 
 at the performance to be prefented on the next day of 
 meeting. 
 
 Scarce were they met accordingly, the commons in 
 the divinity fchool and the lords in the gallery above, at 
 eight o'clock in the morning of Monday the 8 th of 
 Auguft, — Wentworth and Fairfax having carried York- 
 fhire at the new eledlion, had entered and taken their 
 feats ; and there bad juft been time for Mr. Clarke, the 
 delinquent at the previous fitting and moft devoted 
 of Buckingham's followers, upon his knees at the 
 bar and by humbleft apology to make atone- 
 ment for his offence and crave his releafe from 
 cuftody, which thereon was accorded him, — when, fays 
 Eliot, " a meffage was pretended from the king for a 
 '' meeting of both houfes. The occafion intimated was 
 " fome generall declaration from his majeftie, wh'*" being 
 " to be delivered by the duke, the lord treafurer, the 
 " Lo. Conway, and Sir John Cooke, it was defir'd 
 
 * " And foe is their whole time vers't," he adds, " in the corrupt fceane 
 " of flatterie, that in the end they praftife it on themfelves." 
 
'^^5- opening of the Comedy. 
 
 35 
 
 393 
 
 " both of the lords and commons refpedtively in their 
 " places, that their members might have licenfe for that 
 '' fervice : the former exception * having beene an in- 
 " ftru(5tion in that pointe. The place appointed was 
 " Chriftchurch-hall ; wh* being accepted, and leave 
 " given as was deiir'd, but to the commons mem- 
 " bers onlie as king's fervants, all other thinges 
 " were left, and everie man addreft him to the 
 " place. Some doubt there was for forme upon 
 " the meffage to the commons, it making mention of 
 " both houfes ; and in that cafe the Speaker muft have 
 " gone, and his mace been borne before him. But it 
 " being refolv'd that the committee onlie were intended, 
 " that ceremonie was left." 
 
 The lords and commons by committees being thus 
 brought together, Eliot tells us of fome that were 
 prefent fmiling to fee his reverence the lord keeper 
 become ulher to his grace the duke. In their relations 
 at the time, it was doubtlefs a mortification ; but the 
 bifhop might confole himfelf by thinking that he had 
 fecretly blown the coals to fome eifedl againft the duke, 
 though with the burning of his own fingers, and even 
 the ihabby part at prefent afTigned to him he could gloze 
 over with a fhow of dignity, f After informing the 
 committees that the duke was about to deliver to them 
 his majefty's anfwer in the matter of religion, and fome 
 other things of fpecial importance, he added that " this 
 " he was, by the king's command, to intimat. Wh'=''," 
 Eliot interpofes, " fome beleev'd ; and noe man doubted 
 " of the meaninge. All men did fee it ftudied for pro- 
 " tedlion and redintegration to himfelf out of bitternefs 
 
 * See ante, 348-9. 
 
 f We have already feenthat Eliot, in another part of his MS (aafc 331), 
 fpeaks of the mifchief Buckingham brought upon himfelf by this quarrel 
 with Williams and his friends ; to what defperation they were driven for 
 prefervation of themfelves ; what gall and vinegar they infufed into the 
 humour that was ftir'd ; " and, by their privat inftruments blowing the 
 " coales then kindled, added alfoe more fewell to the fire." 
 
394 ^- C hoofing Parts, and AJfifting at a Play. 
 
 Book VI. 
 
 " to follow. It was as a fomentation to an oyntment, 
 " or like to pills that have fome fweetneffe over them to 
 " make their reception the more eafie." Everyone knew, 
 in fhort, that this frefh exhibition at Chriftchurch was 
 entirely got up by Buckingham and his people ; that he 
 had invented the bufinefs, drefTed the adors, and with 
 his own hand made up the naufeous pill of which that 
 fugaring and fwallowing by Williams formed the 
 comedy's opening fcene. 
 
 Main contriver, and principal a6lor, the duke fol- 
 lowed. Profeffing that he had neither rhetoric nor art, 
 and therefore it fell fitly on him to fpeak for a king who 
 defired to deal plainly with his people, he dire6fced the 
 petition for religion to be read, and then, paragraph by 
 paragraph, intimated his majefty's affent thereto, and 
 that he fhould take means to comply with its requefts. 
 The words were very fair, fays Eliot, but the fpeaker 
 fpoiled the effedls. " Whatever might be promis'd in 
 " the words, the a6t of deliverie did impeach itt ; and 
 " much of the hope and expe6tation in that pointe, the 
 " forme and circumftance did obliterate." 
 
 The duke's next fubjedt was the ftate of affairs in 
 chriftendom at that moment of time, which, after de- 
 claring to be little fhort of a miracle when contrafted 
 with what it was at the meeting of the laft parliament, he 
 proceeded modeftly to afcribe to the counfels and refolu- 
 tions he had himfelf " the honor and happinefs " to prefent 
 to that parliament. At that time the king of Spain 
 went conquering on, and all the world deferred to him. 
 He was mafter of Germany, the Palatinate, and the 
 Valtoline. But now the Valtoline was at liberty, war 
 raged in Italy, the king of Denmark had a confiderable 
 army, the king of Sweden was declaring himfelf, the 
 princes of the Union were taking heart, and the French 
 king, leagued with Savoy and Venice, was fighting Spain. 
 A flourifhing pidure indeed, which might well have 
 imprefled the country gentlemen! But we obferved 
 
'^^5- Chief Actor critkifed hy Eliot . 395 
 
 in it, fays Eliot, " many things of arrogance ; ufurping 
 '' to himfelfe the worke which time and providence had 
 ' efFe6ted, and turning fortuities into glorie. Those 
 ' things had noe relation to his projedbs but in the con- 
 ' currence of the time. The French preparations mov'd 
 •^ on other reafons of their owne that embroil'd them with 
 '■ the Spaniard. With France the duke of Savoy and 
 ' the Venetians had joyn'd for their owne interefts and 
 ' fafties ; and it was their worke, and in contemplation 
 ' of themfelves, by w'^'' the Valtoline was fet at libertie. 
 ' And if the king of Denmarke did declare, or Sweden, 
 ' who was then fcarcelie heard of ( foe envious was time 
 ' unto the honor of that perfon whom Fortune and Virtue 
 ' had rejerv' d for the wonder of the world)* yet it was 
 ' known to be in afFedtion to the Palsgrav, though at 
 ' the inftance of his friends ; not induc'd by him or anie 
 ' opinion of his meritt, wh* moved as little w"" the 
 '■ other German princes." 
 
 Matters of complaint againft himfelf and his majefty 
 were next taken in detail ; the duke premifing that if he 
 fhould give ear or credit, which he did not, to rumour, 
 then might he fpeak with fome confufion, but that he 
 recovered courage and confidence when he confulted the 
 integrity of his own heart to the king and ftate. His 
 courage was greater than his confidence could have been, 
 however, when he came to fpeak of the fhips fent to 
 Rochelle. He had fufficient boldnefs to fay deliberately 
 that the (hipswouldnot be employed againft the huguenots, 
 
 * This is OTie of the paflages that determine the date of Eliot's MS ; 
 proving it to have been written amid the victories and yet living fame ot 
 the Swedilh hero. Guftavus fought his great battles againft Tilly and 
 Wallenftein between 1630 and 1532, and fell on the field of Lutzen on 
 the 6th of November in the latter year, exactly three weeks before Eliot 
 perifhed in his prifon. " Never," exclaims D'Ewes, writing foon afterwards, 
 " did one perfon's death in chriftendom bring fo much forrow to all true 
 " proteftant hearts ; not our godly Edward's the fixth of that name, nor 
 " our late heroic and ineftimable prince Henry's ; as did the king of 
 " Sweden's." {^Autobiogra-phy, ii. 86.) One could have wiflied that Eliot 
 might have been fpared the forrow. 
 
396 V. Choofing Parts, and Jffijiing at a Play. Bookvi. 
 
 but he did not venture into any detail. It was not 
 always fit, he remarked at this point, for kings to give 
 account of their counfels. Lookers on were to judge the 
 thing by the event. While we heard this, fays Eliot, 
 we had " prefent newes from Rochelle, w"^"" we had alwaies 
 " aided, that our owne fhips were intended againft them, 
 '' and our owne arms to be turn'd againft our freinds." 
 
 The Olivarez bufinefs * was handled in a more dafh- 
 ing and decifive vein. No caufe had he to hate Olivarez, 
 who, in making him popular throughout England, made 
 him happier than all the world befide, gaining him a 
 nation. He could forgive his enemies. He would leave 
 that bufinefs afleep, which, if it ihould be wakened, 
 would prove a lion to devour the author of it. He 
 meant one of their own nation f who a6led for the 
 Spaniard. But this lofty ftrain was not reckoned fuc- 
 cefsful, on the whole. It was flying too high for the 
 eifedt defired. " The expreflion that he had gained a 
 " nation," remarks Eliot, " was foe boafting and thra- 
 " sonicall, that it feem'd moft ridiculous ; as if nations 
 " had beene the game and plaie of favorites, who 
 " wonne or loft them after their fortunes or their 
 " fkills." 
 
 Nor was he more happy in other allufions, as to which 
 it will fuffice for the reader, and not be unjuft to the 
 orator, to give merely the comment accompanying 
 them in Eliot's manufcript. " The mention of his owne 
 " approbations and applaufes, was thought too neer self- 
 " flatter ie not to drowne the reputation of their truth. 
 " Many infolencies befides were obvious that had as ill 
 " acceptance. As that where he fumm'd up the whole 
 " bufinefle of our meetinge, pretended to be an invita- 
 " tion from the king, by calling it an accompt of his 
 " owne aftions. And that other ftating his preparations 
 " att his going into France, where he made, as it were, the 
 
 * See ante, iii, 118-119. 
 
 f Lord Briftol. See ante, iiz. 
 
'^^5- Failure of the Performance. 397 
 
 35- 
 
 " king his deputie in his abfence to intend the progrefTe 
 " of the worke. And that intimation for his enemye at 
 " home, that he could prove a lion to devour him. 
 " And that, as rafh and indifcreet, wher he rancks the 
 " marriage of the queen w* thofe he flyles the unfor- 
 " tunat accidents of that time. All which feemed too 
 " infolent and prefuming. And foe manie thinges were 
 "judg'd imperfect in his answears, that manie fcruples 
 " more were raifd than his indeavor had refolv'd." 
 
 The comedy had failed, in fhort ; nor was it poffible 
 that it could have fucceeded. Everything faid by Buck- 
 ingham bore fo vividly and exclufively the ftamp of per- 
 fonal vain-glory, that the leaders of the commons could 
 not have defired a completer juftification of the courfe 
 they had purfued. No grievance being admitted, and no 
 faulty adminiftration confefTed, there was of courfe no 
 word of remedy or redrefs, of guarantee or fecurity for 
 the future. We have fpent fo much money, and want 
 fo much more ; here are our accounts, and there is what 
 we have done ; fupply us, and you fliall fee what hereafter 
 we will do for you. Such, with the addition of afTur- 
 ances about religion in which no man believed, was the 
 fubftance of the duke's fpeech, and of the accounts of 
 expenditure with which the lord treafurer, Conway, 
 and Cooke fucceeded him, and which were carefully con- 
 ftrudted to throw no light on what parliament had an 
 intereft in knowing.* That was what the picked men of 
 the two houfes had been brought together to liften to. 
 
 To put in contraft, however flightly, the audience and 
 the adtor, is to perceive that agreement had ceafed to be 
 
 * The kind of light they did throw, and the fupreme financial fubtlety 
 of the duke and his accountants, may be judged by one of the remarks 
 made by him upon the great fuperiority of fitting out naval expeditions, and 
 creating a military diverfion that way, over the plan of fubfidifing continental 
 allies by money payments. " By this kind of war you fend no coin out of 
 " the land j you ifPue nothing but beef, mutton, and powder ; and the 
 " kingdom is not impoverifhed but may make good returns." Beef, mutton, 
 and powder are of courfe mere nothing, and grow of their own accord. 
 
398 V. Choofing Tarts, and JJiJiing at a Play. ^"""^ JJ- 
 
 poflible. Among that audience were men of the firfl: 
 rank in England by wealth and birth, and in ftatefman- 
 fhip and intellect having no fuperiors in the world. 
 Their bittereft opponents have conceded to them the 
 poffeffion of the moft uncommon capacity and the largeft 
 views ; have defcribed them as animated by a warm 
 regard to liberty ; and never have denied their various 
 attainments, their afpiring genius, or their independent 
 fortunes.* On the other hand was a man fprung to 
 power upon " no other advantage or recommendation 
 " than the beauty and gracefulnefs and becomingnefs of 
 " his perfon;" f exercifing it confefledly as favourite to 
 the king, rather than as fervant to the flate; holding 
 in his fingle perfon the higheft offices of the realm ; and 
 afTuming a right to tell thefe parliamentary leaders, as in 
 fubftance he did, that if a parliament was to continue to 
 fit in England, it muft a6h with him, and follow only 
 where he was ready to lead. It would be idle to fay that 
 Buckingham had not many fine qualities, as well as 
 
 * See Hume's Hiftory, Charles I. cap. i. In the fame paffage the 
 philofopher, even in misftating the cafe, makes a very candid admiflion. " It 
 " v»as neceflary to fix a choice : either to abandon entirely the privileges of 
 " the people, or to fecure them by firmer and more precife barriers than the 
 " conftitution had hitherto provided for them. In this dilemma, men of fuch 
 " afpiring geniufes and such independent fortunes could not long deliberate. 
 "... The end they efteemed beneficent and noble ; the means, regular and 
 " conftitutional." There may be fome little truth alfo in what Hobbes fays 
 in his Behemoth of the parliamentary leaders, that " beginning to fearch the 
 " fenfe of the fcriptures as they are in the learned languages, and confe- 
 " quently ftudying Greek and Latin, they became acquainted with the 
 " democratical principles of Ariftotle and Cicero, and from the love of 
 " their eloquence fell in love with their politics." 
 
 f Clarendon, Hj/?. i. 13. " I fay," he adds, " that his firft introduftion 
 " into favor was purely from the handfomenefs of his person." And the 
 fame authority in another place tells us : " The eyes of all fuch as either 
 " lookM out of judgment, or gazed out of curiofity, were quickly direfted 
 " towards him, as a man in the delicacy and beauty of his colour, decency 
 " and grace of his motion, the moft rarely accomplilhed they had ever 
 " beheld ; whilft fome that found inconveniences in his nearnefs, intended 
 " by fome aifront to difcountenance his effeminacy, till they perceived he 
 " had mafked under it fo terrible a courage as would fafely proteft all his 
 " fweetneffes." Clarendon's 'Difparity,' m Reliq. M^ott. 194. 
 
i62s- Merits and Befe5ls of Buckingham. ^99 
 
 fuperb accomplifhments. He had more of the fplendour 
 of oftentation than of a large or liberal generofity; but he 
 did not care for the money he lavifhly and wickedly 
 wafted, and he had that dauntlefs courage which exercifes 
 an extraordinary charm when found beneath an exterior 
 almoft handfome as a woman's. He is the only inftance 
 in our hiftory of a man arriving at the fummit of power 
 without either qualities to command or a ftruggle to 
 obtain it ;'■' and the confideration that it was literally 
 thruft upon him, may plead for many imperfedions in 
 the ufe of it. But it is alfo in another fenfe decifive 
 againft his capacity. He had the defeds of inordinate 
 vanity, of a will that fuifered nothing to refift its un- 
 bridled indulgence, and of a nature that could never 
 expand or enlarge in a degree correfponding with his 
 elevation and opportunities. The favour of kings had 
 only Ufted him out of reach of the equalities of friend- 
 fhip. Both Clarendon and Wotton fay that he wanted 
 friends to advife him ; and this is only another form of 
 what is faid by Eliot, that he preferred to take advice from 
 parafites rather than from better counfellors.f Hence 
 he never got beyond the court or underftood the people, 
 
 * " As if he had been born a favorite, he was supreme the firft month he 
 " came to court." Clarendon's Hiji. i. 56. 
 
 f " Delighting," Wotton himielf fays, " in the prefs and affluence of 
 " dependants and luiters, which are alwayes the burres and fometimes the 
 "briers of favourites." Parallel in Reliq. Wott. 183, ed. 1672. It is 
 worth adding Clarendon's remark. "His fingle misfortune was (which' 
 " indeed was produftive of many greater) that he never made a noble and a 
 " worthy friendftiip with a man so near his equal, that he would frankly 
 " advife him for his honor and true intereft, againft the current, or rather 
 " the torrent, of his impetuous paffion." Hift. i. 55. Sir Simonds 
 D'Ewes has a remark (^Autobiography, i. 388) which he tells us he derived 
 from one with whom Eliot was always in clofe and friendly intercourfe, 
 and which is expreffed in almoft the very words employed in Eliot's 
 memoir. Obferving that nothing was fo ufual with Buckingham as to 
 have taken a fair and good refolution, and then to be " prelently trans- 
 " verfed and overmled by fycophants and flatterers," he fays : " I have 
 " heard Sir Robert Cotton affirm that perfons of that kind, of which moft 
 " were young indifcreet gentlemen, had so prevailing a power with him, 
 " as was contrary often to thofe fafe counfels he had received from wife men 
 " of great experience." 
 
400 V. Choojing Parts, and A(fijiing at a Flay, 
 
 Book VI. 
 
 could never truly diftinguifh between the frivolous and 
 the great or affign to them their proper proportions, but 
 remained to the laft a mere king's minifter. To a ftates- 
 man in his place, the tranfition from the old to the new 
 reign would have fuggefted much ; but that the gentle- 
 men of the houfe of commons were become more 
 troublefome, was all it fuggefted to him. That the 
 age for favourites was paft, and that fort of government 
 at an end, he could never fee ; and the ignorance was his 
 doom. Unintelligible would have been to him what 
 Eliot fays to us,* of the old genius of the kingdom 
 reawakening ; and ftill more fo to have faid to him, when 
 he fpoke of gaining a nation, that he had then of him- 
 felf done much to overthrow all further governing 
 without regard to the nation. Even during this fit- 
 ting of the parliament at Oxford he had received a 
 iharp lefTon ; and its effedl upon him had not been 
 to fhow him his danger, but to put him upon another 
 kind of exercife of his fkill. He meant to have broken 
 the houfe of commons before their debates began, and 
 had as little doubt of being able to do it now that they 
 had faid their fay. 
 
 Upon only one point he was driven to change his 
 courfe. The deftination of the fleet had been fettled 
 from the firft between himfelf and the king ; and the 
 trick of conceaHng it from both council and parlia- 
 ment, as well as of withholding a declaration of the 
 enemy, was but part of a planned defign, having in it, 
 as will fhortly be feen, very little of the ftatefman and 
 very much of the buccaneer. But though he could ftill 
 keep up the ftiow of myftery, and, as Eliot as it, with 
 scarce a covering for his ears fuppofe his whole body 
 under ftiadow, he dared no longer, after the queftioning 
 in parliament and the replies made, interpofe further delays 
 to the employment of the fleet in its defign, whatever that 
 
 * Ante, 219. 
 
1625. Offence given to Sir Robert Manjel. 401 
 
 might be. He told the committees therefore, that it would 
 fhortly fail, under a commander to be immediately- 
 appointed ; for to that fuggeftion in the otherwife unfuc- 
 cefsful advice of his fellow-councillors,* he had found it 
 convenient to give way. But even this was not an- 
 nounced without offence. It will be remembered that 
 upon the diflblution of the treaties in James's laft parlia- 
 ment a council was named, refponfible to commiffioners of 
 the commons that all disburfements fhould be in further- 
 ance of the ftridt objefts of the war, and required to give 
 previous fandtion to every ftep in the condudb of hoftili- 
 ties taken by the executive.f That this condition had been 
 violated by Buckingham in reference to the expedition in 
 hand, there was no doubt. Neverthelefs, in now ftating 
 that it was immediately to fail, he made fuch a fhow of 
 having received for it the general fandtion and ap- 
 proval of the council of war as to elicit a moft damaging 
 denial from, and to make formidable addition to his 
 own fubfequent aflailants in the perfon of, a member 
 of that council who held not lefs high a rank than 
 that of vice-admiral of England, and himftlf the moft 
 diftinguifhed naval officer of the day. Sir Robert 
 Manfel. 
 
 The old feaman was not indeed prefent in Chrift- 
 church-hall, but he was to hear on the following morn- 
 ing of the ufe of his authority and name. The after- 
 noon was fo far wafted at the clofe of the conference that 
 the committees did not return to their refpeftive houfes 
 that day. They broke up, to meet again at eight in the 
 morning of Tuefday the 9th of Auguft ; and in what 
 refledlions the interval was pafTed is defcribed by Eliot in 
 a few fentences, which form not the leaft ftriking page 
 of his manufcript. 
 
 * Ante, 390. 
 
 -j- See ante, 158, and note. In the note I have to requeft the reader 
 to make an alteration. Mr. Brodie has not " given " the examples men- 
 tioned, but only referred to them. 
 
 VOL. I. D D 
 
402 VI. The Serious Afterpiece^ 
 
 Book VI. 
 
 " In the meane tyme those paflages were revolv'd that 
 " had been deliver'd at the meeting, and divers were 
 " the apprehenfions w* did folio we them. That the lo : 
 " keeper, the prime ofRcer of the kingdom, fhould be 
 " made fubfervient to the D (for soe the a6t imported, 
 " being but an ufher to his bufinefTe), was thought 
 " prepofterous and inverted. That the king's name 
 " muft be a fervant to his ends, under color of fome 
 " declaration from his maj"" to exhibit an apologie for 
 " himfelfe, feemd as a kind of wonder. That the whole 
 " parliament fhould be made attendant upon him, was not 
 " w'^out a ftrangenefle, the like having feldom beene 
 " before. But above all portentous it was thought, that 
 " religion fhould be defcended to his ufe, and that w"*" 
 " admitts noe equall or compeer to troope up with the 
 " rabble of his followers. This was thought much in 
 " him foe to affume and take it, but more in thofe that 
 " made that concefTion to his power." 
 
 VI. The Serious Afterpiece. 
 
 Reports from the committees of the fpeeches of the 
 previous day occupied the morning of Tuefday. This 
 formal bufinefs done, the members were addrefled in 
 eager ftrain by the treafurer of the houfehold. Sir 
 Thomas Edmundes, who thought they could not now 
 any longer hefitate, after fo gracious an anfwer in the 
 matter of religion, to think of a fupply. Hefitation 
 there was however, for none of the leaders rofe to fpeak. 
 But a man very famous afterwards as Serjeant Maynard, 
 now member for Chippenham, got up to fay that he did 
 not like naval expeditions againfl unknown enemies, yet, 
 if there were an open war and an enemy declared, none- 
 would more willingly give than himfelf, fince giving was 
 adding fpurs to the fea-horfe. As matters flood, he 
 did not fee how they were to give. A fubfidy upon 
 a fubfidy in the fame feiTion was without a precedent. 
 
^^"^s- A Lawyer againft the TaMes of the Law. 403 
 
 and a fubfidy in reverfion they would find to be of 
 dangerous example. Hereupon ftarted up another 
 lawyer, Mr. Mallet, " in hafte to purchafe fome credit 
 " by devotion," and in his hafte employing an argument 
 trivial enough, but having fome remarkable refults. He 
 reafoned by a precedent againft precedents. Precedents 
 were at the difcretion of all times, he faid. That bill of ton- 
 nage and poundage they lately voted they had limited 
 to a year, which divers ages paft had been conftantly for 
 the fovereign's life. The grant that had begun it firft 
 for life was alfo a varying from its elders, which had 
 been limited, and that diverfely. From this he inferred 
 change and alteration to be applicable to all times, 
 and that the precedent of one was not the practice of 
 another. In the cafe before them he would counfel 
 them, therefore, to ufe the like liberty as their fathers. 
 « -yych I obferve the fooner," fays Eliot, " for the qualitie 
 " of the man : * that he whofe profeffion was the lawe, 
 " and on w* ground he built all the good hopes he had, 
 " fhould argue againft precedents, w""" are the tables of 
 " the lawe ; and foe, unlawlike, terme everie ad: a prece- 
 *' dent, making noe difference between examples and 
 " their rules." 
 
 Mr. Mallet had in any cafe made a remark not helpful 
 to the objed he had in view. Nothing was then faid in 
 reply to him, for the hour was late, and an adjournment 
 was immediately moved ; but throughout the following 
 day, and for what remained of the brief life of this 
 parliament, precedent after precedent in complete array 
 poured forth, as the armed men fprang beneath the 
 feet of Cadmus. One might fancy that the leaders had 
 fpecially aflembled after Mr. Mallet's fpeech to pro- 
 duce and compare their precedents with each other, and 
 arrange them for immediate ufe. Nor is it improbable 
 
 * Mallet was a man of fome note in his profeffion, and reader at the 
 Temple whenD'Ewes was in the habit of attending. {Autobiography, i. 296.) 
 He died early. 
 
404 VI. The Serious Afterpiece. bookvi. 
 
 JET. 
 
 that at leafl: two of the leaders did fo. Already Eliot 
 had been working with Sir Robert Cotton in preparation 
 for the debate of to-morrow, and we fhall fee with what 
 refult. 
 
 Mr. Mallet, it will have been obferved, took agalnft 
 the value of precedents the ground of their occafional 
 difagreement with each other, and here he is anfwered 
 fufficiently by Eliot's brief comment. To this lawyer it 
 did not occur in thofe old times, as to philofophical 
 hiftorians fince, to take the ground of denying to the 
 feventeenth century its competence to guide itfelf 
 by the adts of the fourteenth and fifteenth. Nor will 
 plain reafoning as to this be fo likely to miflead as 
 philofophy. The very alterations of time make up 
 the conftancy as well as progrefs of the world. The 
 men who, under the Richards, Henrys, and Edwards, 
 governed England in our national affembly, not 
 more truly, with their armed retainers at their back, 
 reprefented and embodied the people in whofe name they 
 ftruck down favourites and fhifted the crown from 
 princes, than the knights and burgefTes of the later day 
 whom the changes of centuries had made depofitaries of 
 the fame fupreme power. When the third parliament 
 met, it was eftimated that the commons might have 
 bought up the lords thrice over, " and what lord in 
 " England would be followed," afks the writer, " by fo 
 " many freeholders as fome of thefe are ? " * Principles 
 are not to be fwamped by time or viciffitude, or we 
 fhould have loft our liberties long ago. It is their nature 
 to expand to every needful occafion ; and words which 
 at the opening of the thirteenth century dealt only with 
 feudal relations, the freemen of the middle of the nine- 
 
 * Letter in the Brit. Mus. MS. 21ft March, 1627-28. It has been 
 printed from the Birch tranfcripts in the Court and Times of Charles I. 
 Sanderfon in his Life of Charles fpeaks of the alleged threefold value of 
 the eftates of the commons, even then affirmed publicly, as " beyond due 
 " proportion : " a modeft phrafe for fo violent a panizan. 
 
«625. Meaning and Worth of Precedents. 405 
 
 35 
 
 teenth century acknowledge ftill as the charter of their 
 freedom. Nay, from them may be drawn, even yet, 
 additional fecurities ; and for a future age it may be 
 referved to expound, and make pradhically ufeful to its 
 entire extent, one of Selden's pithieft and moft preg- 
 nant fayings : " If Magna Charta were fully executed, 
 " as it ought to be, every man would enjoy his liberty 
 " better than he doth." It is in any cafe very probable 
 that he who has faith in precedents, unlike Mr. Mallet, 
 and learns from them to ftudy and venerate the paft, 
 will be all the more able to guide himfelf through pre- 
 fent danger, and in no degree likely to adl in it or 
 judge of it more dependently. It was Philips who faid 
 to Coke, on a memorable occafion, " If there be no pre- 
 " cedent for this, /'/ is time to make one I " 
 
 The debate of Wednefday the loth of Auguft, an 
 eventful day which was to fettle and unfettle much, was 
 opened by a mefTage from the king, delivered by the 
 chancellor of the exchequer. The councillors, taking 
 alarm at the previous day, had thought to expedite 
 matters by a touch of regal impatience. His majefty 
 therefore intimated to his faithful commons, that, taking 
 knowledge of their defires to reform many things for his 
 fervice, he was well pleafed with the intention, but 
 defired them to confider that the time now was only fit 
 for prefent neceffities. The fleet flayed their refolution ; 
 and if the plague fhould fall into navy or army the 
 aftion were loft, or if they fhould themfelves be touched 
 by the ficknefs they mufl abruptly feparate. Would 
 they, then, fupply his neceffity for fetting forth the fleet ; 
 becaufe otherwife he mufl; take more care than them- 
 felves for their fafeties, and do as he might in fuch an 
 extremity. But if they would fupply him, he promifed 
 they fliould meet again in winter, when he would do 
 whatfoever belonged to a good and gracious king ; and 
 he defired them to remember that this was his firfl: 
 requeft to them. 
 
4o6 VI. The Serious Afterpece. ^°°''^- 
 
 We knew well what this meant, fays Eliot ; we 
 knew it was employed becaufe the lord admiral's confer- 
 ence had failed, and that its fcope was to prefs exclufively 
 the refolution to give, to " prevent the confideration of 
 " grievances or matters of ftate, and by a deniall of 
 " supplie to color the diffolution of parliament." But 
 as this was difcovered clearly, the more fettled was the 
 refolution, " not to denie to give, but to (how firft the 
 " neceffities of the kingdom, and the ill councels for that 
 " meeting." It was upon the inftant determined, there- 
 fore, to prepare a counter-declaration or remonftrance, 
 in all obedience and loyalty promifing to afford in due 
 time neceffary fupply, but claiming of right to deal with 
 abufes and grievances, and fetting forth the fupreme 
 urgency for prefent reforms and the reafons thereof. 
 
 The mafter of the wards began the debate in a " long 
 " compos'd oration." Having been formerly public 
 orator at Cambridge, and reprefenting that univerlity 
 in the commons. Sir Robert Naunton thought it his duty 
 on this occafion " to render fome demonftration of his 
 " flcill ; but found that the could rhetoricke of the 
 " fchooles was not that moving eloquence w'^*' does affedt 
 " a parliament. His labor was more than his fuccefle. 
 " Paffmg a long preamble, he firft fpake of the manner 
 " of the guift, and then made his perfuafions for our 
 " giving in what he perchance intended for a figure,* 
 " but others conceav'd to be irregular and prepofterous. 
 " In this manner he propounded readineffe and free- 
 " neffe ; qualities, as he faid, that would be a doubling to 
 " the guift, endear the curtefie, and heighten the obli- 
 " gation and our thanks. For a kindneffe got with 
 " difficultie, he faid, falls ejfe ft tali auxilio ignojcas. 
 " For the guift, he urg'd divers topicks to induce it : the 
 " honor of the king, the reputation of the kingdom, 
 " defence of their allies, support of the union, preferva- 
 
 * " Hyfterologia ' ' Eliot writes in the margin. 
 
1625. Philips Confounds his Adverfaries. 407 
 
 35 
 
 " tion of religiorij and the fafties of his majeftie, the 
 " nobihtie, and themfelves ; w*, he concluded, if they 
 " prevail'd not in that cafe, muft be efteem'd a pro- 
 " digious fign and omen of fome great judgment neer 
 " at hand," 
 
 Sir Roger North, who reprefented one of the Suffolk 
 boroughs, followed in the fame tone ; with the addition 
 that he profefTed himfelf to have been highly delighted 
 by the lord admiral's eloquence the previous day, and 
 thought that, having proved himfelf to be fo capable of 
 his place, and fo well-declared a logician, rhetorician, and 
 charitable man, they really ought to abate the jealoufies 
 that were had, and give. This was a ftyle of reafoning 
 which another of the court fpeakers, Mr. Drake, the 
 member for Lyme, improved upon by afking whether 
 everybody would not be eager to give in cafe of an 
 invafion ; from which he inferred, Eliot drily adds, 
 " that the contrarie being meant, the reafon of contraries 
 " fhould perfuade them. Such," he continues, " was 
 " the logicke of the court. But thofe fophiftries and 
 " fophifters, if they were worthie of that name, were not 
 " foe much anfwear'd, as confounded, by what then 
 " followed." 
 
 Philips at lafl: addreffed the houfe, and appears indeed 
 to have fpoken with furprifing power, and a correfpond- 
 ing efFedt. Invaluable to us would have been the manu- 
 fcript by Eliot, if it had preferved for us this fpeech 
 alone. When formerly they had given, he began, they 
 had hopes and expedlations for the country. What had 
 they then ? Nothing but difcouragements. Pardons to 
 jefuits, proteftions to papifts, exanition of the laws, 
 increpation of good minifters, interruptions of trade, 
 lofTes and fpoils by pirates, and, notwithftanding com- 
 plaints often made and means for remedy at hand, no 
 relief gotten, no fuccour to be had ! Was it not known, 
 notwithftanding what fo lately had been faid to them, 
 that with fubfidies given for relief of the Palatinate, their 
 
4o8 VI. The Serious Jfter piece. Bookvi. 
 
 JS-T, 
 
 fhlps were now bound againft Rochelle ? An addition 
 to fupply^ with the kingdom fuffering fuch grievances, 
 would be to make addition to every grievance. When 
 laft they went to their counties, it was with prayer and 
 falling ; but after fuch a vote, they might take up fack- 
 cloth and afhes in their journey. 
 
 And what were the arguments for giving ? The lord 
 admiral at the conference had put them upon two heads ; 
 of honour, and of neceffity. To the firft he had to fay, 
 that the honour of a king flood not in afts of will, but 
 on defigns that were grounded by advice, and a conftant 
 application of good counfels. Whatever the iffue theny 
 the judgment and direftion might ftand unimpeached. 
 To the neceffity he replied, that it was the common argu- 
 ment addrefled to parliaments, and experience muft guide 
 them. When had the argument been pleaded in paft 
 times with fo much urgency as when employed for 
 mere fatisfaftion of the courtiers ? If it were real now, 
 it was the court that made it fo. Their luxuries and 
 excefles had firft wafted the treafures, and then 
 expofed the honour of the king. Yet would he not 
 deny to give. Only he would firft have anfwer 
 rendered to his majefty, with a remonftrance of their 
 reafons for the work of reformation, to the preparation 
 whereof a committee ftiould be ordered ; and he would 
 have a member of their houfe called to fpeak to the 
 defign and preparations in hand. At the conference 
 they had been told of advice taken with the council of 
 war, and that nothing had been refolved without fandbion 
 of its members. Let Sir Robert Manfel, then, be there 
 commanded to render his knowledge for the adion 
 towards which they were afked to give. Let him fay 
 whether it had proceeded by good deliberation and 
 advice, worthy the honour of the ftate, and fuch as had 
 been pretended. 
 
 The worthy gentleman whoobjeftedto precedents would 
 forgive him, if he now, in fupport of the claim he was 
 
'^'■s- Safeft Steps to Tread in. 409 
 
 making to have grievances confidered before fupply was 
 granted, defcended to note examples of old times, fome of 
 their own, fome out of other nations. At home he found, 
 in the days of Henry the Third, a fupply demanded was 
 refufed, without a confirmation of their liberties. There 
 was alfo, in a later reign, that of Henry the Sixth, a duke 
 who engrofled the favour of the king, who aflumed to 
 himfelf the entire government, who difpofed of honours, 
 who alienated crown lands, and who had fingly negotiated 
 a marriage for his matter ; but becaufe of thofe ads, he 
 found it written in the fame records, fubfidies being afked 
 for were in like manner refufed, until he who before had 
 had the applaufe of parliament then received their cen- 
 fure : whereupon, the reformation being fo begun, a 
 fupply immediately followed it. The like had occurred 
 abroad. All times, all ftates almoft, could witnefs it. 
 In France, when the Black Prince had taken the French 
 king prifoner, the eftates being then convened, and the 
 dauphin demanding a relief for redemption of his father, 
 the grievances of the people were exhibited, and, delay 
 being made in redrefs, the affiftance wiflied for was 
 denied until the eftates were amply fatisfied. Thus alfo 
 was it in Spain, when, during the war againft the Moors, 
 a parliament having been aflembled at Toledo and an 
 aid demanded for the fervice, the Conde de Laro flood 
 up and difluaded contribution in that cafe until the 
 people's burdens were releafed. So much accordingly 
 was infifted on ; nor was it held, even by that fuperci- 
 lious ftate and nation, any breach of faith or duty. Very 
 impreffive were the words with which Philips clofed his 
 brave and manly fpeech. 
 
 " England is the laft monarchy that yet retains her 
 " liberties. Let them not periih now. Let not pofterity 
 " complain that we have done for them worfe than our 
 " fathers did for us. Their precedents are the fafeft fteps 
 " we tread in. Let us not now forfake them, left their 
 " fortunes forfake us. Wifdom and counfel made them 
 
4IO VI. The Serious Afterpiece. ^"""J^' 
 
 " happy, and the like caufes now will have for us the 
 " like effedts." 
 
 Sir Humphrey May rofe after him. He was the 
 only man that could hope to make any ftand after 
 the great fpeaker on the popular fide, and having, fays 
 Eliot, " preft his whole faculties to the fervice, he de- 
 " livered himfelf with much art." He made indeed 
 an excellent fpeech ; of which the defed however was, 
 that befides avoiding, as it feemed purpofely, Philips's 
 fafts and precedents, it failed of what avowedly it pro- 
 pofed in not even touching his argument for their worth 
 and value. Equally wife in view it might be, and as 
 forcible ; but it did not make Philips's view lefs fo, and 
 it left his examples unaflailed. It was merely the 
 reverfe of the medal ; and the firft to fay aye to the 
 well balanced figures and fentences that formed the 
 greater part of it, might have been Philips himfelf. 
 
 " Let no man," faid the chancellor of the duchy, 
 '' defpife the precedents of antiquity ; let no man adore 
 " them. Though they are venerable, yet they are not 
 " gods. Examples are ftrong arguments, being proper ; 
 " but times alter, and with them, oft, their reafons. 
 " Every parliament, as each man, muft be wife with his 
 " own wifdom, not his father's. A dram of prefent 
 " wifdom is more precious than mountains of that which 
 " was pradlifed in old times. Men of good affeftions 
 " have been known to give ill counfels. So they may 
 " now, if nothing but examples do perfuade them. If 
 " we go this way, I muft fay, as the children of the 
 " prophets, mors eft in olid. Were all our enemies here, 
 " and had their voice in this aflembly, would they not 
 " fay — not give ? Let us not therefore be guided by 
 " their rules ; but, leaving other things of difficulty, 
 " leaving fears, jealoufies, and difgufts at home, and 
 " relying on the promife for the next meeting to reform 
 " fuch things, let us yield to the king's requeft, and at 
 
'^*5- Sir Robert Cotton's Library. 411 
 
 35. 
 
 " this time give ; becaufe, if we give not now, we can- 
 " not give again." 
 
 Eliot had been watching the turn of the debate with 
 unufual reafons for intereft. Up to this time it was 
 doubtful whether or not he meant to fpeak ; and a 
 ftriking proof of his familiarity and friendfhip with Sir 
 Robert Cotton is afforded by what ensued. To that 
 great fcholar and antiquary the public men of this time 
 were under pricelefs obligations for an unlimited free- 
 dom of accefs to his matchlefs manufcript coUeftions.* 
 Without him, it will not be too much to fay, the 
 ftruggle now beginning could not have been fuccefsfuUy 
 clofed. From his books and manufcripts, which formed 
 the germ and are ftill the nobleft part of our national 
 
 * There was hardly a man of that generation who had in hand any- 
 literary work, from Raleigh downwards, who has not left on record his 
 thanks to Cotton for affiftance he co\ild have drawn firom no other fource. 
 Wonderful is the variety of applicants, and not lefs fo the fatisfa6lion 
 of each. Doctor Dee of Manchefter gets help in his dealings with the 
 worlds of fpirits and fciences, as Richard Verftegan for his toils among 
 Englilh antiquities. Bodley gets books which he had elfewhere vainly 
 fought for Oxford, Arundel receives manufcripts he had to no purpofe 
 hunted for abroad, and Bacon fupplies hirafelf with " precedents and anti- 
 " quities from the good Sir Robert Cotton's coUeftlons." Bifliop Bedell 
 applies for abbey rolls, Patrick Young for Alexandrian letters, the 
 Englilh nuns of Cambray for books for their convent, and Selden for the 
 Talmud of Babylon. The prodigious learning of Ulher for his Anti- 
 quities of the Britijli Church, and the ingenious refearches of Carew for 
 his Sur'uey of CornnAjalt, are alike fatisfied by what Cotton fends. As for 
 Camden, Speed, and the other great workers of that time in Englifh hiftory, 
 their wants are as inceffant as the fupply is unvarying, and in each cafe 
 fufficient. A volume might be written on fuch fervices of Sir Robert 
 Cotton to men of letters and learning. Let me add that the ftory to be told in 
 it of the labour and confcientioufnefs with which men went about their 
 work in thofe days, whatever the character of it might be, but moft efpe- 
 cially when it involved matters of faft and hiftory, would furprifingly con- 
 traft with the idlenefs, carelefTnefs, and inexaftnefs of inquirers in later 
 time. Mr. Hume's moft flagrant misftatements could not have been made 
 if he would have troubled himfelf a little oftener to leave his fofa, and 
 mount the ladder, in the advocates' library ; and what Mr. Nicholas 
 Harding faid of his Hiftory when the firft (Stuart) portion of it appeared, 
 that the journals of the houfes would fettle his fafts, is applicable ftill to 
 many others as well as to him. Harding was the clerk of the houfe of 
 commons of whom Horace Walpole faid that he had the hiftory of Eng- 
 land at the ends of his parliament fingers. 
 
412 VI . The Serious Afterpiece. Bookvi. 
 
 ^T. 
 
 library, were drawn the precedents by which exclufively 
 the commons were guided up to the achievement of the 
 petition of right. From his fmall houfe in Palace-yard 
 were unrolled, in gradual fucceffion, the ftatutes and 
 records that were held to be the title deeds of Englifh 
 freedom ; and there, for the firft five years of Charles's 
 reign, as in what Milton grandly calls a fhop of war, 
 were " anvils and hammers kept inceflantly working, 
 " to fafhion out the plates and inftruments of armed 
 " juftice in defence of beleagured truth," Nor to any of 
 thofe gallant armourers does the good antiquary feem to 
 have taken more kindly than to Eliot. More than twenty 
 years difference of age, and a wider difference of tem- 
 perament, made no change in the kindly and affeftionate 
 intercourfe which to the lafl; he and Cotton maintained, 
 to which his memoirs and papers in many ways teflify, 
 and of which the incident now to be told offers an 
 illuftration of even curious intereft. 
 
 At firft it was Cotton's intention to fpeak in the 
 debate, and with that view he had coUefted precedents. 
 But, though he had taken not unimportant part in for- 
 mer parliaments, when his experience and learning were 
 appealed to, he never was an attractive fpeaker ; and 
 a natural hefitation in him had increafed with age. 
 " His tongue," fays D'Ewes, " being unable to utter his 
 " inward notions faft enough, it would often enforce him 
 " to a long fluttering when he endeavoured to fpeak 
 " exceeding faft." * This, helped probably by fome of 
 thofe fcholarly mifgivings which unfitted him for partici- 
 pation in the ftruggle as it grew hotter and more exciting, 
 leading to his after- countenance of the loan and to his 
 defeat in Weftminfter when he fought to reprefent that 
 city in the third parliament, would feem to have deter- 
 mined him now not to fpeak ; for he certainly abandoned 
 his original purpofe and handed over to Eliot the prece- 
 
 * Autobiography, ii. 39. 
 
1625. Friend/hip of Eliot and Cotton. 413 
 
 dents he intended to have ufed. Eliot ufed them with 
 decifive effeft ; and the fpeech in which he did io, and 
 now firft to be printed as his, is not only reported by 
 him in his memoir, but has been found by me among 
 other papers at Port Eliot in his own handwriting. 
 
 Strange to fay, however, almoft the whole fubftance 
 and much of the expreffion of this fpeech have already 
 been printed in the parliamentary hiftories, and in many 
 places fince reproduced, as delivered by Cotton ; * a 
 miftake probably originating in the circumftance that 
 a draft of the fpeech, as originally to have been spoken 
 by himfelf with matter fuggefted by Eliot, had been 
 found among his papers when Charles's feizure and 
 clofing of his library broke the old man's heart, and 
 was publifhed by Howell in his Cottoni Vofthuma, two 
 years after Charles's death. Another precifely fimilar 
 
 * Pari. Hip. vi. 367-372 (ed. 1763) ; Tarl. Hijl. ii. 14 (ed. 1807). 
 Thefe hiftories are, for tiie moft part, fuch a mafs of incorreftnefs and con- 
 fufion that without corroborative matter they are feldom reliable ; and un- 
 fortunately even the Journals themfelves, though it is generally poffible to 
 obtain' out of them the drift and purpofe, as well as the exaft date, of any 
 difcuffion they record, prefent fuch inceflant blanks, and fo often omit 
 altogether the bareft mention of fpeeches and fpealiers and even fubjecSs 
 difcuffed, that they are never wholly reliable. Thus the faft of their 
 oraiffion of Cotton's name in the debate where he was fuppofed to have 
 fpoken, could not have been accepted as evidence rebutting the fuppofition, 
 though the prefence of his name would ftrongly have favoured it. The 
 Parliamentary Hiftories, however, befides omiffions of that kind, have con- 
 fufed matters ftill more by jumbling up fpeeches and days of debate, repeat- 
 ing the fame fpeeches from different abftrafts, and making additions with- 
 out discrimination from Ruftiworth's notes and memorials. Rufhworth 
 is never himfelf to be implicitly relied on until he comes to the period of 
 his own appointment as clerk's affiftant in the long parliament. As the 
 ftruggle indeed went on, to the gigantic proportions it afl"umed on the meet- 
 ing of that parliament, the leading members more often printed their own 
 fpeeches, and the way became much clearer. During the period of the 
 prefent memoir, clofing with the third parliament's diffblution, the blanks 
 are terrible. Eliot's manufcript memoir, in which there is hardly a 
 great fpeech reported of which we have any other record at all, has in a 
 ftriking way (hown me this, and how much is yet to be learnt refpefting 
 thefe early parliaments. Happily however, in his cafe at leaft and for the 
 purpofe of this biography, by the difcovery of that manufcript and of the 
 drafts in his own hand of all the leading fpeeches fpoken by him, thofe 
 blanks will be here, I hope, to a great extent fupplied. 
 
4H ^I- The Serious Afterpiece. Bookvi. 
 
 JS.-t. 
 
 miftake was made in that work, attributable doubtlefs 
 to the fame caufe, by printing in it as Cotton's the 
 argument delivered by Littleton in the third parliament, 
 at the firft conference on the liberty of the perfon.* 
 But in the former cafe, fome one finding at the fame time 
 a manufcript copy of the fpeech purporting to have been 
 fpoken by Eliot, was milled by Howell into a marginal 
 indorfement of it as " not fpoken but intended by Sir 
 " John Eliot ; " and the prefervation of this copy in the 
 Lanfdowne MSS, fo indorfed, adds to the confufion. 
 Remarkable alfo are the diiFerences to be noted in the 
 various copies, between that which was publifhed as 
 Cotton's and this which is preferved as Eliot's : and im- 
 poffible as it now would be either entirely to reconcile or 
 feparate the authorfliips of this famous parliamentary 
 effort, it is perhaps the pleafanter duty to refolve them 
 into one ; to believe that each may have contributed to 
 the other's fhare in it ; to fancy that Eliot had as much 
 taken part in Cotton's fearch for its records as Cotton 
 had contributed to Eliot's mafterly employment of them ; 
 and to let the fpeech ftand, double yet • infeparable, a 
 memorial of the faft friendfhip of thefe celebrated men. 
 Moft fortunate the occafion of its delivery too, and 
 triumphant the effedt Eliot made with it. So fenfible a 
 man as Sir Humphrey May would have chofen otherwife 
 his time for doubting the applicability of precedents, if 
 he had known of a colledhion already prepared for ufe, 
 more formidable than Philips's, and comparing with a 
 more fatal exadhnefs paft punifhments and prefent ill- 
 defervings. Yet no fooner had he ceafed fpeaking than 
 they were launched upon the houfe, with an effedl which 
 his own depreciation of fuch hiftoric examples had helped 
 to make only the more telling. 
 
 Eliot began \ by comparing the earlier with the later 
 
 * See State Trials, iii. 85. 
 
 t What follows is taken ftriftly from Eliot's memoir, which correfponds 
 almoft exailly with the detached report of the fpeech among his papers. 
 
'^^s- Great Speech by Eliot. 415 
 
 days of the preceding reign. As long as Cecil lived, 
 he faid, and ftatefmen who were bred by queen Elizabeth 
 remained in James's fervice, the crown debts were not 
 great ; grants and commiffions were lefs complained of; 
 trade flourished ; penfions were more few ; and all things 
 of moment were fo far known to pafs through advifed 
 council, that though there wanted fomething of the reign 
 that was gone, yet was there much more happinefs than 
 exifted now. No honours were then fet to fale, and no 
 judicial places ; but the laws were executed, papifts 
 reftrained and punifhed, and the fetting up fafe refort 
 and refuge for recufants in ambalTadors' houfes was de- 
 barred by fl:ridt dire6tion. Becaufe in thofe days the 
 council-table ftill held her ancient dignity, and no 
 man had obtained fuch tranfcendent power as in himfelf 
 to be mafter of all bufinefs. 
 
 Nay, continued Eliot, as with fome fhow of apology 
 for introducing a name not honoured, even fo long as 
 Somerfet ftood in grace and had the truft both of the privy 
 feal andiignet, he had at leaft the pride of being able to fay 
 
 In the fpeech, however, preferved as Eliot's In the Lanfdowne MSS 
 (491, fol. 155), as well as in the copy printed in Cottoni Pojikuma, there 
 are fome introdu6lory fentences, which, as I have not found them in Eliot's 
 handwriting, I prefer to place in this note. They are to this effefl:. 
 That " although the conftant wifdome of this houfe of commons did well 
 " and worthilie appeare in cenfurlng that ill advifed member the laft dale 
 (alluding to Clarke's cafe, ante, 388) " for trenching foe farre into their 
 " auntiente libties ; and might encourage each worthie fervant of the 
 " publiq there to offer freelie upp his councell & opinion ; yett fince their 
 " walks could not conceale from the eares of captious guiltie and revenge- 
 " full men iv^'out, the councell and debates nv'Hn, he would endeavour, 
 " as his cleare mind was free from any ^fonall diftaft of anie one, foe to 
 " expfle the honeft thoughtes of his harte, & difchardge the beft care of 
 " his truft, as noe json (hould' inftlie tax his inocent and publique mind, 
 " except his oun confcience fhould make him guiltie of fuch crymes as 
 " worthylie had in parliament impeached others in elder tymes. He would 
 " therefore w"" as much breuitie as he could, fett downe howe thofe diforders 
 " had by degrees fprung upp in their owne memories ; howe the wifedome 
 " of the beft & wifeft ages did of old redrefle the like ; and laftlie, what 
 " modeft and dutifuU courfe he would wifli to be followed by themfelves in 
 " that foe happie a fpring of their hopefuU mafter. For they were not to 
 " iudge but to pfent. The redrefle was above, ad queremoniam 'vulgi." 
 
4 1 6 VI. The Serious Afterpiece. ^°°^ ^^ 
 
 MT. 
 
 that there had not pafled, either to his friends or himfelf, 
 any large grants of lands or penfions from the king. 
 Whatever in other things his delinquencies, he could claim 
 neither to have added to the grievances of the people by 
 inducing monopolies, nor to have made a breach upon 
 nobility by exposing honours to fale. That very offer 
 which had fince been taken, the lord Roper's for his 
 barony, Somerfet refufed. Nor, in thofe unhappy 
 marriage treaties with Spain, did he go fo far as they 
 who followed him. Into fuch diftruft of Gondomar had 
 he at one time brought the king, that he to whom our 
 Raleigh fo foon was given up had been called 2. juggling 
 jack. So flood the ftate when that man's misfortunes 
 overclouded him. 
 
 What was it after then? After then, the treaties of 
 marriage were renewed ; Gondomar again received, and 
 liked of ; popery put in heart by admiffion of unknown 
 conditions of connivance ; the forces we had kept in the 
 Palatinate withdrawn, upon Spanifh faith and promifes ; 
 their patrimony thereby lofl to the king's children ; more 
 money fpent in fubfidies and treaties to recover that 
 patrimony from Spain, than would have kept an army 
 to have conquered even their Indies ; our old fafl friends 
 difheartened ; and our fovereign that now is, expofed to 
 more danger than wife and weighty counfel could ever 
 have admitted. 
 
 But what had their predecefTors in that houfe done in 
 like cafes ? Never had they ceafed to infifl upon relief and 
 reparation in all fuch wrongs. In the time of Richard 
 the Second, it was a capital charge in parliament againft 
 bifhop Wickham that he had lofl the county of Pontois 
 by difTuading that king from a timely aid which would 
 have faved it. In the days of Henry the Sixth, it was a 
 capital crime In parliament objected to De la Pole that 
 by an unaided and unwife treaty of a marriage for that 
 king in France he had lofl the duchy of Maine. In the 
 time of Edward the Third, the procuring of impofitions. 
 
j-6a5. 'Times P aft and Prefent Compared. 417 
 
 35 
 
 after the fame were crofled in parliament, was held a 
 
 heinous crime and capital; and Lyons and Latimer 
 
 were punifhed. Well, had not the Palatinate now been 
 
 loft by treaty ? And by what council was it, or rather 
 
 by what power independent of council, they might now 
 
 aflc, had authority been given to foreign agents to 
 
 procure liberty for papifts, to obtain pardons for priefts 
 
 and jefuits, and to become fuitors and folicitors at every 
 
 tribunal of the government to prevent all punifhment of 
 
 the ill affefted lubjedts of the kingdom ? " Sir," added 
 
 Eliot, " there have been grants of impofition lately made, 
 
 " and complained of here in this houfe as burdening 
 
 " trade, the very leaft of which would aforetime have 
 
 " been judged as heinous a crime as in the cafes of 
 
 " Lyons and Latimer." 
 
 He next took up the queftion of the difpofal of titles 
 for money. In the times of Edward the Third, of 
 Henry the Fourth, and of Henry the Sixth, he faid, 
 parliaments had been fuitors to the kings to beftow 
 honours on public fervants ; but that which had been 
 kept as the moft facred treafure of the ftate, was now 
 commonly fet to fale. At that poftern, no longer the 
 gate of honour, more had been late admitted than all 
 the merits of their elders had let in thefe laft five hun- 
 dred years. So tender were thofe earlier times in the 
 prefervation of that jewel, that it was made an article 
 in the judgment of De la Pole that he procured him- 
 felf to be earl, marquefs, and duke, of one and the 
 felf-fame place; the like titles being unqueftioned yet 
 with us. As matter of ftate policy Edward the Firft 
 had found it neceflary to reftrain even the number of 
 thofe that challenged writs due by tenure ; but let the 
 difproportion at prefent be judged, and how far it fuited 
 with the profit of the ftate. Now that all of us were 
 taught the vile price of that which once was precious and 
 ineftimable, how were great deferts in future to have re- 
 compenfe other than by coftly rewards from the king ? 
 
 VOL. I. E E 
 
4i8 VI. 'The Serious Afterpiece. bookvi 
 
 1S.T, 
 
 Would it be faid that there were ftill at the difpofal of 
 the ftate places of truft and profit ? If worthy perfons 
 had of late been promoted to fuch, he ftiould be glad. 
 Was it not known to be otherwife ? In the time of 
 Edward the Second, Spencer had been condemned for 
 difplacing good fervants about the king, and putting in 
 their place his kinfmen and followers ; infomuch that, 
 as the records of that time faid, way was not left either 
 in church or commonwealth but to fuch as fined * with 
 him or his dependants. But how, if not in that fame 
 manner, were fuch offices now difpofed ? 
 
 A fad heavinefs it was, that laft day in Chriftchurch- 
 hall, when they had had related to them his majefty's great 
 debts, high engagements, and prefent wants. Might the 
 noife thereof ever be buried within thofe walls ! What 
 courage might it not otherwife work in their enemies ! 
 What difheartening to their friends ! To thofe who had 
 caufed what was defcribed that day, if any there were 
 who had been the caufe, he held the danger to be great 
 and fearful. No fmall motive had it been to parliament, 
 in the time of Henry the Third, to banifh the half- 
 brothers of the king, that they had appropriated to them- 
 felves what fhould have fupplied the king's wants. 
 Gavefton and Spencer, for the like, had the like fortune 
 in the time of Edward the Second. And among other 
 crimes for which punilhment was adjudged in the fecond 
 Edward's time to the father of the duke of Suffolk, 
 Michael de la Pole, was that of having turned away from 
 their proper ends the fubfidies that were granted. So, 
 too, for wafting in time of peace the revenues of the 
 crown, to the yearly oppreffion of the people, William 
 of Wickham, that great bifhop, was put upon the mercv 
 of his prince. The like offences were made occafion 
 for the ruin of the laft duke of Somerfet. And as 
 fearful in refults to their mafters and fovereigns, had 
 
 * Paid fines, that is, for favors received. 
 
j6a5. Parallels aimed at Buckingham. 419 
 
 been the examples in that kind fhowing the abufe of 
 minifters. Into fo great a ftrait had fuch improvidences 
 and ill counfels led Henry the Third, that in his mifery 
 he put in pawn part of his dominions ; engaged as well 
 the royal jewels as those of St. Edward's ihrine at Weft- 
 minfter ; nay, did not fpare, as was faid, the great crown 
 of England itfelf ! 
 
 The drift thus far of Eliot's precedents and examples 
 could not be doubtful. Though Buckingham had not 
 been named, they comprifed every notorious abufe of 
 his adminiftration : the wafte of royal lands and reve- 
 nues, the abufe of grants and penfions, the fale of titles 
 and judicial places, favor to recufants, mal-appropriation 
 of fubfidies, overriding of the authority of the council- 
 table, aflumptions of the royal authority, concentration 
 of the higheft offices in a fingle perfon, and bellowing of 
 others unworthily on relatives, favorites, and dependants. 
 They were in fadt a complete forecaft of the fubje(5bs 
 comprifed afterwards in the articles of his impeachment. 
 All thefe things, however, known and generally de- 
 nounced as they were, wanted fomething of the Iharp pre- 
 cifion and fatal exadtnefs with which Eliot proceeded now 
 to pufh his parallel to the very verge of that Oxford 
 meeting ; ufing farcaftically phrafes by which Buck- 
 ingham had provoked laughter at the Chriftchurch 
 comedy ; and, by an incident brought vividly back 
 through the wafte of two hundred years, recalling the 
 very Ihame and wrong they had all refented bitterly in 
 their fudden break-up at Weftminfter. The clofenefs 
 of comparifon, unfhrinking plainnefs of fpeech, and, all 
 circumftances confidered, the dauntlefs courage in thefe 
 clofing paflages, are indeed extraordinary. 
 
 ^ Sir," refumed Eliot, " to draw you out to life the 
 " image of a former king's extremities, I will tell you 
 " what I have found here in Oxford fince our coming to 
 *' this meeting. It is the ftory of what was fuffered 
 
420 VI. The Serious Jfterpiece. bookvi. 
 
 " here by Henry the Sixth,* writ by a learned man 
 " named Gafcoigne, twice vice-chancellor of this place, a 
 " man who witneffed the tragedy of De la Pole. So rent 
 " away by ill council were the royal revenues, he tells 
 " you, that the king was enforced to live de tallagis et 
 " quindenis populi ; that he was grown in debt more than 
 " half a million ; that his powerful favorite, in treat- 
 *' ing of a foreign marriage, had not gained a nation f 
 " at home, but had loft a duchy abroad ; that to work his 
 " ends, he had induced the king to adjourn the parlia- 
 " ment in villis et remotis fartibus regni, where propter 
 " defeElum hojpitij et victualium, few could be expedled 
 " to attend, and fo he might enforce thofe few, to ufe the 
 " writer's words, concedere regi quamvis pejfima. And 
 " when an ad: of refumption was defired, that juft and 
 " frequent way of reparation for the ftate (I call it fre- 
 " quent becaufe fo ufually was it done that from the 
 " time of Henry the Third to Edward the Sixth all 
 " kings but one did exercife it), this powerful minifter 
 " oppofed it, and telling the king it was ad dedecus regis., 
 " fo ftopped it. 
 
 " But what fucceeded on the parliament taking it in 
 *' hand ? The fame author tells you that the commons, 
 " though wearied with travail and expenfes, protefted 
 " they would never grant an aid until the king fhould 
 " actualiter rejumere all that was belonging to the crown ; 
 " adding that it was moft to the difgrace of royalty 
 " to leave its creditors in intolerable want, and to be 
 " engrofled wholly by the council of one man who had 
 " brought fuch mifery to the kingdom, fuch poverty to the 
 " king. All which good council ftill failed to work until 
 " by parliament that bad great man was banifhed, when 
 
 * Already, it will be remembered, has Eliot referred in his memoir 
 {ante, 314.) to the fa6l of thefe incidents, carrying fuch exaft comparifon 
 and difaftrous omen, having occurred in a convention at Oxford. 
 
 ■j- See ante, 396. 
 
i6i5. Tfie Value of Precedents Upheld. 421 
 
 ' the aft of refumption forthwith followed, and imme- 
 ^ diately the fupply. 
 
 " If we fhould now, Mr. Speaker, feek a parallel to 
 ' this, how would it hold to us ? We have heard the 
 ' lord treafurer confefs to us that the ftate revenues are 
 ' all wafted and anticipated, that nothing now comes 
 ' from thence for prefent neceffity and ufe, that hardly 
 ' anything can be looked for. Of the royal debts we 
 ' know they are as exceffive, if not more. We faw 
 ' lately that one man's arithmetic could not number 
 ' them. Too well known, alfo, in the too woful and 
 ' lamentable experience of late times, is what Jias been 
 ' exadted from the people. What was loft in the 
 ' Spanifh match and treaties, children can fpeak that 
 ' were not born to fee it. By whom was caufed the 
 ' adjournment to this place, and for what ends, there 
 ^ needs no prophecy to tell us. So that, I fay, in all 
 ^ things our reafons are the fame ; and the cafes will hold 
 ' proportion. If that our adts be anfwerable." 
 
 " Sir," concluded Eliot, with temperate and manly 
 reference to what had fallen from Sir Humphrey May, 
 " it is true that precedents are not gods, yet fome vene- 
 " ration they require. The honour of antiquity is great, 
 " though it be not an idol ; and the wifdom of examples 
 " is moft proper, if it be well applied. What was fit at 
 " one time, all circumftances being like, cannot be 
 " called unfit, uncovenable with another. No threaten- 
 " ings nor difficulties may deter us from the fervice of 
 " our countries. Our fathers had not a greater truft 
 " than we. Their reafons and neceffities were not more. 
 " Therefore I movewith that worthy gentleman" (Philips) 
 " we purfue a remonftrance to the king, and in due time 
 " we fhall be ready to fupply him." * 
 
 * None of thefe very ftriking clofing paflages are in the copy of the 
 fpeech printed as Sir Robert Cotton's, which, befides differing in the turns 
 of fixpreffion throughout, clofes its general refemblance, or identity, at the 
 incident given from Gafcoigne. I quote from the copy in the Lanfdown 
 
422 VI. The Serious Afterpiece. bookvl 
 
 ^T, 
 
 Of the efFeft produced by this great effort Eliot 
 fpeaks in his memoir with a natural referve, but yet 
 plainly. He fays that the affeftions of the houfe were 
 fo far inflamed by what he had faid as to be " pitcht 
 " wholie on the imitation of their fathers, and it then 
 " appeared the efteeme of prefidents did remayne, w"" 
 " thofe that knew the true valewe of antiquitie. The 
 " deer demonftrations that were made of the likenefs of 
 " the times gave them like reafons who had like interefts 
 " and freedoms." He adds alfo, that while the cour- 
 tiers did not reliih it, they yet faw, by the way in 
 which it had been taken, the prudence of dropping the 
 tone in which the debate begun, and of turning from 
 juftification and defence to prayers and excufes. " In 
 " w"*" foft waie the chancellor of the exchequer did dis- 
 " courfe." Adverting to what Eliot had fet before them. 
 Sir Richard Wefton defired the houfe to remember that 
 the diforders fpoken of were not of the prefent king's 
 time, but broug'ht in under the government of his 
 
 MSS., agreeing ill the main with that in the Cottoni Pojlhuma, the pafTages 
 ■which follow that incident and clofe the fpeech. They probably reprefent 
 what the fpeech would have been if really fpoken by Sir Robert Cotton. 
 The precedents are here, but in dry dead form ; without the warmth and 
 life infufed into them by Eliot. " That was a fpeeding article againft the bpp 
 " of Winchefter & and his brother in the tyme of Ed. 3 that they had en- 
 " grofled the ^fon of the king from his other lordes ; it was not forgotten 
 " againft Gavefton and the Spencers in Ed. 2 tyme : the unhappie minifters 
 " of R. 2, H. 6, and E. 6 felt the waie to their ruyne of the like erro". 
 " Wee hope wee (hall not complayne agayne in ^liam' of fuch. I am 
 " glad we have neyther iuft caufe nor undutifull difposlcons to appoint the 
 " king a councell to redreffe thofe erro'" in filament, as thofe of 42 H. 3. 
 " Wee doe not defire as 5 H. 5 or 29 H. 6, the remoueing from about the 
 " king of evill councello'". Wee do not requeft a choyfe by name as 14 E. 3 
 " 3°5° et 11° R. 2, 8 H. 4, 31 H. 6 ; nor to fweare them in pliam' as 35 
 " E. I, 9 E. 2, or 5 R. z ; nor to line them out their direconsof rule as 43 
 " H.3 & 8 H. 6 ; nor defire that w''' H. 3 did^vide in his 24"" yeare, fe agere 
 " via per affenfum magnatum de confilio fuo eleftorum et fine coniunicorum 
 " affenfu nihill. Wee onlie in loyall duetie offer upp our humble defires, 
 " that fince his Mat''' hath with advifed iudgment elefted foe wife 
 " religious & worthie fervauntes to attend him in that high ymployment, he 
 " would be pleafed to advife w"" them togeither a waie of remedie for 
 " thofe difafters in ftate, led in by long fecuritie and happie peace, and v;'*" 
 " yong and fingle councell." 
 
^**S- Reply by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 423 
 
 father, and fuch as peace and quiet had begot. That, in 
 the king that now was, they had the virtues of his perfon, 
 and the promife of his word, to affure their hope of 
 reformation, if they would but wait till the next meet- 
 ing. He did hope, therefore, that thofe diftaftes might 
 be left off, and the remonftrance that was talked of; 
 and that fuch an anfwer might be fitted for his majefty 
 as the gentlenefs of his meflage and the fweetnefs of his 
 nature did require. But even while the chancellor 
 was fpeaking, Eliot tells us, he found by the continued 
 temper of the houfe that this way would not do ; 
 whereupon, changing his defign, he fixed upon the 
 queftion of fupply, and prefled to have a refolution on 
 that point, aye and no. The purpofe was feen at once 
 by the country leaders, and promptly refifted. To pafs 
 the remonftrance was to keep their party firmly together 
 to a declaration that there were grievances to redrefs, 
 in which all were agreed, and to pledge no man ulti- 
 mately in the matter of fupply ; whereas to take a 
 divifion upon fupply was to force opinions prema- 
 turely on a point as to which there were differences, and 
 to offer excufe for a diffolution. 
 
 " The rocke was feene betimes," fays Eliot, " and as 
 " fpeedilie avoided. For the negative, the wifer fort did 
 " feare ; the affirmative, all generallie did abhor. There - 
 " fore in this, w'*" required little art or eloquence, much 
 " was faid on both fides, and much conteftation was upon 
 " it : wherein the new eledt for Yorkfiiire, Sir Thomas 
 " Wentworth, by a new return then come, did foe well 
 " expreffe himfelfe for his countrie, as it defir'd that 
 " choice, and allaied much of the labour to the con- 
 " trarie." Eliot means that the fatisfadion now given to 
 Wentworth's conftituents by his oppofition to fupply, 
 ftrengthened him in Yorkshire againft fadlious oppofition. 
 Of the fpeech, he reports nothing further : but the brief 
 note in the journals * reftridls it wholly to the money 
 
 * Commons Journals, i. 812 ; and fee ante, 285, note. 
 
424 VI. 1'he Serious After-piece. Bookvi. 
 
 S.T. 
 
 queftion. In his judgment, Wentworth faid, that parlia- 
 ment was not bound by the engagement of any former 
 one. The prefTmg of fuch a precedent therefore for 
 fo fmall a fum (the falfe ftep made in this refpe6t by 
 Buckingham at ftarting, through Sir John Cooke, * 
 having ftill furvived all the effedts of Wefton and May to 
 fubftitute a larger fum), was to take advantage of it 
 for greater hereafter. Though he was moft ready and 
 willing to give in due time, he was altogether againft 
 prefent giving. 
 
 He was followed by Sir Edward Coke, who fpoke 
 ftrenuoufly againft any attempt fo to put the queftion ; 
 charaderifed it as Jolum et malum concilium ; threw in 
 two other precedents to thofe which the worthy knight 
 (Eliot) had delivered : the degradation, for having giver 
 fuch fole and evil counfel againft the commonwealth, of 
 Hubert de Burgh in the eleventh of Henry the Third, 
 and that of chief juftice Segrave, in the fixteenth of that 
 prince, for giving the like fole counfel againft the com- 
 monwealth : and offered to contribute a thoufand pounds 
 out of his own eftate rather than grant any fecond fubfidy 
 nov/. Sir Francis Seymour fpoke in the fame ftrain ; 
 which alfo had warm advocates in Sir William Spencer, 
 Mr. Alford, Sir Guy Palmes, Sir Thomas Grantham, 
 Mr. Wandesforde, Mr. Mallory, Sir Thomas Puckering, 
 and Sir Thomas Hobby, all of them fitting for large and 
 popular conftituencies. Even fome who were for giving, 
 such as Sir Heneage Finch the recorder. Sir George 
 Moore, and Sir Henry Mildmay, declared it fhould be 
 done with great caution, and with a proteftation never to 
 do the like upon any neceflity hereafter ; and the few 
 who were for giving abfolutely, becaufe of the anfwer to 
 the petition for religion and the duke's fpeech in Chrift- 
 church hall, were men in fome way connedled with the 
 duke, as Sir Robert Pye, Mr. Drake, Sir Walter Tich- 
 
 * See ante, 351, 352. 
 
'^^5- Glanvik for a Remonjirance. 425 
 
 bourne, Sir Robert Crane, and Mr. Charles Price. On 
 the other hand a diftinguifhed lawyer of the weft who 
 reprefented Truro, Mr. Henry Rolle, and who by the 
 tone he now took drew down future perfecution on fome 
 of his kinfmen, not only declared againft fupply, but faid 
 he did fo becaufe the neceffity was fo great that now was 
 the time if ever to force a redrefs of their grievances. 
 Turkifh pirates were laying wafte their coafts, and cap- 
 turing fhips and men ; the inhabitants of thofe parts were 
 driven to great expenfes for felf-defence ; and was that a 
 time for laying new burdens on them ? Two more 
 fpeakers clofed this memorable debate. One was Mr. 
 Glanvile, " that pregnant weftern lawyer ; " and the 
 other Sir Robert Manfel, whofe brief addrefs, according 
 to Eliot, if fpoken earlier, would earlier have ended the 
 difcuffion. 
 
 Glanvile fpoke ftrongly for fuch a remonftrance as had 
 been recommended by Philips and Eliot. He would 
 have it referred to a committee of the whole houfe to 
 prepare the fame ; and he would have its main purpofe 
 to be, to bring direftly under their fovereign's notice the 
 lamentable grievances of the kingdom, and to warn him, 
 in all obedience and loyalty, againft thofe whofe intereft 
 it was to make evil and unjuft report of that houfe. It 
 ihould in no refpedt convey a denial of fupply, but 
 fhould carry exprefs aflurance that in due time a fupply 
 would be given. To force the queftion of at once giving 
 or refufing, as the chancellor defired, was not parlia- 
 mentary. A denial would be diftionourable to the king, 
 and a grant with difficulty not lefs difadvantageable for 
 themfelves. It would take off all merit from the ad, 
 and change it to the pants lapidofus of the ethicks. Such 
 queftions were not to be hazarded for princes. It was 
 not ufual, until the confent was manifeft, to propound 
 them in that place. It was the prerogative of kings to 
 call parliaments at their pleafure ; but in counterpoise 
 of that, their anceftors had erefted the privilege for 
 
426 VI. 1'he Serious Afterpiece. Bookvi 
 
 ^T. 
 
 themfelves to treat of what bufinefs they fhould pleafe. It 
 was prejudice to that libertie to force upori them the 
 queftion raifed ; and the importunity ufed therein, he 
 held to be an imphcit confeflion of error In having fo 
 fuddenly compelled them to come together In that city. 
 Was it reafonable that the parliament fhould fpend, as 
 by computation it did always, feven thoufand pounds 
 a-day, and this but for the grant of forty thoufand 
 pounds In all ? By crowning fuch counfels with 
 fuccefs, they would give encouragement to their adver- 
 farles. 
 
 Sir Robert Manfel at laft arofe. Having been named 
 by the lord admiral as a party to the naval preparation, 
 and having been appealed to by a worthy gentleman, he 
 had now utterly to difclaim all knowledge of the a6tIon, 
 or any confultation had upon It. There had been fome 
 meetings of the council of war which he had attended 
 as a member, and fome propofitions were fpoken of for 
 the navy, but no defign or enterprife had been ftated, 
 and there could not therefore have been any counfel 
 or advice. He would not, he faid, have the matter of 
 supply put to queftion. There ought to be but one 
 negative voice.* 
 
 The effedt of this, Eliot tells us, was declfive. " Upon 
 " this, all color was remov'd from thofe that fought the 
 " queftion. Noe fuch queftion could feeme proper, 
 " where ther was noe reafon for fupplie. The fup- 
 
 * A letter of the time (S. P. O. MS. Dom. Cor. nth Auguft, 1625) 
 ftates the fubftance of Manfel's fpeech in ftronger terms than are afcribed to 
 the diftinguifhed feaman by Eliot. He fays that Sir Robert declared all 
 thmgs done in the naval preparation had been badly done, and that, in re- 
 gard to what was in hand at the time, he not only offered to prove it was not 
 well counfelled, but hazarded the prediftion that it was not like to profper. 
 It may be worth adding the teftimony, from another unpublilhed letter, to 
 the abfence of all violence of expreffion from the fettled refolve that cha- 
 rafterized thefe great debates. Six weeks later, one of the royalift members, 
 Sir John Paul, wrote to fecretary Conway of " the great calmnefs with 
 " which the fubjeft of fupply was difcuffed in the Oxford parliament." 
 S.P. O. (MS.) 24th October, 1625. 
 
l^_^^- A Council at Court. 427 
 
 35- 
 
 " plie could not be preff'd for in an adbion w"'out 
 " counfel : w"*" being in doubt before, but now in full 
 " creditt and beliefe, that long debate concluded for a 
 " Remonftrance to the king."* 
 
 It was very late when the commons left the divinity 
 fchool, and warnings of a ftorm in more than one dirediion 
 on the morrow were already lowering on both court and 
 country party. Manfel's few brief words had hurried on 
 fuddenly the crifis for both. 
 
 VII. Last Scene but One. 
 
 Soon after the houfes broke up, a council was held at 
 which the king was prefent, and an immediate diffolution 
 was propofed. The lord keeper and his moderate allies 
 Yefifted it. The duke profeffed himfelf indifferent ; but 
 fince the objeft of a continued fitting was to make attempt 
 upon himfelf, he would rather the fitting went on. By this, 
 fays Eliot, he only more deeply engaged the king ; fo that 
 all the efforts of the other party, led by Williams, were 
 powerlefs. " Againe with much earneftnefs he declar'd 
 " himfelf, and w"' manie reafons indeavor'dtodiffuade; but 
 " his power was found too weake in conteflation for the 
 " others. * The fa6lion of the D's partie did prevaile ; 
 " not that it fpake more trulie, but more pleafantlie. 
 " Soe indeede was the fceane contriv'd, that the D 
 " himfelfe feem'd a fuitor for the contrarie, and on his 
 " knees did deprecat that w'"" he mofl defir'd ! But the 
 
 * The Journals (i. 814) ftate the refult to have been the appointment of 
 a committee of the whole houfe to confider next morning of an anfwer to 
 his majefty's meffage ; and the editors of the Parliamentary Hijiory after 
 copying this go on to fay (vi. 402). that " notwithftanding yefterday's 
 " refolution, we find no mention of the meifage in the next day's proceed- 
 " ings." The Journals had mifled them, as they too frequently do. The 
 only propofed anfwer to the meffage was the remonftrance, and Eliot 
 defcribes correftly the refult of the debate. All that remained was, that in 
 a committee of the whole house the terms of the remonftrance Ihould be 
 fettled, and order made for its prefentation to the king. 
 
428 VJl. Laft Scene hut One. 
 
 Book VI.. 
 
 " refolution was immoveable in the king ; and, as none 
 " doubted, foe pra£tif'd by the other* Upon w* the 
 " opinion of the keeper was reje6ted, and, not longe 
 " after that, himfelfe." 
 
 Before the council broke up, however, the king made 
 fo far a ftiow of himfelf giving way to the duke's pre- 
 tended importunity, as not to oppofe a locus penitentiie for 
 the commons ; but at all rilks interruption was to be 
 made to the remonftrance, which on no account was to 
 be prefented or even drawn up. With this view, a reply 
 to Manfel was to be attempted, and a new mefTage 
 offered for fupply ; this unpromifing duty being divided 
 between Buckingham's two moft devoted adherents. Sir 
 John Cooke to take fupply, and the folicitor general to 
 anfwer Manfel. Meantime the commiffion for diffo- 
 lution was to be got ready, fo that on the inftant, if 
 the commons fliowed no fign of yielding, it was to be 
 put into effeft. 
 
 While this council was in progrefs, the country party 
 were holding one of their own. They were met, fays 
 Eliot, to confider the terms of their remonftrance ; when 
 new complaints came upon them with fo much urgency, 
 of the fpoils and infolences of the pirates, and of divers 
 cruelties f that were fuffered by the captives they had 
 taken, that this, coupled with that extraordinary dis- 
 clofure by Sir Robert Manfel diredtly contradiding the 
 
 * So contrived, we fliould now fay. 
 
 •}• The MSS. in the S. P. O. fully corroborate all this, and the defcrip- 
 tions in Eliot's memoir, ante, 316-18. (Dom. Cor. 6th, nth, and 12th 
 Auguft, 1625.) There is a petition fent up by judge Hutton from the 
 Devon grand jury, upon the unprotefted ftate of their coaft, dwelling upon 
 the lamentable outcries heard along the fhore from the wiyes of thofe cap- 
 tured, and upon the " ftrange tortures " reported to be'praftifed fuch as 
 would " move any Chriftian heart." Accompanying and reinforcing which 
 complaints, there is a letter from the mayor of Plymouth ftating that 
 within the paft twelve months, befides (hips, a thoufand Englifti feamen had 
 been captured ; and laying " to the fault of the lord admiral" the fo fudden in- 
 creafe of piracy on that coaft, along which, even while he wrote, a fleet of 
 pirates " 26 or 27 fail ftrong " were fweeping uncontrolled. 
 
'^^5- A Council of Oppofition. 429 
 
 35' 
 
 duke's averments, turned the feeling more ftrongly than 
 ever againft the lord admiral, whom it was then pro- 
 pofed to introduce into the remonftrance by name. 
 " The Turks were ftill roving in the weft, the Dun- 
 " kerks in the eaft, the cries came out of all parts, 
 " Their lofTes great, their dangers more, their feares 
 " exceeding all. Noe marchant dared venture on the 
 " feas, hardlie they thought themfelves fecure enough 
 " at land. It was alledg'd by fome,* that as the king's 
 " fhips were ftopt from going to relieve them when 
 " it was ordered by the council, foe they were then. 
 " Though readie on the coafts, or in the harbors neer 
 " them, wher thofe rogues were moft infeftuous, nothing 
 " might be done. Naie, in fome cafes it was prov'd that 
 " the marchants had been taken even in the fight of 
 " the king's ftiips, and that the captaines, being impor- 
 " tun'd to releeve them, refufd their protection or affift- 
 " ance, and faid they were denied it by the inftrud:ions 
 " wh"'' they had.f Upon w"'' it was conceav'd to be more 
 " than common negligence. The duke was thought 
 " faultie in that pointe, he being admirall, from whom 
 " the inftrudtions were deriv'd. For that, he had the 
 " imputation of thofe errors w^'^Jome did then terme 
 " crimes; and thereupon, w"^ formerlie was forborne, it was 
 " rejolv'd to charge him by name." 
 
 In this temper on either fide, the houfe met on 
 the morning of Thurfday the nth of Auguft. As 
 foon as prayers were faid, petitions were handed in from 
 the Devon grand jury, from the mayor of Plymouth, 
 and from feveral weftern merchants complaining of the 
 admiral on their ftation. Sir Francis Stewart, for fufFer- 
 ing captures to be made before his face. The member 
 for Hull, Mr. Lifter, alfo enlarged on the wrongs done 
 to trade by the Dunkirkers, and declared that the fafety 
 
 * Doubtlefs by Eliot : see his ftatement, ante, 320-1. 
 t This was alleged fpecially, it will ftiortly be feen, of Sir Francis 
 Stewart, admiral on board the Lion in Plymouth water. 
 
43 o VII. Laft Scene hut One. Bookvi, 
 
 ^T. 
 
 of all the feaports had become matter of vital concern. 
 He was feconded by Sir Francis Seymour, who fpoke 
 with much bitternefs, and faid that when they fhould 
 refolve themfelves into committee to confider the terms 
 of the remonftrance, he had a propofal to fubmit to 
 them. At this moment the king's folicitor and Sir John 
 Cooke took their places, and the houfe was informed that 
 there was another meflage from the king. It was very 
 brief in terms, Eliot adds,* and merely " urg'd the 
 " fupplie againe, to renew the former queftion. Wc^ meet- 
 " ing as well w* wonder as oppofition, that that queftion 
 " fhould again be ftir'd which yefterdaie was refolv'd, the 
 " ould artift beganne his apologie." 
 
 There were two extremes. Sir John Cooke begged 
 the houfe to confider, which wifdom would ever avoid. 
 The one was deforme obfequiumy bafe and unworthy ; the 
 other was ahrupta contumacia, unpleafant and unfafe. 
 The middle courfe alone was commendable, and for this 
 had Lepidus been eulogifed by Tacitus. For himfelf he 
 wifhed that princes would defire from their fubjedls 
 nothing unfit, but if they did, he would have the denial 
 in fuch manner made as it fhould feem not to their 
 perfons but the things. It was a faying of Tiberius, 
 that common men were ruled by profit, princes by 
 fame ; and as profit might more weigh with them, he 
 
 * The Journals and Parliamentary Hiftories contain no mention, even 
 in the moft general way, of this frefh attempt on the part of the king and 
 council, as indeed of very little that gives its diftinfliive intereft and value to 
 Eliot's memoir and papers, fo abundantly ufed in thefe pages. I have not 
 thought it viforth while, however, to indicate in paffing fuch inftances as 
 this, fearing to weary the reader ; and confcious that the moft curfory com- 
 parifon of my narrative with any of the hiftories will ftiow fufficiently its 
 important new fafts and illuftrations. Of the many remarkable fpeeches 
 delcribed, the Journals contain fcarcely a mention ; and even where they 
 happen to be referred to, they are unintelligible for want of their fequence 
 and connexion, and of thofe explanatory circumftances by which Eliot 
 reftores to them fomething of their original life, by reawakening their purpofe 
 and intention. None of the fpeeches now to be defcribed, by Cooke, 
 Heath, Seymour, and Littleton, important as all of them are, and efpecially 
 curious and interefting the two laft, have been reported or referred to in any 
 former work. 
 
'625. Sir John Cooke's final Effort. 431 
 
 would that way diredt his reafon. Either the money al- 
 ready difburfed in the preparations had been well fpent, 
 or not. If well, it was no good hufbandry, for want of 
 a little to be added, to lofe fo much laid out : if ill, not 
 giving would only excufe thofe who had mifemployed 
 their opportunities to an ill refult, that would then be 
 charged to others. In the firft fenfe it would be unpro- 
 fitable omni modo, and in the fecond aliq^uo modo, not to 
 give ; and that was the dilemma they were in. As for dis- 
 puting at this time the neceffity becaufe of the manner 
 in which it was incurred, it would be like the ad: of the 
 man, who, feeing another in the mire that called to him 
 for help, fpent fo much time in queftioning how he came 
 thither that before his hand was given the other was 
 funk paft hope. A neceffity there was then. That 
 was confefTed of all fides. Should not their labour then 
 fimply be, how for the prefent to relieve it ; and what 
 kind of neceffity it was, or how incurred, might be con- 
 fidered of hereafter. It was not to be fuppofed he 
 denied that the kingdom was in ficknefs, or that it did 
 not need phyfick. Nay, he even liked the medicines 
 that were fpoken of ; though he doubted they would be 
 found unfeafonable, if applied in thofe dog-days. But 
 having his majefty's aflurance, now repeated, for a nev/ 
 meeting and for full opportunity therein, he wiflied to 
 defer it till that time; and warned them that they 
 fhould not, by only opening the wound, perhaps make 
 it more incurable. 
 
 The clofe of this addrefs, Eliot adds, was lefs fuccefsful 
 than its opening. That confeffion of the ficknefs of the 
 kingdom was fuppofed not awill-ofFering, or what properly 
 was his ownj but an a6t of expiation for his former tres- 
 pafs ; and therefore " more it did lofe the advocate than 
 " anie waie made advantage for his client, whofe fame was 
 " not better by that art, and the other's worfe. The like 
 " fortune," he continues, defcribing the folicitor general's 
 reply to Manfel, " mett the other, who handled that 
 
432 VII. Laft Scene but One. Bookvi; 
 
 S.T. 
 
 " particular of the counfell ; wherin he made a long 
 " narration and difcourfe ; how the counfell " (he means 
 the council of war) " had often mett, as was pretended 
 " by the D ; how Sir Robert Manfell did withdrawe 
 " himfelfe upon private reafons and diftafts ; how divers 
 " particulars were propounded and debated by the reft, 
 •^■^ and the defigne in queftion by them all refolv'd on. 
 " How the Lo. Chichefter had left fome papers that 
 " commended it ; how Sir Edward Cecill, who was ac- 
 " quainted with the fecrett and beft could judge upon 
 " it, had faid it was probable, and an ould plott of the 
 " prince of Orange's. Other thinges of this nature he 
 "produc'd, more coloring than conclufive. The Lo. 
 " Chichefter being dead, and the truth of the papers 
 " being uncertaine, that wrought but little on the judg- 
 " ment of the audience. Sir Edward Cecill, a com- 
 " mander for the adtion, could not but magnifie the 
 " defigne ; and therefore was that aflertion thought as 
 " invalid as the other for fatisfadtion in the proof. 
 " Neither was thought authentick. From the reft of 
 " the counfell, who were all living, and fome there " 
 (both Conway and Cooke were members), " there came 
 " nothing. And yet, if their atteftations had been 
 " brought, fuch a command has greatnefte that /ome men 
 " would have doubted, though others had beleev'd." 
 
 Having difpofed thus charadleriftically of Cooke and 
 Heath, whofe attempts, unpromifing at the beft, had 
 not been favored by the circumftance that already, as 
 we have feen, the houfe's attention was fixed on more 
 exciting topics connedted with the propofed remon- 
 ftrance, Eliot tells us that intereft was fuddenly and 
 ftrongly reawakened at a reply made to fome remarks 
 by Sir Humphrey May. It was quite unexpected ; and it 
 v/as the maiden effbrt of the fpeaker, a lawyer, who had 
 not before been a member of the houfe. For this 
 reafon, and becaufe he thus " became firft known for 
 " his abilitie," Eliot reports at length what he faid ; and 
 
'**5- Littleton's Firfl Speech. 433 
 
 we are happily thereby made acquainted with the outfet 
 in public life of Edward afterwards Lord Littleton, now 
 member for Carnarvon, who, after gallantly fuftaining 
 Eliot through the ftruggles for Buckingham's impeach- 
 ment and the petition of right, confented to become re- 
 corder of London, and was afterwards folicitor general, 
 chief juftice of the pleas, and lord keeper. 
 
 It has not hitherto been fuppofed that Littleton took 
 any part in ftate affairs until the parliament of 1626 ; 
 but his biographers had overlooked the fadt of his 
 having fat in the prefent parliament,* and now Eliot 
 difclofes in connection with it an incident of an im- 
 portance not lefs than its intereft, fince it fhows us how 
 unafFeftedly and heartily, at that firfl; frefli fl:art in public 
 life, he made common caufe with the country leaders. 
 With what they reprefented, indeed, his heart remained 
 to the lafl;, as his royalifl; friends were fain reluctantly to 
 admit. He was not only a fine lawyer, but was popu- 
 lar with every one by his perfonal accomplifhments and 
 eafy difpofition ; and though his was not the fl:rong 
 fl;out fl:ufF of which patriots are made, and both with 
 patriots and courtiers he fell into fuch disfavour as timid 
 men feldom avoid in fl:ormy times, he was regarded to 
 the lafl; by both parties, in fpite of his defections from 
 both, with remarkable tendernefs ; and had the friendlieft 
 epitaphs from Clarendon as well as from Whitelocke 
 and Selden. Let it now be further to his honour that, 
 as the clofe of his public life was celebrated by thofe 
 famous men, its opening received commemoration from a 
 man not lefs famous, and his firfl; fpeech in parliament 
 was reported by Sir John Eliot. 
 
 Littleton was called up by a fpeech from Sir Humphrey 
 
 * See Fofs's Judges of England, vi. 34.5 ; and Campbell's Li'ues of the 
 Chancellors, iii. 27. On the other hand, confult Willis's Notitia Parlia- 
 Tnentaria, iii. 107. The conneftion of Littleton's father (great-grandfon 
 to the famous author of the Ireatise on Tenures) with North Wales, of 
 which he was chief juftice, led doubtlefs to his fon's return for 
 Carnarvon. The name is alfo written Lyttelton. 
 
 VOL. I. F F 
 
434 ^11- Laji Scene but One. B""" '^^- 
 
 srv. 
 
 May, which had a little roufed the attention of the houfe 
 from " other loofe arguments made to revive the queftion 
 " for fupplie " by the fad that " therin were fome pre- 
 " fldents vouch't by him that had decried them ; as thofe 
 " of 29th and jift Elizabeth, and 3rd James; wherein 
 " augmentations had been made to the grants then firft 
 " refolv'd on, whence was inferr'd a perfuafion for the 
 " like." Whereupon the member for Carnarvon arofe, 
 and with great force and diredlnefs joined iffue at once 
 with the chancellor of the duchy. 
 
 " Mr. Speaker," he began, * " The queftion in debate 
 " is whether to give or no ; and therein my opinion is 
 " abfolute, not to give. For which, before I declare my 
 " reafons, I will make fome anfwer to the arguments now 
 " ftated on the contrary, whereby the worth of both may 
 " more eafily appear. There has been an objedtion made 
 " againft infifting on old precedents, and that we Ihould 
 " not make them gods ; which has fince in part been 
 " anfwered,f that they were venerable though not idols. 
 " I will however further fay, that precedents are the life 
 " and rule of parliaments : no other warrant being for 
 " the parliament itfelf, or the authorities it pretends to, 
 " than the ancient ufe and praftice drawn out by prece- 
 " dents. And fhould not, then, parliaments be careful 
 " to preferve that rule inviolable ? to make it conftant 
 " like themfelves ? In other courts, conflidling prece- 
 " dents are badges of diftemper and weaknefs ; and much 
 " more would it be if the great court of parliament, 
 
 * I may here ftate, what ftiould probably have been ftated earlier, that 
 in quoting fpeeches from their MS originals I have generally modernifed the 
 fpelling, for a reafon which will be obvious. I have doubted whether I 
 fliould not wifely have adopted the fame plan with letters and papers alfo ; 
 but fomething of a man's idiofyncrafy may {how through his fpelling, which 
 of courfe would not reveal itfelf in his fpeaking, and there is a kind of phyii- 
 ognomy in a letter. It cannot however be too ftrongly added, that there 
 were hardly any rules of orthography of the moft general kind at this time in 
 univerfal ufe, and that not only did a man fpell as it fuited his ear or fancy, but 
 that few adhere to a uniformity of praftice in the matter, or care to be 
 commonly confiftent with themfelves even as to the fimpleft terminations. 
 
 t By Eliot, ante, 421. 
 
"**5- Dijpofes of May's Precedents. 435 
 
 35 
 
 " being the reftifier of others, fliould this way err itfelf. 
 " If that fhould ftray or wander by which the reft are 
 " guided, who fhall reiflify and bring it back ? But 
 " even thofe. Sir, that fpeak againft precedents, we fhall 
 " find moft to magnify and endear them when they 
 " think them ufeful to themfelves. In the agitation of 
 " the queftion before us, when reafon has forfaken them, 
 " how have they ftrained for precedents to help out 
 " failing arguments ! " 
 
 With his quick and ready knowledge Littleton found 
 it eafy to difpofe of the chancellor's precedents. From 
 the cafe in hand they were widely different, he faid, and 
 made nothing in the point. The 29th Elizabeth was 
 only this : that after fuch time as the houfe had given to 
 that good queen of ever famous memory one fubfidy 
 and two fifteenths, underftanding by her council that fhe 
 was to make great preparations for a war to refift the 
 Invincible armada in '88, by their Speaker they told her 
 that they had gone as far for that time as they could, 
 but if fhe had occafion they would fhortly fupply her 
 again : whereunto fhe gave the anfwer, which he wifhed 
 the councillors prefent might likewife have regiftered in 
 their memories with the intention of reprefenting to the 
 king, that fhe would first fearch the bottom of her coffers 
 before fhe would grieve her fubjedts. Where, then, was 
 the advantage of the example which fo much was ftood 
 on ? Nothing then was done of what now they had 
 been fo much preffed to. It perhaps would be faid there 
 was a promife ? No, nor that ; but rather infinuation 
 of the contrary. There was a refujal to make addition 
 at that time ; and not unlikely for the very reafon of 
 privilege. What aftually was promifed had reference to 
 another time and meeting. So that the 29th Elizabeth 
 did in no way impeach, but confirmed, the refiflance 
 they had themfelves made to a fubfidy upon a fubfidy 
 in the fame feffion of parliament. 
 
 Neither did the next, the 31ft of the reign, apply. 
 
436 Vll. Laji Scene but One. 
 
 Book VI. 
 
 What then was added, was before the a6t had pafTed, and 
 was made in confideration of the exceffive charge laid out 
 for defence againft the Spaniard. Or rather, it was to 
 congratulate that divine vidbory and deliverance. Even 
 fo, it was the firft time that ever two fubfidies pafTed at 
 once. " And for the like fum now," exclaimed Littleton, 
 " I wifh we had the like occafion ! " Next he handled 
 the precedent of the 3rd of James, fliowing that the 
 addition then was in like manner introduced ; not when 
 the aft had pafTed, but while it ftill flood in the pleafure 
 of the houfe. And fo, he added, might fome others be 
 reckoned, not at all fuiting to the cafe in hand, but 
 Ihowing what their predecefTors did. His fole wifli was 
 that they might do the like. 
 
 " But, Sir," continued Littleton, " the law of neceffity 
 ' has been urged ; and though anfwered, this more it 
 ^ fhall receive. If there be fuch a neceffity as is faid, 
 ' why fliould not his majefty be willing that we fliould 
 ' now redrefs it ? Why doth he not truft his ancient 
 ' council ? Ways have been propounded, and more I 
 ' know would be, if that liberty Were admitted us 
 ' to fupply this neceffity and all others, and fo give the 
 ' king fubfiflence, as his predeceffors had before him, to 
 "^ be both loved and feared. Not for four hundred 
 ' years and more, in which we have light from parlia- 
 ' ments, is there a precedent for what is now afked ; and 
 ' yet was there never the like neceffity before ? Surely, 
 ' yes ; there have been far greater caufes than is now, 
 ' but never in all that time fo dealt with. There has 
 ' been, however, a ftrange argument made * ab utili : 
 
 * sir John Cooke's argument, af ya^ra, 421. The remark here occurs, 
 which will be fuggefted ftill more forcibly by fpeeches of Eliot's to be here- 
 after given, that a fpeech of this kind, replying thus to previous fpeakers in 
 the fame debate, muft have owed its prefervation to a report taken down at 
 the time, though it may doubtlefs have received fubfequent revifion. And 
 fuch we know was the praftice. The art of reporting was not unfamiliar 
 to the members of thefe early parliaments, many of whom were in the 
 pradlice of taking notes ; and it adds greatly to the pleafure with which we 
 
'^^5- Replies to Sir John Cooke. 437 
 
 " that it is profitable to give. By way of dilemma to 
 " enforce it, a worthy knight has employed the argu- 
 " mentum cornutum : that either the former monies fpent 
 " in the preparation have been well laid out or not ; if 
 " well, why ihould we not purfue it ? and if otherwife, 
 " why fhould we take the fault upon ourfelves by re- 
 " fufing to add a little, and thereby be difabled to call 
 " the delinquents to account ? Why, Sir, by the reafon 
 " of this argument, the parliament fhould be bound to 
 " maintain all adtions and defigns ! For, either they are 
 " good or not ; and by this rule we fhould give the 
 " fword unto our enemies for the ruin of ourfelves. As 
 " for calling of the aftions of any great man in queflion, 
 " fuppofing we are told that nothing can be done without 
 " permifTion of the king, it behoves us to fay that, if fo, it 
 " may be as well done without fupply as with it, it being 
 " not the manner of great princes to make merchandife 
 " of their juflice." 
 
 The fubjed: next adverted to, was the anfwer to the 
 petition for religion. Many lines had thence been drawn 
 to the intention of that bufmefs of fupply ; as if religion 
 were the fervant, that the miflrefs. Of the anfwer in 
 itfelf he was glad as any member of the houfe, though 
 forry that to fuch a purpofe it fhould be ufed. But who 
 among them knew what fruit would come from It ? 
 Nay, had they not caufe to fear it, when the faft fo 
 much differed from the proteflation ! Even at that very 
 time, the pardoning of jefuits, the protedtion given to 
 papifls, the fupport and countenance to Arminians, 
 fhowed more than common danger. Why fhould not 
 the king be defired to execute the laws ? Henry the 
 Fifth was a wife and potent prince, not inferior to any 
 iince the conqueft ; and yet what did his fubjedts unto 
 him ? In the firft year of his reign they found a remifs- 
 nefs in the execution of the laws; upon which they 
 
 read thefe fpeeches to feel that we have fuch a guarantee for their perfeft 
 genuinenefs. 
 
438 VII. Laft Scene hut One. Bookvi. 
 
 ^T. 
 
 fpoke plain language, and prayed him then, in parlia- 
 ment, to put the laws in execution better than his father 
 had done. That, though fharp, was good and wholefome 
 counfel, and was followed by that powerful king. If his 
 majefty would now do likewife, he might enjoy like 
 honor and profperity, and be both loved at home and 
 feared abroad. 
 
 The conclufion of Littleton's fpeech was extremely strik- 
 ing. That there is a falfe allegiance to the king in the unfair 
 prefTure of the fubjedb, was put with much felicity ; and in 
 what was faid of the temptation to make voluntary and 
 occasional grants compulfory and permanent revenue, he 
 triumphantly anticipated and anfwered his own unhappy 
 argument of later years, when, as king's folicitor, he had 
 to defend fhip-money againft his old friend Mr. Hamp- 
 den. " Sir, fome other arguments have been alfo ufed, 
 " as that this is the firft requeft of the king ; that 
 " granting it, will be an expreffion of our loves to him ; 
 " and that denying it, will be a pleafing to the papifts. 
 " Well, Sir, as to the laft, it carries no reafon to perfuade, 
 " for the devil fometimes is confenting to good works, 
 " though for ill ends he has. For the fecond, we muft 
 " fo love the king as we negledt not the commonwealth ; 
 " we muft remember there is union between them which 
 " no good fubjedrs will divide ; we muft amare etjapere, 
 " not defer ire amore, love that we may love always, not 
 " to perifti by our love ; which were not only injury to 
 " ourfelves but to the objed; of our love, the king. And, 
 " Sir, for the firft, it is our duty to confider what ill 
 " efFefts have followed any undue preflure of the people. 
 " Therein our ftories mention nothing -but tumults and 
 " commotions, and it will be well that the councillors 
 " fhould take heed of what they fee around them. The 
 " time is dead and all commerce fhut up, not merely by 
 " the ficknefs here at home, but by the uncared for and 
 " unchecked piracies and robberies in diftant parts. 
 " Already the charge laid, in the two fubfidies granted. 
 
jj^^- Effect produced by Littleton. 439 
 
 " adds a great burden to the people ; and what more 
 " might do, we know not. But we know that if his 
 ^' majefty fail in his requeft, he at leaft, being wife, is 
 " better to be perjuaded than a multitude. Sir, I might 
 " give other reafons, from other confiderations. I might 
 " fay to you that by the eafmefs of the fubjeds to fupply, 
 " princes become more carelefs of their revenues and 
 " their outlay ; and that there is ever a doubt, in the 
 " frequent grant of fubfidies, that they may turn in time 
 " and grow into revenue. What once were voluntary 
 " contributions in Naples and Spain have now become 
 " due and certain. Tonnage and poundage here with 
 " us is now become reckoned in the ordinary, which at 
 " the firft was meant but for the guarding of the fea; as 
 " indeed the ads ftill have it. But thefe things need 
 " not, when our own rules conclude us. Thofe rules I 
 " defire we may obferve, and to pafs on to the remon- 
 " ftrance which was ordered yefterday." 
 
 The eiFe6t of this fpeech upon the frefh attempt for 
 fupply, Eliot obferves, was to " put the courtiers entirely 
 " beyond hope," and to fliow them no way of fafety but 
 in immediate retreat. To which end, he adds, " con- 
 " tinuall entercourfe being made with intelligence to the 
 " D, the commiflion for diflblution of the parliament, 
 " w"" was fecretlie prepar'd, was forthw"" delivered to 
 " the keeper, who according to the forme was to execute 
 " and difcharge it." Neverthelefs fuch delays were necef- 
 farily interpofed by a conference already appointed with 
 the lords,* that another day's fitting of the commons 
 
 * This conference, Eliot fays in his MS, " concern'd the petition 
 "upon the pardon to the jefuit" (ante, 331-7) " w'' the lords 
 " excus'd onlie as a work of the ambaffadors : for whom ther was an order 
 " made in Rome, that none muft come but w"" one of thofe familiars to 
 " attend him, w"*" prefled their mafters as importunately for their fellows as 
 " they had preft the king : and that the king's anfwer, late deliver'd, was a 
 " fecuritie for the future : which they fuppoCd might be as effectuall to the 
 " end as what was defired by the commons, in which however they refuPd 
 " not to concurr." It was at this conference Philips made a remark very 
 much to the point in obferving that " no popi& king would, at the 
 
440 VIII. Falling of the Curtain. 
 
 Book VI. 
 
 JS.T. 
 
 could not be prevented. It was agitated and brief, but 
 the work defired was done. The curtain was not to fall 
 upon an unfiniftied piece. 
 
 VIII. Catastrophe and Falling of the 
 Curtain. 
 
 Some diftraftion was wrought in our minds, fays 
 Eliot, when news was brought that afternoon that the 
 commiflion for a diffolution was prepared. But it foon 
 pafTed away, and thofe that were refolute out-numbered 
 thofe that were fearful. Nor could the determination 
 of the majority have been more decifively fhewn than on 
 the following morning of Friday the I2th of Auguft, 
 when, in the full knowledge that they were about to be 
 difperfed, they met with the fettled purpofe firft to com- 
 plete and prefent their remonftrance. 
 
 In this. Sir Francis Seymour took the lead ; fubmitting 
 the propofal of which he had given notice the previous 
 day, and which was neither more nor lefs than that in 
 the remonftrance the duke fhould be mentioned by 
 name. " This firft direct nomination of the D," fays 
 Eliot, " done by Sir Francis Seymour, took off all 
 " vizards and difguifes in which our difcourfes had been 
 " mafk't. Then in plaine termes the jeloufies were expreft 
 
 •" inftigation of our ambaffadors, releafe any perfon out of the inquifition ! " 
 The other fubjetl of the conference, according to Eliot, was " for fome 
 " releife for London ; w'*" they propounded to be done as by an ordinance of 
 " parliament, that in foe generall a calamitie and diftrefs, ther might be a 
 " generall contribution made towards it. W" being reported to the com- 
 " mons had a prefent confirmation and allowance : as in the former, upon 
 " the pardon, they alfo refted fatisfied." Referring to the Journals (i. 815), 
 I find that under this ordinance ten (hillings was contributed by every 
 knight, and five by every burgefs, for help to the plague-ftricken poor of 
 London ; and from the amount coUefted before the members feparated on 
 the laft day, which was 112/. los. 4d., may be gueffed the numbers then in 
 attendance. Some intereiling notices of the plague at this date will be 
 found at the opening of Whitelocke's Memorials. Among other things 
 he fays that no money now pafled from hand to hand in London without 
 firft being put into a tub of water, and that it was common for whole 
 families, " both mafter and mittrefs, children and fervants," to be all fwept 
 away. (i. 5. ed. 1853.) 
 
'^^5- 'The Laft Debate. 
 
 35 
 
 441 
 
 " w"" hindered the fatisfaftion of the king. His neer- 
 " neffe to his maj*'^ was too much ; his greatnefs and 
 " exorbitance ofFenfive; his power and pradtise both 
 " doubted and hated. In his perfon was contradled the 
 " caufe of all thofe miferies. All the expreffions and 
 " examples wh* formerlie had been heard of, were 
 " then applied to him. His faults and errors were the 
 " fame ; foe was defir'd his punifhment ; and that, with 
 " the reft, this likewife be prefented to the king." 
 
 What in other refpedts the paper to be prefented to 
 the king was intended to contain, may be inferred from 
 the fpeeches that fuggefted it ; and it was doubtlefs to 
 an over anxiety to include in it as many as poffible of the 
 exifting caufes of difcontent, that the failure of com- 
 pleting it as at firft intended was due. But, for this, 
 compenfation was to be made at the like violent clofe of 
 the following parliament, when none of thofe topics 
 were forgotten ; and meantime a fubftitute was found. 
 While yet members following Seymour were speaking 
 boldly of the duke's ill-government ; and, in reply to 
 Edmundes and Naunton, who for a purpofe of their own 
 had occupied largely the time of the houfe,wereinfifting on 
 the neceffity that his majefty Ihould plainly be informed, 
 without more ado, that whoever it might be that had 
 put king and kingdom in fuch hazard muft be made to 
 anjwer for it ; Mr. Glanvile entered haftily, and faid that 
 they had not time to finifh their remonftrance as voted. 
 He hadfubftituted therefore, a fhort proteftation, which he 
 then prefented for acceptance by the houfe. It was imme- 
 diately read. In terms fcrupulously obedient and loyal, 
 and with expreffions of devoted attachment to their fove- 
 reign, it declared their purpofe at the proper time, and in 
 a parliamentary way, to difcover and reform grievances 
 and to fupply the exifting and all other his majefty's juft 
 occafions and wants ; and it warned him of the dan- 
 ger of holding council with thofe who would poifon 
 his ear againft them, befeeching him to believe that a 
 
442 VIII. Falling of the Curtain. 
 
 Book VI. 
 
 juft Englilli king could have no greater fecurity than 
 the true and hearty affedions of the commons of 
 England. 
 
 While yet the chairman was reading, for the houfe 
 fat in committee, the knock of the black rod was heard 
 at the door, and the Speaker rofe to refume his chair and 
 admit that royal melfenger. "No, no," was the 
 general ftiout ; other members rofe to prevent him ; 
 the proteftation was put to the vote and paffed ; and 
 order for its inftant tranfmiffion was made. Mr. Solicitor 
 was required to take charge of it ; all the privy council 
 who had feats were to prefent it ; and it was "to go 
 " with all fpeed." It was thus haftened to the king 
 while yet the ufher of the black rod waited without 
 undelivered of his fatal meffage.* Eliot thus defcribes 
 it and the iffue. 
 
 " It was by the penne of Mr. Glanvile, who had 
 " our thanks ; and it was forthw"* read, and ordered to 
 
 * The only account hitherto exifting of this extraordinary fcene, fo 
 exaftly the forerunner of others more widely known as this unhappy reign 
 went on, had been given by Sir Philip Warwick (Memoires, 13). " Being 
 " then resolved into a grand committee, and having fome inkling of what 
 " was determined, when the black rod knocked at the door with his ftaff, 
 " the men of the Tribunitiall fpirit (for God be thanked we have no fuch 
 " officers among us, though we have orators) would not let Sir Thomas 
 " Crewe take the chair to admit the king's meflenger until one Mr. 
 " Glanvile, an eminent lawyer, and of a warm temper, had &c. &c, 
 " Which was a wild and tumultous effay to be made at a committee, ex- 
 
 " preffing much fervour but no prudence So abruptly and tumultuoufly 
 
 " ended this firft parliament." I may here put the reader on his guard 
 againft accepting Howell's Letters implicitly where queftions of date are 
 concerned ; the contents of that delightful book having been put together 
 " for the prefs " without any regard to confiderations of that kind. Thus 
 when he writes (191) to his uncle Trevor, on the 6th of Auguft i6i6, 
 from Oxford — " I am forry I muft write to you the fad tidings of the 
 " dilTolution of the parliament here, which was done fuddenly. Sir John 
 " Eliot was in the heat of a high fpeech againft the D. of Buckingham, 
 " when the ufher of the Black Rod knock'd at the door and fignify'd the 
 " king's plealure, which ftruck a kind of confternation in all the houfe " 
 — the letter is an evident compilation from one or two letters of widely 
 different dates, and the main incident refers rather to the fecond parliament, 
 diflblved in June i6a6, than to this Oxford parliament, clofed as we fee in 
 Auguft 1625. 
 
'^^5- The Dijfolution. 443 
 
 35- 
 
 " be prefented to the king by the privie councillors 
 " of our house. W'' being foe agreed and done ; and 
 " fome hurried motions, made for clearing thofe by 
 " general fuffrage that were thought fubjeft to diftaft 
 " for their expreflions in that place, being rejefted as un- 
 " neceflarie, former experience having prov'd them to be 
 " ufelefTe and unprofitable ; the ulher of the black rod 
 " was then admitted with the fatall mefTage to the houfe. 
 " The fpeaker left his chaire ; and being attended by the 
 " reft, went prefentlie to the lords, where the commiffion 
 " was then read, and foe diflblv'd that parliament." 
 
 An interefting pafTage follows this in Eliot's manu- 
 fcript. He fays that the reafons of ftate, and all con- 
 fiderations of good policy, were fo ftrongly againft the 
 ftep thus taken by the court, that it was fuppofed even 
 the duke's influence might have failed finally to carry 
 it but for a notable projefh which had then firft been con- 
 ceived, to make ineligible for feats, in cafe another parlia- 
 ment were found unavoidable, the moft aftive of the com- 
 mons, " by charging them w"" imploiments that might 
 " make them uncapable of the parliament : prefuming 
 " thereby others would be deterr'd, and the whole 
 " abilitie of that houfe extradled w"" thofe perfons : foe 
 " as noe man fhould remayne of knowledg or aiFeftion 
 " to conteft them." A defign afterwards put in force, 
 we ftiall fee, with no good refults to its authors ; as 
 indeed the way in which Eliot fpeaks of it fhows that 
 no fuch refult was poffible. There is not merely a 
 quiet fcorn in his expreflions; but there is that feel- 
 ing underlying them which accounts for fo much of 
 the greatnefs of this time, and of which with a manly 
 modefty Eliot knows that he but fhares in common with 
 men around him. It is the feeling unobtrufive of felf ; 
 fubordinating ever the lower to the higher motive, in public 
 as in private exertion ; and putting always firft the work 
 to be done, never doubting to find men fit to do it. 
 
 " Soe fhallowe are thefe ri valets of the court, that 
 
444 VIII. Falling of the Curtain. Bookvi. 
 
 " they thinke all wifdome like their murmure. King- 
 " domes they will meafure by the analogie of their rules. 
 " But in this they deceave themfelves^ as, in all other 
 " things, the world. And as they judge of kingdomes, 
 " kingdomes may judge of them. Great is the varietie 
 " in a kingdome, both of knowledg and abilitie. Great 
 " is the varietie of perfons, and of their ftudies and 
 " exercifes to acquire and attaine. The formes of wis- 
 " dome are as various as are men's. As one is bould 
 " and a6tive, another will be cautious and referv'd. This 
 " plotts, that fpeakes, a third judges and difcernes. And 
 " in all thefe fome are excellent, yet appeare not while 
 " their workes are done by others ; hut are content and 
 " happie to be Jhadow'd in them/elves, all difficulties 
 " being declined, dangers prevented, and their defires 
 " made good. Yet againft all, when neceffitie fliall 
 " require, they will, and are readie to, ftand forth. Soe 
 " did it prove in this." 
 
 Upon the immediate effefts of the diflblution as well 
 beyond as within the court, Eliot makes alfo fome 
 remark. It gave real fatisfacftion to none. The cour- 
 tiers were too much afraid of the future to enjoy the 
 temporary relief; and the commonalty underwent fuch 
 fudden alteration and great change, from extremity to 
 extremity, in regard to Buckingham, that the profpedt 
 feemed full of danger to " myndes well compofed."* 
 The naval preparations, too, left without apparent fup- 
 port, were a fource of univerfal anxiety and apprehen- 
 fion ; no man not in the fecrets of the court knowing 
 
 * " The great hope they " (the people) " had conceav'd, to be withered in 
 " the fpring, caft a blacke face of forrowe over their whole affeftions. This 
 " to be done by him from whom the contrarie was expefted, added to that 
 " an anger. Divided between thefe, their thoughts and times were fpent. 
 " All men poffeft their neighbours that that meeting was the duke's. That 
 " he, to color the follie of his enterprifes, had praftis'd to entitle them to 
 " the parliament. That upon the parliament difcovering his praftice and 
 " corruption, to fecure himfelf therein he had raif d a jeloufie in the king, 
 " by w'*" that breach was made. This was beleiv'd of all." Eliot MS. 
 
'^*5- Opinions and Forebodings. 445 
 
 the defign, and all men, the courtiers in efpecial, being 
 fearful of the iflue. * 
 
 Amid fuch diflatisfadtion and foreboding, this opening 
 parliament of the reign, in little more than fix weeks after 
 its firft joyous meeting at Weftminfter, came to a clofe 
 at Oxford. An abrupt and ungracious clofe it is called 
 by Clarendon, who cannot but " let himfelf loofe " f to 
 fay, that no man could fhow him a fource from whence 
 the waters of bitternefs fince tafted fo abundantly had 
 more probably flowed, than from fuch unfeafonable, un- 
 fkilful, and precipitate diflblutions. Laud in his diary 
 is content to mention what had happened without other 
 addition than that prefently after the parliament began 
 at Oxford a great affault was made againfl the Duke of 
 Buckingham. Even Mr. Drake, coufin and friend to 
 Bagg, writing to that worthy to regret that he was not at 
 Oxford to have given his voice, defcribing how the great 
 duke had been dealt withal by his enemies, and exultingly 
 hoping that his grace will and fliall bear up and triumph 
 yet in fpite of all of them, is fain to call the diffolution 
 an unhappinefs. 
 
 Bagg neverthelefs was extremely happy, fince he had 
 now obtained fome part of what he fo diligently had 
 worked for. He was vice-admiral'of Cornwall, and foon 
 to become Sir James.' 
 
 # " Manie things were obnoxious to them " (the courtiers), " made 
 " them even obnoxious to themfelves. The prefent preparation of the 
 " ffleet, and the eye the world had on it, w'" could not be prevented or 
 " declin'd ; the fiiture expe6lation of a parliament, and the fatisfaflion 
 " to be given it both for the ffleet and them ; were a terror in their harts, 
 " running through all their motions. Eor, as they were confcious to them- 
 " felves of the publick injuries they had done, w""" they heard cal'd upon 
 « at that meeting and could not think, would be forgotten in the next ; foe 
 " they could prophecie, for the ffleet, what fuccefs ftiould follow it, judging 
 " either by their counfells or themfelves." Eliot MS. 
 
 t Hifl of Rebell. i. 6-8. 
 
446 /. Eliot at the Fleet's Sailing and Return. 
 
 Book VII. 
 my. 
 
 BOOK SEVENTH. 
 
 SECOND PARLIAMENT OF CHARLES THE FIRST. 
 1625-I626. ^T. 2S-i^- 
 
 I. Eliot at the Fleefs Sailing and Return. 
 
 II. Eve of the ConfliSf. 
 
 III. Leading the Oppofttion. 
 
 IV. 'The Saint Peter of Newhaven. 
 V. Eliot and the King. 
 
 VI. Buckingham Impeached. 
 VII. Eliot Jent to the Tower. 
 VIII. "The Remonfirance and the Dijfolution. 
 
 I. Eliot at the Fleet's Sailing and Return. 
 
 N the diflblution of parliament Eliot returned 
 to the weft, and refumed thofe duties of his 
 office which involved no dired: communica- 
 
 cation with the lord a'dmiral. He bufied 
 
 . limfelf in efforts to proted: the coaft, as to which the 
 means at his difpofal appear to have been ftrengthened 
 by what had paffed on this fubjedt in parliament. It 
 fell to him neceffarily alfo, as vice-admiral, to continue 
 to prefs feamen for the work in hand ; and for a time he 
 was left to the ordinary difcharge of his employment, 
 in thefe and other refpedts, undifturbed by intriguers 
 againft him. 
 
 The tone fo refolutely taken in the houfe of com- 
 mons by men of large and various influence had 
 indeed not been without manifeft effedt. Though Mr. 
 Drake wrote fo confidently to Bagg, in fpite of the 
 
1625-6. Uneajinefs of the Duke's Friends. 447 
 
 diflblution and its " unhappinefs," of the duke's ultimate 
 triumph over his aflailants, what further he writes to that 
 worthy from his houfe in the weft is anything but tri- 
 umphant in tone. The duke had been compelled to give 
 pledges that fomething ftiould at once be done againft the 
 pirates, and Mr. Drake hopes that Sir Francis Stewart or 
 fome others were already gone out againft them. He 
 knew of courfe that Sir John Eliot had left for the weft on 
 this and other matters ; and he has himfelf hurried down 
 there to be ready for my lord, who had promifed to vifit 
 at his houfe on his way to Plymouth. Mr. Drake is fo 
 uneafy, notwithftanding, that he would give anything to 
 fpeak to Bagg privately before my lord arrived. Efpe- 
 cially he prays Bagg, however, reverting to what he had 
 mentioned firft, to have a good care that the fhips which 
 were to go againft the Turks, " if they be nott gone, be 
 " haftened with what fpeede may be, for itt ftandeth my 
 " lord's honour much." The matter of the preffing of 
 feamen, too, was very urgent ; and if Sir Francis Stewart 
 " had hard whatt was faid in parlamentt, he wold have 
 " had more care to whom he granted his commicion," 
 for one of his fellows had abufed it frightfully.* In 
 ftiort, Mr. Drake had evidently been more imprefled than 
 fatisfied by what he heard during that Oxford fitting. 
 
 To fomething of the fame feeling in the courtiers 
 generally it may perhaps be attributable, that up to 
 this time, notwithftanding the decifive and prominent part 
 he had at length taken openly with the commons, Eliot 
 ftill maintained friendly relations with Conway ; whofe 
 fon, Strafford's correfpondent in later years, pafled his 
 Chriftmas holidays at Port Eliot after his return from 
 the Cadiz expedition. 
 
 The grand objedb now was to get that ill-fated 
 expedition ftarted with all poffible promptitude, the 
 
 * MS. S.P.O., 1 6th Auguft, 1625. Mr. John Drake to his 
 " worthy co'fen " James Bagg Efquire, vice-admiral of Cornwall ; from 
 Aihe. 
 
44 8 /. Eliot at the Fleet's Sailing and Return. B""" vii, 
 
 S.T, 
 
 profoundeft fecrecy being fuccefsfully kept to the laft as 
 to its precife deftination. It was for this the lord admiral 
 was gone in perfon to Plymouth ; and it was for this 
 the ill-ad v^ifsd king now began the pradtice at home 
 which brought him all his after miferies, of raifing 
 money without a parliament. He levied the tonnage 
 and poundage duties, although he had refufed aflent to 
 the bill which alone would have made them legal ; and he 
 reforted to the expedient, not without precedent but of 
 dangerous application, of fending forth privy feals. 
 Returns were required from the counties of fuch perfons 
 as were able to give, and what amount ; upon which 
 privy feals were fent to each, with order to the colledlors 
 to return the names of all who refufed, or complied 
 reluctantly. An indication of the feeling now prevail- 
 ing as to Eliot in his county is afforded by the fa6t, that 
 opportunity was taken of his abfence on the work of his 
 vice-admiralty to fend his father-in-law one of thefe 
 privy feals, levied with peculiar hardfliip. 
 
 At laft, in little more than fix weeks from the diffolu- 
 tion, the armament was ready and about to put forth to 
 fea. It confifted of ninety fail, large and fmall fhips, 
 carrying 5,000 feamen and 10,000 foldiers, and com- 
 manded by the Sir Edward, fon of Robert Cecil, of 
 whom we fhall fhortly hear Eliot fpeak not un- 
 kindly ; but who had ferved in the low countries with 
 no great reputation, was unpopular with the fleet, and 
 had had no experience at fea. Beginning here as every- 
 where at the wrong end, he was promoted before he 
 failed ; and the title of Vifcount Wimbledon, meant to 
 give dignity to his command, had exadtly the oppofite 
 effedl. He had been left alfo, though with the title of 
 lord marfhal and lieutenant-general, fubordinate ftill to 
 Buckingham as general, much to the merriment of the 
 fleet itfelf ; who laughed heartily when the courtiers called 
 one their general, and the other their generaliflimo. 
 
 But Eliot himfelf has left a ftatement upon thefe 
 
1625-6. cffig Commander of the Expedition. j^.^^ 
 
 points which is very characteriftic. In it he exprefTes 
 his belief that at the laft, if a fair excufe could have been 
 fet up, the expedition would hardly have gone ; he fays 
 that it was " the eye the world had on it," and the 
 ftatements made in parliament, which caufed it to be per- 
 fifted in ; and he makes this very interefting addition, 
 that the common people, believing the preparation to be 
 more formidable than it really was, and having a hope 
 that fome vital blow was at length to be ftruck at Spain, 
 had their expectations of fuccefs more highly raifed than 
 thofe who knew more of the arrangements were juftified in 
 feeling. It is a pregnant comment on this remark that 
 the main charge for victualling the expedition had been 
 entrufted to Bagg. 
 
 " As the ffleet muft be fett out," continues Eliot, 
 " the D was held too pretious to be adventur'd in a 
 " voiage, whence nothing but lofTe and difhonor might 
 " returne. However, the commiffion that was granted 
 " him muft ftand ; that what glorie could be had (as all 
 " fuch expeditions afford fome in their entrance and 
 " beginnings), might be added to his trophies : and 
 " what the exitus might import, ther was another nam'd 
 " to ffather it, for whom likewife a commiflion was 
 " difpatcht of the fame power and latitude ; but fubor- 
 " dinate to the other. This fubftitute was S'. Edward 
 " Cecil'., brother to the then Earl of Exeter, a man 
 " whom yeares and experience might have fquar'd for 
 " better purpofes and imploiments. His whole time 
 " and ftudie had been fpent upon the warrs. He then 
 " retain'd, in the fervice of the States, the command of 
 " a regiment of ffoote. His refpedh with them, for the 
 " qualitie of his blood, was noe detradtion to his meritt. 
 " His carriage and deportment were not ill ; his prefence 
 " good ; his converfation full of affabilitie and court- 
 " fhip ; and in his affections ther was doubted nothing 
 " that was corrupt. Facility was the greateft prejudice 
 " he was fubjedt to ; w"" rendered him credulous and 
 
 VOL. I. G G 
 
45° I- J^liot at the Fleefs Sailing and Return. EookVII. 
 
 " open to thofe that were artificiall and obfcure. Whereby 
 " he became expof'd, and fubfervient to their wills, and 
 " was drawne to tread thofe paths w" themfelves re- 
 " fufd to walk in. His commiffion ftil'd him, in the 
 " prefence of the D, lo. marfhall of the feild : the D, 
 " by land and fea, being appointed generall : but in 
 " his abfence, it did make him generall, as himfelf. Upon 
 " w* ther arofe an adulation in the court, that was not 
 " w^'out laughter to the foldiers ; the D, for fuper- 
 " excellence, being term'd generaliffimo in their dialed:, 
 " and the other alwaies generall. Soe as this had at noe 
 " time lefs than was his due : that, as in all things elfe, 
 " had more,"* 
 
 On the 4th of 06lober the fleet failed, and on the 
 6th Eliot wrote from Plymouth to Lord Conway. He 
 had been aiked by Sir William Courtenay to tranfmit 
 certain papers to him, and could not omit fo fair an 
 opportunity of again fhowing Conway the fervice he fo 
 much coveted to endear on all occafions, and fhould be 
 ready on his commands faithfully to exprefs. His fon, 
 he tells him, has been fafely Ihipped, and is gone. Eliot 
 had accompanied him to fee him under fail on Wednes- 
 day morning, when, he fays, part of the fleet went 
 forth with a fair wind, the reft following them in the 
 afternoon ; but, the wind fuddenly changing, the fecond 
 detachment of fliips had again put back into the found. 
 The firft, he believed, had made Falmouth harbour. 
 He proceeds to tell Conway that admiral Naffau with his 
 Dutch fliips had arrived happily in Plymouth juft in 
 time to meet the fleet as they were going out. They 
 had come to attend my lord duke in the Anne Royal on 
 his fetting forth for the Hague, and witnefled what 
 Eliot calls the compliment of the duke's parting with 
 the lord marfhal, the generaliflimo with the general. The 
 *' concurrence " altogether, Eliot tells my lord the fecre- 
 
 * From the MSS. at Port Eliot. 
 
1625-6. Clouds and T^empefis Gathering. 45 1 
 
 tary, had been conceived for a predidion of good fuccefs 
 to the undertaking ; but he has hardly written the 
 words, when an occurrence of lefs favourable promife 
 rebukes all fuch predictions. " At this inftant," he re- 
 fumes, in the few hurried fentences which clofe his letter, 
 " the Ihips that laft night came to anchor in the found 
 " are with the ftorme forc't in againe to Catwater with fuch 
 " haft and fear, as divers of them have fallen fowle of one 
 " another, and are in trouble to clear themfelves, I hope 
 " without much harme or prej udice. I am now call'd upon 
 " to fend out boats and men unto them, which makes me 
 " haftie to that fervice, and a little confufed in this dis- 
 " patch. But your lordftiip's wifdom, I prefume, will 
 " meafure the neceflitie, and make it a circumftance 
 " of my excufe for which I am now your humble fuitor 
 " and fhall be ever your lordfhip's moft devoted fer- 
 " vant, J. Eliot."* 
 
 Amid fuch conflidling omens the Cadiz expedition 
 failed. And fo, direftly after, failed Buckingham for the 
 Hague attended by Lord Holland : with a defign to 
 vifit Paris, in which Richelieu baffled him ; with a pur- 
 pofe alfo to conclude, if poffible, by help of the States, a 
 general league againft the houfe of Auftria, in w^ich he 
 failed yet more decidedly ; and carrying with him the 
 crown plate and jewels of England with a further plan 
 to raife fupplies upon them, as to which he failed 
 worft of all. Nor was he allowed to fet forth on thefe 
 hair-brained fchemes without warning of a ftorm gather- 
 ing againft him, greater than any that had driven back 
 the fhips to Catwater. 
 
 " All men fay, if you go not with the fleet," wrote 
 Thomas Lord Cromwell f to him, " you will fufFer in it, 
 
 * MS. S. P. O. Eliot to " the r' honor"' my verie good lord -f lo : 
 " Conway, principall fecretarie to his ma■'^ Plimouth, 6° Octobris, 1625." 
 
 + This was the fifth lord in defcent from the Cromwell of Wimbledon, 
 Harry the Eighth's Cromwell, to whom the greater Oliver was undoubtedly 
 of kin. He obtained afterwards the earldom of Ardglass in Ireland. 
 
452 /. Eliot at the Fleet's Sailing and Return, book vii. 
 
 ^T. 
 
 " becaufe if it profper, it will be thought noe adt of 
 " yourSj and if it fucceed ill, they fay it might have been 
 '' better had not you guided the king." This very candid 
 lord had been promifed a fhip, and perhaps thought that 
 a little plain fpeaking might, even at the laft, obtain his 
 wifh. But whatever his motives may have been, there 
 were home truths in his letter not the lefs valuable 
 becaufe from a quarter unexpedted. Already, he pro- 
 ceeded to tell the duke, men were laying wagers that of 
 neceffity a parliament fhortly muft be, and that, when- 
 ever it came, it would furely much difcontent his grace. 
 " Let it fit when it will, begin they will with wher they 
 " ended." And would his grace know the moft fruitful 
 fource of all difcontent ? It was, that even the beft lords of 
 the council were kept in total ignorance of what was going 
 on. They knew nothing of Count Mansfeldt's journey, 
 they knew nothing of the deftination of the great fleet, 
 and not a fingle grave man was known to have his 
 grace's ear except the good and noble Conway. There- 
 fore were the beft fort the moft difcontented, and they 
 faid it was a very great burden his grace took upon him, 
 and that his letting no one know anything but himfelf, 
 and npt permitting others to bear part of his burden, 
 might ruin him. " Which heavens forbid," the writer 
 fervently adds. " Soe much I defire to fee your grace 
 " trample the ignorant multitude under foote, that I 
 " give you this talcke of the wicked worlde, and 
 " becaus I feldom am honored with your eare I thus 
 " make bould with your all decerninge eye, which I 
 " pray God may be inabled with power and ftrength daly 
 " to fee into them that defir your ruin." * 
 
 * MS. S.P.O, Dated from Fulham, 8th September, 1625. A copy 
 of this letter, not very accurately printed, is in the Cabala and inRufliivortk. 
 Other paflages in . it are hardly lefs charafteriilic of the mixed feeling 
 of hope and dread, of the fenfeof fomething that feemed to render unftable 
 and uncertain an almoft illimitable power, which prevailed concerning Buck- 
 ingham at this particular time. The ihadow of the future had begun to 
 reft vifibly over him. 
 
1625-6. Malcontents of the Upper Houfe. 453 
 
 Shortly after the time when Lord Cromwell was thus 
 writing, another letter writer was putting the fame 
 fadts in somewhat different form before Sir Thomas 
 Wentworth. Defcribing the duke's departure for the 
 Hague, Sir Arthur Ingram proceeded to tell how heavy 
 his grace's hand lay upon certain great perfons about 
 the court, and that who he will advance (hall be ad- 
 vanced, and who he doth but frown upon muft be 
 thrown down.* Defcribing the great officers of the 
 kingdom who generally were his creatures, and at his 
 command, he fingled out four who were neverthelefs 
 underftood to have kicked againft their mafter, and to be 
 at prefent in communication with the leaders of the 
 late oppofition in the lower houfe. They were the 
 Archbifhop of Canterbury, the Lord Keeper, the Lord 
 Marfhal, and the Lord Chamberlain; and Ingram 
 wrote as if Wentworth were himfelf perfeftly aware of 
 fuch a co-operation of the leaders of the commons with 
 thefe members of the upper houfe as already fufficed 
 to render them an oppofition likely to prove in another 
 parliament yet more formidable. 
 
 It was quite true. The diffolution had brought men 
 together who had not before adted in concert, and it was 
 no longer a mere intrigue of Williams's, but a flrong 
 party combination, that Buckingham had to dread. Not 
 that any interference from the lords could make a 
 movement in the commons more dangerous, but that, 
 if the prevailing rumours as to Lord Briftol were true, 
 a movement might be expefted in their own houfe. It 
 was faid that that lord, fo long kept under fhameful 
 durance at Sherborne, had refolved at all hazards, when 
 another opportunity fhould prefent itfelf, to force his 
 cafe into public notice; and the matter is mentioned 
 here becaufe of the circumftance that Eliot's friendly 
 relations with Conway at the time did not prevent his 
 
 * Strafford Difpatches, i. 28. 
 
454 ^- ^liot at the Fleet's Sailing and Return. '^°°^ '^^i- 
 
 inceflant communication with the men belonging to 
 both houfes who had grown thus impatient of Bucking- 
 ham. With them, as far as poffible, there is no doubt 
 he was at prefent afting, and waited only the inevitable 
 fecond parliament to declare with them for an impeach- 
 ment of the minifter. He will ihortly be feen holding 
 correfpondence with fome of the malcontent lords ; and 
 to him, as we have feen, even in his character of vice- 
 admiral, had been firft intrufted an incident more feri- 
 oufly affefting the king and his favourite, and that 
 fyftem of withholding ftate fecrets from the council of 
 which Lord Cromwell complained, than any which yet 
 had occurred. 
 
 When Eliot next wrote to Conway, an apprehended 
 conflidt in Fowey harbour between portions of the French 
 huguenot and of the French royalift fleets, formed the 
 fubjedt of his letter. Apprehenfive always of any formal 
 rupture of peace with Richelieu, he was not more anxious 
 for the fake of Soubife himfelf, than for the fafety of the 
 Englifh town and the continuance of friendly relations 
 with France, to prevent a poffible attack on the hu- 
 guenots in Fowey, and the confequences to which it might 
 lead. He craved therefore, through Conway, interference 
 from the council with M. Mentu the royalift admiral. 
 He prefumed to interfere, he faid, becaufe of the fears 
 of thofe weftern parts. The infolences and threatenings, 
 one to another, that paffed between the rival French- 
 men, occafioned the Englifh along the coaft great doubt 
 how far the confequences might concern them if there were 
 not fpeedy prevention. The royalifts were at Falmouth, 
 and Monfieur Soubife and his men at Fowey, where the 
 others threatened fhortly to vifit them. But Fowey was a 
 place fo weak and indefenfible that if they fhould quarrel in 
 that harbour there could be no proteftion for the town, 
 and it would have to ftand expofed to all the preju- 
 dice and dangers that were like to enfue. The parties 
 were on both fides much incenfed, and preparing all the 
 
*^^5-6- French Royaliji and Huguenot Fleets. 455 
 
 mifchief their fhips could afford ; putting themfelves in 
 order for battle, in ftiort ; fo that if an encounter {hould 
 follow upon their fighting each other, the weftern people 
 were greatly troubled at the expectation, much feared the 
 iffue for themfelves (the town of Fowey efpecially), and 
 craved fome remonftrance to be made thereof to his 
 majefty. This, therefore, for the neceffity and their 
 defire, Eliot was enforced thus haftily to recommend to 
 Conway's hands, with whofe noblenefs he was confident 
 to find fuch acceptance and defpatch as the importance 
 might require. Enclofed with his letter went alfo a 
 letter to the lord lieutenant of Devon from his deputies 
 in the county concerning the fame bufinefs, an adver- 
 tifement having been received from them craving that 
 conveyance. He fhould pray his lordfliip to give it 
 paflage ; and as occafion ftiould arife whenever his weak 
 fervices might be ufeful, he was ready to obey the fecre- 
 tary of fl:ate's commands, and in all things to be his 
 lordfhip's thrice humble fervant, J. Eliot.* 
 
 The remonftrance thus made feems to have had its 
 eiFecft, for the attack apprehended did not take place. 
 A danger neverthelefs arofe from another quarter, threat- 
 ening hardly lefs evil confequence to the good under- 
 ftanding between England and France, and affording 
 final juftification to Eliot and his friends for their in- 
 creafing hoftility to Buckingham. It was the cafe of 
 a French fhip with a cargo of extraordinary value, 
 feized by officers of the lord admiral under pretence 
 of her carrying Spanifh goods ; her cargo made the 
 objed: of plunder and extortion, in which Bagg played 
 a confpicuous and infamous part ; and the fhip her- 
 felf, after her releafe and reftitution of her lading had 
 
 * MS. S. P. O. Eliot to " my verie good lorde -f Lorde Conway, 
 " principall fecretarie to his ma''= att court. Plimouth 26° November 
 " 1629." Indorfed by Conway. " S"' John Eliott advertifinge the jea- 
 " loufies of fome violence betweene the Vice Admirall Mons' Mentu and 
 " Mons' Soubize's ihipps. The apprehenfions the country hath of it and 
 " fpecially Foy." 
 
456 /. Eliot at the Fleet's Sailing and Return. ^<""^ ■^"• 
 
 been dired:ed not merely by order of the council but by 
 formal decree in the admiralty court, again detained by 
 fpecial order of Buckingham, The circumftances led to 
 great excitement in confequence of the ifharp reprifals 
 made by France, whereby not only were Englifli fhips 
 feized at fea but embargo was laid on Englifh merchant 
 goods in French ports. There had been no fuch excitement 
 conne<5ted with any maritime feizures in the weft ; and 
 Eliot appears to have taken part in it with very ftrong 
 refentments, arifmg not merely from the views he held 
 of the evil policy of making an enemy of the French 
 nation, but from the perfonal wrong done to himfelf by 
 deeds committed in the name of the admiralty admin- 
 iftration which refledted difcredit upon the office he held, 
 and made him in fome degree refponfible for adts done by 
 more wicked inftruments. It was in the midft of the 
 agitation caufed by this cafe of the St. Peter of New- 
 haven that news of the great difafter came. 
 
 In the middle of October the expedition had failed. 
 Its inftruftions, made known fimultaneously with the 
 failure of all the extravagant hopes built upon' them, 
 were for the deftru6tion of fhips and ftores in Spanifti 
 harbours, for feizures of treafure, and for the intercep- 
 tion of a rich convoy of Spanifh merchantmen from the 
 Weft Indies. In plain words, it was an attempt to fill 
 the king's empty coffers by a piratical foray on the 
 wealth of Spain ; and hence the zealous and fecret 
 appetite with which both king and duke had at the 
 firft purfued it. But ill-manned, ill-provifioned, and 
 ill-commanded, it failed in every point. Sailing for 
 Cadiz bay, the fhipping in that harbour might with eafe 
 have been taken ; but the Spaniards were able to fecrete 
 their fhips further up the harbour while time was loft at 
 Fort Puntal, which, after the Englifh captains had wafted 
 their batteries upon it for four-and-twenty hours, fur- 
 rendered, at the mere fummons of a portion of the troops 
 who were landed next day, without firing a gun. Wim- 
 
;j!5-6. rhe Great Dijafter. 457 
 
 bledon, landing the reft of his troops, then gave orders 
 for the deftruction of the communications with the main 
 land which Eflex had found eafy in the great queen's 
 time, and which, if the Suazzo bridge had now been 
 as promptly ftruck down, would have laid Cadiz open 
 to an efFedlive attack. But, as Eliot afterwards bitterly 
 defcribed it, it was a dry and hungry march into a drunken 
 quarter. Difcovering on the way feveral cellars ftored with 
 wine, the troops became infubordinate, drunken, and dif- 
 orderly; and Wimbledon in a fright, without either a 
 capable man's refource or a ftrong man's decifion, carried 
 them headlong back to the fleet- without having feen an 
 enemy. At firft he thought of retaining Puntal for 
 better intercepting of the expefted convoy, but all 
 attempts to reftore difcipline were hopelefs, and he re- 
 embarked with ignominy. He then cruifed about after the 
 Spanifti fleet for eighteen days; fuffered it to efcape him 
 unobferved during the night ; and returned to Plymouth 
 with difeafe and mutiny raging on all fides around him, 
 the officers loud in denunciation of his incompetency, 
 and the men decimated by a ficknefs which they attri- 
 buted to foul play and difhonefty in provifioning the ftiips. 
 Hundreds of feamen and foldiers were landed in a dying 
 ftate, and more than a thoufand were faid to have 
 perifhed before the fliips reached harbour. For many 
 months to come the appalling extent of the difafter 
 fhowed itfelf vifibly in every road and town on that 
 weftern coaft, and above all in the ftreets of Plymouth. 
 There was an inquiry, and of courfe nothing was 
 elicited. The difcontents of thofe engaged in the bufi- 
 nefs were reprefented chiefly by the fon of that Eflex 
 who had ftruck fuch a blow at Cadiz with a far inferior 
 force, and his complaints had begun before the expedi- 
 tion failed.* But as the officers preferred their charges 
 
 * Poor Wimbledon's was a hard cafe ; for though as general he had all 
 the refponfibility for capacity or the reverfe in thofe he commanded, 
 Buckingham as generalifimo had made patronage of all the appointments • 
 
458 /. Eliot at the Fleet's Sailing and Return. Book vii. 
 
 jET, 
 
 againft Wimbledon, he in return accufed them and 
 accufed everybody, and fo the idle reproach went round 
 for months, with no refult but to add to the keen morti- 
 fication of the king and the favorite, by turning all 
 men's thoughts in the one direction where alone refponfi- 
 bility could be fixed. Beyond queflion, this Cadiz ex- 
 pedition was the turning point of Buckingham's for- 
 tunes and of the hopes of the new reign. It rendered 
 neceffary a fecond parliament, when the court was weakefl 
 to refift demands that were fure to be made ; and 
 it flrengthened, at a critical time, the combination 
 that was forming againft Buckingham. Here he had 
 fecretly planned everything, the arrangements were 
 wholly his, and his was the guilt of the failure. Where 
 was the fecurity againft future humiliations like this ? 
 A cry of Ihame rofe on every fide ; and the national 
 difcontent which was foon to find eloquent exprelTion, 
 now firft took the form of that belief into which it 
 fettled univerfally at laft, that there was no hope for the 
 kingdom or the king till this all-powerful and all-incapa- 
 ble minifter fhould be ftruck down. 
 
 The fhips came ftraggling back into Plymouth 
 through the firft three weeks of December, and on the 
 2.2nd of that month Eliot had occafionto write to Lord 
 Conway. He had been afked to fend, in his official 
 packet for the fecretary of ftate, a letter from Conway's 
 fon with particular charge that it fhould be conveyed to 
 his father's hands. In that Eliot was happy to ferve 
 both father and fon, to both of whom he felt fo much 
 engaged as to make him hold it for an honor that he 
 fhould be commanded by either. In the general letters 
 tranfmitted, Conway would find fome return to the 
 
 " Though your grace," wrote Lord Cromwell, in the letter already quoted 
 {ante, 4.51), '" hath placed a noble gentleman in the regymet was intended to 
 " my Lo of Effex, yet I will not difpair of yo' favor, or that you will not 
 " give me fom tail of y' as well as to any other ; I will ftudy to be a de- 
 " feiTinge creture." 
 
1625-6. Refults of Bag^s foul PraSlices. 459 
 
 commiffion they had received concerning the troops, 
 and fome account of a fervice wherein there was much 
 difficulty. It will be remembered that the victualling of 
 the fhips had been entrufted to Bagg,* and Eliot now 
 without referve proceeded to fpeak of that tranfaction. 
 " The miferies before us," he faid, " are great ; and 
 " great the complaints of wante, and illnefs of the 
 " victuall. There is now to be buried one Captain 
 " BoUes, a landfman, whoe dyed fince theire cominge in ; 
 " and with much griefe expreft the occafion of his fick- 
 " nes to be fcarcetie, and corruption of the provifions. 
 " The fouldiers are not in better cafe. They are in 
 " greate numbers contynually throwen overboard ; and 
 " yefterday fell downe heere feaven in the ftreetes. The 
 " reft are moft of them weake ; and unles there be a 
 "prefente fupplie of clothes, there is httle hope to 
 " recover them in the contries where they lodg'd. 
 " Theis thinges I prefume to intimate to your lordfhip on 
 " whofe wifdome is repof 'd the greateft confidence of the 
 " countrie,f for which as my comon intereft fhall make 
 " mee your debtor, my perticular obligations doe likewife 
 " binde mee, to an admiracon of your honor and worth, 
 " wherein I am devoted your lordfhip's thrice humble 
 " fervant, J. EHot." % 
 
 Other correfpondents of Conway were at the fame 
 time writing to him as unrefervedly. One of the fea 
 captains engaged. Sir Thos. Love, fummed up his charge 
 againft thofe who had fet forth the fleet, as having fup- 
 plied it with men fick, viituals bad, drink fcarce, and 
 fhips leaky. Sir Michael Geere declared that the meat 
 was not in quantity half the king's allowance, and that 
 
 * In Yonge's Diary, 89, will be found bitter mention of Sir James Bagg 
 in connexion with this bufinefs as " worthy the halter." 
 
 f This word, the reader will remember, was ufed always for what we 
 fhould exprefs by " county." 
 
 X MS. S. P. O. Eliot to " my verie good lord the Lo: Conway, princi- 
 " pall fecretarie to his ma"" att courte. From Plimouth, zz* December, 
 " J625." 
 
460 /. Eliot at the Fleet's Sailing and Return. ^°<"' ^n- 
 
 it ftank fo that no dog of Paris garden would eat it. 
 With which letter went at the fame time appeals from 
 Conway's fellow fecretary. Sir John Cooke, imploring help 
 for God's fake in procuring money. Without money 
 they were all ruined. The advances . for this miferable 
 expedition had not been paid, and now without prefent 
 means the unhappy feamen and foldiers could not be 
 difcharged. If money were not fupplied, the danger 
 would be greater than the mifery and more grievous to 
 be borne.* So prefTed, Conway had no alternative. 
 The privy feals were at this time due ; and there had 
 been a propofal, as parliament muft fo foon be called, to 
 difpenfe with the colleftion. But a month's delay might 
 be fatal, and the colleftors were fent round. The people 
 were to be heavily and lawleffly taxed for the very 
 enterprife that was daily caufing them fo much bitternefs 
 and fhame. 
 
 In his next letter from Plymouth, written nine days after 
 the laft, Eliot has a fuit to urge in connection with thofe 
 privy feals, which were everywhere- promptly provok- 
 ing diflatisfadlion and refiftance. The deputies appointed 
 for the levy in Cornwall had fhown their fpleen againft 
 himfelf by returning his father-in-law, Mr. Gedie, for an 
 exorbitant amount. There was no pretence of difaffedtion 
 in the cafe. Mr. Gedie had ferved only the preceding 
 year as ftieriif of Cornwall, and his eftate was ftill fuifering 
 from expenfes confequent thereon. Yet he was certified 
 for an amount of which the oppreffivenefs appears in the 
 fa6t that It doubled the higheft impofed upon fome of 
 the richeft eftates In Yorkfhire, Sir Thomas Wentworth 
 being taxed for twenty and Mr. Gedie for forty pounds. 
 
 " Moft honor'd lord," Eliot wrote, " as your favors 
 " have manie waies oblig'd me, and I am your debtor, 
 " though in noe fervice able to be even with foe great a 
 
 * MS. S. P. O. Thefe letters will be found under the refpeftive dates of 
 the nth, 14th, and 30th December i6z5. 
 
'^^5-6. Eliot interceding for his Father-in-Law. 461 
 
 merittj yet in aflurance of the fame continued noble- 
 nefs by which I am ingag'd I fhall now prefume to 
 kifs your hands in a fuite fo eafie, as I hope it will in 
 itfelf feeme rather fitted to curtefie than doubt. It is 
 ' for the freelnge of a privie feale charg'd for fowertie 
 ' pownds upon my father in law Mr. Richard Gedie, 
 ' who, though he be indebted and was laft year at a 
 ' great expenfe for the publicke fervice on the fherifF- 
 ' wicke of Cornwall, out of fome particular difaffecftions 
 ' and refpedts of the deputies in my abfence and imploi- 
 '■ ments abroad in the bufinefs of my lord admirall, was, 
 ' it feemes, certified and made a reliefe for fome other. 
 ' The fumme we value not ; and, I befeech your lord- 
 ' fhip, conceave me not for that apt to importune or 
 ' underprice your honor in the trouble of foe poore a 
 ' thinge. But the circumftance, which gives it aryather 
 ' taft ; and the fatisfadtion of my father in law, that to 
 ' me is of farr more confequence ; I defire your lordlhip 
 ' to make my interpreters, and to receave them as my 
 ' excufe. For thefe reafons I humblie praie your lord- 
 ' fhip's help to give us a difcharge, which to your power 
 ' I know as eafie as your will : either commanding it 
 ' out of the office, or by an order from your lordfhip on 
 ' the counfell table, which fignified heer to the colledtors 
 ' will inftantlie prevent it. Your wifdome can foone 
 ' diredb the waie, wherin, as the fatisfadtion of a father 
 ' male be to me of fome advantage, the honor from 
 ' your lordfhip I fhall efteeme a happinefs of the moft 
 ' extent." 
 
 It would feem hardly poffible to have aflced a favour 
 with fo carelefs and light a fenfe of the obligation to be in- 
 volved. He will as little permit himfelf to doubt of the 
 eafinefs as of any common courtefy. He has alfo a 
 fuggeftion to make by which Conway, prefled as he is, 
 will be no lofer. For, that he might not, he continues 
 to fay, in this feem an impediment to his majefty's great 
 purpofes, which he ihould always ftudy to advance ; 
 
462 /. Eliot at the Fleet's Sailin? and Return. ^""^ "^"• 
 
 and as the taxation of Mr. Gedie himfelf had been made 
 as a relief for fome other ; he had in a note therewith 
 returned a name for that fupply of yet more fufR- 
 ciency and fitnefs, belonging to one that had neither 
 borne public endeavour or charge, and who was in 
 eftate and money rich and a ufurer, which latter fadt, 
 Eliot added with farcaftic allufion to practices very 
 prevalent in fuch matters, he believed had made him 
 a paflage out of the firft certificate. Leaving this how- 
 ever to Conway, he repeats the other requeft, and fays he 
 ihall not fail to acknowledge the honour of his difpatch 
 therein. Since his laft, he concludes, nothing new had 
 occurred there, nor was there any intelligence from the 
 fliips in Ireland. The ficknefs and mortality of the 
 troops continued ftill, and it was thought would breed 
 fome danger to the country. Conway's noble fon was 
 well. Eliot had had the honor, thofe chriftmas holidays, 
 to wait on him at Port Eliot, from which they had come 
 together to Plymouth laft night to defpatch fome bufinefs 
 with the commiffioners for the fleet ; and he hoped they 
 fhould return again that day. " I fhall be happie in anie 
 " thing to ferve him, and if I may finde opportunities 
 " fullie to expreffe myfelf, your lordfliip fhall therin fee 
 '' that I am your moft humble fervant, J. Eliot." * 
 
 But though writing thus in the tone and with the 
 official deference which became the vice-admiral of 
 Devon, in not unfriendly intercourfe with the king's 
 principal fecretary whofe fon he had been entertaining 
 at his houfe, Eliot was at this time not the lefs firmly 
 fettled in the courfe he had deliberately chofen, and 
 prepared to run all its rilks and dangers. 
 
 Before attending him in it, and following him to 
 London, the difcovery at Port Eliot of a letter which he 
 addreffed at this time to the bifhop of Exeter will fhow 
 what laft was occupying his thoughts when he left his 
 
 * MS. S. P, O. Dated " Pliraouth ult. December, 1625." 
 
'^^5-6. Eliot writing to the Bi/hop of Exeter. ^6;^ 
 
 friends and neighbours in the weft. Among his eftates 
 in the parifh of St. Germans was the manor of Cud- 
 denbeck. (or as he writes it Cuttenbeake), long held on 
 leafe by his family under the bifhop of Exeter, whofe 
 country feat had been there in former years in the man- 
 fion afterwards occupied as a jointure-houfe by the 
 Eliots. Here Sir John had been flaying before Chrift- 
 mas, and from it he writes to the then occupant of the 
 fee, Valentine Cary, ex-dean of St. Paul's, who was 
 fucceeded two years later by Hall, the author of the 
 Satires. Eliot was on the kindlieft terms with both, for 
 both were wife and moderate men ; and the prefent feems 
 not to have been the only inflance in which Cary had 
 affifted him to make proper as well as popular provifion 
 for the fpiritual wants of thofe around him. 
 
 " As I have heertofore," he now wrote, " made 
 " manie trialls of your favor, I am againe encourag'd by 
 " thofe efFeds, wherein I have beene formerlie foe much 
 " your debtor, to entreat your furtherance and help to 
 " this bearer Mr, Paige, and, in him, to me and the 
 " reft of my parifti'ners, who, upon the hope and 
 " knowledge of his goodnefs and fufficiencie, defire to 
 " fettle him heer amongft us as our minifter in the 
 " roome of Mr. Dix, now plac't elfewhere, and willing 
 " at our inftance to leave this cure to him. The ftipend 
 " belonging to it is fmall, and not worthie of a fcholler 
 " or able to maintaine him without helps, which have 
 " heertofore beene added by fome perticulars,* and I 
 " beleeve wilbe ftill to a man of their affeftion and 
 " choife. The nomination, I thinke, is properlie in the 
 " deans and cannons of Windfor ; the admiflion, 
 " wholie in your lordftiip ; the recommendation in- 
 " different to all ; wherein, as I know nothing more 
 " powerful!, nothing I conceave more iitt than your 
 " lordftiip's breath to move it, that the whole worke 
 
 * Individuals, we fhould fay. 
 
464 Eliot at the Fleet's Sailing and Return. '^°°^ "^"^ 
 
 -a;T. 
 
 '' male bear the charafter of your favor. The laft 
 " eledlion was foe guided by your predeceflbr ; and with 
 " his letters, the nomination being obtain'd from the 
 " howfe, a recommendation came to me in the behalf of 
 " the man preferr'd, upon which I endeavored, as I fhall 
 '^ in all your lordlhip's commands, to give fatisfa6lion of 
 " my fervice. The like furtherance I defire your lord- 
 " fhip wilbe pleaf'd to affoord now, in writing a few 
 " words for this bearer to the deane, to draw from him 
 " the nomination ; and letters to their ffarmer of the 
 " impropriation heer, for paiment of the ftipehd unto 
 " him. I doubt not but his abilities will render him to 
 " your judgment fitt, and his carriage fecure me of that 
 " fear which I open'd to your lordfhip of fome others, 
 " wherein I fhalbe happie of foe good a prevention, 
 " and efteeme it a fpeciall honor to be efFedled by your 
 " means." The clofing pafTages of the letter have 
 reference to fome occurrence which beyond the fa6t 
 ftated is not known to me ; but they confirm the im- 
 preffion conveyed by the whole letter of Eliot's friendly 
 intercourfe with his diocefan. " I am forie your lord- 
 " fhip has neighbor'd with foe manie dangers, and that 
 " the poore cottage which I tender'd to your ufe, was 
 "■ not fitt to receave you. I fhould have beene glad of 
 " the opportunitie of fome neernefs to your lordfhip 
 " wher my attendance might have had a fafe recourfe, 
 " which now onlie my wifhes have fupplied : but as 
 " ther is occafion or command, I fhall alwaies be 
 " exprefl your lordfhip's most aiFe6tionat fervant, 
 " J. Eliot."* 
 
 We fhall fee hereafter what comment is afforded by 
 this letter upon the pofition ultimately taken by its 
 writer in church affairs. For the prefent we may hope 
 that we have left him, among his tenants and parifhioners, 
 
 * From the MSS. at Port Eliot. " To my Lo. B? of' Exon. Cutten- 
 " beake, 24° Octobris 1625." 
 
1625^6. Rooting up the Weeds of Parliament. 465 
 
 to the miniftry of the man of their aifedtion and choice, 
 the good Mr. Paige ; relieved by the bifhop's com- 
 phance from " the fear " of having to Hften to any 
 other than pure dodbrine; attached to the church by 
 bonds which have not yet been rudely broken; and 
 ready with fuch zeal and fervice voluntarily to raife her 
 poorer ftipends as to make them more worthy the 
 acceptance of a fcholar. 
 
 II. Eve of the Conflict. 
 What had continued to pafs daily In Plymouth and 
 other weftern ports had been receiving meanwhile a preg- 
 nant intereft from what was paffing in London. It had 
 been refolved that the king fhould be crowned at Candle- 
 mas, and that four days later (on the 6th February, 
 1625-6) parliament fhould meet. To this end projedts 
 were on foot for defraying coronation expenfes by fines 
 of knighthood and other more obfolete and lawlefs 
 expedients, and for protedling Buckingham againft the 
 parliament not only by the notable fcheme already 
 named* of difqualifying for feats as many as poffible of 
 the members of the commons known to be difaffedted 
 to him, but by difabling fimilar difafFedtion in the lords 
 with bitter example of the feverity which the king meant 
 in future to deal forth upon that houfe alfo. On the 
 judges prefenting their ufual lift of fheri£Fs the king with 
 his own hand erafed feven names and fubftituted {&vtr\. 
 others : whereby Wentworth, Alford, Guy Palmes, and 
 Fleetwood, who fubmitted and did not prefent them- 
 felves to conftituencies, and Sir Edward Coke, Sir Robert 
 Philips, and Sir Francis Seymour, who carried their elec- 
 tions but were not allowed to fit, were excluded from the 
 houfe of commons.f At the fame time he called before 
 
 * See ante, 443. 
 
 -f- " The rank weeds of parliament are rooted up," writes Sir Benjamin 
 Rudyard (ftill much more of a court than an oppofition man) to Sir Francis 
 Netherfole, " fo that in the next we may expeft plentiful harveft ! " MSI 
 S. P. O, 23rd November 1625. 
 
 VOL. I. H H 
 
466 //. Eve of the Confli£i. ^°°''^"- 
 
 him the lord chamberlain Pembroke, and would not 
 fufFer him to leave the prefence until a fhow of fub- 
 miffion to the favourite had been made ; he tried a 
 like attempt, lefs fuccefsful, with the lord marfhal 
 Arundel, whom he afterwards, on a frivolous pretext, 
 arrefted and fent to the Tower ; and taking the great feal 
 from lord keeper Williams, he gave it to his attorney- 
 general Coventry. " I go to-morrow," wrote Sir John 
 Suckling to Buckingham," to the lord keeper's houfe to re- 
 " ceive the great feal and be witnefs of the due difgrace 
 " of one who has been unthankful and unfaithful to your 
 " grace, and I pray that the like misfortune may befall 
 " all fuch as fhall tread in his hateful path and prefume to 
 " lift their heel againft their maker ! " * Time had not 
 yet come for proceedings againft the archbifhop Abbot, 
 but not many months elapfed before he alfo was fus- 
 pended ; and thus it was proclaimed abroad, by example 
 of four of the higheft offices in the ftate,| that whofoever 
 thereafter fhould prefume to lift his heel againft Buck- 
 
 * MS. S. P. O. 4th October, 1625. In vain poor Williams protefted 
 at this time that he was " as great a ftranger as any lord who ferved his 
 " majefty to all thofe difafFefted perfons who appeared fo oppofite to the 
 " royal ends in the houfe of commons :" in vain to the duke himfelf he 
 declared that " he defired only his love, not any efFeft thereof in fortune 
 " or honour :" in vain he afterwards prayed the king to " mitigate the 
 " caufelefs difpleafure of the duke :" he had thrown and loft the ftake, and 
 had to ftay his plotting for the prefent. He refumed it foon, but with 
 powers of mifchief coniiderably abridged. 
 
 -f- Sir Arthur Ingram, in a letter to Sir Thomas Wentworth already 
 referred to (453), had thus defcribed, on the 7th November 1625, the 
 origin of thefe extraordinary proceedings. He is writing of Buckingham. 
 " All the great officers of the kingdom be now his creatures and at his 
 " command. He hath now brought in Sir Robert Heath to be attorney, 
 " and Mr. Sheldon to be solicitor. He was, and is ^oStStA,that there luere 
 ^^ four in the higher houfe, that upon any complaint that fliould come up of 
 " him to them, they luith all their Jlrength nuould fet it fornvards thert. He 
 " is likewife pofTeffed that there was divers combined againft him in the 
 " lower houfe. For them in the higher houfe, it was my lord's grace of 
 " Canterbury, my lord keeper, my lord mar/hal, and my lord chamberlain. 
 " For them of the lotuer houfe he doth conceinje there Ruere many luho fiad 
 " their conferences ijjith thofe four bras and others that ivere Jepend- 
 " ing upon them, among ivhich you are not altogether free." Strafford 
 Defpatches, i. 28. 
 
1625-6. Eliofs Relations to Conway and the Duke. 467 
 
 ingham, might expedt the utmoft perfonal retribution 
 that vengeance could fuggeft, or power inflift. How 
 far the leflbn took efFed: on honeft malcontents in either 
 houfe will {hortly be feen. 
 
 The pofition of Eliot, notwithftanding his ftill amicable 
 relations with Buckingham's devout friend Conway, had 
 at this time been finally taken up. Nor will it feem ftrange 
 that he fhould have maintained fuch relations with the 
 fecretary of ftate to the very eve of his impeachment of the 
 favourite, if we duly weigh and confider the circum- 
 ftances. Thefe I have very carefully examined with the 
 defire only of forming a corredt judgment ; and I can 
 find no pretence for afcribing the decifion taken by 
 Eliot to any motive that was not honourable. Though 
 his perfonal inter courfe with the lord admiral had for 
 fome time ceafed, he held an office under letters patent 
 from which, except upon proved mifcondu6t, he could 
 not be fequeftered ; and the correfpond'ence he ftill con- 
 tinued with lord Conway after the decided line he had 
 taken as to subfidies, and fubfequently as to Buckingham 
 himfelf, in the fir ft parliament, fhows that however ofFen- 
 five his opinions might be to the lord admiral, and 
 however far his powers in his county might on that 
 account have been abridged by his former patron, he 
 had yet been left in pofl"effion of his office, and in the 
 formal exercife of many of its powers. In the ufe made 
 of his letters in the prefent narrative no expreffion has 
 been coloured or foftened, and the reader accuftomed 
 to the phrafeology of the time, and remembering the 
 official deferences in ufe univerfally, will find in thofe 
 letters nothing that reveals the courtier br dependant. 
 He will yet be careful at the fame time to remember, 
 that Eliot was a man of adtion thrown upon a difficult 
 period ; eager for influence in his own county ; keenly 
 fenfitive to favour or negledt; with juft fo much ex- 
 perience of office on a fmall ftage as to have developed 
 the confcioufiaefs of powers that fitted him for a wider 
 
468 //. Eve of the ConfliSl. 
 
 Book VII. 
 
 theatre ; and thruft back from all accefs to fuch honour- 
 able ambition that did not open at the portals of the 
 court. If he paufed awhile before the move that was tc 
 -clofe thefe for ever, who fhall blame him ? If, while 
 one of the conclave of the lower houfe in conference 
 with the four difaffedted lords, and frefli from thofe 
 fierce debates at Oxford in which he had taken part 
 againft Buckingham, he yet wrote to Conway as with 
 fhrong defire to further the purpofes of the king, who 
 fhali deny him the excufes of a time that made con- 
 fpiracy a duty, where ordinary men ftumbled at every 
 ftep, and the keeneft-fighted daily loft their way ? Sir 
 Benjamin Rudyard was ftill courtly and compliant, and 
 we have juft now feen him rejoicing that Philips and 
 Seymour fhould be barred out of parliament as weeds 
 that choked the harveft ; but no one queftioned his 
 honefty or patriotifm when in a few months from the 
 prefent time he took part in Buckingham's impeach- 
 ment as one of the affiftant managers. Sir Dudley 
 Digges will fliortly be with Eliot in the Tower, and foon 
 afterwards an applicant for the reverfion of the mafter- 
 fhip of the rolls ; yet he was certainly not a man either 
 dilhonourable or diihoneft, however timid he might be. 
 Sir Robert Cotton adled warmly with Eliot and the 
 patriots in the firft parliament, and at the opening of the 
 third he was tendering counfel to the king in language 
 of which the obfequious forms have yet left no im- 
 preiTion unfavourable to his uprightnefs and honour. 
 Wentworth had been marked for disfavour on the fame 
 ground as Eliot, yet he, who was to be one of the 
 leaders of the extreme oppofition in the great parlia- 
 ment of 1628, was now founding Conway, within a 
 fortnight from the opening of January 1626, as to the 
 vacant prefidency of the north, and was protefting that 
 he would not move further in it till he knew alfo how 
 his fuit might pleafe my lord of Buckingham, feeing that 
 as fuch a feal of his gracious good opinion would comfort 
 
35-36.^" Dangers Jurrounding Eliot. ^6^ 
 
 him much, and make the place more acceptable, fo was 
 he refolyed not to afcend one ftep except he might take 
 along with him a fpecial obligation to my lord duke, 
 from whofe bounty and goodnefs he not only acknow- 
 ledged much ah-eady, but under the fhadow and pro- 
 tedtion of whofe favour he defired ftill to repofe and reft.* 
 Nothing like this can be alleged of EUot. The very worft 
 to be faid of him can be faid without a blufh. He 
 deliberated before he finally determined ; when his de- 
 cifion was at length taken, to make implacable war upon 
 the man to whom in the old time he had been indebted 
 for favours, not only was the danger of fuch a courfe 
 at its higheft but the provocation was at its higheft alfo ; 
 he began his bittereft attack when the king had thrown 
 his ftiield over Buckingham, but not until Buckingham 
 had left England defencelefs and difgraced ; and when 
 once he had entered on the path fo chofen, he held it 
 unflinchingly and fearleffly, with a courage that height- 
 ened as the way feemed to darken, and a refolution that 
 never blanched or faltered. 
 
 Of his own confcioufnefs of the extent of the danger 
 that had for fome time furrounded him ;, of the precau- 
 tions taken againft it ; and of the arrangements blended 
 with thefe to make provifion for all needful informa- 
 tion in the way of his* office ; a curious illuftration is 
 afforded by a document preferved in the ftate paper office 
 in the handwriting of one of Conway's fecretaries, and 
 purporting to be an " abftradt of papers found in Sir 
 " John Eliot's chamber," doubtlefs at the time when it 
 was fearched four months from the prefent date. One 
 of thefe is headed " Sir John Eliot's inftrucftions to his 
 " agent," and bears date the 15th January 1625-6, the 
 very time-when Eliot was carrying his elecftion to the 
 fecond parliament. 
 
 According to this paper, which, though "abftrafted" in 
 
 * MS. S .P. O. Wentworth to Conway. 20th Januaiy, 1625-6. 
 
47 o //. Eve of the ConfliSf. BookVii. 
 
 MT. 
 
 fuch fufpicious circumftances,may probably be accepted as 
 genuine. Sir John had inftru(5led his agent to continue 
 either at London or at court, but fpecialiy at court, to in- 
 quire for intelligence from all parts ; and, while in London, 
 to frequent the exchange, and apply to Mr. Burlamachi 
 and certain other merchants whofe names were indicated, 
 who would be able to furnifh him with news from diftant 
 places. He was to attend the council chamber ; to ob- 
 tain notice of all fpecial and public adts, of commitments, 
 queftions, letters of dlreftlon and the like, in progrefs 
 there ; to make a daily note or remembrance of them ; 
 and when anything extraordinary was going on, either in 
 aft or preparation, he was to give Eliot fpeedy advertife- 
 ment of it. At court he was to be fimilarly watchful. 
 He was to learn diligently as well the news and paiTages 
 there, as vv'hat reached the court from abroad. He was to 
 advife Eliot of all things. He was to tell him of any altera- 
 tions going on, of intendments as to public matters, of 
 preparations of fhlps, of" prefts " that might be ordered, 
 of employments, of the arrivals of ambalTadors ; he was 
 to detail all reports as to a parliament, or privy feals, as 
 to favours or disfavours ; and he was efpeclally to colleft 
 what opinions or rum^ours were entertained upon the re- 
 turn of the fleet. For a man anxious to be armed at all 
 points, and ready for every contingency, as having 
 bufinefs in hand importing danger If at any moment 
 taken unawares, thefe Inftruftions put in praftice formed 
 certainly a perfeft code. 
 
 Special occafions are next Intimated when a convey- 
 ance was to be procured for Eliot from my lord Stanhope 
 of London, If he were In town ; or from my lord Conway 
 at court ; or from my lord prefident, as he might find 
 moft ready. He was not however too often to give 
 trouble in thofe quarters. But no packet was to leave 
 without a diary of occurrences appended thereto. The 
 agent was to keep his daily note or remembrance In fuch 
 a form — " namely, fuch a day fuch a thing happened, 
 
1625^6. InJiruSiions to his Agent in London. 471 
 
 " fuch a report was, fuch a change, fuch a defpatch, or 
 " the like " — that it might at once be filled in, fealed up, 
 and " fo annexed to the packet." 
 
 Finally, the inftrudions extended to the modes of 
 tranfmiflion in '^ ordinary paflages," in " extraordinaries," 
 and in any letters entrufted to him by friends. He was 
 to have intelligence and a good underftanding with the 
 packet mafter, both at London and the court. He was 
 to write the ordinary paflages by every conveyance : 
 Eliot being manifeftly not a man who could afford to 
 difpenfe with his daily or weekly paper, as the letter of 
 news then was. In " extraordinaries " he was to ufe the 
 prompter and more inftant way ; and the packet was 
 always to be direded in a different hand, never in his 
 own. Further, if at any time he trufled fuch letter to a 
 general packet, it was not to be diredted to Eliot but 
 to be enclofed to " Ab. Jennens ; " and, the paper con- 
 cluded, " when you fend yourfelf, acquaint my friends ; 
 " though not of the manner of your fending, yet that 
 '' you have conveyance if they will write."* One might 
 fancy fuch precautions fitlier taken in a court where 
 Amurath an Amurath fucceeds, " not Harry Harry." 
 But the proofs are elfewhere abundant, that there was 
 now no fecurity for correfpondence ; of the fpy and 
 traitor in his path, Eliot had daily experience in the 
 Baggs, Drakes, and Davyles foon to be familiar to 
 our page ; and the fadt that we owe our knowledge of 
 this very paper to a lawlefs feizure by the flrong hand 
 of power, may be fairly accepted to explain its character 
 and neceffity. 
 
 * MS. S. P. O. The name of one of the merchants mentioned with 
 Burlamachi is intimated by the letters " Ph : Ga :" and I may add that 
 incidental evidence of the genuinenefs of the paper is afforded by the faft 
 that when a queftion arofe in the fecond parliament whether or not certain 
 monies fhould be paid to Burlamachi, Eliot feparated himfelf from his 
 friends Coryton and Erie, and voted with a majority of i+8 to 123 for pay- 
 ment to the Dutch merchant, to whofe friendly fei-vice in matters of foreign 
 intelligence this paper (hows him to have been indebted. See Commons'' 
 Journals, i. 867. 
 
472 //. Eve of the ConfliSi. 
 
 Book VII.- 
 
 Another paper formed part of the fame plunder by- 
 way of "abftract," which might be received perhaps 
 with greater caution if there were really any grave impu- 
 tation conveyed by it. But it amounts to nothing more 
 than anxiety on Eliot's part to get a eolonelfhip and 
 deputy-lieutenancy in his county, alleged to be vacant 
 by Sir Richard Edgecombe's death. For this he was wil- 
 ling to incur the obligation of applying to Lord Pembroke, 
 with whom he was at this time in communication as to 
 Buckingham ; but was extremely unwilling, in preferring 
 fuch a fuit, to expofe his name to the handling of the 
 lord chamberlain's officers and dependants. He told his 
 agent, therefore, that he had written to his kinfman 
 Mr. James Eliot to folicit my lord chamberlain on his 
 behalf for the place ; and the agent was to go and prefs 
 Mr. Eliot to all the fpeedy and earneft application ne- 
 ceflary, and to tell him that if any monies were expedted 
 by thofe that are about my lord. Sir John would not 
 fpare for twenty or forty pounds, though he would 
 not be feen in that himfelf, and would bellow upon 
 Mr. Eliot as good a gelding as ever he owned. He 
 further diredted his agent to folicit earneftly one of my 
 lord chamberlain's fecretaries, if Mr. Eliot fhould happen 
 to be abfent, and to make fuch promifes as he might 
 think fit, all which Sir John would make good. But 
 to the fecretaries his agent was to carry it altogether 
 as a motion of his own, on intelligence met at Lon- 
 don, and not as coming from Sir John. The whole of 
 which, however, being writ on a particular night in 
 January 1625-6, is retraced the very next morning. 
 Sir Richard Edgcombe being difcovered to be not yet 
 dead.* 
 
 The ftory may be fa(ft or fidlion ; but at the time Eliot 
 is fo ftated to have been foliciting for a place of credit in 
 his county in the lord chamberlain's gift, it is certain 
 
 * MS. S. P. O. This paper is " abftraaed" on the fame ftieet as the 
 other. 
 
35-36^ L««i crowns the King. 473 
 
 that his county, of its own free gift, was ready to accord 
 hini a place of the higheft honour. At the time when he 
 beHeved himfelf to be excluded from Newport by fome 
 influence (probably the duke's,* but this is not pofitively 
 known), his county, through feveral of its leading men, 
 offered to bring him in knight of the ihire. But for 
 the prefent, having doubtlefs good reafons, he eledted 
 rather to be returned for his own town ; and he arrived 
 in London, once more member for the borough of St. 
 Germans, at the end of January. 
 
 III. Leading the Opposition. 
 
 Laud crowned the king, ofiiciating in place of the 
 difcarded Williams, in Wefl;minfter-hall on the and of 
 February. The ceremony was according to the ancient 
 forms, but curtailed of much of the ancient fplendour ; 
 and a fhadow as of the impending parliament feemed to 
 refl: upon the day. Sir Robert Cotton was in waiting, 
 with the book of the time of Athelftan of the four evan- 
 gelifts in Latin, on which for many hundreds of years the 
 Englifh kings had fworn their coronation oaths ; but his 
 late fervices to the commons in way of precedents, now 
 notorious, was remembered, and himfelf and his manu- 
 fcript put afide. When that portion of the ceremony 
 came at which, the king Handing bareheaded before the 
 altar, the people had to perform their part of confenting 
 to receive him for their fovereign, they were filent till 
 the lord marfhal told them to fhout. And when all 
 was over, and the king and the duke came wearily away, 
 a remark made half gravely and half playfully by 
 Charles, as Buckingham would have lent him his hand, 
 perhaps expreffed what had rifen in the minds of both 
 
 * " Buckingham had a forefight of the approaching parliament," fays 
 Mr, D'Ifraeli. " He took certain precautionary raeafuresy and was parti- 
 " cularly defirous of keeping out of the Houfe his fixture great opponent, 
 " Sir John Eliot." Commentaries i. 152. Ed. 1851. 
 
474 III- Leading the Oppofttion: bookvii 
 
 &T. 
 
 above all the pageant they had taken part in. " I have 
 " as much need to help you as you to affift me."* 
 
 Through his fundtions in the ceremony Laud had 
 gone with a fomewhat heavy heart. So preffing was the 
 need to affift Buckingham againft the ftorm expe6ted, 
 that, but a few days before the coronation, it had been 
 refolved in council to make conceffions in religious 
 matters by way of warding off or moderating political 
 difcontents. The king had accordingly taken meafures 
 againft recufants, and much incenfed the French by dif- 
 regard of fome fecret articles in the marriage treaty ; 
 while in the matter of Montagu it was decided, after 
 anxious conference at Buckingham's, to leave him to the 
 judgment of the houfes. " Methlnks," wrote Laud in 
 his diary, after making entry of that decifion on Sunday 
 the 29th of January, " Methinks I fee a cloud arifmg, 
 " and threatening the church of England. God of His 
 '' mercy diffipate 'it ! " f The prayer for the moment was 
 perhaps thought to have been heard. That cloud did 
 not break in this parliament. The ftorm for the pre- 
 fent was to fall from another quarter. 
 
 The king was prefent at the opening of the houfes on 
 Monday the 6th of February, but left his new lord 
 
 * D'Ewes's Autobiography, i. 292-3. " I dare fay," adds Sir Simonds, 
 " he meant it plainly, yet fearching brains might pick much from it." 
 
 t Works, iii. 180. Laud's troubles in conneilion with the attaclcs made 
 on Buckingham are curiously ftiown in his Diary. Shortly after the 
 diflblution at Oxford they feem to have fet him dreaming of the 
 duke and duchefs in an odd fafhion even for him. "Aug. 21, Sunday. 
 " That night, in my fleep, it feemed to me that the Duke of Buckingham 
 " came into bed to me ; where he behaved himfelf with great kindness to- 
 " wards me, after that reft wherewith wearied perfons are wont to folace them- 
 " felves. Many alfo feemed to me to enter the chamber, who faw this. 
 " Not long before, I dreamed that I faw the Duchefs of Buckingham, that 
 " excellent lady, at firft very much perplexed about her hufband, but after- 
 " wards cheerful and rejoicing that ftie was freed from the fear of abortion, 
 " fo that in due time fhe might be again a mother." " Sept. 4, Sunday. 
 " The night following I was very much troubled in my dreams. My 
 " imagination ran altogether upon the Duke of Buckingham, his fervants, 
 " and family. All feeraed to be out of order : that the duchefs was ill, 
 " called for her maids, and took her bed. God grant better things ! " 
 Works, iii. 170, 172. 
 
1625-6. Meeting of Parliament. 475 
 
 keeper, Coventry, to fpeak for him. They were called 
 together for but a fliort time, Coventry told them ; his 
 majefty hoping they would make good ufe of it, and 
 appreciate his feeling in defiring to advife v/ith them 
 immediately after the folemn rites that had wedded him 
 to his people. Sir Heneage Finch, who had become re- 
 corder of London when Coventry was made attorney- 
 general, was fuggefted for Speaker; and though his 
 addrefs on the 8 th, when prefented, was abfurd enough, 
 the king's perfon rather than his prerogative was the 
 objed of the flummery. Heneage was indeed a much 
 worthier perfon than the John, not his relative, who in 
 the next parliament, in the fame chair, was to make the 
 name defpicable.* He had obtained deferved reputation 
 at the bar, and with a dignified perfon poiTeffed very popu- 
 lar manners. He was one of the members for London. 
 
 On Friday the loth of February the houfes firft met 
 for bufinefs ; and as Eliot took his feat, he mifled of 
 courfe fome accuftomed greetings. Philips, Seymour, 
 and Coke, though pricked for fheriffs, had all been 
 returned for their counties, and meant at firft to have 
 abandoned thofe feats, and tried the queftion with the 
 court by obtaining others in different fhires. But on 
 Seymour offering Wentworth a borough in the weft in 
 exchange for one in the north,f the backwardnefs of 
 Wentworth, who had no tafte for a conflid with the 
 prerogative " out of" parliament, broke down the fcheme ; 
 
 * John's peerage died with him. Heneage died in 1631, when Littleton 
 fucceeded to the recorderftiip ; but his fon was Charles the Second's 
 chancellor, and the name ftill furvives in that better ftock. 
 
 + " I met with Sir Francis Seymour here at Reading, who remembers 
 
 " his love unto you, and did it in a very hearty manner He is very 
 
 " dellrous to be of the houfe, notwithftanding he is chofen iherifF. . . . He 
 " would .gladly that you would favour him fo much as to get him chofen 
 " for fome place in the north, and he will, if it ftand with your good liking, 
 " have you chofen in the weft. That which induceth Sir Francis the 
 " rather in this is, that he knoweth that Sir Edward Coke and Sir Robert 
 " Philips will be both returned." Sir Arthur Ingram to Sir Thomas 
 Wentworth. Straff. Difp. i. 30. 
 
476 ///. Leading the Oppojition. 
 
 Book VII. 
 
 and though Philips and Coke ftruggled on, and the 
 gallant ex-chief juftice went fo far as even to claim his 
 writ for the county he had to ferve as fheriff, he efta- 
 blifhed only privileges of memberfhip apart from the 
 right to fit, and both had finally to yield. For that 
 parliament at leaft, the court had doomed to filence 
 the moft eloquent and the moft learned of all the 
 utterances remembered in parliaments of the paft ; but 
 only, as Eliot in his memoir has written and was doubt- 
 lefs thinking that day,* to fhew how fufficiently, upon fo 
 great a want, even their places might be filled. Ply- 
 mouth had again returned his friend Glanvile, nerved 
 for better fervice under the punifhment whereby the 
 court had hoped to difable him. Pym again fat for 
 Taviftock ; Selden was returned for Great Bedwin ; Mr. 
 Littleton fat again for Carnarvon ;j- the ornate and fluent 
 Digges, in as much refentment as befeemed fo courtly a 
 temper ut the favourite's treatment of his " father " the 
 kind archbifhop,:}; once more reprefented Tewkefbury ; 
 and Sir Robert Manfel, not refenting only the negleft 
 of his veteran claim and fervice but alfo more recent 
 proofs of Buckingham's fpite and anger, fat for Gla- 
 morgan.§ No want of eloquence, or learning, or good 
 indignation here. 
 
 * Ante, 443-4-. 
 
 t Browne Willis makes the return for Lempfter, but this is a miftake ; 
 and generally careful as his returns are, they are never wholly to be 
 relied on. 
 
 X " He was publicly employed," fays Abbot of Sir Dudley, in his narra- 
 tive (Rujti'worth, i. 451), " one time to the Hague, a fecond time to 
 " Mufcovie, and thirdly into Ireland, about affairs of the ftate ; fuch opinion 
 " was then held of his good endeavours. And for ray own part, ever fince 
 " the days of Queen Elizabeth, I have been nearly acquainted with him. 
 " He was my pupil at Oxford, and a very towardly one ; and this know- 
 " ledge each of other hath continued unto this time. He calleth me father, 
 " and I term his wife my daughter ; his eldeft fon is my godfon ; and their 
 " children are in love accounted my grandchildren." 
 
 § " Againft Sir Robert Manfel's patent for making of his glaffes, being 
 " /lis chief li'velihood and only reiuardfor all his fer'uices, there is a writ of 
 " two warrants brought, by which it will be forfeit to the king if his 
 " great enemy may prevail againft him." Stutevile to Mede, 4th Novem- 
 ber, 1615. 
 
I62S-6. jvifte; and Old Faces in the Commons. atj^ 
 
 35-36. T/ - 
 
 Nor had Eliot to look round in vain for other faces, 
 friendly and refolute. Mr. Hampden of Great Hamp- 
 den is here for Wendover, Sir Oliver Luk'e for Bed- 
 fordfhire. Sir Thomas Grantham for Lincoln, William 
 Strode for Plympton, William Coryton for Cornwall, 
 Walter Long for Wiltlhire, Sir Walter Erie for Lyme, 
 and Sir Bevil Grenvile for Launcefton. His friend Sir 
 Robert Cotton had not obtained a feat ; but his old fel- 
 low-labourers. Sir Edwin Sandys and Sir James Perrot, 
 fat again for their former conftituencies, though they 
 yielded now their preeminence in fpeaking to himfelf and 
 younger men. His countryman and friend, Henry 
 RoUe, one of the greateft lawyers of the time, who lived 
 to write the famous Abridgement* zxA to adminifter juftice 
 under the commonwealth and council of ftate, took his 
 feat for Truro ; and among other noticeable men of that 
 profeffion were Wentworth of Oxford, Sherland, mem- 
 ber and recorder for Northampton, Bulftrode Whitelocke, 
 whom Stafford had fent to begin his long and bufy 
 career, Herbert, who fat for Downton, Whitby, member 
 and recorder for Chefter, Noye, who again reprefented 
 Helfton, and Sheldon, who fat for Bridgnorth and had 
 fucceeded Heath as folici tor-general. Of courfe his old 
 conflituents had returned Rudyard ; Eliot had again been 
 interefled in bringing in Marten as his colleague for St. 
 Germans ; Sir Thomas Wentworth had fent, to reprefent 
 himfelf as well as the borough of Richmond in York- 
 fhire, his friend Mr. Chriftopher Wandesforde ; and old 
 Sir John Savile for the laft time fat in Wentworth's feat. 
 The other northern men, including keen old Sir Thomas 
 Hobby who had fat in feveral parliaments of Eliza- 
 beth, muftered as on former occafions ; and a word may 
 be added of two new names, whofe owners made them- 
 felves during the fitting briefly famous. Sir Edward Coke 
 
 * Which, I may remark, Sir Mathew Hale edited with a noble eulogy 
 on its author's learning, moderation, patience, juftice, and defpatch ; 
 admitted " even by royalifts," and rendering him a faultlefs judge. 
 
47 S ///. Leading the Oppofttion. Bookvii, 
 
 ^T. 
 
 had fent in for the borough of Aylefbury his fon Clement, 
 who managed forcibly to reprefent alfo his father's ill- 
 humour ; and a very clever though eccentric phyfician, one 
 Samuel Turner, for many later years a dodor attendant on 
 the court ladies who all confulted and laughed at him,* 
 was now to make his firft attempt in politics as member 
 for Shaftefbury in Dorfetihire. He reprefented the fame 
 place afterwards in the long parliament, and was very 
 harmlefs. 
 
 The privy councillors had not loft ftrength, if they 
 had not gained any, in this parliament. Heath's pro- 
 motion to the attorney-general fhip had removed him 
 from their ranks in debate, but they had been reinforced 
 by the new vice-chamberlain and member for Haftings, 
 Sir Dudley Carleton, an ancient diplomatift of amazing 
 experience in foreign countries, with the drawback of 
 having had fmall experience in his own. Sir John Cooke, 
 having filled his purfe by marriage to a rich city widow, 
 was now become one of the principal fecretaries on Sir 
 Albert Morton's death, and had been returned by 
 Cambridge univerfity. Sir Robert Naunton fat for 
 Suffolk, in disfavour with the court for having advifed 
 agalnft fome late proceedings ; j- and Sir Humphrey May 
 again for Leicefter. Sir Richard Wefton fat for Bodmin ; 
 and Sir Thomas Edmundes, remarkable as one of the 
 fmalleft men in the houfe as well as one of the fharpeft, 
 and whofe age had quenched none of his vivacity, repre- 
 fented the univerfity of Oxford. They had not many 
 followers to depend upon ; but among the moft ftaunch 
 and reliable were the three formerly named, and whom 
 
 * In the ftate paper office there is a letter addreffed by Sir Kenehn Digby 
 to Conway (Strafford's friend), I think about 1640, giving a rather ludicrous 
 piflure of Turner. It bears, I may add, a charaifteriftic indorfement by the 
 late Mr. Croker. 
 
 f " Sir Robert Naunton, for fpeaking his mind freely and honeftly 
 " againft new projefls, is turned out of his lodgings at court ; and, if 
 " fomebody's power continue as great as his will, ihall be cafhiered of his 
 " mafterfhip of the wards," Stutevile to Mede, 4th November, 1625. 
 
35-36^' Speech by Eliot on Grievances. 479 
 
 their conftituencles had again returned, Mr. Drake, 
 Mr. Mohun, and Sir James Bagg. 
 
 The committees for privilege, religion, and the courts 
 of juftice * having been appointed, and feveral fuggeftions 
 adopted for regulation of their proceedings, upon 
 the naming of the committee of grievances an opinion 
 was expreffed that its duties fliould be taken under 
 feparate heads. The new fecretary thereupon reminding 
 the houfe of his majefty's hint as to time ; and that un- 
 reafonable flownefs, at fuch a period of neceffity, might 
 produce as ill effed as denial ; Eliot promptly arofe, 
 faid he had a motion to fubmit, and took the place wliich 
 all feemed ready to concede to him. Our fole knowledge 
 of this fpeech hitherto, derived from allufions in private 
 letters and half-a-dozen lines in the journals, has pre- 
 fented it as a general invecflive on the recent national 
 difgraces, " eagerly aiming at but not naming " their 
 caufe ; f but I have now recovered the fpeech itfelf, and 
 find it to be of much larger fcope in the way of counfel 
 and policy. The invedive is quite fubordinate to the 
 defign, which was to warn the parliament at their be- 
 ginning, by examples of deceptions pradtifed and lofTes 
 incurred in former fittings, of the only fafe courfe by 
 which they could now fecure themfelves. The fpeech is 
 throughout a pradical fummary of the leflbn he had 
 
 * See ante, 235. Pym, who was chairman of the committee on religion, 
 duly reported from it to the houfe an able and powerful charge againft 
 Montagu (Kujlinuorth, i. 209-12), from the confequences of which he was 
 only faved by the more important impeachment taken up, and the fudden 
 diflblution it occafioned. On the very day of that diflblution articles of 
 impeachment againft Montagu had paffed their final ftage, and were ordered 
 to be engroifed. Journals, 14th June : i. 871. 
 
 t Letter of the nth Febraaiy 1625-6 (MS) S. P. O. Mr. John 
 Millington, in a letter to his brother in the fame collei5lion, defcribes the 
 effeft Sir John Eliot had produced by drawing attention to the king's 
 wants in connexion with the examples of paft expenditure, and the ill- 
 fuccefs of the Spanifh voyage. And Mede writes to Stutevile, that at the 
 very beginning. Sir John Eliot, the vice-admiral for Devonihire, defired 
 that there might be account given for all monies fupplied fince J623, 
 laying to the mifmanagement of affairs the lofs of thoufands of men's lives 
 in our late expeditions by land and fea. 
 
480 ///. Leading the Oppofition. BookVII, 
 
 JS.T. 
 
 drawn from the fcenes he has defcrlbed in his Negotium, 
 
 exprefTed with fingular force. 
 
 " Mr. Speaker," he began, " I have obferved In the 
 paflages of this day the divers motions that have been 
 made and the excellence of their intendments. I have 
 called to mind the proceedings here of former times. I 
 have remembered the affections and endeavours of our 
 predecefTors. I have with myfelf revolved, and 
 (what in fo fhort a time occafionally I might do) I 
 have caft up, what fucceffes, what iflues, they have 
 had ; and from thence have drawn a conlideration to 
 ourfelves what we may now expert, and what courfe 
 we may bell hold. For, from thence, there may be a 
 conjedture made unto our prefent hopes ; the effeftand 
 confequence of all adls being implied in the judgments 
 of their entrance and profecution. Herein the latter 
 times, I doubt, have failed either through precipitation 
 and too much hafte, or by impatience and importunity 
 preventing their own defires. Yea, preventing them 
 by the too much affedtionatenefs and earnellnefs of the 
 defire. As is noted of the Samians in like cafe, for 
 preffing upon Meander. Cui jujliffimo virorum violenti 
 ejje non licuit, faith that ftory. They urged their fuit 
 fo violently upon him that they gave him no time to 
 anfwer or grant it, being willing. In all things. Time 
 and Order are of bell advantage ; the one the meafure, 
 the other the weight, of all proceedings ; and the 
 greateft prejudice or hinderance in bufinefs that can 
 happen, comes by anticipation or diforder. For if there 
 be not time, nothing can be done ; and without order 
 and diredlion, there can be made no ufe of time. And 
 this I believe we have heretofore feen verified in our- 
 felves ; whether by art fo contrived, or incidentally 
 following our own overfights, I will not judge. But 
 the effedts do fhow it, that we fuffered ! We fufFered 
 in the laft, we fuifered in the former parliament. I 
 will not enumerate all our fufferings that way. I will 
 
1625-6. Redrejs of Grievance before Supply. 48 1 
 
 *' merely make an intimation for your memories, how 
 " the times have flipped us ; how they overpafled us 
 " before we could conclude, nay before we could almofi 
 " begin, the bufinefs we came for. The bufinefs we 
 " came for, did I fay ? No, I am there miftaken. That 
 " we difpatched betimes, if not too foon ! The bufmefs 
 " it is we Jhould come for, I mean ; the country's bufi- 
 " nefs, the public care, the common good, the general 
 " affairs of king and kingdom : not the mere fatisfaftion 
 " of any private ends or hopes. Thefe have overflipped 
 " us ; thefe have paiTed befide us ; though not without 
 " mention, yet without effed." 
 
 After this very ftriking exordium Eliot proceeded to 
 fay that he was not going then to begin a fearch or 
 fcrutiny as to how thofe things had been governed and 
 direfted. But with what modefly he might, and with- 
 out diflionour to fo great a council, he would even afTume 
 the occafion to themfelves ; and that it was their own 
 facilities, their own credulities, that had deceived them. 
 From thence he would then be bold to derive fome ob- 
 fervations for the future ; " aye, and for the time 
 *' we are now in ; " how they might fort it, and how 
 manage it, to their beft advantage and the common 
 good. And firfl; he would make one general propofition, 
 which he fliould afterwards reduce into fome particulars : 
 with confummate art proceeding thus : 
 
 " And that is for fupply. Sir, I am for fupply ; 
 " fupply of means for the country ; fupply in govern- 
 " ment ; fupply in juftice ; fupply in reformation ; 
 " fupply in aid of our long negleifted grievances ! I am 
 " for infifting that thefe things may begin our labours ; 
 " that we may fettle this ; that we now prepare it, that 
 " we prefent it ! Nay, I will go further, that we attend 
 " and take our anfwers before we admit, in other things, 
 " either treaty or debate. But methinks I hear fome 
 " Courtier faying to me, you go now too far. You ex- 
 " ceed your limits. It is not a parliamentary courfe you 
 
 VOL. I. I I 
 
482 III. Leading the Ofpofttion. Bookvii. 
 
 propofe. You have no precedent for it. I crave 
 him pardon that fpeaks or thinks it. If I err, it is 
 out of love, not out of flattery ; and though I am not 
 warranted, yet I am induced, by former pradifes ; if 
 changing of perfons do not change the cafe. Did we 
 not, the laft parliament, freely give that feffion to the 
 king, upon the promife and aflurance of his word to 
 have the next for us ? Did we not, in the parliament 
 before, do the like ? And in both have we not ex- 
 preffed as much faith and love as could be expeded 
 from poor fubjedts ? Did we not, in the 1 8th of king 
 James, grant two fubfidies which were prefently con- 
 firmed, and part without a feffion ? Have we not, on our 
 fide, ended with truft enough, thofe three times, to en- 
 dear the credit of our fovereign ? May we notjuftly 
 challenge it as in that refpedt deferved, to have his ma- 
 jefty now begin with us ? For is it not the fame in reafon 
 as for us to begin with him? Surely it is. The bufinefs 
 is the fame. And, though there were no law of retalia- 
 tion, this would perfuade and move it ; that what is the 
 country's, is the king's, good. Thofe that will diftin- 
 guifh or divide them, I dare be bold to fay are neither 
 good fcholars nor good flratefmen ! As we, then, have 
 broken precedents for the king, let it not feem ftrange 
 we fhould now defire the king may do the like for us. 
 Let us receive fome fruit of all our confidence and 
 hope, that we may fend it as a fatisfadtion to our 
 countries. And as I know it will afi^e6l them, it fhall 
 hearten me to flrain myfelf hereafter wholly unto the 
 king's defires, this being granted now. Which gene- 
 ral I fliall therefore defire you to take into your 
 memory and confiderations, as that which may prepare, 
 nay, that which muft aflure, our paflage to the reft. 
 And that, according to this, we may the better hufband 
 our time and bufinefs, I will hence defcend into fome 
 particulars which I conceive next fit for your refolu- 
 tion. Wherein, part I will take from that that has 
 
1625-6. W'ajie and Exhaujiion of the King's Revenue. 483 
 
 " paffed now ; part from the memory of our laft con- 
 " fultations ; and part I will add as it fhall be neceflary ; 
 " in all fubmitting to your greater judgments, either to 
 " be altered or reformed." 
 
 The councillors by this time were doubtlefs aware 
 that his majefty had gained Kttle by filencing Sir Ed- 
 ward Coke. Eliot now prefented, in clear and mafterly 
 defcription, what in the laft parliament that learned 
 and experienced perfon had demonftrated refpedting the 
 king's eftate : how ill that had been hufbanded or fpent 
 which was gotten with grievous injuftice to the fubjedt; 
 and what a profligate wafte there had been of all which 
 might have fpared the fubjedt. Admitting it, he faid, 
 as moft neceflary to them in point of fafety that there 
 fhould be ever a fufficient means to fupport the ftate and 
 dignity of fo great a majefty, and to fupply him on all 
 occafions with power and ftrength as well to abate his 
 enemies as to proteft his friends, he alked whether any 
 one fitting there could doubt that what in the elder and 
 better time had gone in aid of that object, had of late 
 been wholly turned from it. "Through whole occafion," 
 he continued, " I fpeak not now : but what prejudice in 
 " this particular we have had ! What lofles we have 
 " fuftained, lofl"es abroad, lofles at home, lofl'es to our 
 " friends, lofl"es to ourfelves ! How the king's treafures 
 " have been exhaufted, how his revenues are impaired, 
 " how his reputation is lefl*ened. In what ftrait our 
 " gracious fovereign has been left as to his eftate, who 
 " has power to fpeak it, who has heart to think it, with- 
 " out an inward bleeding of his foul for fo much wrong 
 " to majefty fb long time unpunilhed ! Thejaurus 
 " regius anima reifublica. The treafure of the king is 
 " the life of the fubjedt. Hurt that, you wound the 
 " kingdom. Cut ofi^ the king's revenues, you cut ofi^ 
 '' the principal means of your own fafeties. You not 
 " only difable him to defend yau, but you enforce that 
 " which then you conceive an offence — the extraordinary 
 
484 III- Leading the Oppofttion. ^°°'^ ■^n- 
 
 ^T. 
 
 " refort to has fubjedls for fupplies, and the more than 
 " ordinary ways of raifing them. Sir, this in former 
 " times has not been thought unworthy of the confidera- 
 " tion of parliaments; neither have our kings taken it to 
 " be difhonourable to remit to them that care ; but, as 
 " their eafieft and fafeft ways, have with fuch help from 
 " parliament wifely own filled their coffers. And to what 
 " extent indeed this has been pradbifed here, how it has 
 " been ufed in other parts, and what refumption of lands, 
 " what accounts of officers, what infinite reftitutions, 
 " have been by that means made to the crowns, I ihall 
 " be bold to tell you when needful upon the more par- 
 " ticular debate hereof^ together with what in this par- 
 " ticular I conceive to be fit by way of redrefs and 
 " remedy." 
 
 The next fubjedt handled by Eliot brought the matter 
 nearer home. It was incident and unavoidable, he faid, 
 to their confideration of the alleged urgency of the pre- 
 fent wants of the ftate, that they fhould enquire as to 
 the outlay of what former parliaments had voted ; and 
 reminding the houfe that he had himfelf been a member 
 in the twenty-firft of the late king, and could fpeak to the 
 conditions on which the fubfidies and fifteens had then 
 been given, he declared it to have become in his judgment 
 eflential now to have the account of that expenditure 
 exadtly rendered. By its too long delay, they already 
 had fuifered much both for the honour and wifdom of 
 that place, and in the general misfortunes. And from 
 the tone Eliot takes in this remarkable portion of his 
 fpeech, it is clear that the double check was always in- 
 tended as formerly I have defcribed it (in a paflage * 
 written before this manufcript by Eliot was difcovered) ; 
 and that, while the king was to have advice from a 
 fecret council in the condudt of the war, the houfe, by 
 means of their own commiffioners, were not only to ad: 
 as treafurers of the king in regard of preventing expen- 
 
 * Ante, 158. 
 
^^s-l^.' Account of Exfenditure demanded. 485- 
 
 diture other than for the ftrlft purpofe, but were to dif- 
 allow all outlay that went beyond the ftated and fpecific 
 objedt for which hoftilities had alone been undertaken. 
 ' I confefs," he went on, " there was an entrance made to 
 ^ it here laft parliament, and a fhow of profecution was 
 ^ continued at Oxford ; fome mention there was of the 
 ' accountants, but without effed: ; fome general anfwers 
 'were taken, as of the treafurers and part of the 
 ' council of war ; but for the reft, and the particulars, 
 ' they were not prefled, but left as things forgotten. 
 ' What is this but to make a parliament ridiculous I to 
 '■ pretend integrity and zeal for the common caufe,. and 
 ' to defert it ? to draw the judgment of the houfe into no 
 ' regard ? Confifts virtue only in fhow or word ? Is 
 ' it a difcharge of our duties in this place to Jeem 
 ' affediionate and careful, not to be fo I Do thefe walls 
 •^ comprehend our duties ? and muft they not extend 
 '■ beyond them ? Pardon me, I befeech you pardon me, 
 ' in fpeaking freely. I fhall as freely do the fervice you 
 '■ command me. It ftands not with our honours, it 
 ' ftands not with our gravities in this place,, to be noted 
 ' carelefs or uncertain ; and I befeech you, once again, 
 ' it may not fo feem in this. The reafons at this time 
 ' for preffing the accounts,, are more than ordinary ; 
 ' and the weight and greatnefs of it, I believe is much 
 ' miftaken. To me it is no fmall fear that the former 
 ' omiffions have occafioned much of that prejudice 
 ' in our affairs which has happened fince ; and the 
 ' extent and reach of the account, now, I take to be fo 
 large, as it involves the confideration of our late 
 adventure, and the fearch of the caufe of our unhappi- 
 nefs therein. For, as I underftand it, both from recol- 
 ledting our intentions in pafTmg the adt with fuch con- 
 ditions, and from the word and letter of the adb 
 itfelf, not only the money but the fervice in which it 
 is employed fhould be accounted for ; and, therein, not 
 the treafurers and council of war alone, but all others 
 
486 III. Leading the Oppofition. 
 
 Book VII. 
 
 /ET. 
 
 " who by office or command fhould have intereft in the 
 '' fervice, were to be examined of their carriage, doings, 
 " and proceedings, and to receive fuch judgments from 
 " the parliament as their caufe might merit." 
 
 The orator had thus brought his hearers naturally to 
 the fubjed: of which it is probable that all were as eager 
 to hear that day, as few were willing to be the firft to 
 fpeak — the difgrace that had fallen on their arms, and 
 the end of all the mighty " preparation." " And now, 
 " Sir, I befeech you," faid Eliot, himfelf yielding at laft 
 to the paffion for which he had well prepared his 
 lifteners, yet even now with wife felf-control not nam- 
 ing, but only pointing at, the author of their fhame, 
 " caft your eyes about ! View the ftate we are in ; con- 
 " fider the lofs we have received ; weigh the wrecked 
 " and ruined honour of our nation. Oh, the incompara- 
 " ble hopes of our moft excellent fovereign, checked in 
 " their firfh defign ! Search the preparation ; examine 
 " the going forth ; let your wifdoms travel through the 
 " whole adlion, to difcern the fault, to know the faulty. 
 " For I prefume to fay, though no man undertook it, 
 " you would find the Ancient Genius of this kingdom 
 " rife up to be accufer ! Is the reputation and glory of 
 " our nation of a fmall value ? Are the walls and bul- 
 " warks of our kingdom of no efteem ? Are the num- 
 " berlefs lives of our loft men not to be regarded ? I 
 " know it cannot fo harbour in an Englifh thought. 
 " Our honour is ruined, our fhips are funk, our men 
 " perifhed ; not by the fword, not by the enemy, not by 
 " chance; but, as the ftrongeft prediftions had dif- 
 " cerned and made.it apparent beforehand, by thofe we 
 " truft. Sir, I could lofe myfelf in this complaint. The 
 " miferies, the calamities, which our weftern parts have 
 " both feen, and ftill feel, ftrike fo ftrong an apprehen- 
 " fion on me. But the particulars are too many to be 
 " inftanced now. In their times they will appear more 
 " fully, as incidents to that account for which I now 
 
IttL^' Late Mijcarriages at Sea. 487 
 
 " have afked, and which, if we confent to flight or over- 
 " pafs, may our fufFerings evermore corredb us !" 
 
 He was now, he told the houfe, about to clofe ; but, as 
 if remembering fuddenly the pretence made at Oxford 
 that all the fubfidies given for the war had been fpent 
 before the Cadiz preparation, he quietly difpofed of that 
 argument as any excufe for the difafler, and then in dig- 
 nified ftrain concluded. " Perchance, Sir, it will be faid 
 
 that this concerns us not. Our money was long fmce 
 '■ fpent in other aftions, and nothing remained to this. To 
 '■ prevent the objedtion, I will make this anfwer. I know 
 '■ nothing, fo profperous or good in thofe former adtions 
 ' that may extenuate, much lefs excufe, the faults of this. 
 ' And this, I am fure, falls within the compafs of thofe 
 ^ ends to which our money was given. For, beiides the 
 ' general of war in which it is included, it was in point 
 ' contained in our fourth particular, the fetting forth of 
 
 the navy. Nay, it is the particular itfelf that was in- 
 '■ tended ; and I am fure our money advanced, if it did 
 ' not conclude, this preparation. That makes it a proper 
 
 fubjedl of the account, and I hope in conclufion, may 
 ' make it profitable both for his majefty and us. Upon 
 ' thefe particulars, therefore, I will contradt my motion ; 
 ' this of the war account and that of the king's eftate. 
 ' I defire there may be a fettled order for their handling ; 
 ' that days may be prefixed to take them into confider- 
 '■ ation ; and that committees thereto may be efpecially 
 '■ appointed, from which nothing fliall divert them. So, 
 ' by fuch feafonable and timely beginning, may we have 
 ' a happy period and conclufion ; and, by fuch order, pre- 
 ' ferve our times free from interruption, and produce 
 ' fomething worthy the expedtation of the country, and 
 ' our own labours. And the general fuggefl:ion which 
 ' at firfl: I made, I would not have forgotten ; that until 
 ' thefe /hall be perfeSled, and fuch other matters as /hall be 
 ^ necejfary for thefupply of the country, no mention, nor. 
 ' overtures, nor motion, for others to be taken ; but that the 
 
488 III. Leading the Oppojition. 
 
 Book VII. 
 
 S.T. 
 
 " common cauje may have a full precedence. Which, out 
 " of an affedtionate and pious care to fecure the ways in 
 " which we are to walk, to prevent thofe preventions 
 " under which we have heretofore fo much fuffered, and 
 " to preferve the mutual honour and interefts of my 
 " prince and country, I now muft humbly move." * 
 
 Eliot had fcarcely refumed his feat when Sir George 
 Goring jumped up and afked what he meant by the word 
 " courtier," upon which Sir John was heard to explain 
 himfelf. So the journals tell us, f and upon that nothing 
 more is imparted. Perhaps the unconfcious eagernefs 
 with which a member known as a model courtier \ 
 betrayed upon the inftant his dread that the word would 
 carry an imputation, may be accepted as evidence of the 
 effed: produced by the fpeech : but a more decifive proof 
 is afforded by the fadt that every fuggeftion made in it 
 was adopted ; that the houfe entered immediately upon 
 the path fo impreffively marked out for them ; and that 
 great as was the prefTure they underwent, both within 
 and without their walls, nothing afterwards drew them 
 finally from it. A minifter at the head of an over- 
 whelming majority could not have had his terms accepted 
 with more implicit acquiefcence. What was determined 
 as to fupply, we fliall fhortly fee. Now it was refolved, 
 upon Eliot's motion, that befides the committee of 
 grievances of which Mr. Whitby was chairman, having 
 fub-committees of inquiry to report to the houfe under 
 fpecial heads, there fhould be a committee for fecret 
 
 * From the original preferved among the MSS. at Port Eliot. 
 
 -f" Here is the entry (i. 871), which includes alfo the entire of what was 
 known until now of Eliot's fpeech: — " Sir Jo. EUyott propoundeth, firft,, 
 " in general, the fupply for the country for relief of their grievances, &c. 
 " For particulars, i. The confideration of the king's eftate. z. The 
 " account of fix fubfidies and fifteens granted 21 Jac. and therein 
 " (as included) the examination of the carriage and mifcarriage of the laft 
 " fleet. 3. Mifgovernment, mifemployment of the king's revenues, mif- 
 " counfelling, &c. Moveth a fpecial committee to take a confideration 
 " thereof Sir Geo. Goring taketh exception to the word ' courtier.' Sir 
 " Jo. EUyott heard, to explain himfelf" 
 
 X Ante, 156. 
 
35-36 Preparing the Charge againfi Buckingham. 489 
 
 affairs over which Mr. Wandesforde was to prefide, 
 combining evils, caufes, and remedies, to be in like 
 manner feparately taken and reported. Each fubjefb, 
 exadtly as Eliot had moved, was to have its fpecial hand- 
 ling and appointed day ; and befides the " condition 
 " of the fubjeft in his freedom," including fuch matters 
 as loans, impofitions, and monopolies, and the levy of 
 tonnage and poundage without parliament, the invefti- 
 gation was to comprize " the ftate of the king in the 
 " conftant revenue of the crown," the " accounts under 
 " diredtion of the treafurers and council of war appointed 
 " by parliament," the " late ill-fucceffes and loffes of 
 " reputation," and " the employment or wafte of 
 " treafure, in fums granted, how in particular fpent, and 
 " by what advice, the laft three years." * In a few days 
 all thefe committees were in operation; Eliot's unre- 
 mitting aftivity in connexion with them difplaying itfelf 
 in various ways, and above all in the fearlefs energy 
 with which he dragged into light the fcandalous ftory 
 of the St. Peter of Newhaven. 
 
 A quantity of papers exift ftill at Port Eliot, throwing 
 light upon thefe unparalleled exertions. They fhow 
 how thoroughly in all refpedts Eliot led this parliament, 
 and was the life and foul of its proceedings. It is im- 
 poffible to print them in detail, but they will fupply to 
 my narrative from time to time illuftrations of much 
 importance. Occafionally, too, in the vivid glimpfes 
 they afford of what was pafTmg not alone in fecret 
 committees, or in fittings with fhut doors, but in more 
 private and perfonal conference apart from the houfe. 
 
 * Thefe " heads of grievances to be laid open," from which I have 
 quoted above, will be found ftated in Rujhiuortk (i. 207-9) ^^ the refult of 
 the firft few days of the fitting, in apportioning duties to the committees. 
 (See alfo Pari. Hiji. vi. 423-5.) Even to fuch details under " the king's 
 " revenue " as " how abated by grants of penfions, and by gifts or lands 
 " and no valuable confideration," and how far " this may be revoked," 
 the carrying out of what we now know to have been Eliot's immediate 
 fuggeftion is minute and remarkable. 
 
49° ' III. Leading the Oppofition. '^°°'^ ^"' 
 
 srr. 
 
 they aflume a ftriking intereft. They eftablifli, for 
 example, that Hampden, though he took no prominent 
 pubHc part as yet, and his name has never been con- 
 nedled with the profecution of Buckingham, was yet 
 ardently engaged in it as Eliot's friend and counfellor. 
 It is from a paper in rough draft wholly in the hand- 
 writing of Hampden, and fuperfcribed " The Caufes," 
 that Eliot, in feveral notes and memoranda folded up 
 within it, appears to have drawn as from a brief the 
 feveral fubjedls to which he applies his marfhalling of 
 proofs and evidence. But a brief extrafb will explain 
 this better than any defcription ; will fhow the charadher 
 of the preparations made by Eliot ; and, accepting this 
 as only one fpecimen of fome fcore and upwards in 
 which the fame " caufes " are further difcriminated and 
 digefted for fubfequent difcuflion at committees, will 
 enable the reader to judge of the confcientioufnefs and 
 labour with which the cafe was got up againft the great 
 delinquent. 
 
 From Hampden's paper of " caufes " I take the fol- 
 lowing : " I . The increafe of papifts and the countenanc- 
 ' ing of them. 2. The narrowe feas and the coaftes 
 ' have not bene garded fmce the breatch of the treatyes 
 ' w"" Spayne. 3. The pluralityes of offices in any one 
 ' man's hand. .4. The intercepting, the unneiTary 
 ' exhaufting and mifimploying the king's revennewe. 
 ' 5. The fales of honor in general!. 6. The confer- 
 ' ring of honor upon fuch whom the king's revennewe 
 ' dothe maintayne. 7. Bying of places of judicature 
 ' in the commonwealth. 8. The deliverye of our fhipps 
 ' into the hands of the ffrench w*''^ were imployed 
 ' againft Rochell. 9. Impofitions upon commodityes 
 ' in generall both native and forrayne w*out aflent of 
 ' parliament." (A " caufe of ftopp of trayde " is added 
 and ftruck out.) " 10.. The mifimployment of y'= 
 '' monye given by the a6t of parliament and not im- 
 ' ploying the monye according to the 4 ends expreffed, 
 
I62S-6. Papers by Eliot and Hampden. 491 
 
 " in the aft." To which I add one of the papers of 
 memoranda by Eliot, of which as many as a dozen 
 might be given in connexion with thefe " caufes " 
 alone. 
 
 " To the I "• The increafe of papijis and countenancing 
 " of them. 
 
 " Occafioned by y^ D fpecially in the 
 " north parts in bringing in popifh 
 " governors, and men ill-afFedted in re- 
 " ligion to commiffions and authorityes. 
 
 f " Lo. Scroope, prefident 
 " Inftances. j Lo. Rutland, juft. in eire. 
 |_ Lo. Dunbarr, deput. juft. 
 in eire from Trent, 
 northwards. 
 
 " The efFeds prov'd in Yorkfhire, wher in x° James 
 " ther were but 1 200 papifts convict : fince y" Lo. 
 " Scroope's coming thither prefident, 1600 encreaCd. 
 
 " This caufe the caufa caufarum ! a fpirit moving 
 " betweene the K and his commiffions ; betweene the 
 " K and his promifes ; the K having, to the petition of 
 " the LI. and us, declar'd himfelf ag" it. 
 
 " To the 2''- The narrow feas not gardedftnce y" breach 
 " of y" Sp. treaties.* 
 
 " The keeping of y^ narrow feas y" duty of 
 " y*" Admirall. Y° Admir" upon all occafions 
 " of neceflity or wants muft repair to the 
 " Counfell.f Y^ Counfell muft affift. 
 
 * In another very elaborate paper Eliot lays down from old authorities 
 and records the duties and obligations of the lord-admiral in regard to that 
 " foveraigntie of the narrowe feas and iles " whif h he proves to have been 
 " acknowledged to the K. of England by Spaine, Almaine, Zeeland, 
 " Holland, Freezland, Denmarke, Norway, Genoa, and divers places of the 
 " emperor." 
 
 f The king's privy council, that is. 
 
492 III. Leading the Oppofition. Bookvii. 
 
 M.T, 
 
 " My Lo. Duke has not complain'd to the Counfell, 
 " and has not requir'd advife or help. Therefore, 
 " &c. &c. 
 
 " Nor could want be the caufe. Three fubfidies 
 " given — 21° — Two fince. The monies upon y° st. of 
 " to. and po.* amounting to &c. &c. Granted 
 " pperly and wholly for that end. Y* fubfidie of to. 
 " and po. in Ireland in his owne coUedtion, and therefore 
 " might that way be juftly imploi'd. 
 
 " Naie, at the fame times in w*" we ftood in need and 
 '' fuftained fnoft lofs (as laft fummer, w° upon order of 
 *' y" counfell for 6 or 7 fhips to be fent doun into the 
 " weft to fecure that coaft ag' the Turks, thofe fhips 
 " foe order'd could not be fuffer'd to goe), there was 
 " monie enough for 8 prime Ihips of the k™ to be fent 
 " to be caft away ! 
 
 " To the f- Plurality of Offices. 
 
 " Y^ D. Lo. Admirall, 
 
 " Lo. Warden of Ports, 
 '' W of Y" Horfe, 
 
 " Either one fufficient for one man. 
 " Y* Admirall and y° Warden antiently lookt one 
 " upon another, and either feverally for the K""- 
 " Now, thofe 4 eyes put into 2. 
 
 " I. Too much for one man's care, 
 " &c. &c. 
 
 " 2. Too much for one man's truft 
 " or power, and therefore in this 
 " pticuP a fpeciall caufe not only 
 " of our evills but feares. 
 
 " Honor a reward. Men induftrious in hope of 
 " p'^ferm*"- Thofe places being poffeff'd by one 
 " takes away y" occafion of indeavor. 
 
 * Statute of Tonnage and Poundage. 
 
1625-6. Grounds for the Duke's Impeachment. 493 
 
 35-36, 
 
 cc 
 
 To the 4"'- Intercepting, unnecejfary exhaujiing, and 
 " mijimploying of the Ks revenewes. 
 
 " In embaffies. Extraordinary rewards to ambafla- 
 " dors beyond the proportion of former times. 
 " Misimployingj in refpedb of great charge and 
 " expenfe of ambafladors that are not of eftate 
 " themfelves. Whereas formerly men of great 
 " eftate, &c. &c. Y° great rewards of thefe men 
 *' beyond antient proportion : when Barons had 
 " but 4 pounds, P.C's 4 marks, per diem. Inter- 
 " cepting, in the taking up of y^ monies due upon 
 " tonnage and pound, to other ufes. 
 
 " To the £"•■ Sales of Honor. 
 
 " Honor the reward of virtue. Makes men in- 
 " duftrious. Former warrs maintained w"" lefs 
 " charge for them. Gent" in hope of honor, w*'' 
 " could not be acquir'd otherwife, put themfelves 
 " into thefe adtions. Now foe cheap and eafie, 
 " made contemptible. Men having noe other 
 " means to acquire a name, purchafe honor. 
 
 " Obs. Difficulties of former times. 
 " Inftance : Lo. Burleigh, &c. 
 
 " Men of fmall eftate purchafing honor fall into 
 " neceffity and foe'diftionor. 
 
 " Sale of 2 in Ireland to a knight and a 
 " baronet. One gott a vicounty and the 
 " other an earledom. 
 
 " y° places and roomes of honor fupplied w"" men 
 " of mean and poor parts for finging or dancing : 
 " men of worth refufed. 
 
 " Sale proved by inftance. Y' Lo. Roberts 
 " p'^ 10,000/. Witness, Jo. Kofuggan. 
 
494 III- Leading the Oppofttion. ^ ^°°^ '^"^ 
 
 MT. 
 
 " To the 6*' Honors confer" d upon men w™ the K's revenewes 
 " mufi maintayne. 
 
 " Antiently honors were not conferr'd but upon 
 " men of good eftates. To men of fmall eftate 
 " other rewards were fitted to their worth w* they 
 " might maintayne. 
 
 " Inft : A grant of lands to y" Lo. Audly 
 " after y® battaile of Agincourt, w"*" he gave 
 " away to others, himfelf not needing it. 
 
 " Lords in y^ upper houfe forbidden y^ pari', having 
 " not eftates fufEcient to their honors, and therefore 
 " not to be trufted in a place of foe great judg- 
 " ment. Now, men of mean condition and noe 
 '' eftate raif 'd to honor and greatnefs which other- 
 " ways they could not get. 
 
 " Inftance : Y^ whole family 
 " of the D. 
 
 " His mother, 
 " Lo. Anglefey, 
 " Lo. Purbecke, 
 "■ Lo. Denbigh, 
 " And his fonnes." 
 
 It is remarkable to obferve in this paper, fingle exam- 
 ple as^it is of many fimilar notes of preparation, the germ 
 of fome of the moft ftriking fpeeches afterwards de- 
 livered againft Buckingham, not by Eliot only, but by 
 fellow managers and accufers who had drawn their infpi- 
 ration from him. 
 
 The councillors and minifters had been offering mean- 
 while no effedtual reliftance, probably taken by fur- 
 prife at fuch fudden and unaccuftomed energy. Two 
 examples may be prefented of their manner of meet- 
 ing the charges advanced, both taken from note's in 
 
1625-6. Manufcript Notes by Eliot. 455 
 
 Eliot's handwriting* of committee proceedings, as to 
 which no other record exifts. The firft was upon proof 
 offered by Ehot, as in the paper above quoted, that 
 the narrow feas had not been well guarded. The not 
 keeping a fufficient navy of competent fliips on our coaft, 
 he faid, was the caufe of Our enemies infefting us. To this 
 Sir John Cooke replied, that by order of the council a com- 
 petent number had been appointed. Eliot rejoined that 
 he could not accept this anfwer for proof that the fhips were 
 actually fent. On one occafion, by the king's diredtion, 
 the council made an order for certain fhips to be fent to 
 defend the weftern coafl, which order was delivered to Sir 
 John Cooke and by him kept.-\ Hereupon the fecretary of 
 flate begged the committee to remember that he had re- 
 ceived the order in queflion as one of the commifTioners 
 of the navy, and he had told the lords, on receiving it, 
 that there was no money in hand to carry it out, but 
 that if they would provide money the commifTioners 
 would provide fhips. Eliot to this made bitter rejoinder. 
 To what ends the money had been fpent, he faid, he 
 knew not ; but the end to which it was given, and ton- 
 nage and poundage were voted, was for defence of our 
 coafls, and for that efpecially. But he had further to 
 remind the fecretary that there were fhips at that time 
 adbually ready upon the feas, of which Jome had been fent 
 to Rochelle that might have done the fervice required. 
 The fecretary faid no more, and upon queflion a refolu- 
 
 * I have found two fets of thefe, both referring to the proceedings of 
 this parliament, headed refpeftlvely " N. 5. Extraft. ex. origin, diar. com. i» 
 " Car " and " N. 6. Minutes of y' Houfe of Commons 1° and a" Car," and 
 ftiall quote them from time to time as Eltofi Notes. They supply informa- 
 tion of much intereft not contained in the Journals or elfewhere, and efpe- 
 cially of what from time to time tranfpired when the houfe fat with its 
 doors locked. They contain, of courfe, much alfo fmce printed in the 
 Journals, and which had evidently been copied from the clerk's books ; but 
 for matters of this kind I do not quote them. They are only given here 
 when they relate what is not to be found elfewhere. 
 
 \ See ante, 320-321. 
 
496 ///. Leading the Oppofttion. ^°°'^ '^u- 
 
 tion pafled that the narrow feas had not been well 
 guarded.* 
 
 The fecond was alfo upon a report by Eliot from 
 one of the fub-committees to Wandesforde's committee, 
 upon the employment of Englifh fhips againfl: the pro- 
 teftants of Rochelle. He ftated, upon handing it in, 
 that the duke's fecretary, and his chief inftrument in 
 the tranfadtion, Mr. Nicholas, had upon examination 
 confefTed to have done all by diredions without com- 
 miffion ; that the diredions had been both by word and 
 in writing ; but that he refufed to tell what they were, 
 being matters of ftate. This called up Sir Robert 
 Manfel, who faid that their kings had never ufed to take 
 without confent any fhips of the fubjedl to ferve a 
 foreign ftate, nor had ever any of the king's fhips before 
 now been handed over to foreigners : upon which Sir 
 John Eliot again rofe to fubmit a formal refolution, 
 charging the duke as refponfible for the adt and therein 
 guilty of a fourfold wrong, to the merchants, to the 
 ftate and kingdom, to the parliament, and to the king. 
 Then interpofed Sir James Bagg, with a feeble attempt 
 to ftay the vote ; telling the committee, that, being 
 lately with the duke, he had let fall fome words that he 
 doubted not but to clear the imputation for thofe fhips ; 
 but becaufe there was matter of ftate in it, he thought it 
 not fit to be done publickly ; yet, if the houfe would 
 appoint two or three, he would do it to them. Sir 
 James in his zealous humility having added, however, 
 that he had no commifTion to fpeak this, the committee 
 took him promptly at his word, pafTed Eliot's refolution, 
 and declared the duke refponfible.f 
 
 As each committee thus enquired and reported, much 
 excitement prevailed. From each came, day by day, 
 to the grand committee for evils, caufes, and remedies, 
 its quota of wrongs under one or other of the four 
 
 * Eliot's Notes, n. 5, fol. 6, a and b. + Ibid. fol. 15, a and b. 
 
1625-6. 2"A^ One Grand 'Delinquent. 457 
 
 divifions : prodigality and malverfation in the king's 
 revenue ; mifappropriation of tlie fubfidies of parliament ; 
 fcandalous new burdens and illegal levies on the fub- 
 jedl ; and, from the laft three years' management of the 
 ftate, not only difgraces and defeat abroad but fhames 
 and difhonour at home. The council of war and trea- 
 furers were called; and in fpite of refiftance from the 
 king, from the duke, and every member of the council 
 except Manfel, the commons eftablifhed their right of 
 examining accounts of their own fervants, by ftatute 
 appointed with that condition, and Lord Conway and 
 the reft had to make return to Sir Dudley Digges, Sir 
 Thomas Hobby, and Sir John Eliot.* 
 
 But as the " evils " daily accumulated thus, the 
 " caufes " and the " remedies " were concentrating and 
 narrowing into one. To one delinquent each report 
 pointed as the caufe, and there only could lie the remedy. 
 But what was to be done ? " Better for us," cried Mr. 
 Clement Coke, in the one famous exclamation which 
 has procured for him a corner in hiftory, " better to die 
 " by our enemies abroad, than to fuffer from an enemy 
 " at home ! " Yes, but how deal with the enemy ? in 
 what form proceed to bring the feveral charges under 
 one accufation ? The diverfity and complication of 
 oiFence was the ftumbling-block. It was not as with 
 Bacon or with Middlefex, where individual accufers 
 came before the houfe with allegations and proof of 
 wrong. There was in this cafe no time to proceed 
 feparately by proof under fpecial inftances, and without 
 laying fuch ground of proceeding the ultimate purpofe 
 might be barred. From the very circumftance that every 
 one accufed arofe the difficulty of finding an accufer. It 
 was their wealth that made them poor. 
 
 # S. p. O. MS. Dom. Cor. nth March, 1625-6. There was a fo- 
 called compromife, whereby the council were to attend the commons and 
 to give account of all their difburfments, but not to divulge their counfels. 
 The latter, however, had in reality not been demanded. 
 VOL. I. K. K 
 
498 in. Leading the Oppofttion. b°°k "^"^ 
 
 JS.T. 
 
 Then ftepped forward the medical member for Shaftef- 
 bury with a prefcription he thought fuitable to the cafe. 
 He had prepared, and now handed in upon a paper, fix 
 queries that might perhaps affift them. They were to 
 alk : Whether the duke, as lord admiral, were not the 
 caufe of the lofs of the king's royalty in the narrow feas ^. 
 Whether exorbitant gifts to him and his kindred were 
 not the caufe of the crown's impoverifhment ? Whether 
 the multiplicity of offices in him and his incapable 
 dependents were not the caufe of the kingdom's evil 
 government ? Whether his own inclinings, and the 
 known papiftry of his mother and his other kindred, were 
 not the caufe of favor to recufants .'' Whether the 
 ftiames arifing from fales of honours, offices, places of 
 judicature, and ecclefiaftical promotions were not caufed 
 by him ? And whether, being admiral and general of 
 the fea and land army, he were not the caufe of the late 
 difgraces to their arms, though he' had himfelf ftayed at 
 home ? Becaufe, faid Doctor Turner in conclufion, all 
 thefe " are famed to be fo." The inference of courfe was, 
 that common fame might in fuch a cafe be accufer, and be 
 a good ground for further proceeding, there or elfewhere. 
 
 It was not the do(5tor himfelf, however, who gave it 
 that fhape. It was EHot. He at once declared himfelf in 
 favour of taking fuch a ground. The Duke of Suffialk 
 had been fo charged in Henry the Sixth's time. He fur- 
 ther remembered, and the worthy gentleman would cor- 
 rect him if this were not true, that the now chancellor of 
 the duchy fo informed the commons, when they fat in 
 that houfe together during the 1 2th of James, in charging 
 divers " undertakers " who had been brought in queftion.* 
 Sir Humphrey May made no reply; but upon Sir 
 Robert Harley aflcing whether a member there might 
 upon common fame inform againft a perfon of the upper 
 houfe, the Speaker interposed and objeded that the 
 
 * See ante, 23-26. 
 
1625-6. y^^ y^^;^ ^j ^g I)o£ior Turner. 499 
 
 author of thofe queries had not made a diftind: propo- 
 fition, but only whether fuch and fuch things were fa. A 
 man might charge any other with wrong to the common- 
 wealth or himfelf, but might not put in an enquiry 
 whether fuch a man committed fuch an offence or no. 
 Time was therefore ordered to be given to Do6tor Tur- 
 ner " to colleft himfelf." * The doftor, it is probable, 
 never again in that fenfe colleded himfelf The ground 
 laid upon his fuggeftion became afterwards of much im- 
 portance ; but the doftor had no tafte for martyrdom^ and 
 upon the firft hint of that importance by complaint from 
 the king, he wrote to the Speaker that he was very fick, 
 and if he fhould go to his grave before the debate came on 
 he hoped they would clear him as an honeft Englifhman. f 
 But not yet has this fubjed reached the king, though 
 he has found occafion to make other complaints. Early in 
 March, Wefton had carried to the houfe a fecond meffage 
 for fupply, to which the anfwer made accorded ftri6tly 
 with Eliot's advice. With devoted loyalty they told 
 the king, that, for his fervice and the fafety of his realm, 
 they were now difcovering the caufes and propounding 
 
 * EUofs Notes, n. 5, fol. 7, a. What had thus occurred is only now- 
 revealed to us by thefe notes. A fad jumble has been made of the matter 
 in Rufliiuorth (i. 218), where the fubftance of what Eliot had faid is given 
 to Turner himfelf, and the occurrence ajtogether mifdated and mifreported. 
 There can be no doubt of the authenticity of Eliot's note (wherever he 
 refers to himfelf he either leaves a blank or puts his initials) ; and it is 
 curious and interefting, becaufe it exhibits Doftor Turner in what clearly 
 was the condition moft natural to him, of having had honour thruft upon him 
 rather than of deiignedly achieving it. As the fails are ordinarily ftated, 
 it feems unaccountable that he fhould rife above the furface fo fuddenly only 
 to plunge yet more rapidly down again; but he probably by no means under- 
 ftood the entire drift or bearing of his queries when he handed them in, and 
 certainly the " found himfelf had made " very much frightened him after- 
 wards. I may further ftate, that when, Eliot's rooms were fearched fome 
 fix weeks after the prefent time, a copy of the " Six Queries " was found 
 in his handwriting, and is now in the ftate paper office ; and it will not be 
 out of place to add that Sanderfon, who had a court appointment and to 
 whom Turner was doubtlefs well known, fays of him {Life of Charles, 20) 
 " one Turner, a mean mad doftor of phyfick, who got a room in the 
 " houfe for fuch like rants — alas ! poor doflor, he did but gape and had 
 " this clamour put into his mouthy 
 
 t Rufhnjoorth, i. 218-219. Tart Hill. vi. 434. 
 
foo III. Leading the Oppofition. ■^°°''^"' 
 
 the remedies of certain great evils ; and that in connedtion 
 therewith they meant to affift and fupply him in an ample 
 meafure. Hereupon Charles himfelf wrote to them ; an 
 autograph letter, if ever fuch was written. He was well 
 pleafed, as he faid, that they fhould fpeak of their griev- 
 ances in a parenthefis (which they had not done), and not 
 as a condition (which they had) ; and he told them that 
 after a vote of fupply he fhould be ready with re- 
 drefs ; but " I muft let you know," he continued, fud- 
 denly letting loofe the thought he could no longer maik or 
 controul, " that I will not allow any of my fervants to be 
 " queftioned amongft jou, much lefs fuch as are of emi- 
 " nent place and near unto me. . . I fee you efpecially aim 
 " at the Duke of Buckingham. I wonder what hath fo 
 " altered your afFeftion towards him ? . . . What he hath 
 " done fince the laft parliament of my father's time to 
 " alter and change your minds, I wot not ; but can 
 " aflure you he hath not meddled or done anything con- 
 " cerning the public or commonwealth but by fpecial 
 " directions and appointment, and as my fervant. . . I 
 " would you would haften for my fupply, or elfe it will 
 " be worfe for yourfelves ; for if any evil happen, I 
 " think I fhall be the laft that ihall feel it." The only 
 remark . made upon the reading of this letter which 
 has been preferved, is that which fell from Eliot. 
 " We have had a reprefentation of great fear," he faid, 
 " but I hope that it fhall not darken our underftandings."* 
 The king's letter was referred to a committee of which 
 Sir Dudley Digges was chairman, with inftrudlions that 
 report ihould be made therefrom on the 27th of March. 
 It was the day of the king's inauguration, or as we fhould 
 now call it, his accefTion, being the day in the previous 
 year on which his father died ; and it was refolved that 
 the vote of fupply fhould then be taken. 
 
 * This remark has hitherto been jumbled up with another fpeech, to 
 which it did not belong. See RuJItivorth, i. z2o, and compare with the 
 real fpeech of the 27th March to be hereafter given. 
 
1625-6. cj;i^g 1^1^^^ j^^^y Mejages. 501 
 
 Meanwhile the king had fent another meiTage, angrily- 
 complaining of Clement Coke's exclamation about the 
 enemy at home, faying that he had been put out of all 
 patience by Dodor Turner's foolifh impudency, and de- 
 firing juftice immediately to be done on thefe two delin- 
 quents. Nothing came of it, it is faid ; except that Mr. 
 Coke flood up to clear himfelf of any ill intention.* But 
 the little that did come fhowed the abfence of any defire 
 in the houfe unfairly to fcreen its members, and Eliot has 
 thought it worth reporting.f Enquiry being made, it 
 was found that Mr. Coke had not fpoken the words as * 
 charged, nor anything feditious ; but that fome words he 
 had fpoken which difpleafed the houfe, which might re- 
 ceive ill conftrudlion, and for which therefore he muft 
 fubmit to cenfure. J The queftion raifed by Do6tor 
 Turner was hereafter to be difcuffed. 
 
 In the few bufy days that had yet to interpofe before the 
 27th of March, the purfuit of the great delinquent was 
 continued with unabated zeal. It is worthy of note, 
 however, that an attempt made on the 24th of March to 
 give effedt to one of Turner's queries, and by refolution 
 declare the duke's complicity with his Roman-catholic 
 kindred in popifh projedts, was negatived.§ On the fame 
 day, with greater fuccefs, Eliot carried four refolutions 
 againft him. The firft concerned neglects in his office 
 of lord admiral, imperilling the narrow feas. The fecond, 
 the multiplicity of his offices ; as to which, confining 
 himfelf to only two out of the fcore by way of illuftration 
 of the danger, Eliot declared ftrongly his opinion, that for 
 the fame man to be lord admiral having command of 
 
 * Pari. Hijl. vi. 432. The fame is in the Journals. On the other 
 hand fee Pari. Hiji. vi. +65. 
 
 f Eliofs Notes, n. 5, fol. 6, b. 
 
 X Reference is made to the matter, and this report confirmed, in the 
 commons' reply to the king of the 5th of April. Pari. HiJl. vi. 465. 
 
 § Eliofs Notes, n. 5, fol. 9, 4. In the difcuffion that took place, it 
 would feem that Pye, Fanftiawe, Whitaker, and Savile ftrongly oppofed the 
 refolution. 
 
502 in. Leading the Oppofition. 
 
 Book VH. 
 
 -ffiT. 
 
 their fliips, the walls of the kingdom, and alfo lord 
 warden of the cinque ports having cuftody of their 
 harbours and forts, the lock and key of their fafeties, was 
 too great and dangerous a truft for one man. Such 
 offices were not compatible in one perfon. The third 
 concerned the buying and felling of honours and titles ; 
 and the fourth the ennobling of mean perfons, with no 
 provifion for the rank of nobility.* On a fubfequent day 
 Eliot carried other refolutions upon the buying and felling 
 of judicial offices, and the intercepting and exhaufting of 
 the king's permanent revenue ; out of which he offered 
 proof that there had been iffued publickly to the duke, 
 " befides the private door," in little above two years, 
 ninety-one thoufand five hundred and twenty pounds. 
 Eliot's unwearied energy was at the fame time fo 
 ftrikingly fhown in the St. Peter of Newhaven enquiry, 
 and this was attended by circumftances that elicited with 
 fo much force and vividnefs his dauntlefs courage, that 
 the fubjeft calls for feparate treatment. 
 
 Before paffmg to it, the prefent pofition of Lord 
 Briftol in relation to the king and the duke requires to 
 be briefly noticed. 
 
 The king had by this time gravely involved himfelf 
 with the houfe of lords. At the commencement of the 
 feffion Briftol had felt that at laft his time was come, and 
 that now, if ever, the difclofures muft be made which the 
 king and duke had lived in conftant fear of fince the day 
 of his arrival from Spain. His writ of fummons, denied 
 him for two years, during which he had lived under 
 reftraint and in enforced retirement at Sherborne, was 
 fent to him on his application ; but with a letter forbidding 
 his attendance ftill, on pain of the royal difpleafure. The 
 refult of his referring this letter to his fellow peers, 
 with a demand for permiffion to arraign the Duke of 
 Buckingham of high crimes and mifdemeanours,f was an 
 
 * Eliofs Notes, n. 5, fol. 9, a and b. 
 
 t The fudden alarm of the king, and the lengths to which he was pre- 
 
i6z5-6. ^rrgfi gf i^g^^ Arundel. 503 
 
 order from Buckingham to the attorney general to charge 
 the Earl of Briftol at the bar with high treafon. The 
 lords thereupon voted to hear each charge in fucceffionj 
 and both were to be heard accordingly. 
 
 The king's weaknefs of charafter, and obdurate obfti- 
 nacy of temper, were now remarkably exhibited. * He 
 had a fpleen ftiU unfatisfied againft the lord marfhal 
 (Arundel) ; he knew that he held eight proxies, and 
 could exert confiderable Influence in fuch a cafe as 
 Briftol's ; and he feledled this time for ordering his 
 arrefl; on the plea that he had favoured his fon's marriage 
 (without royal licenfe) to the Duke of Lennox's daughter. 
 He was aftually, while the peers fat, committed to the 
 Tower. But the adtion of the lords thereon was fo prompt 
 and decifive as to aftonlfh even more than it enraged 
 the king. Having voted the arrefl a breach of privilege, 
 they immediately addrefled the fovereign^ claimed dur- 
 ing their fittings, fubjedt only to their own votes, freedom 
 from arrefl; as of right in all cafes but felony or treafon ; 
 on the king's evafively replying addrefled him again and 
 again ; refufed to hear the attorney general in fupport of 
 the prerogative ; compelled the king to yield after a 
 
 pared to go in perfonally influencing a decifion againft Briftol, appear in a 
 paragraph of Laud's Diary far more fignificant for what it leaves unfaid 
 than for what it fays. " April zz, Sunday. The king fent for all the 
 " biftiops to come to him at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. We waited upon 
 " Vvm, fourteen in number. Then his majefty chid us, that in this time of 
 " parliament we were filent in the caufe of the church, and did not make 
 " known to him what might be ufeful, or was prejudicial, to the church ; 
 " profeffing himfelf ready to promote the caufe of the church. He then 
 " commanded us that in the caufes of the Earl of Briftol and Duke of 
 " Buckingham, lue fhould folloiu the direSiion of our oivn confciences, being 
 '^ led by -proofs, not by reports." {JVorks,ii\. ittj.') This was immediately 
 after Briftol's petition to the lords, and a full week before the crofs charges 
 were formally preferred. 
 
 * " I have," fays Roger Coke, another of Sir Edward's fons, " heard 
 " my father (though not a courtier, yet acquainted with many courtiers) 
 " fay, that they would oft pray to God that the prince might be in the 
 " right way where he fet, for if he were in the wrong, he would prove the 
 " moft wilful of any king that ever reigned." DeteSlion, i. an. ■ 
 
504 in. Leading the Ofpfition. BookVii. 
 
 ^T. 
 
 three months' ftruggle ; and on Arundel refuming his 
 feat received him with a burft of cheering. 
 
 How little all this had helped either duke or king 
 through the difficulty with Briftolj it needs not to fay. 
 The crofs charges of the king againft the earl, and of the 
 earl againft the duke and Conway, the latter being included 
 in a fubfequent proceeding, occupied the lords for the 
 greater part of the feffion ; and are only to be referred 
 to here for the king's extraordinary and unfuccefsful 
 eagernefs to prote6t himfelf againft Briftol's difclofures. 
 He appealed to the houfe not to give the earl equality 
 with the duke by a hearing ■pari pajfu ; he attempted to 
 remove the cafe to the king's bench, fo as to clofe his 
 mouth as a witnefs ; he made feveral efforts to deprive 
 him of counfel ; but the lords defeated him on every 
 point, each peer voting as determinedly as if the cafe might 
 next day be his own. And fo at laft the expofure came. 
 The alleged treafon of Briftol broke down altogether, 
 and ferved only to elicit an eafy reply. The alleged du- 
 plicity and falfehood of Buckingham, and by implication 
 of Charles himfelf, were eftabhflied incontrovertibly. 
 Briftol, a very able man, conduced his cafe with fkill 
 and temper : * and offered proofs, which to this day 
 remain untouched by any later evidence, of the defign on 
 the prince's religion for which the Spanilh journey 
 was contrived ; of profligate and infolent condudt on the 
 
 * Briftol appears only once to have been betrayed into expreffions con- 
 veying an imputation which he felt that he could not prove ; but the cir- 
 cumftance of his having even taken up the fufpicion of foul play in regard 
 to the death of James, Ihows how widely diffufed the fufpicion was, and 
 that it was not mere perfonal rancour in Eliot to refer to it as he will ihortly 
 be feen to do. Alluding to the promife which king James had given him 
 that he fhould kindly liften to his cafe, Briftol had added, " I pray God 
 " that that promife did him no hurt,/o?- he died Jlwrtly after.'''' But he 
 craved pardon for the expreffion on a fubfequent day, and confefled it to 
 have been ufed in paffion. The intereft taken by Eliot in the queftions 
 raifed both by Arundel and Briftol is Ihown by collections, among his 
 papers at Port Eliot, of precedents and authorities applicable to each, drawn 
 from the earlieft as well as from later time, and elaborately written out with 
 his own hand. 
 
35-36^' Grievances of French Merchants. 505 
 
 duke's part at Madrid ; of the fudden rupture of the 
 treaty of marriage folely from perfonal refentment ; and 
 of the falfehood and mifreprefentation by which both the 
 Englifh parliament and the Englifli king were afterwards 
 deceived. He left it to his judges to remember for 
 themfelves that the prince of Wales had been a party to 
 the deceit. 
 
 The duke never replied to thofe proofs. He faid 
 afterwards he was too bufy in preparing his reply to a more 
 formidable accufer. To the latter I now return. The 
 more formidable accufer reprefenting the Englifh com- 
 mons, and warmly preffing home the cafe of the St. 
 Peter of Newhaven, has put him on his defence in a 
 matter too fharply engaging his feelings, and too deeply 
 involving his agents, to be met by the indifference and 
 fcorn he had afTumed in deahng with Briftol. 
 
 IV. The St. Peter of Newhaven. 
 
 The courfe taken by Eliot in the matter of the arrefl 
 of the French fhip, the St. Peter of Newhaven, has now 
 to be defcribed. How flrongly he felt upon it we have 
 feen ; and in the many reprefentations, petitions, and com- 
 plaints urged upon him by "merchants trading with 
 " France," and preferved among his papers still, we feem 
 to have fo many yet living witnefTes accounting to us for 
 that flrength of feeling. One of the firft notices given by 
 him had relation to the fubjedt, and he was named chair- 
 man of a feleift committee to enquire into the feizure and 
 arrefl of Englifh goods and fhips In France. On Wed- 
 nefday the 22nd of February he reported from this 
 committee to the houfe for the firfl time. In a flatement 
 which appears to have been liflened to with extraordinary 
 Interefl. The pafTages became fo crowded as he fpoke 
 that It was necefTary twice to clear them, and Laud thought 
 the matter one of fo much moment that he dates from 
 it all the fubfequent heats and excitement. " Wednefday, 
 
So6 IV. The St. Feter of Newhaven. bookVii. 
 
 JLT. 
 
 " and the feftival of St. David," he writes in his diary, 
 " a clamour arofe in the houfe of commons againft the 
 " Duke of Buckingham, more particularly for ftopping 
 " a ihip called the St. Peter of Newhaven after fentence 
 " pronounced. From that day there were perpetual heats 
 " in the houfe." * 
 
 The fads, as brought out in fucceffive examinations 
 by Eliot, were certainly ftarthng. The St. Peter, con- 
 veying filver, gold, and jewels to the value of forty 
 thoufand pounds fterling, was taken at fea by the duke's 
 cruifers in the latter end of September ; and, on the mere 
 poffibility of Spaniards having fome intereft in her or 
 her lading, was brought into Plymouth, and without 
 condemnation by any judge or court, ftripped of fome 
 of her moft valuable contents of which the duke's fer- 
 vants took pofTeffion, and was then fent up with the 
 refidue to the Tower. The indignation of the French at 
 once declared itfelf by the feizure, on the 7 th of De- 
 cember, of two Englifh merchant fhips at Newhaven: 
 and fo fharp. In confequence, was the immediate prefTure 
 upon the council from other Englifh merchants, that 
 upon an order made, a decree for reftoration of the 
 fhip and goods was obtained from the admiralty. The 
 date of the decree was the 2,8 th of December, and the 
 releafe of the fhip was to take effed: on or before the 
 26th of January. Neverthelefs it was delayed ; and on 
 the 6th of February, to the confternation of all who had 
 ftirred in the cafe, the fhip and goods were declared to 
 have been again arrefted by the lord-admiral, with the 
 confent and authority of the king. But further French 
 reprifals rapidly fucceeded ; the excitement became too 
 great to be fafely refilled ; and after further preffure on 
 the council, the refult was a new decree from the admi- 
 ralty-court reciting the former order, ftating that its 
 execution had been delayed to admit of the examination 
 
 * Works, iii. 183-4. 
 
jj!^^^" Extortions of Bagg. 507 
 
 of additional witnefTes, and that fuch witneffes having 
 been examined, the fhip was now to be releafed and 
 reftored to its owners. It did not however feem that 
 the reftoration had even then been honeftly made Some 
 of the jewels originally taken had been appropriated paft 
 recall ; and Sir James Bagg, again a member of the houfe, 
 was alleged to have played a difcreditable part on the 
 duke's behalf in extorting confent from the Frenchmen 
 for compromife, on payments inadequate to the lofs, of 
 feveral unlawful abftraftions made by the duke's officers. 
 It was not denied, in the oppofmg ftatements of Buck- 
 ingham and his friends, that confiderable fums of money 
 had been taken out of the fhip ; but it was averred that 
 no regard had been had to the duke's private advantage 
 in the tranfadtion, that the money was fhown publicly to 
 the king, was thence committed to the keeping of the 
 marfhal of the admiralty, Mr. Gabriel Marfli, and was 
 afterwards employed for the king's fervice. It was the 
 repeated ufe of the fovereign's name, and the manifeft 
 determination of Buckingham to throw the refponfibility 
 from himfelf upon Charles, which rendered the cafe 
 difficult and dangerous of handling. 
 
 But Eliot never retreated before a danger of that kind. 
 In his firft report to the houfe he ftated the fads ; de- 
 clared himfelf fatisfied upon the evidence that, in one 
 inftance Sir James Bagg had extorted from one of the 
 Frenchmen, " as a ftranger againft his will," confent to 
 forbear his right to 150/ upon payment of 80/; drew 
 attention to the facft that the three feveral grounds of the 
 king's authority, information from the governor of the 
 Tower, and confent of Sir Henry Marten, had been 
 pleaded for the arreft on the 6 th February ; and recom- 
 mended the houfe to hear Mr. Secretary Cooke as to 
 the firft point. Sir Allen Apfley upon the fecond, and the 
 worthy and learned judge of the admiralty upon the 
 third. But Eliot had hardly ceafed when Marten rofe ; 
 to the furprife of the houfe avowed himfelf to be in no 
 
5o8 IV. The St. Peter of New haven. 
 
 Book VII. 
 
 JS.T, 
 
 degree refponfible for the courfe taken by Mr. Secretary 
 Cooke and others of the king's fervants in the matter ; 
 and challenged further enquiry. Then followed fharp 
 fpeeches from Cooke and the chancellor of the ex- 
 chequer ; and, upon Sir Allen Apfley being called in the 
 following day, he embroiled matters ftill further by de- 
 claring that he never, as governor of the Tower, fent in- 
 formation or advice to the duke that could have juftified 
 the fecond ftay of the fhip. Similar evidence was given by 
 the lieutenant of Dover caftle. In this condition the 
 queftion was left, when the houfe (at a very late hour) 
 broke up on Thurfday the 23 rd. 
 
 It was refumed on Wednefday the firft of March, 
 when, after further report from Eliot, a remarkable fcene 
 enfued. It began by Marten repeating his ftatement that fo 
 far from having advifed the fecond ftay of the ftiip, Mr. 
 Burlamachi could teftify to his having been ready even to 
 grant an attachment, if required, againft all concerned in 
 the arreft ; to which he added that, though upon the 
 duke's previoufly applying to him for advice he certainly 
 had faid a fecond ftay might be made " upon pregnant 
 " proofs," he had at the fame time " advifed my locd duke 
 " to beware of whifperers." This called up Mr. Secretary 
 Cooke, who admitted that he had at the council table 
 maintained the right of feizing the ftiip, and alfo its policy, 
 but that if he had erred in doing this, it was by the counfel 
 of Sir Henry, who was fpecially brought by the duke him- 
 felf that day to the council board. Whereupon Marten 
 ftarted up " and denied giving the advice ; and Sir John 
 " Cooke affirmed again that he did ; " and Marten of 
 courfe made further appeal. " If the houfe believes Sir 
 " John Cooke, he cannot be an honeft man ; and if he 
 " affirm it, he muft conteft with him." * Then friends 
 interfered, as is ufual in fuch cafes ; and the unfeemly 
 difpute clofed with a modified admiffion from the fecre- 
 
 * Commons'' Journals, i. 8i6. 
 
1625^6. Examination of Gabriel Marjli. 509 
 
 tary, that ftridtly fpeaking it could not perhaps be faid 
 that Sir Henry had advifed ftaying the ihip, though 
 certainly the ftay was confirmed on his advice.* Marten 
 never had been forgiven by the duke and the fecretary 
 fince his fpeech in the former parliament, and this was 
 now but the firft payment of the grudge they bore him.f 
 Faffing this perfonal difpute, however, Eliot kept 
 attention fixed to the various fafts in the cafe implicating 
 the duke, his agents, and his officers. He prefTed fo 
 ftrongly the imputation of difhoneft dealing with the 
 Frenchmen that Sir James Bagg was at laft impelled to 
 addrefs the houfe, and to deny that he had been a party 
 to any compofition for the coin feized by the admiralty 
 marlhal. That fpeech was delivered in the afternoon of 
 Wednefday; and on Thurfday morning the 2nd of 
 March, on the motion of Eliot, Mr. Gabriel Marfh was 
 brought to the bar by the ferjeant. As marfhal of the 
 admiralty he could not deny that the money taken had 
 been handed to the duke. He could not ftate its exa6l 
 amount becaufe it was "fewed up in a girdle." He 
 confefled that befides the gold and filver, pearls and 
 emeralds had been feized, and " the pearls and emeralds 
 " he hath ftill." He did not attempt to conceal that 
 " it was by Sir James Bagg's perfuafion " he fought to 
 efFedt a compromife with the Frenchmen, upon the final 
 decifion of the admiralty court in favour of the fhip. 
 He had offered 80/, and " ftill thinketh it to be more 
 " than the piftolets came to." Had he offered lefs, then ? 
 He was preffed upon that point. Had the Frenchman 
 charged him, in the prefence of a member of that houfe, 
 with having offered as little as 5/ ? He was unable fo 
 far to tax his memory ; whereupon Eliot rofe and in- 
 formed the houfe that he had himfelf been prefent, in 
 Plymouth, at a conference of thefe unfortunate French- 
 
 * " That he faid not. Sir H. Marten gave advice for ftayingof the ihip; 
 " but that the ftay was confirmed upon his advice." Journals, i. 827. 
 j See ante, 335-337- 
 
CIO IV. The St. Peter of Newhaven. Eookvii, 
 
 AT. 
 
 men with the duke's officers, when " the Frenchman 
 " affirmed to Mr. Marfh his face, that he firft offered him 
 " 5/, and then 10/, and fo did rife by fives till he came 
 to 80/." Worthy Mr. Gabriel Marffi had hoped to 
 do honour to Sir James Bagg in his own defpite by 
 fathering a handfome propofal upon him, and now Eliot 
 turned the laughter and fcorn againft both. He feems 
 to have had little difficulty in obtaining a vote that day 
 ordering " the duke to be apprifed that the houfe defires 
 " to be fatisfied why, after the legal difcharge of the 
 " Peter, the fame was again ftayed."* 
 
 On Monday the 6th of March, the duke appeared at 
 the bar accordingly, reprefented by Heath the attorney 
 general, to explain what was required of him. He ad- 
 mitted the order at the council board for difcharge of 
 the fhip, and his own direftion for her ftay; but the latter 
 was not given, he faid, until after confultation with, and 
 authority from, the king. He had alfo fortified himfelf, 
 before interference, with the fandlion of five or fix 
 learned civil lawyers. The judge of admiralty had no 
 doubt declared that proofs would be required to make the 
 fecond ftay legal, and upon failure of thofe proofs the 
 fhip had been reftored. What more did the houfe defire ? 
 Already the French had done mifchief to Englifh com- 
 merce greater than any of which pretence on their part 
 had been made. He protefted againft their carrying 
 further what was " not now a particular or perfonal 
 " caufe but a national controverfy." After the attorney 
 general had ceafed, many members fpoke, and con- 
 fpicuously one of the weftern gentlemen, the duke's and 
 Bagg's friend Mr. Drake ; but though extraordinary 
 exertions were made to drop the affair at this point, and 
 the inconvenience of proceeding with it after the fpecial 
 averments made was vehemently preffed by the king's 
 fervants in the houfe, it was ultimately referred " to the 
 " committee to confider of the anfwer of the attorney 
 
 * Journals, i. 829. 
 
1625^6. yf Majority for the Duke. 511 
 
 " general as to the fecond ftay of the St. Peter of New- 
 " haven." 
 
 From that committee Eliot reported on Saturday the 
 I ith of March, to the efFe6t that they found the fecond 
 ftay of the ftiip unauthorifed by any information com- 
 municated by the lieutenant of the Tower or any other 
 perfon ; that the manner of fuch a ftay was a grievance ; 
 and further, that wrong had been done by the unlawful 
 taking away of divers goods, filver, and jewels, at Ply- 
 mouth, committed to the cuftody of one of the lord 
 duke's fervants, and not reftored at the firft difcharge of 
 the ftiip.* Upon this a warm debate followed, occupying 
 the entire morning, renewed in the afternoon, and pro- 
 longed beyond the ordinary time of the houfe's fitting, 
 when a divifion was called for. Eliot and his friends 
 refifted this, but it was finally paffed, and the journals 
 record the refult. " Upon great doubt whether a queftion 
 " ftiall now be made whether the fecond ftay of the 
 " Peter, after Admiralty decree, was a grievance or no, 
 " the queftion being twice propounded, and the voices 
 " doubtful, the houfe divided. The Yeas went out. Sir 
 " John Eliot and Sir Dudley Digges, 1 27, the Noes re- 
 " mained, Mr. Drake and Sir George Moore, 133." 
 The duke's friends had muftered in fuch force, had 
 played their game fo well, had laid fuch prefilire from 
 the king upon the moderate and doubtful votes, and with 
 fo much dexterity had prefled the divifion at the clofe of 
 a very long debate, that in a houfe reduced to 260 
 members they obtained a majority of fix. 
 
 Eliot did not renew the ftruggle on the fpecial quef- 
 
 * Among Eliot's papers there exift ftill his several coUeflions of evidence 
 made for thefe reports, apparently taken down by himself from the lips of 
 the various witneffes, carefully arranged and analyied afterwards for ufe, and 
 in which the identification of the duke and his agents with the malprac- 
 tices complained of is brought out with irrefiftible clearnefs. Eliot's ques- 
 tioning is remorfelefs. He makes the deputies and collectors confefs that 
 accefs to the great duke at all hours, at his " mornings," at his " dinners," 
 at " night," had never been denied them in regard to this bufinefs ; and they 
 eftablifh his grace's eagernefs to carry his own objefts in connexion with it. 
 
c 1 2 IV. The St. Peter of Newhaven. ^°°'^ ^^^- 
 
 ^T. 
 
 tion until Monday the firft of May. He had mean- 
 while conduced all the conferences, as to the embargo 
 laid on Britifh fhips and goods in France ; had affifted 
 Selden in contefting the power of " excommunication " 
 claimed by the ecclefiaftical courts, in difpute of which 
 feveral papers of his ftill remain ; had been aftive in 
 promoting the bill (pafTed the 25th March) for reftitu- 
 tion in blood of Raleigh's fon ; had moved and prefided 
 at a fele6t committee to fearch precedents for " Dodtor 
 " Turner's cafe ; "* had obtained the houfe's confent to 
 a feledt and fecret committee of twelve members for final 
 preparation of the duke's impeachment ; and exadlly a 
 week before had carried a decifion againft the duke, in a 
 houfe of 396 members, by a majority of fixty,f on which 
 " occafion Sir James Bagg and Mr. Fotherby " were com- 
 miffioned to rfiake his grace acquainted with the refolution 
 of the houfe, and that all the charges had been voted 
 againft him. All but one ; and this, declaring the 
 fecond ftay of the St. Peter of Newhaven a grievance 
 to the fubjed:, was voted on May-day in a houfe of 
 2'iZ members, by a majority of 2>1 -X 
 
 The king appears deeply to have refented this, and an 
 attempt to reverfe the decifion was made on the follow- 
 ing day. It failed ; and again, on the charges being 
 tendered in a legal form to be read. Sir Dudley Carleton, 
 the vice chamberlain, rofe and made an urgent appeal. 
 The charge as to the St. Peter, he faid, was not fit to be 
 tranfmitted to the lords. " It will not prejudice the duke, 
 " for the king avoweth the a6t. This fliip is reftored, 
 " and in France ; yet our goods and fhips have not been 
 " reftored, but more ftricftly reftrained than heretofore. 
 " Doubteth the ambafTador of France hath pradtifed to 
 " incenfe this houfe, to the French's benefit and the lofs 
 
 * 'Journals, i. 839. 
 
 \ Journals, i. 849. — Yea, 128 ; Noe, 168. 
 
 I Journals, i. 852. Wentworth did not fit in this parliament, but his 
 Intimate friend, Wandesforde, was one of the tellers for the majority. 
 
1625-6. Tribute to Eliofs Statesmanjhip. 513 
 
 " of the Englifh." To which the only reply now made 
 was to reaffirm the charge. The vice chamberlain's 
 clofing allufion, it will hereafter appear, was diredled 
 againft Eliot ; and when, a little later in the feffion, it 
 was fought to juftify the outrage of his imprifonment, 
 one ground ftated for diftinguifhing his cafe from that 
 of other members was, that in this matter of the New- 
 haven fhip he had been actuated by perfonal motives, 
 and had given preference to the French over his own 
 countrymen. 
 
 " For if it pleafe you to remember," faid Sir Dudley 
 Carleton, defending before the commons the con- 
 tinued detention of EUot in the Tower, " when I 
 " moved for putting of the St. Peter of Newhaven out 
 " of the charges againft the Duke of Buckingham, and 
 " fhowed my reafons for that purpofe, you know how 
 " tender Sir John Eliot was of it, as if it had been a 
 " child of his own ; and fo careful in the handling 
 " thereof by a ftranger, that he would not fufFer it to be 
 " touched though with never fo tender a hand, for fear 
 " it might prove a changeling." 
 
 Eliot could not have received a higher tribute to his 
 ftatesmanfhip. Nothing preffed againft Buckingham takes 
 fo grave an afpedt, or appears fraught with confequences 
 fo difaftrous, as this which Carleton would have turned 
 into a reproach againft Eliot. Viewed from the diftance 
 at which we ftand, much that aroufed againft the fa- 
 vourite the bitter animofity of his contemporaries has loft 
 all power of awakening ours, and to fome of the charges 
 embodied in his impeachment we liften now with a calm- 
 nefs difproportioned to the paffion they then provoked. 
 But the crime of driving two great nations into war by 
 adls of recklefs imprudence, profligate felfiflinefs, or 
 difeafed vanity, feems to us larger rather than lefs by the 
 lapfe of time ; and we can underftand why Eliot ftiould 
 have retained with fo relentlefs a grafp, and why Selden 
 fhould have felefted as that part of the impeachment he 
 
 VOL. I. L L 
 
£14 V. Eliot and the King. 
 
 Book VII. 
 
 &T. 
 
 was himlelf moft eager to maintain, the charge of the 
 unlawful feizure of the St. Peter of Newhaven. 
 
 V. Eliot and the King. 
 
 Monday the 27 th of March, the king's inauguration 
 day, had now come. Sir Dudley Digges was to report 
 from the committee on the king's fupply. Sir Benjamin 
 Rudyard was to make a formal proposition thereon, and 
 Sir John Eliot was to offer fuch perfonal offence to 
 majefty as even he had yet failed to give. 
 
 After fome difficulty the queilion put before the houfe 
 took the Ihape of a fuggeftion for three fubfidies and three 
 fifteenths. This was a large fum; but the fpeech of 
 Rudyard, who affumed his old charadler of mediator and 
 moderator, Ihowed anxiety rather for the mianner than 
 for the fubftance of the gift. Whatever was voted, 
 he faid, fhould be voted at once, if they defired happy 
 iffue to their deliberations. He had no wifh to raife 
 " panic fears," but the ftate of chriftendom was daily 
 more alarming. And then he went into the ftory fo 
 often told, and now with fmall variation told once 
 more, of the German catholic league and the opera- 
 tions upon it by way of diverfion, and how Englifh 
 help had become more than ever important, to fupport 
 Denmark, to encourage the Hollanders, and to engage 
 the Swedes. All would be loft if they did not now 
 vote fupply. Sir John Strangways, the member for 
 Weymouth, rofe after Sir Benjamin, and expreffed 
 diffatisfaftion at the extent of the propofed vote, feeing 
 that the demand at Oxford had been for only forty 
 thoufand pounds. He thought the prefent guarding of 
 the coafts to be dangerous as well as infufficient, and 
 wifhed they could get back the trained bands who in 
 '88 had guarded them. However, if fupply was to 
 be given, their grievances muft go hand in hand. The 
 good Sir Thomas Grantham's fole obje6tion to the pro- 
 
35-36*" ^^^^'^^ ^y ^^^"^ °^ Supply. 515 
 
 pofal was in the matter of fifteens, which, as likely to 
 be burdenfome to the poor, he would rather give in 
 other form. Sir Henry Wallop, member for Hants, for 
 the fame reafon would have had the vote taken for four 
 fubfidies. Mr. Spencer, who fat for Northampton, 
 thought three quite fufficient, even omitting fifteens. 
 Mr, Wandesforde inclined to the original propofal. Sir 
 George Moore, who had lately fhown leanings to the 
 court, did not objedl to the vote as propofed, having 
 been much moved by the confiderations fubmitted to 
 them by the worthy knight who opened the bufinefs.* 
 
 At this point, when the debate was on the balance, 
 and there feemed fome wavering from the point to which 
 Eliot's former fpeech had fixed them for the time, of 
 not giving until their grievances fhould have received 
 anfwer, Eliot rofe once more, and again difplayed the 
 orator's higheft qualities of influencing, controuling, and 
 guiding his audience. Nor leafl effedlively perhaps in 
 his pleafant opening as to Rudyard, where one may fee 
 in him, even at this ferious time, a humanity of nature 
 not entirely proof againft that loweft of intelledtual 
 enjoyments to which the higheft intellecfts are prone. 
 However " punic" Sir Benjamin's "panic " might have 
 been, the little treachery or artifice was not likely to 
 furvive the turn thus whimfically given to it. 
 
 " Sir," faid Eliot, with allufion to their fovereign's 
 acceflion to the throne, " This day was begun with a 
 " happy aufpice, and I hope we fhall give it as happy a 
 " conclufion. Though our debate may be with fome 
 " variety of opinions, yet I doubt not but our refolutions 
 " will be one ; and that what diff^erence foever there may 
 " be in particulars, we fhall concur wholly in the general 
 " for the good . of the king and kingdom ; to that di- 
 " reding our motions as to their centre, where we fhall 
 " fix our period and reft. The gentleman that at firft, 
 
 * Eliofs Notes, N, 5, fols. 9 b. 10, and 11 a. 
 L L 2 
 
5i6 V. Eliot and the King. Bookvii, 
 
 MT. 
 
 " with the advantage of the time, did induce this propo- 
 " fition for fupply, made a fine infinuation by difcourfe 
 " of the ftate and affairs of chriftendom ; inferring from 
 " thence, out of their relation to us, the dangers we are 
 " in ; and fo prefTmg the necefTity of our aid, that thereby 
 " the king might be enabled to refift them. Wherein 
 " as his proteftation was that the fears which he pre- 
 " tended were not panic, I fhall add this, too, in honour 
 " of that gentleman, that I hope they are not funic. I 
 " hope they were not ufed as artifices to move us from 
 " the fixed ftation of our reafons. "With fatisfadtion 
 " unto him and the whole world befides, let us obferve 
 " and note them as things worthy confideration and 
 " refpedt ; but not of fuch necefTity and hafte as fhould 
 '' decline the gravity of parliament, and the due courfe 
 " of our proceedings. Let us therein retain ftill the pre- 
 " fervation of our orders and examples, the dignity and 
 " wifdom of our anceflors. Sir, a fpecial refpeft, in this 
 " propofition that is made, muft be to the ability of the 
 " fubje^ ; what power he has to anfwer the occafions of 
 " the king. For I remember a ftory of Themiflocles, 
 " that when, for the ferviceof the Athenians, he required 
 " certain monies of the Adrians who were then tribu- 
 " taries to that flate, he was anfwered that they were 
 " denied to furnifh him by the two great goddefTes of 
 " their country, poverty and impoffibility. Under that 
 " fway were they then ; and fuch powers have no refifl- 
 " ance. If there fhould be the like divinities with us, 
 " certainly, if we now refufe as they did, our excufe were 
 " as lawful. But to know this, we mufl firfl look upon 
 " the condition of the kingdom and the ftate. That 
 '^ being known in truth, and compared with the occafions 
 " that are extant, will beft give a diredtion to our judg- 
 " ment. Therefore, with this fhould we begin. Through 
 " that perfpedtive mufl be fhown the power and ability 
 " we are in ; for, whatever we intend, the ability only 
 " can crown our purpofes. Without it, all the promifes 
 
'^^5-6- 'j'he Subjea's ability of Eftate and Will. 517 
 
 " we make will be of none effed. This, then, I propofe 
 " to coniider in two particulars; of eftate and of will. For 
 " though the latter be not properly an ability, but a dif- 
 " pofition, yet becaufe it is that which muft give motion 
 " to the other, I ftiall fo call it here, and give it fome 
 " few obfervations out of the reafons of thefe times and 
 " from the example of the elders. For the firft, the 
 " ability of eftate, I will not fpeak much fingly by itfelf, 
 " but as it fhall happen by mixture with the other. For, 
 " though many things might be urged of dilation to this 
 " point, upon the prefent condition of the fubjedt, yet I 
 " am confident there ftiall never want ability in England, 
 " or in Engliftimen, to fupply the king with aid necef- 
 " fary and fit for the advantage and fupport of all his 
 " juft occafions. But in ability of will ; how the people 
 " ftand difpofed, how they are afFe6ted ; there are many 
 " things obfervable for our affairs abroad and for our 
 " affairs at home. And firft for thofe abroad in our late 
 " expedition to Cadiz. That was the firft adlion of the 
 " king, and fuch firft afts are not of leaft importance. 
 " Thereupon depends, as Tacitus has obferved, the fame 
 " and expedlation of whatever are to follow. Honor and 
 " contempt take their originals from thence ; feldom 
 " afterwards changing, and that not without great difH- 
 " culty and adventure. In this firft expedition unto 
 " Cadiz, then, for which fuch preparations had been 
 " made, fuch immenfe provifions, fuch money buried in 
 " the employment, what has been the refult ? What 
 " encouragement from thence have we to render to the 
 " fubjedt ? What grounds of perfuafion for the like ? 
 " You have heard often what men and fhipping have been 
 " loft, as if they were offered as a facrifice to our enemies. 
 " How our ftrength and fafety have been impaired by 
 " that mifcarriage and adventure, is too known to all 
 " men. Sir, more than this, that ineftimable jewel of 
 " our honour, which our fathers prized fo highly, has 
 " been thereby cracked and blemiftied ! I dare not fay 
 
f 1 8 V. Eliot and the Kim. B""" ^u- 
 
 JS.T. 
 
 " it is broken, but the luftre of it is gone ; and what was 
 " our greateft riches being thus decayed, makes us lefs 
 " valuable with our neighbours. Now, thefe great de- 
 " figns we know were undertaken, if not planned and 
 " made, by that great lord the Duke of Buckingham. 
 " He afTumed the name of general ; he drew to himfelf 
 " the power and fole command of all things both for fea 
 " and land ; neverthelefs you know he went not in the 
 " a6lion. Fixed upon the perfon of this lord general was 
 " the entire defign ; he had the whole command by fea 
 " and land ; and yet he thought it fufficient to put in his 
 " deputy and ftay at home ! That for which the whole 
 " kingdom muft be troubled was not thought worthy of 
 " his perfon ; but a deputy, a fubftitute, muft difcharge 
 " it ; and what encouragement that might give to the 
 " affedlions of the people, I leave to all men that have 
 " reafon to determine. But was this our firft mifcarriage ? 
 " Before this. Sir, we had the adion of Count Mansfeldt, 
 " and that was fo miferable, and the men there fent fo 
 " managed, as we can hardly fay they went. Sure it is 
 " that they did nothing, and yet how few returned ! 
 " The handful likewife which was fent to the Palatinate, 
 " not feconded nor fupplied, it is known what fortune 
 " they achieved. I might fpeak alfo of the adlion to 
 " Algiers and others of that nature, and afk who it was 
 " that in all thefe had the king's ear at pleafure, and 
 " falhioned reports and proportions at his will ? We 
 " might remember, too, befides thefe adtions and engage- 
 " ments, the treaties and negociations that have been ; 
 " the infinite expenfe they have coft and the nothing 
 " they returned. Nothing, but lofs and difhonour to our 
 " nation ! And from it all fuch difcouragements might 
 " well arife now, confidering the abufes of minifters yet 
 " too potent, as, fhould a fupply not be forthcoming at 
 " this time, might juftly make apology for the fubjeft." 
 This was the moft daring becaufe the moft undifgulfed 
 attack that had yet been made upon Buckingham ; and 
 
35-36^' Attack on the Home Government. ^lo 
 
 coming fo immediately after the king's peremptory man- 
 date againft further queftioning of one fo near to him, 
 fome doubted at the firft if it were "timely." So a pri- 
 vate letter tells us. But Eliot had taken truer meafure of 
 the time. He had feen the neceffity at once of bringing 
 back and fixing confideration to the point in which alone 
 any hope now refted for them. They muft break the 
 favourite who muft otherwife break them. It was not 
 within poflibility, after the inquiries opened and the re- 
 fults already obtained, that there fhould be any middle 
 courfe or bargaining. The time was pafled for it. 
 That he or they muft fall, Eliot knew now to be the only 
 iflue, whatever time muft elapfe before determining it ; 
 and when he had finiftied the houfe knew it too. 
 
 Some gentlemen, he went on, might fay to him that 
 thofe bufinefles of which he had fpoken were foreign 
 and forgotten. Well, he would turn then "to their 
 " own particular bufinefs, the affairs at home, and 
 " the prefent adminiftration of them. Sir, what 
 " fatisfadlion, what liking can be rendered, what en- 
 " couragement, what heart, what afFedtion, can it give, 
 " to that which is required ? The oppreffions, the 
 " corruptions, the exadtions, the extortions, are fo infinite 
 " as almoft no part is free ! Nay, hardly a man but has 
 " fome caufe drawn from thofe abufes which doth both 
 " diftiearten and difable him. Honours made market- 
 " able ! judicial places fold ! and — what further fliall I 
 " fay ? If juftice itfelf is fold in turn, fhall we not in 
 " fairnefs acknowledge the rule vendere qui£ emeris gen- 
 " tium jus ejfe ? Cicero, in one of his orations againft 
 " Verres, tells a ftory of how the provinces on a time were 
 " petitioners to the fenate that the law for which they had 
 " themfelves petitioned, de fecuniis repetundis, by which 
 " all the corruptions of their officers had been made 
 " punifhable, might be repealed again. The fenate, 
 " when they faw the fcope of this fecond petition, began 
 " to wonder at the thing, and defired to know the reafon 
 
(20 V. Eliot and the Kin?. BookVii. 
 
 " why the repeal was fought of that which" had been 
 " granted only in favour of themfelves. But when they 
 " heard the anfwer they were fatisfied, that though it 
 " was true the law had fo been intended, yet the fuccefs 
 " was otherwife. They found that thofe officers before 
 " the law pafled, not having the fear to be queftioned, 
 " had made their exadlions fimply for themfelves, and 
 " for the fatisfad:ion of their own private families and 
 " fortunes ; whereas now, bent ftill upon the old prac- 
 " tices, but held ever in terror by the law, they were 
 " enforced, befides providing for private friends, to make 
 " themfelves friends at court, to procure themfelves ad- 
 " vocates, to procure themfelves patrons, nay, to corrupt 
 " the very judges for felf-proted:ion and defence if their 
 " caufe fhould come in queftion. So that they who be- 
 " fore made only fingle exadtions for themfelves, now 
 " did double their oppreffions to that height, multiply- 
 " ing likewife the injuries with the occafions, that the 
 " fpoil of the provinces feemed to be divided folely 
 " amongft them. Very natural, then, the reafon of 
 " complaint which had fo furprized the fenate. But 
 " what application might this now have to us ? How 
 " does it fort with the experience of thefe times ? Why, 
 " Sir, were not the truth and dignity of the author with- 
 " out queftion, it might be taken rather for a prophefy 
 " of ours than for a ftory of that age. We do not fufFer 
 " only for the fatisfadtion of one kind of wrongdoers, 
 " but what is exadted in turn from our opprefTor is made 
 " part of the oppreffion upon us ; we feed not only the 
 " inferior and fubordinate perfons, but the great patrons ; 
 " and that which ftiould be our fafeguard is turned to 
 " our further wrong. The defcription of Cicero is fo 
 " like to the pradlices with us, that it feems to be a mere 
 " charader of our fufFerings. What oppreffions have 
 " been pradtifed are too vifible. Not only oppreffions 
 " of the fubjedt, but oppreffions on the king. Histrea- 
 " fures are exhaufted, his revenues are confumed, as well 
 
1625-6. Appeal to Ancient Ways. 521 
 
 " as the treafures and faculties of the fubjeft ; and 
 " though many hands are exercifed, and divers have their 
 " gleanings, the harveft and great gathering comes to one. 
 " For it is he who muji protect the reft. His countenance 
 " draws all others to him as his tributaries ; and by that 
 " they are enforced, not only to pillage for themfelves 
 " but for him, and to the full proportion of his avarice 
 " and ambition. This makes the abufe and injury the 
 " greater. This cannot but difhearten, this cannot but 
 " difcourage, all men well afFeded, all men well difpofed 
 " to the advancement and happiness of the king. Nor, 
 " without fome reformation in thefe things, do I know 
 " what wills or what abilities men can have to give a new 
 " fupply." 
 
 Eliot paufed at this point for a moment. He held 
 up before the houfe, in old rolls of parliament, two 
 precedents to which he defired their attention, propofing 
 thereby to illuftrate, from the elder time, that fubordina- 
 tion of the power to the will of the fubjed: in refpeft of 
 ability to contribute, and that neceflary fubjedtion to 
 both of the will and the wants of the fovereign, which 
 formed now their only rule to follow. He would fhow 
 them, in one and the fame fitting or feffion of that houfe, 
 a fupply refufed and then granted ; refufed before redrefs 
 of grievances, but granted upon redrefs. They were 
 not to fuppofe therefore, that his objedt, by what he had 
 put before them, was to flop the propofition. "Sir, 
 " that is not my intention. I will vouch from thefe pre- 
 " cedents of our anceftors in old times, two denials in 
 " like cafes, wherein yet they concluded with a grant. 
 " In the beginning of the parliament, as I would have it 
 " now and for like reafons, they refufed; yet in the fame 
 " fitting they confented, when, upon remonftrance of 
 " their burdens and neceflities to the king, they had 
 " fatisfadlon in their particular grievances, which were 
 " fo like to ours in all things but the time that I hardly 
 "can diftinguifh them. The firft precedent was in 
 
522 V. Eliot and the King. Bookvii. 
 
 ^T. 
 
 ' 1 6th Henry III, when the commons, being required 
 '■ to make a fupply unto the king, excufed themfelves ; 
 ' becaufe, fays the record, they faw all things difordered 
 ' by thofe that were about him. But when, upon their 
 ' advice, he had refumed the lands of the crown that 
 ' were unjuftly and unneceflarily given away ; when he 
 ' had yielded his minifters up to queftion ; when he 
 'had not fpared that great officer of his court, Hugh 
 ' de Burgh, a favourite never to be paralleled but now, 
 ' having been the only minion both to the king then 
 '■ living and to his father which was dead ! — when they 
 '■ had feen, as another author fays, thofe fponges of the 
 ' commonwealth fqueezed into the king's coffers ; then, 
 ' though they had formerly denied it, they did freely 
 '■ grant an aid. Yes, Sir, in the fame fitting wherein 
 ' they had refufed, our predecefTors in this place, having 
 ' for their king's good received fatisfadlion in what they 
 ' defired, did at length confent, and in fuch meafure 
 ' and proportion as the king himfelf confefTed it was 
 ' more than enough. The fecond precedent was in i fl 
 '■ Richard II, and herein I fhaJl defire you to obferve 
 ' the extraordinary likenefs of fome particulars. Firft, 
 ' for the placing and difplacing of great officers. Then, 
 ' within the fpace of two years, the treafurer was 
 ' changed twice, the chancellor thrice, and fo of others ; 
 ' fo that great officers could hardly lit to be warmed 
 ' in their places. Now, you can afk yourfelves how it is 
 ' at prefent, and how many fhifts, changes, and rechanges 
 ' this kingdom can infhance in like time to parallel with 
 ' that.* Secondly, as to monies. I find that then 
 ' there had been monies previouily granted, and not ac- 
 ' counted for; and you know that fo it is yet with us. 
 ' Thirdly, there were new aids required and urged, by 
 'means of a declaration of the king's occafions and 
 ' eftate ; and this likewife, as we know, agrees with our 
 
 * The reader will remember, in connexion with this paflage, the letter 
 of Wentworth's correfpondent in a previous page. Ante, 466. 
 
1625-6. Precedents from the Vlantagenets. 523 
 
 " condition. Yet then, becaufe of thefe and other 
 " exceptions made againft De la Pole, the Earl of 
 " Suffolk, the minion of that time, of whom it was 
 " faid that he had mifadvifed the king, mifemployed 
 " his treafures, and introverted his revenues, the fupply 
 " demanded was refufed, until, upon the petition of the 
 " commons, he was removed both from his offices and the 
 " court. A commiffion likewife was at the fame time 
 " granted for the reftifying of the king's eftate ; and 
 " becaufe this imported an excellent intention and pur- 
 " pofe of that parliament, though it had not the fuccefs 
 " and fruit it merited, I will be bold briefly to obferve 
 " the heads and grounds it had. Upon which you will 
 " make your own inferences and judgement. It begins 
 
 " thus : " and Eliot read from the roll'he held. 
 
 * 
 
 " ' Whereas our fovereign lord the king perceiveth by the grievous 
 " ' complaints of his lords and commons, that his profits, rents and reve- 
 " ' nues of his realm, by the fmgular and infufScient counfel and evil go- 
 " ' vernment of &c. be fo much withdrawn, wafted, alienated, given, 
 " ' granted, deftroyed, and evil difpended, that he is fo much impoverhhed 
 " ' and void of treafure and goods, and the fubftance of the crown is fo 
 " ' much diminifhed, that his eftate may not wholly be fuftained as ap- 
 " ' pertaineth, &c. and the king of his free will, at the requeft of the lords 
 " ' and commons, hath ordained, &c. to examine as well the eftate and 
 " ' government of his houfe, as alfo all the rents, revenues, and profits, &c. 
 " ' and all manner of gifts, grants, alienations, and confirmations, &c. of 
 " ' lands, tenements, rents, &c. bargaining or fold, to the prejudice of him 
 " ' and his crown ; and of alljenxieh and goods nxjhich 'were his grandfather'' s 
 " ' at the time of his death, andijohere they be become, &c. &c.' 
 
 " Now, Sir," exclaimed Eliot, breaking fuddenly off 
 from both his precedent and argument as he clofed the 
 reading of this lafl: ancient roll, " if there were but fuch 
 " a commiflion here with us ! That we might examine 
 " the revenues of our king ! That we might view that 
 " ancient garden, and thofe fweet flowers of the crown ! 
 " That we might fee them, even what they are now be- 
 " come, and how, the enclofure being let down, it is 
 " made a common pafliure ! Would that fuch a com- 
 " miffion might be granted, if only that we then could 
 " fearch for the treafures and jewels that were left by 
 
52.4 V. Eliot and the King. 
 
 Book VII. 
 
 " that ever blefled princefs of never-dying memory, 
 " queen Elizabeth ! Oh, thofe jewels ! the pride and 
 " glory of this kingdom ! which have made it fo far 
 " fhining beyond others ! Would they were here, within 
 " the compafs of thefe walls, to be viewed and feen 
 " by us, to be examined in this place ! Their very 
 " name and memory have tranfported me." 
 
 Bitter offence was taken by the king at Eliot's ufe 
 and application of the two incidents of Englifh hiftory 
 thus cited by him. With quick paffion he refented them, 
 and with reftlefs anger again and again returned to them ; 
 infomuch that men came afterwards to refer to this memo- 
 rable fpeech as " that in which the two precedents were 
 " quoted." * Nor was it the clofenefs and pungency of 
 the parallel that perhaps fo much affedted him, as the 
 paffionate reference the orator had thence feized occafion 
 to make to that late attempt to put the crown jewels 
 into pawn f wherein Charles was not lefs deeply impli- 
 cated than Buckingham. Remarkable certainly was the 
 daring, and not lefs remarkable the fenfe of the neceffity, 
 which could have prompted at the moment fuch an 
 outburft as that ! 
 
 More collectedly he refumed. " But I muft recall 
 " myfelf to the labour of this day, repeating only that 
 " if fuch a commiffion were now extant and addreffed 
 " to thofe that faithfully would execute it, fuch ad- 
 " vantage might it render to the king as would remove 
 " all need to prefs fupplies from us. And now, taking 
 " up the obfervation which I left, this commiffion 
 " being granted in that fecond Richard's time, and the 
 " favourite being removed, parliament confented to the 
 " aid ; and, as in the former cafe, in the fame fitting 
 " wherein they had refufed it. Upon fuch reafonable 
 
 * It is fo defcribed in an imperfefl MS. abftraft in our record office 
 under date 29th March, 1626. 
 
 f See ante, 451. It was for this Buckingham had gone with Lord 
 Holland to the Hague. 
 
*^^5-6. Conclufion to vote but delay Supply. 525 
 
 " fatisfaftion, tending only to the king's good and 
 " benefit, they at laft granted and accorded it ; and left 
 " the example to pofterity that always to comply is not 
 " the duty of a counfellor. Upon thefe obfervations 
 " of our elders, then, to draw a conclufion for our 
 " own time, what fiiall we now do ? Shall we refufe the 
 " aid that is required, or fhall we delay it till there may 
 *' be fatisfadtion given in fuch things as we reafonably 
 "defire? We will not refufe it. No; I would not 
 *' doubt the jufl:ice of his majefl:y therein ; I would 
 " retain a confidence of him equal to his goodnefs ; and 
 " that confidence, I doubt not, will be more prevalent 
 *' than perfuafions. Fidelem fi putaveris, fades, faith 
 " Seneca. That confidence of ours will make him- 
 " felf, I hope, more confident of us ; and, fo, our con- 
 " currence eafier in all matters and affairs. In the 
 " affurance of which, let us now do as our fathers did 
 " before us. Let us prefent our grievances and com- 
 " plaints, that the fatisfadtion given in them may pre- 
 " pare the affedtions of the people ; but in the mean time 
 " let us fo far yield to the propofition for fupply as to 
 " make a formal promife of the aid which is fo urged by 
 " the king. But for the adt itfelf, for the paffmg of the 
 " fubfidy bill, that may wifely and well have leifure to 
 " attend the defpatch of the reft of our affairs ; to 
 '' which I hope our vote will be as aufpicious as in the 
 " beginning this day was prophefied to the parliament. 
 " For the amount, the three fubfidies and three fifteenths 
 " which are propofed, I hold the proportion will not 
 " fuit with what we would give, but yet I know it is all 
 " we are able to do or can give. And yet this is not to 
 " be the ftint of our affedions, but that we fiiould give 
 " more upon juft occafion. Sir, from the refult of our 
 " deliberations I defire may be derived a full ftream of 
 " happinefs and felicity both to the king and kingdom."* 
 
 * From the original MS. at Port Eliot. A brief and very imperfeft 
 abftraift in Rufliiuorth (i. 220-1), which has been reprinted in the old 
 
S26 V. Eliot and the Kim. Bookvii. 
 
 Upon Eliot's refuming his feat, amid the excitement 
 his fpeech had occafioned. Sir Robert Harley, member 
 for Herefordfhire, thought it neceffary to proteft for him- 
 felf that fuch paralleling of times would be referred to per- 
 fons, and fo he had doubts, which he could wifli the houfe 
 might refolve, whether that might not refled: upon the 
 king. Eliot to this merely rofe again and faid, that " his 
 " parallels were not of the perfons of kings but of their 
 " inftruments ; " and the houfe, brought fairly round to 
 his own temper, would permit for that time no further 
 queftion thereon. Sir Humphrey May indeed made 
 earneft though unavailing appeal againft the courfe pro- 
 pounded by Eliot, which, he faid, though not in terms 
 of condition, would be held tantamount thereto, and fuch 
 as might not be put to a fovereign ; pointing out to them 
 that the entire vote fuggefted would not be more, at the 
 exifting rate, than two hundred and fifty thoufand pounds ; 
 and imploring them in any cafe tp give without limitation 
 whatever they might pleafe finally to determine.* The 
 reply of the houfe was a vote nearly unanimous " that 
 " three fubfidies and three fifteenths be granted to his 
 " majefty in this feffion of parliament, payable at three 
 " feparate times ; the bill to be brought in when we fhall 
 " have frefented our grievances and received his majejiy's 
 " anjwer thereto ; " and to this refolution, from that time 
 onward, they fteadily and perfiftently adhered. 
 
 Next day the king fent to requeft the houfes to attend 
 him on the following morning at Whitehall ; f whither 
 accordingly, at nine o'clock on the 29th of March, both 
 houfes went. He ' had brought them together, he 
 
 Farl. Hiji. (vi. 441), but, ftrange to fay, has been wholly omitted by the 
 editor of the more recent colleflion of parliamentary debates, is all that has 
 hitherto been known of this memorable fpeech, which had effecSls of fuch 
 hiftorical importance. 
 
 * Eliofs Notes, N. 5, fol. 10, b. 
 
 t Eliofs Notes, N. 6, fol. 17, a. They had juft met on the Tuefday 
 morning, it would feem, when the melfage reached them, not only defiring 
 their attendance next day but that all proceedings meanwhile ftiould ceafe. 
 Upon which " the houfe adjorned till Thurfday morning by itfelfe." 
 
1625-6. If Jig King on the Ufes of a Parliament. 527 
 
 then told them, for very diftinft reafons. He had to 
 give thanks to the lords, but none whatever to the com- 
 mons, whofe faults and ill conduft it was his purpofe, 
 then and there, through the mouth of his lord keeper to 
 expofe. Whereupon Coventry made a long fpeech, 
 telling them that the condition they had appended to 
 their vote of fubfidies was a difhonour to his majefty ; 
 that the condu6b of their debates had been infufFerable, 
 in permitting his greateft fervant to be traduced by men 
 who neither by years nor education could attain to that 
 depth ; that, even on the day of his inauguration, they had 
 in that manner allowed his council, his government, and 
 his fervants to be paralleled with times of the moft excep- 
 tion ; that this violation of royal rights under colour of 
 parliamentary liberty was not his view of the ufes of a ■ 
 parliament, to which he would grant " liberty of council 
 " but not of controul ; " that he muft command them, 
 therefore, to ceafe their unparliamentary inquifitions ; 
 that if they did not vote a fuiEcient and unconditional 
 fupply, they muft exped to be diflblved ; and that he 
 fhould expedt their final anfwer (it was now Wednefday) 
 on Saturday next. " Remember," faid the king, in- 
 dorfing with angry rudenefs the infulting diftation of 
 Coventry, " remember that parliaments are altogether 
 " in my power for their calling, fitting, and diflblution ; 
 " and therefore, as I find the fruits of them to be good 
 " or evil, they are to continue or not to be." 
 
 Sir Robert Cotton could have produced no precedent, 
 in his records of eight hundred years, for fuch a pre- 
 tenfion as that. The forms of the conftitution all men 
 knew; but that they could be applied to the entire 
 abolition of parliaments, no man had ever fufpefted. 
 When the commons again met the following morning, 
 there was much excitement and fome confternation;* and 
 
 * Mede to Stutevile, 31ft March and 8th April, 1626, among the 
 Birch tranfcripts in the Sloane MSS. of the Britifli Mufeum. When I 
 publWied my firft fketch of Eliot, I referred to thofe tranfcripts in the 
 
C28 V. Eliot and the Kim. Eookvii 
 
 MT. 
 
 they fat with locked doors, placing the key in the 
 fpeaker's hands fo that no member fhould quit the houfe, 
 a pradtice then very unufual.* But, amid the agita- 
 tion, Eliot appears to have preferved both his deter- 
 mination and his temper. Heretofore what pafTed at 
 that fitting has been known only through one of Mede's 
 letters to Stutevile,f but I can now fupply fome- 
 
 foUowing note : " There is no mention of this in the debates, but I have it 
 " on the authority of a manufcript letter in the coUeftion of Dr. Birch. 
 " I may take this opportunity of ftating that that learned perfon had with 
 " his own hand transcribed for publication, from the Harleian and various 
 " other coUeftions, a vaft number of letters illuftrative of the reigns of 
 " James I and Charles I ; but which remain to this day on the fhelves of the 
 " Sloane coUedlion, as the tranfcriber left them. Their arrangement and 
 " publication would confer a valuable fervice on hiftory ; yet I fear there is 
 " no prevailing encouragement for undertakings of this fort. It is to be 
 " regretted." Twelve years after that remark was made, in 184.8, the pub- 
 lication took place (fee ante, 149, note), but was unfortunately very ill done. 
 I take the opportunity of reprinting another note made by me at that time, 
 on the occafion of repeating a curious faft ftated by M. Guizot, that in 
 1 791 there had appeared in Paris a French tranflation of Mrs. Macauley's 
 hiftory, purporting to be an original work by Mirabeau. " It is Angularly 
 " honourable to the French nation, that M. Guizot has found encourage- 
 " ment enough to make it worth his while to publifh for the ufe of 
 " his countrymen a feries of tranflations of original memoirs of the times 
 " of the two great Englifh revolutions {Colle8ion des Memoires relatifs a la 
 " Revolution iT Angleterre , accompagnee de 'Notices et d' Eclaircijfemens His- 
 " toriques), amounting to twenty-eight octavo volumes. Such a collection 
 " would be invaluable to the hiftorical inquirer in our own country ; but 
 " where is the public patronage that would bear out any Englilh bookfeller 
 " or Englifti man of letters in fuch an undertaking?" Since that period 
 M. Guizot, unhappily poffefled of leifure only too ample, has made large 
 additions to the illuftration of this period of our hiftory, by the com- 
 pletion of his account of the Revolution to the death of Charles, by his 
 life of Cromwell, and his narrative of Richard's Proteftorate ; and 
 every ftudent of the time will find his account in thoroughly acquaint- 
 ing himfelf with thefe important and able books. It is not furprifing 
 that the intereft with which intelleftual men in that great country of 
 France have ever regarded the Englilh ftruggle for freedom againft the 
 Stuarts, fhould have increafed of late years ; and I may be pardoned for 
 faying that from no quarter have the contributions lately offered by me 
 to the better underftanding of it, in fuch books as the Grand Remon- 
 ftrance and Arreji ofthefi-ve Members, obtained more intelligent recognition 
 than from French men of letters. 
 
 * Rufhivortk, i. 225. 
 
 t Ut supra, Brit. Muf Tranfcripts. In a letter of the fame corre- 
 fpondent of twenty days' later date, the propofed iniquitous attack upon 
 Cotton's library, which, when it aftually came a couple of year.s later. 
 
1625-6. cff^g Uonj-g ,^if}i Locked Doors. 529 
 
 thing further from one of Eliot's notes. " As foon 
 " as they were met again/' writes Mede, " Sir John 
 " EHot rofe up and made a refolute fpeech, the fum 
 " whereof was, that they came not thither either to do 
 " what the king fhould command them, or to abftain 
 "where he forbade them; and therefore they fhould con- 
 " tinue conftant to maintain their privileges, and not 
 " to do either more or lefs for what had been faid unto 
 " them." Eliot's own note is more ample but to the fame 
 effeft. All bufinefs having been flopped, he remarks, 
 and the houfe refolved into grand committee. Sir John 
 was called up. He faid that in his majefty's fpeech were 
 three generals, and he fhould make reply thereto. The 
 firft, a touch at their proceedings, on the ground that 
 they had not been parliamentary. The fecond, a fuing 
 at the retrenching of thofe privileges by which alone 
 they fat there. The third, a demand for increafe 
 of fupply, arguing negledt in them of what was fit 
 to have been done. To the firft he had to anfwer 
 that the courfe they had taken was warranted by all 
 former precedents, their examinations having proceeded 
 under fuch legal diredlion as all courts ufed and reforted 
 to ; and for that wherein he had been himfelf brought 
 into queftion, the paralleling of times made lately by 
 him, he was as clear to his own confcience ; wherefore 
 he hoped confidently that all in general would conceive 
 he intended nothing by thofe precedents adduced but 
 the honour and fafety of his majefly. To the fecond 
 he replied that the privileges of that houfe retrenched 
 not the prerogative, but advanced the fovereignty and 
 honour of the king ; whereas, on the contrary, what 
 might they fay to the claims put forth for the preroga- 
 tive ? His majefty's commandment upon them not to 
 
 broke the heart of the learned and generous antiquary, is firft (hadowed 
 forth. " Sir Robert Cotton's books are threatened to be taken away, be- 
 " caufe he is accufed to impart ancient precedents to the lower houfe." 
 The threat was beyond doubt connefted with the two precedents vouched by 
 Eliot, which had lb embittered the king's refentments. ^ 
 VOL. I. MM 
 
530 V. Eliot and the King. b°°=' vi^ 
 
 MT, 
 
 touch by any inquifition or examination that great man 
 fo near to him, was ex diametro oppofed to the principles 
 of their liberty. It had been the conftant ufe of that 
 houfe in all cafes, and againft the greateft fubjedts, to 
 examine into whatever abufes might have tended to the 
 danger of the public ; and therefore to the third point, 
 concerning fupply, he could only anfwer that till they 
 were refolved in that matter of the right to make inquifi- 
 tion into tlie condu6t of the minifter, it was not poffible for 
 them with any freedom to enter into debate for a fub- 
 fidy.* He would in conclufion move for a committee 
 to confider of a remonftrance upon thefe points to the 
 king ; and amid cries of " Well fpoken. Sir John Eliot ! " 
 the committee was forthwith named. 
 
 Word meanwhile had been carried to the king of the 
 attitude taken up by the commons, and a line added by 
 Eliot to his mention of the remonftrance fhows how 
 prompt muft have been the mifgivings at Whitehall on 
 that note of alarm. " Defer it upon meffage from the 
 " lords touching fome explanation." A meffage fo 
 urgent, that in that fame Thurfday afternoon both houfes 
 were again in conference liftening to what Mede, in a 
 letter to Stutevile, calls a fair and fubmiffive fpeech from 
 the duke in the king's prefence, of which the objeft was 
 to expound his majefty's meaning about fupply to have 
 been, that if they could not conveniently do it by Satur- 
 day they might take two or three days more ; and, in 
 apology for himfelf againft thofe accufations which com- 
 mon fame was about to prefer againft him, to affure 
 them that he had been anxious to have the narrow feas 
 well guarded, that he had really been reluctant to take 
 the admiralty on the fcore of his youth until preffed by 
 
 * Eliofs_ Notes, N. 6, fols. 17, b, and 18, a. Alfo N. 5. fol. 11, a. At 
 the clofe of the note in the firft of thefe records there is a remark by Eliot 
 which would feem to imply that the notes were partly taken from the rough 
 book ufed by the clerk as memoranda to be transferred in more regular form 
 into the journal. " Upon this," he writes, " a note in the margent of the 
 " jornall, it being croft in the leafe : This to be entred in the com*'" book." 
 
J625-6. <]'}ig Commons vindicate Eliot. of 
 
 35-36. J J 
 
 Manfel, * that he had defired extremely to lead the 
 Cadiz expedition but was commanded otherwife by the 
 king, and in conclufion, after a requeft to them to be 
 more charitable, faying that if any man in efpecial blamed 
 him, he did not blame that man, but thought he had 
 done well. 
 
 Eliot was not moved by this allufion intended for 
 himfelf. Only " thofe that were indifferent or not much 
 " his enemies," fays Mr. Mede, appeared to be fatisfied. 
 It was indeed, even though it had not been fo manifeft a 
 pretence, too late. As the duke flood there, with the 
 monarch by his fide, fpeaking in the name of the ftate 
 and apparently unconfcious but that it was of right felf- 
 contained in his perfon, he embodied in vifible form that 
 very caufe of offence which in the humility of his 
 language he afFedted moft to deprecate, and which the 
 commons were now pledged to abate. He was as much 
 an anachronifm as the lord keeper's expofition of the con- 
 flitution, and it was too late to protedt either the one or 
 the other. In lefs than a week, the commons' remon- 
 ftrance was prefented to the king. It vindicated Eliot 
 and his precedents ; and as to Buckingham, claiming it 
 for their conflant and undoubted right to enquire into 
 the .abufes of power, it announced their intention, in 
 whatever ultimate form they might prefer their accufa- 
 tion, to proceed no otherwife in any particular but by 
 ground of knowledge in themfelves or proof by examina- 
 tion of witnefTes.-j- The king's anfwer was a requeft 
 
 * The old feaman did not contradift this, and it may therefore be 
 accepted as a fact ; but his ample excufe was afforded by what the duke 
 proceeded to ftate. "Though I objefted I was young and inexperienced, 
 " yet he .faid that by my fwuour 'with my majier I might do more good in 
 " procuring fayment for that charge &c." Rujhiuorth, 1. z^^o. Such had 
 become the condition, in this as in all elfe, lince the period of Buckingham's 
 favour, that excepting by his means nothing whatever was poffible that 
 needed to be done. 
 
 f EBofs Notes, N. 6, fol. 28, b. N. 5, fol 12, a. In the latter it is 
 ftated that Wefton made very earneft ftand at the laft moment " againft 
 " naming the D, as fitted to give content to his ma"" the reraonftrance 
 " being in generall ;" but no alteration was permitted. 
 
 M M 2 
 
^^-^^ V. Eliot and the King. Bookvit. 
 
 ^T. 
 
 that they would adjourrij as the lords had done, over the 
 Eafter holidays ; and even this came to a fliarp divifion 
 of 1 20 to 1 50 upon the queftion of compliance. From 
 that point the king made no attempt further to refift 
 in the matter ; but in a meffage towards the clofe of 
 April told them he had " given way to their inquiries 
 " about the duke." * It was Hobfon's choice with him. 
 
 On the twenty-fecond of that month the queftion of 
 proceeding by common fame fo as to bring the feveral 
 charges under one accufation, had been the fubjedb of a 
 remarkable debate, when the fpeakers againft that mode 
 of proceeding were Mallet, Browne (the member for 
 Gloucefter), Wefton, and May-; and its fupporters were 
 Wilde (the member for Droitwich), Littleton, Went- 
 worth (of Oxford), Selden, Henry Rolle, Sherland, 
 Noye, and Eliot.f Rolle pointed out that a lord of 
 the higher houfe, not being anfwerable in the lower 
 houfe, if they could not prefent him on common fame he 
 might never be drawn to anfwer. The civil law and 
 the canons admitted it, faid Noye. Without it, faid 
 Eliot, no great culprit could be brought to juftice. If 
 they might not tranfmit to the lords upon common fame, 
 then tnuft great men efcape through the fear of danger 
 in particular men to bring forward accufations. They 
 had in that place no other way of inquiry. They had no 
 grand jury to prefent a charge ; yet faults were not to go 
 unpunifhed becaufe no man dared accufe. Selden put 
 the fame reafon quaintly and pregnantly in the remark 
 that the faults of the gods might not be told till the 
 " terra parens " brought forth Fame. The vote declared 
 it a fufEcient ground. 
 
 The reft of the preparation was quickly made. On the 
 day when that vote was taken the commons had perfected 
 their charge, and advifed the duke thereof by two of 
 their membeirs, who delivered to him the various heads 
 
 * Pari. Hiji. vii. 37. 
 
 t Eliot's Notes, N. 6, fols. zi, a, b, and az, a. 
 
i6z5-6. Articles of the Duke's Impeachment. ^^3 
 
 comprifed in it ; and though, four days later, a delay was 
 interpofed by Glanvile, who moved the infertion of a 
 new article and carried it on divifion by 191 to 150, 
 all was completed at the opening of May. A meflage 
 then went up to the lords, defiring, with as much con- 
 venient fpeed as their occafions might permit, a con- 
 ference for impeachment and accufation of " a great 
 " peer of that houfe." 
 
 But though the king had given way to the inquiries 
 about the great peer, his own further inquiries about 
 Eliot and his precedents he had not confented to fur- 
 render ; and it will be feen that he refumed them at an 
 early opportunity. 
 
 VI. The Duke of Buckingham Impeached. 
 
 To the twelve articles of impeachment originally 
 drawn up againft Buckingham, the thirteenth, added on 
 the report of Glanvile, charged it as " an a6t of tranfcend- 
 " ant prefumption and dangerous confequence " that he 
 ftiould have applied remedies in king James's laft illnefs 
 againft the order and in the abfence of the phyficians. 
 This was to be opened by Wentworth's great friend, 
 Wandesforde. 
 
 The fubjedrs of the preceding twelve comprifed plu- 
 rality of offices, and appropriation by purchafe of the 
 higheft employments, entrufted in the firft, fecond, and 
 third articles to Mr. Herbert ; imperfedtly guarding the 
 narrow feas, fo that the ihipping trade was ruined, and 
 corruptly feizing a French ftiip (the St. Peter) under 
 pretence of its being Spanifh, fo as to provoke French 
 reprifals on Englifti commerce, committed in the fourth 
 and fifth articles to Selden ; detaining Eaft India mer- 
 chant fhips oiF Tilbury at a critical time as the means of 
 extorting for their releafe ten thoufand pounds from their 
 owners, and delivering Englifh fhips for use againft the 
 proteftants of Rochelle, given in the fixth, feventh, and 
 
534 ^I- '^he Duke of Buckingham Impeached. '^°^ ^"• 
 
 eighth articles to Glanvile ; felling titles and places of 
 judicature, handed over in the ninth and tenth articles to 
 Mr. Whitby ; and ennobling poor kindred, with malver- 
 fation of the king's revenue, undertaken in the eleventh 
 and twelfth articles by Pym.* 
 
 The votes pafTed concurrently with the completion of 
 thefe charges exhibited ftrikingly the defire of the leaders 
 of the houfe to deprive the impeachment not only of any 
 colour of mere hoftility to the king, but of all pretence 
 whereby it could be charaderifed as a defign to embarrafs 
 the conduit of affairs or intercept the fupply of the crown. 
 Upon reprefentation of a fall in the value of fubfidies, a 
 fourth was added to the three previoufly voted ; and 
 upon the day when the eight managers were named 
 as above, each having two affiftants, to prefent the articles 
 at conference with the lords, a bill for tonnage and 
 poundage, accompanied by a remonftrance againft its 
 paft levy without authority, was laid on the table of the 
 houfe. 
 
 Apart from the prefentation of the fadts of each charge 
 feparately, fo affumed by the managers, two duties of 
 more importance were referved. Sir Dudley Digges was 
 to open the proceedings in a " prologue ; " and to Sir 
 John Eliot was committed the tafk of winding up the 
 whole in an " epilogue." 
 
 The drama opened on Monday, the 8th of May. 
 Among the affiftants to the managers were Noye, Henry 
 Rolle, Mafon, Littleton, Rudyard, Sherland, Rich, 
 Kyrton, Strangways, Erie, and Sir William Armyne ; 
 fit places, " to their better eafe and honour," were fet 
 apart for each ; and ftrid order had been given for 
 " filence of all the houfe without expreffion of any 
 " liking or difliking." The conference-chamber was 
 crowded at their entrance, and not a little to the furprife 
 of many it was obferved that the duke himfelf was prefent. 
 
 * Ruftiworth's account of thefe matters is not correft. The only fafe 
 guide here is the Journals of the Houfe of Lords. 
 
*^^5-6. Sir Dudley Bigges and the Duke. ^^5 
 
 Sanderfon defcribes this as fo difconcerting to the fpeaker 
 of the prologue that it brought him to a fuU-ftop in the 
 middle of his exordium.* The good Sir Dudley indeed, 
 who could fpeak and write very well when he pleafed, 
 had at ftarting mpunted up to fuch dizzy heights of 
 metaphor, that it was not furprifing he fhould lofe his 
 balance eafily. Profeffing to deliver himfelf in " plain 
 *' country language, fetting by all rhetorical affedtations," 
 he compared the monarchy to the creation, the commons 
 to the earth, the lords to the planets, the king to the fun, 
 the clergy to the fire, the judges and magiftrates to .the 
 air, and Buckingham to a comet, " a prodigious comet." 
 The duke jeered and laughed, fay the letter writers ; and 
 for a time, in bad tafte as it was, his mirth might have 
 had fome excufe ; but Sir Dudley hit more heavily before 
 he clofed, and the fpeeches afterwards delivered by Selden 
 and Glanvile were fuch as might wifely have given him 
 paufe. Neverthelefs he continued, from time to time, 
 his demonftrations of unfeemly ridicule, until fuddenly 
 checked by Digges himfelf. " My lord, do you jeer ? " 
 exclaimed Sir Dudley, with fufficient readinefs to do that 
 for another which for himfelf he had failed to do. " Are 
 " thefe things to be jeered at ? My lord, I can fhow ■ 
 " you when a man of a greater blood than your lordfhip, 
 " as high as you in place and power, and as deep in the 
 " favour of the king, hath been hanged for as fmall a 
 " crime as the leaft of thefe articles contain !" j 
 
 With the eighth article Monday's proceedings clofed. 
 It was now grown late, and, in the homely language of 
 of one the members prefent, " the lords and all of us 
 
 * " Here Sir Dudley made a (land, as wondering to fee the Duke prefent," 
 41. On the other hand I quote from a curious unpublifhed account of 
 the proceedings among the MSS. at Port Eliot : " Being all fet, Sir Dudley 
 " Digges began, ftanding right againft the face and eye of the Duke, 
 " for he in his pride would be seen ; as it was thought, to daunt or dif- 
 " courage thgm ; but this worthy knight delivered the preamble with excel- 
 " lent grace, boldnefs, and brave words." 
 
 + See Ellis's Original Letters (fecond ed.) iii. 226. An obvious miftake 
 is made by the letter writer in fubftituting Glanvile for Digges. 
 
^2^ VI. The Duke of Buckingham Impeached. ^°°'' "^^^• 
 
 " were in a fweat with heat and thirfting. We could 
 " go no farther. The lords defired that the reft of the 
 " charge might be the next day, and fo we went all 
 " weary home to our lodgings about fix o'clock at 
 " night."* Neverthelefs it was not to be next day ; a 
 fudden attack of illnefs had difabled Mr. Whitby, who 
 was to open the ninth article ; and an adjournment had 
 to be propofed to the day following, while Mr. Sherland 
 prepared to take his place. The interval was employed 
 charafteriftically. So incenfed had the commons been, 
 writes Mede to Stutevile,f at the duke fitting there that 
 previous day, outfacing his accufers and outbraving their 
 accufations, that they were become refolute for his com- 
 mitment to cuftody pending the iflue of the impeachment. 
 This had before been under debate, but was laid afide 
 on the concihatory meflage from the king. Again it 
 had been ftarted, on the morning when the charge was 
 taken up ; but the court party interpofed fuch delays 
 that to conclude it then was impoflible. Now once 
 more, on this Tuefday the 9th of May, it was refumed ; 
 and excited by the warmth of the difcuffion, one of the 
 duke's friends who reprefented Lichfield, Mr. Dyott, 
 gave fuch extreme offence that he was then and there 
 fequeftered during pleafure. The fcene altogether was 
 a remarkable one, and till now has not been reported. 
 A manufcript at Port Eliot % will here defcribe it for us, 
 and with fome vivacity will depi6t and prefent to us 
 both parties in the heat of the debate. 
 
 " A gentleman," writes this worthy member (name un- 
 known), " fuddenly ftood up and began to fpeak of the 
 " proud and infolent carriage of the duke ; that he would 
 " come and fit yefterday with the lords, and in fuch a 
 " place as all the reporters muft ftand juft before him, 
 " which was done of purpofe to difcourage or abafh them ; 
 
 * Manuscript at Port Eliot, 
 f Letter of nth May, 1626. 
 
 X Partly written in a kind of (horthand, which I have had difficulty in 
 deciphering. The fpelling is here modernized. 
 
1625-6. Debate for the Duke's Commitment. 537 
 
 " and how he flighted what was faid ; and therefore con- 
 " eluded that he thought there could be no fair proceed- 
 " ings except he were either fequeftered or imprifoned. 
 " Then many fpake ; much condemning the duke, and 
 " commending our gentlemen for their refolution. Then 
 " there arofe a lawyer, one Mr. Dyott, one that fiath 
 " often fpoken for the duke, and fpoke fome unfeemlie 
 " words of the houfe ; as that we thought too bafely of 
 " the lords to think they would not proceed in juftice 
 " againfl: the duke although he fate amongft them ; 
 " and other words, which founded fo ill as it ftirred the 
 " houfe exceedingly, and caufed a great difpute, fome 
 " fpeaking for him, others againft him. But the houfe 
 " would not be fatisfied ; and Mr. Dyott was fequeftered 
 " the houfe, and not to return before he petitioned, and 
 " confefled his fault at the bar. This being ended, 
 " our debate went on, when we fate till near 4 o'clock. 
 " Some argued that it was not juftice to require a com- 
 " mitment before examination, and he heard ; others that 
 " he was charged with treafon and other great mifde- 
 " meanors, and cited precedents of like nature. So 
 " when they had fpent out all the fpeakers for the duke, 
 " it came to a queftion ; and the greater found was for 
 " the duke's imprifonment. Yet the other fide would 
 " not yield unto it. So the houfe was to be divided ; 
 " and they that would have him committed were to go 
 " out, and thofe that would not were to fit ftill. Then 
 " a gentleman flood up and faid, IVhat ! do you mean, now 
 " being Jo late, that you will divide the houje ? It is 
 " apparent that we have loft it, and that the Ts have it. 
 " Others cried Divide I Divide I Upon this the houfe 
 " went out in fo great a number, as, then, they that 
 " tarried within would yield it. But then we that were 
 " gone out would not have it, but by counting the 
 " polls to fee who was flronger in the houfe. So then 
 " the privy council came to the doors to defire there 
 " might be an end of it. They would yield. That 
 
538 VI. The Buke of Buckingham Impeached. Bookvu 
 
 ^T. 
 
 " our number was more. But we would not. Now we 
 " would be counted, and fo fhould they. So both 
 " were counted; and there was but one hundred and five 
 " for not imprlfoning, and two hundred and twenty-five 
 " for his imprifonment. And fo after 4 o'clock we 
 " went to dinner. As foon as we had dined we met 
 " againe, and by a committee the mefTage for his com- 
 " mitment was read, and Sir Nathaniel Rich appointed 
 " to be the meffenger." 
 
 The precife time for its delivery at the bar of the lords 
 had yet to be fettled, and this was determined by Eliot's 
 interference. He moved that it might be referved until 
 the opening of the charge was complete, and there 
 was no danger of mixing up with it merely perfonal 
 confiderations.* It was refolved accordingly that it 
 fhould not be delivered till Thurfday. The fpeaker of 
 the epilogue doubtlefs would have given much that the 
 duke fhould again have confronted his accufers. 
 
 But this was not to be. On the morning of the day 
 when the epilogue was to be delivered, Buckingham had 
 abfented himfelf.f It was the prudent courfe ; and well 
 for him that it was taken. After Sherland had fpoken 
 in place of Whitby, and Pym in one of his weightieft 
 fpeeches had clofed the cafe, Eliot arofe ; and never in 
 that or any preceding time was delivered a perfonal at- 
 tack of more fuftained or eloquent invedtive, more earnefl: 
 or more difdainful. " This," fays the namelefs member 
 already quoted, " was as bold and worthy a fpeech as 
 " ever I heard, onlie a little too tart." It was indeed a 
 philippic of the bittereft order. Eliot had fummoned to 
 his fervice all his powers, and his argument was envi- 
 roned with a paffion that was little ftiort of terrible. 
 
 As this fpeech is now to be prefented, it will not be 
 too much to fay, a juft and adequate impreffion of it 
 
 * Eliofs Notes, n. 6, fol. 26, b. See alfo Commons Journals, i. 858. 
 -f- The duke's abfence on the day when Eliot was to fpeak is ohferved 
 upon in a letter in the Harl. MSS. 383. 
 
3s-k^ -Ep/Vo^a^ delivered by Eliot. 539 
 
 will for the firft time be obtainable. From the con- 
 ference it was reported to the lords by the bifhop of 
 Norwich fo imperfedly, that he had to tender apology 
 for it on the ground that " he could not get any help 
 " from the gentleman who maintained that part of the 
 " charge : " the gentleman being in truth at that 
 moment in the Tower. Yet the bifhop's is the fole 
 report by which it has been known, until now that I 
 print it here as preferved by Eliot, and bearing about 
 the fame relation to the other as the choice work of 
 an artift with his own finifh, to his original rude 
 fketch filled in by a bungling hand. If we did not 
 know it from other fources, it would appear generally 
 upon the face of his fpeeches themfelves, that, as 
 in the inftances already given firom the Oxford fitting, 
 Eliot fpoke always, though with careful ground-work 
 of preparation in his elaborate efibrts, upon the oc- 
 cafion as it arofe. The fecret of his influence as a 
 fpeaker, with himfelf as with Philips,* confifted in 
 that fadt ; and it will be feen, as he advances in his 
 career, that his more ftriking efforts could not pofli- 
 bly have been premeditated. Happily note-books were 
 bufy all around him ; f and unqueftionable evidence 
 exifts that the Port Eliot MSS, from which fuch invalu- 
 able contributions are made to thefe pages, had been 
 prepared by himfelf from his own papers and other note- 
 books, both before and during the enforced leifure of 
 his laft imprifonment. He may have defired to leave 
 behind him fuch authentic records of his career, but the 
 chief and more immediate object doubtlefs was to have 
 
 * See ante, zi2. 
 
 -f- The king himfelf had as many as four or five note-takers, in all the 
 fittings, available to fupply him with reports of what paffed. Upon a 
 queftion of expreflions employed in the very fpeech before us, the vice- 
 chamberlain (Sir Dudley Carleton) afterwards told the houfe of commons 
 " that the king, hearing by common report that fuch words were fpoken, 
 " and thereat being highly offended, fent for four, five, or fix note-books, 
 " and therein found thofe words, or fuch in effeft." Commons 
 Journab, i. 86i. 
 
540 VI. The Duke of Buckingham Impeached. ^°°^ '^"• 
 
 tranfcriptions made for his friends. It was the invariable 
 cuftom then, as Fuller tells us,* " that gentlemen, fpeakers 
 " in thefe parliaments, fliould impart their fpeeches.to 
 " their intimate friends, the tranfcripts whereof were 
 " multiplied amongft others." A care in which alfo was 
 implied, it will hardly be neceflary to fay, infinite care in 
 the original preparation. Arduous and toilfome then 
 were the felf-impofed neceffities of all intellectual labour ; 
 and in the remarks here made, there has of courfe been 
 no intention to depreciate preparation and ftudy as 
 eflential to fuccefs in oratory. Nowhere, not in the 
 ornate and fantaftical quaintnefses of Digges, is its pre- 
 fence more obfervable than in the nervous and dar- 
 ing invedive, the clear and gorgeous declamation of 
 Eliot ; and we have it out of all experience, down from the 
 orators of antiquity, that he who moft patiently prepares 
 will moft readily acquit himfelf. The elaborate impromptu 
 laughed at by the wit is the grave exploit of the orator. 
 
 In Eliot's general ftyle of fpeaking, the reader will by 
 this time have remarked, there were few of thofe ornate 
 and involved periods common to the time, and diftin- 
 
 * In one of the beft prefaces ever written to the very worft book ever 
 compiled '.E-phemeris Parliamentaria, 1654). Fuller attributes to the fre- 
 quency of the tranfcripts the confufion at times arifing out of different copies 
 of the fame oration. He defcribes it alfo as an ordinary occurrence that a 
 man fliould be indebted to a friend for means to complete the report of his 
 own fpeech ; " fo that the fountain (as I may fay), being dried up, hath 
 " fetcht water from the channel." He has alfo a remark upon a clafs of 
 legiflators who, leaving no fuch records behind them, have yet left an ex- 
 ample of pricelefs worth which it would have been well that the legiflators of 
 fucceeding times ihould have taken more to heart. " Many worthier there 
 " were in that place who only were dextrous at ftiort and quick returnes, 
 " and which retrieved long debates with fome fliort and compendious anfwer 
 " very effeftuall to the purpofe. For fometiraes a ftiletto blow may give a 
 " more deep and deadly wound than the point and edge of the fharpeft fword, 
 " which requireth more time and room for the managing thereof. Yea, 
 " many a difcreet gentleman, who, after long traverfmg of matters, 
 " judicioufly bellowed his yea or nay in the right fcale thereof to weigh 
 " the balance down when in equilibrio of fuch matters of high importance 
 " (though otherwife not haranguing it in large difcourfes), might return to 
 " his countrey with fatisfaftion to his confcience that he had well deferved 
 " thereof." 
 
i6a5-6. Style of Eliot's Oratory. 541 
 
 guifhing not a few of its weightieft fpeakers. His 
 vivacity was equal to his earneftnefs, yet never fo dif- 
 played as to detradt from it. He had in great perfeftion 
 fome of the higheft quahties of an orator, fingular 
 power of ftatement, clearnefs and facility in handling 
 details, pointed claflical allusion, keen and logical argu- 
 ment, forcible and rich declamation ; but in none of 
 thefe does he at any time feem, however briefly, to in- 
 dulge merely for its own fake. All are fubordinated to the 
 defign and matter in hand. The fubje6t is the mafter 
 with him, and the refl: are fervants. The refult is an 
 impreflion from all his fpeeches as of reading a thing not 
 external or apart from him, but one with himfelf, a 
 phafe or development of his nature. Each was fpoken 
 for a purpofe, and the purpofe is always paramount. 
 Nothing is fo rare, or fo decifive of the higheft order of 
 fpeaking, as this interpenetration of every part of a 
 fpeech by the fubjed: to which it relates ; fo that nothing 
 diverges from it, nothing interrupts it, and the grafp is 
 never let go. It was in Eliot's cafe character . As he 
 adted, he fpoke ; and when once he had faflened on the 
 objedt of his wrath or his defire, he kept firm and never 
 quitted his hold. 
 
 " My lords," he began, " you have heard, in the 
 " labours of thefe two days fpent in this fervice, a repre- 
 " fentation from the knights, citizens, and burgeffes of 
 " the commons houfe of parliament, of their apprehen- 
 " fions of the prefent evils and fufferings of this king- 
 " dom ; of the caufes of thofe evils ; and of thofe 
 " caufes the application made to the perfon of the 
 " Duke of Buckingham ; fo clearly and fully, that I 
 " prefume your lordfhlps now expeft rather I fhould 
 " conclude than that anything more or further fhould 
 " be added to the charge. 
 
 " You have heard how his ambition has been exprefTed, 
 " by procuring the great offices of flrength and power in 
 " this kingdom, and in effedt getting the government of 
 
542 VI. The Duke of Buckingham Impeached. BookVII. 
 
 '' the whole into his own hands. You have heard by 
 " what praftices and means he has attained them^ and 
 " how money has flood for merit. How they have 
 " been executed, how performed, it needs no argument 
 " but the common fenfe. To the miferies and misfor- 
 " tunes which we fuffer therein, I will add but this : that 
 " the right, the title of the feas, the ancient inheritance 
 " of our princes, the honour of this land, loft or im- 
 " peached, makes it too apparent, too much known. I 
 " need not further prefs it. But from hence my obfer- 
 " vation muft defcend upon his other virtues, as they 
 " come extradied from thofe articles which you have 
 " had delivered. And this by way of perfpedtive I will 
 " give fo near and fhortly, that I hope your lordftiips 
 " ftiall conceive it rather an eafe and help to excitate 
 " your memories than to opprefs your patience. 
 
 " My lords, I will take the inward characters, the 
 " patterns of his mind, as you have heard them opened. 
 " And firft, his collufion and deceit ; crimes in them- 
 " felves fo odious and uncertain, that the ancients, know- 
 " ing not by what name to term them, expreffed them in 
 " a metaphor calling them ftellionatus, from a difco loured 
 " beaft fo doubtful in appearance that they knew not 
 " what to make it. And thus, in this man's pra6tice, 
 " we find it here. Take it in the bufinefs of Rochelle. 
 " Firft to the merchants, by his arts and fair perfuafions 
 " drawn with their fhips to Dieppe, there to be en- 
 " trapped. Then to the king and ftate, with fhadows 
 " and pretences colouring that foul defign which 
 " fecretly he had plotted againft Rochelle and religion. 
 " Then to the parliament, after his work was finifhed or 
 " in motion, and the fhips given up into the French- 
 " men's hands, not only in difguifing but denying the 
 " truth of that he knew. A prad:ife as dangerous, as 
 " difhonourable to us both in the precedence and a6h, as 
 " in the efFe6t and confequence it proved prejudicial and 
 " ruinous to our friends ! 
 
1625-26. Refponftbility fixed on the Minifter. 543 
 
 " The next prefented was his high oppreffion, and 
 '' this of ftrange latitude and extent ; not unto men 
 " alone, but to the laws, nay, to the ftate. The plea- 
 " fure of his majefty, his known diredlions, his public 
 " ac5ts, his ad:s of council, the decrees of courts — all 
 " muft be made inferior to this man's will ! No right, 
 " no intereft, may withftand him. Through the powers 
 " of ftate and juftice he has dared ever to ftrike at his 
 " own ends. Your lordfhips have had this fufficiently 
 " exprefled in the cafe of the St. Peter, and by the 
 " fhips at Dieppe." 
 
 Some movement here among his audience appears to 
 have reminded Eliot of the exiftence of a royal warrant 
 in that cafe ; and of excufes that might be, that indeed 
 already had been, founded upon it. He knew it, for 
 the warrant to Pennington was in his own hands. But 
 now, as he did ever, he turned fteadily afide from all at- 
 tempts of others to fix the king with refponfibility, that 
 he might himfelf more refolutely fix it on the minifter. 
 At the fame time fome one privately whifpered to him 
 that the ftiips had now been returned.* He paufed a 
 little, and refumed. 
 
 "My lords, I fhall here defire you to obferve one 
 " particular more than formerly was preffed, concerning 
 " the duty of his place in this. Suppofing he might, 
 " without fault, have fent thofe ftiips away, efpecially 
 " the king's ; fuppofing that he had not thereby injured 
 " the merchants, or mifinformed the king, or abufed 
 " the parliament ; fuppofing even that he had not done 
 " that worfe than all this, of now feeking to excufe him- 
 " felf therein by entitling it to his majefty ; nay, my lords, 
 " I will fay that if his majefty himfelf were pleafed to 
 " have confented or to have commanded, which I can- 
 " not believe ; yet this could no way fatisfy for the 
 
 * Sir Dudley Carleton afterwards made it a charge againft Eliot that he 
 was " informed in the houfe and privately told " as to this point, but that 
 he went on as if it had not been faid to him. Journals, i. 859. 
 
544 ^-^- '^he 'Duke of Buckingham Impeached. ^""^ '^"• 
 
 " duke, or make any extenuation of the charge. For it 
 " was the duty of his place to have oppofed it by his 
 " prayers, and to have interceded with his majefty to 
 "^ make known the dangers, the ill confequences that 
 " might follow. And if this prevailed not, fhould he 
 " have ended there ? No ; he fhould then have ad- 
 " drefled himfelf to your lordfhips, your lordfhips 
 " fitting in council, and there have made it known, 
 " there have delired your aids ! Nor, if in this he fped 
 " not, ihould he have refted without entering before you 
 " a proteftation for himfelf, that he was not confenting. 
 " This was the duty of his place ; this has been the 
 " pra6i:ice of his elders ; and this, being here negleded, 
 " leaves him without excufe. I have heard it further in- 
 " deed fpoken as excufe, that the fhips are now come 
 " home; but give me leave, I befeech your lordfhips, in 
 " prevention to objeft to that (though I confefs I know it 
 " not), that it lefTens not his fault. It may commend the 
 " French, but cannot excufe him, whofe error was in 
 " fending them away. When the French once had them 
 " they might have kept them ftill, for aught I know, 
 " notwithftanding all his greatnefs. Certainly we do 
 " know only too well that they executed, to perfedtion, 
 " their work againfl Rochelle and religion ! 
 
 " The next your lordfhips had was his extortion, his 
 " unjuft exaftion of 10,000/. from the Eafl; India 
 " merchants without right or colour. And this you 
 " heard exquifitely expreffed by the gentleman who had 
 " that part in charge, who mathematically obferved the 
 " reafon upon which it proceeded and was enforced. 
 " He revealed to you that fecret of the feas in taking 
 " of the wind, which at the Cape they have at known 
 " and certain times ; and many of your lordfhips would 
 " probably obferve that the fkill fo timely ufed was 
 " gotten recently in the late voyage, to which you know 
 " whofent him."* 
 
 * The allufion is to_ the fubjoined paffage in Glanvile's fpeech on the 
 
35-36-^" "^^^ ^'"^ proteffedfrom Rejpnftbility . 545 
 
 Here, at this bitter and farcaftic reference, well under- 
 ftood, to the late grofs and lawlefs attack on Glanvile's 
 liberty, Eliot again heard murmurs from thofe around 
 him, as if his purpofe had been miflaken and he in- 
 tended to refer to the king ; and one of the lords them- 
 felves turned to the peer next him with a remark hardly- 
 audible (that "it was the king fent Glanvile"),* to 
 which he at once replied. 
 
 " Becaufe I hear a mention of the king's facred name 
 " in this, I muft crave your lordfhips' leave thus far 
 " to digrefs as here to make this proteftation, which I 
 " had in charge from my matters the knights, citizens, 
 " and burgefles of the commons houfe of parliament, 
 " that in nothing we intend to refledt the leaft ill odour 
 " on his majefty or his moft blefled father of happy 
 " memory, but with all honour of their names we do 
 " admire them, and only ftrive to vindicate their fames 
 " from fuch as would eclipfe them. 
 
 " After this, my lords, followed the corruption, the 
 " fordid bribery of him whom I now charge, in the 
 " fale of honours, in the fale of offices. That which 
 " was the ancient crown of virtue is now made mer- 
 " chantable, and juftice itfelf is a prey to this man. All 
 " which particulars, as you have heard them opened 
 " and enforced with their feveral circumftances, reafons, 
 " and proofs, to fhow what in themfelves they are, what 
 " in their confequences, and what they may now merit, 
 
 6th article. Glanvile, I ought to have stated (ante, 476), had been fent, 
 upon compulfory appointment, by vpay of punifhment and to prevent his 
 poffible ele6lion to parliament, as fecretary to the fleet in the Cadiz expedi- 
 tion. " Well knowing how great a hindrance it would be if the fhips 
 " ihould be flayed, in regard that if they did not fail at that time, then by 
 " reafon of the courfe of the winds called the moBfoons, which were con 
 " ftant fix months eafterly and fix months wefterly every year, in the parts 
 " of Africa about the Cape of Bona Speranza, of which winds, &c. &c." 
 —Pari. Hi/}, vii. 78. 
 
 * " And here," fays a marginal note to the manufcript from which I 
 quote, " one of the lords interpofed a criticifm and cenfure t^at it ivas the 
 " king luhofent him; which being overheard, there was occafion taken for 
 " the proteftation following." 
 
 VOL. I. N N 
 
546 VL The Duke of Buckingham Impeached. ^°°^ ^"' 
 
 JET, 
 
 " I prefume I need not to dilate, but, your lordfhips 
 " knowing all fo well, leave them to your judgment." 
 
 His next fubjedt was the wicked prodigality of 
 Buckingham's expenditure. He placed befide it the 
 wants of the kingdom, connedhed with it fome dark 
 fufpicions of the people, and hurled forth the daring 
 invedhive with prodigious effedt. Thefe pafTages were 
 the fubjedt of report and inquiry afterwards ; but it did 
 not feem that in performing a neceflary part of his 
 duty by adverting to one of the charges in the im- 
 peachment, Eliot had fpoken with unwarrantable excefs. 
 The adt charged, altogether irrefpedlive of motive or 
 of purpofe, was truly and at the leaft, as the commons 
 defcribed it, one of tranfcendent prefumption and danger- 
 ous confequence. There was no queftion that it had 
 been committed, and as little that it provoked fufpicion, 
 not at the time only but very widely fince ; * and 
 whether Eliot believed or not that it involved a darker 
 crime, it may be allowed to one who has no fuch belief 
 to fay that he was quite juftified in applying to it the 
 language he borrows from Cicero. 
 
 " And from hence I am raifed to obferve a wonder, 
 " a wonder both in policy and nature. For not lefs is it 
 " that this man, fo notorious in ill, fo dangerous in the 
 " ftate, fo difproportionable both to the time and govern- 
 " ment, has been able to fubfift and keep a being. But 
 " as I confefs it for a wonder, fo muft there alfo have 
 " been art to help and underprop it, or it could not 
 
 * It was even found neceffary, upon the lapfe of the impeachment by 
 diffolution of the parliament, to quiet the feeling that prevailed by going 
 through the pretence of filing an information againft the duke in the ftar 
 chamber, in order to procure a formal " acquittal " from the charge by a 
 conftituted authority in the ftate ! In connexion with this a curious 
 revelation will ihortly be made. Mr. Brodie {Brit. Emp. ii. 123-130) 
 has coUefled with much care all the fails and authorities ; and though I 
 cannot agree in his conclufions, the cafe prefented is undoubtedly ftartling. 
 To find the fufpicion even momentarily entertained by fuch men as Selden, 
 Glanvile, Wandesforde, and Eliot, is alfo in itfelf difquieting. I have referred 
 (ante, 504) to Lord Briftol's remark refpefting it. See alfo ante, 199. 
 
1625-6. Rapacity and Prodigality of the Duke. 547 
 
 " have continued fo long. To that end, therefore, your 
 " lordfhips will have noted that he made a party. He 
 " made a party in the court, a party in the country, 
 " a party in almoft all the places of government, both 
 " foreign and at home. He raifed, and preferred to 
 " honors and commands, thofe of his own alliance, the 
 " creatures of his kindred and affedion, how mean foever ; 
 " whilft others, though moft deferving, nay all that were 
 " not in this compafs, he croffed and oppofed. And hav- 
 " ing thus drawn to himfelf a power of parties, a power 
 " of honours, a power of offices, and in efFed the powers 
 ''' of the whole kingdom whether for peace or war ; and 
 " having ufed thefe to ftrengthen and add to his alli- 
 " ances ; he then, for his further aggrandifement, fet 
 " upon the revenues of the crown, interrupting, ex- 
 " haufting, and confuming that fountain of fupply. 
 " He broke thofe nerves and finews of the land, the 
 " ftores and treafures of the king. That which is the 
 " blood and fpirit of the kingdom, he wafted and con- 
 " fumed. Not only to fatisfy himfelf, his own defires 
 " and avarice, but to fatiate others with pride and 
 " luxury, he emptied thofe veins in which the kingdom's 
 " blood fhould run, and by diverfion of its proper courfe 
 " caft the body of the land into a deep confumption. 
 " This your lordfhips faw in the opening of that point 
 " concerning the revenues. What vaft treafures he has 
 " gotten, what infinite fums of money, and what a mafs 
 " of lands ! If your lordfhips pleafe to calculate, you 
 " will find it all amounting to little lefs than the whole 
 " of .the fubfidies which the king has had within that 
 " time. A lamentable example of the fubjeds' bounties 
 " fo to be employed ! But is this all ? No : your lord- 
 " fhips may not think it. Thefe are but coUedtions of 
 " a fhort view, ufed only as an epitome for the reft. 
 " There needs no fearch for it. It is too vifible. His 
 " profufe expenfes, his fuperfluous feafts, his magnificent 
 " buildings, his riots, his exceffes, what are they but the 
 
548 VI. 'The Duke of Buckingham Impeached. ^°°k vn. 
 
 " vifible evidences of an exprefs exhaufting of the ftate, a 
 " chronicle of the immenfity of his wafte of the revenues 
 " of the crown ! No wonder, then, our king is now in 
 " want, this man abounding so. And as long as he 
 " abounds, the king muft ftill be wanting, 
 
 " But having thus prevailed in wealth and honours, 
 '* he refts not there. Ambition has no bounds, but like 
 " a violent flame breaks fl:ill beyond ; fnatches at all, 
 " affumes new boldnefs, gives itfelf more fcope. Not 
 " fatisfied with the injuring of jufl:ice, with the wrongs 
 " of honour, with the prejudice of religion, with the 
 " abufe of ftate, with the mifappropriatlon of revenues, 
 " his attempts go higher, even to the perfon of his 
 " fovereign. You have before you his making prac- 
 " tice on that, in fuch a manner and with fuch efFed: 
 " as I fear to Tpeak it, nay I doubt and hefitate to think 
 " it. In which refpeft I fliall leave it, as Cicero did the 
 " like ; ne gravioribus utar verbis quam natura fert, aut 
 " kvioribus quam causa pojiulat. The examination with 
 " your lordfhips will fliow you what it is, I need not 
 " name it," 
 
 The final reference to Buckingham had extraordinary 
 force and vividnefs, and a letter writer defcribes the 
 " emotion " excited by it in the lords. The whole 
 of thefe concluding pafTages are indeed grandly fus- 
 tained ; and very ftriking at the laft is the effedt pro- 
 duced by the quiet reference to himfelf, with its fober 
 contraft to all that implacable bitternefs and fupreme 
 difdain, 
 
 " In all thefe now your lordfhips have the idea of the 
 " man ; what in himfelf he is, and what in his afFediions. 
 " You have feen his power, andjome I fear have felt it. 
 " You have known his pradtice, you have heard the 
 " effefts. It refts then to be confidered, being fuch, 
 " what he is in relation to the king, what in relation to 
 " the ftate, and how compatible or incompatible with 
 " either. What he is to the king, you have heard ; a 
 
1625-6. J Parallel to Sejaniis. 549 
 
 " canker in his treafures, and one that reftleffly confumes 
 " and will devour him. What he is to the ftate, you 
 " have feen ; a moth to goodnefs, not only perfifting in 
 " all ill ways but preventing better. His afFedtions are 
 " apparent not to be the bell, and his adlions prove it. 
 " What hopes or expectation, then, he gives, I leave it 
 " to your lordfhips. I will now only fee, by comparifon 
 "with others, where I may find him paralleled or 
 " likened ; and, fo confidering what may now become 
 "him, from thence render your lordfhips to a Ihort 
 " conclufion. 
 
 " Of all the precedents I can find, none fo near re- 
 " fembles him as doth Sejanus, and him Tacitus de- 
 " fcribes thus : that he was audax ; Jut obtegens, in alios 
 " criminator; juxta adulatio et Juperbia. If your lord- 
 " fhips pleafe to meafure him by this, pray fee in what 
 " they vary. He is bold. We had that experience 
 " lately : and of fuch a boldnefs, I dare be bold to 
 " fay, as is feldom heard of. He is fecret in his pur- 
 " pofes, and more ; that we have ihowed already. Is 
 " he a flanderer ? is he an accufer ? I wifh this par- 
 " liament had not felt it, nor that which was before. 
 " And for his pride and flattery, what man can judge 
 " the greater ? Thus far, I think, the parallel holds. 
 " But now, I befeech your lordfhips, look a little 
 " further. Of Sejanus it is likewife noted, amongft 
 " his policies, amongft his arts, that to fupport himfelf 
 " he did clientes Juos honoribus aut frovinciis ornare. 
 " He preferred his friends, he preferred his clients, 
 " to fecond, to afTift him : and does not this man do 
 " the like ? Is it not, and in the fame terms, a 
 " fpecial caufe in our complaint now ? Does not this 
 " kingdom, does not Scotland, does not Ireland fpeak 
 " it? I will obferve but one thing more, and end. It 
 " is a note upon the pride of Sejanus, upon his high 
 " ambition, which your lordfhips will find fet down 
 " by Tacitus. His folecifms, his negleft of counfels, his 
 
550 VI. The Duke of Buckingham Impeached. ^°°^'^^^- 
 
 " veneries, his venefices,* thefe I will not mention 
 " here : only that particular of his pride, which thus 
 " I find. In his pubHc pafTages and relations he would 
 " fo mix his bufinefs with the prince's, feeming to con- 
 " found their aftions, that he was often ftyled laborum 
 " imferatoris foetus : and does not this man do the 
 " like ? Is it not in his whole pradtice ? How often, 
 " how lately have we heard it ! Did he not, in this 
 " fame place, in this very parliament, under color of an 
 " explanation for the king, before the committees of 
 " both houfes, do the fame ? Have not your lordfhips 
 " heard him alfo ever mixing and confufing the king 
 " and the ftate, not leaving a diftindtion between them ? 
 " It is too, too manifeft. 
 
 " My lords, I have done. You see the Man ! 
 " What have been his actions, whom he is like, you 
 " KNOW. I leave him to your judgments. This only 
 " is conceived by us, the knights, citizens, and bur- 
 " geffes of the commons houfe of parliament, that by 
 " him came all our evils, in him we find the causes, and 
 " on him muft be the remedies. To this end we are 
 " now addreffed to your lordfhips in confidence of your 
 "juftice, to which fomelate examples^ and your wifdoms 
 " invite us. We cannot doubt your lordfhips. The 
 " greatnefs, the power, the practice of the whole world, 
 " we know to be all inferior to your greater judg- 
 " ments ; and from thence we take afTurance. To that, 
 " therefore, we now refer him ; there to be examined, 
 " there to be tried ; and in due time from thence we 
 " fhall expedl fuch judgment as his caufe merits. 
 
 " And now, my lords, I will conclude with a par- 
 " ticular cenfure given on the Bifhop of Ely in the time 
 " of Richard I. That prelate had the king's treafures at 
 
 * Such expreffions could not of courfe have been direflly applied to 
 Buckingham. They are infinuated only through Sejanus. In the report 
 in the Journals this point is miffed, and the eft'efl wholly loft. But fo it 
 is throughout. 
 
 f The allufion is to the impeachments of Bacon and Middlefex. 
 
^^^5^- Clqfe of Eliofs Epilogue. 551 
 
 " his command, and had luxurioufly abufed them. His 
 " obfcure kindred were married to earls, barons, and 
 " others of great rank and place. No man's bufinefs 
 " could be done without his help. He would not fuffer 
 " the king's council to advife in the higheft affairs of 
 " ftate. He gave ignotis perfonis et objcuris the cuftody 
 " of caftles and great trufts. He afcended to fuch a 
 " height of infolence and pride that he ceafed to be fit for 
 " charadters of mercy. And therefore, fays the record 
 " of which I now hold the original, ' per totam injulam 
 " ' publice proclametur ; Pereat qui perdere cuncta 
 
 " ' FESTINAT. OpPRIMATUR NE OMNES OPPRIMAT.' 
 
 " And now, my lords, I am to read unto your lordfhips 
 " the conclufion of this charge, and fo to prefent it to 
 " you : 
 
 ' And the faid commons, by proteftation faving to themfelves the liberty 
 * of exhibiting at any time liereafter any other accufations or impeachment 
 ' againft the faid duke : and alfo of replying unto the anfwer that the faid 
 ' duke fhall make unto the faid articles or to any of them, and of offering 
 ' further proofs alfo of the premifes or any of them as the cafe (hall 
 ' require, according to the courfe of parliament : do pray that the faid 
 ' duke may be put to anfwer to all and every the faid premifes, and that 
 ' fuch proceeding, examination, trial, and judgment may be upon every 
 ' of them had and ufed as is agreeable to law and juftice.' 
 
 " And having difcharged this truft, my lords, impofed 
 " upon me, unworthy of that honor ; and having therein, 
 " in the imperfedtions which naturally I fuffer, made 
 " myfelf too open to your lordfhips' cenfure ; I muft 
 " now crave your pardons and become a petitioner for 
 " myfelf, ■ that thofe weaknefTes which have appeared in 
 " my delivery may, through your noble favours, find 
 " excufe. For which, as that gentleman my colleague 
 " who firft began made his apology by color of com- 
 " mand, mine, my lords, is likewife fpoken in my 
 " obedience. I was commanded, and I have obeyed. 
 " Wherein let me defire your lordfhips, that, notwith- 
 " {landing the errors of which I may be guilty, nothing 
 " may refle6t upon my mafters ; or be from thence 
 
552 VII. Eliot Jent to the Tower. BookVH. 
 
 MT. 
 
 " admitted into your lordfliips' judgments to diminifh or 
 " impeach the reputation of their wifdoms. Thefe, I 
 " hope, fhall give your lordfhips and. the world fuch 
 " ample teftimonies as may approve them ftill to be de- 
 " ferving in the ancient merits of their fathers. This 
 " for them I crave ; and for myfelf I humbly fubmit in 
 "confidence of your favours."* 
 
 Upon Eliot refuming his feat, the conference broke 
 up ; and on the following Saturday and Monday, the 
 13th and 15th of May, eight peers reported the fpeeches 
 to the upper houfe, and the articles of impeachment were 
 laid on the table of the lords. Startling events had 
 occurred in the interval. 
 
 VII. Eliot sent to the Tower. 
 
 Eliot's fpeech was delivered on Wednefday, and on 
 Thurfday morning Sir Nathaniel Rich went to the upper 
 houfe with a mefTage for the duke's commitment. Upon 
 this the duke addrefled the lords. Now that the com- 
 mons had ihot their bolt againft him, he rejoiced to be 
 delivered out of their hands into thofe of their lordfhips. 
 He protefted his innocency, but he would not there fay 
 anything elfe to caft dirt at thofe who had taken pains to 
 make him fo foul. He defired only that his trial might 
 be haftened. He fpoke, fays one who was prefent, with 
 the confidence infpired by what already, earlier that 
 morning, had tranfpired in the houfe of lords. 
 
 The king had been there " very early in the morn- 
 " ing," and had fpoken to the peers from the throne in 
 a few fentences written for him by Laud. By the 
 fpeech of Eliot he had been extraordinarily moved. 
 When the reference to Sejanus was reported to him, 
 " implicitly," he exclaimed, " he mufl: intend me for 
 " Tiberius!"-]- and hurried to the lords. As he fpoke, 
 
 * From Eliot's MS. at Port Eliot, indorfed by him : "Keepe this fafe 
 " where it may not be loft." 
 ■)■ HarleianMSS, 383. Mede to Stuteville, nth May, 1626. " I canno 
 
^^f;5g^- Anger and Rejentment of the King. 553 
 
 Buckingham flood by his fide. Imputations had been 
 caft upon his honour, he faid, and he appealed to them 
 for vindication. He had thought fit to take order for 
 the punifliment of fome infolent fpeeches fpoken to them 
 yeflierday * It behoved themfelves to preferve the honour 
 of the nobility againfl: the vile and malicious calumnies 
 of members of the houfe of commons. f As to the 
 duke's innocency of all the charges brought againft him, 
 he could himfelf be a witnefs to clear him in every one. 
 — The indecency of fuch an attempt, fo fhamelefs in the 
 fovereign, to override an accufation brought in the name 
 of all the members of one of the houfes of the legiflature, 
 met with its rebuke in a fuUen filence. No mani- 
 feftation of any kind was made while he fpoke or when 
 he ceafed. He returned in his barge to Whitehall, while 
 Digges and Eliot were on their way to the Tower. 
 
 They were fitting that morning in their places in the 
 houfe, when, as upon fome ordinary bufinefs, they were 
 called to the door; J a warrant was fliown them by two 
 
 " hold," fays the goffiping Mede, before telling what he had heard about 
 the king : " this great Thurfday makes me add this private news which 
 " I defire you to keep to yourfelf as your own, by feparating this half-lheet, 
 " and burning it or concealing, &c." The writer afterwards tells his cor- 
 refpondent that, being with Sir Robert Cotton that morning, the latter 
 had told him that the king's affeftion towards the duke " was very 
 " admirable — no whit leffened." By admirable he meant luonderful. 
 
 * Here the king unconlcioufly betrayed that not " fpeeches " were in his 
 mind, but one fpeech only ; that of Eliot fpoken " yefterday." See Pari. 
 Hift. vii. 39. 
 
 f See Laud's Diary, May ii, 1626. Laud elfewhere confefTes (Troubles 
 and Trial, chap, xlii.) that he had, upon the fu'mmons of the king, fud- 
 denly prepared the fpeech for him. 
 
 J The MS at Port Eliot fays : " Being difputing concerning the man- 
 " ner of queftioning the recufants. Sir D. D. and Sir John Elliott went out 
 " of the houfe. We know not where lies the reafon. There was one at 
 " the door fent for them to come out, and when they came out there was 
 " an officer with a warrant from his majefty to carry them both to the 
 " Tower. And thither they went : and there they are. The occafion we 
 " know not. After it was known in the houfe they prefently would not 
 ^' go forward with any other bufinefs, but cried out to Rife ! Rife ! So they 
 " arofe. Neither in the afternoon would any committees fit." A letter of 
 the 13th of May (from Birch's tranfcripts in the Sloane MSS) tells us: 
 " About the time his majefty had ended his fpeech. Sir Dudley Digges and 
 
554 ^11- Eliot fent to the I'ower . 
 
 Book VII. 
 
 JS.T, 
 
 king's meflengers ; and they were taken to the Tower. 
 So fudienly had it been done, that not until Rich's 
 return after delivering the meflage for the duke's im- 
 peachment was the fadt made known. The houfe at 
 once broke out into violent agitation. Men before 
 now had been made accountable for what they had 
 Ipoken as reprefentatives of the people, and had been 
 corre6ted and punifhed for words fpoken in parliament ; 
 but never while parliament ftill fat ; never until a diflb- 
 lution had intervened, and the privilege of the houfe 
 was fuppofed no longer to inveft them. The firft of 
 thofe open and undifguifed outrages which brought their 
 author to the fcafFold was this. " Mr. Pym flood up," 
 fays Mede in a letter to Stuteville, " and began to in- 
 " fmuate an exhortation to patience and wifdom." But 
 there was no patience then for even fo honoured and 
 experienced a counfellor. " Rife ! Rife ! Rife ! " was 
 the fhout on all fides, and the only conceflion he could 
 obtain. They would give the enemy no advantage by 
 hafty and ill-confidered. anger ; and poftponing all the 
 bufinefs before them, they rofe until the following day. 
 All that afternoon, fays the letter juft quoted,* they 
 formed into groups in Weftminfter-hall, " fadly com- 
 " municating their minds to one another." 
 
 The following morning, Friday the 12th, they re- 
 affembled ; but upon the Speaker offering to proceed to 
 the bufinefs of the day, " Sit down ! Sit down ! " was the 
 almoft univerfal cry ; " no bufinefs till we are righted in 
 " our liberties !" " The houfe was very full," fays the 
 Port Eliot manufcript, " and fate very filent long. Not 
 " one man fpake. At laft a lawyer, one Mr. Wyell,f 
 " began to exprefs the occafion of our filence. The lofs 
 
 " Sir John Eliot were fent for out of the houfe. Upon Sir Nath. Rich's 
 " return from the lords it was perceived in the lower houfe whither Sir John 
 " Eliot and Sir Dudley Digges were gone : whereupon they broke off all 
 " bufinefs." 
 
 * Harl. MSS. 383. 12th May, 1626. 
 
 "i" Evidently Wilde, the member for Droitwich. 
 
lllll^- Call for Eliot's Reka/e. 555 
 
 " of our friends was grievous : but more grievous that 
 " the members of a body ftiould be rent and torn 
 " from the body to which they belonged. It was as a 
 " mother who fhould have her child taken violently 
 " from her. He compared that to our caufe, and 
 " that it was againft privileges and the great charter. 
 " Then many fpake : one after another : that we could 
 " do no bufinefs before thefe men were out of prifon in 
 " our houfe. So what will come of us we know 
 " not." Amid that uncertainty, the new vice-chamber- 
 lain prefented himfelf. Sir Dudley Carleton, lately 
 returned from his embaffies at Venice and the Hague, 
 had come down to the houfe expreffly to fet matters 
 ftraight ; and hoping they would follow Mr. Pym's 
 advice yefterday, and do nothing tumultuoufly, at lafl: 
 he prevailed upon them to hear him. It turned out, 
 however, that he was not at that time prepared with' 
 much to fay as to the provocation given for the com- 
 mitments, except that much offence had been taken by 
 the Duke of Buckingham, and in his opinion juftly, at 
 Sir John Eliot's calling him " this man," " the man," and 
 fo forth, which appeared to Sir Dudley in a high degree 
 contemptuous and unbecoming. But upon the condudt 
 generally of that houfe to their fovereign, the vice- 
 chamberlain delivered his mind very frankly ; difclofed 
 more of the fecrets of the court than he had probably 
 been inftrucfted to reveal ; and not a little aftonifhed the 
 Englifh commons. "I befeech you, gentlemen," he 
 faid, " move not his majefty with trenching upon his 
 " prerogatives, left you bring him out of love with par- 
 " liaments. In his meffages he hath told you, that if 
 " there were not correfpondency between him and you, 
 " he fhould be enforced to ufe new counfels. Now, I 
 " pray you to confider what thefe new counfels are, and 
 " may be. I fear to declare thofe that I conceive. In 
 " all chriftian kingdoms you know that parliaments were 
 " in ufe anciently, until the monarchs began to know 
 
556 VII. Eliot Jent to the Tower. BookVii. 
 
 MT. 
 
 " their own ftrength ; and, feeing the turbulent fpirit of 
 " their parliaments, at length they, by little and little, 
 " began to ftand upon their prerogatives, and at last 
 " overthrew the parliaments throughout chrijlendom, ex- 
 " cept here only with us. And indeed you* would count 
 " it a great mifery, if you knew the fubjedts in foreign 
 " countries as well as myfelf ; to fee them look not Hke 
 " our nation, with ftore of flefh on their backs, but like 
 " fo many ghosts and not men, being nothing but Ikin 
 " and bones with fome thin cover to their nakednefs, 
 " and wearing only wooden fhoes on their feet ; fo that 
 " they cannot eat meat, or wear good clothes, but they 
 " muft pay and be taxed unto the king for it. This is 
 " a mifery beyond expreffion, and that which yet we are 
 " free from !" 
 
 The travelled and experienced Sir Dudley had fcarcely 
 " thus delivered himfelf, when his ears were faluted with 
 loud and unaccuftomed Ihouts of " To the bar ! To the 
 bar !" and he very narrowly efcaped the neceffity of apolo- 
 gifing at the bar on his knees. But the revelation he had 
 made was long remembered ; and when men had ceafed 
 to laugh at the Ikin and bones, and the wooden fhoes, 
 they called to mind that England was indeed the only 
 one of three great kingdoms which had not yielded to 
 the fword ;• that, as Philips fo nobly had reminded them 
 in the Oxford parliament,* England was the laft mon- 
 archy which yet retained her liberties ; and that it behoved 
 them, for better reafons than any under the cap of the 
 vice-chamberlain, to take timely warning by the exam- 
 ples of France and Spain. 
 
 One of Eliot's notes has preferved for us what fol- 
 lowed at this fitting. The houfe had turned itfelf into 
 grand committee, and Henry Rolle was in the chair. 
 Sir John Savile, who had fhown ftrong tendencies to the 
 court fmce Sir Thomas Wentworth took up with the 
 
 * Ante, 4.09, 
 
i62;-6. Members imprijoned by Elizabeth. 557 
 
 oppofition,* endeavoured to quiet the excitement by de- 
 fcribing his own commitment for three weeks in Eliza- 
 beth's time, the houfe ftill fitting, and hlmfelf not informed 
 of the caufe ; yet, on its being moved in the houfe, they 
 would not refolve it to be a breach of their privilege, but 
 fimply directed that the queen be made acquainted that 
 he was a member, whereupon fhe ordered his difcharge. 
 To which Sir Thomas Hobby replied that he alfo re- 
 membered having fat in that parliament, and that Sir 
 John's cafe, being one in which his offence did not appear 
 to have been given as a member, was wholly different 
 from the prefent, wherein that was not only fo, but the 
 two members had been fent to prifon out of the very houfe 
 itfelf; an adt wholly without precedent. The refultwas, 
 that on the motion of Noye, it was refolved not only that 
 no bufinefs fhould be done till their members were dif- 
 charged, but that there fhould be remonftrance made to 
 the king on that breach of privilege, and " to fhow him 
 " whom we conceave to be the caufe of this. "f 
 
 * I may take the opportunity of faying here that Eliot's intereft in the 
 Yorkfhire eleftions had continued in this as in the laft parliament, and that 
 he was not more ready formerly againft; Wentworth than now againft 
 Savile to oppofe all unfair tampering with the rights of the eleftors. The 
 refult was a warm refentment on the part of Savile, in tire courfe of which 
 he " made remark on Sir Jo. Elyott for which he was obliged to give fatis- 
 " faftion in his place " (Journals, i. 862J. As I have named this new eleftion 
 difpute, I cannot refift borrowing from it the examination of two witneffes, a 
 father and a fon, in reference to the original of a letter of which a copy had 
 been handed in. It will fhow that eleilion witneffes flourifhed as luxuriantly 
 in the feventeenth as they have fmce in the nineteenth century. 
 
 " An. Foxcrofte (fon) : Thinketh Da. Foxcrofte, his father, had this 
 " original within this fortnight. Saw it within thefe 3 weeks, in the 
 " counting-houfe window. Saw it within this week, and had it within 
 " this week, in his own hands. Thinketh his father now hath it ; but 
 " knoweth not that certainly. Confeffeth he faw it yefternight, and had it 
 " in his hands, and delivered it to his father." 
 
 " Dan. Foxcrofte (father) called in : Confeffeth he hath feen the original, 
 " whereof this is a copy. Saw it within this fortnight. Being aflced when 
 " the laft time he faw it, faith he is old, and his memory bad. Confeffeth 
 " he faw it within this week. Confeffeth he had feen it within 24 hours. 
 " Afked again, whether he had it not laft night; confeffeth he had. 
 " Afked where the letter is ; confeffeth he hath it about him. And deli'vered 
 " in the letter" 
 
 f Eliofs Notes, n. 5, fol. 1 8, a, b. 
 
558 VII. Eliot Jent to the 'fower. BookVII. 
 
 Sir Dudley DIgges was liberated next day. He had 
 been included in the arreft becaufe of a report of his 
 having faid, alluding to the imputation of the thirteenth 
 article as to the drink and plaifter given by the duke to 
 the king's father, " that he did forbear to fpeak further, 
 " in regard to the king's honour." But the words were 
 denied by Digges himfelf ; and though the duke ftill tried 
 to fix them upon hirti, and rofe nine times at the one 
 morning's fitting to endeavour to convince his brother 
 peers,* Sir Dudley's own denial was confirmed by thirty- 
 fix lords prefent at the conference, and his arreft was of 
 neceffity remitted. Only one, Lord Holland, could be 
 found to fay that he had heard anything like the words; 
 and he was too notorioufly the duke's creature to obtain 
 any fhow of credence, j The truth became indeed plain, 
 that Buckingham had feized on one of Digges's expreffions 
 employed in a quite different fenfe, in the belief that' it 
 might be ufed to make Eliot refponfible for darker and 
 more criminal imputations than were intended by the 
 allufion to Sejanus. 
 
 Againft Eliot the blow was really aimed, and upon 
 him it was intended to have fallen heavily. It was the 
 beginning of the cruel perfecutions he had forefeen and 
 prepared himfelf for when he decided finally on his 
 prefent courfe ; and which were only exhaufted at laft by 
 the death of their vidlim. The character of the im- 
 prifonment to which he was immediately configned may 
 be judged from the circumftance that the cell into which 
 
 * See archbifhop Abbot's narrative in Ru/hnvort/j, i. 450. 
 
 f In Eliofs Notes (N. 5, fol. 18 b.) there is an account of what pafled in 
 the commons houfe on Saturday the 13th, immediately before Digges's 
 releafe, from which it appears that Littleton, Sir Nathaniel Rich, Sir Francis 
 Stewart, and Pym ftrongly denied the alleged expreffions ; whereas, ac- 
 cording to Carleton, " not one but four or five members not only affirmed 
 " it before, but yefterday again, and the king laft night at fupper told him 
 " the words were fo." Ultimately the houfe fixed the charge of falfe 
 reprefentation on Sir Thomas Jermyn, the member for St. Edmunds. Sir 
 Thomas afterwards admitted (N. 6, fol. 28 a), that he had been mif- 
 taken. 
 
1625-6. King's Mejfage concerning Eliot. 553 
 
 he was thrown in the Tower was that which in Uttle more 
 than two years received the man who murdered Buck- 
 ingham. * It will fhortly be feen alfo that the defign 
 was, if poflible, to have made him refponfible for offences 
 of wider fcope than any contained in his fpeech at the 
 conference. 
 
 On Tuefday the i6th of May, Sir Dudley Digges re- 
 fumed his feat in the houfe, which at once, upon his 
 entrance, " turned themfelves into a grand committee 
 " concerning Sir JcJin Eliot." The chancellor of the 
 exchequer then rofe and earneftly counfelled moderation 
 in their proceedings. That the king was very careful of 
 entering upon their privileges, he had given good tefti- 
 mony by his proceedings with the member who then 
 reappeared among them ; but the bufinefs of Sir John 
 Eliot was of another nature. The way he had difcharged 
 the bidding of the houfe had indeed been wholly dif- 
 pleafing to his majefty ; but apart from this, the king 
 charged him with things extrajudicial to that houfe. It 
 would be well therefore that they fhould go* on with 
 their bufinefs, and leave a cafe of that kind to be dealt 
 with by his majefty. Being afked what he meant by 
 " extrajudicial," Wefton replied that it was the king's 
 word, and that without the king's leave he could not 
 explain it. We will adjourn, then, until you have leave, 
 was the rejoinder ; becaufe this is the only bufinefs we 
 can poffibly go on with. And, after a vote clearing by 
 name their fix managers at the conference from having 
 in any particular exceeded their commiffion, the houfe 
 adjourned accordingly. 
 
 Next day, the 17 th, the explanation was given, and 
 one of Eliot's notes enables me to defcribe what pafl^ed. 
 Sir Richard Wefton began by ftating that he had leave 
 to explain the word extrajudicial, which was that his 
 majefty had committed Sir John Eliot for high crimes 
 
 * Letter in the Harleian MSS, 390, 
 
c6o V 11. Eliot fent to the Tower. Bookvii. 
 
 againft his majefty done out of that houfe. A perfed: 
 filence followed this remark by the chancellor. No 
 one fpoke ; there feemed an indifpofition to fpeak ; 
 whereupon Sir Dudley Carleton offered a fuggeftion that 
 as no more queftion was made of Sir John Eliot by his 
 majefty for anything done in quality of a member, pro- 
 bably their beft courfe might be to clear him by a vote 
 in all he had done by their bidding at the conference, 
 and for the reft to petition the king for his releafe. At 
 this the filence fuddenly broke. There was an indig- 
 nant ftiout of diffent ; and the vice chamberlain, whom 
 there had been fcant difpofition to liften to ever fince 
 the wooden ftioes fally, had now to explain for himfelf. 
 He protefted he meant no offence. In Elizabeth's reign 
 there were three members. Sir Anthony Coke, Sir Henry 
 Bromely, and Sir John Savile, taken out of that houfe 
 fedente curia, at the time when he was himfelf a member. 
 And there were three fimilar cafes in the 25th of Eliza- 
 beth ; thofe of Mr. Morice, attorney of the court of 
 wards, Sii" Edward Hobby, and Mr. Beale ; all of whom 
 were taken and fent to the Tower, yet the houfe notwith- 
 ftanding proceeded with bufinefs, not even petitioning for 
 their deliverance. With this he fat down ; and againft 
 a very general defire rather ftrongly expreffed, by the 
 houfe, which appeared to think the vice chamberlain not 
 entitled to anfwer on the point. Sir Thomas Hobby 
 perfifted in replying to him. He alfo had a feat in that 
 parliament of Elizabeth, and recollefted the cafes re- 
 ferred to ; but not one of the perfons named had been 
 committed for any off"ence in parliament. It was true that 
 the houfe had not petitioned in the cafes, for it was no 
 wifdom to defire what they knew beforehand there 
 was ground or good reafon for denying. Let the 
 charge againft Sir John Eliot be diftin6tly ftated, and it 
 would then be feen if the alleged ofi^ence were fo far be- 
 yond their cognizance that they might properly interfere 
 at all. A man might be taken out of that houfe fedente 
 
]^^J^l- Refolve to put Eliot to the dueftion. 561 
 
 parliamento, as Docftor Parry was, to be hanged, drawn, 
 and quartered. Some laughter following upon this men- 
 tion of Parry's cafe, and no one feeming difpofed to 
 prolong the debate, the vice chamberlain rofe again, and 
 hoped the houfe would at leaft fufpend any further refo- 
 lution till his majefty had opportunity to prove the 
 accufation made. It was not what had happened at the 
 conference, but " fomething elfe which might be dif- 
 " covered by the fight of Sir John Eliot's papers, or 
 " fome other means." Difregarding this intimation, it 
 was ordered that the fub-committee then drawing up the 
 remonftrance fliould " take therein what concerns Sir 
 " John Eliot and add it to the reft;" and once more the 
 refolution was directed to be read from the chair, that 
 they would pafs to no other bufinefs until righted in 
 their liberties.* 
 
 That was on the 17 th of May. Meanwhile time had 
 not been loft in attempted dealings with the prifoner in 
 the Tower. But fuch denials or explanations as Digges 
 had made, fuppofing fuch to be obtainable, were not 
 fought from him. Far beyond the narrow compafs 
 within which the queftioning of Digges had lain were 
 the matters on which it had been refolved to bring Eliot 
 to the queftion. The hope defperately feized at was to 
 trump up fome charge of treafon. Befides his private 
 papers, at which the vice chamberlain had hinted, all 
 things faid by him fince parliament met, and efpecially 
 the fpeech of the two famous precedents, were to be re- 
 vived and raked into for matter againft him ; and on the 
 1 8 th he was examined, upon queries drawn up by the lord 
 keeper, in the Tower. The draft in Coventry's hand- 
 writing of " Lord Keeper's queftions to be propounded to 
 " Sir John Elliott " remains in the ftate paper office under 
 that date, fide by fide with the refult of the examination 
 that followed on the fame day " before Sir Randall 
 " Crewe k"', lord chief juftice for pleas to be holden 
 
 * Eliot's Notes, N. 5, fol. 19, b, 20, a. 
 
 VOL. r. 00 
 
c;62 FIT. Eliot fent to the Tower. Bookvii, 
 
 " before his majeftie, and Sir Robert Heath k^'^ his 
 " majeftie's attorney generall ; " the latter bearing the 
 fignatures of Crewe, Heath, and EHot.* 
 
 He was aiked whether he had at any time held con- 
 ference with anyone, and when, and with whom, upon 
 the point of how far any kings have heretofore been 
 compelled to give way to the will of their people ? He 
 replied that he never, with any, had held fuch conference, 
 either as to that or of anything touching the fubjeit, or 
 any circumftantial thing tending to that end. 
 
 He was afked whether he had held conference with 
 any, and when, and with whom, touching the depriving 
 of kings either of this realm or of any other kingdom ; 
 or whether he had feen, or been fhowed, and by whom, 
 any precedent of any former time in that kind, or tending 
 to any fuch purpofe ? He replied that he had never 
 held conference to any fuch purpofe with anyone, nor had 
 ever feen or been fhowed any fuch precedent otherwife 
 than had occurred to him in the general reading of 
 hiftory ; that he had never of purpofe read any fuch 
 thing, nor had ever been fhowed any precedent to any 
 end tending to a difcourfe on that fubje6t ; and that, 
 whenfoever he had lighted upon any fuch in his reading, 
 he had detefted it as being contrary both to human and 
 divine laws. 
 
 He was afKed who delivered to him the precedent oi 
 the commiffion- in the time of Richard the Second which 
 was gotten by conftraint from that king ? He anfwered 
 that he had had notes of a commiffion of that time, but not 
 gotten by conjiraint, as he conlidered ; he muft have had 
 them, as he thought, a dozen years at leaft, and could 
 not then call to mind of whom, or by what means he had 
 them, or whether he had copied the original record in his 
 fearch for parliament bufinefs ; but though he had not 
 feen that commiffion, nor any copy of it, certainly for thefe 
 ten years, he had feen the book or treatife which pafTes from 
 
 * MS. S. P. O. Dom. Cor. xxvii. 17 and 18. 
 
1625-6. Examination of Eliot in Prifon. ^S^ 
 
 hand to hand under the name of Sir Walter Raleigh, by- 
 way of J Dialogue between a Councillor and a Juftice of 
 Peace* and in that treatife there was fome paflage of the 
 commiflion, out of which, among other things, he had 
 of late taken fome notes for his memory upon the reading 
 of it ; otherwife, however, than by thofe former notes, and 
 thefe later notes taken in this manner, he had not had 
 any occafion to remember or be put in mind of that 
 commiffion, nor had had the precedent of the com- 
 miffion from any perfon whatfoever otherwife than as he 
 had before exprefled : the certainty whereof he could 
 not more precifely fet down, having had the firft notes 
 thereof fo many years agone. 
 
 He was further and again alked whether the fame 
 perfon who fhowed him that commiffion when he firft 
 faw it, or any other perfon, and who, did deliver him 
 any precedent or treatife touching the depofing of kings ? 
 He replied that no perfon, as before he ftated, had fhown 
 him fuch commiffion ; and that no perfon ever delivered 
 to him, or fhowed to him, or read to him, any fuch pre- 
 cedent or treatife. 
 
 He was aflced what conference or fpeech he had had with 
 the deputies of Rochelle, or any of them, and when and 
 whether he perfuaded or prefTed them to do anything 
 which they refufed or were unwilling to do, and what the 
 fame was ? He replied that he had never had conference 
 or. fpeech with the deputies of Rochelle ; with any from 
 them, or with any of them ; nor did he know that he 
 had ever feen the face of any of thofe .agents. 
 
 * The treatife is well known, and there feems reafon to believe that 
 Raleigh was really its author. A manufcript copy of it, tranfcribed in 
 58 folios, is among the papers at Port Eliot, with paffages marked by Sir 
 John. During the excitements of 1628 it came forth as "printed at 
 " Midelburge," with the title " The Prerogati've of Parliaments in England: 
 " proved in a Dialogue (pro et contra) betweene a Councellour of State, 
 " and a Juftice of Peace. Written by the worthy (much lacked and 
 " lamented) Sir Walter Raleigh, knight, deceafed. Dedicated to the 
 " king's majeftie, and to the houfes of parliament now affembled,., 
 " Preferved to be now happily (in thefe diftrafted times) publiflj.ed.r" 
 
^64 VII. Eliot fent to the 'Tower. ^"""^ ■^"- 
 
 He was afked whether he were not in Gray's-inn on 
 the Sunday, or near thereabouts, before he fpake in 
 parliament of the commiffion before-mentioned ; and with 
 what company he then and there was, and what con- 
 ference paffed between them ? He replied that he was 
 not, nor had been in any part of Gray's-inn thefe feven 
 years. 
 
 He was afked what conference or correfpondence, by 
 letters, meflages, or otherwife, diredtly or indiredtly, he 
 had had with any foreign ambaflador or agent ? He re- 
 plied that he had not had any conference or correfpond- 
 ence, by letters, meflages, or otherwife, diredly or indi- 
 redly ; and he was well afllired that he had not written any 
 letter to any foreign ambaflador or agent whatfoever, nor 
 had received any letter from any ; and the laft meflage 
 he had from any foreign ambaflador or agent, was about 
 three years agone, when he was a prifoner in the Mar- 
 fhalfea about prize goods taken in the weft, and Philip 
 Barnardo came to him about it. 
 
 The objedt of the queftions is manifeft ; and probably 
 no one more than the honeft chief juftice rejoiced at 
 the fimplicity yet fufficiency of anfwers which left every- 
 thing precifely where it was. Some hope there had evi- 
 dently been to involve one of the Gray's-inn lawyers in 
 complicity with Eliot ; and fome light is thrown upon 
 the queftion as to French ambafladors and agents by that 
 declaration of Carleton's to the commons already quoted, 
 upon his final and flrenuous oppofition in the matter of 
 the St. Peter of Newhaven, " doubting the ambaffadors 
 " of France had pradtifed to incenfe this houfe to the 
 " French's benefit and the lofs of the Englifh."* But all 
 other clues to the track on which the lord keeper had 
 drawn the attorney-general in a quefl from which Eliot fo 
 quietly turned them all alide, it would now be vain to 
 
 * I infer this from Eliofs Notes, N. 6, fol. 25, a ; where the words are 
 underlined, and an index hand is fcratched in the margin more efpecially to 
 mark them out, doubtlefs by Eliot himfelf. 
 
ll^L^' Liberation of the Prifoner. ^65 
 
 feek. ^ Suffice it that nothing had been gained from him 
 by this unprovoked and lawlefs invafion of his Hberty ; 
 not even an admiffion of the infufficiency of his precedent 
 of Richard the Second, or of the alleged conftraint prac- 
 tifed on that king ! 
 
 There was nothing for it, then, in prefence of the 
 preflure from the commons, but to fign the warrant for 
 Eliot's liberation. Without a diflblution, Charles had 
 no alternative ; and it was important to him, before such 
 violence was committed, as well that another effort 
 fliould be made for fupply, as that time fhould be given 
 for fome anfwer to the charges againft Buckingham, now 
 committed to the hands of Laud and Sir Nicholas Hyde. 
 Not only had the commons refolutely refufed to proceed 
 with anything until Eliot fhould be releafed, but they had 
 already voted, and were now preparing, a remonflrance 
 againfi fuch violation of their privilege. On the i8th of 
 May the brave Bevil Grenvile (who died afterwards fight- 
 ing for the king at Lanfdowne), writing to his " beft 
 " friend the lady Grace " of the chriflening they were 
 fhortly to expedb, told her of his " hope that Sir John 
 " Eliot fhall be there too if it be a boy, though the king 
 " hath lately fent him to the Tower for fome wordes 
 " Ipoken in parliament, but wee are all refolv'd to have 
 " him out againe, or will proceede in noe bufinefse." * 
 That was the very day when Eliot was under queflion in 
 the Tower, and its refult had fufficed to break down the 
 refolution of the king .and duke before his more indo- 
 mitable refolution. On the 20th of May Grenvile wrote : 
 " We have Sir John Eliot at liberty againe ! The houfe 
 " was never quiett till the king releas'd him." On the 
 19th the order of releafe had been figned. 
 
 On Saturday the 20th of May, when, amid congratu- 
 lations that partook more of flernnefs and folemnity than 
 of gladnefs or joy, the commons were to fee Eliot reappear 
 among them, the vice chamberlain, by exprefs command 
 
 " MS. letter in my pofleffion. 
 
S66 VII. Eliot Jent to the Tower. ^"""^ ^^^^• 
 
 of the king, was to make his laft appearance there : his 
 majefty having already given direftion for a patent of 
 peerage promptly to remove him to a place more con- 
 genial with his foreign experiences. The fcene that 
 enfued was full of charadter and intereft, and from the 
 notes of Eliot himfelf it is now prefented much more 
 vividly than heretofore.* 
 
 Upon the Speaker taking his chair, Mr. Glanvile faid 
 he had it from Sir John Eliot, who waited outfide, to 
 defire their pleafure whether he was to come and again 
 fit, having been accufed of high crimes and extrajudicial 
 to that houfe. To this there was an eager " yea " fhouted 
 from all fides : whereupon he entered, and having taken 
 his place, rofe direftly afterwards, and requefted to hear 
 what was charged againft him, that he might fiiow by his 
 anfwer whether he were indeed worthy to fit there. To 
 this Sir Dudley Carleton replied. He was not there to 
 charge him, but to give him occafion to difcharge himfelf. 
 All the other feven members engaged in the late bufinefs 
 had ufed refpeftive terms to the duke, but the manner of 
 Sir John Eliot's fpeech had been " too tart and harfh" to 
 his grace's perfon. It was not within his duty to 'have 
 charaderifed the duke's mind by the "ftrange beaft" 
 ftellionatus. It was contrary to the mind of the houfe 
 to have profefied ignorance of the return of the fhips out 
 of France. " They fay they are come, but I know it 
 " not." It was a great indignity to perfons of honour, 
 and held bafe in all languages, to fay " this man " and 
 " that man " of fuch a perfon as the duke. The hiftorical 
 comparifons to Sejanus and the Bilhop of Ely were alfo 
 unwarrantable. And finally, which was the main offence, 
 he cut off the words of the laft article in the accufation 
 againft the duke with an expreflion from Cicero, as if 
 fomething were in the charge covered which might be dis- 
 covered. In brief, that was what Sir Dudley Carleton^ 
 on behalf of his majefty, had to fay. 
 
 * Eliofs Notes, N. 6, fols. 29 a, b, and 30, a. 
 
1 62 5-6. Explanations in the Houfe. 567 
 
 Eliot then fpoke. Yefterday morning, at half-pafl; 
 eleven, he firft heard of the intention to releafe him, and 
 now he was firft made acquainted with his offence. He 
 thanked the vice chamberlain for his plain dealing, in at 
 length affording him occafion to clear himfelf. Was it 
 now the pleafure of the houfe that he fhould anfwer 
 generally, or, for their clearer fatisfajftion, make a par- 
 ticular anfwer upon each particular charge ? The latter 
 by all means, was the reply ; to which end each charge 
 fuccefTively fhould be repeated by Mr. Vice-chamberlain, 
 and if anyone elfe had additions to make, let the occafion 
 now be taken. But no one fave Sir Dudley fpoke ; and 
 as he merely again went over, in feparate parts, his ori- 
 ginal accufation, it will fuffice to give Eliot's anfwers. 
 
 For the ftellionatus, then. That as to the duke's 
 honours and offices, he ftyled them ambition ; but as to 
 his deceit and fraud, becaufe no word could reach it, he 
 borrowed that of ftellionatus from the civilians, who in 
 the body of their law have a whole chapter for it. If 
 Mr. Vice-chamberlain confulted thofe authorities, he 
 would probably be able to fatisfy himfelf that it was only 
 ignorance made the ftrangenefs of that word.* 
 
 For his faying he knew it not, upon the return of the 
 fhips, he confefTed that he had faid he did not know, 
 though he heard, they were returned. It was indeed true 
 he heard it in the houfe, but neither then knew it as true 
 of any, nor yet knows it as true of the flat-bottom 
 boats, and divers others of which the like was faid. 
 
 For the words " the man." He had not fpoken on 
 that occafion by the book, but fuddenly. He had fre- 
 quently ufed the duke's titles, but fometimes for brevity 
 he might have fhortened them. He was furprifed to hear 
 that called ftrange which was ufed in all languages : ip/e, 
 
 * It is needlefs of courfe to fay that the word is from Jiellio, a fpotted 
 lizard, the fraudulent man being comparable to that animal alone in ver- 
 fatility and craft ; and that the term ftellionate in the Roman law compre- 
 hends all kinds of knavery not defignated by any more fpecial name. 
 
£68 VII. Eliot Jent to the Tower. Bookvii. 
 
 S.T. 
 
 ilk, and the like, being given both to Alexander and 
 Csefar, " which were not lefs than he." And therefore 
 he thought it not a difhonour unto him fo to be called 
 a man, " whom yet he thinketh not to be a god." 
 
 For Sejanus and the Bifhop of Ely. He claimed the 
 right to make fuch parallels. In the fenfe wherein the 
 former had been misapplied, he ufed it not. If fo ap- 
 plied he could not hinder the conftrudlion, but was not 
 to be forced beyond his meaning. He made no parallel 
 of times, or other perfons but the duke. 
 
 For the words of Cicero upon the potion and the 
 plaifter. " He relateth the words, and, as he thinketh, 
 " the fyllables, which he infifls upon and avows." Upon 
 that he had no more to fay. 
 
 For the manner of his fpeech. And here, as of a 
 matter aiFefting himfelf more exclufively, he fpoke with 
 a modeft and manly franknefs. It was, he faid, an old 
 charge againft him, that the manner of his fpeech was 
 with too much vigour and ftrength. He would not 
 attempt to juftify his defedls in nature ; but he hoped 
 they ftiould not be imputed as a crime. He yet on that 
 occaiion did, and does in that houfe, defire to avoid 
 paffion , being only afFe(5ted to difcharge his duty to 
 the houfe with the beft life he could. " Efpecially 
 " in this particular, becaufe the duke had inti- 
 " mated to the lords that many of his followers were 
 " difheartened." 
 
 For the exceeding his commiffion. Did anyone of 
 the commons, from which he received it, fay that he had 
 done fo ? The negative upon the inftant was fo loud 
 and general, that the few words with which he refumed 
 his feat, to the efted; that when any particular fhould be 
 mentioned he would give anfwer to it, were fcarcely 
 audible. The next moment he had withdrawn, " the 
 " houfe refufing to order his withdrawal." And not a 
 fingle diffentient ventured to declare himfelf againft the 
 vote which was immediately taken, to clear Eliot from 
 
35-k^ W^ of the King and Gain of the Commons. 569 
 
 every imputation, and to declare that he had in no re- 
 fpedb exceeded the commiffion entrufted to him.* 
 
 So clofed this affair on the king's part, as ignominioufly 
 ended as it was ill begun ; a clumfy retreat from a po- 
 fition which there was neither the boldnefs to attempt to 
 maintain, nor the good fenfe handfomely to abandon. 
 Even the people about the court could to fome extent 
 moralize the matter. They faw that the commons, apart 
 from what they gained in it by Eliot's dauntlefs compo- 
 fure and farcaftically quiet reaffertion of everything he had 
 been called to explain, had affirmed by its means that 
 right in their own houfe to protedl themfelves from every 
 queftioning but their own, which more than anything elfe 
 united and ftrengthened them in future parliaments ; 
 while the king had gained nothing by it, and had loft the 
 reputation of much. But beyond this the incident im- 
 parted no leffon. They believed, according to Heylin, 
 who expreffes doubtlefs the mortification of Laud, that 
 his majefty had " power in his hands to have righted him- 
 " felf according to the praftife of queen Elizabeth and 
 " others of his majefty's royal predeceffors in the times 
 " foregoing," if he had been bold enough to follow their 
 example inftead of the example of his father. •)• On the 
 
 * One other charafterlftic mention the aiFair received, when, on Thurf- 
 day the ift of June, Eliot himfelf made a motion in the houfe {Journals, 
 \. 867) that Mr. Meautys, the member for Cambridge, and fome others 
 might be " appointed to fee the opening of his papers, which at the time 
 " of his arreft were taken by Mr. Meautys, and had now been by him fent 
 " back under feal : to fee ^whether they be all there." Order was accordingly 
 given that Mr. Meautys, Sir William Spencer, Sir Thomas Hobby, and 
 Sir William Armyne, ihould affemble for the purpofe in Sir John Eliot's 
 chamber at five o'clock that afternoon. What the refult was is not faid, 
 but it is very certain that all Eliot's papers had not found their way back 
 to him 5 fome that were feized at the time remaining now in the ftate paper 
 office, and copies or abftracts of others having been quoted ante, (469-72). 
 In faft one of the charges in the original draft of the remonftrance at this 
 time preparing, " Refufal by Meautys of a note to be taken of Sir J. 
 " Eliot's papers " (Eliofs Notes, N. 5, 22, a), (hows that means had been 
 taken to render it impoffible with any exaftnefs to fee at their return 
 " whether they be all there." 
 
 + Heylin's Life of Laud, 142-3. The commons " had now put them- 
 
570 VII. Eliot Jent to the 'Tower. Bookvii. 
 
 other hand, Eliot's notes have ftiown us that the prece- 
 dents moft vaunted from Elizabeth were not only now 
 relied upon, but replied upon by men who had fat in her 
 parliaments ; making no fecret of her miftakes, but 
 fliowing her prompt redrefs of them. That is what her 
 example fhould have taught a court which unhappily 
 was incapable of learning anything. She underftood, if 
 ever a ruler did, the art in which the higheft government 
 confifts, of fo conforming to the veracities and neceflities 
 around it, as to make itfelf really the expreffion of the 
 people governed,, in their changing condition, in their 
 new and impatient wants, in their increafing intelligence. 
 But Charles the Firft had no one to tell him this, nor 
 probably would have liftened if there had been. The 
 people around him could only fee that he was not as 
 brave as the great queen, and lament that he fhould 
 rather have taken example by his father. But it would 
 have been well for him if he had done even this. He 
 fufFered for want of his father's cowardice quite as much 
 as for want of Elizabeth's courage. His was one of 
 thofe natures, not uncommon, which having no real felf- 
 reliance have yet a moft intenfe felf-reference, and make 
 up ever for yielding in fome point by obftinacy in fome 
 other ; and it was his mifery always to refift, as he 
 yielded, too late. After giving up everything that had 
 fuftained the prerogative while it had yet any work in 
 the world to do, he believed in it to the laft as the only 
 thing that could help him ; and he was not the lefs ready 
 to feize Pym and Hampden in 1641 becaufe of his 
 defeat and difcomfiture in the attempt to feize Eliot 
 in 1626. 
 
 " felves," continues Heylin, " upon this refolution, not to fufFer any one 
 " of their members to be queftioned till themfelves had confidered of his 
 " crimes. By which means they kept themfelves clofe together, and 
 " emboldened one another to ftand it out againft the king to the very laft." 
 On the other hand, fays Peter with much truth, the gains and gettings of 
 the king from the line he took, might have been " put in a feamftrefs's 
 " thimble and yet never fill it." 
 
1625-6. Refolve to dijmi/s the Commons. ^ji 
 
 35-36 
 
 VIII. The Remonstrance and Dissolution. 
 
 The remaining incidents of the feffion of what White - 
 locke truly calld this " great, warm, ruffling parHament," 
 were brief and ftormy. The vice chamberlain took the 
 fudden refuge prepared for him in a more quiet place, 
 and became Baron Carleton ; " having not fo much as a 
 " place to be made lord of," faid Eliot when the matter 
 was mentioned to the commons.* The commons, timely 
 warned of " new counfels," and filently preparing their 
 remonftrance againft all fuch, held themfelves at bay ; Sir 
 Nicholas Hyde, in clofe counfel with Laud, was haftening 
 to complete Buckingham's anfwer to the articles of im- 
 peachment ; and the king, bent upon a diflblution before 
 the commons could either offer their remonftrance or 
 make rejoinder to the duke's anfwer, feems neverthelefs 
 to have clung to a hope that the fubfidy bills might be 
 got through. Buckingham knew better the determination 
 on this point, and rumour even went of reproaches over- 
 heard in the palace. People faid that the duke being in 
 private attendance at the audience chamber, the king was 
 overheard to afk him impatiently what could he do more ? 
 He had engaged his honour to his unclfe of Denmark, 
 and other princes ; he had in a manner loft the love of 
 his fjbjefts ; and what would the duke have him do ? f 
 From which the goffips who reported the fcene, and had 
 probably invented it, fancied fome that the diflblution of 
 parliament, and others that the chancellorfliip of Cam- 
 bridge, was in difcuflion between them. 
 
 Certain it is that on the chancellorfliip becoming now 
 
 * Eliofs Notes, N. 5, 21, b. This was at the difcuflion of the remon- 
 ftrance on the 3rd of June, when Eliot moved the infertion in it of the 
 fubftance of Carleton's fpeech about " new counfels," and alfo thofe 
 paflages about the duke's interference in the matter of fupply at 
 Weftminfter, and his being " the caufe of drawing us to Oxford and the 
 " breach there," which are only now rendered intelligible to us by his own 
 defcriptions in his manufcript memoir. 
 
 f Harl. MSS. May 1626. Letter of Mede to Stutevile. 
 
572 VIII. The Remonftrance and Dijfolution. book vii. 
 
 /ET. 
 
 fuddenly vacant by Lord SufFolk's death, the faft was 
 hardly known when it was feized as an occafion for 
 triumph over the commons and their impeachment ; and 
 Buckingham, under accufation of grave charges in both 
 houfes of parliament, was named adtually by royal man- 
 date to fucceed to that honourable diftindtion. " Lord 
 Suffolk died," wrote Rudyard to Netherfole, " on Sunday 
 " morning, and on Monday Laud went to Cambridge to 
 " folicit the chancellorfhip for the duke. * " But Cam- 
 bridge has always had fome voice for herfelf ; and this 
 monftrous propofal, though accepted by her heads, was 
 refifted by her younger members of convocation, who 
 haftily put forward Lord Berkfhire, Suffolk's fon, and 
 ran Buckingham fo hard, that, notwithflanding royal in- 
 fluence ufed without fcruple or fhame, he was returned by 
 a majority of only three, f With charadteriftic fervility 
 Williams afterwards claimed credit from the duke for 
 having, even now while under cloud of his disfavour, fent 
 all his Cambridge chaplains to vote for him ! J The com- 
 
 * MS. S.P. O. Dom. Cor. 2nd June, 1606. 
 
 f In Ellis's Original Letters, iii. 231, we have a curious account of the 
 conteft. " We of the Body murmur, we run one to another to complain. 
 " We fay the Heads in this eleftion have no more to do than any of 
 " us. . . Hereupon on Tuefday morning, notwithflanding every Head fent 
 " for his fellows to perfuade them for the duke, fome durtt be fo bold as to 
 " vifitt for the contrary in publiclc. . . My lord biihop labours ; Mr. Mafon 
 " villts for his lord, Mr. Cofens for the moft true patron of the clergy 
 " and of fcholars. Matters belabour their fellows. Dr. Maw fends for his, 
 
 " one by one, to perfuade them ; fome twice over Divers in town 
 
 " got hacknies, and fled to avoid importunity. Very many, fome whole 
 " colleges, were gotten by their fearful matters, the bifhop, and others, to 
 " fufpend, who otherwife were refolved againft the duke, and kept away 
 " with much indignation ; and yet for all this ftirre the duke carried it but 
 " by three votes from my lord Andover " (Vifcount Andover had been 
 created Earl of Berkfhire three months before) " whom we voluntarily fet 
 " up againft him, without any motion on his behalf, yea without his 
 
 " knowledge We had but one do61:or in the whole towne durft 
 
 " (for fo I dare fpeak) give with us againtt the duke ; and that was Dr. 
 " Porter of Queen's." Maw, one of the king's chaplains, was alfo at this 
 time matter of Trinity, and fupplied the duke with 43 out of his 108 votes. 
 
 X MS. S. P. O. 3rd February, 1626-7. During the impeachment 
 Williams made no fign but this. " Well was it for Lincoln," exclaims 
 Hacket (ii. 71), " that he had no hand in this fray ; for, as the voyagers to 
 
35-36^' Preparation of Appeal to the People. 573 
 
 mons meanwhile had gravely addrefled the king on the 
 impropriety of the ftep he had taken, defiring him at leaft 
 to interpofe fuch delay as would allow a hearing to the 
 impeachment ; and upon his refufal they voted as an in- 
 fult to the houfe the nomination as chancellor of Gam- 
 bridge of a man under its impeachment. Eliot took 
 aftive part in the proceedings of that day, and onward to 
 the clofe ; nor is it unworthy of remark that the member 
 who was only fecond to him in adtively preparing the 
 remonftrance, wherein that and all other incidents of the 
 feffion found bitter record, was the future lord keeper 
 Littleton. * 
 
 The intention at firft was to have pafled each feparate 
 claufe of this formidable document as they might have 
 pafled a bill ; which was the courfe really taken, fifteen 
 years later, with the Grand Remonftrance. But fo much 
 time neceflarily pafl"ed in enlarging its fcope and making 
 addition to the fubjedts embraced in it, that there was 
 only time at laft to vote it as it ftood ; and the laft words 
 fpoken in the difcuflion were thofe of Sir Robert Manfel. 
 " If there be any fear of danger to England," he faid, 
 " the duke and his agents are the caufe. This I will 
 " make good." 
 
 So faid the old feaman ; and fo the commons had re-' 
 folved, by means of this remonftrance, to fay to the 
 people of England. Their eagernefs in purfuing and 
 completing it, during the laft days of the feflion, was to 
 avoid a repetition of the failure at Oxford which had then 
 
 " Greenland fay, when the whale-fifhing begins it is better to be on the 
 " fti6re, and look on ! " 
 
 * Eliot's Notes, N. 5, fol. 20, a, and 22, a. From thefe we learn that two 
 days after Eliot's " explanations " in the houfe, Littleton prefented, with a 
 view to its being " turned into a bill," a rough draft of the remonftrance, 
 which at this time was limited to a proteft againft the violation of their pri- 
 vilege, and an aflTertion of their rights in that particular. Gradually it 
 affumed larger dimenfions, and became ultimately a ftatement of public 
 affairs fiuce the acceffion. All the grievances were imported into it ; and 
 again Littleton, on the 6th of June, reported them under fucceffive heads 
 for approval, and took the order of the houfe for " a fubcommittee to frame 
 " the declaration upon all thefe." 
 
574 VIII. 'The Remonjlrance and Dijfolution. Bookvii. 
 
 prevented fuch appeal. They had now publicly to confefs 
 that this parliament had failed like the laft ; that they 
 were again hopelefs of redrefs, for the prefent, by parlia- 
 mentary ways ; and that they muft further intereft 
 and engage the people out of doors in the matters they 
 had all at heart. Thus, therefore, under cover of remon- 
 ftrating with the king, they would tell the people all 
 th^t had pafTed fmce the acceffion ; how the wifh to fupply 
 his majefty in his firft parliament had been received ; 
 how the duke had fown diflenfion between them and the 
 king, and ultimately procured their dilTolution ; how, be- 
 fore the meeting of the fecond parliament, feveral of their 
 aftive members had been difqualified from fitting, and 
 Mr. Glanvile, a lawyer depending on his pradlice, had 
 been fent as fecretary to the Cadiz fleet ; how upon again 
 afiembling in parliament, they had voted ample fupplies 
 conditional on an amendment of grievances ; how all 
 grievances had been traced by elaborate inquiries to one 
 principal caufe, which thereupon they had, in obedience 
 to paft conftitutional ufage, made the fubjed: of a parlia- 
 mentary accufation ; what pra6tices had fince been at- 
 tempted to baffle that defign ; how two of their members 
 had been taken out of the very houfe and imprifoned, 
 and their papers feized ; how they had fared as to Richard 
 Montagu, who had been rewarded with promotion for 
 abetting innovations in religion ; and how one of the 
 king's minifters had openly ftated to them his majefty's 
 intention, in the event of not being fupplied, to betake 
 himfelf to new ways. The clofe of this remarkable 
 ftate paper * was moft impreflively worded. His majefl:y 
 was warned againft retaining the Duke of Buckingham in 
 his counfels ; and was further told that if anyone fhould be 
 found to do fo ill an office to the crown as to advife the 
 
 "■ It will be found in Rufhivorth, i. 400-406 ; and in Pari. Hiji. vll. 
 309-20. The king's counter-declaration is in Rufhivortk, i. 410, and in 
 Pari. HiJi. vii. 300-309. The fubfequent proclamation by the king for 
 the burning and fuppreffion of the commons' remonftrance is in KuJIi'worth, 
 i. 411-12. 
 
1625-6. c[-j^g j)uys ^gpiy fg }ii^ Accujers. 575 
 
 levying of aids, taxes, or fubfidies among the people 
 contrary to the fettled laws, the commons of England, 
 efteeming all fuch as vipers, pefts, and capital enemies to 
 the commonwealth, there folemnly pledged themfelves 
 to bring thofe offenders to condign punifllment. 
 
 Meanwhile, towards the middle of June, Buckingham's 
 anfwers, the handywork of Laud and Hyde, and a fervice 
 for which the latter was foon to get the chief jufticefliip, 
 were handed to the lords by the duke himfelf ; with brief 
 appeal againft the fubtlety of the accufation and the 
 greatnefs of his accufers. " Who accufed me ? " he faid. 
 " Common fame. Who gave me up to your lordfhips ? 
 " The houfe of commons. The one is too fubtle a 
 " body, if a body ; the other too great for me to conteft 
 " with. Yet I am confident neither the one nor the 
 " other fliall be found my enemy when my caufe fhall 
 " come to be tried." The laft was a fhrewd condition, 
 for he knew that no trial was contemplated. Nor would 
 it be other than wafte of fpace to advert to anfwers which 
 were never meant to be brought to proof. The duke 
 was made to deny much, but unconfcioufly to admit 
 much more. The moft grave charges he defended by 
 pleading privity of the king. He left unanfwered, for 
 fecret reafons of ftate, the charge as to the loan of the 
 fhips. He admitted fuch charges as that of having 
 pofTeffed himfelf by purchafe and otherwife of many 
 offices, defending them on the ground of public ne- 
 cefTities. And finally he claimed, as to all the charges of 
 earlieft date, the benefit of the general pardon of James 
 and of the coronation pardon of his fon. 
 
 The commons at once, upon report of the duke's 
 anfwers, called for the parliament roll containing the re- 
 lation of the Spanifh match, and announced that their 
 rejoinder would be fhortly forthcoming. That was on 
 Saturday the loth of June; and on the following Monday 
 the king fent to them for enadment of the fubfidy 
 bills without delay or condition, under threat of " other 
 
576 VIII. The Remonftrance and Dijfolution. ^''°'''^"- 
 
 "refolutions." To this their anfwer, after a debate of 
 extraordinary warmth and duration, was an . order re- 
 quiring all the managers of the impeachment to " bring 
 " their parts into thehoufe in writing," and further giving 
 diredion " to fend for lord Digby to make proof"* By 
 this they announced their refolve, not only to prefs the 
 charges they had themfelves made, but fo to back up 
 the charges of lord Briftol as to reinforce againft the 
 duke the cafe of that formidable antagonift. 
 
 The only record remaining of that Monday's debate 
 is a note inclofed in one of Mede's letters to Stutevile. 
 The queftion raifed, it fays, was only whether the bill of 
 fubfidies or the remonftrance ftiould firft be perfedbed ; 
 yet it declares the excitement to have been fuch that 
 above two hundred members had fpoken, when, after the 
 firft fitting of eight hours, " from eight in the morning 
 " till paft four afternoon," the houfe rofe to dine. 
 " By the clamour of voices they fay the queftion could 
 " not be well difcerned ; but upon dividing, the number 
 " of thofe that would have the remonftrance firft done 
 " was far greater than of thofe for the fubfidies. At 
 " fix a clock againe they returned, and fate till almoft 
 " nine." While the clamour and debate were yet at 
 their height, a ftorm more terrible had arifen outfide. 
 Such a fury of wind and rain and hail, of lightning and 
 thunder, defcended fuddenly upon London, as no living 
 man till then had witnefled. In city churchyards the walls 
 were rent away, tearing up the earth with them, and ex- 
 pofing the dead. Over the Thames there appeared, 
 rifing higher and higher, ftrange circles and fhapes of 
 mift, which took fupernatural meanings to the vulgar.f 
 
 * Journals, i. 870. 
 
 t " This occafioned the more difcourfe among the vulgar," fays Rujh- 
 ivort/i (i. 391) " in that Doilor Lamb appeared then upon Thames, to 
 " whofe art of conjuring they attributed that which had happened." Lamb 
 was a notorious quack whom the duke was known to confult, and who will 
 make tragic reappearance fliortly, Buckingham firft went to him about his 
 brother Purbeck's madnefs. 
 
'^^5-6- Storms within and without the Houfe. c^'-j'] 
 
 Nay, the very members of the houfe, as they hurried to 
 the windows overlooking the river to view the fpeftacle, 
 could not fupprefs fuperftitions of their own, as they faw 
 " the fiercenefs of the ftorm bend itfelf towards York- 
 " houfe, the then habitation of the Duke of Buckingham, 
 " beating againft the ftairs and wall thereof." But with 
 no worfe mifchief the thunder for that time pafTed away ; 
 honourable members recovered their compofure ; and 
 when the majority feparated at nine that fummer night, 
 they felt doubtlefs all the fafer againft future figns and 
 ftorms, in having been enabled finally to fettle their re- 
 monftrance. They had accomplifhed it juft in time. 
 
 On the morning of Wednefday the 14th they were 
 confcious of the imminent approach of a diffolution, and 
 pafTed that day in preparing for due prefentation to the 
 king of their appeal to the people. There was one more 
 debate. Should only a feledt number prefent it, or fhould 
 the commons with the Speaker at their head ? The latter 
 courfe had the eager advocacy of Eliot ; it was adopted ; 
 and a meflage was fent to the king craving audience and 
 accefs from the whole houfe " about ferious bufinefs con- 
 " cerning all the commons of the land." The king re- 
 turned for anfwer that they fhould hear from him next 
 morning ; but they did not feparate that afternoon until 
 after arrangements for delivering to fuch members as 
 defired it copies of the completed remonftrance. They 
 knew by this time that the upper houfe had made fpecial 
 interceffion with the king for a fhort delay. " Not a 
 " minute" was the anfwer. 
 
 Next day they were fummoned to the lords to hear, 
 in the king's prefence, the commifTion for their diflblution 
 read. The Speaker had his inftruftions notwithftanding, 
 and courage to give efFedt to them. Holding forth the 
 remonftrance as he approached the throne, he ftated to 
 the king its purport, and craved compliance with its 
 humble petition " for the removal of that great perfon 
 " the Duke of Buckingham from accefs to your royal 
 
 VOL. I. P P 
 
578 VIII. 'The Remonftrance and Dijfolution. ^°°^ '^"• 
 
 " prefence." Without a word the diflblution followed ; 
 and as the commiffion was read members were feen read- 
 ing copies of the remonftrance. 
 
 In a few days it would be in the hands of the people. 
 It would tell them why the king fo rudely had again 
 difmiffed their reprefentatives. They would learn from 
 it all about the impeachment of the duke, the grave 
 charges preferred againft him, and how the enquiry de- 
 manded into their truth or falfehood had been quafhed by 
 an abrupt diffolution. On the face of it there was an ill 
 look ; and uncontradidted it might have evil confequence. 
 Might it not be well, fome one feems to have whifpered 
 to the king, to make a fhow of not fcreening the favourite, 
 and of faving this diffolution from the flander of having 
 been a mere device to fave him ? The fuggeftion was 
 caught at eagerly, and fome remarkable unpublifhed 
 papers at Port Eliot reveal what followed. 
 
 On the morning of Saturday the 1 7th of June, the day 
 but one after the diffolution, Eliot, Digges, Hobby, Lake, 
 Erie, Wandesforde, Herbert, Whitby, Sherland, Pym, 
 Glanvile, and Selden,* the fecret committee of twelve to 
 whom had been referred the final preparation of the 
 proofs to fuftain the feveral charges in the impeachment, 
 received an urgent note from his majefty's attorney 
 general. Superfcribed to " his worthie frendes," the note 
 thus ran. " Gentlemen, His ma"^ hath given me fpeciall 
 " commandm* from his own mouth that I ffiould fignifie 
 " his pleafure unto y" that y" fhould not go out of 
 " towne till y" have firft beene w"' me, and given me fome 
 " inftruftions in a bufineffe concerninge his fervice. And 
 " that y" may not mifconfter the demand, or conceave 
 " it to be other than it is, I lett you know thus much, 
 
 * All the names are formally underwritten to Heath's letter, and I was 
 at fome lofs at firft to underftand why they had been fo brought together, Sir 
 Thomas Hobby and Sir Thomas Lake (the latter was member for Wells) 
 having taken no part as managers or affiftants. But the myftery was ex- 
 plained when I found them to be the felefl committee of twelve before re- 
 ferred to (512), and named in the Journal!, i. 8<j.7. 
 
1625-6. jI Letter from the Attorney General. 579 
 
 " that I fhall not detayne y" long. And for your better 
 " difpatch I wifhe y" would agree to come all togeather 
 " unto me to my chamber in the Inner Temple on Mun- 
 " day morninge by feven a clocke ; when I fhall acquaint 
 " yi w"" his ma"^'* further pleafure. Y"" verie lo. frende, 
 " Ro. Heath. 17 Junij. 1626." On the fly-leaf of 
 which note by Mr. Attorney is the draft of another 
 note in the handwriting of Eliot, dated on the day 
 of the interview and defcribing what pafled. On leav- 
 ing Heath's chambers the refl; had referred it to Eliot 
 to word the deciiion which he doubtlefs had moft ear- 
 nefl;ly counfelled. " Whereas," he wrote, " this morning, 
 " when we attended you upon a commandm* from his 
 " ma''® fignified by y'felf, you gave us intimation of a 
 " purpofe in his ma"'' to have a proceeding in the ftar 
 " chamber againfl the D. of Buckingham upon fuch 
 " matters as he flood latelie charged w'*" in parliam' ; and 
 " to that end required to be inflrudted what proofes we 
 " had to mayntayne the feverall charges p^ferred from the 
 " comons to the lords againft thefaid duke; wee, accord- 
 " ing to y'' advife, have confidered thereof togeather, and 
 " entreat you to take knowledg that whatfoever was done 
 " by us in that bufmefs was done by the command of 
 *' the houfe of commons, and by their diredtions fome 
 *' proofes were delivered to the lords w"" the charges ; 
 " but what other proofes the houfe would have ufed, 
 " acording to the libertie referved to themfelves, either for 
 "^ the mayntenance of their charge, or upon their replie, 
 " we neither know, nor can undertake to informe [you.]" 
 Out of parliament we have no knowledge of the bufi- 
 nefs we tranfadted there, and to any queftions involving 
 our condu<5b therein we have no anfwer to make to you. 
 That in fubflance was Eliot's anfwer to the requirement 
 of the king. It was the rule from which he never fwerved, 
 and for which, when the majority of thofe who with him 
 now iigned this letter had deferted it, he laid down 
 his liberty and life. 
 
fSo VIII. The Remonjirance and Dijfolution. ^""^^^l 
 
 The king refufed to take the anfwer, and ordered 
 Eliot, on the following day, to be fpecially examined 
 apart from the rest ; but " Mr. Attorneye's queftions and 
 " Sir John Eliot's anfweare," alfo preferved among the 
 MSS. at Port Eliot, yielded no better fatisfadlion. He 
 was prefled clofely on the point of witneffes and his own 
 belief in regard to proofs ; but he gave only the one 
 reply, diverfely fhaped but in fubftance unvarying. " I 
 " had therein no other intereft or employment but as by 
 " the generall command, and for the fervice of the houfe 
 " in the late diffolved parliament." " I retained, but for 
 " that fervice, no other iife or memorie." " I have fome 
 " general notions, but not fuch particular knowledge as I 
 " can conceave to be any way ufefull unto you." " My 
 " firft knowledge and intelligence hapninge in parlia- 
 " ment, after difcharge of mine owne particular duties to 
 " the houfe / remitted to that againe wholie the memorie 
 " and confideration thereof.^' 
 
 Baffled thus completely in that which would have 
 given fome fhow of authority to the artifice propofed, 
 Charles had no alternative but to order an information in 
 the ftar chamber to be fupported by proofs of his own. 
 To this fham proceeding the duke put in a fham anfwer ; 
 fome witneffes were put through a fham examination as 
 to the potion and plaifter in the old king's illnefs : and 
 then the thing dropped out of fight. 
 
 Not fo the impotent rage of Charles. Briftol was fent 
 to the Tower ; Arundel was placed under reflraint in his 
 own houfe ; a counter-declaration was iffued to the re- 
 monflrance ; the counter-declaration failing to find atten- 
 tion, the remonflrance was ordered to be burnt ; and the 
 unhappy king proceeded to try the effedb of thofe " new 
 " counfels" which he and his fervants had fo often 
 threatened. 
 
APPENDIX TO THIS VOLUME. 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTICE 
 
 OF 
 
 ELIOT'S MONARCHY OF MAN. 
 
 COMPOSED IN HIS LAST IMPRISONMENT. 
 
 T N an early page of my prefent volume *, mention 
 -*■ has been made of this treatife ; of its prefervation in 
 the original manufcript in the Britifh Mufeum ; and of 
 Eliot's intention to have publifhed it. In one of the 
 clofing feftions of my fecond volume will be found a 
 fketch of his purpofe in compofing it, and of his probable 
 reafons for having yielded a confent to its publication upon 
 the fiiggeftion of Hampden, Richard James, Thomas 
 Hatcher, and other friends towhom it had been fubmitted. 
 Some acquaintance ihould be made with this latter fedlion, 
 forming the fifth of the laft book of the biography of 
 Eliot, before the prefent notice is read. Therein will 
 be found thofe perfonal details from which the treatife 
 derives its intereft in connexion with its author's life and 
 laft imprifonment, and that give additional meaning to 
 many of the extrafts now to be prefented to the reader. 
 Here the only intention is to feledt, within the fpace to 
 which they muft neceflarily be confined, and which can 
 be better afforded to them in this place than at the clofe 
 of my work, fuch pafTages as will exprefs the charadter 
 and tone of the compofition, exhibit the courfe of its 
 argument, and fufEciently fhow in a general way the 
 execution of its defign. 
 
 * Ante, 31. 
 
582 Eliot's MS. of the Monarchy of Man. 
 
 Since the early fheets of this volume were printed, a 
 further fearch among the papers at Port Eliot has con- 
 firmed what was there Inferred from portions of Eliot's 
 correfpondence, as to the propofed publication of the 
 treatife. What was meant to have accompanied it, as a 
 preface or dedication, I have difcovered in the original 
 draft. Why this was omitted in the completed tran- 
 fcript, does not appear ; but it is too charadterlftlc of 
 EHot's habit of Independence, In this as in graver things, 
 not to be well worthy of prefervation. Here therefore 
 the opening, or dedicatory part, is given ; and the reft, 
 which Is In the nature of a preface or perfonal explana- 
 tion, will fall into its proper place at the clofe of the 
 biography. 
 
 Eliot infcrlbes his treatife To the Reader, and con- 
 demns the fulfome and abfurd dedications which had 
 then become the cuftom, as unworthy of letters and a 
 degradation to thofe profeffing them. The extent of 
 this evil was not feen till a later age ; but when Eliot 
 fpeaks of it, even in that earlier time, as making impiety 
 the patron to religion, proftltuting virtue to vice, and 
 bequeathing art to Ignorance, he mows that he had as 
 keenly difcerned, as he bravely denounces, the whole 
 of its corrupting tendency. 
 
 " To THE Reader, 
 
 " Bookes of thefe times, and the temples of the antients, through 
 " imitation or by Fortune, doe often meet in one degree and paralell. 
 " In thofe works of pietie, or fuperftition rather, of the elders, the 
 " ftruftures were magnificent, w*'' all curiofitie and excellence that art 
 " or nature could impofe, raif'd even to the heigth of admiration : but 
 " their dedications foe abfurd, their deities foe ridiculous, their worfliip 
 " and adoration foe profane : monfters and men being their confe- 
 " crated gods ; naie, monfters of men, and the worfl: parts of them ; 
 " naie, Pluto and Dis, thofe infernall lords of treafures, divills and 
 " feinds, w* had veneration like themfelves : that what was faire 
 " w^'out was blacke and fowle w*in, all the bewtie of their fabricks 
 " being loit in the uglinefs and deformitie of the patrons. Soe is it oft 
 " with bookes, whofe compofitions have all excellence, all that witt and 
 " learning can exprefs : but their dedications foe prepofterous, impietie 
 " made patron to religion, virtue proftitute to vice, art bequeathed to 
 
Propqfed Dedication of the Treatife. 583 
 
 " ignorance, proteftion being affefted from the contrarie, that what 
 " Plutarke fpeakes of Brutus on the judgment and execution of his 
 " fonnes, may be truly faid of thefe — they cannot be praifed nor dif- 
 " praif'd enough. 
 
 " I make not this a cenfure upon others, but an apologie for myfelfe 
 " in the Not dedication of this treatife. To addrefs it to forae deitie, 
 " befides the adulation it might favor of, were prefumption beyond 
 " meafure, it being noe fitt facrifice for fuch greatnefs. To feeke pro- 
 " teftion from the contrarie, were a great follacifme and madnefs, the 
 " finne of witchcrafte and idolatrie. Patronage in general], however 
 " fought or valued, in this kinde has fmall profit and advantage. It 
 " craves affiftance and fupport; and this implies weaknefs and defeft, 
 " w"'' is noe badge of honor, nor thereby ftrengthened and fupplied, but 
 " renders that fufpefted and in jelolie, w"'', els, might be thought 
 " candide in itfelf. I will not therefore feeke favor by my flatterie ; 
 " nor, w* the vaile of favor, hope my errors ilial be fliadowed. I 
 " will not foe farr prejudice the innocent, to conclude him guiltie that 
 " is not yet acculd. Errors are incident to all things that are not more 
 " than humane, and what proceeds from me is moil obnoxious by my 
 " weaknefs ; yet, what this Traft imports, let it be judgd by others. 
 " It may not have condemnation at my hands, whofe confcience does 
 " juftify the intention, and that makes fomething for the reputation of 
 " the aa. 
 
 " To THEE, Reader, it appeales from all flander and detradlion : to 
 " the tribunall of thy judgment, from the corrupt barr of malice. Give 
 " it an equall triall in thy juftice ; and if greatnefs doe oppofe it, take 
 " up that Roman caution* not to fuffer it adverfarii viribus abjiceri. 
 " What definition thou wilt give, it fhall moll readilie fubmitt to ; 
 " having noe defire to anie thing but what may be dulie faid it's owne ; 
 " nor ambition of more honor than is comprehended in thy favor ; and 
 " that, but in the juft meafure of thy equitie, and proportionable unto 
 " right. . . . Let it fupplie the ftaye of thy wafte time when greater 
 " thoughts have left it. Receave it as a friend, not as an enemy e; and 
 " if it faile the expeftation vi'^ thou haft, pardon , the weaknefs for the 
 " affeflion. It has this perfedl to thee, as its owne. All power is the 
 " dilpenfation of another; and in that the maftermuft anfwear, not the 
 " workman, whofe intereft refts meerlie in the will."t 
 
 From the tranfcript circulated among the writer's 
 private friends, this dedication was excluded. Here we 
 pafs at once to the treatife from its carefully conftrudled 
 title-page. 
 
 * Eliot here notes in the margin : " Cic. Orat. p. 347 ; 
 
 " tant. p. 505." 
 f MS. at Port Eliot. 
 
584 Eliot's MS. of the Monarchy of Man. 
 
 civMrx-in/oTne aaxjhoiis^ tm^ 
 
 
 ^Jjens rms luce oficu (>«k»™,. 
 
 This reduced fac-fimile of that firft elaborately 
 written page of Eliot's own manufcript^ may tranfport 
 us for a moment to the fcene of his imprifonment, with 
 its long and weary hours. We feem to fee, as we look 
 at the fanciful adornment of the letters, and the human 
 faces peeping out from the flourifhes, how the lingering 
 time was whiled away upon this dearly cheriflied labour. 
 The omiffion of the final word in the fentence from 
 Virgil adds to its eiFed:. Chivalrous and fignificant, it 
 ftands like an abridged motto on a fhield. The original 
 is of folio fize, and the treatife occupies two hundred 
 
'The Author's Fear to Tide contrary to the Times. 585 
 
 and fort)r pages, full of abbreviations, very clofely 
 written, and very far from fo legibly as the ornamented 
 page before the reader ! 
 
 Of the general fcope and aim of the work, elfewhere 
 defcribed, it will be only neceflary to remark here that 
 it falls into the two divifions exprefled in the title. 
 " Some queftions of the politicks are obvioufly difcuft," 
 as a prelude to the analogy purfued between the civil 
 and moral obligations which conftitute Eliot's idea of 
 his monarchy. And when, after laying down with 
 elaborate learning and ingenuity the groundwork of his 
 reafonings and comparifons, purfuing them in fomething 
 of the manner which Sydney adopted in later time, 
 through families, cities, and fo on, he at laft arrives at 
 the rules and limits to be applied to the authority of 
 princes, he thinks it neceflary to fay that he fliall take 
 only as they are emergent from his fubjed: and arife 
 naturally in difcourfe, the queftions moft in controverfy 
 touching the exercife of that power : not compelling, not 
 courting, any that did not voluntarily come in and readily 
 accoft him ; but yet not baulking, for any fear or diffi- 
 culties, thofe that the occafion might prefent. " Only 
 " this favor we petition, which candor will allow us for 
 " our encouragement in the worke, that no prejudice 
 " may impeach us in the cenfure of our reafon if it 
 " tide contrary to theje tymes, if it oppofe the ftreame and 
 " current wee are in, fuperior or inferior." 
 
 In fpeaking at this point of adts and Intentions he 
 employs an Illuftratlon which already he had ufed in 
 one of his letters to Bevil Grenvile.* He is arguing that 
 a6ts may have divers inclinations and effedts, from the 
 accidental Intercurrence of new caufes contrary to their in- 
 ftitution and defign. That to an ad: of virtue there might 
 
 * See poji, ii. 6i6. In another paflage about the heliotrope, "that 
 " beautie of the gardens," opening and (hutting to the fun, he reproduces 
 one of his allulions in a letter to Hampden. Many fimilar inftances might 
 be given, and will indeed hereafter eafily occur to the reader. 
 
586 EUofs MS. of the Monarchy of Man. 
 
 be a concurrency of vice, through the corruption and in- 
 firmity of the objedt. That, as not feldom happened 
 through the depravity of men, a charity might be 
 interverted to ill ufes and fo lofe the fruit of virtue. 
 That the council of Achitophel might be folly though an 
 eifeifl of wifdom. That equity might be converted to 
 iniquity ; juftice into injury, or into cruelty of extremity; 
 and that, in ftiort, no virtue was in operation fo facred 
 but circumftances might corrupt it, and divers effects 
 follow it, from new caufes and intentions intervenient. 
 
 " Therefore, as the intention muft be the indication of the aft, the 
 " end muft fhew the intention. For as a good aft may be ill done in 
 " refpeft of the intention, fo the intention of what puritie foever may 
 " be corrupted by the end. If our defcent and end ftiall terminate in 
 " the eaft ; if our horofcope and afcendant flial bee placed in the period 
 " of the weft ; if we fliall then, as Strabo faith, feekc the funne itfelf 
 " riiing in the weft, — we cannot conclude properly, or right. For the 
 " end of the great workman muft direft us, not the eiFeft and operation 
 " of the worke." 
 
 Government was in Eliot's view never to be regarded 
 as " fupreme," excepting for the welfare of the fubje6t. 
 If not expreflly in the words, that was ever included in 
 the fenfe ; as the objeft of all fuch authority and power. 
 And it followed likewife by inference and reafon, if the 
 ufe and intereft were not fevered. " For, as Cicero faies, 
 " res public a is but res fopuli ; and if the right and 
 " intereft be the people's, foe fhould the benefitt and ufe." 
 Repeatedly in his treatife Eliot breaks into admiration of 
 the Roman orator, ftatefman, and philofopher. "Oh 
 " the height of this gradation ! " he exclaims, fpeaking 
 of the varieties and contrarieties in the world fo beyond 
 the underftanding of weak man, yet fo reconciled to 
 order and agreement ; " which none but Cicero could 
 climbe ! " And through an exalted eulogy he proceeds, 
 confidering the famous Roman in all his afpedts, " re- 
 " forting from the perfon to the caufe, from the client 
 " to the advocate," till he knows not " whether his truth 
 " or eloquence be more admirable." 
 
A Point too tender to handle Roughly. 587 
 
 The Supreme power of the ftate, Eliot reduced to 
 two divifions : the firft concerning the exercife of that 
 power as it is diftributive (in the perfons of minifters) 
 to others than the prince, which he confines within a 
 ftridt obfervance of the laws ; and the fecond refleding 
 particularly upon princes, and the privilege and preroga- 
 tive of their perfons, as to which, with a touching 
 reference to himfelf and his imprifonment, he raifes the 
 queftion whether the laws fhould have operation thereon. 
 
 " And this with more difficultie is involved, as lying within that 
 " mifterie, the prerogative of kings, which is a point fo tender as it 
 " will hardlie bear a mencion. We may not therefore handle it with 
 " anie roughnefs, leaft it refleft fome new beame of terror on ourfelves ; 
 " but with what caution wee may, yet without prejudice to truth; — 
 " that in what freelie we have undertaken wee male faithfullie bee de- 
 " livered, and fafely render the opinion which wee have without 
 " fufpeft of flattery." 
 
 Such a fufpicion could not with any of his readers 
 have outlived his next feptence, when, with fudden and 
 indignant fenfe that the claims fet up for princes in that 
 day were even too abfurd for argument, he exclaims 
 that whether laws fhould have influence on kings could 
 never fall into doubt. It was in right and conclufive ! 
 The only queflion could pofTibly be,' within the laws, 
 what bounds and circumfcriptions fliould be given them, 
 and in what compafs and degree they fhould be limited 
 and confined. After eulogy of the law not inferior to 
 that famous one by Pym in his fpeech againft Strafford, 
 he puts the diflinftion between it and privilege. 
 
 " Two things occur in this — the lawe and the priviledge of each 
 " country, in both which the fubjeft has like intereft. By the privi- 
 " ledge the prince is free from all things but the lawe ; by the lawe he 
 " craves in all things to be regulated. By the priviledge he has a 
 " propriety of conient in the fanftion of all lawes ; by the lawe he 
 "■ has a certain rule and level by which to fquare his aftions. By the 
 " priviledge all approved cuftoms are received in the ftrength and 
 " vigour of the lawes ; by the lawe no aftual repetitions ftiall create a 
 " cuftom, without acceptation and allowance. The lawe is rex omnium, 
 " as Pindarus fays, the king and governour of all things ; the other is 
 
5 88 Eliofs MS. of the Monarchy of Man. 
 
 " regi fimilis, fomething like unto a king, as Bodin has it, — as abfolute, 
 " though lefs known." 
 
 He continues^ with bitter fcorn of the flaviih fyco- 
 phancy of his time : 
 
 " For thefe laws' and priviledges (which we fliall join together, 
 " making but one joint fubjeft of this queftion), the difcuffion will be 
 " eafier if we turn our difquifition, and thus ftate it. What power 
 " the king has upon them ? Wherein there is fuch a confluence 
 " of flattery, conducing to our prejudice ; fuch labour to make a 
 " monarchic unlimitted, an abfolutenefs of government without rule ; 
 " fo much affeftion, or corruption rather, fpecified ; fuch diftortion 
 " and perverfion of authorities to that end; — learning made proftitute 
 " to fallacy ; religion turned to policie ; heaven brought down to 
 " earth; light transformed to darknefs; — as to attempt againft it, is, 
 " now, to rowe againft the tide ! againft the ftreame and current of thefe 
 " tymes to feek a palTage unto truth ! " 
 
 Not the lefs had the philofophic patriot fought and 
 to his own fatisfaition found it. Nor would he conteft 
 with the Neiles, Lauds, Montagus, Sibthorps, and Man- 
 warings : he could only pity them ! 
 
 "Some would infinuate, from the dehortation of the liraelites, a 
 " warrant and authority for the extention of that power. What then 
 " was faid in terrour, they now make it a conclufion of the right ! 
 " Others inferr from the confeflion made by David, ' Againft thee only 
 " ' have I finned,' that princes offend not men, and therefore have a 
 " liberty upon them to do what adls they pleafe. Which judgements 
 " we fliall rather pity than conteft ! The heathens, likewife, both 
 " Greeks and Latins, have been fearch't to have their atteftations for 
 " this fenfe — but how truly we fhall, in a few general inftances, foon 
 " fliew ! " 
 
 And then he brings up what Prynne called his 
 fquadrons of authorities. Pliny, and Valentinian, and 
 Tacitus are fummoned, to prove that at a time and 
 ftate when monarchy and empire had not their meaneft 
 exaltation, the laws were above the authority of princes, 
 and had a maftery over men who claimed of all elfe to 
 be the matters. Plato and Ariftotle are called, to de- 
 monftrate in principle that nothing but ruin could be 
 the fortune of that kingdom where the prince ruled the 
 laws, and not the laws the prince (Eliot fhowing his 
 
Hampden's dejcription of his friend! s Work. 589 
 
 fcholarftiip here by clearing up a difputed paflage in the 
 laft great writer, whom he calls the original and fource 
 of wifdom, and whofe text he held to have been fre- 
 quently altered by " court parafites " of his age) ; and 
 appeal finally is made to Cicero to apply both his Greek 
 mafters in praftice, and adapt them to all times. 
 
 " What more fully or more plainly can be fpoken ? What greater 
 " authority can be had, either for the perfons or the reafons ? The 
 " Greeks, the moft excellent of them, and from whom the contrary is 
 " infmuated (but how truly have we obferved by the way), the Latins 
 " likewife, and not the meaneft of their kind, whofe judgements no 
 " pofterity can impeach, — we have really and aftually on our fide. 
 " Princes and emperors confenting ! We may confirm it by the 
 " examples of fome others, if number be more valuable than weight ; 
 " yet not as Ihall leflen the efteem ; for if no other were produced, 
 " their worths might ferve for a counterpoife to all oppofites." 
 
 This was one of thofe arguments, not infrequent in 
 the treatife, wherein its writer painfully and laborioufly 
 defers to a prejudice of his age, and diftrufts his own 
 genius, even for guidance in the prefent, without fupport 
 and help from authorities of the paft, which for that 
 reafon may be read with an almoft touching intereft. 
 Hampden objefted, as will be found hereafter, when this 
 part of the work only was before him ; comparing it to 
 an exquifite nofegay compofed of curious flowers bound 
 together with as fine a thread, but expedling in the other 
 part honey from his friend, fomewhat out of thofe 
 flowers digefl:ed, made his own, and giving a true tafl:e of 
 his own fweetnefs.* Eliot did not difappoint him. It 
 will be feen, when he dropped thefe fetters of political 
 difcuffion, into what beauty and grandeur he afcended ; 
 and how he mafliered and moulded to his purpofe, and 
 impregnated with an original intelledtual power, his 
 varioufly flne attainments. 
 
 It will not be out of place to interpofe here the 
 remark that Eliot is fcrupuloufly exadt in his method of 
 quotation. Where the language of his authority is im- 
 
 * See/o/?, ii. 6ii. 
 
590 Eliofs MS. of the Monarchy of Man. 
 
 ported into his text, the book and chapter are carefully 
 written down in the margin ; and where the fenfe only 
 is given, a note generally fupplles the corred quotation 
 and its reference. He muft at leaft have had the com- 
 panionftiip of many books in his prifon. And- though the 
 bulk of his extrafts from Plato and Ariftotle are given in 
 Latin, this is evidently as much for convenience of him- 
 felf as of his readers ; for when he reforts to the Greek 
 charadter he writes it with too much neatnefs and labour 
 to have permitted its conftant ufe. 
 
 His next great fquadron of ancient writers are brought 
 up to fhow, by examples of the princes* who have 
 acknowledged the law's fupremacy, that only by this 
 means had they been able to exercife the higheft power, 
 finding in it their very majefty itfelf, their honour and 
 exaltation. " So much doth authority depend on 
 " law, and fo much is fubmiffion to the law greater 
 " than authority." At the clofe of the paffage there is 
 an allufion which was probably inferted after Hampden's 
 criticifm. 
 
 " And the reafon follows it, that the law is the ground of authority, all 
 " authority and rule a dependant of the law. The edift of Gratian was not 
 " only an edifl: for that time, but for the generations of fucceeding ages, 
 " and for all pofterity to come. Rightly, therefore, and moil worthily, filled 
 " an oracle. And in correfpondence to this, is the moderne pradlice of 
 " thefe times. Almoft in all the ftates of Europe, princes at the 
 " aiTumption of their crowns aflume and take an oath for the mainte- 
 " nance and obfervation of the laws. So, if we look either into 
 " authority or example, the ufe and praftice of all times from the 
 " moderne to the ancient, the reafon is ftill cleare, without any diffi- 
 " culty or fcruple, de jure, in right, that princes are to be regulated by 
 " the laws, that the law has an operation on the fovereign. Yet 
 " two things, we are told, do oppofe, and are made arguments againft 
 " this : — the honor and the proiit of the king, which are i'aid to have 
 " fome prejudice by this rule. Many pretenfions there are made, by 
 " thofe that are enemies to law, to inculcate this doftrine unto princes, 
 " which in particular to convince were not a tafk of hardnefs, if the 
 
 * Among others, he dwells efpecially on Antiochus, Theodofius, and 
 Gratian, giving the inftances which will be found referred to on a later 
 page in his fpeech againft Arminianifm, ;>o//, ii. 414-5. 
 
The only Real Source of Authority and Empire. 591 
 
 '^ danger exceeded not the trouble. But the infeftion of thefe times is 
 " uncompatible of fuch labours, when fcarce the leaft difeafe is curable. 
 " We ihall therefore follow them as wee did in the ftrength and 
 " affiftance of authorities, which, in point of profit, do conclude that 
 " there is no fruit or advantage in injuftice. Ubi turpitudo, fays 
 " Cicero, ibi utilitas efe non fotejl — where Ihame and diflionefty in- 
 " habit, there profit cannot fojourne. And that difhoneftie he puts 
 " for the violation of a dutie. Againe, nihil utile quod non idem 
 " honeftum, et nunquam potejl utilitas cum honejlate contendere." 
 
 With the wifer princes he finely contrafts thofe who 
 could not fee that in eiFedt it was they who themfelves 
 embodied and reprefented the laws, and that to be 
 fubje(5t to themfelves could be no difhonour to them. 
 No man could be faid to be inferior to himfelf ; yet, to 
 fatisfy that " honorable punftilio," kings muft become 
 their own inferiors, and a loyal king be lefs than an 
 illegal. But all power had root only in the wills of 
 men. All empire and authority refted in the obedience 
 of the fubjedb, and the true form of obedience was com- 
 prehended in the laws. For the other kind of obedience 
 impofed by fear and terror, it was falfe : . falfe as the 
 maxim that expreffed it, oderint dum metuant, let them 
 hate fo that they fear. Thus were fuch men driven 
 from extremity to extremity; hated becaufe feared, and 
 maintaining the fear becaufe hated. Purfuing this argu- 
 ment, and contrafting with thofe confequences of fear the 
 allegiance of an affectionate people, Eliot has occafion to 
 refer to " Fortefcue, that learned chancellor of England," 
 and to " Philip de Comines, that wife Frenchman." An 
 allufion may be added from a paffage of great care and 
 elaboration, wherein he illuftrates the dangers incident to 
 a prince by example of the pilot of a fhip ; as one of 
 many recurrent inftances drawn from the habits and 
 purfuits of his earlier life. 
 
 " The leaks, are infidelity and treachery in minifters ; the rocks, 
 " inequality and diftemper in the gouernment; the fands and fynks, 
 " are fadlions and divifions ; the winds and waves, the attempts and 
 " invafions of the enemie ; the pyratts are the falfe and fubtil under- 
 " miners, that would robb and fteale away all law, liberty, and religion." 
 
59^ El'iofs MS. of the Monarchy of Man. 
 
 Thefubje6t of parliaments occupies the clofingfentences 
 of the firft or political portion of the treatife ; and reviving 
 from his favourite author among the Latins the image 
 of that Roman tyrant which at Buckingham's impeach- 
 ment had ftruck fuch difmay into Charles, he fuggefts 
 another filent parallel to the princes of the old time 
 who fought to make parliaments the inftruments of 
 mifchief by depriving them of parliamentary authority ; 
 afFedting a love for them only to employ them for ill 
 purpofes ; and under the cover of their fand:ion com- 
 mencing projefts which it was meant to carry on without 
 them. There is not a more ftriking or fignificant 
 pafTage in the treatife than this, in which he defcribes 
 Tiberius " fquaring his profeffion out to juftice though 
 *' his aftions fpake the contrary ; " and deceiving the 
 confuls and the fenate by his declaration againft that 
 danger and difficulty of fole government, regendi cunSta 
 onus, which he had fecretly refolved to afllime. Eliot 
 clofes his defcription with fome well-chofen pafTages out 
 of Plato, and then dwells for a time on the nature of 
 parliaments themfelves and the various forms they 
 have aflumed. The powers which were granted them 
 among the Jews at their fanhedrim, the feveral aflem- 
 blies at Athens, in ^tolia, at Rome, in Carthage, and 
 Sparta, are referred to. The evil defigns of men who 
 had poifoned the ears of princes with a jealoufy of 
 parliaments, are expofed ; and fome of the dodtrines of 
 Machiavel are held up to fcorn. There is here a large 
 quotation of authorities, and much ufe made of argu- 
 ments by Philip de Comines. Incidentally there is high 
 mention of the genius of Salluft, and enthufiaftic eulogy 
 of Ariftotle, " that Jlufendum hominis, that wonder and 
 '^ miracle of reafon ! " And with fome general argu- 
 ments out of Bodin he winds up his parallel between a 
 tyrant and a king, ftriking heavily at thofe unauthorifed 
 exadions of royalty of which men were tafting the full 
 bitternefs at the time when his treatife was written. 
 
The Second Divifion of the Treatije. 593 
 
 " This feeds on the affeftion of his fubjefts, the other on their fears. 
 " This has his fears principally for them ; the other has them for the 
 " objefts of his fears. This takes nothing from his fubjefts, but on 
 " publick warrant and neceffity ; that drinks, carouzes in their blood, 
 " and does fatt him with their marrow, to bring neceffity upon them." 
 
 The grander purpofe of the treatife now comes into 
 view — the confederation of the Monarchy of the Mind. 
 It opens with fome genera) refemblances of the meta- 
 phyfical conditions of this government to the civil 
 relations ; carrying up the " councillors of the mind " 
 to their final aim, "the good and perfe6tion of all 
 " empire, the bonum -publicum of the politicks, the /aw- 
 " mum bonum of philofophers, the ne ultra in felicity." 
 But there is a difficulty on the threfhold. How fhall 
 the fecret be opened ? How fhall that end of all labour, 
 that fcope and objedt of every hope, be attained, fince 
 even the wifeft men, the philofophers of the old time, 
 had not been able to agree as to what fhould be held for 
 the confummation and perfeftion of happinefs ? Their 
 differences are figured by the fable of Menippus. 
 
 " He found nothing but confufion upon earth, nothing but incer- 
 " tainty with men. Doubt and ambiguity in fome ; diffent and con- 
 " tradiftion among others ; difference and difagreement among all. 
 " Then foe the philofophers, at leaft their fefts in controverfie, if not 
 " the particulars of all kinds, yet the kinds of all particulars. The 
 " Stoicks and Epicureans oppofed. The Peripatetickes varying from 
 " both. The Academickes differing from all. And theie divided 
 " between the old and new, the Eretrians, Megarians, and Cyrenians, 
 " all in opinions feparate and diftinguifhed. Like Heterogenialls, rather, 
 " and things contrary ; not as profeffors of one fcience, mailers of 
 " phUofophy, lovers of truth and wifdom! " 
 
 Difcovering neverthelefs in all thefe differences certain 
 uniform and conftant elements of the truth, Eliot propofes 
 to examine and diftinguifh them; and in accordance 
 with this defign he plunges into the various fchools of 
 ancient ethics, defcribing each and difcufling its doctrine. 
 Nor is merely well-verfed fcholarfhip here difplayed. 
 There is a wide compafs of thought, and thofe ufes and 
 applications of learning which genius makes its own. A 
 
 VOL. I. Q Q 
 
594 Eliofs MS. of the Monarchy of Man. 
 
 trail of light runs along the track of the old fyftems as 
 we follow them over Eliot's page to the conclufion he 
 feeks to ejftablifh ; that, in a greater or lefs degree in all, 
 there are pofitions eftablifhed by which may be con- 
 ftrudled, without other aid, his propofed monarchy of 
 the mind. And, the poffibility thus affumed, he 
 exults in reciting the virtues which, once it is built up, 
 fhall tend to its immortal fuftainment. But again he re- 
 strains himfelf. Before we triumph, we muft fubdue ; and 
 it may be necefTary through forrow to advance to joy. 
 
 " We muft do as ^neas did with Dido, through the fad ftorie of 
 " tragedies and difafters make a tranfition unto love. As mariners in 
 " rowing look contrarie to their courfes, fo wee, in the fearch of 
 " happinefs and felicity, muft have our eyes upon the fubjefl of our 
 "" mifery. Thofe we muft firft behold which are enemies of our ftate, 
 " and from them make a paflage to our government. Wherein if^ by 
 " knowledge of the adverfaries, we can find meanes to conquer and 
 " fubdue them, — if, by the ftrength and oppofition of the virtues, we 
 " can overcome and fubjugate the affeftions, — then we may triumph in 
 " our viftorie, and in all fecuritie and peace ereft that trophy of felicity, 
 " xhs^fummum bonum and cheife happinefs of man." 
 
 From this point accordingly, onward to the clofe of 
 the treatife, in a ftyle which blends power with fenfibility, 
 and fweetnefs with grandeur, in a degree not furpafled by 
 our greateft matters of .old Englilh profe, the Impedi- 
 ments to man's happinefs are treated, and the way fhown 
 for efcape from the " bondage and captivitie " that ob- 
 ftruds felf-government. The firft impediment is "Feare," 
 and through all the chances that may occafion it Eliot 
 pafles with firm and unfaltering ftep. Defcribing the 
 " effefts of power, fudden and various ; wherein im- 
 " prifonment and death, and that in a thoufand forms, 
 " are threatened ; in which both ficknefs and poverty 
 " are involved;" but in none of thefe finding real caufe 
 of fear, he takes up " the next link of this chaine of our 
 " unhappinefle, another part of the fetters that we 
 " beare," in that " inexplicable piece of vanity, our 
 " Hope." This however he does not regard as an un- 
 
'The Selfijhnefs of Sorrow. tge 
 
 mixed evil, and the occafional exceptions are handled 
 with a prodigious amount of learned allufion. 
 
 " But not to be miftaken for want of fome diftinftion in this cafe, all 
 " hopes are not like, nor all enemies of our government, though all 
 " have one incertainty, by the trouble of expeftation, and the dependance 
 " upon time. All have this vanity and weaknefs, that their reft is 
 " upon others, not in themfelves, and in that refpeft they are obnoxious 
 " unto fortune. Yet all have not a participation in the evil ; all are 
 " not fliarers in the guilt ; fome are natural, and have their principles 
 " in nature." 
 
 Out of the unceafing agitations in which Hope keeps 
 a man ; the fear to lofe, the jealoufy, the fatiety, and 
 all the incidents that fall to it ; Sorrow comes next in 
 view, and is marked as the worft and leaft excufable of 
 all the impediments named. For yet, fays Eliot, fear 
 has fome refource of fafety, and hope fome defire of 
 happinefs. 
 
 " Thefe have fomewhat for juftification and apology, at leaft for • 
 " excufe and extenuation of their evils. But forrow only is inferior to 
 " them all. No argument can be made for her defenfe ; ftie can 
 " pretend neither to happinefs nor fafety, nor to what might be 
 " fubfervient to either. As the profelTed enemie to both, her banners 
 " are difplayed. She iights againft all fafety, and bids defiance unto 
 " happinefs. Her ends, her arts, are in conteftation of them both. 
 " Reafon has nothing to alledge why forrow ftiould be ufed ; it pro- 
 " pounds no advantage in the end, no advantage in the aft, but the 
 " mere latisfaflion of itfelf, the fole expletion of that humour ; there- 
 " fore it is the moft improper of all others, as incomparably the worft, 
 " and that likewift the effefts and confequence on the body will fliow." 
 
 A fubtle treatment of the felfifhnefs of forrow fucceeds 
 to this. It is not called forth, Eliot fays, by the mis- 
 fortunes of our friends, for that feeling is pity ; nor by 
 the triumph of our enemies, for that is envy. " Sorrow 
 " is felfifhnefs." For the privation of whatever we hold 
 dear, of whatever is in a tender eftimation, nobler 
 remedies are fuggefted by the imprifoned philofopher. 
 
 " Sorrow is a perfefl enemy, ftanding in fuch antipathy with hap- 
 " pinefs that it is irreconcileable for our government. Therefore, 
 " to this aUb we muft oppofe all the refiftance we have ; for this moves 
 
 S S a 
 
596 Eliofs MS. of the Monarchy of Man. 
 
 " moft violently againft us ; and, if it get poffeffion of our hearts, if it 
 " once enter on that fort, all our happinefs is gone ; our monarchy is 
 " fubverted ! For it dellroys the end, the felicity we look for, and 
 " then the means is ufelefle. It diflblves it in the principle, and fo 
 " brings it to confufion. For where forrow is, no felicity can be, and 
 " a mind fo afFefted can have no tafte of happinefs. To encounter it, 
 " therefore, as phificians do difeafes, we will firft meet it in the caufe ; 
 " for, if that can be removed, the effeft forthwith will follow it. The 
 " objeft being gone, the afFedlion mufl fall after it." 
 
 Let no man take upon himfelf, fays Eliot, to regard 
 things putting on the afpedls of forrow as therefore really 
 forrowful. He argues out the principle of the great 
 poet of nature that a providence fhapes to higher ends 
 the roughhewn accidents of life. And, take it that that 
 feeming of forrow had really in it fomething of danger 
 or alarm, the more need exifted to oppofe it, to refift it, 
 and thereby to offer the example which to ordinary men 
 would be invaluable. 
 
 " For, are not foldiers fometimes heightened in their courage by the 
 " valour of their fellows .' Do not the valliant often receive new 
 " fortitude and fpirits by the afts of magnanimitie of others ? Has not 
 " admiration, has not emulation, this efFeft, to work the likenefs of that 
 " virtue which it has feen before it \ to reduce to aft the image of 
 " that idea, which the apprehenfion has conceived, and, from the 
 " excellence of the pattern, to draw an antitype thereof. Wherefore 
 " were exhibited thofe bloody fpeftacles at Rome — thofe butcheries of 
 " men — thofe tragic reprefentations to the people — but to inure them 
 " to blood, to harden them in dangers, to familiar them with death ? 
 " And Ihall not better afts, to better ends direfted, have the like power 
 " and operation ? Shall not divinity, by the works of divine men 
 " oppofmg their aiBiftions, have as great force in precedent and 
 " example, as thofe Romans had by that fighting with beafts or con- 
 " tefting one another, to harden and encourage the minds of the more 
 " virtuous, againft all difficulties, all dangers .'' " 
 
 But there is an argument of greater worth to the fame 
 end. From Plato's noble commentary on the infcription 
 of the Delphic oracle yi/toSt asauTov, higher confidera- 
 tions are drawn. 
 
 " It is required of man, that he fhould profit many. It is a common 
 " duty of mankind, as far as ability may extend, ftill to do good to all, 
 " or, if not that, to fome, as opportunity fliall be granted him. Or, if 
 
The Soul of Goodnejs in 'Things Evil. 597 
 
 "^ he fail in that, yet to his neighbours, or at leaft unto himfelf. But 
 " here, here, in this aft of paffion and wreftling with calamities, there 
 " is advantage given for all. In this conteftation of thofe things 
 " we call miferies, there is a performance of all thcfe, Firft, to thyfelf, 
 " thou profitteft through the favor of the Gods, that give thee this 
 " inftruftion, this education, this trial, this knowledge of thyfelf, this 
 " confirmation of thy virtue. Then to thy neighbours, and all others, 
 " thou art profitable by thy precedent and example. Thy fortitude 
 " adds courage unto them, ftout and valiant. How, then, — how, in 
 " this excellence of duty, in this great duty of advantage, of advantage 
 " to ourfelves, of advantage to our neighbours, of advantage unto all, — 
 " we fliould repine and forrow, as 'tis a prejudice to our happinefs it's 
 " a wonder unto reafon ! " 
 
 Not even the laft and beft interceffion that would 
 feem to remain for forrow — of a friend at his friend's 
 grave — will Eliot admit. But how beautiful in this paf- 
 fage is the eulogy of friendship ! How the words feem 
 to crowd too thick for utterance, as the writer manifeftly 
 thinks of what in his own needs a friend had been to 
 him ! * 
 
 " Let me firft afk this queftion of the forrower. For whofe fake 
 " that paflion is affumed ? For his that is fo loft, or for thine own that 
 " loft him ? Anfwer to this, and make a juftification for thyfelf If 
 " thou wilt fay for his, where is the evil that he fuffers ? wherein lies 
 " the reafon of that grief? Defign it out ; give it fome charafter to 
 " exprefs it. Is it in that he is dead .' in that he has made a tranfition 
 " to the elders? That cannot be : for death contains no evil, as our 
 " former proofs have manifefted ; but is a priviledge of immortality, an 
 " eternity of happinefs. Is it for that he is not ? that he is not num- 
 " bered with the living ? That were to lament but becaufe he is not 
 " miferable. Thou canft not but acknowledge the diftraftion of thy 
 " fears, the anxiety of thy cares, the complexion of thy pleafures, the 
 " mixture of thy forrows ! With all thefe, and upon all, no reft, no 
 " quiet, no tranquility, but a continual vexation of thy thoughts, a 
 " fervUe agitayon of thy mind from one paffion to another ! And wilt 
 " thou grieve for him, that has his freedom, his immunity from thefe ? 
 " On the other lide : is that forrow for thyfelf, that thou haft loft a 
 " friend, — the fweetnefs, the benefit of his friendlhip — thy comfort in 
 " fociety — the affiftance of thy bufinefs — the fublevation of thy cares — 
 " the extenuation of thy griefs — the multiplication of thy joys — thy 
 " caftle — thy counfel — thy fword — thy ftiield — thy ftore — thy health — 
 " thy eye — thy ear — thy tafte — thy touch — thy fmell — the catholicon 
 
 * See po/}, ii. 491, &c. 
 
598 Eliofs MS. of the Monarchy of Man. 
 
 " of thy happinefs (for all thefe are attributes of friendfhip) ? — Confider, 
 " firft, whether friendfhip may not change, whether a breach and 
 " enmity may not follow it, as not feldom happens in the moft ftrift 
 " conjunftions, with which then no enmity may compare ! Then 
 " 't were better thus to have loft it, that evil being prevented, and 
 " the obligation, the virtue, kept intire ! But, if that doubt prevails 
 " not ; if thou fuppofeft a perpetuity in that friendfliip, an aflurance of 
 " that love ; is it not envy in thee, and unworthinefs thereof, for thofe 
 " refpefts, thofe temporary benefits to thyfelf, to grudge at his happi- 
 " nefs and felicity which is infinite and celeftial ? Juftice may refolve 
 " how far this is from friendfliip, how unworthy of that name ! And 
 " how capricious is forrow, fubjeft to no government or rule. Mar- 
 " cellus wept when he had taken Syracufe ; Alexander, to have no 
 " more worlds to conquer." 
 
 Concluding with the phrafe of the ethicks, that to 
 conquer, not thofe appearances or fhows of ill, but what 
 might be counted real calamities, " not only makes a 
 " man a conqueror and wife, but equal, nay fuperior, to 
 " the gods," Eliot eloquently baniffies Sorrow from his 
 government. 
 
 But in referve there is an enemy worfe than any he 
 
 has named. 
 
 " And thus we fee how thefe enemies doe threaten us. Fear does 
 " anticipate, hope divert, forrow overturn, the happinefs we look for ; 
 " or, rather, they fight againft the happinefs itfelf ; fear fecretly under- 
 " mining, hope circumventing, forrow charging it at full. But, above 
 " all, the moft dangerous is behind, — pleasure !" 
 
 The caufe of the peculiar danger that attends the 
 indulgence of pleafure is fhown to confift in the fo falfe 
 - refemblance it bears in itfelf to happinefs, that it is like 
 to fteal through all the "guards and watches" that 
 we. keep, into our fafeft "retreats and ftrongholds." 
 " Nothing," exclaims Eliot, amid much fplendour of 
 eloquence and reafon, " nothing is fo petulant and re- 
 " fraftorie, fo exorbitant and irregular, as Pleafure. No 
 " rule, no law, no authority can contain her ; but, like 
 " Semiramis, admit her government for a day, fhe 
 " ufurps the rule for ever." 
 
 And here he paufes in wonder and reverence at the 
 Divine wifdom, working to its ends through means ap- 
 
Wijdom of the great Architect and Workman. 599 
 
 parently fo contrary ; and exhibiting, even to the unaf- 
 fifted reafon, triumphant proof of wife and perfed defign. 
 It is a noble paflage, though one of thofe in which EHot 
 could not hope to carry with him the entire or unmif- 
 giving fympathy of his puritan friends. 
 
 " But here an objeftion or wonder may be made, how, from one 
 " fountain, fuch different ftreams fhould flow ; how, from the felf fame 
 " head, fuch contraries fliould derive themfelves; and that greater 
 " wonder may arife, how the great Architeft and Workman, who gave 
 " being to all things in his divine wifdom, did fo create the mind by 
 " the infufion of fuch principles, that the contrariety of their motions 
 " fhould threaten the deftruftion of his work ! For fadlion and divi- 
 " lion imply this, and the diffenfion of the parts hazards the confufion 
 " of the whole. It 's a great caufe of wonder in the thing, that it is 
 " fo, but of far greater admiration in the reafon. That he, thus wife, 
 " thus willing, thus able to give perfeftion to his art, fhould, in the 
 " maflerpiece thereof, in his own portraiture and image, leave it with 
 " imperfe£Hon ! This is enough for wonder and admiration (if it were' 
 " fo). But yet the next has more the infcrutability of that reafon, — 
 " which turns thefe imperfeftions to perfeftions ; which in thefe con- 
 " trarities makes agreement ; by thefe differences, thefe divifions, thefe 
 " diffentions, works unity and concord ! This is a caufe of wonder 
 " and .admiration fo tranfcendent, as human capacity cannot reach. O ! 
 " the incomprehenfible glory of the wifdom by which fuch fecrets are 
 " difpofed ! We may fee it almoft in every thing, as the effeft gives 
 " illuftration to the caufe ; and fo in faft confirm, though we cannot 
 " penetrate, the reafon itfelf. All things, almofl generally, will demon- 
 " ftrate it. If we look into the univerfality of the world, or the con- 
 " currence of its parts, are there more contraries than in the coinon 
 " materials they confifl of? Can there be more antipathy than the 
 " elements fuftain ? What greater enemies than fire and water can be 
 " found ? What more violent than their wars ? And fo with the 
 " air and earth. Drynefs and moifture are oppofed; than which no 
 " things can be more different ; yet amongft thefe what a fweet league 
 " and amitie is contradted! What mutual love and correfpondency 
 " they retain ! Fire agrees with water, earth with air, the latter with 
 " the former, each feverally with other, and fo refpeflively with all! 
 " and that which is the perfeftion of them all, the compofition which 
 " they make, the frame of thofe materials, the body fo compounded, has 
 " its being and exiflence by the very mixture and diagram of thefe! 
 " Nay, by the want of either, their diffolution is enforced. So necef- 
 " fary is the contrarity of the parts, and the oppofition which they 
 " make, that, without it, the whole cannot fubfift. And thus as in the 
 " generals, fo in the particulars from thence. In the immenfe infinitie 
 " of creatures, amongil the dead or living, are their antipathies to be 
 
6oo Eliot's MS. of the Monarchy of Man. 
 
 " numbered ? Can arithmetic define the contrarities they have ? 
 " Stone oppofing ftone, metal againfl metal, plant againll plant ; all 
 " war! And animate beafts contrary to beafts, fowls againft fowls, 
 "■ filhes againft fifties ; in hate, in cruelty oppofed, killing and devouring 
 " each other ; and yet all made ferviceable to man ! Amongft men, 
 " too, what conteftations are there extant ; what wars, what quarrels, 
 " what diffentions ! Nation in antipathy with nation, kindred oppofed 
 " to kindred, family againft family, man againft man! And, befides, 
 " how infinite is their difference and variety in temper, in affeftion, in 
 " condition ; fo that reconciliation feems impoffible, and, without it, 
 " their fubfiftence. Yet in the revolution of that wi0om thefe things 
 " are fo turned, in the divine wheel of providence their converfions are 
 " fo made, that all move direftly to one end ! The alloy and contefta- 
 " tion of the parts work the confervation of the whole." 
 
 From all which he would draw the ineftimable lef- 
 fon that In the moral as in the natural world things 
 feeming to be evil are to the finer vifion but forms of 
 good ; and that no man is to count himfelf really un- 
 happy, under any of the accidents of mortal life, whofe 
 conscience remains pure and his will undepraved. What, 
 for example, provoked more fear than Poverty, and 
 more caufelefs fear ? This is a fubjed treated at great 
 length, and with extraordinary fervour. " Are riches of 
 " that virtue that their want fhould feem fo terrible ? 
 " How many have they fold to mifery and unhappinefs ! 
 " What worlds of men have they corrupted and be- 
 " trayed ! Corrupted in manners and afFedrions, betrayed 
 " of their liberties and lives !" To which there follows 
 a praife of poverty that might have fatisfied Don Guz- 
 man himfelf. He tells the poor what they efcape. He 
 fums up the difeafes of the rich, famous for excru- 
 ciating pains ; and contrafts with them " the privileges 
 " of poverty, the immunities of want." He drags forth 
 from antiquity a long lift of illuftrious poor ; he fpeaks 
 of the lives of Fabrlcius, Curio, Menenius, Valerius, and 
 Seneca ; he holds them up as the beft of all examples to 
 comfort and teach their fellow men. "Who more 
 " valiant than Miltiades? Who more wife than Cymon? 
 " Who than Ariftides was more juft .'' Who more tempe- 
 
Death nojuji cauje for Fear. 60 1 
 
 " rate than Phocion ? Yet all thefe the pooreft as the 
 " beft of all their tymes !" 
 
 Sicknefs he treats of next, as no juft caufe for fear ; 
 and from ficknefs, the filent and fad fuggeftion of his 
 own uncared for fufFering, he advances, through what 
 he calls the powerlefs effedts of power, to imprifonment 
 and death, ftartling in their afpeft, but of no real worth 
 to frighten or to fubdue. 
 
 " To difpel the feare of that which power and greatnefs may im- 
 " pofe, requires a harder labour, becaufe the dangers feem far greater, 
 " and are more various, and more fudden. For — not to refleft on 
 " poverty and ficknefs as incidents to this (which wounds and confif- 
 " cations do imply), thofe too frequent and too known efFefts of power 
 " — but to look forward and to view it in the other iflues, which it 
 " has ; disgrace, imprifonment, death, and thofe in all their uglinefs and 
 " deformity. This laft is that tyrant which our appreheniions do fo 
 " fear ; that monftrum horrendum infirme, which ftrikes us with fuch 
 " terror ; this is that dire afpeft, at which our refolutions do fo fly ; 
 " this is that traitor that makes fuch fedition in our government, and 
 " which we muft the more carefully oppofe for the vindication of our 
 " happinefe. In this place therefore we will deal only with it, and 
 " with the reft hereafter." 
 
 Into what he fays of Death, Eliot throws all his elo- 
 quence. " Death has its confideration but in terror ; 
 " and what is aflum'd from that, is, like the imaginations 
 " of children in the darke, a mere fancie and opinion." 
 With a melancholy fondnefs, the anticipation of ap- 
 proaching intimacy, he defends death as a friend might 
 be defended. It had been flandered by thofe who could 
 not have known it — " moft untruly, moft unjuftly, flan- 
 " dered." What was common to all, and defigned by 
 the mofl: merciful, could not be an evil. 
 
 " For either happinefs it contains, or it repels calamity, or gives 
 " fatiety and wearinefs an end, or does prevent the hardnefs of old age ! 
 " A conclufion 't is -to all ; to feme their wifh ; but to none more 
 " meriting and deferving than to whom it comes uncalled for ! It 
 " frees from fervitude, diffolves the chains of captives, fets all prifoners 
 " at liberty, and reftores the banilhed to their country. AH their 
 " forrows and difafters have termhiation in this point. It has been 
 " called humanis tempejiatibus fortus, the harbour of human miferies. 
 
6o2 Eliot's MS. of the Monarchy of Man. 
 
 " the fedation of our troubles. Implying thus the comparifon of our 
 " life to a fluftuation on the feas, we as poor mariners failing in the 
 " weak velfels of our nature and fortune, the wind tolEng us by the 
 " continual agitation of her tempefts, trouble being inftant and upon 
 " us, danger moil irhinent and before us, hope fled, fafety nowhere to 
 " be found, — Death only is the haven to receive us, where there is 
 " calmnefs and tranquility, where there is reft from all thefe ilorms 
 " and tempeils! In that port all fluftuations of our life are quieted 
 " and compofed ; nor winds nor feas have power upon us there ; for- 
 " tune and time are excluded from that road ; there we anchor in 
 " fecurity, without the diftraftions of new troubles ; there without 
 " danger or hazard do we ride." 
 
 Very beautifully is Life prefented afterwards by Eliot, 
 in contraft with its dark neighbour, as only " an inne to 
 " reft in, a lodging for the night, an hoftelry in our 
 " travels, in our continual journey to the manfion of 
 " our fathers ! " Nay, he fays, life itfelf, taken at the 
 beft, is only made up of a variety of deaths ; one paffion 
 perifhing, and another fucceeding but to perifh. " So 
 " that our whole life is but an exercife of dying ; and all 
 " the changes and viciffitudes of nature, death — in a 
 " meafure and degree ! Why then fhould death be 
 " thought fo terrible ? Where is the reafon of that 
 " feare ? " Rather, he afterwards fuggefts, fhould it be 
 counted a matter of triumph and glory. 
 
 " What martyrs have there been even in the work of dying ! More 
 " joying, more rejoicing, than in all the a£ls of life ! The glory of the 
 " Deity, the incarnate majelly of the Son, thofe incomprehenfible mif- 
 " teries of divinity then appearing to them, by revelation to their 
 " fenfe, or by illumination of the fancy, — the heavens opening to give 
 " free paffage to their view, — thefe as it were defcending unto them, 
 " giving them the poITeffion here of that happinefs, that eternal happi- 
 " nefs and felicity which is the chief objeft of all hopes, — not tliat 
 " happinefs we treat of, the Jummum bonum of this life, the bonum 
 " publicum of our monarchy, but the fupernatural felicity to come, the 
 " tranfcendant happinefs hereafter !" 
 
 Not, however, at thefe examples of the triumphant 
 joys of martyrdom, fuftained by the prefence of the 
 divine, will the imprifoned philofopher reft. There is a 
 bravery coming nearer to his own, a grandeur of moral 
 courage alking for no miracle to fupport or ftrengthen it. 
 
Deaths of Philofophers and Heroes. 603 
 
 " I will refort to patterns of morality. Then, to fee the confidence 
 " in them, the willingnefs and cheerfulnefs of dying, — take it from 
 " thofe Grecians, thofe three hundred at Thermopolis, who, for their 
 " country, oppofed themfelves to all the power of Xerxes : to thofe 
 " many millions of the Perlians, whofe thirft fcarce feas could fatisfy, 
 " nor whole regions for one day find provifions for their hunger ! Yet 
 " unto thefe, thofe Grecians could expofe themfelves, fo few againft fo 
 " many, for the fafety of their mother. The clouds of darts that fell 
 " on them, they tearm'd an umbrell for the funne ; their danger they 
 " made glory ; their death they thought their life ; fo far from terror 
 " was it that they made it the fubjeft of their hopes. O happy men ! 
 " thus for their country to have died ! Moft happy country, to have 
 " brought forth fuch men ! whofe death became the charter of her 
 " life, and to them a patent of immortality ! " 
 
 Kindling into yet greater fervour at the thoughts that 
 crowd upon him of fuch fublime example, he peoples 
 the folitude of his prifon with men of Rome, of Athens, 
 and of Sparta — " fellows whom Death itfelf might fear, 
 " fooner than be fearful unto them. Myriads of men," 
 he finely continues, " are chronicled for a free accep- 
 " tance of that fate : women did fcorn their children that 
 " did not fcorn to flie it ! " And as he thus recalls the 
 paft, an example nobler than all the others rifes up, 
 becaufe completer in the elements of moral grandeur, in 
 the perfedtion of felf-controul, the monarchy of man. 
 The philofopher Canius, celebrated by Seneca, ftands 
 before him : 
 
 " Who died not as Cato, to avoide the dying by his enemies, nor 
 " fiiddainly, to prevent the torment of the time, nor as thofe Grecians 
 " in the heat of blood and danger, when death does come unthought of, — 
 " but giving it all leave of preparation, admitting all the circumftance of 
 " terror, in that form which his enemies had call it, to the extremitie of 
 " their malice, — fo he encounters, fo he receives and meets it, even in 
 " its very contemplation ! His fpeculations were upon it, it was the 
 " fubjeft of his thoughts, and in that he valued it more precious than 
 " his life." 
 
 To this illuftrious ihadow of the paft. Sir Walter 
 Raleigh fucceeds. His image had even yet fcarcely 
 vanifhed from the dark walls that furrounded the writer, 
 and his fpirit remained in the magnanimity of Eliot's 
 
6o4 Eliofs MS. of the Monarchy of Man. 
 
 foul. " Shall I not add, as parallel to this, a wonder 
 " and example of our own ; fuch as if that old philofo- 
 " pher were yet living, without difhonour he might 
 " acknowledge as the equal of his virtue ? Take it in 
 " that — elfe unmatched — fortitude of our Raleigh ! 
 " the magnanimity of his fufferings, that large chronicle 
 " of fortitude ! " The reft of the pafTage has before 
 been quoted ;* and it is an admirable fpecimen of the 
 manner of Eliot, when, difencumbered of the authorities 
 by which it was too often overlaid, it efcapes grand and 
 unfettered as his thoughts, of which Hampden truly faid 
 that, afcending a region above the clouds that ftiadow 
 ordinary men, they were fit and able to pierce fuch heights. 
 Still death lingers with Eliot, and he will not let the 
 fubje6t pafs from him. AfTuming that fuch inftances of 
 fearleffnefs in dying were of too exalted a charadter for 
 emulation by all men, feeing that all had not the fame 
 motives or means of fuftainment, he fays, very beauti- 
 fully : " There is no affedtion within man but has given 
 " examples in this cafe. Hope, joy, love, forrow, pity, 
 " fear itfelf, has conquered it, the weakeft of all others ! 
 " The mere fear of death has forced men to a6t the 
 " thing they fear." And after fome fubtle reafoning to 
 that point, he proceeds : 
 
 " Therefore, that truth fo known, we may in a generaHty conclude 
 " that death and fear are conquered both by love. Sorrow can do as 
 " much. And we have it in the infirmeft of her daughters. Pity, 
 " which is the tendereft of all thoughts, yet that fubdues this fear, as 
 " Tacitus notes it of the multitudes after the fall of Otho." 
 
 Yet even here Eliot clofes not : ftill he dwells and 
 lingers on the praifes and the privilege of Death. 
 
 " I fhall then no more be ficke ; I ftiall then no more be bound ; 
 " I (hall then leave oiF to fear ; I ftiall then not dye again. If death 
 " were an evil at the firft, then it fhall be no more. All the croffes 
 " and difafters, all the calamities and affliftions, all things that are 
 " feareful or evil in this life, then fliall I be free from ! No death 
 " ftiall thenceforth be an interruption to my happinefs, therefore why 
 
 * See ante, 34-5. 
 
'The Duty of oppojing the Beftres. 605 
 
 " fliould I fear it ? But if death have all thefe priviledges, why then 
 " do we live ? why do we not, as Cleombrotus, having read Plato's 
 " difcourfes of the immortality of the foul, precipitate ourfelves ? 
 " haften to that excellence ? prefs to that rich magazine of treafures ? 
 " Why do we bear fuch miferies in life, there being fuch felicity in 
 " death ? and the tranfition in our power, fo facile and fo ready ? The 
 " anfwer with the ethicks is emergent : mors non debet ejfe fuga allionum, 
 "fed a{lio. Death muft not be a flight from aftion, but an aftion. 
 " Subterfuge is the property of a coward ; blows and wounds are the 
 " honor of a foldier. Dangers muft not affright, but harden him, 
 " where the caufe requires his hazard." 
 
 And foj with an increafing warmth of eloquence, im- 
 prefling yet once more the neceffity of fubduing fear, 
 " though the fun itfelf fhould tremble, though the 
 " immenfe fabrick of the world ftiould fhake," he clofes 
 with urgent counfel that all men, in all cafes, fhould 
 
 "Expeft calmly that iffue which time and virtue have appointed. 
 " Thus we muft look for death ; not as an enemy, but a friend ; which 
 " in his own hours vifits us, expedls no invitation, may not be com- 
 " pelled, but has a free liberty before him. When he comes, he comes 
 " attended by many priviledges, decked with flowers of happinefs, 
 " reft, and fweetnefs, and exemption of all the evils of life. Therefore 
 " there is not the leaft caufe to fear him, or to raife that jealoufy and 
 " diftraftion in our government." 
 
 The matter next difcufled is the duty of oppofing 
 the defires. With delicate and wife difcernment he re- 
 fumes his warning as to pleafure in connexion with 
 mere indulgences of fenfe ; enlarges on its jealoufies 
 and reftlefs irrefolution ; and depids the cares, anxieties, 
 and doubts, the thoufand troubles and diftradtions that 
 men in hope and men in love are charged with. 
 " Pardon me, Love, that foe hardly I have matched 
 " thee ! it is my reafon, not my affedion, that doth 
 " fpeake it." He fhows the tragedies enafted by that 
 paflion, too many for theatre or amphitheatre to hold. 
 He fhows the infufficiency of its ordinary motives ; 
 and, fpeaking of the vanity of mere perfonal beauty, 
 introduces thofe touching references to Overbury and 
 his writings, that " fortunate unfortunate piece of merit," 
 
6o6 EHofs MS. of the Monarchy of Man. 
 
 which already there has been occafion to quote.* He 
 pafTes afterwards to riches^ as another objed: of defire ; 
 and prefents a fine companion pidlure to his deprecation 
 of the evils of poverty. 
 
 " Riches, wealth, the delire and paffion to accumulate, thefe are all 
 " deceitftJ in their nature. Whereas we think them fomewhat, when 
 " truth does fpeake them nothing; deceitful in their qualities — being 
 " flitting and uncertain, without any conftancie or ftabilitie, always 
 " wing'd, and flying from one fubjeft to another j deceitful in their 
 " ufe — as we take them to be helpful to our happinefs, though working 
 " the contrary by continuall anxieties and cares ! Why fliould we 
 " then defire them, being no way to be trailed, but in all confifting of 
 " fallacie and frauds ? Haft thou worth or meritt that might challenge 
 " them as due ? That is a myfterie to them. They cannot difcerne 
 " it. The worthlefs and the worthy are equal in their fenfe. They 
 " are the maine occafion of all differences, the ager contentiofus, as it 
 " were, the field of quarrel and contention, as that antiently neare 
 " Berwicke to the Englifli and Scotch nations. If thefe be their pro- 
 " prieties [properties], how can we then defire them ? If they be but 
 " ferviceable to thefe, — if they have no fellowfiiip with honefty, if 
 " they diflblve the powers of reafon and of virtue, if they be diftraftive 
 " and contentious, blind, mad, deceitful, and uncertain, — what is it 
 " that Ihould make that attraftion in our hearts, and difturb our felf- 
 " fovereignty and command ? " 
 
 Yet is there one mode, and only one, he fays finely in 
 leaving this fubjeft, of converting the drofs of wealth 
 into real gold ; and that is by the alchemy of virtue. 
 You may have riches, you may defire them, if your 
 purpofe is to turn them to good. Make them, as the 
 Latin poet had faid, the inftruments of virtue ; let them 
 be fervants to that miftrefs. So you may live happily 
 and well. 
 
 Honour in the mere worldly acceptation is next 
 confidered as an obje6l of defire, to be difmifled with 
 fcorn. " Something fl:ill may be faid for beautie and 
 " for riches ; but the honour and glory that the world 
 " fo names, have noe reality or fubfl:ance, noe folidd 
 " being or exiftence, but are fuppofitious and imaginarie, 
 " like thofe eflences of philofophers, qua quaji funt, as 
 
 * See ante, 30-31 ; and foji, lib. xii. § v. 
 
Value of Hereditary Pretences to DiJiinSiion. 607 
 
 " they fay, which are but as if they were." Such 
 honour is born of mere report or fame, and let its 
 origin fhow what it is. " In the mother, fame, take 
 " the quality of the daughter, honour." And then 
 he gives a ftriking paraphrafe of the famous lines in 
 Virgil's fourth book, " illam terra parens," &c. &c. 
 
 After this follows a very mafterly paflage in which the 
 claims of honour apart from mere report, but as little 
 bafed on perfonal merit, are handled under cover of 
 inquiry into the value of hereditary pretences to dif- 
 tindtion. 
 
 " And now to fee whether this ' honor ' be confined within an order, 
 " limitted to perfons and degrees, or left promifcuoufly to all, as their 
 " worths and qualities fhall deferve it ? Wherein let reafon be the 
 " judge. Is it the reward of virtue or of fortune they would make it ? 
 " Let them anfwer who fo magnify this pretence. Do they apply that 
 " honor to their houfes or themfelves ? Is it the diftinftion of their 
 " families, or the guerdon of their merits ? If they will take it for dif- 
 " tinftion, 'tis but a name, and the pooreft. The bafeft have as much, 
 " and fmall caufe there is to glory in that fubjeft. If it be the dif- 
 " tinftion of their families, the charafter of their houfes, though it once 
 " implied a glory, what can it be to them more than treafures are to 
 " porters ? But they will fay, it is the glory of their anceftors, the 
 " acquifilion of their virtues, ' and from them it does defcend here- 
 " ' ditarily to us.' ■ So may the porter fay. That treafure is his mailer's, 
 " and by his will impofed upon his ihouldets : but to whofe ufe, and 
 " in whofe right, has he received it ? in his owne, or to his owne profit 
 " and advantage ? Matters would take this ill, if their fervants Ihould 
 " uiurp it ; and all men would condemn them both of falfehood 
 " and ingratitude. So is it, in the other, an injury to their anceftors, if 
 " they pretend that honor to be theirs. They can but carry it to their 
 " ufe, as a monument of their virtues that acquired it, not in their own 
 " intereft and right, to the glory of themfelves ; nay, not without their 
 " fhame whofe purchafe cannot equal it, being but the fole inheritors 
 " of the fortune, not the worth. But if they waive their families, and 
 " reduce it to themfelves, — between their virtues and their fortunes, 
 " how will they divide it ? If fortune do appropriate it, then the moft 
 " vicious, the moft ignorant, the moft dilhonorable, may be honorable ; 
 " flaves, and they, may be equal in this kind ; for not feldom have they 
 " tafted the liberality of fortune, and this honor none will envy them. 
 " If virtue be the loadftone that procures it, where is it ? Let them 
 " fhew it in the effeft, and then I hope they'll grant that all fo qualified 
 " may be honorable. All men that have the virtue may participate. 
 
6o8 Eliofs MS. of the Monarchy of Man. 
 
 " Where, then, is the propriety they challenge ? where is that peculiar 
 " intereft they claim ? Certainly not in this. This honor will not 
 " bear it, which is the crown of virtue ! All perfons, all orders, all 
 " degrees extant, may be capable thereof. They are without exception 
 " or exclufion ; and, for fuch other honors as are fancied, let them 
 " enjoy an immunity therein, I fliall rather pity than malign them ! " 
 
 He turns to that other truer honour. Refuming 
 and purfuing the fuggeftion of the great Roman poet, 
 he contrails the huge incapable energies of the Titans 
 with the calm accomphfhing grandeur of the Gods, and 
 fays that in the eyes of the latter, and to the perceptions 
 of philofophy, fame is nothing, and its mere accidents of 
 little worth. 
 
 " In one word, honor is no other than to follow goodnefs. To be a 
 " fervant unto virtue, is to be mafler of true honor ; and without that 
 " fervice no honor can be had. Therefore the Romans, thofe mofl 
 " honorable above all men, in the temples which they dedicated, joined 
 " thofe of virtue and honor to each other, and to that of honor left no 
 " entrance or acceffion but through the gate of virtue ; Ihewing by that 
 " fymbol where true honor refts, and how it is attained, which is by 
 " following virtue. But how is that ? how is virtue to be followed ? 
 " in a fair and eafy pace ? will that conduce to honor ? can honor be 
 " fo had ? " 
 
 In the fame fpirit and tone the queftions are anfwered ; 
 and, after ftrong reiterated proteft againft the hereditary 
 claim to appropriate honour " to any order or degree as 
 " is pretended," for that " to be gotten and defcended 
 " even of princes is an accident," the fubjedt is clofed 
 by allufion to thofe enemies of tyranny among the 
 Romans, whofe honour, becaufe it was true, outfhone 
 the worft envy of thofe times. Eliot had a peculiar 
 right to call to mind thefe men, for in his own nature 
 he combined fome of their nobleft qualities, the fiery 
 energy of CafTius with Brutus's brave philofophy. 
 
 " Tacitus notes it upon the funeral of Junia, where fo many famous 
 " images were exhibited, the glory of their families, that Brutus and 
 " and Caffius being omitted through the envy of thofe times, they out- 
 " Ihined the reft becaufe their ftatues were not feen. ' Eo ipjo quod 
 " ' ^ffig'f^ eorum non vifebantur prefulgebant,' as he has it. They being 
 " fo concealed, their glory was the greater. Which fliews that honor 
 
-1 ne faoie oj uiyjjes and the Syrens. 609 
 
 " is moft had, when it is leaft affefted. Why, then, fhould this difturb 
 " us with ambition ? why fhould it make a faftion in our government ? 
 " why fhould it caufe the diflraftion of our hopes ? Ambition cannot 
 " purchafe it, the hope thereof is in vain ; no art, no praftice, can 
 " acquire it, but by the rule of virtue. And fo only as the virtue is 
 " intended, let virtue be our aim. Leave that defire of honor. Let it 
 " not be a worke of our affeftions, for in that eafe we muft fight with 
 " honor as with enemies." 
 
 It will have been remarked with what clofe reafoning, 
 with what unwavering fteadinefs of moral purpofe and 
 defign, the main objeft and argument of the treatife are 
 fuftained. Eliot now examines his pofition. 
 
 " And thus we fee from the feveral objefts of defire, how little caufe 
 " there is for that diflurbance and impulfion. Honor contains no reafon, 
 " being rather an enemie than friend to that affeftion, flying and not fol- 
 " lowing it. Beauty has as little, confifting but of vanity. Riches much 
 " lefs, that are but inflruments of corruption. Alfo for fear, poverty, 
 " death, ficknefs, and the like, which have as fmall warrant and 
 " authority for that paffion. Let us now fearch what more there is in 
 " Pleafure, that counterfeit of happineffe, and apply our laws to that. 
 " For, being the mofl dangerous of our adverfaries, it mufl the more 
 " cautioufly be dealt with." 
 
 To that fubjedb accordingly he reverts, with the view 
 of impreffing more ftrongly in connexion with all the 
 reft the duty of felf-reftraint. A number of autho- 
 rities are brought to bear upon it ; and occafion is taken 
 to exprefs the moft exalted admiration of Homer as the 
 father of literature and philofophy, greateft in both, 
 " a prophet and a poet." Eliot amufes himfelf here 
 alfo with notices of Lucian's comments upon the 
 fupreme Greek mafter ; and from the refiftance of 
 Ulyffes to the Syrens he draws and depidts with extra- 
 ordinary vividnefs the leflbn of a perfedt felf-controul. 
 That wife prince bound himfelf, he fays, reftriding his 
 own liberty. 
 
 " But wherewith was that done ? What were the obligations he in- 
 " curred ? How fhall this come to us ? Moft properly and mofl 
 " readily, if we will endeavour but that means, if we will ufe the 
 " example of that worthy. The fame fafety is for us, which was then 
 " wrought to him ; and that, this great prophet has delivered with all 
 VOL. I. R R ■ 
 
6io Eliofs MS, of the Monarchy of Man. 
 
 " fincerity and fulnefs. You know he makes Vlyffes then on ihip 
 " board. And that much experienced man, moll curious of all know- 
 " ledge, would needs add to that the mufick of the Syrens, the per- 
 " ception of that excellence ; though not trufting to himfelf for the 
 " refiftance of their powers, in which both danger and deftruftion were 
 " implied. To avoid this, he feigns to be fattened to the mafl ; 
 " his men, meanwhile, do intend their labours, having their fenfes 
 " flopped (vulgar appetites being not capable of fuch dainties). Now, 
 " as this mufick was but pleafure, thole Syrens the occafion, {o the 
 " virtues were the cords that did rellrain and bind him, reafon the 
 " mail: to which he was fo fattened, phUofophy the fhip in which he 
 " failed and went ; — and in this Ihip, thus fattened to that matt, having 
 " had both the occafion and delight, he efcap't the dangers threatned, 
 " and in that preferved the fafety of his courfe. But what was that ? 
 " the fame that is our government, — the way to happinefs and felicity ! 
 " — This was his Ithaca, this was that courle intended, and with thole 
 " helpes, notwithttanding all the difficulties, this he accompliftied and 
 " performed ! Now is not this a plain direftion unto us ? Is not our 
 " remedy, our deliverance from this danger, aptly exprelTed in this 
 " mirror and example \ Our fyrens are not more, their harmonies not 
 " ttronger ; the fame ftiip we have, with the fame tackle ; the fame 
 " ropes, the fame matt, continue ttill. Cannot our courfe, then, be 
 " the fame f Is not the fame fafety yet before us .? If we doubt that 
 " tackle will not hold us againtt thofe ttrong enchantments, let us ttop 
 " our fenfes, as VlylTes did with his men, and firtt avoid the occafions. 
 " Nothing is lov'd, not known. Let us, then, ftint our curiofity herein, 
 " and the defire will leave us. But how is that ? how fliall that work 
 " be done ? Is it to Ihun all pleafure, all occafions ? That cannot be, 
 " nor is it requifite to this. For virtue in the concrete is not abfolute, 
 " nor to be fo expefted in our monarchy." 
 
 The true touch of wifdom is in all this ; and the deep 
 and fubtle fpirit with which the whole expofition is con- 
 ceived has further vent in a remarkable clofing allufion 
 to the fole condition that could ever render fafe the 
 harbouring of pleafure. Moderation and fobriety of 
 indulgence are compatible with felf-reftraint. 
 
 " We daily fee it in experience, that thofe who have leaft affeftions 
 " are moft violent (leaft, I mean, extenfively, in refpeft of number and 
 " the objeft) ; their paffions being impetuous as contrafted to that nar- 
 " rownefs, and mafterlefs in that. As Tacitus notes it in Tiberius, 
 " who, being mott referved and hidden unto all men, to Sejanus yet 
 " was open and incautious. So it is likewife unto others. The heart, 
 " being ttraightened by fome objefts, growes more violent in thole 
 " paffions ; the affeftion does inlarge, as the fcope thereof is leflened. 
 
Virtues of ASiion and of Contemplation. 6 1 1 
 
 " Therefore we thus expofe that precept of divifion : that pleafures 
 " may be a remiffion to the mind, not an intention — that we may tafte, 
 " not fwallow them — that the appetition may be obtemperate to reafon, 
 " wherein only true pleafures doe confift." 
 
 The obftruding paffions, the impediments to man's 
 monarchy, thus ifpofed of, the philofopher turns to 
 the elevation of the monarchy itfelf ; and dilates upon the 
 virtues by whofe exercife and operation, condenfed into 
 two great purpofes, the ftrufture is to be raifed. 
 
 " Our next care muft be how to obtain the virtue, how to poffefs 
 " the means, which muft procure that end. And if that can be 
 " acquired, then is our felicity complete, then we have that perfeftion 
 " of our government, the fummum bonum in philofophy, the bonum 
 " publicum in our policy, the true end and objetl of the monarchy of 
 " man. Two parts it has — aftion and contemplation. Of which the 
 " firft divides itfelf into two branches like the virtue, agendo and dicendo, 
 " doing and faying, both which concur to aftion. By doing, is intended 
 " thofe travailes and motions of the body that are neceffary in the per- 
 " formance of thofe works which the duty and office of our callings 
 " require ; — by faying, is meant the expreffion of the tongue, whereby 
 " the intelligence of the heart is made communicable to others, and the 
 " thoughts are conveyed to the underftanding of the hearers. In thefe 
 " two all aftion does confift, and fo that part of the virtue and per- 
 " feftion. Both thefe have one rule of level and direftion, which we 
 " did touch before, as the coinon duty of mankind. In that duty their 
 " office is implied, which is that it be profitable to many. To the 
 " general good and benefit it muft be extended; firft to all, then, after, 
 " to ourfelves." 
 
 A ftriking and valuable reminder is at this point 
 
 interpofed. 
 
 " For all right of office is deftroyed by the inverfion of this order. 
 " To refleft firft upon ourlelves, our own particular interefts, and then 
 " upon the general, is the contrary of duty, the breach of office and 
 " relation. Therefore to the publick, both our words and aftions muft 
 " firft move ; without refpeft, without retraftion, for our private. They 
 " muft firft intend the common good and benefit, and fo defcend by 
 " degrees unto ourfelves. For as members are in bodies for the per- 
 " feftion of the man, fo men in bodies poUiticke, as parts of thefe 
 " focieties, and for the confervation of the whole ; and to that end their 
 " chief endeavour muft incline." 
 
 With a noble fervour Eliot refumes. And in the 
 few following lines we may read the governing principle 
 
 R R Z 
 
6 1 2 Eliofs MS. of the Monarchy of Man. 
 
 of his own life, the pradlice and moral of his own 
 career, the facrifices and felf-denial he had offered in his 
 own perfon before the altar of duty. 
 
 " Here fome queftions will arife ; — how far this fhall engage us ? 
 " what latitude it imports ? what cautions and exceptions it admits ? 
 " Difficulties may occur, and thofe involve us in anxieties, with troubles 
 " and perplexities difturbing our tranquilities, diftrafting the quietnefs 
 " we are in. And fliall we forfeke that fweetnefs ? fliall we negleft 
 " that fatnefs of our peace (as the iig and olive faid of old) for the 
 " publick ufe and ftrvice ? for the profit and commodity of others ? 
 " Yes ! no difficulties may retard us, no troubles may divert us, no ex- 
 " ception is admitted to this rule ! but where the greater good is extant, 
 " the duty and office there is abfolute, without caution, or refpeft. 
 " That greater good appearing, nothing may diflwade us from the 
 " work — no refpeft of eafe, no refpeft of pleafure, no reipeft of the 
 " troubles we may meet, — but in performance of that duty, in accom- 
 " plifliment of that office, our troubles muft feem pleafant, our labours 
 " muft feem facile, all things eafy, all things fweet therein ; — for the 
 " rule is, Officium non fruBum fequi, to obferve the duty, not the benefit, 
 " to feek that end which is propounded in the general, not to propound 
 " an end and reafon of our own. But dangers may be incident ? it 
 " may betray our lafeties, and expofe our fortunes, expofe our liberties, 
 " expofe our lives, to hazard ? — And Ihall we, then, adventure upon 
 " thefe ? fliall we forfake our (afeties ? Ihall we incur thofe dangers, for 
 " foreign interefts and relpefts, for that which concerns but others, 
 " which is foreign unto us ? Yes, — this likewife we are bound to, our 
 " obligation lies in this. No danger, no hazard, may deter us. The 
 " duty and office ftand intire." 
 
 In Eliot's divifion of the virtues neceffary to the 
 ftrufture of his propofed monarchy will be recognifed 
 the old principle of the ancients diftinguilhing the cha- 
 rafteriftics of wifdom, and feparating the end of things 
 to be done from the ways conducing thereto. Very 
 beautiful is the pafTage that follows in praife and exalta- 
 tion of philofophy. 
 
 " But how may this wifdom, then, be had ? where may we feek and 
 " find it ? The anfwer is moft obvious, — in the doftrines of philo- 
 " fophy. For philofophy is the introduftion to this wifdom ; fo both 
 " the word and reafon do import : for by the word is fignified onlie a 
 " love of wifdom, a love of that wifdom which we fpeak of; and that 
 " love will be accompanied with an endeavour to attain it, which is 
 " intended in the common fenfe and notion. For that fcience of philo- 
 
T!he true Aims and ObjeSis of Philofophy. 613 
 
 " fophy is but a gueft of wifdom, the ftudy of that excellence. And 
 " fo Plato gives it in his gradations unto happinefs. Philofophy is the 
 " firft ftep he makes, as the defire of wifdom ; — to which he adds the 
 " ftudy, and contemplation to attain it. From that ftudy and fpecu- 
 " lation he arifes unto wifdom, from that wifdom unto happinefle. So 
 " that philofophy is the priiiciple. Wifdom does there begin, which 
 " has its end in happinefle ; and happinefle in this order is the pro- 
 " duftion of philofophy. In fumme, all contemplation is but this, but 
 " this ftudy of philofophy. If it afcend the heavens to veiwe the glory 
 "of that beauty, philofophy does diredl it. If it defcend to meafure 
 " the center of the earth, philofophy goes with it. If it examine 
 " nature and her fecrets, philofophy muft aflift it. If it refleft on 
 " caufes or effefts, that turn is by philofophy. The contemplation of 
 " all ends, all beginnings, all fuccefles, is propounded by philofophy. 
 " So as philofophy, in contemplation, is as prudence in the virtues, 
 " the architeft and. chief workman, that gives motion and direftion to 
 " the reft. Great is the excellence of philofophy, as it is chief in 
 " contemplation, and the accompliftiment of that virtue. Greater 
 " much it is, as it is a principle to wifdom, and an inftruftor of the / 
 " counfell. But beyond all comparifon it is greateft, as it is the firft 
 " degree to happinefle, as it leades in to that perfeftion of our govern- 
 " ment ! No words can fufiiciently exprefle it, nor render a true figure 
 " of that worth. Being in contemplation, contemplation only muft 
 " conceive it." 
 
 The queftion next arifes, which of thefe great divi- 
 fions is to be regarded as the higheft and moft perfedb ? 
 As an exercife of the faculties, in pure and fingle 
 grandeur, Eliot at once pronounces in favour of philo- 
 fophy, of contemplation : but is careful at the fame 
 time to modify this by pronouncing no wifdom com- 
 plete without the aftive pradtices of virtue. Speaking 
 on the firfb head he urges the fuperior greatnefs of the 
 contemplative philofopher, in regard that his thoughts 
 are fixed on the final intelligence. 
 
 " And he that levels at that mark, though he come fliort, yet fhoots 
 " higher than he that aims but at man, Befides, there is this advantage 
 " in it : that nothing can be contrasted from the prefident to prejudice 
 " or corrupt it, which lower examples may induce ; but much per- 
 " feftion may be added, by the elevation of the mind : as chemicks 
 " in the difquifition of the elixar, though the wonder be not found, 
 " yet have extrafted great varieties by that labour, excellent demon- 
 " ftrations by that work. It is the way in part to refume the image 
 " wee have loft, for that was not an outward figure, but a refemblance 
 
6 14 Eliot's MS. of the Monarchy of Man. 
 
 " in virtue. If that fimilitude was laid in virtue, it cannot fo aptly be 
 " repaired as by the imitation of the Deity, in whom the exaftnefs of 
 " all virtue does remain. This help philofophy does give us in the 
 " Ipeculation of eternity ; — and likewife it derives to our prefent view 
 " and profpeft the knowledge of all antiquity, in what their happinefs 
 " coniifted, what were the ingredients of that compound, and how it 
 " was loft at firft, whence the judgment may refolve what is true 
 " happinefle to us." 
 
 On the fecond head, however, he immediately fub- 
 joins : 
 
 " But if fo, — if philofophy and contemplation have this fruit, that 
 " thefe degrees of happinefle be in them, and fo direft a way to happi- 
 " nefle itfelf, — how is it that we involve us in fuch toils, fuch anxieties 
 " and perplexities, to acquire it ? It is a vanity and folly, by fuch hard 
 " labour to effeft, when a lefs trouble, a lefs travail, comes fo near. If 
 " philofophy and contemplation can procure it, — thofe fweet and gentle 
 " motions of the foul, — what need the co-operations of the body, thofe 
 " aftions and thofe paflions which virtue does require, and which fo 
 " often force diftraftion, nay, deftruftion upon men ? Yet they are 
 " needful; for without virtue, true happinefle cannot be, and theft 
 " compoft the other half of virtue. For contemplation and aftion 
 " make the whole. Virtue conflfts only in both, and in part there is 
 " no perfeftion. Therefore to contemplation, aftion alfo muft be 
 " joined, to make a compleat virtue ; and by that virtue alone true hap- 
 " pineflTe may be had." 
 
 And, defiring not to be mifunderftood in what before 
 he had faid of the fupreme claims of the contemplative 
 virtues, he adds, with intimation that he will difcufs the 
 matter more fully in a future treatife (a defign inter- 
 rupted by death), that contemplation muft ftill be con- 
 iidered as the chief. 
 
 " For contemplation is the beginning of all aftion, the principle of 
 " that motion : aftion but a derivative of that, and no derivation can 
 " be equal to the primative, no fecond com_parabie with the firft. All 
 " aftions are but the emanation of the will, and the will receives her 
 " inftance from the apprehenfion of the mind. But flill both muft be 
 " concurrent. Virtue is a compofition of them both. Contemplation 
 " muft prepare the matter of our happinefle, aftion difpofe and 
 " order it." 
 
 The great purpofe accompliftied, the ftrudlure raifed 
 on thofe foundations, Eliot clofes his labour with an 
 
Exalted Eulogy on the Mind of Man. 6 1 5 
 
 exalted eulogy on the independence and fuperiority of 
 the mind of man. I prefent it entire. It is worthy to 
 have clofed a work of fo much nobility in the concep- 
 tion^ and marked by a variety and beauty of detail that 
 might have given to the memory of our loftieft writers 
 in profe frelh fame and luftre. 
 
 " This makes up that perfeffion of our monarchy — that happineffe of 
 " the mind, which, being founded upon thefe grounds, built upon thefe 
 " foundations, no power or greatnefs can impeach. Such is the ftate 
 " and majeflde, that nothing can approache it, but by the admiffion of 
 " thefe fervants ; fuch is the faftie and fecuritie, that nothing can violate 
 " or touch it, but by thefe inftruments and organes ; fuch is the power 
 " and dignitie, that all things muft obey it. All things are fubjeft to 
 " the Minde, which, in[this temper, is the commander of them all. Noe 
 " refinance is againft it. It breaks through the orbes and immenfe 
 " circles of the heavens, and penetrates even to the center of the 
 " earth ! It opens the fountains of Antiquitie, and runs down the 
 " ftreame of time, below the period of all feafons I It dives into the 
 " dark counfells of eternitie, and the abftrufe fecrets of nature it un- 
 " locks ! All places, and all occafions, are alike obvious to it ! " It does 
 " obferve thoft fubtil paflages in the air, and the unknown pathes, and 
 " traces, in the deeps ! There is that power of operation in the 
 " minde, that quicknefs and velocity of motion, — that in an inftant it 
 " does paiTe from extremitie to extremitie, from the loweft to the 
 " higheft, from the extreame point ot'h weft to the horofcope and af- 
 " cendant in the eaft. It meafures in one thought the whole circum- 
 " ference of heaven, and by the fame line it takes the geographie of the 
 " earth. The feas, the air, the fire, all things of either, are within the 
 " comprehenfion of the minde. It has an influence on them all, whence 
 " it takes all that male be ufefuU, and that may be helpful! in its govern- 
 " ment. Noe limitation is prefcribed it, noe reftriftion is upon it, but 
 " in a free fcope it has liberty upon all. And in this liberty is the 
 " excellence of the minde ; in this power and compofition of the minde, 
 " is the perfeilion of a man ; in that perfedlion is the happineis wee 
 " look for, — when in all fbvereignty it reigns, comanding, not com- 
 " manded ; when at home, the fubjefts are fubjeft and obedient, not 
 " refraftorie and factious ; when abroad, they are as fervants, fervice- 
 " able and in readinefs, without hefitation or reluftance ; when to the 
 *' refblutions of the counfell, to the digefts of the laws, the aftions and 
 " affeftions are inclined, — this is thaxfummum bonum and cheife good 
 " which in this ftate and condition is obtain'd ! The minde for this has 
 " that tranfcendence given it, that man, though otherwife the weakeft, 
 " might be the ftrongeft and moft excellent of all creatures. In that 
 " onlie is the excellence we have, and thereby are we made fuperior to 
 
6 1 6 Eliot's MS. of the Monarchy of Man. 
 
 " the reft. For in the habits of the body, in all the faculties thereof, 
 " man is not comparable to others, in fenfe and motion far inferior to 
 " many. The antients fuppofe it the indifcretion of Epimetheus, 
 " having the firft diftribution of the quahties, to leave us fo defeftive, 
 " when to the reft he gave an excellence in their kindes. As fwiftnefs 
 " and agilitie to fome, ftrength and fortitude to others ; and vi'hom he 
 " found weakeft, thefe he made moft nimble, as in the fowls and others 
 " it is feen ; and whom he found moft flow, to thefe he gave moft 
 " ftrength, as buUs and elephants do expreffe it ; and fo all others in 
 " their kindes have fome fingularitie and excellence, wherein there is a 
 " compenfation for all wants ; fome being armed offenfively and defen- 
 " five, and in that having a provifional fecurity. But Man only he left 
 " naked, more unfurniflied than the reft : in him there was neither 
 " flu-ength nor agihty, to preferve him from the danger of his enemies; 
 " multitudes exceeding him in either, many in both : ta whom he ftood 
 " obnoxious and expofed, having no refiftance, no avoidance for their 
 " furies ! But in this cafe and neceffity, to relieve him, upon this over- 
 " fight and improvidence of Epimetheus, Prometheus, that wife ftatef- 
 " man whom Pandora could not cozen, having the prefent apprehenfion 
 " of the danger by his quick judgement and intelligence, fecretly pafl^es 
 " into heaven, fteales out a fire from thence, infufes it into man, by that 
 " inflames his minde with a divine fpirit and wifdom, and therein gives 
 " him a full fupplie for all ! For all the excellence of the creatures he 
 " had a far more excellence in this. This one was for them all. No 
 " ftrength nor agihty could match it. All motions and abilities came 
 " Ihort of this perfeftion. The moft choice armes of nature have 
 " their fuperlative in its arts. All the arts of Vulcan and Minerva 
 " have their comparative herein. In this divine fire and fpirit, this 
 " fupernaturall influence of the Minde, all excellence organicall is fiirpaft ; 
 " it is the tranfcendant of them all; nothing can come to match it; 
 " nothing can impeach it; but man therein is an abfolute mafter of 
 " himfelf ; his own fafetie and tranquLlitie by God (for fo we muft 
 " remember the Ethicks did expreffe it) are made dependant on himfelf. 
 " And in that felf-dependance, in the negleft of others, in the intire 
 " rule and dominion of himfelfe, the affeftions being compofed, the 
 " aftions foe direfted, is the perfeftion of our government, xhalfummum 
 " botium in philofophie, the bonum publicum in our poUicie, the true end 
 " and objeft of this Monarchy of Man." 
 
 And fo death found the writer, abfolute mafter of 
 himfelf. The throne of his prifon fufficed for that 
 monarchy ; and he was fatisfied to take his place among 
 the fovereigns whofe power has its beginning, not its 
 ending, at the grave. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abbot. 
 
 Abbot, George, archbifliop of Can- 
 terbury, no party to Lady Eflfex's 
 divorce, 28. As to the Palfgraf, 
 89, 90. Enmity with Laud, 89 
 note. Contraft between the two, 
 113 note. Pamphlet afcribed to 
 him, 117. As to its authenticity, 
 117, 118 notes. Rebuffed by the 
 king, 147. Countermined by the 
 Court, 230. His rebuke to the 
 commons, 24.7 note. As to Mon- 
 tagu, 253. Thanked by the 
 commons, 254. His authority 
 fet at nought, 343. On Laud's 
 afcendency, ibid, note. Penalty 
 in profpeil, 466. Buckingham's 
 fear of him, ib. note \. His affec- 
 tion for Digges, 476 note. See 
 214. 255. 360 note. 453. 
 
 Afton, motive for a murder at, 105. 
 
 Admiralty commiffioners a cloak to 
 Buckingham, 317. 321. See 
 Na'val. 
 
 Alehoufes reftraint aft, Eliot's com- 
 ment, 310. 
 
 Alford, Edward (Beverley), Eliot 
 oppofed by, 143. Parliaments in 
 which he fat, 128. 221. As to 
 Montagu, 339. Excluded from 
 re-eleftion, 465. See 154. 380. 
 424. 
 
 Alienations aft, 309 note. Eliot's 
 comment, 310. 
 
 AUeyne, Edward, the player, fent 
 on a bootlefs errand, 118. 
 
 Ambaffadors from England a laugh- 
 ing ftock, 96. 336, 337. Jefuit 
 pardons granted to foreign am- 
 baffadors, 335. Judge Marten's 
 argument thereon, 336, 337. 
 
 Arundel. 
 Their houfes a refort for recufants, 
 415. Their jefuit attendants, 
 439 note. 
 Ambition, nature of (fpeech by 
 Eliot), 548. 
 
 Amfterdam, caufe of the great trade 
 of, 169. 
 
 Anderfon, Sir Henry (Newcaftle) 
 in the 1623 parliament, 128. Ad- 
 vocacy of the Bohemian caufe, 
 154. In Charles's firft parlia- 
 ment, 222. For delay in the 
 Yorkfliire cafe, 281. 
 
 Andover, Lord. See Berhjhire. 
 
 Anne, queen of James I, intercedes 
 for Raleigh, 32. 
 
 " Appello Cafarem." See Montagu, 
 Richard. 
 
 Apfley, Sir Allen, Tower governor, 
 and the St. Peter of Newhaven, 
 507, 508. 
 
 Ardglafs, earldom of, 45 1 note. See 
 Cromivell, Thomas Lord. 
 
 Argus and Briareus of the commons' 
 houfe, 236. 
 
 Arican, Doftor, why objefted to by 
 the commons, 343. 
 
 Arminlus, 256. Complaint of coun- 
 tenance to Arminians, 437. 
 
 Armyne, Sir William, an affiftant 
 in Buckingham's impeachment, 
 534. See 569 note. 
 
 " Arreft of the Fi've Members" 173 
 note, and 528 note. 
 
 Arundel, earl of, lord marftial, his 
 obligations to Sir Robert Cotton, 
 411 note. Communication with 
 the popular chiefs, 453. A 
 marked man, 466. Bucking- 
 ham's fufpicions, ibid. note^. 
 
6i8 
 
 Index. 
 
 Austria. 
 
 Why obnoxious to the king, 503. 
 
 Charge againft him, ibid. His 
 
 reception on his releafe from the 
 
 Tower, 504. Again fent there, 
 
 580. 
 Auftria, rife of Bohemia againft the 
 
 emperor of, 88. Chance of re- 
 
 preffing its power loft, 90. See 
 
 301. 
 Ayleftjurie, Buckingham's fecre- 
 
 tary, objeft of letter to Conway 
 
 from, 68, 69. See 185. 
 Ayliffe, Mr, narrow efcape from the 
 
 gallows of, 8. 
 
 Bacon, Sir Francis, attorney-gene- 
 ral (Vifcount St. Albans), ac- 
 counts for the court failure in the 
 1 6 14 eleftions, 21. His laft par- 
 liament, 22. Why he wiftied 
 himfelf in the "upper world," 
 24. Oppofition to his fitting in 
 the commons, ibid. note. Not a 
 juftifier of wrong, though an ac- 
 quiefcer in it, 25. Infelicitous 
 occafion of a mafque by him, 28. 
 His opinion and conduft as to 
 Raleigh, 33 note. Obligations to 
 Sir Robert Cotton, 41 1 note. See 
 162. 497. 550 note. 
 
 Bagg, George, 208 note. 
 
 Bagg, Mr, afterwards Sir James 
 (Eaft Loo), 4 Ko/^. 41, 42. Off^ers 
 a bribe for a (hare in a wardftiip, 
 182 note. Joined in commiffion 
 with Eliot and others, 186, 187. 
 201. His origin and charafter, 
 201. His (lavifli letters to Buck- 
 ingham, 202, 203. 207. Honours 
 and places conferred on him, 203. 
 Frauds charged upon him, 204. 
 A " bottomlefs Bagg," 205. 
 Protected by the king from his 
 Star Chamber fentence, 205, 
 206. Complicity of the king and 
 Buckingham in his intrigues 
 againft Eliot, 206. Debts due 
 at his death from him to the king, 
 208 note. Returned to parlia- 
 ment, 223. Occafion of his hof- 
 tility to Sir F. Gorges, 329. Dif- 
 tinftions conferred upon him, 445. 
 
 Bohemia. 
 
 Drake's cautions to him, 447. 
 Has the viftualling of the Cadiz 
 expedition, 449. How he per- 
 formed it, 459. Ship-plundering 
 in which he bore part, 455. 
 " Worthy the halter," 459 note. 
 Re-elefted, 479. Efforts to fcreen 
 Buckingham, 496. Share as to 
 the St. Peter of Newhaven, 507. 
 509, 510. Duty put upon him, 
 512. See 471. 
 
 Baltimore, Lord. See Calvert. 
 
 Barnardo, Philip, objeft of vifit to 
 Eliot by, 564. 
 
 Bafd, an eloquent difli of, 171. 
 
 Baffet's eleftion cafe, decifion in, 
 284. 
 
 Bate's cafe, 23. Royal pretenfion 
 affirmed, 165. 
 
 Bath, Earl of, reverfion claimed by 
 Eliot on the death of, 196, 197. 
 
 Beale's precedent, 560. 
 
 Beaumont, Mr. (Pontefraft), 222. 
 
 Beaumont and Fletcher, Biihop 
 Hacket's acquaintance with, 173. 
 
 Bed-chamber interview between 
 Buckingham and Eliot, 296. 
 
 Bedell's obligations to Sir Robert 
 Cotton, 411 note. 
 
 Becher, Sir William (Dover) ■ " a 
 " creature of the lord admiral's," 
 304. 
 
 Bellarmine, 114. 
 
 Bellafis, Sir Thomas (Thirlk), 128. 
 222. 
 
 Berkihire, Earl of, and Vifcount 
 Andover, runs Buckingham hard 
 for the Cambridge chancellorfhip, 
 572. Contemporary notice of the 
 conteft, ibid. note. 
 
 Bethefda's pool, lord-keeper Wil- 
 liams's parallel, 224. 
 
 Birch tranfcripts in the Britifti Mu- 
 feum, incorrectnefs and ill-editing 
 of the books printed from, 149 
 note. 528 note. Value of the col- 
 leflion, 528 note. See 404 note. 
 Si-inoteX. 
 
 Bodley, Sir Thomas, obligations to 
 Sir Robert Cotton, 41 1 note. 
 
 Bohemia, rife of the proteftants of, 
 88. The Palfgraf's acceptance 
 
Bolwgbroke. 
 of its crown, 89. Unequal con- 
 flift with the Roman Catholic 
 confederacy, 132. Aid claimed 
 for them, 1 54.. See Frederick. 
 
 Bolingbroke's " Remarks," 119 
 note. 
 
 Bolles, Captain, a vi6lim to the ill 
 provifioning of the Cadiz expedi- 
 tion, 4.59. 
 
 Bonfires to order, 116. Ditto fpon- 
 taneous, 119, 120. 155 note. A 
 bonfire of records, 366, 367 note. 
 
 Brafton's three orders ^of neceffity, 
 375- 
 
 Brandling, Mr. (Northumberland), 
 
 Z22. 
 
 Breda, Cooke's palliation for the 
 
 lofs of, 302, 303. 
 Briftol, John Lord Digby, Earl of, 
 fpeechas to Palatinate, 97. Effeft 
 of his fuccefs in Spain on Buck- 
 ingham, 112. Of the prince's 
 vifit, 113. Superfeded in his em- 
 bafly, 114. His difclaimer of 
 refponfibility, ibid. note. Buck- 
 ingham's reception of his remon- 
 ftrances, 119. Indignities on his 
 return from Spain, 125. Claims 
 rejefted, 126 note. Partial dif- 
 clofure of his case, 228. Refolve 
 to force it into public notice, 45 3 . 
 Demands to impeach Bucking- 
 ham, 502. Retaliatory ftep, 503. 
 Coercion of the biftiops in his 
 cafe, 503 note, 504. Damaging 
 refult of his difclofures, 504, 505. 
 Commits error in paffion, 504 
 note. Again in the Tower, 580. 
 See 349 note. 
 Brodie, the hiftorian, points illuf- 
 trated by, 158 note. 231 note. 546 
 note. Correflion of a reference to 
 him, 401 note. 
 Bromely's imprifonment cited as a 
 
 precedent, 560. 
 Brooke, Lord, 85. 
 Brooke, Sir John (Oxford) as to 
 
 the Yorklhire election, 262. ' 
 Browne Mr. (Gloucefter)againft im- 
 peachment by common fame, 532. 
 Bruce, Lord, of Bremar, curious 
 fentence on, 263. 
 
 Index. 619 
 
 Buckingham. 
 
 Bruce, Lord, of Kinlofs, Sackville's 
 
 duel with, 98. 
 Buckingham, George Villiers, Mar- 
 quis and Duke of, lord admiral 
 &c. on his travels, 15. Falls in 
 with Eliot, 16. Renewal of their 
 intercourfe, 36. How, according 
 to Echard, Eliot became his 
 " mortal enemy," 38. Occafion 
 of his rife, 39. His qualifications, 
 39, 40. Rapid fuccefTion of dig- 
 nities, 40. D'Ewes's pi6ture of 
 him, ibid. note. Biihop Williams's 
 advice to him, 40, 41 notes. Secre- 
 tary Conway's obligations to him, 
 69. A patron of Laud's, 89 note. 
 Share in the Spanifti journey, 112. 
 Incognito of himfelf and the 
 prince, 113. Epiftolary fami- 
 liarities with the king, ibid. note. 
 Created a duke, 114. His pro- 
 pofed recognition of the pope, 
 115. Conduft in Spain, 119. The 
 hero of the hour, 120. 122. His 
 relations with Eliot : calumny re- 
 futed, 121-125. 130, 131, 131 
 note. References in Laud's diary, 
 127 note. Thwarts the king as to 
 popular members, 128. His ac- 
 count of the Spaniih bufinefs, 
 J 3 3. Thanked by the commons, 
 144. His diflatorial letters to the 
 king, 147 note. 174. The king's 
 rebuke to him on the Middleftx 
 impeachment, 161. His treatment 
 of Middlefex's appeals, ibid. note. 
 The intercourfe between him and 
 Eliot, 178-186. 188, 189. 190 
 -192. 195. 232. 286 note. Laft 
 letters from Eliot to him, 196- 
 200. Bagg's communications, 
 201-207. His refolve to break 
 with Charles's firft parliament, 
 215. 230. 310. 353. Eliot's aid 
 invoked to divert him from his 
 purpofe, 216, 217. 295. O and P 
 fchedule given to him by Laud, 
 228. Goes to fetch the young 
 queen, ibid. note. He and Wil- 
 liams at enmity, 231 and note. 
 331 note. 393 note. Heath's rela- 
 tions with him, 277. Wifti to. 
 
620 
 
 Index. 
 
 Buckingham. 
 
 win Wentworth to his fide, 285. 
 "The Eolus" of his time, 294. 
 Obje6t of fudden furamons to his 
 " privadoes,'" 294, 295. His final 
 interview with Eliot, 296-300. 
 His new fpokefman. Sir John 
 Cooke, 301. 348, 349. Fatal re- 
 fults of his obftinacy, 306, 307. 
 The council powerlefs, 311 note. 
 320, 321. Challenge flung down 
 by him, 314. Combination againft 
 him, 315. Loan of (hips to 
 France, 322-330. His game- 
 fomenefs of difpofition, 337 note. 
 Patronage of Montagu, 338. 
 Montagu's letter of thanks, ibid, 
 note. Aimed at but not named, 
 341. His "only inward coun- 
 fellor," 343 note. His belief re- 
 garding the figns of the times, 
 344. Story of the jefuit pardons 
 in Eliot's prefence, 346, 347 note. 
 Failure of a part of his fcheme, 
 370. His " fycophants," 391 
 and note 399. The Chrillchurch 
 exhibition, 394. His addrefs to 
 the parliament at Oxford, 394- 
 396. Their reception of it, 397. 
 His charafter, its merits and de- 
 fers, 398-400. Point on which 
 he was driven to change his courfe, 
 400. A condition violated, 401. 
 Eliot's comment, 402. Tone of 
 his admirers, 407. Parallels 
 levelled at him, 419-421. Man- 
 fel's denial, 427. Opposing what 
 " he moft defired," 427,428. Re- 
 folve to charge him byname, 429. 
 Forebodings on the Oxford diflb- 
 lution, 445. 447. Vifit to Ply- 
 mouth, 448. " Generaliffimo" 
 and "general," 448. 450. 457 
 note. " Too pretious to be ad- 
 " ventur'd " in a naval expedi- 
 tion, 449. Triple objeft of 
 voyage to the Hague, 451. 524 
 note. Lord Cromwell's plain- 
 fpoken letter, 451, 452. 458 note. 
 Lords combining againft him, 
 453. 466 note*. Increafed hos- 
 tility, 455, 456. EfFe£l of Cadiz 
 expedition, 458. Scheme for pro- 
 
 BurlamacM. 
 
 tefling him, 465. His court op- 
 ponents and the king, 466. Eliot's 
 relations to him at this period, 
 467. Pofition of other popular 
 members, 468. Wentworth's fub- 
 miflive ftrain, 468, 469. The 
 duke's oppofition to Eliot's re- 
 eleftion, 473 and note. Himfelf 
 and Charles at the coronation, 
 473, 474. Laud's troubled dreams, 
 474 note. Manfel a fufferer from 
 his anger, 476. Charge prepar- 
 ing againft him, 489. Minutes 
 relpefting it, 491—494. The one 
 grand delinquent, 497. Doctor 
 Turner's queries, 498. Refolu- 
 tions carried by Eliot, 501, 502. 
 Lord Briftol's charge and counter- 
 charge, 502— 505. Seizure of the 
 St. Peter of Newhaven, 505-514. 
 [See St. Peter."] Eliot's attack 
 upon him by name, 518. 524. 
 His " fair and fubmiffive fpeech," 
 530, 531. Difcuflion on mode of 
 procedure, 532. Opening of the 
 Impeachment, 533. His jeer at 
 and rebuke by Digges, 535. 
 Oifence taken by commons, 536. 
 Eliot's fumming up againft him, 
 541-552. Epithets obje£led to, 
 and Eliot's reply, 555. 566-568. 
 His anfwer preparing : ramoured 
 fcene with the king, 571. Pro- 
 ceedings for his eleftion at Cam- 
 bridge, 572, 573. His answers 
 to the impeachment, and aflion 
 taken thereon, 575, 576. The 
 elements in commotion at his 
 doors, 577. His removal from 
 the royal prefence demanded, ibiiL 
 Pretended procefs againft him by 
 the king, _ 546 note. 578, 579. 
 The ftiam information and its re- 
 fults, 580. %tti.-j . -i^i note . %i note . 
 68. 86. 91. 116. 126, 127. 129. 
 148, 149. 151. 154. 159. 175. 
 210. 222, 223. 228. 253. 285. 
 312. 319. 332. 335. 345. 361. 
 371. 381. 388. 432, 433. 
 
 BuUer, Richard, joined in commif- 
 fion with Eliot, 186, 187. 
 
 Burlamachi, Eliot's merchant friend, 
 
Index. 
 
 621 
 
 Cabala. 
 
 470. Divifion of the houfe in his 
 favour, 47 1 note. Marten's appeal 
 ( to him, 508. 
 
 Cabala, the, 118 note. 452 note. 
 Cadiz expedition, 447 . Preparations 
 for and failing, 448-450, 451, 
 Its objeft and refult, 456, 457. 
 Difaftrous eifefts to its officers 
 and men, 457-459. Eliot's com- 
 ments, 517. See 574. 
 
 Calvert, Sir George, afterve ards Lord 
 Baltimore, king's chief fecretary, 
 why interceder for pirate Nutt, 
 70. 74. His comment on Judge 
 Marten's replies to his queries, 73. 
 Friendly epithet to Nutt, 75. 
 Eliot ignorant of his intereft in 
 the pirate 78, 79. Obtiins Nutt's 
 pardon, 82. Nutt's fubfequent 
 reprifal on a friend, 86. Paper 
 he defired to fupprefs, 118. Votes 
 againft war with Spain, 126. 
 Forced on Yorkfliire by Went- 
 worth, 259-261. See 102. 105. 
 113 note. 156 note. 179. 227. 
 279 note. 
 
 Cambray nuns, their obligations to 
 Sir Robert Cotton, 411 note. 
 
 Cambray. See Carondeht. 
 
 Cambridge, Eliot's interceffion for 
 under-fheriff, 160. Break-down 
 of its public orator, 212. 406, 
 Polling queftion, 272. 
 
 Cambridge Univerfity chancellor- 
 fhip, Buckingham's eleftion, 571 
 -573. A contemporary account, 
 572 note. 
 
 Camden, William, his obligations 
 to Sir Robert Cotton, 411 note. 
 
 Campbell's Lmes of the Chancel- 
 lors, omiffion in, 433 note. 
 
 Carew. See Corniuall. 
 
 Carleton, Sir Dudley, vice-chamber- 
 Iain (Haftings) citations from 
 letters to, 24. 69 note. 106. 113 
 notes. 118. 120. 149. 156. 157. 
 176. 279 note. Eleifted to Parlia- 
 ment : his previous experiences, 
 478. Attempts in the Saint Peter 
 cafe, 512. Charges againft Eliot, 
 513. 543 note, 555. LeiSures the 
 
 Champernotune. 
 
 houfe, 556. " Skin and bone and 
 wooden ftioes," 556. Charge 
 againft Digges, 558 note. Sugges- 
 tions as to Eliot's imprifonment, 
 560, 561. A peerage preparing, 
 566. Eliot accufed in king's 
 name, 566, 567. "Not fo much 
 as a place to be made lord of," 
 571. See 539 note-^(>i^. 571 
 note. 
 Carlifle, Lord, 126 note. 349 note. 
 Charafter as an ambaffador, 337. 
 Carondelet, archdeacon of Cambray, 
 and his Dalilah, how ufed by 
 an Englifh biftiop, 175 note. 
 
 Carte, Thomas, the hiftorian, tribute 
 to the merits of, n 8 note. On 
 the charges againft Middlefex, 
 1 60 note. 
 
 Cary, Valentine, biftiop of Exeter, 
 favour alked by Eliot from, 463, 
 464. 
 
 Cavendifti, Lord, duel fought by, 8 . 
 Teller on the Yorkfliire eleftion 
 cafe, 278. 
 
 Cecil, Sir Edward, afterwards Lord 
 Wimbledon, on war for the Pala- 
 tinate, 94. Member of Council 
 of War, 432. Made commander 
 of the Cadiz expedition, 448. 
 Charafter flcetched by Eliot, 449, 
 450. Merriment excited by his 
 titles, 450. The expedition, 456, 
 457. His cafe a hard one, 457 
 note. Recriminations between him 
 and his officers, 458. 
 
 Cecil, Robert, 448. 
 
 Chamberlain, Letter writer, on the 
 1 6 14 parliament, 24. Prophecy 
 regarding Conway, 69 note. On 
 Lord Digby in Spain, 113 note. 
 Preparations for the infanta, 118. 
 The Blackheath bonfire, 120. 
 Pofition of king and commons, 
 149. See alfo 149 note. Altered 
 tone of the courtiers as to Spain, 
 156. Parting of James and his 
 laft parliament, 176. See 279 
 note. 
 
 Champernowne family, 2. A link 
 of kinfhip between Eliot and 
 Raleigh, 34. 
 
622 
 
 Index. 
 
 Chancellor. 
 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer. See 
 Wefton, Richard. 
 
 Chandos, Lord, duel fought by, 8. 
 
 Charles, Prince of Wales, afterwards 
 Charles I, II. Propofed marriage 
 with the infanta, loi. Parlia- 
 mentary oppofition, 103,104,105. 
 Journey to Madrid, 112. Incognito 
 afl'umed, 113. Letters to his 
 father, ibid. note. Roraifh hopes 
 excited, 114.. His reply to the 
 •Pope's letter, 115. Popular dis- 
 content, 117. Public rejoicings 
 on his return, 119, 120. Indorfes 
 Buckingham's narrative, 133,134.. 
 Anecdote by Laud and its moral, 
 134 note. Influence with his 
 father, 146. Sarcaftic allufion, 
 148. His father's warning as to 
 impeachments, i6z. Propofed 
 match with a French princefs, 
 175' 179' -A- goffip with lord- 
 keeper Williams, 175 note. How 
 he "guarded the feas," 193 note. 
 His complicity with Bagg, 205, 
 206. 208 note. Condui5l to his min- 
 isters, 206 note. Charges againft 
 his firft parliament, 214. Favour- 
 able auguries on his acceffion, 
 219, 220. Arrival of his queen, 
 221. 228 note. Speech to his firft 
 parliament, 223. Mr. Speaker's 
 advice and his reply, 225. Why 
 eager for the meeting, 227. Awa- 
 kening of popular diftruft, its 
 caufes, 229, ibid. note. Rudyard's 
 eulogy, 243. State of religion at 
 his acceffion, 251. Formula ex- 
 preffive of the tragedy of his 
 reign, 258. His refentment" for 
 Montagu, ibid, note [See Mon- 
 tagu.'] The plague, 291. His 
 meflage to the commons and their 
 interpretation of it, 291, 292. 
 Caufe of all his troubles, 297. 
 Speech by Buckingham's inftru- 
 ment, Cooke, in his name, 301- 
 304. "New ways" threatened, 
 303. And poffible abandonment 
 of religion, 304. Meanings hid- 
 den, 305. Turning point of his 
 deftiny, 306, Eliot's appeal to 
 
 Charles I. 
 
 him for better guarding of the 
 feas,. 320, 321. Warrant for 
 Englifh ftiips againft French Pro- 
 teftants, 328, 329. Warned as to 
 the intentions againft Bucking- 
 ham, 330. His claim for Mon- 
 tagu, 339. Eliot's corollary there- 
 from, 340. Bhnd to the times 
 and his people, 344. His evil 
 counfellors, 345. Story of the 
 Jefuit pardon, 345-347. Speech 
 at the opening of the Oxford 
 feffion, 347, 348. Scapegoat for 
 Buckingham, 402. A meflage 
 to the commons, 405. Its drift, 
 406. Seizure of Cotton's library, 
 413. Buckingham more deeply 
 engaging him, 427, 428. Another 
 meflage, 430. Beginning of the 
 end, 448. Lawlefs expedients for 
 coronation expenfes, 465. Pre- 
 venting re-ele6lion of popular 
 members, ibid. Puniftiing reftive 
 members of his council, 466. 
 Himself and Buckingham at his 
 coronation, 473, 474. Conces- 
 fions refolved on, 474. At the 
 opening of the houfes : new lord- 
 keeper's fpeech, 474, 475. His 
 threatening letter to the commons, 
 
 500. His complaint againft Cle- 
 ment Coke, and Doftor Turner, 
 
 501. Worfted in the Arundel and 
 Briftol cafes, 503-505. Made 
 refponfible for the Saint Peter of 
 Newhaven cafe, 507. 510. His 
 anger at the decifion thereon, 512. 
 Offence taken by him at Eliot's 
 fpeech, 524. Lefture to the two 
 houfes on the ufes of a parlia- 
 ment, 526, 527. Prefentat Buck- 
 ingham's " fair and fubmiffive 
 fpeech," 530, 531. Gives way 
 to " enquiries about the duke,'' 
 532. Enquiries about Eliot which 
 he would not furrender, 533. 
 Well provided with reporters, 
 539 note. Application to himfelf 
 of a claffical parallel, 552. In- 
 fulting addrefs at the clofe of 
 duke's impeachment, 553. His 
 affeftion for the duke, ibid. note. 
 
Index. 
 
 Cheke. 
 No choice but to releafe Eliot, 
 565. Qualities in his two prede- 
 ceffors wanting in him, 569, 570. 
 No profiter by experience, 570. 
 Simile applied to him by Heylin, 
 570 note. Alleged reproaches 
 to Buckingham, 571. Commons' 
 remonftrance, 574.. 577. His coun- 
 ter-declaration and burning of 
 remonftrance, 574. note. 580. De- 
 mand for Buckingham's removal 
 from his perfon, 577. Suggeftion 
 for a ftiam procefs againft Buck- 
 ingham, 578. His acSion thereon, 
 and re-imprifonment of Arundel 
 and Briftol, 580. See 100. 104.. 114 
 note. 116. 130. 148. 149 note. 159. 
 178. 180. 209, 210. 212. 215. 
 
 Cheke, Sir Hatton, fatal duel fought 
 by, 8. 
 
 Chevereufe, duke and duchefs of, 
 221. 
 
 Chichefter, Sir Arthur, afterwards 
 Lord, one of James's ambafladors, 
 349 note. Member of Council of 
 War, 432. 
 
 Chriftians, wholefale capture by 
 Turks of, 317. 
 
 Civil lift not in exiftence temp. Ch. 
 
 I> 375- 
 
 Clare, firft earl of ; fee Holies, Sir 
 John. Fourth earl and firft duke 
 ofNewcaftle. Set %! note. 
 
 Clarendon, Lord, on Villiers's rapid 
 rife at court, 39. On Bucking- 
 ham's influence, 112. On the 
 Pope's advances to prince Charles, 
 115. On Middlefex's impeach- 
 ment, 160. On Buckingham's 
 pofition, 231. On Charles's trou- 
 bles, 293. On Buckingham's 
 favour, 398 note. On the weak 
 point in the duke's charafter, 
 399. 399 note. On the clofe of 
 the Oxford fitting, 445. See 219. 
 
 433- 
 
 Clarke, Edward (Cinque Ports), 
 infiilts the houfe, 388. His 
 puniftiment, 389. 392. 415. 
 
 Claflic authors, perfonages, and inci- 
 dents, illuftrative references to : 
 Alexander, 568. Ariftotle, 9. 
 
 623 
 
 Coie. 
 
 398 note. Athenian oracle, 167. 
 Csefar, 568. Catiline, 282, 283. 
 Cicero, 282, 283. 290. 398 note. 
 519, 520. 546. 548. 566. 568. 
 Craffus, 283. Hannibal, 283. Le- 
 pidus, 430. Livy, 283. Meander, 
 480. Nero, 337. Pallas, 337. 
 Paterculus, 283. 368. Petronius, 
 337. Phaeton, 371. Plato, 9. 
 Polyphemus, 302. Samians, 480. 
 Sejanus, 549, 550 note. 552. 558. 
 566.1568. Seneca, 9. 138. 141. 
 333. Tacitus, 163. 282. 298. 319. 
 367.430.5:7.549. Themiftocles, 
 516. Tiberius, 430. 552. Ulyfles, 
 302. Verres, 519. 
 
 Clifford, Henry lord, afterwards earl 
 of Cumberland, on Engliih heroifm 
 in the Palatinate, 96 note. A 
 witnefs for Wentworth in the 
 Yorkftiire eleftion cafe, 260 note. 
 
 Coaft-dangers from piracy, 317. See 
 Nutt. Pirates. Turkijh pirates. 
 
 Codrington's Life of EJj'ex, paffage 
 relative to Overbury in, 30 note. 
 
 Coke, Sir Anthony, 560. 
 
 Coke, Clement (Ayleft)ury), failing 
 of his father, reprefented by, 478. 
 His famous exclamation, 497.501. 
 
 Coke, Sir Edward (Norfolk), pro- 
 pofing a thankfgiving to God, 
 95. His inveflive againft Spain, 
 102. Court retaliation, iii. 
 Adulatory ftrain towards Buck- 
 ingham, 120. 122. Plan for keep- 
 ing him out of a new parliament, 
 127 note, 128. Why Charles 
 was never tired of hearing him, 
 144. Eagernefs for war, 145. 
 Mrs Grya's petition^ 150, 151. 
 As to a fubfidy, 153, 154. His 
 fling at Lord Middlefex, 162. 
 As to grievances, 242. On the 
 Yorkftiire eleffion cafe, 263. 273, 
 274. Reopens the fubjeft of 
 Montagu, 338,339. His motion 
 thereon, how modified, 343. His 
 great fpeech on fubfidies, 373- 
 376. Grievances and remedies, 
 376-379. On the naval misv 
 government, 379, 380. Precedents 
 againft unconditional fupplies. 
 
624 
 
 Index. 
 
 Coke. 
 
 424. His re-eleftion how pre- 
 vented, 465. Prepared to try the 
 queftion, 475. Forced to yield, 
 476. Compenfation for his ab- 
 fence, ibid. See in note. 128. 
 156. 159, 160. 173 note. 176 
 note. 221. 237. 311. 405. 477. 
 483. 
 Coke, Roger, on Charles's wilful- 
 
 nefs, 503. 
 Commons, houfe of; Eliot on its 
 rules and orders, 233-238. Its 
 fittings and proceedings. See 
 Parliament. 
 Compton, Sir Thomas, deferted by 
 
 his wife, 16 note. 
 Comptroller. See Suckling. 
 Conway, Sir Edward, afterwards 
 lord, letters to Eliot refpefting 
 pirate Nutt, 45, +6. 55, 56. 59. 
 Eliot's communications thereon, 
 51. 53. 56, 57. 78-82. Ayles- 
 burie oh Eliot's forcible deten- 
 tion, 68. His obligations to 
 Buckingham, 69, 70. Chamber- 
 lain's prophecy, 69 note. Judge 
 Marten's reply to his enquiries, 
 70-72. Explanatory letter from 
 the judge, 74, 75. His final 
 effort in Eliot's behalf, 82, 83. 
 On the prince's reception in 
 Spain, 116. On the city bon- 
 fires, 120. His vote on the war 
 with Spain, 126 note. Chief fe- 
 cretary and a peer, 227. His 
 correfpondence on Pennington's 
 expedition, 324. His fpeech for 
 fupply, 348. Itseffeft, 353. Still 
 on friendly terms with Eliot, 447. 
 Eliot's letters to him, 450, 451. 
 45+> +55- 458>459- Complaints 
 to him by the captains, 459. 
 Compelled to iffue privy feals, 
 460. Favour folicited from him 
 by Eliot, 460-462. His accounts 
 demanded, 497. See 46. 52. 56, 
 57 notes, 58. 118. 156 notes. 192. 
 208. 279. 349 note. 358. 360. 392. 
 397.426«(7<?. 432. 452.467-470. 
 Cooke, Sir John (St. Germans and 
 Cambridge univerfity) beginning 
 of the fortunes of, 222. Eliot's 
 
 Cotton. 
 
 feeling towards him, 223. His 
 charafter by Eliot, 301. His 
 fpeech introducing Buckingham's 
 propofal as from the king, 301- 
 304. Its effeft on the courtiers : 
 poffible cafe, 304. For the re- 
 aifembling of parliament, 313. 
 His naval commiffionerfhip, 321. 
 Falfe affurance to Captain Pen- 
 nington, 323, 324. Confulting 
 his oracle, 349. For additional 
 fupplies, 349-351. 387. Effeft 
 produced, 353. The " old artift," 
 391. 430. Final effort for a fup- 
 ply, 430, 431. Importuning for 
 money, 460. Obtains a rich 
 wife, a fecretaryfhip, and a uni- 
 verfity feat, 478. Eliot's bitter 
 rejoinder to him, 495. Called 
 up in the St. Peter of Newhaven 
 cafe, 507, 508. Altercation be- 
 tween him and Marten, 508. See 
 321 note. 358. 360. 392. 397.424. 
 428. 430 note. 432. 436 note. 
 Cope, Sir William (Oxfordfhire) 
 
 why ineligible, 284. 
 Cornwall, county of, 202, 203. Ra- 
 vages of Turkifh pirates on its 
 coaft, 207. 317. Obligations of 
 its hiftorianto Sir Robert Cotton, 
 41 1 note. 
 Cornwall, duchy of, aft relating to 
 
 the, 309 note, 310. 
 Coryton, William (Lifkeard and 
 Cornwall) a witnefs in Eliot's 
 apology to Moyle, 6. Parlia- 
 ments in which he fat, 221. 477. 
 For religion before fiabfidies, 387. 
 See 471 note. 
 Cofens, Mr, canvaffing for the duke, 
 
 572 note. 
 Cottington, Sir Francis, afterwards 
 Lord (Camelford) on the joy of 
 Spain at Raleigh's execution, 32 
 note. Attends the prince to Spain, 
 113. His fudden return, 118. 
 His difficulty in obtaining a feat, 
 129. An ill-timed reference 287. 
 Records burnt by him, 367 note. 
 See 112. 
 Cotton, Sir Robert, 31 note. Par- 
 liaments in which he fat, 23. 221. 
 
Cottoni. 
 
 On Buckingham's fycophants, 
 391 note. 399 note. Obligations 
 due to him, 4.1 1 note. Intimacy 
 with Eliot, 4.11,412. Hindrances 
 to his fpeaking, 412. Seizure of 
 his library, 413. 529 »off. Story 
 of his and Eliot's pavtnerftiip 
 fpeech, 414, 415 note. 421, 422 
 notes. His obfequioufnefs to the 
 king no flur on his honour, 468. 
 Rebuffed at the coronation, 473. 
 Lofes his feat, 477. A precedent 
 not in his coUeftion, 527. On 
 Charles's " admirable " affeftion 
 for Buckingham, 553 note. 
 
 Cottoni Pojihuma. See Ho'well. 
 
 Courteney, Sir William, 450. 
 
 Coventry, attorney general, ap- 
 pointed lord keeper, 466. His ad- 
 dreffes to the houfes, 475. 527. 
 His queries for examination of 
 Eliot, 561. 
 
 Crane, Sir Robert, takes the court 
 fide, 425. 
 
 Cranfield. See Middle/ex. 
 
 Crevre, Sir Randall, lord chief juf- 
 tice, prefides at the examination 
 of Eliot in the Tower, 561- 
 564. 
 
 Crewe, Sir Thomas (Aylelbury) 
 fometime fpeaker, 23. loi. 233. 
 On fupply and war with Spain, 
 100. On the Romifti harlot, 105. 
 On the proteft, 108. Court re- 
 taliation, III. Chofen fpeaker, 
 133. Advice to the young king, 
 225. Contraft of his oratory 
 with the lord keeper's, 226. His 
 cenfure of the Yorkfhire con- 
 ftables, 264. Conduft at the 
 adjournment, 308. Part affigned 
 to him, 311. At the diffolution, 
 442, 442 note. 
 
 Croker, John Wilfon, cited, 478 
 note. 
 
 Cromwell, Oliver, 336. 451 note. 
 
 Cromwell, Thomas Lord, afterwards 
 Earl of Ardglafs, defcent of, 451 
 note. Writing plainly to Buck- 
 ingham, 451, 452. 
 
 Cumberland, Earl of See Clifford. 
 
 Index. 61^ 
 
 Digges. 
 
 Cuftoms' farmers, enormous incomes 
 of, 376. 
 
 Dante, anecdote of, 40 note. 
 
 Danvers, Lord, duel fought by, 8. 
 
 Dartmouth, pirate Nutt at. [See 
 Nutt.'] Proceedings of the mayor. 
 [See Spuriuaie.'] One of its ihips 
 captured by Turks, 207. 
 
 De Burgh, caufe of the degradation 
 of, 424. Buckingham's parallel, 
 522. 
 
 De la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, parlia- 
 mentary charges, 416, 417. 420. 
 498.523. His father's offence, 418. 
 
 De Laro, Conde, conduft of in a 
 Spanifh parliament, 409. 
 
 David's example, 241. 
 
 Davyle, admiralty folicitor, 471. 
 
 Dee, Doftor, the aftrologer, his obli- 
 gations to Sir Robert Cotton, 41 1 
 note. 
 
 Devon vice-admiralty. See Eliot, Sir 
 John. _ ^ , _ 
 
 Devonfhire, complaints of piratical 
 ravages, 428 note, 429. 
 
 Devonfhire, Mountjoy, Earl of, Irifh 
 lord deputy, 222. 359. Laud at 
 his marriage, 359 note. 
 
 D'Ewes, Sir Si-monds, fketch of 
 Buckingham's perfonal appear- 
 ance by, 40 note. What he faw 
 on the opening of the 1620—1 
 parliament, 91. Opinion cited, 
 307 note. On the death of Gufta- 
 vus of Sweden, 395 note. On 
 Cotton's oratorical defeiSls, 412. 
 See 391, 399, 403, and i^-j\notes. 
 
 Digby, John Lord. See Brijiol. 
 
 Digby, George, Lord, fent for by 
 the commons, 576. 
 
 Digby, Kenelm, on Dr. Samuel 
 Turner, 478 note. 
 
 Digges, Sir Dudley (Tewkefbury) 
 charafter of the oratory of, 22. 
 As to war for the Palatinate, 97. 
 Court retaliation, in, and 128. 
 Heldforan"undertaker,"i49. On 
 a point in parliamentary praftice, 
 153 note. Propofition oppofed by 
 him, 160. In Charles's firft parlia- 
 
 VOL. I. S S 
 
626 Index 
 
 D'Ifraeli. 
 
 ment, 221. " A great fervant of 
 
 ■ the duke," 347. His application 
 for office, 468. In anger for his 
 "father" Abbot, 476. Their 
 kindly relations, ibid. note. Part 
 in Buckingham's impeachment, 
 534. Style of eloquence, 535. 
 His rebuke to the duke, ibid. 
 Sent to the Tower, 553, 553 «off J, 
 554. Liberated, 558. Charge 
 againft him, 559. Refumes his 
 feat, ibid. Sent for by. Heath, 
 578. Divifions in which he was 
 teller, 278. 511. See 497. 500. 
 514. 535 note. 540. 
 
 D'Ifraeli, Mr. (author of Commenta- 
 ries), 3,4, notes. As to Eliot's 
 attack on Moyle : character of 
 his writings, 6, 7 note. Inability 
 to decipher Eliot's manufcripts, 
 1 1 note. Example, 1 2 note. Alleged 
 " difcovery," 16 note. As to 
 Eliot's marriage, 19. As to 
 Eliot and the Stannaries, 38 note. 
 His " Hiftory of the Spanilh 
 "Match," 119 note. Charges 
 againft Eliot adopted by him, 
 121, 122. Errors as to Eliot and 
 Buckingham, 131 note. As to 
 loan of Englilh ihips to France, 
 325 note. Curious additions to 
 an apocryphal ftory, 346, 347. 
 Silent withdrawal of charges, 347 
 note. On Buckingham's oppoii- 
 tion to Eliot's re-ele6lion, 473 
 note. See 231 note. 
 
 Dove, Mr, appealed to by Eliot, 66. 
 
 Drake, Mr, afterwards Sir John 
 (Lyme) fervice undertaken by, 
 42. Share of Eliot's vice-admi- 
 ralty apportioned to him, 203. 
 In parliament, 223. A queftion 
 there, 407. Regret for the dis- 
 folution, 445—447. Re-ele£led, 
 479. Part taken by him in the 
 St. Peter of Newhaven cafe, 510, 
 511. See 424. 471. 
 
 Duels, an age of, 8. 
 
 Duncombe's cafe, debate thereon, 
 151-153. 
 
 Dunkirkers (pirates), ravages of the, 
 429. 
 
 Eliot. 
 
 Dutton, Sir Thomas, fatal duel 
 
 fought by, 8. 
 Dyott Mr (Lichfield) offence given 
 
 to the houfe by, 536. Defcription 
 
 of the fcene, 537. 
 
 East iNDiACompany's wealth, aVira 
 1620, 98. 
 
 Echard. As to Eliot's alfault on 
 Moyle, 3. As to early acquaint- 
 ance with Buckingham, 16 note. 
 As to their quarrel, 3 8 . Prepoflef- 
 fion againft Eliot, 346. 
 
 Edgecombe, Sir Richard, Eliot's 
 application on the reported death 
 of, 472. 
 
 Edmundes, Sir Thomas, treafurer of 
 the houfehold (Oxford Univerfity), 
 222. On Jefuit pardons, 335. On 
 fupply, 360. 402. Speaking 
 againft time, 441 . What kind of 
 man, 478. See 361. 
 
 Edward the Confeffor. See Saint 
 Edijuard. 
 
 Edward I. See 417. 
 
 Edward II, favourites of, 418. 
 
 Edward III, impeachment of his 
 counfellors, 341. Conditions im- 
 pofed by the commons, 374. Re- 
 venue from Ireland, 378. Pub- 
 lic honours how then dealt with, 
 417. See 379. 388. 
 
 Egerton. See Ellefmere. 
 
 Eldred, John, John Wells, William 
 King, and Edward Hafler, tefti- 
 mony in Eliot's favour, 61. 
 
 Eleftions, contefted ; achievement 
 by the commons of exclufive 
 determination as to, 234. Earlieft 
 detailed narrative of one, 266. 
 Eleftion evidence in the 17th 
 century, 557 note. Rules efta- 
 blilhed by the Yorkfhire cafe, 
 284. Principles in the cafes of 
 Cope and Baffet, ibid. ^tt.JTork- 
 Jhire EleSions. 
 
 Eliot, Daniel, Sir John's grandfon, 
 20 note. 
 
 Eliot, James, fervice requefted by 
 Sir John from, 472. 
 
Eliot. 
 
 Eliot, Sir John — 
 
 Anceftry ; firft fettkment of the 
 
 family in Cornwall, 1,2. 
 Birth and birth-place, 3. 
 Echard's account of his affault on 
 
 Mr Moyle, ibid. 
 A truer narrative, 4, 5 . 
 His apology for the " greate in- 
 
 "jury," 6. 
 Proof of after friendship, 6, 7. 
 Univerfity career and life-long 
 
 love for the claffics, 9, 10. 
 His religious beliefs, 10-12. 
 A verfion of one of his letters con- 
 
 trafted with the original, 12 
 
 note. 
 His love for athletic exercifes, 1 3 . 
 A remonftrance with a friend, 13, 
 
 14. 
 His lateft enjoyment in the Tower, 
 
 Advantage of law ftudies to him, 
 
 15- 
 On his travels : meets George 
 
 Villiers, 15, 16. 
 Impreffions of travel, 16, 17. 
 Advice from his foreign expe- 
 riences, 18. 
 His marriage, 19. 
 Parentage of his wife : children 
 
 born to them, 20. 
 His firft entry into parliament, 
 
 21. 
 Regret for the diflblution of the 
 
 1614 parliament, 26. 
 CorreiSnefs of his view, 27. 
 Regard for Overbury and his 
 
 writings, 29-31. 
 His unpubliihed ' Monarchy of 
 'Man,' 31 note. (See Jpp. 
 581-616.) 
 Raleigh'sexecution, and refleftions 
 
 thereon, 34, 35. 
 Candidate for the vice-admiralty 
 
 of Devon, 35. 
 Knighted ; renewed intercourfe 
 
 with Buckingham, 36. 
 Duties, emoluments, and rifles of 
 
 his office, 37. 
 Another of Echard's ftories, 38. 
 Qualities recognifed by him in 
 Buckingham, 40. 
 
 Index. 627 
 
 Eliot. 
 
 Eliot, Sir John — cont. 
 
 His firft official aft, 41, 42, 
 Service doubtful at Court, 43 . 
 As to the pirate Nutt, 44, 45. 
 Council's inftruftions to him 
 
 thereon, 45, 46. 
 His fcheme for taking Nutt, 
 
 47-49- 
 Reprefentations to the council : 
 difficulties in his way, 50, 51. 
 
 55- 
 
 A confpiracy fruftrated by him, 
 51, 52. 
 
 Mayor Spurwaie's gratitude, 54. 
 
 Reports progrefs to fecretary Con- 
 way, 55; reply and rejoinder, 
 
 56, S1-. 
 Unfeen influences at work, 58. 
 Reverfal of his expeftations, 59. 
 Colcbefter ftiipowners' complaint 
 
 againft him, 60. 
 Committed to prifon thereon, 61. 
 Examination of Nutt, Randall, 
 
 and himfelf, 61—67. 
 Judge Marten's letters in refer- 
 ence thereto, 67, 68. 70-72. 
 Secretary Calvert's fecret influence 
 
 70._ 78. 
 Queries as to his treatment of 
 
 Nutt, 73. 
 His letters to Conway, 75-78. 
 
 78-82, 83. 
 Difobeys an order of council, 84, 
 
 Eft^eft of his prifon experience, 85. 
 Liberated, 86. 
 
 His cardinal point of faith con- 
 cerning Spain, 87. 
 
 Refutation of a calumny, 121- 
 125. 130, 131. 131 note. 
 
 Returned to the 1623-4 parlia- 
 ment, 125. 
 
 Order ftaying proceedings againft 
 him, 134. 
 
 Topics dwelt on in his firft fpeech : 
 parliaments and kings, 135- 
 
 141. Secrecy of debates, 141— 
 
 142. Oppofition to his views, 
 
 143. Coke to the refcue, 144. 
 Againft treaties with Spain, 146. 
 Pofition conceded to him in the 
 
 houfe, 148, 149. 
 
628 
 
 Index. 
 
 Eliot. 
 
 Eliot, Sir John — cont. 
 
 On the conftitution of committees 
 
 for complaints on petition, 150. 
 
 His argument againft the lawyers 
 
 in Duncombe's cafe, 151-153. 
 
 His fpeech againft Spain, 154., 
 
 155- 
 
 Motion for cuftody of money 
 voted, and for thanks to the 
 prince, 157. 
 
 Attention to the buiinefs of the 
 houfe, 159- 
 
 His humanity, 160. 
 
 Extent of his interference in 
 Mlddlefex's impeachment : his 
 fpeech thereon, 1 60—1 64. 
 
 On the evil of monopolies,! 6 5-1 70. 
 
 Speech againft them, and argu- 
 ment for free trade, 166-170. 
 An anecdote, 171. Courfe re- 
 commended by him, 172. 
 
 Difficulties in his levies of foldiers 
 and feamen, 177. 
 
 Williams's infmuation againft him, 
 178. 
 
 His views as to France, 179. In- 
 tended accompaniment of Buck- 
 ingham thither, 179. 181. 193. 
 198. 201. 
 
 Occafion of his fummons to Lon- 
 don, 180. 
 
 His communications with Buck- 
 ingham, 1 8 1- 1 86. 
 
 A harbour dlfpute between Ply- 
 mouth and Saltaffi, 186-189. 
 
 Reports on Spaniffi war-prepara- 
 tions, 189—192. 
 
 His trial of Turkifh pirates, 193- 
 
 '95- . . ^ . 
 
 A caufe of diffatisfaftion, 195. 
 
 His laft letters to Buckingham, 
 infringement of his patent, &c. 
 196-200. 
 
 Bagg'sintriguesagainft him, 201- 
 
 2C8. 
 
 Defcription of his manufcript 
 Negotium Pofterorum, 209, et 
 feq. See Negotium Pofterorum. 
 
 On the hopes excited by James's 
 death and Charles's acceffion, 
 219, 220. 
 
 Re-elefted for Newport, 227, 
 
 Eliot. 
 
 Eliot, Sir John — cont. 
 
 Approaching hoftilities with 
 Wentworth, 232, 233. 
 
 His fummary of the rules and 
 orders of the houfe, 233-238. 
 
 Oppofition to the northern men, 
 240, 241. 
 
 On religious abufes and their at- 
 tendant evils, 245, 246. 
 
 Speech thereon, and on legal 
 abufes, 247—250. 
 
 His opinion on Montagu's cafe, 
 255, 256. _ 
 
 Interfering in Yorkfhire eleftion 
 cafe, 267. 
 
 Motion carried by him thereon, 
 271. His fubfequent fpeeches, 
 ^73) ^74) 275. 279. i8o, 281, 
 282. 
 
 His eftimate of Wentworth 's cha- 
 rafter, 283. 
 
 Mr. Hallam's tribute, 286. 
 
 Emphatic teftimony from Went- 
 worth, 287. 
 
 His eftimate of Philips's oratoi-y, 
 290, 291 note. 
 
 His final interview with Bucking- 
 ham, 295-300. 
 
 Clofmg remark on that interview, 
 300. 315. 
 
 On Buckingham's charafter, 306. 
 
 On the laft Weftminfter fitting of 
 Charles's firft parliament, 309, 
 310. 
 
 Gives notice for a call of the 
 houfe, 313. Its refult, 330. 
 
 On the excitement occafioned by 
 the adjournment to Oxford, 314. 
 
 State of the weft on his return, 
 316-318. 
 
 His pifture of the commiffioners 
 of the Admiralty, 319. 
 
 Obtains council order for aid 
 againft Turkifh pirates, 320. 
 Court prevention of its enforce- 
 ment, 321. 
 
 On the hoftility between Buck- 
 ingham and Williams, 331 note. 
 393 note. 
 
 Comment and fpeech on jefuit 
 pardons, 332-334. A ftory 
 and its perveriions, 345-347. 
 
Eliot. 
 Eliot, Sir John — cont. 
 
 His charafter of Sir Henry Mar- 
 ten, 336, 337. 
 On claims for exempting the 
 king's officers from punifhment, 
 
 339. 340- 
 
 His care for pofterity, 340. 
 
 On the conduft of high church 
 innovators, 34.3, 344. 
 
 Comment on the king's Oxford 
 fpeech, 348. 
 
 On the queftions involved in re- 
 opening fupply, 352. 359. 361. 
 
 On Sir Humphrey May's ftyle of 
 fpeaking, 359. 
 
 On the retributory confequences 
 of the crimes of favourites, 361, 
 362. 
 
 On Philips's " high ftraine of 
 " eloquence," 362, 363. 
 
 On Wefton's ambition, 371. 
 
 On the effeft produced by Coke's 
 fpeech, 379. 
 
 On Sir F. Netherfole's pofition 
 and qualifications, 381 note. 
 
 On the birth of '' party" in the 
 Oxford fittings, 383-385. 
 
 On the unconftitutional releafe of 
 recufants, 386. 
 
 Point urged by himfelf, 387- 
 
 On Clarke's offence and punifh- 
 ment, 388, 389. 
 
 An intended compromife and its 
 fate, 390, 391. On Bucking- 
 ham's parafites, 391, 392. 
 
 On the duke's addrefs to both 
 houfes, 394-397, fubfequent re- 
 ileiSions, 402. 
 
 On lawyer Mallet's " unlawlike " 
 arguments, 403. 
 
 On Naunton's fpeech, 406, 407. 
 
 Friendlhip with Sir Robert Cot- 
 ton, 411, 412. 
 
 Their refpeftive fhares in Eliot's 
 fpeech at Oxford, and errors of 
 hiftorians regarding it, 41 3 , 41 4. 
 
 The Speech : hiftorical precedents 
 and examples, 414-418 ; pa- 
 rallels aimed at Buckingham, 
 419-421. Value of precedents 
 upheld, 421. EfFe6t produced 
 by, 422. 
 
 Index. 6 '2 9 
 
 Eliot. 
 
 Eliot, Sir John — cont. 
 
 Sir R. Manfel's interference, 426. 
 
 On the court and oppofition, 
 427-429. 
 
 On fpeeches by Sir J. Cooke and 
 folicitor-general Heath, 43 1 , 
 432. 
 
 On the effeft of a fpeech by Little- 
 ton, 439. 
 
 His account of the laft Oxford 
 fitting and diflblution, 440- 
 
 443- 
 
 On the court projeft for prevent- 
 ing re-ele6lions, 443, 444. 
 
 DilTatisfaftion both of courtiers 
 and commonalty, 444, 445 text 
 and notes. 
 
 Return to his vice-admiralty 
 duties, 446. 
 
 Continued intercourfe with Con- 
 way, 447. 450. 453. 458.462. 
 
 The fleet, and its commander, 
 449.451. 
 
 In communication with malcon- 
 tent lords, 454. 
 
 His letter on the French fleets, 
 
 454. 455- 
 
 Report on the returned foldiers 
 and failors, 459. 
 
 Intercedes for his over-taxed father 
 in law, 460, 461. 
 
 His letter to Bifhop Cary, 463, 
 464. 
 
 Relations to Conway and Buck- 
 ingham, 467, 468. 
 
 Abftrafl of papers " found in 
 " his chamber," 469-471. 
 
 As to his defire for deputy-lieu- 
 tenancy of his county, 472. 
 
 The new parliament and its 
 members, 475. 477. 
 
 His opening fpeech ; exordium, 
 47 9 -48 1 ; redrefs of grievances 
 before fupply, 481, 482 ; wafte 
 of revenue, 483, 484 ; demands 
 an account of expenditure, 48 5 ; 
 on the mifcarriages at fea, 486, 
 487. Only notices of this 
 fpeech hitherto acceflTible, 479 
 note. 488 note. Refolutions 
 thereon, 488, 489. 496. 
 
630 
 
 Index. 
 
 Eliot. 
 Eliot, Sir John — cont. 
 
 Labour of himfelf and Hampden, 
 in getting up the cafe againft 
 Buclcingham, 490-4.94. 
 Secretary Cooke rebuked by him, 
 
 4-95- 
 
 Queries thro' Dr. Turner, 498, 
 499 note. 
 
 On the king's extraordinary 
 letter, 500. 
 
 Refolutions againft the duke, 501, 
 502. 
 
 On cafes of Lords Arundel and 
 Briftol, 504 note. 
 
 His charges as to feizure of French 
 ihip, 505-512. See Saint Peter of 
 Nenvka'ven. 
 
 A tribute to hisftatefinanfhip, 513. 
 
 Hisfpeech on the king's inaugura- 
 tion day : panic and punic, 516; 
 the two great goddeffes, ibid. ; 
 the fubjeil's ability of eftate 
 and will, 517; Buckingham's 
 mifgovernment, 518-521; pre- 
 cedents cited, and effeft on the 
 king, 522-524. Courfe recom- 
 mended by him, 525. 
 
 His reply to the king's threats, 
 529, 530. 
 
 On the right to impeach upon 
 common fame, 532. 
 
 Part allotted to him, 534. 538. 
 
 Secret of his influence as a fpeaker, 
 
 539- 
 Style of his oratory, 541. 
 His Epilogue to Buckingham's 
 
 impeachment, 541-552. 
 Sent to the Tower, 553, 554 text 
 
 and notes. 
 His epithets applied to Bucking- 
 ham, 552. 555. 558. 
 Charafter of his imprifonment, 
 
 558, 559- 
 Proceedings on his arreft, 559- 
 
 561. 
 His examination in the Tower, 
 
 561-564. Objeft of the quef- 
 
 tions, 564. 
 Liberated : his reception by the 
 
 houfe, 565, 566. 
 His reply to Carleton's charges 
 
 againft him, 567, 568. 
 
 Erie. 
 
 Eliot, Sir John — cont. 
 
 Order of the houfe as to his feized 
 papers, 569 note. 
 
 His remark on Carleton's peerage, 
 571. Occafion thereof, ibid, 
 note. 
 
 Interview of himfelf and col- 
 leagues with attorney-general 
 Heath and its refult, 578, 579. 
 His final reply on queftions put 
 to himfelf, 580. See 156. 159. 
 176. 525 note. 526. 531. 538. 
 
 570- 577- _ 
 Eliot, John, Sir John's eldeft fon, 
 20. The fon whofe fine was re- 
 mitted, ibid. note. 
 Eliot, Nicholas, Sir John'sfourth fon, 
 anceftor of the prefent family, 20 
 note. 
 Eliot, Richard, Sir John's fecond 
 
 fon, 13. 20. 
 Eliot, Sir Richard, Judge temp. 
 
 Henry VIII, 2. 
 Eliot, Sir Thomas, anceftor, 2. 
 Eliot, Walter, anceftor, 1, 2 
 Elizabeth, Queen, 93 note. How 
 ftie met the Spaniard, 100, loi. 
 Spanifti plots againft her, 102. 
 The offer of the Low Countries to 
 her, 103. Glories of her reign, 
 290. National credit in her 
 times, 357. Her navy, 379. Her 
 ftatefmen, 415. f'liot as to her 
 jewels, 524. See 434, 435. 569, 
 570. 
 Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, 96 
 note. The fubfidies for her 
 fuccour, 357. 
 EUefmere, Thos. Egerton, baron, 
 lord chancellor, by whom incited 
 againft Laud, 89 note. See 150. 
 Elmhirft, Richard, " meffenger" of 
 
 Eliot, 134. 
 Ely, Bifliop of, temp. R ic. I, cenfure 
 on the raalpraftices of, 350, 351. 
 Ephemeris Parliamentaria,hj Fuller, 
 
 its charafter, 540 note. 
 Erie, Sir Walter (Lyme) warns the 
 council as to pirates, 318. Com- 
 plains of the releafe of recufants, 
 386. Re-eleaed, 477. Affiftant 
 in Buckingham's impeachment. 
 
Effex. 
 
 534- Sent for by Heath, 578. 
 See 4.71 note. 
 
 Effex, Robert, Earl of, 457. 
 
 Eflex, Robert, Lord, fon of the above, 
 duel fought by, 8. Carr's foul 
 projeft, 27. Statement by Codring- 
 ton, 30 note. Leader of the com- 
 plainants of Cadiz expedition, 
 +57- 
 
 Eftcourt, Richard, Eliot's colleague 
 in the 1623-4 parliament, 129. 
 
 Fairfax, Sir Thomas, of Denton, 
 (Yorklhire), afterwards Lord, 
 heroic death of the two fons of, 
 96 note. Parliaments fat in by, 
 128. 221. His eleftion contefted, 
 259-282. Frefli eleftion, 392. 
 See Torkjliire EleSlions (1625 
 cafe). 
 
 Fairfax, Sir Ferdinando, fon of 
 above, 128. 
 
 Fanlhawe, refolution oppofed by, 
 501 note. 
 
 Felton, incentives to his crime, 361. 
 Pre-occupant of his cell, 559. 
 
 Fenwick, member for Northumber- 
 land, 222. 
 
 Ferrar, Nicholas, one of Middlefex's 
 accufers, 160 note. 
 
 Finch, Heneage (London) Recor- 
 der, 128. 424. Elefted fpeaker, 
 475. His character and career, 
 ibid. At the diflblution, 579. 
 
 Finch, John, charafter of, 475. See 
 ibid. note. 
 
 Fleet prifoners' petition, 307 note. 
 
 Fleetwood, Sir Miles, on the Pala- 
 tinate queftion, 97. 
 
 Fleetwood, Sir William, his re- 
 eleftion prevented, 465. 
 
 Fofs's Judges of England, 433 note. 
 
 Fotherby, Mr, duty afligned to, 512. 
 
 Foxcroft, father and fon, eleftion 
 evidence, 557. 
 
 France, impreffions gathered by 
 Eliot in, 16, 17. Propofed royal 
 match, 175. Eliot and Went- 
 vforth thereon, 179. Its unpopu- 
 larity, 228, 229 note. 366. Objeft 
 of loan of Englilh ftiips to the 
 French king, 180. The ftory and 
 
 Index. $2 1 
 
 Giles. 
 
 its refult, 322-330. Attention 
 paid to Englifti hiftory, 528 note. 
 A French precedent, 409. Sei- 
 zure and fpoliation of a French 
 fliip. See Saint Peter of Nenu- 
 hanien. See alfo 98. loi. 350. 
 
 357. 358- 365- 
 
 Frederick, Eleftor Palfgraf, driven 
 from his dominions, 88. Feeling 
 of England, 89. Archbi/hop 
 Abbot's advice, 89, 90. Extent of 
 aid rendered, 90,91. His reproach 
 to his father in law, 96. His 
 indifcreet friend, 380. See 395. 
 His wife. See Elizabeth Sueen of 
 Bohemia. 
 
 Free trade, Eliot's argument for, 
 169. See Monopolies. 
 
 Fregofe, or Fulgofe, anecdote quoted 
 by Eliot from, 171. 
 
 Froft without and heat within, 106. 
 
 Fuller, Thomas, as to Eliot's an- 
 ceftors, I. On note-taking in par- 
 liament, 540. His good preface 
 and poor book, ibid. note. 
 
 Gaol deliveries, procraltination of, 
 194. 
 
 Garrard, a letter to Wentworth, 
 205. 
 
 Gafcoigne on De la Polt, 420. See 
 421 note. 
 
 Gaunt, Duke of, precedent of his 
 impeachment, 341. 
 
 Gavefton, puniftiment of, 418. 
 
 Gedie, Rhadagund, Eliot's wife, 20. 
 
 Gedie, Richard, Eliot's father in law, 
 20. Heavily taxed, 448. Eliot's 
 letter in his behalf, 460, 461. 
 
 Geere, Sir Michael, on ill victual- 
 ling of Cadiz expedition, 459. 
 
 General and generaliffimo, 448. 450. 
 
 Genoa, and the Englilh fhips, 180. 
 See 323, 325 note. 326. 
 
 Genoefe fubftitute for a fpeech, 171. 
 
 Gerrard, Sir Gilbert, on the Mon- 
 tagu cafe, 341. 
 
 Giles, Sir Edward (Totnefs) affift- 
 ing Eliot, 42. 182, 183. On the 
 Palatinate, 100. Sad forebodings, 
 107. Motion on behalf of Eliot, 
 134. Againft Wentworth, 273. 
 
^3' 
 
 Index. 
 
 Glan'vile. 
 On Jefuit pardons, 331. Parlia- 
 ments in which he fat, 23. 128. 
 221. See 159. 345. 
 
 Glanvile, John (Plymouth) 128. 
 221. On the Yorklhire eleftion 
 cafe, 273. 281. Argument for a 
 remonftrance, 4.25. A fubftitute, 
 441, 442. Charafter by Sir P. 
 Warwick, 442 note. Nerved for 
 " better fervice," 476. New ar- 
 ticle againft the duke carried by 
 him, 533. Articles he was to 
 fpeak to, 533, 534. Charafter 
 of his fpeech, 535. Expedient to 
 keep him out of parliament, 545 
 note. 574. A daric fufpicion, 546 
 note. Sent for by Heath, 578. 
 See 566. 
 
 Gondomar, the Spanifh ambaflador, 
 and James I. 90, 91. Prompter 
 of the Spanifh journey, 112. 118. 
 Coke's play upon his name, 144. 
 His Englifli interpreter, 207 note. 
 A juggling Jack, 4^6. _ 
 
 Gorges, Sir Fernando, trick prac- 
 ticed on, 328. Caufe of Bagg's 
 hoftillty, 329. 
 
 Goring, Sir George, 156. Calling 
 Eliot to account, 488. 
 
 Government by party, germ of, 
 385. 
 
 Grand Remonftrance, the, 193 note. 
 and 528 note. 
 
 Grantham, Sir Thomas (Lincoln) 
 " never wanting in the fervice of 
 " his countrie," 304. 424. Re- 
 elected, 477. In oppofition, 514. 
 
 Gregory XV, pope, 103. 114. His 
 advances towards Prince Charles, 
 
 Grenvile, Bevil (Launcefton) a wit- 
 nefs in Eliot's apology to Moyle, 
 6. Parliaments in which he fat, 
 128. 221. 477. Refolved to have 
 Eliot out of the Tower, 565. 
 
 Grys, Mrs, on petition of, 1 50. 
 
 Guizot, M. contributions to Englifh 
 hiftory, 528 note. 
 
 Guftavus, forrow at the death of, 
 395. 
 
 Heath. 
 
 Habits of 17th century, a gllmpfe 
 of, 296. 
 
 Hacket, John, Bifhop of Lichfield, 
 author of " Scrinia Referata," 
 132 note. 160 note. 231 note. 285 
 note. A reader of the poets, 173 
 note. Story told by him, 175 note. 
 On Eliot and Wentworth, 232. 
 286 note. About the Jefuit par- 
 dons, 345, 346. 
 
 Hakewell, William, parliaments fat 
 in by, 23, 128. 
 
 Hale, Sir Matthew, eulogy on Henry 
 Rolle by, 477 note. 
 
 Hall, Biftiop, author of the Satires, 
 463. 
 
 Hallam, Henry, as to Eliot and 
 Wentworth, 285. Eulogy on 
 Eliot, 286. 
 
 Hampden, John (Wendover) Eliot's 
 laft letter to, 11. Marred and 
 mifprinted by Mr. D'Ifraeli, 12 
 note. A law ftudent, 22. Parlia- 
 ments in which he fate, 128. 221. 
 477. Paper of "Caufes" for im- 
 peaching Buckingham, 490-494. 
 See 438. 570. 
 
 Hardipg, Nicholas, on Hume's 
 Hiftory, 411 note. 
 
 Hardwicke State Papers, the Spanifti 
 match, 119 note. 
 
 Harley, Sil- Robert (Herefordfhire), 
 on common fame, 498. Againft 
 Eliot's parallels, 526. 
 
 Harvey, Sir Symon, cenfure of, 340 
 note. T,jj. 
 
 Hafler, Edward. See Eldred. 
 
 Hatfell, precedents unnoted by, 236. 
 
 Hay, Lord, duel fought by, 8. 
 
 Heath, Sir Robert, folicitor and 
 attorney-general (Eaft Grinftead) 
 on fubfidy, 154. The 1620 York- 
 ftiire eleftion cafe, 264. Argu- 
 ment in the 1623 cafe, 277. The 
 Jefuit pardons, 335. As to Mon- 
 tagu, 339. Dangerous principle 
 put forth by, 340. Arguments for 
 further fupply, 381-383. His 
 reply to Manfel, 431, 432. The 
 commons' proteftation in his 
 charge, 442. Advanced to at- 
 torney generalftiip, 466 note -f. 
 
Index. 
 
 (>33 
 
 Henrietta. 
 
 His fucceflbrs in office and debate, 
 
 477, 478. Buckingham's fpolces- 
 
 man, 510. Eliot examined by 
 
 him in the Tower, 561, 562. His 
 
 interview with the committee on 
 
 the duke's impeachment, 578, 579. 
 
 His further queries to Eliot, 580. 
 
 See 157. Z22. 24.1. 4.28. 430 note. 
 Henrietta Maria, queen of Charles 
 
 I, 221. 228 note, 229 note. See 
 
 France. 
 Henry III, " incomparable wif- 
 
 " dom " in, 139. Refufed fupply, 
 
 409. 522. Banifliment of his 
 
 half-brothers, 418. Obliged to 
 
 pawn the royal jewels, 419. 
 
 Degradation of his minifter, 424. 
 
 See 420. 
 Henry IV, provifions of certain fta- 
 
 tutes of, 378, 379. See 417. 
 
 438. 
 Henry V, not too proud to follow 
 
 advice of parliament, 437. 
 Henry VI, conditions exafted from 
 
 before granting fupply, 409. 420, 
 
 421. His marriage treaty, 416. 
 
 420. See 498. 
 Henry VII and VIII, oppreflive 
 
 taxation, 375. See 377-380. 
 Herbert (Downton) 477. Part in 
 
 Buckingham's impeachment, 533. 
 
 Sent for by Heath, 578. 
 Herbert, Sir John, duel fought by, 8. 
 Herbert, Sir William, complaint 
 
 to the houfe by, 260. 
 Hertford family lands, 159 note. 
 Heylin, Peter, on Middlefex's dif- 
 
 grace, 164 note. On the king's 
 
 conceffions, 569. On the refolves 
 
 of the commons, 570 note. Quaint 
 
 remark, ibid. 
 Hiftory, how made out of ftories, 
 
 3+5, 346- 347 "Ote. 
 Hobbes, Thomas, on ftudy ofclaffics, 
 
 398 note. 
 Hobby, Sir Edward, imprifonment 
 
 of, cited as a precedent, 560. 
 Hobby, Sir Thomas, fide efpoufed 
 
 by, 424. Re-ele£led, 477. On 
 
 members' iraprifonments, 557. 
 
 560, 561. Sent for by Heath, 578. 
 
 See 497. 569 note. 578 note. 
 
 Hutton. 
 
 Hockmore, Mr, helps Eliot, 182, 
 183. Confpiracy as to his eftate, 
 182 note. 
 
 Holland, Earl of, " fitter for fportes 
 "than bufmefle," 337. Trufted 
 by Buckingham, ibid. note. At- 
 tends the duke to the Hague, 451. 
 524 note. Point on which he was 
 not believed, 558. 
 
 Holland, Lord Henry, duel fought 
 by, 8. 
 
 Holies, Denzil, 29. 31 note. On 
 prizes and profits, 37 note. 
 
 Holies, Sir John, afterwards Earl of 
 Clare, on duty at Tyburn, 29. 
 At another execution, 34. Pay- 
 ment for his barony, ibid. 
 
 Holworthy, Richard, objeft of a peti- 
 tion of, 62 note. 
 
 Hofkins, John, fide taken in the 
 1 614 parliament by, 23. 
 
 Hothams, the two (Appleby and 
 Beverley), 222. 
 
 Howard, Lady Fanny (Countefs of 
 Somerfet), Overbury's murderefs, 
 27. Sentenced, 28. 
 
 Howell, James, beft narrator of the 
 Spani/h match and journey, 119 
 note. As to James's ambaifadors, 
 349 note. As to Middlefex's rife, 
 377 note. Miftake in his Cottoni 
 Pojihuma, 413, 414- 415 note. 
 Mixing up two diflblutions in one, 
 442 note. 
 
 Huguenots, employment of Englifli 
 fhips againft, 357. See Rochelle. 
 
 Hume, David, chief fource of his 
 Hiftory, 118 note. On James and 
 the commons, 158 /2o;?. Onthefta- 
 tute againft monopolies, 173. As 
 to Montagu's cafe, 342 note. 
 Charafteriftic paiTage, 329 note. 
 On the leaders of the common- 
 wealth, 398 note. Careleffnefs as 
 to public records, 41 1 note. See 
 221. 
 
 Hungary, 90. 
 
 Hutton, Judge, 428. 
 
 Hutton, Richard (Knareftjorough) 
 fon of the fhip money judge 128. 
 222. On the York/hire eleftion 
 cafe, 263. 
 
634 Index. 
 
 Hyde. 
 
 Hyde, Sir Nicholas, fide taken in 
 the 1614 parliament, 13. Prepa- 
 ration of Buckingham's defence, 
 565- 571- 575- His reward, 575. 
 
 Imitation "the moral miftrefs of 
 " our life," 18. 
 
 Impofitions. See Monopolies. 
 
 Infanta of Spain, loi. 126. 
 See SpaniJJi Match. 
 
 Ingham, Edward, note by, 
 note. 
 
 Ingram, Sir Arthur (York) 222. 
 As to the Yorkihire election cafe, 
 260 note. On Buckingham's in- 
 fluence, 4.53. 466 note f. On 
 Seymour's fcheme for refitting ex- 
 clulion from parliament, 47 5 note. 
 
 Ireland, 154. Amount difburfed 
 there, 301. Revenue drawn thence 
 temp. Edw. Ill, 378. See 340 
 note. 351. 359. 382. 
 
 Italy, Eliot's advice for travelling 
 in, 17. 
 
 157- 
 
 325 
 
 Jackson, Sir Robert (Pontefract) 
 128. 222. 
 
 James I, Raleigh his victim, 32. 
 Why fo inexorable, 32, 33. Par- 
 dons to Nutt the pirate, 46, 47. 
 74. Favour promifed to Eliot, 56. 
 What was fubftituted, 59. Two 
 bucks for the admiralty judge, 
 72. 75. Blunders as to Palati- 
 nate, 89, 90. His expenfes for 
 the Spanifh match, 90. loi. Ex- 
 tent of his aid to the Palfgraf, 9 1 . 
 At the opening of the 1 620-1 
 parliament, ibid. Speech and re- 
 ply, 92. His ambaffadors ridi- 
 culed : his fon-in-law's reproach, 
 96. Foreign caricatures, ibid, 
 note. Still crying peace, 97. His 
 mafterpieceot kingcraft, 1 01. His 
 angry letters to the commons, 
 
 105, 106. Reception of them, 
 
 106. Rage at the commons' pro- 
 teft, ic6. 108. Diflblves parlia- 
 ment and tumbles into New 
 River, no. Contemporary ac- 
 count, ibid. note. Retaliation on 
 the oppofition leaders, no, in. 
 
 Jefuit. 
 
 The prince's journey to Spain 
 forced on him, 112. Bucking- 
 ham's familiarity and influence, 
 
 113. Out of his wits with joy, 
 
 114. Tamperings with the pa- 
 pifts, 114, 115. Anonymous 
 rebuke, 117. Reluftance to call 
 a new parliament, 125. Plan for 
 excluding popular leaders, 128. 
 Declining health, 132. Altered 
 tone to the new parliament, 132, 
 133. Queftion as to himfelf and 
 the parliament put by Eliot, 137— 
 143. The Spanifh bufinefs, 144. 
 In the hands of his fon and the 
 duke, 146. Subfidy demanded, 
 147. Diftatorial tone of Buck- 
 ingham, ibid. note. " Only let 
 him get his fword out," 148. Coke 
 on his demands, 153. Change of 
 tone regarding Spain, 155 note. 
 156. As to control and appli- 
 cation of the fubfidy, 158. Views 
 of hiitorians thereon, ibid. note. 
 His warning on Middlefex's im- 
 peachment, 161, 162. Breaks 
 with the commons, 164. Mono- 
 polies claimed by him, 165. Fur- 
 ther clippings of the old bird's 
 wings, 174. The French match: 
 a "Hinging" remonftrance, 175, 
 176. His death : fufpiclons con- 
 neiled with it, 199. ^o/\.note. 533. 
 546 note. 558. Laud on its 
 caufe, 199, 200, notes. Feeling 
 of the country on his death, 
 219. Character of his orations, 
 223. A patron of Montagu's, 
 255. His " late infortunities," 
 290. Reftraints on his preroga- 
 tive, 314. Favours to foreign 
 ambalfadors, 335. His peep at 
 the bonfire of records, 366, 367. 
 See 227, 228. 233. 242. 252. 258. 
 
 3+9- 365- 
 
 James, Richard, librarian to Sir R. 
 Cotton, Eliot's MS. treatife criti- 
 cally perufed by, 3 1 note. 
 
 Jermyn, Sir Thomas (St. Edmonds 
 Bury) charge of falfe reprefenta- 
 tion fixed on, 558 note. 
 
 Jefuit attendance on ambafl'adors 
 
Index 
 
 Jefuks. 
 
 ftipulated for by the pope, 439 
 
 note. 
 Jefuits. See Popery. 
 Johnfon, Dr. Samuel, ii^note. 
 Johnfon, attorney, point depofed to 
 
 in the Yorkftiire eleftion cafe, 
 
 259. z6i. Reprimanded at the 
 
 bar, 265. 
 Jones, Inigo, fent on a needlefs 
 
 errand, 118. 
 
 KiFTE, William, provincial judge 
 of admiralty, orders regarding 
 Eliot given to, 58. His recep- 
 tion of them, 58, 59. See 67. 
 Attempt to bribe Nicholas, 182 
 note. 
 
 King, William. See Eldred, John. 
 
 Knightley, Richard (Northampton- 
 ihire) occafion of Eliot's friendly 
 remonftrance with, 13, 14. Par- 
 liaments in which he fat, 128. 
 221. 
 
 Knightley, Thomas, coufm of above, 
 college occupation of, 1 3 note. 
 
 Kyrton, affiftant to the managers of 
 Buckingham's impeachment, 534. 
 
 Lake, Sir Thomas (Wells) fent for 
 by Heath, 578. See ibid. note. 
 
 Lamb, Dr, fufpefted of caufing a 
 memorable ftorm, 576 note. Buck- 
 ingham's familiar, ibid. 
 
 Lancafhire trade, eifeft of monopolies 
 on, 168. 
 
 Latimer, Lord, and Lyons, malprac- 
 tices of, cited as precedents, 341 . 
 
 417- 
 Laud, William, bifhop of St. David's, 
 on Prince Charles's return from 
 Spain, 86. His early and later 
 patrons, 8 9 note. Contrail between 
 him and Abbot, 113 note. Wil- 
 liams's diflike of him, 127. 231. 
 Extrafts from his diary, ibid. note. 
 Anecdote of Charles, 134 note. 
 On the rupture with Spain, 155 
 note. OnMiddlefex'sfentence, 164 
 note. On the caufe of James's death, 
 199 note. Happy portraiture of 
 " that bottomlefs Bagg," 205. 
 Half confidences of the king, 206 
 
 635 
 
 Littleton 
 
 and note. Objeft of his O and P 
 fchedule, 228. On Bucking- 
 ham's viiit to Paris, ibid. note. 
 Williams's fears of his advance- 
 ment, 231. Secretly preffing 
 againft Abbot, 253. His fym- 
 pathy with Montagu, 258 note. 
 Letters on his behalf, 338, 339. 
 Afcendency over the primate, 
 343. Blindly advancing to a 
 terrible future, 344, 345. Illegal 
 marriage celebrated by him, 360 
 note. Officiates at the coronation, 
 473, 474. His gloomy prefenti- 
 ments, 474. His troubled dreams, 
 ibid. note. On the king's dila- 
 tion to bilhops, 503 note. His date 
 of " perpetual heats in the houfe," 
 505, 506. Speech for the king, 
 552, 553 note ■\. Preparation of 
 Buckingham's defence, 565. 571. 
 575. Canvafling at Cambridge, 
 572. See 214. 287. 335. 569. 
 
 Law ftudies cultivated by laymen in 
 Eliot's time, 15. The Prince's 
 objedlion to the profeffion, 134 
 note. 
 
 Leicefter, Earl of, entries in the 
 journal of, 19 and 20 note. 
 
 Lennox, Duke of, connexion with 
 charge againft Arundel, 503. 
 
 Lighthoufe monopolies, dangers 
 arifing from, 317 note. 
 
 Lily, William, the aftrologer, on 
 the ravages of the plague, 292. 
 
 Lingard, Dr. John, hiftorian, as to 
 Archbiftiop Abbot, 89. As to 
 the letter afcribed to the arch- 
 biftiop, 117 note. As to the appli- 
 cation and controul of fubfidy, 
 i^i note. On the unpopularity of 
 the French match, 229 note. On 
 the Rochelle expedition, 325 note. 
 
 Lifter, Mr (Hull) on wrongs done 
 to trade by pirates, 429. 
 
 Littleton, Edward, afterwards Lord 
 (Carnarvon) afcription to Cotton 
 of a fpeech by, 414. His merits 
 and defefts, 433. His firft 
 fpeech, 434-439. Effieil produced 
 by it, 439. Finch's fucceffor in 
 the recorderftiip, 475 note. Re^ 
 
636 
 
 Index. 
 
 Lociit. 
 eleiled, 4.76. An affiftant 
 
 Buckingham's impeachment, 534. 
 A6llve mover in the remonftrance, 
 573. See 430 »o;^. 433 note. 532. 
 558 note. 573 note. 
 
 Lockit and Peachem, prototypes of, 
 231 note. 
 
 London rejoicings, enforced and 
 fpontaneous, 91. 116. 119, 120. 
 Vifitations of the plague. See 
 Plague. 
 
 Long, Walter, in the 1623 parlia- 
 ment, 128. 
 
 Lords, Houfe of, petition of Fleet 
 prifoners, 307 note. A compro- 
 mife with the commons, 308, 
 309. Modes of procedure, 313. 
 On Briftol's and Buckingham's 
 countercharges, 502. 503. 504. 
 505. Defeat of the king on 
 his arreft of Arundel, 503, 
 504. Thanked by the king, 
 527. Buckingham's impeach- 
 ment, 552. 
 
 Lopez, the Spanifh confpirator. 
 Coke's charges againft, 102. 
 
 Lord Admiral. See Buckingham. 
 
 Lord Chamberlain. See Pembroke. 
 
 Lord Keeper. See Williams. Co- 
 •ventry. 
 
 Lord Marlhal. See Arundel. 
 
 Lord Prefident. See Manchester. 
 
 Lord Treafurer. See Middle/ex, 
 Marlborough. 
 
 Lord's-day A.t\, 309 note. Eliot's 
 comment on it, 310. 
 
 Low Countries, appeals to the Eng- 
 lifh commons, 103. Incidents 
 of the war decifive againft popery, 
 104 note. The outworks and bar- 
 rier of proteftantifm, 145. Raifed 
 by queen Elizabeth, 290. Coft 
 of Englifh regiments there, 301. 
 See 256. 302. 
 
 Love, Sir Thomas, on the Cadiz 
 expedition, 459. 
 
 Lowther, Mr (Weftmoreland), 128. 
 222. 
 
 Luke, Sir Oliver (Bedfordfliire), 
 commencement of friendfhip with 
 Eliot, 22. Parliaments in which 
 he fat, 128. 221. 477. 
 
 Marten. 
 
 Lutzen, battle of, 395 note. 
 Lyons. See Latimer. 
 Lyttelton. See Littleton. 
 
 Maestro, Father, on the doings of 
 " the young duke " (Bucking- 
 ham), 174. 
 
 Magna Charta, 108. Selden's re- 
 mark on it, 405. 
 
 Maine, duchy of, how loft to the 
 Englifh crown, 416. 
 
 Mallet, Mr, unprofeflional deprecia- 
 tion of precedents, 403, 404, 405. 
 See 532. 
 
 Mallory, William (Ripon), views 
 on fupply, 153. Safe in his 
 feat, 222. Drift of his motion 
 for adjournment, 239. His fpeech 
 in the 1620 Yorkfhire eleflion 
 cafe, 264. On the oppofition 
 fide, 424. 
 
 Manfel, Sir Robert, vice-admiral of 
 England (Glamorgan), 401. 408. 
 425. His dlfclaimer of alleged 
 naval preparations, 426, 427. 
 Orator felefted to anfwer him, 
 428. 431. Why he withdrew 
 from the council, 432. Anger 
 of the Court, 476. Deprived of 
 his patent, ibid. note. On the 
 loan of Englifh fhips to foreigners, 
 496. His laft words for the re- 
 monftrance, 573. See 497. 531. 
 
 Mansfeldt, Count Erneft, with Eng- 
 lifh volunteers in the Palatinate, 
 96. Supplies for his aid, 97. 99, 
 100. His arrival in England, 
 177. Fate of his expedition, 178. 
 Expenfes of his army, 224. 289. 
 301. 303. Cooke's anfwer to 
 objeftions to his leaderfhip, 302. 
 And argument for its continu- 
 ance, 303. 350. See 452. 518. 
 
 Marriages between perfons of con- 
 trary religions deprecated, 105. 
 
 Marfh, Gabriel, Admiralty marfhal, 
 and the St. Peter of Newhaven, 
 507. His ftatements, 509, 510. 
 Marfhalfea Prifon, Eliot an inmate 
 
 of, 61-86. See 223. 564. 
 Marten, Sir Henry, admiralty judge 
 (St. Germans), examines into the 
 
Index. 
 
 Marten. 
 cafe of Eliot and Nutt the pirate, 
 6i. Rebuke to Randall, 64. 
 
 Examination of Eliot, 65-67. 
 Report to the council, 67, 68. 
 Written to by fecretary Conway, 
 69. His fecond letter : preflure 
 put upon him, 70, 71. His juft 
 view of Eliot's conduft, 72. 
 Secretary Calvert's queries and his 
 anfwers, 73. His further com- 
 ments, 74, 75. The brace of 
 bucks, 72. 75. In parliament for 
 Eliot's borough, 223. 477. Sup- 
 ports Eliot's views, 335. Cha- 
 rafter given to him by Eliot, 336. 
 On the granting of Jefuit pardons, 
 336) 337- Difclaimer in the St. 
 Peter of Newhaven cafe, 507. His 
 altercation with Cooke, 508. See 
 
 3+5- 
 
 Marten, Harry, fon of the above, 
 birth of the republican tendencies 
 of, 336. 
 
 Mafon, Robert, an affiftant to the 
 managers of Buckingham's im- 
 peachment, 534. 
 
 Mafon, Mr, a Cambridge fellow, 
 canvaffingfor the duke, 572 note. 
 
 Maw, Dr, an importunate canvaffer 
 for the duke, 572 note. Number 
 of votes procured by him, ibid. 
 
 May, Sir Humphrey, Chancellor of 
 the Duchy of Lancafter (Lancafter 
 andLeicefter), asto Spanifli match, 
 105. Solicits Eliot's interpofition 
 with Buckingham, 216. 295, 296. 
 His promife to Eliot, 296. 300, 
 301. Arguments he was not pre- 
 pared to adopt, 353. Attempts 
 to undo effects of Seymour's 
 fpeech, 358, 359. Speculation 
 thereon, 360. His argument on 
 precedents, 410. 414. 421. Dif- 
 pofed of, 435. Re-elefted, 478. 
 Silent on Eliot's perfonal refer- 
 ence to him, 498. Deprecating 
 fuggeftions by Eliot, 528. See 
 2i8. 222. 273. 304, 305. 361. 389. 
 424.432.434.532. 
 
 Maynard, Sir John (Chippenham : 
 not the Serjeant. See Corrigenda), 
 on the conduft of the people as to 
 
 6J7 
 
 Monarchy. 
 
 Spanilh match, 156. Why oppofed 
 to a fubfidy upon a fubfidy, 402. 
 
 Meautys, Mr. (Cambridge), his con- 
 nexion with feizure of Eliot's 
 papers, 569 note. 
 
 Mede and Stutevile correfpondence, 
 citations from, 116. 119. Naun- 
 ton's plain fpeaking, 478 note. 
 Eliot's call for accounts, 479 note. 
 On Eliot's I'peech after Charles's 
 threats, 528, 529, 530, 531. De- 
 bate of which the only record is 
 in one of Mede's letters, 576. See 
 553 "Ote, 554. 571 note. 
 
 Mentu, French royalift admiral, 454, 
 455 note. 
 
 Middlefex, Lionel Cranfield, Earl of, 
 lord treafurer, 99. Marked out 
 for ruin, 126. Proceedings againft 
 him, 160—162. His appeal to 
 Buckingham, 161 note. His fen- 
 tence, 164. The bifhops his 
 friends, ibid. note. Howell's far- 
 caftic allufion to his rife, 377 note. 
 See 148. 196 note. 497. 550 note. 
 
 Milan, Duke of, and the Genoan 
 orator, 171. 
 
 Mildmay, Sir Henry (Maldon), 
 amendment carried by, 281. 
 Againft fubfidy while papifts 
 are connived at, 386. Further 
 fpeeches, 424. 
 
 Millington, John, on Eliot's call 
 for accounts, 479 note. 
 
 Milton, John, no favourite with 
 bilhop Hacket, 173. His "(hop 
 " of war," 412. 
 
 Mohun, John, afterwards Lord, 
 vice-warden of the Stannaries, 38 
 note. His charge againft Bagg, 
 204. Borough reprefented by 
 him, 223. 479. 
 
 Monarchy of Man, The, Eliot's MS. 
 fo entitled, notice of and extrafts 
 from, 581-616. Dedication, 582. 
 Its aim and fcope, 585. Eulogy of 
 Cicero, 586. Privilege and law, 
 587. Hampden's criticism, 589. Of 
 Parliaments, 592. Selfilhnefs of 
 forrow, 595. Goodnefs in things 
 evil, 597. Poverty no caufe for 
 fear, 600. Death and Life, 602. 
 
638 
 
 Index. 
 
 Monopolies. 
 
 Memory of Raleigh, 604.. Here- 
 ditary pretences, 607. True ob- 
 jefts of philofophy, 613. Eulogy 
 on the Mind of Man, 615. A 
 prifon-throne, 616. 
 
 Monopolies and impofitions, bill for 
 abolition of, 165. Eliot's great 
 fpeech, 166-172. Principle eftab- 
 liftied by the ftatute, 173. 
 
 Monfon, young, put forward as a 
 fubftitute for Somerfet, 39 note. 
 
 Montagu, Sir Edward, put down 
 for a peerage, 279 note. 
 
 Montagu, Dr. Richard, the high 
 church champion, 214.. Occafion 
 of his firft preferment, 25a. His 
 Nenv Gag for an old Goofe, and 
 Afpello Cajarem, ibid. Arch- 
 bifhop Abbot's advice to him, 
 253. By whom upheld, 254. 
 Brought before the commons, 
 ibid. His anfwers and debate 
 thereon, 255, 256. Cenfured and 
 committed, 257. Eliot's report of 
 the debate, ibid. note. His punifli- 
 ment a preferment, 257-, 258. 309. 
 Charles's refentment at the houfe's 
 interference, 258 note. Renewed 
 proceedings, 338. His grateful 
 letter to Buckingham, ibid. note. 
 His pretence of ficknefs, 339. 
 Claim fet up by the king, and de- 
 bate thereon, 339—34.1. True 
 principle involved in his cafe, 342, 
 343. Hume's fneer, 342 note. 
 Courfe taken by court party, 390. 
 474. See 294-. 
 
 Moore, Sir George (Surrey) on the 
 Yorkftiire eledlion cafe, 277. 
 Suggeftion by him, 311. Moved 
 by Rudyard's eloquence, 515. 
 See 380. 424. 511. 
 
 Morice's committal cited as a pre- 
 cedent, 560. 
 
 Morton, Sir Albert, 222. Secretary 
 vice Calvert, 227. His death 
 and fucceffor, 478. 
 
 Moyle, John, Echard's account of 
 Eliot's affault on, 3. True ac- 
 count of the incident, 4-7. Tef- 
 timony of Moyle's daughter to 
 
 Nicholas. 
 
 Eliot's nobility of charafter, 8. 
 Echard's attack, 38. 
 
 Nassau, Admiral, 450. 
 
 Naunton, Sir Robert, matter of the 
 wards (Cambridge and Suffolk) 
 222. His laboured fpeech, 406. 
 Speaking againft time, 441. In 
 disfavour with the court, 478. 
 Why, ibid. note. 
 
 Naval mifgovernment, caufes and 
 confequences of, 317. 321. 379, 
 380, 381. See Eliot. Manfel. 
 
 Neal's Hiftory of the Puritans cited, 
 90. 
 
 Negotium Pofterorum, Eliot's MS. 
 fo entitled, 209. Its appearance, 
 contents, and objefts of its com- 
 polition, 209-211. Evidence borne 
 by it to the ftate of feeling on 
 Charles's acceflion, 212. Itsvalue 
 as a record of parliamentaiy privi- 
 leges, 212, 213. Infight given by 
 it into Eliot's religious feelings, 
 
 213. Light thrown by it on the 
 alleged niggardlinefs of the par- 
 liament towards the young king, 
 
 214. Quoted pajfim in Books V 
 and 'VI, 209-445. 
 
 Netherfole, Sir Francis, a letter of, 
 157. An indifcretion, 380. Eliot's 
 opinion of him ; his pofition in 
 relation to the Palfgraf, 381 note. 
 See 465 note, 572. 
 
 Nevile, Sir Henry, failure of projeft 
 for eleftions, 21. 
 
 " Nenu Gag for an old Goofe." See 
 Montagu. 
 
 Newcaftle, Holies, firft duke of, 31 
 note. 
 
 Newfoundland, a refuge for mari- 
 ners avoiding the king's fervice, 
 42, 43. Pirate Nutt's ravages 
 there, 44. Sir George Calvert's 
 colony, 70. 74. 
 
 Nicholas, Edward, 115. Offer of a 
 bribe, 182 note. Bagg's con- 
 neftion with him, 201. Part 
 borne in fending over fhips againft 
 Rochelle, 324, 325, 326, 327, 
 328. 496. 
 
Nor her. 
 
 Norber, John, and Nutt the pirate, 
 6i, 62. 
 
 North, Sir Roger, delighted with 
 the lord admiral's eloquence, 407. 
 
 Northumberland, Earl of, on Ra- 
 leigh's execution, 32. 
 
 Norton, Sir Daniel, elopement of his 
 daughter, 19. 
 
 Note-taking in Parliament, 539. 
 The king's notetakers, ibid. note. 
 
 Nottingham, Earl of; objeft of com- 
 miffioners under his admiralty, 319. 
 
 Noye, ^Vilham (Helfton), 128. His 
 argument in the Yorklhire eleftion 
 cafe, 263. Re-elefted, 477. On 
 accufation by common fame, 532. 
 Affiftant in Buckingham's im- 
 peachment, 534. His motion as 
 to Digges and Eliot, 557. 
 
 Nutt, Captain John, the pirate, 41 . 
 His exploits, 44. Not without 
 friends at court, ibid. Made bold 
 by royal pardons, 45, 46. Eliot's 
 ftratagem againft him, 47-49. 
 An expired pardon, 50. Panic 
 excited by his return to weft 
 coaft : audacity of himfelf and 
 crew, 54. Orders for his appre- 
 henfion, 56. Before the council, 
 57. Free pardon granted him, 
 59. Subftance of his exami- 
 nation by the admiralty judge, 
 61-63. His conduft according to 
 Randall's teftimony, 63-65. Eliot's 
 account of his dealings with him, 
 65-67. Judge Marten's report of 
 the examinations, 67, 68. Secre- 
 tary Calvert's interference on his 
 behalf, 70. 74. Gentle epithet 
 beftowed on him by Calvert, 73. 
 75. The mode of his capture 
 an offence to Calvert, 78 . Painted 
 in his true colours by Eliot, 81. 
 His petition againft Eliot, 84, 85. 
 His later piratical career, 85. 
 Captures a valuable prize, 86. 
 See 79, 80. 82. 
 
 O. and P. fchedule of Laud, 228, 
 
 229. See Laud. 
 Offices, multiplicity of in one man, 
 
 377- 
 
 Index, 639 
 
 Parliament. 
 
 Oldmixon's addition to Hacket's 
 ftory of Jefuit pardon, 346. 
 
 Olivarez, objeft of the artifices of, 
 112. Advantage taken of prince 
 Charles's prefence in Spain, 119. 
 Buckingham's lofty allufion to 
 him, 396. 
 
 Orange, Prince, of, " an old plot of 
 " the," 432. 
 
 Overbury, Sir Thomas, commence- 
 ment of Somerfet's intimacy, 27. 
 Somerfet's Ihare in his murder, 
 28, 29. Eliot's fympathy for him 
 and admiration for his writings, 
 29—31. and 605. Merit of his 
 "Witty Charaflers," 39 note. 
 
 Oxford, fittings of the parliament 
 at, 210. 214, 215. 217. 230. Its 
 laft day, 442— 445 . See Parliament. 
 Plague. 
 
 Oxford, Lord, a viftim of the Pala- 
 tinate expedition, 178. 
 
 Paige, Rev. Mr, Eliot applying for 
 a living for, 463-465. 
 
 Palatinate, Bnglifh volunteers for 
 its refcue, 90. The king's flic- 
 cour, 91. loi. Proceedings in 
 parliament, 92— 100. 103. See 145. 
 159. 174. 289. 380 note. 407. 416, 
 417. 
 
 Palatine andPalfgraf. See Frederick. 
 
 Palmes, Sir Guy, a fcherae oppofed 
 by Eliot, 160. His re-ele6Vion 
 prevented, 465. See 424. 
 
 Papifts. See Popery. 
 
 Parafites, felf-deceivers, 392. The 
 ruin of Buckingham, 391. 399. 
 
 " Parliaments work wonderful 
 " things," 162. 
 
 Parliament of 16 14, not what the 
 managers of its eleftions expected, 
 21. Some of its more prominent 
 members, 21-23. Its younger 
 fpirits, 24. Caufe of its premature 
 diffolution, 25, 26. 
 
 Parliament of 16-2,0-1 ; hopes excited 
 byits aflembling, 91, 92. Itspub- 
 lic fervices, 92. Religion and 
 the recovery of the Palatinate, 
 93-100. Stand taken againft 
 Spain, loi. Coke's inveftive. 
 
640 Index. 
 
 Parliament. 
 
 102. Subftance of report on 
 Philips's propofal, 103, 104. 
 Spirit of the popular members, 
 105. 107, 108. The king's re- 
 buke and treatment of their pro- 
 teft, 106. no. Text of the pro- 
 teft, 108, 109. Diffolution and 
 court retaliation, no, in. 
 
 Parliament of -L6^'i-^,re\\iSt?ir\ce of 
 James to the calling of, 125, 126. 
 Intentions as to popular members 
 fruftrated, 128. Groups of pro- 
 minent members, ibid. The new 
 fpeaker, 133. Eliot the opener 
 of the fefuon, 1 3+-143 [fee Eliof]. 
 Feeling as to Buckingham, 143, 
 144. Spain and the Palatinate, 
 145-148. 155. Pofition taken by 
 Eliot, 148-150. Debate on Dun- 
 combe's cafe, 151, 152. Debate 
 on fupply, 153, 154. A courtier's 
 fenfitivenefs, 156. Subfidies for 
 war and conditions annexed, 157— 
 159. Lord Middlefex's impeach- 
 ment, 1 61 -1 64 [fee Middle/ex']. 
 Impofitions and monopolies, 164- 
 174. Remonftrance againft con- 
 ceffions to Roman Catholics, 176. 
 Prorogation and — by James's 
 death — diflblution, ibid. 
 
 Parliament of 1625 — Charles's firft 
 parliament, value of Eliot's nar- 
 rative of its fittings, 215. 217— 
 
 219. Emulation for fervicein it, 
 
 220. 227. Prominent men re- 
 turned, 221, 222. New men, 223. 
 The king's fpeech, ibid. Crewe 
 re-elefted fpeaker, 224. His frank 
 advice, 225. Preparations for 
 confliil: : rights fucceffively won 
 by the commons, 233, 234. 
 Methods of procedure : rules and 
 orders, 234-238. Minute of open- 
 ing proceedings, 239 note. Mo- 
 tion for adjournment, and debate, 
 239-241. Grievances and religion 
 241-252. Montagu's cafe, 252- 
 258 [fee Montagu]. The York- 
 shire eleftion cafes, 258-282 [fee 
 York/hire']. Debate on fupply, 
 287-294 [fee Tonnage and Pound- 
 age]. A meffage, 291. Laft two 
 
 Parliament. 
 
 days at Weftminfter, 301—306. 
 Bill of continuance, 307. A 
 Fleet-prifon petition, 307, 308, 
 notes. A compromife with the 
 lords, 308. Adjournment or pro- 
 rogation : a queftion of privilege, 
 308, 309. Rumours of reaffem- 
 bling, 310. MeiTage adjourning 
 to Oxford, 312. Difference of 
 procedure between the houfes, 
 313, 314. Foreboding as to Ox- 
 ford, 316. The Oxford Sitthig : 
 Call of the houfe, 330. Indul- 
 gences to Jefuits, 331—338. The 
 fubjeft renewed, 386. Further 
 as to Montagu, 338-342. 385. 
 An obnoxious preacher, 343. 
 Supply, and debates thereon, 347— 
 361. 362-383. 386. CanvafTmg 
 for votes, germ of government by 
 party, 385. Infult to the houfe, 
 388, 389. Apology, 392. At- 
 tempt at compromife, 389—391. 
 Plan of Buckingham's "parafites" 
 391,392. Buckingham in Chrift- 
 church hall, 393. His addrefs, 
 394-397. 400, 401. Debate re- 
 fumed, 402. A lawyer againft 
 the tables of the law, 403—405. 
 Another royal meffage, 405, 406. 
 Debate thereon, 406, 407. 
 Philips's great fpeech, 407-409. 
 May's reply as to precedents, 
 410. 414. Their value exempli- 
 fied by Eliot, 415—422; and by 
 Littleton, 434, 435. A remon- 
 ftrance refolved on, 425—427. 
 Complaints of ill-guarded coafts, 
 428-430. Littleton's firft fpeech, 
 433-439. EfFeft produced by it, 
 439. Laft debate, proteftation, 
 and diffolution, 440-445. 
 Parliament of 1625-6. Speaker 
 Finch's addrefs to the king, 475. 
 Old members excluded, ibid. New 
 and old faces, 476, 477. Court 
 fide of the houfe, 478. Eliot's 
 opening fpeech, 479-488. An- 
 fwer to fecond meffage for 
 fupply, 499. Angiy rejoinders, 
 500, 501. Refolutions againft 
 Buckingham, 501, 502. Cafe of 
 
Index. 
 
 641 
 
 Parry. 
 
 the St. Peter of Newhaven, 505- 
 513. See Saint Peter of Nenv- 
 ha'ven- Debate on fupply, 514- 
 520. Eliot's precedents, 521-52.3. 
 King's anger at their citation, 
 524. Both houfes before the king, 
 526. Threatening lefture to the 
 commons, 527. An urgent con- 
 ference, 530. Remonftrance vindi- 
 catory of Eliot prefented to the 
 king, 531. The impeachment of 
 Buckingham, 533, 534. Managers 
 and proceedings, 534-552 [fee 
 Buckingham]. Refentments of 
 the king, 552, 553. The im- 
 prifonment of Eliot, and de- 
 mand for his releafe, 554-561. 
 Reception of Eliot on liberation, 
 565-568. Parliamentary gain by 
 the occurrence, 569. Bucking- 
 ham's nomination for the Cam- 
 bridge chancellorship, 573. Re- 
 monftrance agreed on, 573-575. 
 Buckingham's reply to the im- 
 peachment, 575, 576. Delivery 
 of the remonftrance, 577. Dif- 
 folution, 578. 
 
 Parry, Dr, citation as a precedent 
 of the cafe of, 561. 
 
 Parry, Sir Thomas, royal interpofi- 
 tion dilregarded in the cafe of, 
 341. 
 
 Party, germ of government by, 385. 
 
 Paul, Sir John, on the tone of the 
 Oxford difcuflions, 426 note. 
 
 Peachem and Lockit, parallels to, 
 231 note. 
 
 Pell, Sir Anthony, charges brought 
 againft Bagg by, 204. 
 
 Pembroke, Earl of, lord-chamber- 
 lain ; communications with Pen- 
 nington as to ftiips againft Ro- 
 chelle, 323, 324. 328. In alleged 
 communication with the popular 
 chiefs, 453. Put under reftra.irit, 
 466. Buckingham's fufpicion,2foV. 
 note \. Objeft of Eliot's folicita- 
 tion to him, 472 See 325 note. 
 
 Pennington, Captain, oftenfible def- 
 
 tination of his fleet, 323. Real 
 
 objeft of the expedition, 323, 
 
 324. Round-robin of his men, 
 
 VOL. I. T T 
 
 Philips. 
 
 324. Again remonftrating, 325. 
 Implores to be recalled, 326. His 
 people " in a mighty mutiny," 
 327. His appeal to the king, 328. 
 The king's warrant, 328, 329. 
 Incidents connefted with the ex- 
 pedition, 329 notes. His intended 
 proteft to parliament how baffled, 
 329,330. Manages to communi- 
 cate with Eliot, 330. See alfo 
 330 note. 543. 
 Perrot, Sir James, fide taken by, 23. 
 His fpeech for religion, 93. His 
 parentage, ibid. note. Conditions 
 for fupply fuggefted by him, 97, 
 98. On marriages between per- 
 fons of contrary religions, 105. 
 Court retaliation, in. Re-elefted, 
 
 477- 
 
 Philips, Sir Edward, of Montacute, 
 21 . Suppofed caufe of his death, 
 22 note. 
 
 Philips, Francis, prayer of a petition 
 from, no. III. 
 
 Philips, Robert, afterwards Sir Ro- 
 bert, fon of Sir Edward, too brief 
 career of, 21. His father's grief 
 at his fpeeches, 22 note. On reli- 
 gion and the Palatinate, 94. 99. 
 Supporters of his views, 100. 102. 
 Propofal carried by him, 103. 
 A pithy retort, 107. His im- 
 prifonment, no. Petition of his 
 family, in. When he thought 
 well of Buckingham, 122 note. 
 144. In the 1623-4 parliament in 
 fpiteofthe king, 128. Oppofes 
 a propofal of Eliot's, 143. Cha- 
 rafter of 'his oratory, 212. 280. 
 In Charles's firft parliament, 221. 
 On the Yorkftiire cafe, 264. His 
 fpeech on fupply, 280, 290. His 
 propofal as to Montagu, 339. His 
 great fpeech in the 1625 parlia- 
 ment, 362-369. Its decifive effeft, 
 369, 370, As to precedents, 405. 
 Remarkable fpeech on fubfidies, 
 407-409. Impreflive clofe, 409. 
 His remark on conceflions to 
 Jefuits, 439 note. His re-eleftion 
 prevented, 465. Prepared to try 
 the queftion, 475. Foiled, 476. 
 
642 
 
 Index. 
 
 Pirates. 
 
 See III note. 145. 149. 150. 155. 
 ^57- i59)i6o> 161 »o/f. 218. 241. 
 410. 414. 421. 425. 468.475Ko;f. 
 
 539- 556. 
 
 Pirates, ravages of, 317. 428 note. 
 Negleft to guard the coaft, 318. 
 407. 429. See Nutt, Captain, 
 Turkijh pirates. 
 
 Plague in London, 214. 221. 227. 
 305. 440 note. Its inroads marked 
 by Eliot, 254. 271. 292. The 
 king driven from town by it, 291. 
 Lilly's account, 292. Its appear- 
 ance at Oxford, 312 and note. 
 Threatening the parliament there, 
 354. Ufed by the king for fupply, 
 405. Contributions of members 
 towards relief of fuiferers, 440 
 note. 
 
 Plantagenets, prudence of their go- 
 vernment, 314. 
 
 Plumleigh, Captain, fent in purfuit 
 of pirate Nutt, 85. 
 
 Plymouth, difpute between Saltafli 
 and, 186-189. Complaints of 
 government negleiSl, 428 note. 
 Petitions againil the admiral, 429. 
 
 Pontefraft eleftion, why held bad, 
 272. 
 
 Pontois, caufe of the lofs of, 416. 
 
 Pope. See Gregory XV. 
 
 Popery, encouragement afforded to, 
 99, loo. 103, 104. 115. 117. 176. 
 228. 229 note. 245. 417.437. 491. 
 Denunciation of its claims, 103-4. 
 Evil of mixed marriages, 105. 
 Effefl on popular feeling of fur- 
 render of Deventer and Zutphen, 
 104 note. Secret papifts, 118. 
 Effeft of popifti fuccefles, 132. 
 Pardons of recufants and Jefuits, 
 III. 114. 230. 250, 251. Royal 
 claim reipefting them, 233. De- 
 bate on Exeter cafe, 331-335. 
 345, 346. A cafe in Dorfetihire, 
 386. Penalties to be enforced, 
 146. Double fubfidy to be levied, 
 291 note. Billagainft them not 
 paffed, 309. How dealt with 
 by Elizabeth, 415. Charles com- 
 pelled to proceed againft them, 
 +74- 
 
 Pym. 
 
 Port Eliot, 2, 41 . Charafter and im- 
 portance of the Eliot manufcripts 
 there, 11 note. 209-211. 
 
 Porter, Dr, againft Buckingham at 
 Cambridge, 572 note. 
 
 Porter, Endymion, with Charles in 
 Spain, 113. 
 
 Portland, Lord. See Wefton, Richard. 
 
 Pory, the news-letter writer, 85 
 note. 
 
 Pofterity, Eliot's care for, 211. 340. 
 See 359, 409. 
 
 Precedents, debates on. See Parlia- 
 ment of 1625, Oxford Sitting. 
 Their real fignificance and value, 
 404. Time to make one, 405. 
 Anger of the king relative thereto, 
 524. 
 
 Prerogative, impofitions by. See 
 Monopolies. 
 
 Price, Charles, a royalift, 425. 
 
 Protefts of the commons to James 
 and Charles, 108, 109. 441, 442. 
 See Parliament. 
 
 Proteftantifm and proteftants : im- 
 prifonment and releafe of their 
 champions, iii. Strength of 
 its enemies, 132. Zeal of Eng- 
 lifh failors, 324. 327. 329. 
 See 145. 219. 357. See alfo Bo- 
 hemia. Montagu. Palatinate. 
 Popery. Puritans. Rochelle. 
 
 Provis, Alderman, 85. 
 
 Prynne, William, 118 note. 
 
 Puckering, Sir Thomas, on the po- 
 pular fide, 424. 
 
 Purbeck, Lord, the duke's brother, 
 494. Buckingham confults aftro- 
 loger Lamb about him, 576 note. 
 
 Puritans marked out for perfecution, 
 228. Laws preifed againft them, 
 and relaxed for papifts, 251. 
 Montagu's iniults, 256. 
 
 Pye, Sir Robert, on the court fide, 
 424. Refolution oppofed by him, 
 501 note. See 161 note. 
 
 Pym, John (Calne, Taviftock), 
 commencement of his parliamen- 
 tary career, 22. Court retaliation, 
 III. Attempt to exclude him 
 from parliament, 128. Seconds 
 Eliot's views, 146. As to the 
 
Index. 
 
 643 
 
 Raddiffe. 
 propofedfubfidy, 1 54. In Charles's 
 firft parliament, 221. On religion, 
 and the Jefuits, 245. On Mon- 
 tagu's infults to the puritans, 356. 
 Re-ele£led,476. His report againft 
 Montagu, 479 note. Articles in 
 Buckingham's impeachment allot- 
 ted to him, 534. His fpeech, 
 538. Counfelling patience to im- 
 patient auditors, 554. Sent for 
 by Heath, 578. See 161 note. 555. 
 558 note. 
 
 Radcliffe, George, on Overbury's 
 murder, 28. 
 
 Radcliffe, Sir John (Lancafter) 128. 
 2ia. 
 
 Raleigh, Sir Walter, a viftim to 
 Spain, 32. Proofs thereof, ibid, 
 note. Pleaders for his life, 32. 
 33. Under fentence, 33, 34. 
 Eliot's refleflions thereon, 34, 35, 
 and 604. Scene at the fcaffold, 
 35. His kinfman and betrayer, 
 33, 34, 35, 36. His death never 
 forgiven by Eliot, 87. The feed 
 fown thereby, 116, His obliga- 
 tions to Sir Robert Cotton, 411 
 note. Motion for his fon, 512. 
 His " Dialogue between a Coun- 
 <'cillor andjuftice of Peace," 563. 
 Queilion of its authenticity, ibid. 
 See 416. 563. 
 
 Randall, Richard, Eliot's deputy, 
 and Nutt the pirate, 47. 61, 62. 
 Depoiltion before Judge Mar- 
 ten, 63-65. 67. Rebuked by the 
 judge, 64. 68. Imprifoned, 71. 
 Ranke, the hiftorian, anticipation of 
 
 the views of, 90 and note. 
 Rebellions againfl; oppreffive taxes, 
 
 374^ 375- 
 Recufants. See Popery. 
 Religion and Religious topics. See 
 
 Montagu. Parliament. Popery. 
 
 Protfjiantifm. Puritans. 
 Reporting, an art praftifed by 1 7th 
 
 century members, 436 note. 
 Rich, Lady, marriage of, 360 note. 
 Rich, Sir Nathaniel (Harwich) 
 
 ftriking exclamation, 94. On 
 
 fubCdy, 387, 388. Affiftant in 
 
 Rudyard. 
 
 Buckingham's impeachment, 534. 
 Meffage for commitment, 538. 
 .55*- SS^f See 558 note. 
 Richard I, 550. 
 Richard II, precedents from, 374. 
 
 379. 416. 522. 524. 561. 565. 
 Richelieu, Cardinal, claims (hips 
 againft Rochelle, 322. Defeats 
 a fcheme of Buckingham, 451. 
 Eliot defirous to keep peace with 
 him, 454. 
 Rochelle and the huguenots, 192. 
 Heroifm of its citizens, 322 note. 
 Englifti (hips lent to attack them, 
 322-329. 395, 396. 408. 490. 
 495,496. 533. 542- 544- Queftions 
 put to Eliot in the Tower, 563. 
 Roe, Sir Thomas, on freedom of 
 
 eleffion, 265. 
 Rohan, Duke de, leader of the hu- 
 guenots, 322. 
 RoUe, Henry (Truro) offence to 
 the Court, 425. His famous 
 Abridgement, ^tj. Hale's eulogy, 
 ibid. note. On common fame, 532. 
 Affiftant in Buckingham's im- 
 peachment, 534. Chairman of 
 grand committee, 556. 
 RoUe, Sir Samuel (Cornwall) on 
 
 the York(hire eleftion, 277. 
 Roman catholics. See Popery. 
 Rome, why interdifted to his (bns 
 by Eliot, 17. Anecdote of a 
 Roman emperor, 333. 
 Rooper, Mr, appealed to by EKot, 
 
 66. 
 Roper, Lord, barony of, 416. 
 Royalift compofition papers cited, 
 
 208 note. 
 Rudyard, Sir Benjamin (Portf- 
 mouth) fpeech for religion, 97. 
 Loud for war, 145. Peculiarities 
 of his poiition, 145. 243. Re- ■ 
 elefted, 221.447. Hiseulogyon 
 Charles, 243 . Effe6l thereof, 244. 
 His oratory, 244. 289. As to 
 " rank weeds of parliament," 
 465 note. 468. Not di(honeft, 
 ibid. For fupply, 514. Eliot's 
 pleafantry on his "panic," 515, 
 516. Affiftant in Buckingham's 
 impeachment, 534. Ob Cam.: 
 
644 Index. 
 
 Rujli'ivortk. 
 bridge chancellorfliip, 572. See 
 
 Rufliworth's CoUeiSions, citations 
 from, or references to, ri8 note. 
 134.. 148 note. 176. 205 note. 231 
 note. 360. 413 note. 452.499 note. 
 500 note. 574 note. 576 note. 
 
 Rutland, Lord, duel fought by, 8. 
 
 Sackville, Sir Edward, duel fought 
 by, 98. Speech on the Palatinate, 
 99. 
 
 Sailors, Englifli, their zealous pro- 
 teftantifm, 324. 327. 
 
 Saint David's, Bifhop of. See Laud. 
 
 Saint Edward's fhrine, jewels of, 
 pawned, 419. 
 
 Saint Germans, Edward Granville 
 Eliot, Earl of, clears up a family 
 queftion, 2 note. The Port Eliot 
 manufcripts entrufted to author of 
 this work, 11 note. The Saint 
 Germans family defcended from 
 Eliot's fourth fon, 20 note. See 
 211 note. 
 
 Saint Louis, revocation of a mur- 
 derer's pardon, 334. 
 
 Saint Peter of Neivhaven (French 
 fhip) feizure and plunder of, 455. 
 French reprifals, 456. 506. Eliot 
 drags the ftory into light, 489. 
 502. Extraordinary Intereft cre- 
 ated, 505. Confequences afcribed 
 by Laud, 505, 506. Buckingham 
 throws refponfibility on the king, 
 507. Bagg's (hare in the extor- 
 tions, ibid. Difclaimers of Sir 
 Henry Marten and Sir Allen 
 Apfley, 507, 508. Altercation 
 between Marten and Cooke, 508, 
 509. Bagg's denials and Marfh's 
 confeffions, 509, 510. Bucking- 
 ham's explanations, 510. Refult 
 of two divifions, 511, 512. Carle- 
 ton's efforts to reverfe the laft, 
 and attack on Eliot, 512, 513. 
 See Selden. See 533. 564. 
 
 Salilbury, Robert Cecil, Lord, ex- 
 ample appealed to, 359. See 415. 
 
 Saltalh, difpute between Plymouth 
 and, 186-189. 
 
 Sandys, Sir Edwin (Kent and Pen- 
 
 Seymour. 
 
 rhyn) prominent in the 16 14 par- 
 liament, 23. Refolution carried 
 by him, 24. Attempt to exclude 
 him, 128. Report of conference, 
 
 156. In Charles's firft parliament, 
 221. Lofes his feat, 227. Six 
 fons in the civil war, ibid. note. 
 Regains his feat, 477. See 149. 
 
 157. 161 note, 
 
 Sandys, Sir Samuel, brother to above, 
 notable exclamation of, 262. 
 
 Saviie, Sir John (Yorkftiire) fide 
 taken In the 1614 parliament by, 
 23. Himfelf and fon in the 
 1623-4 parliament, 128. Their 
 pofition, 129. Beaten in the new 
 eleifion, 222. Petition againft 
 Wentworth's return, 239. [See 
 Yorkjliire.'] Regains his feat, 477. 
 Refolution oppofed by him, 501 
 note. Veering round to the court, 
 556. Story of his imprifonment, 
 with a correftion, 557. 560. 
 Called to account for remarks on 
 Eliot, 557 note. See 153. 160. 
 213. 
 
 Saviie, fon of above, aftei-wards Lord 
 Saviie in the Scotch peerage, 
 charge againft the Yorklhire high 
 ftieriff, 260 noi-e. 
 
 Segrave, chief juftice temp. H. Ill, 
 caufe of degradation of, 424. 
 
 Selby, Mr (Berwick) 222. 
 
 Selden, John (Lancafter and Great 
 Bedwin) firft appearance in par- 
 liament, 128. His maiden fpeech, 
 153 note. As to tithes, 252. 
 Pithy remark on Magna Charta, 
 405 . His obligations to Sir Robert 
 Cotton, 41 1 TWte. Re-elefled, 
 476. Handles the St. Peter of 
 Newhaven cafe at Buckingham's 
 impeachment, 513, 514. On 
 common fame, 532. Articles in 
 the impeachment allotted to him, 
 533. His fpeech, 535. A dark 
 fufpicion, 546 note. Sent for by 
 Heath, 578. See 433. 512. 
 
 Seymour, Sir Francis (Wiltftiire) 
 for parliamentary privilege, 107. 
 Againft Spain, 145. Teller in 
 the Yorkftiire cafe, 278. A fug- 
 
Shakefpeare. 
 
 geftion, Z93. As to Montagu's 
 contumacy, 339. His charafter 
 and career, 355. Bold fpeech on 
 fupply, 356, 357. Its effea, 358. 
 Bittemefs againft the court, 4.30. 
 His propofal to name Bucking- 
 ham, 440, 441. His re-eleiSlion 
 prevented, 465. Failure ot his 
 fcheme for trying the queftion, 
 475. See 154. 21 8. 221. 424. 
 430 note. 468. 475 note. 
 
 Shakefpeare, quoted, 132 note. 
 
 Sheldon (Bridgnorth) folicitor-ge- 
 neral 'vice Heath, ^(>6note ■\. 477. 
 
 Sheep-difeafe imported from Spain, 
 102. 
 
 Sherland, member and recorder for 
 Northampton, 477. Afliftant in 
 Buckingham's impeachment, 534. 
 Takes Whitby's place as one of 
 the accufers, 536. 538. Sent for 
 by Heath, 578. See 532. 
 
 Ships the fafeguard of England, 167. 
 See Nanjal mifgo'vernment. 
 
 Slingfby, Sir Henry (Knarelbo- 
 rough) parliaments fat in by, 
 128. 222. 
 
 Smith, John and Thomas, names 
 affumed by Charles and Bucking- 
 ham in the Spaniih journey, 113. 
 
 Solicitor-General. See Heath. Shel- 
 don. 
 
 Somerfet, Robert Carr, earl 
 Overbury's intimacy with, 
 Trial for his murder, 27, 
 Eliot's leaning towards him. 
 A candidate for his place, 39 note. 
 An early patron of Laud's, 8 9 note. 
 Point in which his conduft was 
 meritorious, 415, 416. See 29 note. 
 
 Soubife, Prince de, leader of the 
 huguenots, 192. His maritime 
 fucceffes, 322. Refufal of Englifli 
 failors to fight againft him, 324. 
 See 323. 325 note. 454, 455. 
 
 Southampton, Lord, and his fon, 
 viftims in the Mansfeldt expedi- 
 tion, 178. 
 
 Spain interdiifted to his fons by Eliot, 
 17. Raleigh facrificed, 32. loi. 
 Break off of the Spanifli match, 
 86. Evil principles reprefented 
 
 of, 
 27. 
 28. 
 29. 
 
 Index. 645 
 
 Stanhope. 
 
 by Spain, 87. Hated by the 
 Englifli, 97. Her fyrapathizers 
 and agents, 99. 174. Denounced 
 in parliament, 100. Court mad- 
 nefs in forcing on the match, 101. 
 Coke's afl'ault, 102. Debates 
 generated by the match, 102— 1 14. 
 Authorities concerning it, 119 
 note. Bonfires in the city, 155 
 note. James and her ambaffadors, 
 156. Her naval preparations, 
 157.189-192. Bifliop Williams's 
 fecret information, 175 note. Op- 
 pofite views of Eliot and Went- 
 worth, 232, 233. Pretence of 
 hoftilities againft her, 323. 
 Wafteful leagues and treaties 
 with her, 376. Refufal of fupplies 
 in one of her parliaments, 409 
 See 98. 106. 125, 126. 130. 133 
 144. 146, 147. 159. 195. 207 
 219, 220. 230. 252. 301. 322 
 328. 358. 365, 366. 394. 416 
 502. 575. See alfo Gondomar. 
 OU'varez. Spinola. 
 
 Specot, Ralph (St. Germans) Eliot's 
 colleague, 227. 
 
 Speaker, Mr, 94, 95. 104. 109. 
 Funilions of the office, 235. 237, 
 238.393. See Cre-we, Sir Thomas. 
 Finch, Heneage. 
 
 Speed, the hiftorian, his obligations 
 to Sir Robert Cotton, 41 1 note. 
 
 Spencer, Mr (Northampton) for 
 limiting a fublldy, 515. 
 
 Spencer, Sir William, on the popular 
 fide, 424. See 569 note. 
 
 Spencer, Edward the Second's fa- 
 vourite, 418. 
 
 Spinola, Spanifli commander, over- 
 runs the Palatinates, 96. Slaughter 
 of his men by the Englifli, ibid, 
 note. 
 
 Spurwaie, Thomas, mayor of Dart- 
 mouth, aid rendered to Eliot by, 
 52. Complaint of pirate Nutt's 
 enormities, 53, 54. Admiralty- 
 court order lent to him, 57, 58. 
 Report of Eliot's non-compliance 
 therewith, 58, 59. 
 
 Stanhope, Charles Lord, 279 note. 
 See 470. 
 
646 
 
 Index. 
 
 Stanhope. 
 
 Stanhope, Sir John, in the 1623—4 
 
 parliament, 128. 
 Stanhope, high conftable for York- 
 
 ftiire. See Torkjhire elellions 
 
 (1620 cafe). 
 Stanleys, the, Roman Catholics, 
 
 1 04 note. 
 Staplehill, Aldred, of Dartmouth, 
 
 58, 59- 
 " Steenie," 113. Ste Buckingham. 
 Stelltonatus, expreflion of Eliot 
 againft Buckingham, 542. Carle- 
 ton's charges relative thereto, 
 566. Eliot's juftification, 567. 
 Derivation and ancient ufe of the 
 term, ibid. note. 
 Stewart, Admiral Sir Francis (De- 
 vonftiire) petition againft, ^ 429. 
 Drake's hopes and fears, 447. 
 See 558 note. 
 Storm in London, terrors excited 
 
 by a, 576, 577. 
 Strafford. See Wentivorth, Sir Tho- 
 mas. 
 Strangways, Sir John, on fupply 
 and grievances, 514. AfTiftant in 
 Buckingham's impeachment, 534, 
 Strode, William (Plympton) joined 
 in a commiffion with Eliot, 186, 
 187. In Charles's firft parliament, 
 221. Addrefs moved by him, 
 305. On Montagu's plea of fick- 
 nefs, 339. Againft pretended 
 neceffity for naval preparations, 
 381. Charafter of Heath's reply, 
 381 note. A pertinent queftion, 
 387. Re-elefted, 477. 
 Stuarts, opportunity loft by the, 90. 
 
 See James I. Charles I. 
 Stukeley, Sir Lewis, Raleigh's kinf- 
 man and betrayer, 33. Ho w re- 
 warded, 34, 35, 36. See 196. 
 Stutevile, Sir Martin, no. See 
 
 Mede. 
 Subfidies, refufal of, 409. Debates 
 
 on. See Parliament. 
 Suckling, Sir John, comptroller of 
 the houfehoid, lofes his eleiSion, 
 227. Exults in difgrace of lord- 
 keeper, 466. 
 Suffolk, Duke of See De la Pole. 
 Suffolk, Howard, Earl of, 27. Cam- 
 
 Turner, 
 
 bridge chancellorfhip vacated by 
 his death, 572. 
 Sunday obfei-vance aft, Eliot's com- 
 ment on, 310. 
 
 Tax-collectors llain temp. Hen. 
 
 VIII, 375. 
 Taylor, Jeremy, an old word ufed 
 
 by, 303 note. 
 Taylor, Mr, " Gondomar's fer- 
 
 " vant," 207. 
 Thirty years' war, how occafioned, 
 
 Tichbourne, Sir Walter, fupports 
 
 the duke, 424. 
 Tilly defeated byGuftavus, 395 note. 
 Tobacco, annual expenditure on 
 
 (1620), 98. 
 Tonkin, Mr, on the Moyle affair, 
 
 6 note. 
 Tonnage and poundage, limitation 
 of grant explained, 214, 215. 
 Period chofen for fecond reading, 
 292. Eliot'sfpeech thereon, 293. 
 Bill pafred,but not made a law, 
 294. 309. On whofe motion 
 limited, 355. Complaint of col- 
 leftion without parliamentary 
 fanftion, 367. 448. Mallet's ar- 
 gument, 403. Original purpofe 
 of the levy, 439. .495. 
 Treafurer of the houfehoid. See 
 Edmundes. Lord Treafurer. See 
 Middlefex. 
 Trehawke, Mr, on the Moyle affair, 
 
 4 note. 
 Trefham, Sir Lewis, duel fought 
 
 by, 8. 
 Tudors, caution of their govern- 
 ment, 314. 
 Turkifh pirates arid Englilh rene- 
 gadoes, 193.207. Eliot's refolute 
 dealing, 194. Further on the fame 
 fubjeft, 316—318. 320. 425. 429. 
 Turner, Dr. Samuel (Shaftefbury) 
 eccentric ways, 478. See ibid, 
 note. The fix queries, 498, 499. 
 Alarmed at the " found himfelf 
 " had made," 499 note. Com- 
 plained of by the king, 501. 
 Committee for precedents in his 
 cafe, 512. 
 
Index. 
 
 Undertaking. 
 
 "Undertaking" and "under- 
 " takers," 23-26. 148, 149. 498. 
 
 Uftier, Archbifliop, his obligations to 
 Sir Robert Cotton, 41 1 note. 
 
 Vane, Sir Heniy (Carlifle), 105. 
 
 222. 
 Vere, Sir Horace, in the Palatinate, 
 
 96. Aid for him and his troops, 
 
 99, 100. 
 Verftegan, Richard, his obligations 
 
 to Sir Robert Cotton, 41 1 note. 
 Viftualling-houfes reftraint bill, 310 
 
 note. 
 Villiers, George. See Buckingham. 
 Villiers, Sir George (Buckingham's 
 
 father) 15 note. 
 Villiers, Lady, (Buckingham's mo- 
 ther) fends her fon to travel, 15. 
 
 Beginning and clofe of her 
 
 fortunes, 15, 16, notes. 
 
 Wallenstein, 395 note. 
 
 Wallop, Sir Henry (Hampihire), on 
 fubfidy, 515. 
 
 Walpole, Horace, on Nicholas Hard- 
 ing, 411 note. 
 
 W^andesforde, Chriftopher (Rich- 
 mond, Yorkfliire) 126 note. 155 
 note. 128. 222. 424. Re-elefted, 
 477. Chairman of fecret com- 
 mittee, 489. 496. Teller in divi- 
 iions, 278. 512 »o/f. On fubfidy, 
 515. Article of impeachment 
 allotted to him, 533. Dark fuf- 
 picions, 546 note. Sent for by 
 Heath, 578. 
 
 Wanley, Humphrey, Harleian li- 
 brarian, 31 note. 
 
 Warwick, Lord, duel fought by, 8. 
 
 Warwick, Sir Philip, on the clofmg 
 fcene of the Oxford fitting, 442 
 note. 
 
 Wells, John. See Eldred. 
 
 Wentvvorth, Thomas (Oxford) par- 
 liaments fat in by, 23. 128. 477. 
 His argument in Montagu's cafe, 
 341. For common fame, 532. 
 
 Wentworth, Sir Thomas, Lord 
 Wentworth and Earl of Strafford, 
 22. His family opponent, 23. 
 His father-in-law, 29. A capture 
 
 647 
 Wejlon. 
 by pirate Nutt, 86. On the 
 Palatinate, 94. Philips's retort 
 to a remark of his, 107. On the 
 Spanifti bufinefs, 126. In the 
 1623-4 parliament, 128. As to 
 France and Spain, 179. A fuitor 
 to Buckingham, 180. Light on 
 his charafter, 213. His eleftion 
 contefted, 221, 222. [See York- 
 Jhire.'\ Antagonifm between him 
 and Eliot, 232, 233. Singled 
 out by newfwriters for a peer- 
 age, 279. Title feleiSled for him : 
 his court employments at that 
 time, ibid, notes. Hia charafter as 
 drawn by Eliot, 2831' Refult of 
 intrigues to win him over to the 
 court, 285, 286. Hallam and 
 Hacket thereon, ibid, notes. His j 
 emphatic tribute to Eliot's me- 
 mory, 287. Regains his feat, 392. 
 Juftifie.s his conftituents' choice, 
 423. Againft prefent fupply, 424. 
 Share in party movements, 453. 
 Indulgence (hown to him in taxa- 
 tion,46c3. His re-elefliion prevented 
 by the king, 465. A candidate for 
 office, 468. No tafte for conflift 
 with prerogative " out of^'' parlia- 
 ment,475. Ses'ijnote.cjSnote.ioz, 
 103. 105. 116. 155. 159 note. 161 
 note. 20^, 2,06 note, zoj note. zio. 
 ^66 note. /^j(,note. /^.jj. ^iz note. 
 
 Weftern plantations, 227 note. 
 
 Wefton, one of Overbury's mur- 
 derers, 28. Incident at his exe- 
 cution, 29. 
 
 Wefton, Richard, chancellor of ex- 
 chequer (Kellingtonand Bodmin) 
 afterwards lord-treafurer and Earl 
 of Portland, 106. His wife's 
 creedj 126. On the Spanifh bufi- 
 nefs, 144. Re-ele6led, 222. 478. 
 Prefers Wentworth to Eliot, 286. 
 note. His reply to Philips, 371, 
 372. Its clofing fting, 373. Dis- 
 courfing in a " foft waie," 422, 
 423. Eager for fupply, 499. A 
 "very earneil fland," 531 note. 
 Againft common fame, 532. As 
 to Eliot's committal to the 
 Tower, 559. What he meant by 
 
648 Index. 
 
 Whijiler. 
 
 "extrajudicial," ibid. See 285 
 note. 349 note. 424. 
 
 Whiftler, Mr. (Oxford), on the 
 Yorkfhire ele£lion cafe, 277. On 
 fupply, 354. Influence with 
 moderate men, 355. 
 
 Whitaker, Mr, refolution oppofed 
 by, 501 note. 
 
 Whitby, member and recorder for 
 Chefter, 477. Chairman of griev- 
 ances committee, 488. Manager 
 againft Buckingham, 534. Dif- 
 abled by fickneS, 536. 538. Sent 
 for by Heath, 578. 
 
 White, Doftor, king's cenfor, Mon- 
 tagu's book licenfed by, 255. 
 
 Whitelock, Bulfl:rode (Stafford; 
 23. 367 note. 433 note. Com- 
 mencement of his parliamentary 
 career, 477. 
 
 Whitelock, Sir James (Woodftock) 
 on the death of Sir Edward 
 Philips, 22 note. Side taken by 
 him in the 1614 parliament, 23. 
 His eleftion oppofed, ibid. note. 
 His prayer on the diffolution, 26. 
 Prefent at the bonfire of records, 
 367 note. 
 
 Wickham, William of, charge 
 againft, 416. 418. 
 
 Wilde (Droitwich), for acculation 
 by common fame, 532. His 
 fpeech on Eliot's commitment, 
 554-> 555- See 554 note. 
 
 Williams, John, biftiop, and lord 
 keeper, letter of warning to Buck- 
 ingham, 40 note. Iffues pardons 
 to recufants, 114. Protefts the 
 king in fuch matters, ibid. note. 
 His inftruftions to the judges, 
 115. Marked out for ruin, 126. 
 Attempts to fave hirafelf, 126, 
 127. Laud's dreams about him, 
 127 note. Speech to the houfes, 
 133. Piteous appeal to Bucking- 
 ham, 161 note. His mode of ob- 
 taining fecret information, 175 
 note. His infmuation againft 
 Eliot, 178. A. note of difcord, 
 224. Contraft between his ftyle 
 and fpeaker Crewe's, 226. Tries 
 to flop Laud's advancement, 231. 
 
 Yorkjhire. 
 
 Sound advice from him applicable 
 to all generations of ftatefmen, 
 232 note. His intrigues, 285. 
 Overborne by Buckingham, 306. 
 3 1 1 note. Unwelcome duty af- 
 figned to him, 311, 312. On the 
 plague at Oxford, 312 note. Once 
 more warning the king, 330. 
 Unexpe6ted circumftance, 331. 
 Effeftb of his quarrel with Buck- 
 ingham, 331 note. 393 note. Con- 
 neflion with Jefuit pardons, 332. 
 334. Againft the duke at the 
 council, 353. Seymour to be fet 
 upon him, 356 note. His comfort 
 under mortification, 393. A nau- 
 feous pill, 394. "Too weak in 
 conteftation " with the duke's 
 party, 427, 42S. Intriguing with 
 the popular chiefs, 453. The 
 great feal taken from him, 466. 
 His humble proteftations, ibid, 
 note. Set afide at the coronation, 
 473. Servility as to Cambridge 
 chancellorftiip, 572. See in note. 
 132 note. 173. 173 note. 223. 225. 
 402. 466 note f . 
 
 Willis, Browne, married Sir John 
 Eliot's great-granddaughter, i. 
 20 note. Citations from his 
 Notitia Parliamentaria, 2 note. 3. 
 4 note, 5 note. 433 note. 476. 
 
 Wimbledon, Lord. See Cecil, Sir Ed- 
 nvard. 
 
 Wood, Anthony, on Eliot at col- 
 l^gS) 5- 9- 15- A miftake, 129. 
 Extent to be relied on, il>id. note. 
 
 Wotton, Sir Henry, on Bucking- 
 ham, 399, and note. 
 
 Wykeham, William of. See Wick- 
 ham. 
 
 YoNG, Sir Richard, timely fervice 
 
 to James I. by, no. 
 Yonge, Walter, citations from the 
 
 diary of, 329 note. 459 note. 
 Yorks, the, Roman Catholics, 104 
 
 note. 
 Yorkfhire eleftions. — The 1 620 cafe: 
 
 Refult of Savile's defeat, 258. 
 
 Savile's petition, 259. Attorney 
 
 Johnfon's allegations, 259. 261. 
 
Index. 
 
 York/litre. 
 
 265. Alleged complicity of the 
 high-ftierifF with the conftables 
 for Wentworth, 260 note. Evi- 
 dence of the conftables, debate, 
 cenfure and reprimand, 260-265. 
 Wentworth's impolitic perti- 
 nacity, 265. The 1625 cafe: 
 Intereft excited ,266. Savile's ftate- 
 ment againft the ftierifF, 267, 268. 
 Attempts at adjournment ; north 
 againft north, 268, 269. The 
 ftierift"'s cafe, and charges againft 
 Savile, 269, 270. Eliot's motion 
 againft delay, and divifion thereon, 
 271. Wentworth's appeal and 
 charge againft Savile, 271, 272. 
 Debate, 273, 274. Savile at 
 the bar : Wentworth in his own 
 
 649 
 
 Zutphen. 
 
 fnare, 275. Speeches for and 
 againft Savile, 277. Demand for 
 counfel by the Wentworth party, 
 and divifion thereon, 278. Went- 
 worth's infraftion of the rules of 
 the houfe, 278, 279. Eliot's de- 
 nunciation of Wentworth, 280, 
 281. Mildmay's amendment, and 
 Glanvile's argument, 281. Final 
 decifion, 282. Two Yorkftiire 
 witnefses, 557 note. 
 
 Yorkftiire trade, eff'eSl of monopolies 
 on, 168. 
 
 Young, Patrick, his obligations to 
 Sir Robert Cotton, 41 1 note. 
 
 Zutphen, feeling engendered by 
 furrender of, 1 04. note. 
 
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