. ; ..■■■...!■ ■'■ ■ President White Library Cornell University /Vms^x ac^u^os" 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/cu31924087992149 THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE HON. ALGERNON SYDNEY 1622— l(r8 3. ALEX. CHARLES EWALD, F.S.A., OF HER MAJESTY'S RECORD OFFICE. Author of " The Crown and Us Advisers," " Last Century cf Universal History," die. de. ' Unconqucr'd Patriot ! form'd by ancient luu-, The love of ancient Freedom to restore ; Who nobly acted what he boldly thought, And seal'ri by death the lesson that he taught.' ., IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. 1. LONDON : TINSLEY BROTHERS, 18, CATHERINE ST., STRAND. 1873. LONDON : K. CLAT, SONS, AND TAYLOR, PRINTERS, BKEAD STREET HILL. PREFACE. Thk materials for a Life of Algernon Sydney are scanty and incomplete. Our chief sources of infor- mation on the subject are (1) the Sydney Corre- spondence published by Arthur Collins in " The Letters and Memorials of State ; " (2) the additional " Sydney Papers," edited by R. W. Blencowe ; and (3) the Letters of Algernon Sydney to Sir Henry Savile. Some additional facts about his life and character may be gathered from the Journal of the Earl of Leicester, the " Apology of Algernon Sydney," "The Discourses concerning Government," Sydney's Constitutional Treatise, the prefatory notices of the Sydneys by Collins, and from the occasional references to him to be found among the writings of his contemporaries. Save the correspondence PREFACE. above mentioned, Sydney's letters are lost, — hope- lessly, it .is to be feared. No traces, at any rate, have yet been found of the many letters he wrote to his friend Sir John Temple, to the Earl of North- umberland, to the Earl of Leicester, during his eleven years of retirement in France, and to the eminent Sir William Temple. All the labours of the indefatigable Inspectors of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts have failed to bring to light a single one of the missing documents. In the hope that the State Papers might add to the little knowledge we possess of Algernon Sydney, I have gone carefully through the Domestic Series belonging to the reigns of Charles I. and Charles II. With what result— a somewhat inadequate one, I must confess, considering the trouble expended — will be seen by a perusal of the following pages. For the various facts illustrative of the history of the period, except where original sources have been consulted, I am chiefly indebted to the histories of Clarendon, Burnet, May, Hume, Lingard, Hallam, and Macaulay. Numerous biographies and political tracts have also been consulted, the enumeration of which is needless. I may, however, mention as among those PREFACE. to which I owe most, "The Life of Shaftesbury" by Christie, "The Life of Fairfax" by Markham, the excellent " Biographies of the Statesmen of the Com- monwealth " by John Forster, "The Life of Oliver Cromwell" by Carlyle, and "The Lives of the Lord Chancellors " by Lord Campbell, vols. ii. and iii. Something more than mere mention is due to the excellent little " Biography of Algernon Sydney," by Meadley, which appeared at the beginning of this century, and which has so long served as the only Life of the Bepublican. As. far as that author has dealt with his subject, he is most careful and accurate, and to many of his references I have been much indebted ; but his work is necessarily incom- plete, owing to his not having seen the Sydney Papers, which were afterwards discovered, and pub- lished by Blencowe. Being desirous, too, of con- fining his Life within the limits of one small volume, Meadley was compelled to condense and omit many of Sydney's letters, which are of great importance for the light they throw upon the history of the period. In the present biography especial pro- minence is given to the letters and opinions of the Republican. PREFACE. Another small " Life of Sydney," published in America, and unknown in this country, by Gr. Van Santvoord, has also been consulted by me. It is, however, inferior to that of Meadley. To Lord De L'Isle and Dudley, and to Mr. A. J. Horwood, one of the Inspectors of the Eoyal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, I am much indebted for answers kindly given to various queries. A. C. E. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PENSHURST. Historical associations. — Ancient proprietors. — Parker on Penshurst. — The Sydneys. — Robert, first Earl of Leicester Page 1 CHAPTER II. ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. His character by Clarendon. — Birth of Algernon Sydney. — Algernon accompanies the Earl to Paris. — French Republicanism. — Sydney's Republicanism. — Unconstitutional policy of Charles I. — Counsel of Lord Leicester. — Conduct of Lord Leicester whilst Ambassador at Paris. — Appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. — Cavaliers and Roundheads.— Condition of Ireland. — Outbreak of the Civil War. — Irresolute policy of Lord Leicester. — Superseded in his appointment by Ormond. — Lord Leicester's letter to the Queen. — His withdrawal to Penshurst Page 26 CHAPTER III. UNDER ARMS. Progress of rebellion in Ireland. — Sydney commands a troop of horse. — His views doubted by both Cavaliers and Roundheads. — Arrested by Parliament. — Progress of the Civil War. — Sydney sides with the Par- liament, and commands a troop of horse in Lord Manchester's regi- CONTENTS. merit.— His gallant charge at Marston Moor.— Is wounded.— Rise of the Independents.— Cromwell.— Sydney's co-operation with Cromwell. —Appointed a Colonel.— Governor of Chichester.— Collapse of the Royalists.— Sydney sent to Ireland.— Is appointed Governor of Dublin, but forced by tactics of Lord Inchiquin to resign.— Close of his mili- tary career Page /4 CHAPTER IV. IN THE H O D S S. The Long Parliament.— Sydney elected M.P. for Cardiff.— Presbyterians and Independents. — Capture of the King by Joyce. — Military despotism of the Independents. — Execution of Charles. — Sydney's opposition to it. — His views upon the despotism of Kings. — Policy of the Republicans. — Vigorous measures of the Council of State. — Sydney Governor of Dover. — Visits the Hague. — Appointed a member of the Council. — Despotic dissolution of the Parliament by Cromwell. — Sydney's resistance and withdrawal to Penshurst . . . Page 112 CHAPTER V. A TRINIT1T OF REPUBLICANS. Comparison between Vane and Sydney. Biography of Sir Henry Vane — His Puritan notions — Is chosen Governor of Massachusetts — A Member of the Long Parliament — Appointed Joint-Treasurer of the Navy — Instrumental in the condemnation of Strafford — Negotiates with the Scotch — Noble conduct as Treasurer of the Navy — His Reform Bill — Opposes Cromwell — Accused of disaffection to the Government — His " Healing Question" — Imprisoned at Carisbrooke Castle— An enemy to the Protectorate — His plan of Government — Accused of High Treason after the Restoration — Is condemned and executed. Bradshaw — Milton's sketch of him — President of the High Court of Justice — President of the Executive Council — Opposed to Cromwell — Buried in Westminster Abbey — Revenge of the Royalists on his remains. Henry Marten — His character as a wit — A staunch supporter of the Parliament — Committed to the Tower for his treasonable Republicanism — One of the chief instruments in the preparation of the " Bloody Warrant." — Opposed to Cromwell — Excepted from the Act of Oblivion — His trial and sentence — The Radical nature of his Republicanism Page 152 CONTENTS. xi CHAPTER VI. SWEDEN AND DENMARK. Sydney's " Essay on Love."— Coolness between Sydney and Lord De L'Isle. — Sydney's return to Parliament. — Appointed a Commissioner to mediate a peace between Sydney and Denmark.— Charles Gustavus.— Frederick III. — National animosity between Sweden and Denmark. — War breaks out.— Sir Philip Meadowes sent as mediator.— Treaty of Roschild. — Hostilities resumed.— Sydney's instructions. Page. 190 CHAPTER VII. DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. Isolation of Sydney. — Reports proceedings to his father. — Sydney's descrip- tion of Charles Gustavus. — Death of Lady Leicester at Penshurst. — Sydney expresses his views to Whitelocke. — Death of the King of Sweden. — Overthrow of the Protectorate. — Plans of Monk. — The Restoration. — Failure of the English Commonwealth. — Superiority of Constitutional Government over Democracy. • — Sydney opposed to Democracy. — England of the nineteenth century a Republic. — Sydney to Lord Leicester. — Visits Stockholm. — Desires to return to England. - -Is advised to expatriate himself for a time Page 224 CHAPTER VIII. IN FXILE. Sydney's reasons for not returning to England. — Spirited letter to an unknown friend on the same subject. — Visits Hamburg. — Has an interview with Queen Christina. — Sydney's remarks on the state of Germany. — Severe letter from Lord Leicester to Algernon Sydney. — Sydney's reply and refutation of the charges made against him. — Visits Augsburg and Venice. — Arrival at Rome .... Page 280 CHAPTER IX. RESIDENCE AT ROME. Sydney's sketch of Alexander VII. and of the Twelve Cardinals.— Death of Cardinal Mazarin.— A ntipathy to the Jesuits.— Sydney's estimate of the Roman clergy.— His retirement to Frascati. — Uneasiness at his father's coldness.— Anxiety respecting pecuniary matters. — Not treated according to his deserts Page 327 CONTENTS. CHAPTER X. THE R E S T O E A T I O X. Character of Charles II. — The Act of Indemnity. — Trial and execution of certain of the Regicides. — Settlement of Church affairs in England and Scotland. — Sydney's withdrawal from Rome and narrow escape from assassination. — He visits Switzerland. — Takes up his abode at Brussels. — England refuses to allow him to enter the service of the Emperor of Germany. — Dissolute conduct of Charles. — War with Holland. — Sydney endeavours to establish a Republic in England by the aid of De Witt and Louis XIV. — His offers are declined. — Retires to Montpellier Page 369 THE LIFE AND TIMES ALGERNON SYDNEY. CHAPTER I. PENSHURST. A few miles from the fashionable little "watering- place of Tunbridge "Wells, and approached by a drive through scenery as charming as any which the fair county of Kent can offer, stands a hand- some quadrangular pile on the brow of a gentle eminence. To every Englishman interested in art or literature, the grey walls and mediaeval archi- tecture of this baronial Hall possess no ordinary attraction. The artist, as he gazes upon the pointed arches and battlemented towers of ancient Pens- hurst appearing in strong relief against the rich colouring of the surrounding landscape — the wooded vol. i. b v ,. ALGERNON SYDNEY. glades and harmonious blending of hill and dale — dwells fondly over his canvas, and feels his Art inspired anew by contact with Nature in all the beauty of her sylvan glory. To the historian and the antiquary the spot is almost hallowed ground : — " Tread As with a pilgrim's reverential thoughts The groves of Penshurst. Sydney here was born — Sydney, than whom no greater, braver man His own delightful genius ever feign'd, Illustrating the groves of Aready With courteous courage and with loyal love.'' As we stand beneath the noble Hall, with its finely-timbered roof, or wander through the chambers, so redolent of the Past, thoughts of the long line of famous men — heroes in arms, diplomacy, and song — who were once lords of Penshurst, cross our minds. Here at one time lived John, the great Duke of Bedford, who crowned his nephew Henry the Sixth at Paris. Within these walls dwelt Humphrey, duke of Gloucester, for twenty-five years Governor and Protector of the realm of England. The proud Duke of Buckingham, twice traitor, the friend and victim of Eichard the Third, was also once the owner of these fair lands. At the high table in PENSHURST. yonder Hall, King James was entertained when paying Penshurst an unexpected visit, — " That found King James, when hunting late this way, With his brave son the prince : they saw thy fires Shine bright on every hearth, as the desires Of thy Penates had been set on flame To entertain them ; or the country came, With all their zeal, to warm their welcome here. What great, I will not say, but sudden cheer Didst thou then make them ! and what praise was heap'd On thy good lady then ! who therein reap'd The just reward of all her housewifery ; To have her linen, plate, and all things nigh When she was far ; and not a room but dress'd As if it had expected such a guest ! " Here was born Sir Philip Sydney, " the great glory of his family, the great hope of mankind, the most lively pattern of virtue, and the glory of the world," who wrote, as he mused upon the scenes of his youth, the famous "Arcadia." Here too was born Mary, afterwards Countess of Pembroke, the sister of the hero of Zutphen and celebrated in the " Arcadia," and in the oft-quoted epitaph of Jonson:— " Underneath this marble hearse Lies, the subject of all verse, Sydney's sister, Pembroke's mother: Death ! ere thou hast slain another, Learn'd and fair and good as she, Time shall throw a dart at thee." Beneath the trees of yonder park Waller thought of his scornful " Saccharissa," and wrote his charming B 2 ALGERNON SYDNEY. ' sonnets to her name in the vain hope that song would melt her heart to love. And here, amid the hills and groves of ancient Penshurst, the stern republican, Algernon Sydney, who was to meet a death he never merited for the principles he fear- lessly advocated, philosophized upon Government and the errors of absolute Monarchy. Statesmen, warriors, poets, beauties, — what thoughts have been matured, what musings inspired, what passion kindled, within the stately walls of Penshurst and beneath its beech-trees' lengthening shades ! Almost from its earliest days Penshurst has been of such importance, and so intimately connected with the Crown, that its local history often plays a part in the general history of our country. At the time of the Conqueror we read of a fortified house in existence here, occupied by a family called after the name of the place, Pen-chester, which means the 'castle on the hill.' The castle was, apparently, of a very modest character, having nothing grand about it beyond its name. From the fact of there being no stone remains extant, it is probable that the 'castle,' after the fashion of its time, was built of timber, and that its forti- PENSHURST. fications, like those represented in the Bayeux tapestry, consisted of deep trenches, mounds, and wooden palisades* According to the chroniclers, the Penchesters continued to live in the place for about two centuries after the Norman Conquest, and in the reigns of Henry the Third and Edward the First the head of the family was one Sir Stephen de Penchester, constable of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports,— offices which were afterwards frequently held by the various lords of Penshurst. On the death of Sir Stephen, who lies buried in the church which he built adjoining his mansion, the estate from default of heirs male came into the possession of his two daughters, one of whom, Alice de Penchester, married John de Columbus, who thus became owner of the broad lands of Penshurst by right of his wife. The new lord did not, however, long enjoy his recently acquired possessions, for soon after his marriage the property again changed hands, and was sold, with the consent of the remaining members of the Penchesters, to one Sir John de Pul- * Paper on Penshurst, read by J. H. Parker, Esq before the Kent Arclneobgical Society, July 16, 1863. Hasted. - Hxstory of Kent, vol. i., article " Penshurst." ALGERNON SYDNEY. teney, a son of Adam de Pulteney, of Misterton in Leicestershire. Sir John was a citizen of London, of no mean renown : he had the honour of being four times elected Lord Mayor. The civic squire of Penshurst was noted far and wide for " his piety, his wisdom, his large possessions, his public charities, his magnificent hospitality, and his munificence in building." The church of St. Laurence Pountney, in Laurence Pountney Lane, London, is said to have been founded by him. One of the results of this munificence in building soon appeared in various schemes for the improvement and fortification of Sir John's new mansion. In the great Poll of the Pipe, which is, among other things, a record of licences granted by the Crown, is an entry in the time of Edward the Third of a licence accorded to Sir John de Pulteney, to crenellate his house at Penshurst. "To crenellate," says Mr. Parker, "is a technical name for 'to fortify' or 'to embattle ; ' crenelles are the openings between the solid merlins of a battlement. The state of the times rendered it necessary for every nobleman's or gentleman's house to be fortified, and this was not to be done without a licence from the Crown." PENSHURST. A licence to crenellate was always obtained either just before or just after the building of a new house, so that the date when the most ancient part of Penshurst was erected can be ascertained with perfect certainty. Whatever claims to architecture Penshurst possesses are due almost entirely to the taste of Sir John de Pulteney. The house, with but few alterations and subsequent additions, stands now as it was originally built. "We have here then," says Mr. Parker, "a nearly perfect example of the house of a wealthy gentleman of the time of Edward the Third, in the year of our Lord 1341, and it is most valu- able to us for illustrating the manners and customs of that period." As the present time is witnessing a revival of mediaeval architecture in the structure of our houses, and of mediaeval furniture in the adornment of our rooms, a brief examination of the interior of a civic knight's mansion of the Edwardian era may not be uninteresting. Placing ourselves in the hands of that most faithful and accomplished of cicerones, wherever antiquarian art and architecture are con- cerned, Mr. John Henry Parker, let us" enter the Hall of Penshurst, and, whilst exploring its various ALGERNON SYDNEY. architectural beauties, listen to the remarks of our guide/" "The most important feature of the original house is of course the great Hall, which remains to us almost unaltered, with its very fine open timber roof, the mouldings of which are very good decorated work, agreeing perfectly with the time of Edward III. Such a timber roof and such mould- ings are not to be found anywhere out of England. . . . The fine windows of the Hall, with their very remarkable decorated tracery, are again pecu- liarly English. The endless variety of window tracery, which we find in English buildings of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, is not found in any other country at the same period. . . . The power of invention, the imagination and the manual skill of our mediaeval workmen, were really wonder- ful — our best modern architects fail in the attempt to invent new forms of tracery. ... In the centre of the Hall stands the original hearth, or reredos, one of the very few that we have now remaining. By the side of this hearth are the andirons, or fire dogs, for arranging logs of wood upon the hearth; * I quote from the Paper already mentioned. PENSHURST. and over it was an opening in the roof, with a small ornamented turret to cover it, called a smoke louvre. This has unfortunately been removed. The custom of having a large fire of logs of wood in the middle of the Hall continued long after fire- places and chimneys were used in the other chambers. . . . On each side of the Hall we have tables and benches, which if not actually contem- poraneous with it are certainly among the earliest pieces of furniture that we have remaining in England. On the dais or raised platform at the upper end of the Hall, where the Elizabethan table now is, there would be no doubt the 'high table' where the lord and his more honoured guests were placed; the side tables in the lower part of the Hall being for the domestics and retainers, and guests of that class. It will be observed that this Elizabethan table is very long and narrow, according to the medieval custom for the high table to be occupied on one side only. No one sat with his back to the company, and that side of the table was left open for the servants to have free access to it, without any fear of dropping grease on the costly dresses of the ladies or the velvet coats of 10 ALGERNON SYDNEY. the gentlemen. ... At the opposite end of the dais is the door to the staircase of the solar or upper chamber, used as the withdrawing room for the ladies after dinner. . . . Behind the dais were two cham- bers, one over the other ; the upper room was the lord's chamber, and from it there was usually a look- out into the Hall, as a check to the more riotous pro- ceedings after the lord and his family or his guests had retired, or for the lord to see that the guests were assembled before descending with his family into the Hall. "We must remember, that in England in the Middle Ages, as in France at the present day, the distinction between bed-rooms and sitting- rooms was unknown ; the chamber was used for both purposes; and this is the answer to the fre- quent inquiry where the bed-rooms were in the mediaeval house. Anyone who is acquainted with France at the present day must know that it is even now still customary in many houses for the lady of the house to receive her guests in her bed- chamber, and that the salle d manger, or hall, is only used for the principal meals, such as dinner and the cUjeuner d la fourchette, or luncheon. PENSHURST. 1 1 "At the opposite or lower end of the Hall was the music gallery, which we have here perfect, and a fine example of wooden panelling, though of later date than the Hall. Under this was the passage called the Screens, separated from the Hall by a screen either of open work with curtains, or solid with one or two doors ; in this instance it is solid with two doors. In this passage, called the Screens, was the lavatory, or place for washing the hands before dinner, which frequently had a drain very much like the piscina in a church, where the priest poured water over bis hands and over the chalice. The mediaeval fashion for washing the hands was by pouring water over them from the ewer, not by dipping them into a basin as we now do. After dinner, rosewater was passed round and poured over the hands. ... At one end of the screens is the porch, or principal entrance to the Hall. . . . At the opposite end of the screens is another door- way, with a porch of later date ; this opened into the servants' court at the back of the Hall. " The exterior of the Hall and of the porches is as well worthy of attention as the interior, being alto- gether a fine example of the architecture of the time 12 ALGERNON SYDNEY. of Edward III. . . . Behind the screens at the ser- vants' end of the Hall are three doorways, according to the general custom of the age : one to the buttery, or the place for giving out the beer or cider or other drinks ; another to the pantry, a place for giving out the bread and other dry stores, except the meat, which came direct from the kitchen by a passage between the buttery and the pantry, which remains perfect. The kitchen itself was usually a half-detached building, commonly octa- gonal, with a lofty roof and smoke louvre, and connected with the house by a short passage only, in continuation of that which passed between the buttery and pantry. It was commonly of wood, and probably was so at Penshurst, and therefore has been destroyed. . . . "At the two angles of the Hall at this end also there were probably towers, one of which remains. These were useful for defence, but they were also in- habited, and were divided into several chambers by floors, and in each chamber there was a fire-place. These chambers were rather low, so that there were commonly three or four in each tower. This gives us six or eight chambers at each end of the Hall PENSHVRST. 13 those at the upper end for the use of the family, and those at the lower end for the servants. Whether we call them bed-chambers or not, our ancestors were not so badly accommodated as we imagine. . . . The chapel was usually near the dais and the lord's chamber, sometimes merely parted • off at one end of this, or in the upper part of a tower with a staircase and a short passage to it leading from the da'is. At Penshurst this part of the house has been so much altered in the Eliza- bethan and subsequent periods, that the chapel cannot be traced; but the great width of the Hall would allow sufficient length for both the upper chamber and the chapel at the end, where the drawing-room now is, which has been fitted up afresh in the style of Queen Anne. But the chandeliers are said to have been brought from Leicester House in London, and used when Queen Elizabeth visited there, and have always gone by the name of Queen Elizabeth's chandeliers. They are probably the oldest chandeliers that we have now remaining in England. This reminds me to mention a medigeval custom respecting furniture which is not generally understood, and which con- 14 ALGERNON SYDNEY. timied to a considerable extent even so late as the time of Elizabeth. Every great family had several manors and manor-houses; and as rent was paid chiefly in kind, and there were no roads, and the only modes of conveyance were on pack-horses or in heavy waggons, it was necessary for the family to move from time to time from one manor to another. Such a removal was no light matter, for on such occasions they carried a large part of their furniture with them — all their beds and bedding, carpets and curtains, and tapestry hangings, their plate, their crockery and glass — and down to the time of Henry VIII. the glass casements for their windows also, which were of painted glass — and valu- able articles of furniture, their place being supplied by wooden shutters while the family were absent." Thanks to Mr. Parker, we can now form an excel- lent idea of the original house of Penshurst in the time of Edward III. And whilst on this subject it may be as well if we make a brief survey of the inte- rior of the mansion, ere we pass on to chronicle the names and deeds of its illustrious owners. A stair- case refitted, but supposed to be of the same date as the Hall, leads to the main suite of six rooms. PENSHURST. 15 "These apartments," writes Walpole in 1752, "are the grandest I have seen in any of our old palaces." In the portrait gallery are several rare paintings, the chief being John Dudley, duke of Northumberland, by Holbein ; Fitzallen, archbishop of Canterbury ; Humphrey Stafford, first duke of Buckingham ; Thomas Wentworth, and John Foxle. These four, according to Walpole, are among the oldest paint- ings in England. In this gallery are also por- traits of the various earls of Leicester and other members of the Sydney family : of Algernon Sydney there are three portraits, one by Varrus when at the age of forty-one, another when a child, and the third — evidently copied from the picture of Varrus — of a man of some fifty years, leaning on a book labelled " Libertas ;" behind whom are the Tower and the axe of the executioner. In the tapestry room, draw- ing-room, and ball-room are numerous other family portraits, notably those of Sir Philip Sydney, of Dorothea ("Waller's "Saccharissa"), and of Lord and Lady Leicester, the parents of Algernon Sydney. In the library are a collection of miniatures, and of the locks of hair of the different Sydneys. The house, having fallen somewhat into neglect under the 16 ALGERNON SYDNEY. late lord, is now being elaborately embellished by the present Lord De L'lsle and Dudley, the representative by maternal descent of the ancient family of the Sydneys, earls of Leicester. The Park, though now not so extensive as it was in bygone days, offers at every turn vistas of such scenery as might well stand, and, no doubt, did stand, for the most beautiful descriptions of rural life in the "Arcadia." The picture of Laconia was certainly taken from the scenery of Penshurst and its neighbourhood. "There were hills which garnished their proud heights with stately trees ; humble valleys whose bare estate seemed comforted with the refreshing of silver rivers ; meadows enamelled with all sorts of eye-pleasing flowers; thickets, which, being lined with most pleasant shade, were witnessed so too, by the cheerful disposition of many well-tuned birds ; each pasture stored with sheep-feeding with sober security, while the pretty lambs with bleating oratory craved the dam's comfort : here a shepherd's boy piping as though he should never be old, there a young shepherdess knitting and withal singing, and it seemed that her voice comforted her hands to PENSHURST. 17 work, and her hands kept time to her voice-music. As for the houses of the country (for many houses came under their eye), they were all scattered, no two being one by the other, and yet not so far off as that it barred mutual succour : a show, as it were, of an accompaniable solitariness and of a civil wildness."* In the centre of the park, near the lake called Lancup Well, is a magnificent oak, the acorn of which was planted at the birth of Sir Philip Sydney. The avenue of beeches where " this matchless dame," the beautiful Dorothea, was accustomed to take her daily walk, and which is still called ' Saccharissa's Walk/ independently of the sentimental interest attached to it, is a grove, the stately beauty of which adds not a little to the picturesque glories of Penshurst. Its venerable beeches are commemorated in Waller's well- known lines : — " Ye lofty beeches ! tell this matchless dame That if together ye fed all one flame, It could not equalize the hundredth part Of what her eyes have kindled in my heart ! ***** While in the park I sing, the listening deer Attend ray passion, and forget to fear. When to the beeches I report my flame, They bow their heads as if they felt the same." * Arcadia, lib. i. p. 11. VOL. I. C 18 ALGERNON SYDNEY. Indeed, the whole appearance of Penshurst, its air of antiquity, its charms of situation, and the beauty of its surrounding landscape, cannot better be summed up than in the lines of ' rare Ben Jonson : ' — " Thou art not, Penshurst, built to envious show Of touch or marble ; nor canst boast a row Of polish'd pillars or a roof of gold : Thou hast no lantern, whereof tales are told ; Or stair, or courts ; but stand'st an ancient pile, And (these grudged at) Art reverenced the while. Thou joy'st in better marks, of soil, of air, Of wood, of water ; therein thou art fair. Thou hast thy walks for health, as well as sport ; Thy mount, to which the Dryads do resort, Where Pan and Bacchus their high feasts have made Beneath the broad beech and the chestnut shade." Though Penshurst has acquired most of its interest from association with its latest proprietors, the Sydneys, earls of Leicester, centuries elapsed before a Sydney became lord over its fair domains. Let us resume the thread of its history. On the death of the munificent, pious, and sesthetic Lord Mayor, Sir John de Pulteney, in 1350, there were left to mourn his loss a son, William, then eight years old, and a widow, Margaret. This widow, Margaret, married for her second husband Sir Nicolas Lorraine, a scion of the Dukes of Lorraine, who, in right of his wife, became possessed of a life interest in the PENSHURST. 19 estate, and to whom shortly after his marriage the fee was conveyed. From this union sprang a son, another Sir Nicolas, who married Margaret, the eldest daughter of John de Vere, earl of Oxford, and widow of Henry, Lord Beaumont. Lord Beaumont dying without issue, left his sister Margaret heiress of the property after the death of his widow Margaret, who was to hold Penshurst during her life. Lady Beaumont married for her second husband Sir John Devereux, a man of old Norman family, and a soldier of repute, who was much employed by Edward III. and Bichard II. Like his predecessor, the quondam Lord Mayor, Sir John Devereux ob- tained a licence to crenellate his house at Penshurst, or, in other words, to enlarge and increase the forti- fications already built by Sir John de Pulteney. "This enlargement of the fortress," says Mr, Parker,* " was clearly intended for military purposes only : it was made at a time when the country was in a very disturbed state, and the people of Kent probably more discontented even than those in other parts, being only a few years after the Kentish riots headed by Wat the Tiler; and when the dispute * Paper already alluded to. C 2 20 ALGERNON SYDNEY. between the King and his Barons about the Council of Regency and the royal favourites was hardly at an end. The King had taken the reins of govern- ment into his own hands only a short time before, and it was probably thought expedient for a faithful servant of the Crown like Sir John Devereux to have a more powerful body of armed retainers under his orders. Whatever the cause may have been, a large wing was added to the house at this period, arid still remains, having been very carefully and well restored within the last few years." This wing, having been completed by the Duke of Buckingham, is called the Buckingham Building. On the death of Sir John and Dame Devereux, the property reverted, according to the will of Lord Beaumont, to Margaret, the sister of that lord. This Margaret married (l) Richard Chamber] ayne of Shirburn, Oxfordshire ; (2) Sir Philip de Clere of Aldham St. Clere, of Ightham, Kent. From the second marriage sprang a son, John de Clere, to whom the manor descended. Penshurst did not, however, appear to have sufficient attraction for its new proprietor, for shortly after coming into possession he sold it to John, the great duke of PENS HURST. 21 Bedford, third son of Henry the Fourth and uncle of Henry the Sixth. On the death of the Duke of Bedford his brother Humphrey, duke of Gloucester, Protector of the Eealm, succeeded to the manor. The next owner of Penshurst, when the Duke of Glou- cester had " shuffled off this mortal coil," was Kino- Henry VI., who granted it to his cousin, Humphrey Stafford, duke of Buckingham. On the death of the Duke at the battle of Northampton in 1460, the estate passed to his grandson Henry, afterwards the celebrated duke of Buckingham, who held high office under Edward the Fifth, and, as the friend and victim of Richard the Third, was beheaded at Salis- bury. Penshurst was, however, not confiscated ; and as the late duke had considerable issue from his marriage with Elizabeth Wydville, a daughter of the Earl of Bivers, the manor next fell into the hands of his eldest son, Edward. " Like father like son " was exemplified in the career of Edward, duke of Buck- ingham, for he conspired against Henry the Eighth, and was beheaded in the thirteenth year of that king. The manor was now forfeited to the Crown, and remained royal property till Edward the Sixth made a grant of it to John, earl of Warwick. The 22 ALGERNON SYDNEY. Earl of Warwick, however, not long • after gave it back to the Crown in exchange for other lands, and Edward then presented the property to Sir Ealph Pane; but on this disloyal knight's execution as an accomplice of the Duke of Somerset, the manor for the third time reverted to the Crown. But these incessant changes in the lords of Penshurst were now to come to an end. Once more the ' castle on the hill ' was to become the property of a subject, never again to revert to the Crown, but to be the home of a long line of distinguished descendants, and the birthplace of men famous in arms, litera- ture, and diplomacy. Among the eminent men who adorned the court of Edward the Sixth was one Sir William Sydney, who had been a great soldier under Henry VIII., and had been Chamberlain and Steward to Prince Edward before his accession to the throne. He came of an ancient Norman family, the chief founder of which had accompanied Henry II. when he quitted the sunny lands of Anjou to establish the line of Plan- tagenet upon the throne of England. During the war between the Spaniards and the Moors, Sir William went with Lord D'Arcy into PENSHURST. 23 Spain, and there so distinguished himself that Ferdi- nand offered him knighthood — an offer, however, which the haughty Englishman declined to accept. At the battle of Flodden he was a chief commander ; and his prowess and skill in arms were so distin- guished, that in the following year he was appointed to accompany the Duke of Suffolk, the Marquess of Dorset, and other persons of distinction, to Paris, to display feats of strength and agility in the jousts then held by the Dauphin of France. Sir William Sydney was also one of the famous knights at the jousts held on the Field of the Cloth of Gold, and in the war with France served under the Duke of Suffolk, and shared in the glory then acquired by English arms. He married a daughter of Hugh Pagenham, and was succeeded at his death by his eldest son, Henry. Like his father, Sir Henry Sydney rendered good service to his king and country, and occupied posts of high honour under the Crown. Four years before succeeding to the lands of Pens- hurst he had been appointed ambassador to France, and on his return to England was constituted Cup- bearer to the King for life. Shortly after the acces- sion of Queen Mary and of her husband Philip, 24 ALGERNON SYDNEY. Sir Henry Sydney was made Vice-Treasurer and general Governor of all the revenues of the Crown in Ireland— appointments which were, during the absence of the Lord Deputy, the Earl of Sussex, exchanged for the higher post of Lord Justice of Ireland. In 1560 Sir Henry became Lord President of Wales, and a few years afterwards was sent upon a confidential mission into France and created a Knight of the Garter. Before his death,* which occurred in 1586, he had been again appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland. Sir Henry Sydney married the Lady Mary Dudley, a daughter of John, earl of Northumberland, and had issue for his eldest son the all-accomplished Sir Philip Sydney, whose deeds of chivalry and humanity well entitle him to be called the English Bayard. On Sir Philip Sydney's death at Zutphen, he was succeeded by his * Sir Henry Sydney added two sides to the front court, and built the gatehouse at Penshurst. " He also built the wing at the end of the Buckingham Buildings, containing a long gallery, either for a picture- gallery or a ball-room. Such long galleries usually form part of an Elizabethan house, and were sometimes used for state receptions At this period the fashion of building had changed, and the custom of the lord and his retainers dining together in the great hall had fallen into disuse ; a larger number of smaller rooms was therefore required for the use of the family and guests, and the house was made more comfortable according to modern ideas." — Parker. PMNSHUKST. 25 brother Robert as next heir male. This gallant person did not disgrace the line from which he was descended, for he early acquired renown in arms, first under his uncle, Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester, in the Netherlands, and afterwards with Sir Francis Vere in Brabant, where he shared in the victory won at Turnholt in 1597. On the accession of James I. he was for these services ele- vated to the peerage as Baron Sydney of Pensburst, and in the July of the same year appointed Lord Chamberlain to the Queen. In 1604 he was created Viscount L'Isle ; twelve years later a Knight of the Garter; and in 1618 raised to the earldom of Leicester. He married Barbara, daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Gamage, of Coyty, Glamorganshire ; his second wife was the widow of Sir Thomas Smith. He was succeeded by his second son, Robert, the father of the subject of this biography.* * I have preferred the y to the i in writing the name of Sydney, because Algernon Sydney invariably spelt his own name and the names of members of his family with the y. " The immortal Sir Philip Sydney wrote the name of Sydney to his will, but as a correspondent he was either Sydney or Sidney, as the i or y prevailed in his fancy by turns. His father had been Sydney ab ovo ad mala; but his brothers were apostates to the substituted i"— Harding's Essence of Malone, p. 82. CHAPTEE II. ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. Among those who either from their birth, their virtues, or their talents, occupied posts of official eminence during the earlier years of the reign of Charles I., Eobert, second earl of Leicester, takes a prominent place. "The Earl of Leicester," writes Clarendon,* "was a man of great parts, very conversant in books, and much addicted to the mathematics ; and though he had been a soldier and commanded a regiment in the service of the United .Provinces, and was afterwards employed in several embassies, as in Denmark and France, was in truth rather a speculative than a practical man ; and expected a greater certitude in the consultation of business than the business of the world is capable of : which temper proved very inconvenient to him through the course of his life He was * Clarendon's History, vol. ii. p. 299. ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 27 a man of honour and fidelity to the king, and his greatest misfortune arose from the staggering and irresolution in his nature." Though heir to the title, the father of Algernon Sydney was the youngest but only surviving son of that Sir Eobert whom James the First created Vis- count L'Isle and afterwards Earl of Leicester, and was born in the year 1595. After the fashion of those days he was sent when very young to Oxford, where he even then distinguished himself by those studious habits and that painstaking love for all literary and scientific pursuits which afterwards characterized him. On quitting the University he served in the United Provinces, where he had the command of a regiment, and shortly after his return home was chosen to represent the county of Kent, and in the two suc- ceeding Parliaments the county of Monmouth. On the death of his father, in 1626, he was called to the Upper House. Some years before this event, in 1618, he had married the Lady Dorothy Percy, the eldest daughter of Henry, earl of Northumberland (the "Wizard Earl"), an amiable and accomplished woman. From this marriage sprang a large family, of which Philip, 28 ALGERNON SYDNEY. Viscount L'Isle, was the eldest and Algernon the second son. The exact year of Algernon's birth has not been ascertained ; but he was born either in 1621 or 1622, most probably in the latter year.* He was christened Algernon after his maternal uncle, Alger- non, Lord Percy, afterwards Earl- of Northumberland and Lord High Admiral of England. With this dis- tinguished peer, whom Clarendon represents as the greatest and proudest noble of his time, the Earl of Leicester lived upon terms of the strictest friendship, and their opinions upon most of the public questions of the day seem to have been in perfect unison. Clarendon, it is true, regards Lord Leicester as an adherent of the King, but there can be little doubt that the Earl's sympathies were really with that moderate party of the Presbyterians of which his brother-in-law Lord Northumberland was the leader. Nor did he, as subsequent events will show, care to conceal those sympathies. With the education of his children, especially of the two eldest, Lord Leicester took great pains ; and seeing that Algernon showed signs of superior talents, he embraced every opportunity which would further * In April 1661 he writes that he was " growing very near forty." ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 29 their development and cultivation. On the Earl's appointment in 1632 as ambassador extraordinary to Christian IV., king of Denmark, on the occa- sion of the death of the Queen Dowager, Sophia, the grandmother of Charles I., both Philip and Algernon accompanied their father to Copenhagen. The duties connected with this complimentary mission were, however, soon ended, but not before Lord Leicester had proved, by many a State-paper full of shrewd observation, his fitness for diplomacy. On his return to England his diplomatic talents were not allowed to remain long in the cold shade of neglect, for in 1636 he was sent as ambassador to France. As at Copenhagen so at Paris, Algernon, now a bright intelligent boy of fourteen, was his father's especial care. Lady Leicester, during this mission, remained at Penshurst with the other branches of her -family, and, from her numerous letters addressed to her lord when at Paris, it would appear that the young Algernon was as much her favourite child as he was that of the Earl. She invariably mentions him with fond affection, and on her death-bed his was the name she specially signalled 30 ALGERNON SYDNEY. out for her last remembrances. In one of her letters she says/' 7 that all who come from Paris much commend Algernon "for a huge deal of wit and much sweetness of nature." It is not difficult to discover in the opinions which Algernon Sydney held in after-life traces of his French education. The government of France was at that time an absolute monarchy, and as a necessary consequence there existed a deep but latent admiration among the educated middle classes for republican institutions. It is probable that young Algernon attended lectures at the schools and colleges for which Paris was then famous. Here he came in contact with the very men — professors and men of letters— who were most imbued with those advanced Liberal principles which found their best exponents in the stern leaders of political thought and action during the days of the great commonwealths of antiquity. The heroes of Greece and Eome were held up by the Parisian tutors and literati as the only models worthy of imitation, and the languages and lite- * Sydney Papers : Lady Leicester to Lord Leicester, November 10, 16.36. ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 31 rature of their countries as the only studies fit for men of culture and reflection. Unlike England, where the languages of Greece and Eome were at that time treated with as much attention and con- sideration as by our neighbours, France studied the Past by the light of the Present, and found in the governments of antiquity political institutions superior to any she could discover in the govern- ments of her Bourbons. In England, men studied in their youth the thoughts and deeds of the Repub- lican teachers of antiquity, but found, when they entered life and saw the working of their own government, that between democratic Republic- anism and the judicious blending of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy, which in theory then constituted the edifice of the English con- stitution, the comparison was not in favour of the claims of Greece or Eome to legislative supe- riority. It is true that what we call the British constitution did not practically come into exist- ence till five years after the death of Algernon Sydney, but the Revolution of 1688 only restored the British constitution to its first principles. It did not enlarge the liberty of the subject, but 32 ALGERNON SYDNEY. simply gave it a better security. It did not widen, nor did it narrow, the foundation, but in repairing the fabric it added here and there a strengthening buttress or two. The theory of the British consti- tution has always been that the power of the Crown is limited, and that it is held in check by Par- liament; but under the Tudors and Stuarts it was a theory seldom recognized by the king in prac- tice. The Revolution of 1688 brought theory and practice into harmony, and since that time the Crown has never attempted to govern without Parliament. Instead of government by Prerogative we have government by Parliament. Thus the constitution of England, in theory at least, has always been a free one ; the habits of her people have ever been those of a free nation, and self-government has at no time been entirely unknown in the State. The despotism of the Tudors, the speculative absolutism of James I., the scandalous disuse of Parliament under Charles I., had certainly made considerable inroads upon the old liberties of the country, and undermined the constitution. But these encroachments of royalty were not made by virtue of our constitutional ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 33 laws, but in spite of them.* In France it was different. There constitutional liberty had almost disappeared, and in its stead reigned a severe and well-nigh absolute despotism. The mischievous rule of the Bourbons was one which made the ancient forms of Eepublican government stand out in bold and agreeable relief. A thoughtful Frenchman of the seventeenth century, when he contrasted the constitutions of Eome, or of many of the small states into which Greece was divided, with the despotically monarchic character of his own institu- tions, gave full vent to his love and admiration of absolute democracy. And this admiration was made all the blinder, and all the more exaggerated, by the long exclusion from practical self-government from which France suffered, and her consequent want of experience of the workings of an actually free representative government. In the sad errors and deep crimes which French revolutions have never failed to repeat, we see the fruits of this * " But in the seventeenth century, just as in the thirteenth, men did not ask for any rights and powers which were admitted to he new ; they asked only for the better security of those rights and powers which had been handed on from days of old."— The Growth of the English Constitu- tion, by E. A. Freeman, p. 1Q4. VOL. I. D 34 ALGERNON SYDNEY. distorted love, and this ignorant admiration of the deeds and teaching of those who swayed the destinies of the ancient Eepublics. Algernon Sydney, at an age when the impressions are vivid and the mind easily imbued with what it comes in contact with, was brought up in this school, and retained to the end much of its teach- ing. His republicanism was essentially of the ancient type. Extreme Eadicals of the present day would have scorned him as their leader, or as the exponent of their theories; for Sydney was a Re- publican — not a Democrat. The League and the International would have certainly declined his services ; he was a Eeformer — not a Eevolutionist. " Citizen " Dilke would have found in him no ally. Had Algernon Sydney lived in this our time, he would have been content with being a philosophical Liberal. Between a Republic and a Constitutional Monarchy, such as ours, the difference is so slight that no sensible man would ever think it worth while to create an insurrection to transform the one into the other. Circumstances alone had created Sydney's republicanism. Had constitutional monarchs not attempted to make themselves despots, it is ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 35 doubtful whether, even had he cherished his subse- quent opinions, he would ever have expressed them. He did not dislike the kingly office ; all he disliked was the faithless man who then in England filled it. His object, and the object of the men who acted with him, was the same as that which the Revo- lution of 1688 finally carried out — to transfer the power of the Crown to the Legislature, and to make the House of Commons the centre and force of the State. With the atheism of Mr. Bracllaugh and his followers he would have had no sympathy, for Sydney was a sincere Christian, and no disbeliever. From the men of his own day he differed no less. His antique and perhaps somewhat Utopian repub- licanism had nothing of the mystical republicanism of Sir Harry Vane, nothing of the conventicle republicanism of General Harrison, nothing of the camp republicanism of Ludlow, nothing of the re- publicanism of Milton; in fact, neither in theory nor in practice had it anything in common with the views of those engaged in the establishment of the short-lived English Commonwealth. His contemporaries studied and essayed to imitate the Republics of Venice, Genoa, Holland, and Switzer- D 2 36 ALGERNON SYDNEY. land ; Sydney, true to his French teaching, hardly ever condescended to look nearer than the ancient governments of Greece and Eome. He scorned Cromwell, but he worshipped Cato. Lord Leicester remained with Algernon at Paris till the year 1639. Events in England now required his return. The faithless policy which the unhappy Charles had pursued towards the Parliament and the nation ever since his accession was beginning at last to recoil upon himself. It was therefore thought advisable that the royal councils should have the benefit of the wisdom and experience of so able a man as the Earl of Leicester. Accordingly the ambassador was recalled from Paris, and at once repaired to York, where the King then was with the army he had raised to oppose the Scots. Charles had of late years been most truly sowing the wind, and he was now about to reap the whirlwind. In- heriting his father's exalted ideas of the divine right of kings, he had met every opposition with the voice and action of an absolute monarch. Sin.ee the Parlia- ment had refused to sanction his frequent usurpations of authority, he resolved to govern irrespective of all legislative control. From March 1629 to April ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 37 1640 the Houses were not convoked — the longest interval between Parliament and Parliament that our constitutional history has ever had to record. Independent of all restraints, supported by unscru- pulous ministers, and with the hope of carrying the army with him and of establishing a permanent force, Charles aimed at nothing less than despotism. Taxes were raised without legal right, and refractory contributors thrown into prison ; soldiers were freely billeted on the people ; in many places the ancient jurisprudence of the realm was abolished, and martial law reigned in its stead. All who murmured against the acts of the trinity of despots — Charles, Strafford, and Laud — were punished with merciless rigour, and found no redress. The ordinary courts of law offered no protection to distressed subjects, for either their power was supplanted by the Star Chamber, the Court of High Commission, and the Council of York ; or else the servile judges dared not maintain law and justice at the expense of monarchical tyranny. Extortionate fines, cruel mutilations, long imprisonments, petitions for redress granted only to be openly and contemptuously ignored, were the whip of scorpions with which a people proud of their 38 ALGERNON SYDNEY. freedom and among the most independent of nations were gradually being lashed into rebellion — that is to say, if when other means fail, to seek by force the restitution of a nation's ancient constitutional rights can be called rebellion. And now the clouds which had been gathering in the horizon were fast blackening the political sky, and weatherwise statesmen saw that it would not be long before the storm descended and the land became enveloped in civil strife and contention. But Charles and his blind advisers, either ignorant of the deep murmurs of the nation, or else in the arrogant con- fidence of their usurped authority, paid no attention to the signs of sedition and discontent around them. Indeed, so conscious was the King of his absolute power, that now, at a time when the slightest breath was only wanted to fan the smouldering flame into a blaze, was the very moment chosen to coerce a brave and bitterly sectarian people into religious submission. Charles, at the instigation of the bigoted and superstitious Laud, had long wished to see the Anglican system extended to Scotland. King James had tried to establish discipline upon a regular system ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 39 of canons, to introduce a Liturgy into public worship, and to render the ecclesiastical government of all his kingdoms regular and uniform. The son resolved to complete the work begun by his she. The Scots were ordered to use the English Liturgy in their services. The republican preachers, who had not forgotten the spirited history of John Knox ; the Cal- vinistic lords, whose fathers had died a martyr's death to save their creed, refused with scorn to obey. Com- pulsion was tried, but in vain. The nation rebelled to a man, and Charles saw, but too late, that he had raised a storm which he, alone and unaided, was powerless to quell. And yet shrewd men had warned him of the consequences. There were those about the King who had essayed their utmost to turn him from his senseless purpose. But before the obstinacy and stubborn pride of Charles all counsel and advice were useless. Lord Leicester had from the first done his best to warn his royal master not to irritate the Scotch by forcing them to adopt a a Liturgy and a form of government to which they were averse ; but his efforts were equally unsuccess- ful. "King Charles sent for me," he writes,* "to * MS. at Penshurst ; Sydney Papers, edited by Pi. W. Blencowe. 40 ALGERNON SYDNEY. come out of France at the beginning of our unhappy- troubles and differences with the Scots. I was then in good favour at the Court, made a Privy Coun- cillor, and the King commanded me to follow him to York, which I did ; but it was not God's will that the King should follow the advice which I gave him, to accommodate his differences with the Scots and not to make war, where nothing was to be gained and much to be lost ; which the world has since found to be very true." It is probable that about this time much of the influence which Lord Leicester had formerly exercised over Charles was counteracted by Laud, who was far from being cordially disposed to the Earl. Between the Primate and the Ambassador a coolness had arisen, owing to the determination of Lord Leicester, when at Paris, to attend the Protestant worship at Charenton in spite of the Archbishop's cautious hints to the contrary. "And I have many reasons to think," notes the Earl,* " that for my going to Charenton the Archbishop did me all the ill offices he could to the King ; representing me as a Puritan, and consequently in his method an enemy to * MS. of Lord Leicester, Jan. 5, 1640, British Museum ; Bleucowe. ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 41 monarchical government; though he had been very kind to me before." Then, as now, the extreme High Church party were doing all in their power to pave the way for a union with Eome, and were raising high the hopes of the Vatican. As Pius IX. in our time views the practice of the Anglican Ritualists as an excellent preparatory school for the adoption of the tenets of Roman Catholicism, so then Urban VIII. watched the teaching and action of Laud and his disciples, and told " Mr. Giannettini Guistiniani, a gentleman of Geneva," in a conference of three hours long, "that he had great hopes of the return of England to the religion of the See of Rome, and gave him many reasons for the said hopes." His counsels rejected, and his advice afterwards seldom asked, there was now no necessity for Lord Leicester absenting himself any longer from his diplomatic duties. He returned to Paris, and there remained till 1641, when he was finally recalled. The ability with which he conducted himself, and the high esteem in which he was held by Lewis XIII. during the five years of his mission, are expressed in flattering terms by the French king in a letter ad- dressed to Charles on the departure of the English 42 ALGERNON SYDNEY. ambassador : " The care, wisdom, and ability with, which he had always carried himself during his embassy, for maintaining the good understanding and correspondence between the two Crowns, had given him perpetual satisfaction and contentment."* This king, as a proof of his regard, presented Lord Leicester with a jewel valued at 1,20 01., and another valued at 6001. from his Queen to Lady Leicester. Some years before, and shortly after the Earl's arrival in Paris, Sir Thomas Eoe, then Chan- cellor of the Order of the Garter, had written to the Earl of Exeter — " The Earl of Leicester has got much interest and reputation in France, having comported himself as the able man and gallant cavalier he is, and I hope will be for such received in England."! Immediately on the Earl's return to England he was nominated by Charles to the government of Ireland — a post which had become vacant by the death of Strafford, who, it is supposed, recommended to the King the late ambassador as his successor. Circumstances, however, ultimately interfered with Lord Leicester's acceptance of this appointment, or * Memoirs of the Sydneys, by A. Collins. f State Papers (Domestic), Charles I., 1636-7, Jan. 2. ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 43 rather, I should say, prevented him from personally- attending to its duties. To understand the nature of these circumstances I must sketch briefly the history of the period. The two years that had intervened since Lord Leicester had last set foot in England to advise his master had been far from unimportant in their results. Charles, with that moral obliquity of vision which was his prevailing vice wherever his political acts were concerned, had continued, in spite of all threats and opposition, to keep the crooked tenor of his way. No sooner had his silly bigotry engaged him in a fierce war with Scotland, than the necessities of his position compelled him to convoke Parliament. As long as the Houses obeyed his behests and furnished him with supplies, Charles — like most men who get what they want, and get it, too, in the way they want — was most affable and gracious. But the mo- ment stern members of the Lower House, with bitter memories rankling within their breasts of forced loans, compulsory enlistments, unjust imprisonments and the like, began to demand redress for past grievances, the King at once took umbrage, and with his usual remedy for the solution of all political dis- 44 ALGERNON SYDNEY. agreeables, dissolved the Parliament. And now, in order to show his independence of the Legislature and his resoluteness of purpose, he determined, with the aid of Strafford, to bring the rebel Scots into subjection. But Charles had imperfectly counted the cost of such a step. His forces were disunited by faction, by religious antipathies, and by political sentiments ; whilst the stern Covenanters, animated by the purest patriotism, and conscious of that strength which accompanies a just cause, had the advantage of a solid organization, and were animated by the most entire harmony. The result of the conflict was easily foreseen. In spite of all the efforts of Strafford, the English were unable to cope with their northern foes ; and the Scots, marching across the Tyne, proved their contempt for their enemy by encamping on the confines of Yorkshire. Without supplies, with his resources crippled, and with sedi- tion working its fell way among his men, Charles felt that he had no alternative but to assemble the hated Houses. In the November of 1640 the famous Long Parliament was convoked. And now the tide of Absolutism was gradually to ebb from the shores of ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 45 England, and the landmarks of the Constitution to re- appear through the black waters of tyranny in which they had so long been overwhelmed. It was enacted that no interval of more than three years should elapse between Parliament and Parliament ; and that the Houses should never be dissolved save with their own consent. The Star Chamber, the High Commis- sion Court, and the Council of York were for ever abolished, as tribunals unknown to the English law. Strafford was impeached, and ultimately executed by act of attainder. Laud was sent to the Tower; the Lord Keeper only saved himself by flight from sharing the fate of Strafford. Men who had resisted the decrees of the Court, and had been imprisoned for their contumacy, were released, and became the heroes of the people. Throughout the country the popular feeling was with the Parliament and against the King. To add still further to the humiliation of the Crown, peace was established between it and the Covenanters only after the consent of Charles to abandon his plan of ecclesiastical reform, and, among other things, by the passing of an Act de- claring that Episcopacy was contrary to the Word of God. 46 ALGERNON SYDNEY. Before the Long Parliament had concluded the arduous labours of its first session, it was evident that public feeling was flowing into two distinct- and very opposite channels. On the one side were the leading nobles, a large majority of the county gentry, the clergy, the Anglican laity, and those who professed the Roman Catholic religion : these were called Cavaliers. On the other side were a few powerful peers, like Lord Leicester's brother-in- law the Earl of Northumberland, and the Earls of Stamford, Bedford, Warwick, and Essex ; the mer- cantile classes ; the small freeholders ; a majority of the House of Commons ; the Low Church clergy, and all the Nonconforming bodies : these were the Boundheads. Both parties zealously stated the reasons which had caused them to enlist on the one side or the other. " Neither party," says Lord Macaulay,* " wanted strong arguments for the measures which it was disposed to take. The reasonings of the most enlightened Royalists may be summed up thus : — • ' It is true that great abuses have existed ; but they have been redressed. It is true that precious rights * History of England, vol. i. pp. 103 — 105. ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 47 have been invaded ; but they have been vindicated, and surrounded with new securities. The sittings of the Estates of the Realm have been, in defiance of all precedent and of the spirit of the Constitution, intermitted during eleven years ; but it has now been provided that henceforth three years shall never elapse without a Parliament. The Star Chamber, the High Commission, the Council of York, oppressed and plundered us ; but those hate- ful courts have now ceased to exist. The Lord Lieutenant aimed at establishing military despotism ; but he has answered for his treason with his head. The Primate tainted our worship with Popish rites, and punished our scruples with Popish cruelty ; but he is awaiting in the Tower the judgment of his peers. The Lord Keeper sanctioned a plan" by which the property of every man in England was placed at the mercy of the Crown ; but he has been disgraced, ruined, and compelled to take refuge in a foreign land. The ministers of tyranny have expiated their crimes; the victims of tyranny have been compensated for their sufferings. Under such circumstances it would be most unwise to persevere in that course which was justifiable and 48 ALGERNON SYDNEY. necessary when we first met, after a long interval, and found the whole administration one mass of abuses. It is time to take heed that we do not so pursue our victory over despotism as to run into anarchy. It was not in our power to overturn the bad institutions which lately afflicted our country without shocks which have loosened the founda- tions of government. Now that these institutions have fallen, we must hasten to prop the edifice which it was lately our duty to batter. Henceforth it will be our wisdom to look with jealousy on schemes of innovation, and to guard from encroachment all the prerogatives with which the law has, for the public good, armed the sovereign.' " Such were the views of those men of whom the excellent Falkland may be regarded as the leader. It was contended on the other side with not less force, by men of not less ability and virtue, that the safety which the liberties of the English people enjoyed was rather apparent than real, and that the arbi- trary projects of the Court would be resumed as soon as the vigilance of the Commons was relaxed. True it was, — such was the reasoning of Pym, of Hollis, and of Hampden,— that many good laws had been no BERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 49 passed : but, if good laws had been sufficient to restrain the King, his subjects would have had little reason ever to complain of his administration. The recent statutes were surely not of more authority than the Great Charter or the Petition of Eight. Yet neither the Great Charter, hallowed by the veneration of four centuries, nor the Petition of Right, sanctioned, after mature reflection, and for valuable .consideration, by Charles himself, had been found effectual for the protection of the people. If once the check of fear were withdrawn, if once the spirit of opposition were suffered to slumber, all the securities for English freedom resolved them- selves into a single one, the royal word ; and it had been proved by a long and severe experience that the royal word could not be trusted." And now, whilst party feeling became each day stronger and more decided in its opinions, news came hastily from Dublin to the Earl of Leicester, that the Irish were in open rebellion, and devastating Ulster with fire and sword. The Irish, then as now a turbulent and ill-conditioned people, had long been a thorn in the side of England. James the First by a judicious and peaceful- policy vol. I. e 50 ALGERNON SYDNEY. had endeavoured to soften the rude and barbarous habits of the Celt by the introduction of industry and mercantile pursuits, and his son had to a certain extent continued to follow in his steps. As a means of regenerating Ireland, and of securing the dominion of the island to the English crown, great colonies of British had been carried over ; and these mingling with the Irish had much improved the condition of things in the country. Though the land forfeited by the rebellious chieftains of Ulster had been conferred on the new planters, such confis- cation had been the means of granting the natives an instruction they would not otherwise have pos- sessed in agriculture, manufactures, and all the arts of civilized life. During a peace of nearly forty years, feuds, national jealousies, and hostility had been so well kept under control as almost to have disappeared from the face of the island. Governor after governor had done all in his power to increase the happiness and prosperity of the dominion. Under Chichester, Grandison, Falkland, and even under the stern rule of Strafford, the progress of Ireland had been healthy and full of encouragement. But now the execution of their ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 51 late Viceroy, the concessions granted to the Scottish Parliament, and above all the condition of affairs in England, excited the worst feelings of the con- quered Irish. Then awoke the old national hatred between Celt and Saxon, Protestant and Papist, which industry and rigour had caused to lie dormant. Animated by the desire of obtaining their former property and by zeal for their religion, the Irish now began secretly to agitate for a revolt. Oppor- tunity favoured their schemes. The House of Com- mons in England was busy measuring its strength with the King; the standing army in Ireland had been greatly reduced ; Charles was engaged in negotiation with Scotland ; Lord Leicester, their new governor, was in London ; while the two Justices were men of small ability. If ever there was a favour- able time to strike a blow for freedom, that time, according to the views of the Irish leaders, had arrived. As the hour was at hand, so was the man. Among the ancient Irish landed gentry was a poor squire of old birth, and of no little celebrity for valour and ability, called Eoger More. This man, actuated by a patriotic desire to expel those who had dispossessed the original owners of the soil, E 2 52 ALGERNON SYDNEY. went from chieftain to chieftain, secretly plotting the expulsion of the English, and doing all in his power to fan the dying embers of discontent into a glow- ing blaze. Lord Maguire and Sir Phelim O'Neale, the two most powerful leaders of the old Irish party, fully entered into his plans, and supported him by name and money in the advocacy of his cause. The eloquence of Roger More soon began to excite the passions of the most excitable people in the world. " Now was the time to strike," he said, "if ever Ireland wished to regain her free- dom. What with the rebellion in Scotland and the party factions in England, the authority of Charles was reduced to so low a condition that it could not be exerted with any show of vigour to maintain the English dominion in Ireland. The English planters were but a handful, and, being now unsuspicious of danger, could easily be attacked and overcome. Scotland had set an example to Ireland to throw off her dependence on the Crown of England, and to take the government into her own hands. ' Home Rule ' should be the aim of every true Irishman. Let all Irishmen then unite for the restoration of their property now in the hands of ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 53 the hated Saxon, and for the restoration of the true religion, now suppressed by persecuting heretics. Such a revolt would not be a rebellion against lawful authority, it would be a vindication of native liberty against the violence and oppression of foreign invasion." By such and similar arguments More engaged all the heads of the native Irish in the conspiracy. A plan was drawn up. At the commencement of winter, O'Neale was to attack all the English settlements throughout the provinces, and on the same day Lord Maguire and Roger More were to surprise and capture Dublin Castle. At the hour appointed the revolt began. A wholesale and brutal massacre of the English devastated the fair province of Ulster, and the Castle of Dublin was surprised. But the Protestants in Dublin were more fortunate than their brethren in the provinces. Treachery forewarned the Lords Justices of the intended attack ; the guards were reinforced, and the attempt failed. Lord Maguire was taken prisoner, and More saved his life by flight. As soon as the Earl of Leicester received the news of the outbreak, and of the frustrated attempt 54 ALGERNON SYDNEY. of the rebels to seize Dublin, he immediately in- formed the Council of the condition of Ireland. The House of Lords having been adjourned for a few days, and the Commons meeting the day after the reception of the Irish news, the Lords of the Council proceeded at once to the Lower House and communicated the unwelcome intelligence. At the same time letters arrived from the King,— who was then in Scotland negotiating with the Scotch, and whom messengers from Ulster had informed of the general insurrection in the North, and of the barbarous atrocities that had been com- mitted against the English Protestants, — expressing to the two Houses his views on the matter. " He was satisfied," he wrote, " that it was no rash insurrection, but a formed rebellion ; which must be prosecuted with a sharp war : the conducting and prosecuting whereof he wholly committed to their care and wisdom, and depended upon them for the carrying it on ; and that for the present he had caused a strong regiment of fifteen hundred foot, under good officers, to be transported out of Scotland into Ulster for the relief of those parts."* * Clarendon, vol. i. pp. 424-5. ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 55 A Committee of both Houses was at once formed, with Lord Leicester as chairman, " for the considera- tion of the affairs of Ireland, and providing for the supply of men, arms, and money, for the suppressing that rebellion." Its labours, however, progressed most slowly. Letters from Ireland begging for relief of men, money, and provisions, were incessantly arriving, but remained unanswered. The rebels gathering fresh courage from the dila- tory measures which were taken by the Govern- ment for their suppression, perpetrated atrocity after atrocity upon the helpless and almost forsaken English Protestants. Whole villages were burnt; homesteads were devastated; women were foully outraged and then put to the sword ; children were dashed to pieces before the eyes of their parents ; old men, first scourged and then stripped to the skin, were sent into the woods and wilds to perish of hunger and exposure ; mothers far gone in pregnancy were ripped up and their half-born off- spring tossed from pike to pike amid fiendish glee ; indeed, during this fierce insurrection there seemed to be no limit to the cowardly brutality of the savage Celt. And yet England looked on 56 ALGERNON SYDNEY. at the sufferings of the sister isle almost with apathy. With the exception of sending a few troops from Scotland to Ulster, no strenuous measures had been adopted by the committee. This culpable delay Clarendon attributes to the cunning policy of the Commons. The slow levies of men were stated to be due to the difficulty experienced in obtaining volunteers. A bill was accordingly passed by the Lower House and sent up to the Lords, for ' pressing.' That there should have been any lack of men, or that it could be hard, within three months after the disbanding of the northern army, to collect as many volunteers as were required, seems out of the question. The aim of the Commons, however, was to transfer the power of impressing men from the King to themselves. For in the preamble of the new bill it was declared "that the King had in no case, or upon any occasion but the invasion from a foreign power, authority to press the freeborn subject." But the Lords, regarding this doctrine as unconstitu- tional, declined to accept the measure without fully investigating it. The Commons hereupon took huff at the conduct of the Peers; ordered their com- ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 57 mittee " to meet no more about the Irish business," and declared that " the loss of Ireland must be im- puted to the Lords." The King interfered at this juncture, and, as the condition of Ireland became every day still more deplorable, offered to pass the bill without the preamble. The Parliament, how- ever, deeming this conduct unconstitutional — for by law the Sovereign is forbidden to take cognizance of any matter pending in either House of Parlia- ment — refused to accept the King's offer. Ultimately the King was compelled to pass the bill for pressing which the Commons had prepared.* Still, months passed and no really active steps were taken to assist the oppressed English Protest- ants. Belief was only doled out to suffering Ireland with a niggard hand. The truth was that the Koyalists and the Popular party were so deeply engaged in measuring the strength and resources of each other, and in preparing plans for future action, that they could afford but a very brief attention to the condition of their brethren beyond the Irish Sea. Those attached to the Court were fully of opinion that, in a crisis like the present, it was the duty of * Clarendon, vol. i. pp. 460-65. ALGERNON SYDNEY. every Protestant and of every subject to strengthen the power of the Sovereign. A large army should at once be raised, and the Irish rebellion quelled by the means that Strafford himself would have adopted — death by pike and sword to the rebels, and peace maintained for the future by hordes of well-armed troops quartered in every town in the island. But the Commons thought differently. The care of Ire- land had been committed into their hands, and they had no intention of levying a large force, furnishing it with arms and supplies, and then seeing the troops that their bounty had raised for the reduction of Ireland employed against the liberties of England. They would proceed cautiously with their work, and, in order to protect their interests against further royal encroachments, some new securities must be devised. Accordingly, the opponents of the Court moved that the House of Commons should present a Remon- strance to the King, specifying the various faults of the administration from the date of his accession, and expressing the distrust with which his policy was still looked upon by the people. After a fierce debate of fourteen hours the Remonstrance was carried, ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 59 but only by the small majority of eleven votes. On the whole, the result of this debate was favourable to the cause of Charles. The House of Lords was with the King ; and the majority in the Lower House opposed to him might, without much diffi- culty, have been won over to the royal cause if Charles had only known how to play his cards and act with honour and integrity towards his subjects. But he did not so know, and the end of his faithless policy was ruin to himself and Civil War to his country. At first, however, he began well. It was whispered that the rebellion of Ulster had been planned at Whitehall by the Roman Catholics insti- gated by the Queen, and the Puritanical party were not unwilling to give ear and credence to the rumour. The King felt that an entire change of system was necessary, and that he must adopt tactics of a plausible and conciliatory nature. He declared his intention of governing in harmony with his faithful Commons, and of calling to his councils only such men as the Commons could confide in. To prove that he pur- posed acting up to his words, Falkland, Hyde, and Colepepper — men full of zeal in the cause of Eeform, and who had given clear evidence of such zeal — were 60 ALGERNON SYDNEY. invited to become the confidential advisers of the Crown. Charles now solemnly swore that without the knowledge of these advisers he would take no step in any way affecting the Lower House. But all this royal amiability and deference was but the beginning of the end. Had the King acted as he declared that he would act, a strong reaction in favour of Eoyalty would have set in, and the machina- tions of the Opposition been completely frustrated. Men like Vane and Sydney, who sought for good and popular government, an extensive representation, freedom of thought, freedom of the press, and liberty of conscience, and who, because they could not find these under the illegal monarchy Charles was endea- vouring to establish, had no other alternative but to become Eepublicans, would have remained stanch to Church and State, and to the principles of the Constitution. But Charles, impelled by that crooked policy and that contempt for law he so dearly loved, resolved, only within a few days after he had promised Falkland and Hyde that no step should be taken without their knowledge, to act as his own revenge- ful dictates prompted him, and independently of all ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 61 restraint and advice. He sent the Attorney-General to impeach Pym, Hollis, Hampden, Strode, and Sir Arthur Hazelrig of high treason at the bar of the House of Lords. With supreme disdain for all laws of parliamentary etiquette, he even went in person, accompanied by a body of troops, to seize the leaders of the Opposition within the walls of Parliament. The consequences of that fatal step are well known. A violent reaction set in against him. Both the Parliament and the country saw in the illegal act of their King a deadly blow aimed at all their dearest rights. The agitation was something intense. Lon- don was in arms. The provinces were hastily send- ing their stoutest sons to Westminster to support the popular cause. In the House of Commons the Opposition was triumphant and aggressive. The gates of the palace were besieged by yelling mobs, and had Charles not made a speedy flight from London, it would even then have gone hard with him. He fled, never 'to return till the scaffold and the executioner's axe were to make him pay full penalty for all his deeds of treachery, deceit, and oppression. And now till August 1642, when the sword was at length drawn, threats and discussions passed 62 ALGERNON SYDNEY. backwards and forwards between the contending parties. The Commons demanded that their King should surrender all his regal prerogatives, should appoint no peer and create no minister without their consent, and, above all, should resign that supreme military authority which had always been attached to the royal office. The demands were exorbitant, but necessary. The royal promise, so frequently made and as frequently broken, showed that no reliance was to be placed upon the word of the King. A large army was about to be levied for the conquest of Ireland, and to leave Charles in possession of that military authority which his ancestors had enjoyed would have been both a folly and a crime. The King would only be safe when he was utterly helpless. But Charles refused to be shorn of all royal rights and privileges without a struggle. Around him were many who, though not approving of his past conduct, felt that their conservatism would not permit them to assist in the degradation of the kingly office, and in the remodelling of the polity of the realm. These men and others who from the accumulated result of hereditary influences loved royalty simply ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 63 because it was royalty, constituted his adherents. With the Parliament were the Puritans, the Ke- publicans, and the large body • of moderate men whom the conduct of Charles had utterly disgusted. The royal standard was raised at Nottingham ; and now for the next three years civil war was to rage throughout the length and the breadth of the land. During all this time Lord Leicester still remained in England. According to Clarendon, who never hesitates to sacrifice truth to the interests of his royal master, the absence of the Lord Lieutenant from his new sphere of government was owing entirely to the Earl's unwillingness to enter upon his duties while Ireland was in a state of tumult and sedition. But the contrary is the fact. Erom the very date of his appointment Lord Leicester was most anxious to visit Ireland, and to come to the aid of the struggling Protestants. From Notting- ham, from York, from Chester, his petitions to Charles for his despatches and orders for departure were incessant. But the King made excuse after excuse, and so continued to procrastinate, that the Lord Lieutenant almost despaired of ever being sent to o-overn his kingdom. The truth was that 64 ALGERNON SYDNEY. Lord Leicester at this time was trying to accom- plish the difficult task of serving two masters. Aware that the Parliament was entrusted with the conduct of the war in Ireland, he was anxious to ingratiate himself at Westminster, whilst at the same moment he wished, as became a loyal sub- ject, to stand well with the King. Now, at this juncture such a cautious calculating policy was impossible. In the eyes of Charles obedience to the Parliament meant hostility to the sacred cause of Eoyalty : in the eyes of the rebellious Commons, a deferential attention to the wishes of the King was an insult to the leaders of the Popular party. The usual fate which visits those who try to serve two antagonistic masters now befell Lord Leicester. His sincerity was suspected, and both parties doubted him. " I am environed by such contradictions," he writes, to his sister-in-law, the Countess of Carlisle,* " as I can neither get from them nor reconcile them. The Parliament bids me go presently ; the King commands me to stay till he despatch me. The supplies of the one and the * Sydney Papers, edited by A. Collins ; Lord Leicester to Lady Carlisle, August 25, 1642. ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 65 authority of the other are equally necessary. I know not how to obtain them both, and am more likely to have neither; for now they are at such extremes, as to please the one is scarce possible, unless the other be opposed. I cannot expect the Parliament should supply me, because it is not confident of me ; and as little reason is there to think that the King will authorize me, for he is as little confident." Clarendon, I think, had some grounds for saying that the nature of Lord Leicester was irresolute and staggering. It is hard in seasons of great crisis, when passions are at fever heat and opinions the most conflicting are everywhere splitting up the community into factions, for the most impartial of men long to observe a calm and perfectly equable middle path. Lord Leicester, unconsciously perhaps, but still sensibly, now began to incline towards that party upon which he depended for the necessary forces and supplies. But in proportion as he rose in estimation with the Parliament, he fell in esteem at the Court. A circumstance now occurred which entirely re- moved him out of the range of the King's sympathies. Lord Leicester, anxious to show that his absence vol. I. F 66 ALGERNON SYDNEY. from Ireland was not due to any neglect on his own part, wrote a letter to his brother-in-law, the Earl of Northumberland, excusing himself from any blame. This letter was afterwards published by order of the Parliament and fell into the King's hands. Its contents could hardly have been agree- able to the royal mind. After stating that he had no wish to incur the censure of Parliament for any supposed negligence or slackness on his part, Lord Leicester said that he had thought it better to relate the circumstances attending his delay in England, and thus prove that the fault lay elsewhere than at his door. The letter ran as follows : * — "When I came to York, I told the King that I was come thither to receive his Majesty's com- mandments and instructions for that employment which he had done me the honour to confer upon me, and I did humbly beseech him that I might not be stayed at Court, because the Parliament did desire my speedy repair into Ireland, and that this service as I conceived did require it, at least that some Governor (if I were not thought worthy * Sydney Papers, edited by E. W. Blencowe ; Lord Leicester to Lord Northumberland, Sept. 9, 1642. BOBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 67 of it) should be presently sent into that kingdom. The King told me he would think of it ; but I must confess I did not find his Majesty so ready to despatch me as I hoped and expected. From that time I did not fail to beseech his Majesty to send me away, and upon every opportunity I had of speaking to him ; and I think there passed not a day that I did not desire the Secretaries of State and some other persons about the King to put his Majesty in mind of me, and to hasten my dismission ; and divers times I made it my petition to the King that he would despatch me, or declare his intention that he would not let me go at all. "The King said my instructions should be drawn, and that he would give order to Master Secretary Nicholas to do it as speedily as he could; in expectation whereof, I stayed about three weeks, till the King came from York, when his Majesty appointed me to follow him to Nottingham, and there I should have my expeditions. I obeyed his Majesty, and came after him to this town (Notting- ham), where I have attended ever since, perpetually soliciting to be despatched, and beseeching his Majesty ■p 2 68 ALGERNON SYDNEY. that I might either go to my employment or have his leave to retire myself to my own house and private condition ; that if he were unwilling to trust me in an employment of so great importance, I did beseech him that I might be no burden to his thoughts, and that he would be so gracious to let me know his resolution ; for I conceived myself to be under a heavy censure both of the Parliament and of the whole kingdom, whilst possibly they might think it my fault that I was so long absent from that charge which I had undertaken. It is to no purpose to tell you every passage, but this I profess to your lordship, that if it had been to save the lives of all my friends and of myself I could not have done more for my despatch. Never- theless, I have not been able to advance it one step." No sooner had Charles perused this letter, in which the Lord Lieutenant not only completely justifies his absence from Ireland, but casts the whole discredit of his delay in taking possession of his government upon the King, than the monarch determined to revoke the Earl's commission and to confer it upon some one more devoted to his ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 69 interests. Charles, with that effeminate cruelty which always accompanies treachery and cunning, did not think it advisable to carry out his resolution at once, but played with his unconscious victim ; now tantalizing him with promises of instant despatch, and then, when all preparation had been made, imperiously withdrawing his orders for depar- ture. At last, Lord Leicester believed that he really was on his way to his long-promised government. Charles had given him his final instructions and despatched him to Chester en route for Ireland. Arrived at Chester, where he was detained some weeks by illness, he received a peremptory order from the King to return at once to Oxford. He obeyed, and, after another year spent in soliciting his despatches, his commission was officially revoked and conferred upon the Marquis of Ormond, for whom it had been, no doubt, long intended. Mortified and indignant at the insult thus offered him, he now wrote a letter to the Queen, to whose interest he had been much indebted for his former favour with the King.* He begged to know why * " The Queen,' 7 wrote Lord Northumberland to Lord Leicester, Sept. 4, 1639, " I hear, seems well inclined to favour your lordship, and if her kindness be real, I doubt not of your receiving good satis- 70 ALGERNON SYDNEY. his Majesty had altered his gracious purpose towards him. His conscience, he said, could not accuse him of having done anything which merited such severe punishment. " I seek not to recover my office, Madam," he wrote, " but your good opinion, or to obtain my pardon, if my fault be but of error ; and that I may either have the happiness to satisfy your Majesties that I have not offended, and so justify my first innocence ; or gain repentance, which I may call a second innocence. I must confess this is a very great importunity, but I presume your Majesty will forgive it, if you please to consider how much I am concerned in that which brings instant destruction to my fortune, present dishonour to myself, and the same for ever to my poor family ; for I might have passed away unregarded and un- remembered, but now, having been raised to an eminent place, and dispossessed of it otherwise than I think any of my predecessors hath been — the usual time not being expired, no offence objected, nor any recompense assigned — I shall be transmitted faction from hence ; for I see persons brought in by her power, unto whom I verily believe the King hath much greater exceptions than ever he had to your lordship."— Sydney Papers. ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. 7l to the knowledge of following times with a mark of distrust, which I cannot but think an infamy, full of grief to myself and of prejudice to my posterity." * The appeal was fruitless. Lord Leicester, however, remained a few months longer at Oxford, occa- sionally attending the Council, but declining to take part in its discussions. And here another circumstance occurred which tended all the more to alienate the King from him. The Council, on the entrance of the Scotch into England to co- operate with the forces of the Parliament, had drawn up a letter which was to be signed by all the Peers in the King's service, " disavowing and reprobating all the acts done by the pretended authority of Parliament," and exhorting the Scotch to desist from their purpose. The letter when signed was to be sent to the Council of State in Scotland. Whatever were Lord Leicester's reasons, — whether, as Clarendon insinuates, he could ill digest the affront which he had so lately received from the Court, or whether, as is more probable from his character, he * Sydney Papers, edited by A. Collins ; Lord Leicester to the Queen, Dec. 9, 1643. 72 ALGERNON SYDNEY. was influenced by better motives, — he was the only- Peer at Oxford who refused to subscribe the letter. He signified his dissent to Lord Digby in the following terms : * — My Loud, Not having had the honour to be called to the consultation, nor to know anything of the business till the consultation was passed, I have wanted the opportunity which others had to present such doubts as, peradventure, the Lords would have been pleased to allow, or satisfy. But now, the reverence which I bear to their Lordships supj)resseth in me both the power and the desire to object, lest I should be thought to censure what they have done. Never- theless, if upon the supposed ineffectualness of the letter there might arise in me some such scruple as would have hindered me from consenting to the writing of it, and that the same scruple should yet remain, I have now no way so modest to express it as by desiring humbly the liberty of excusing myself from the subscription, wherein the name of so incon- siderable a person as I am cannot be missed, and this liberty is but that which on the like is often challenged, and seldom denied, to those who have session and vote in any Court or Council, But whenever it shall please the King to lay his commands upon me, or that the Lords think fit to call me to a further account in this particular, I doubt not * Sydney Papers, edited by E. \Y. Blenoowe. ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER. I'd of showing myself an honest man and a faithful subject to his Majesty, a great honourer of the Lords, and your lordship's humble servant, Leicester Before Lord Leicester had expressed his intention of refusing his signature, Charles had resolved upon entrusting his son, the young Prince Charles, to the Earl's care ; but now that intention was aban- doned, and the Earl of Berkshire was appointed tutor in his stead. Shortly after the drawing up of this letter, Lord Leicester, finding the atmosphere of Oxford not congenial to his tastes, quitted the Court and retired to Penshurst, where he remained, solacing his wounded spirit by pursuing the studies he most affected during the whole stormy time of the Eebellion and the Commonwealth.* * Lord Leicester appears to have been a most indefatigable writer. During Ms charge of the Embassy at Paris, he was incessantly corre- sponding with Secretary Coke and Lord Northumberland. These letters are printed in Collins' Sydney Papers, and will repay perusal. In the library at Penshurst are also several volumes of the Earl's manuscripts, "consisting partly," says Meadley, "of remarks suggested by his own experience or inquiries, and partly of transcripts of unpublished works. Amongst the latter there is a Treatise on Money attributed to Sir William Beecher, one of the clerks of the Council in ordinary." CHAPTER III. UNDER ARMS. Though Lord Leicester, owing to the conflicting interests of King and Parliament, had been un- able personally to attend to the duties of the Lord Lieutenancy of Ireland, he had at once despatched his own regiment, under the command of his eldest son, Lord L'Isle, to resist the efforts of the in- surgents. In this regiment Algernon Sydney, then in his nineteenth year, commanded a troop of Horse. The progress of the Irish insurrection was now assuming a very serious aspect. With the excep- tion of a small body of Scotch to support the Scottish colonies in Ulster, hardly any assistance had been sent out to relieve the struggling Pro- testants. The efforts of the Irish Royalists were con- fined almost entirely to the preservation of Dublin. The few troops ordered to relieve the towns be- sieged by the rebels had been defeated and put UNDER ARMS. to the sword. Everywhere the insurgents were triumphant, aggressive, -and mercilessly vindictive. The number of their victims has been computed by some at 150,000, and by others, with greater probability, at 40,000.* At first the English of the pale, Eoman Catholics to a man, had pretended to blame the insurrection, and to disapprove of the cruelty with which it was accompanied. The Lords Justices, deceived by their plausible conduct, at once supplied them with arms to defend the government. But no sooner were the treacherous English furnished with all the necessary sinews of war, than, ignoring alike regard and duty to the mother country, they united them- selves heart and soul with the insurgent party, whom they outri vailed in every act of violence and atrocity. From Ulster the rebellion soon extended into the other provinces of Leinster, Connaught, and Munster, and both Charles and his Parliament felt that stern measures ought speedily to be adopted, if English supremacy in the island was to continue. The Civil War which had just broken out, how- * Sir John Temple's " Irish Rebellion," Hume, chap. lv. 76 ALGERNON SYDNEY. ever, soon put a check to all schemes that were not immediately connected with the two hostile factions now in arms against each other. A few troops were despatched to Ireland, and with these the Marquis of Ormond, the then Commander-in- chief of the Royal forces, was to do his best to quell the insurrection. Though the odds were severely against them, the English went bravely to their work, and proved, what the war between Germany and France has just proved, that the coolness, energy, and vigour of the Saxon are virtues against which all the spasmodic courage and feverish Slaii of the Celt are unable to make successful resistance. In various encounters, in which both " Lord L/Isle and his brother Algernon behaved with great spirit and resolution," the Irish were completely routed, though the Royal forces were under great disadvantage as regards both situation and numbers. Before the regiments of Lord More, Lord LTsle, and Sir William St. Leger, the rebels had to beat a rapid retreat. At Tredah they were forced to raise the siege. At Kilrush and Ross they were severely defeated. To every fort they were besieging or blockading relief was brought by UNDER ARMS. 77 the Royal troops, and the Irish compelled to raise the siege. But in spite of these successes the vic- torious armies "were buying dearly their triumphs. Disease and famine were rapidly thinning their ranks. The whole kingdom had been laid waste by the Irish, in their wild rage against the British planters, and the troops were in want of the common necessaries of Hfe. With the exception of the fourth part of one small vessel's lading, no sup- plies had come from England during the course of six months. The ammunition was almost exhausted. The greater part of the soldiers had no shoes to their feet or clothes to their backs; whilst officers and privates were forced from want of food to eat their horses. This distress was entirely due to the mutual jealousies between the King and the Parliament. The Marquis of Ormond, staunchest of Cavaliers, who had his eye upon the Lord Lieutenancy with its 40,000Z. a year, and who was intriguing for the deposition of his hated superior Lord Leicester, made everything in Ireland subservient to the Boyal in- terests. The Lords Justices and the Council were the creatures of Charles. All who favoured the opposite party were removed from office, and their places 78 ALGERNON SYDNEY. occupied by men better affected to the King's service. A Committee of the English House of Commons, which had been sent over to conduct the affairs of Ireland, had been excluded from the Council and made a nonentity. The result of this vindictive and exclusive policy was to make the army in Ireland entirely dependent upon the resources of a monarch who wanted all his arms, money, and provisions, for his own urgent needs, and who had not a pike nor a groat that he could well afford to spare. The Parliament, though anxious to crush the rebels, not only refused to send supplies to an army com- manded by their declared enemies, but even, with an unworthy malice, intercepted some small succours sent to Ireland by the King. Charles now examined his position. To advance his affairs in England he required every means of aid he could lay hands on. It was impossible, from his slender resources, that he could wage a successful war against both the Irish rebels and the English Parliament. The latter was the foe against which all his strength should be measured. Ireland could wait. Accordingly he resolved to embrace an expedient which, whilst it would relieve the neces- UNDER ARMS. 79 sities of the Irish Protestants, would at the same time contribute to the security of the royal posi- tion in England. A truce with the rebels would enable his subjects in Ireland to provide for their OAvn support, and at the same time would procure him the assistance of the army against the Parlia- ment. Orders were accordingly despatched to Ormond and the Lords Justices to conclude, from September 1643 to September 1644, a cessation of arms with the Council of Kilkenny, by which the Irish were then governed, both sides to be left in possession of their present advantages. Much against the wishes of the Parliament, who bitterly reproached the King for his favour to the Irish Papists, the cessation was concluded, and consider- able bodies of the army were sent over to England by Ormond to the aid of his royal master. Whilst the cessation of arms was being discussed, Lord L'Isle and Algernon Sydney, seeing that there was no need for their presence any longer in Ireland, obtained permission to return to England, and at once prepared for their departure. The brothers were now to share the same suspicions which the conduct of their father had once given rise to. As 80 ALGERNON- SYDNEY. had been the case with the Lord Lieutenant, so now with his sons ; neither party felt sure to which fac- tion they really belonged. Both Lord L'Isle and Algernon had fought well in Ireland, and by their courage and daring had distinguished themselves in more than one encounter. " My Lord L'Isle and his brother," writes Sir John Temple — then Master of the Eolls in Ireland, and father of the afterwards famous Sir William — to Lord Leicester, Jan. 14, 1642, "are both well, and I shall serve them to the utmost of my life and fortune ; they both deserve very well of the public here." Still such conduct was no guarantee of loyalty. The Irish rebel was an enemy common both to the King and the Parliament, and activity and zeal displayed in his subjugation led to no inference one way or the other. The gallant trooper who had dealt out such heavy punishment to the Popish bogtrotters, -that his name was a terrible household word in every cabin from Dublin to Galway, might be either a zealous Royalist or a stern advocate for popular principles. According to the arguments of the Parliament, the fact that both Lord L'Isle and Algernon Sydney were the sons of one connected with the Royal UNDER ARMS. cause, and had served under Ormond, the 'most zealous of the King's friends, made it far more probable that they were staunch advocates of the King than that they were partisans of the popular party. The Court faction at Oxford, on the other hand, felt much displeased with the deference which Lord L'Isle and Algernon had whilst in Ireland paid to the orders and wishes of the Parliament, and were no more inclined to believe in the loyalty of the sons than they had been in the loyalty of the father. That the brothers were sus- pected both by Cavaliers and Roundheads is, how- ever, evident, for on their arrival at Chester some of their horses were captured by the Royalists, and they were obliged immediately to put out to sea. Again, when landing at Liverpool, they were detained with their arms and property by the Commission of the Parliament. Hereupon, Algernon wrote to one Bridgeman, a Royalist at Chester, demanding a re- storation of his horses, and expressing his intention of proceeding at once to Oxford, then in the hands of the King, to have an interview with Lord Leicester. This letter found its way to the Roundheads, and fresh instructions were at once given by the Parlia- vol. i. . g 82 ALGERNON SYDNEY. ment to detain the brothers in custody, and to send them up to London under arrest.* To the King this proceeding seemed like a plot on the part of Lord LTsle and Captain Sydney to serve the Par- liament instead of himself, by a capture which had beforehand been carefully prepared. There were no grounds, however, for this suspicion beyond those evolved from the susceptibility of the royal imagination. The return of Lord LTsle and his brother to Eng- land took place at a time pregnant with interest and anxiety to the King and the Parliament. The two parties had now been for many months engaged in a warfare in which success and defeat so equally alternated that it was difficult to ascertain on which side lay the balance of advantage. That such should have been the result of the contest * The Order of the House of Commons was in these words : — " Dies Jovis ult. Augusti, 1643. " Ordered : " That a letter be written to the Deputy Lieutenants and Com- mittees in the county of Lancaster, to send up in safe custody the Lord L'Isle, Captain Sydney, and Sir Richard Grinville, guarded with a strong conToy; and that the Committees and Deputy Lieutenants in the counties betwixt this and Lancashire, respectively do appoint a good convoy with the said persons, through the several counties, and that a stay be made of all their goods and arms, till the House take further order." UNDER ARMS. 83 speaks highly for the courage and discipline of the Cavaliers, for from the very first the strength and resources of the rivals were most unequally divided. The Parliament commanded London and all the seaports except Newcastle. Through the influence of the Earl of Northumberland, Lord High Admiral, the entire dominion of the sea was in the hands of the Houses. All the magazines of arms and ammunition were, at the outset of the civil war, seized by the Parliament, whilst the right of levying taxes — a host of strength in itself — could be exercised with profit only by the assembly. Charles, on the other hand, was deprived of much that his enemies possessed. His revenue had been taken by the Parliament, and he was thus forced to rely on the wealth and generosity of his adherents, and on the taxes levied in the counties that declared for him. He was ill supplied with artillery and ammunition, and in order to arm his followers was even compelled to borrow the weapons of the trained bands. The one grand advantage he possessed, and it was an advantage that stood him in good stead in the early part of the war, was in the nature and quality of his troops. In a conflict between G 2 84 ALGERNON' SYDNEY. patrician and proletarian it was confidently expected that men drawn from the aristocracy, the landed gentry, and the yeomanry, would prove themselves superior to an army comprised of the rabble of the multitude — the " poor tapsters " and " town appren- tice people," as Cromwell called them. Nor were these expectations at first falsified. The Koyalists were victorious at Edgehill ; they had reduced Corn- wall to submission ; at Stratton and at Eoundaway Down the troops of Lord Stamford and Sir William Waller were defeated ; the great Hampden had perished at Chalgrove Field, an irreparable loss to the Parliament; and Bristol, the second city in the kingdom, had been surrendered by Nathaniel Fiennes with such pusillanimity that it nearly cost its cowardly defender his head. The war had not lasted a year, and the advantage was not with the Parliament. Instead, however, of following up his successes by at once marching on London, then- in a state of consternation and approaching disaffection, Charles wasted his time by attacking Gloucester. This city was the only remain- ing garrison in the west possessed by the Parliament, and once reduced, the King held the whole course, UNDER ARMS. 85 of the Severn under his command. The siege was resolutely undertaken by the Royalists, and as reso- lutely sustained by the defenders. But the gallant city was not to be left long unaided. The progress of the King's arms, the defeat of Waller, the taking of Bristol, and now the siege of Gloucester, had excited the fears and the indignation of the Parlia- ment. Every effort, it was felt, must at once be made to prevent any further triumphs, of the Royal- ists. Fourteen thousand men were instantly marched westward, and the King was forced to raise the siege. The battle of Newbury followed : the result was indecisive, and Charles lost on the field his valued friend and faithful adherent, Lucius Cary, Viscount Falkland. In the north the Royalists were defeated at "Wakefield and at Gainsborough, but shortly afterwards were compensated for these re- verses by the total rout of Fairfax at Atherton Moor. A union with Scotland however, at this time, gave additional increase to the power of the Parlia- ment. The Solemn League and Covenant* had * This Covenant, under the name of the Solemn League and Covenant, was received by the Parliament of the Assembly of Divines, Sept. 25, 1643. It differed essentially from the Covenant of 1638, and 86 ALGERNON SYDNEY. been signed at Edinburgh, and 20,000 Scottish troops poured into England. And now it was that Fortune, which had hitherto been dividing her favours with a fairly impartial hand, was to decide in favour of the popular party. The extensive and energetic preparations of the Parliament soon threw into the shade the slender resources of Charles. In the Eastern Association, 14,000 men under the Earl of Manchester, seconded by Cromwell, were levied ; whilst nearly 20,000 men under Essex and according to Hallam " consisted in an oath to be subscribed by all sorts of persons in both kingdoms, whereby they bound themselves to preserve the Reformed religion in the Church of Scotland, in doctrine, worship, discipline, and government, according to the Word of God and practice of the best Reformed churches ; and to endeavour to bring the churches of God in the three kingdoms to the nearest conjunction and uniformity in religion, confession of faith, form of church government, directory for worship, and catechizing ; to endeavour, without respect of persons, the extirpation of Popery, prelacy (that is, church government by archbishops, bishops, their chancellors, and commissaries, deans and chapters, arch- deacons, and all other ecclesiastical officers depending on that hierarchy) and whatsoever should be found contrary to sound doctrine and the power of godliness ; to preserve the rights and privileges of the Parliaments and the liberties of the kingdoms, and the King's person and authority, in the preservation and defence of the true religion and liberties of the king- doms ; to endeavour the discovery of incendiaries and malignants, who hinder the reformation of religion, and divide the King from his people that they may be brought to punishment ; finally, to assist and defend all such as should enter into this Covenant and not suffer themselves to be withdrawn from it, whether to revolt to the opposite party, or to give in to a detestable indifference or neutrality." This document was signed by members of both Houses, and by civil and military officers. A large number of the beneficed clergy, who refused to subscribe, were ejected. UNDER ARMS. 87 Waller were assembled in the neighbourhood of London. The troops of Essex were to march against the King, whilst those of Waller were to attack Prince Maurice in the west. On the other hand, the utmost efforts of the King were barely- sufficient to raise 10,000 men. What would be the result of this unequal contest required no great foresight to predict. Whilst these measures were being carried into execution, Algernon Sydney appeared on the scene. Immediately on his arrival in London both he and his brother declared for the Parliament, and actively engaged themselves in the promotion of the popular cause. To one of Sydney's views — to one who regarded the KepubUcan heroes of Greece and Rome as the purest teachers of all political thought and action, and who ardently worshipped liberty and toleration— there could hardly have been a moment's hesitation as to which of the factions he should espouse. To such a man the King repre- sented the worst forms of absolutism and intoler- ance ; the Parliament the grand cause of Liberty and Justice. In Sydney's "Apology," he says that from his youth he endeavoured to uphold "the ALGERNON SYDNEY. common rights of mankind, the laws of the land, and the true Protestant religion against corrupt principles, arbitrary power, and Popery — and I am in no ways ashamed to note that from the year 1642 till the coming in of the King, I did prose- cute the above principles." To prove his earnest- ness of purpose, Sydney at once volunteered his services in the Parliamentary army, and was ap- pointed, March 10th, 1644, to a troop of Horse in the Earl of Manchester's Eegiment. Though it is asserted that he was engaged in several minor actions, the first positive mention we have of him during this campaign is at Marston Moor. Lincoln had been taken by the Earl of Manchester, whose army now uniting with that of Lords Leven and Fairfax was closely besieging York, then vigorously defended by the Marquis of Newcastle. On a sudden the besiegers were surprised by Prince Eupert. The forces of the Parliament hastily raised the siege, and drawing themselves up on Marston Moor prepared to give battle to the Royalists. An engagement was now inevitable. After a night spent in anxious repose both armies prepared for action. A large ditch ran in front of a portion UNDER ARMS. 89 of the Parliamentarians. Their centre was under the command of Lords Fairfax and Leven ; on the right Sir Thomas Fairfax was stationed : Cromwell and Manchester held the left, which was a barren waste, ending in a moor. The Eoyal forces under Prince Rupert took up their position opposite to Sir Thomas Fairfax, whilst Cromwell and Manchester on the left were opposed by Goring's cavalry and • several infantry brigades. At seven in the evening the battle commenced. Manchester's infantry moved upon the ditch, but whilst endeavouring to form they were mowed down like ripened grain before the murderous fire of the Royalists. Goring now ventured to take advantage of this opportunity and charge with his cavalry, but ere he could advance for that purpose Cromwell wheeled round the right of the ditch and fell full upon his flank. The right wing of the Royalists essayed to resist, but in vain ; they were broken, routed, and fled in every direction. It was at this point that Sydney appeared on the scene. "Colonel Sydney," says the Parliamentary Chronicle, "son to the Earl of Leicester, charged with much gallantry at the head of my Lord of Manchester's Regiment of Horse, 90 ALGERNON SYDNEY. and came off with many wounds, the true badge of his honour."* It is also stated that on this occasion after Sydney had been dangerously wounded, and was within the enemy's power, a soldier stepped out of the ranks of Cromwell's Regiment and rescued him from his dangerous position. Sydney naturally desired to know the name of his preserver ; but the soldier, with that uncouth magnanimity which characterized the men who fought under Cromwell, sternly replied that he had not saved him to obtain a reward, and returned to his place in the ranks without disclosing his name, f Meanwhile Fairfax had been driven back under the impetuous charge of Rupert, and the Prince, believing the day won, eagerly pursued his retreat- ing foe. He had cause to repent his rashness. Whilst turning to break the centre of the Parlia- mentary force, and finish what he considered to be * See Journals of the House of Commons, iii. 507. Ash's "Intelligence from the Armies in the North," No. 6. f Colonel Sydney being dangerously woundetl in the late fight, and within the enemy's power, one stepped out of Colonel Cromwell's party or regiment, and brought him off without any hurt to himself. The Colonel seeing his great love and courage, desired to know his name, that he might reward him ; he answered it was not that he did it for, and therefore, for his name, he desired to be excused ; and so it remained unknown to any but himself that did it."— Parliamentary Scout, No. 57. UNDER ARMS. 91 a complete victory, he suddenly encountered Crom- well, who had simultaneously charged and defeated the centre of the Eoyalists. The shock was tre- mendous, but the result of the conflict was never for a moment doubtful. Prince Rupert was driven back with great loss, and victory declared decisively for the forces of the Parliament. " It was ten o'clock," writes Mr. Forster in his Life of Cromwell, " and by the melancholy dusk which enveloped the moor might be seen a fearful sight. Five thousand dead bodies of Englishmen lay heaped upon that fearful ground. The distinction which separated in life these sons of a common country seemed trifling now ! The plumed helmet embraced the strong steel cap, as they rallied on the heath together, and the loose love-locks of the careless Cavaliers lay drenched in the dark blood of the enthusiastic Republican." Soon after the battle of Marston Moor York opened her gates, and a large part of the North of England submitted to the authority of the Parliament. The chief result of the campaign had been not so much to inflict severe loss upon the King as to show the Parliament the superiority of the 92 ALGERNON SYDNEY. generalship of Cromwell. Compared with the quondam Huntingdon squire, Essex, Manchester, Waller, and the other commanders, were men utterly wanting in tactics and originality, nor was there a regiment in the field that was not thrown into the shade by the splendid conduct of the famous Ironsides. No finer field for the display of an imperious genius was ever offered than that now presented by the state of England. The power of the King was waning ; the advocates of the popular cause were splitting up into jealous factions ; some wished to prolong the war, some to bring it to a close, some to temporize, whilst religious and political discussions were rendering all parties antagonistic to one another. It was precisely the moment for an ambitious man with strength at his back to seize and turn to his advantage. And now was revealed the power of the sect of the In- dependents. At first the stern soldiery and religious fanatics that composed its ranks had been content with sheltering themselves under the wings of the Presbyterians. But as its followers gradually be- came the dominant faction in the country, they quitted their old allies and appeared as a distinct UNDER ARMS. 93 party. The views entertained by the Independents attacked the very root of English politics. It was not without reason that they were called "root and branch" men. They rejected all ecclesiastical establishments, admitted of no spiritual courts, of no government among pastors, of no interposition of the magistrates in religious concerns, and of no fixed encouragement annexed to any system of doctrines or opinions. They believed that each congregation comprised within itself a separate Church, and had supreme jurisdiction in all things spiritual. Popery, Prelacy, and Presbyterianism were all equally detested. Nor was their political system less trenchantly unorthodox. The Presbyterians wished to reduce the King to the rank of a first magistrate, the In- dependents to abolish royalty altogether, and on the ruins of the old English polity to erect a Common- wealth. The leaders of the party were Sir Harry Vane, Oliver St. John, and Oliver Cromwell. Of this Eepublican trinity Cromwell was the chief. Endowed with a powerful intellect, keenly ambitious, and a victim to an obliquity of conscience which, exaggerating the importance of certain points of morality, rendered him blind to others of as great, 94 ALGERNON SYDNEY. if not greater moment, the future Protector was precisely the man for the time. As with Napoleon, so with Cromwell, the opportunity seemed to have been specially created for the exercise and develop- ment of his peculiar genius. No sooner was he summoned from cultivating his native acres in the Eastern fens to embrace the stormy career of a statesman and a soldier, than his keen eye detected the one weak point of importance in the Parlia- mentary system. The crying want of the Parliamen- tarians was not, he said, increased taxation ; not a larger acquisition of stores ; not even better generals ; but troops worthy of the name. In a speech delivered to a Committee of Parliament long after- wards, in April 16 5 7, when alluding to the subject, he said : — " I was a person who, from my first employ- ment, was suddenly preferred and lifted up from lesser trusts to greater, from my first being a cap- tain of a troop of horse ; and did labour as well as I could to discharge my trust; and God blessed me as it pleased Him. And I did truly and plainly — and in a way of foolish simplicity, as it was judged by very great and wise men, and good men too — UNDER ARMS. 95 desire to make my instruments help me in that work. And I will deal plainly with you : I had a very worthy friend then, and he was a very noble person, and I know his memory is very grateful to all — Mr. John Hampden. At ray first going out into this engagement I saw our men were beaten at every hand. I did, indeed ; and desired him that he would make some additions to my Lord Essex's army of some new regiments ; and I told him I would be serviceable to him in bringing such men in as I thought had a spirit that would do some- thing in the work. This was very true that I tell you ; God knows I lie not. ' Your troops/ said I, 'are most of them old decayed serving-men and tapsters, and such kind of fellows ; and,' said I, 'their troops are gentlemen's sons, younger sons, and persons of quabty ; do you think that the spirits of such base and mean fellows will ever be able to encounter gentlemen, that have honour and courage and resolution in them?' Truly I did re- present to him in this manner conscientiously ; and truly I did tell him — 'You must get men of a spirit ; and take it not ill what I say — I know you will not — of a spirit that is likely to go on as far 96 ALGERNON SYDNEY. as gentlemen will go ; or else you will be beaten still.' I told him so ; I did truly. He was a wise and worthy person ; and he did think that I talked a good notion, but an impracticable one. Truly I told him I could do something in it. I did so ; and truly I must needs say this to you — impute it to what you please, — I raised such men as had the fear of God before them ; as made some conscience of what they did ; and from that day forward, I must say to you, they were never beaten ; and wherever they were engaged against the enemy they beat continually." These men thus raised were the famous Iron- sides, the invincible troop against whom the shock of battle made no more impression than upon a rock of adamant. Conscious now of his strength and of the increasing influence of his party in the State, Cromwell deter- mined to usher in a new order of things. Between the Independents and the Presbyterians a great gulf gradually opened. The Presbyterians advocated half measures of popular government, and where religion was concerned a compulsory uniformity of worship. They did not aim at an entire victory over the UNDER ARMS. 97 King; all they sought was the establishment of an accommodation which would result in advantages to both parties, and enable both Eoyalists and Parlia- mentarians to dictate to the nation. On the other hand, the Independents — a body which comprised Erastians, Anabaptists, Millenarians, Fifth-Monarchy men, and the like — were bound in union by a com- mon though unhealthy love of civil liberty and religious toleration, and aimed at a constitutional reform which meant little less than the exchange of monarchy for a pure democracy. At the commencement of the campaign of 1645, Cromwell, aided by Vane, introduced his tactics, and with perfect success. The Presbyterians were defeated, and the Self-denying Ordinance, which excluded members of both Houses from all military and civil appointments, with the exception of a few offices which were mentioned, became law. With every tribute of respect, and with the thanks of Parliament, the old Parliamentary generals were compelled to resign, and the army, re-modelled, passed into the hands of the Independents. Sir Thomas Fairfax was appointed Lord-General of the Forces, but the real commander-in-chief was Cromwell. As the stern VOL. I. H 98 ALGERNON SYDNEY. Colonel of the Ironsides had organized his own regi- ment, so he now determined to organize the whole army. Instead of the former rabble of " tapsters " and " serving-men," every regiment in the new army was to be an imitation, more or less exact, of the terrible and splendid Ironsides. The ranks were filled with men of education and position, whose proud boast it was that they would defend to the last the liberties and religion of England. Each man felt as if the safety of the cause depended upon his own exertions, and each man aimed at possessing the qualifications necessary to propagate its principles among others. Throughout every regi- ment a piety, though breathing little of the charity taught by St. Paul, but still a piety which occupied itself in the perusal of the Holy Scripture, in fre- quent prayers, in the singing of hymns and in acts of sobriety, decency, and order, was the chief characteristic of the soldiery. "The usual vices of camps," says May, "were here restrained. The discipline Was strict. No theft, no wantonness, no oaths, no profane words, could escape without the severest castigation, by which it was brought to pass that in the camp, as in a well-ordered city, UNDER ARMS. 99 passage was safe and commerce free." Again, " But that which chiefly distinguished the army of Cromwell from other armies," says Lord Macaulay, " was the austere morality and the fear of God which pervaded all ranks. It is acknowledged by the most zealous Royalists that, in that singular camp, no oath was heard, no drunkenness or gambling was seen, and that, during the long dominion of the soldiery, the property of the peaceable citizen and the honour of woman were held sacred. If outrages were committed, they were outrages" of a very diffe- rent kind from those of which a victorious army is generally guilty. No servant-girl complained of the rough gallantry of the redcoats. Not an ounce of plate was taken from the shops of the goldsmiths. But a Pelagian sermon, or a window on which the Virgin and Child were painted, produced in the Puritan ranks an excitement which it required the utmost exertions of the officers to quell. One of Cromwell's chief difficulties was to restrain his mus- keteers and dragoons from invading by main force the pulpits of ministers whose discourses, to use the language of that time, were not savoury; and too many of our cathedrals still bear the marks of the h 2 100 ALGERNON SYDNEY. hatred with which those stern spirits regarded every vestige of Popery." In all the measures now introduced by Cromwell Algernon Sydney cordially co-operated. Though his views were not identical with those that Cromwell at this time entertained, he felt that the only way in which the interests he had at heart could be furthered was by uniting with those who advocated entire civil and religious liberty. He would have preferred a milder scheme of action, but since circumstances had now rendered mildness impossible, it was better to go too far than to lag behind ; it was better to establish a Commonwealth than to reign under a Tyranny. Believing that the wishes of the people should be the source of all power, he zealously assisted in every act which tended to inculcate the broad and funda- mental doctrines of human rights. What he aimed at establishing was a government — call it a Monarchy or call it a Republic — which would be responsible to the governed, and whose basis would be security to both person and property, and perfect freedom in all matters where conscience and intellect were con- cerned. His policy was not that of a vehement vindictive " root and branch " man, who was more UNDER ARMS. 101 anxious to destroy than to preserve. He wished that all the new institutions which should be called into being should be in harmony with those fundamental laws and usages which for centuries had never been detrimental to the interests and prosperity of the English subject. Eeform with him did not necessarily mean revolution; but there were times when, without a severe reform, national happiness would be trans- formed into national misery, and the liberty of the subject degenerate into the service of the slave. Such a time he deemed had now arrived. In com- mon with his friend Vane he held, that when ancient measures had once become destructive to the ends for which they were first ordained, the people were perfectly justified in demanding their alteration or abrogation. To render unto Caesar the things that were Caesar's could only be expected when kings did not abuse their kingly trusts. Government was not instituted for the benefit of the rulers, but for the welfare of the ruled. Where that government was bad, the people (and in their assent through their representatives consisted the very essence of con- stitutional government in England) were at liberty, as the Jews, Greeks, and Komans had been at 102 ALGERNON SYDNEY. liberty, to change their government. The govern- ment of Charles had been faithless, illegal, and oppressive, and the people were right in resisting it to the utmost, and planning its overthrow. Practical experience of the impossibility of trusting his King was the cause of Algernon Sydney's republicanism, and, having once embraced that political creed, he pursued it with all the ardent enthusiasm of his nature. On the re-organization of the army, Sydney was appointed one of its twenty-six colonels, and ob- tained a troop of Horse in the division over which Cromwell had the immediate command. Owing to his wounds, he did not, however, take the field during the campaign of 1645 ; for we find him writing to Fairfax to be excused service. Shortly before his promotion he had been offered the Governorship of Chichester, and he now resolved to quit his military duties for those of a less harassing nature. "I have not left the army," he writes to Fairfax, "without extreme unwillingness, and would not persuade myself to it by any other reason than that by reason of my lameness I am not able to do the Parliament and you the service UNDER ARMS. 103 that would be expected from me." The next few months he spent quietly at Chichester. The triumphs of the Eoyalists were now numbered. Against the Crusader-like fanaticism of Cromwell's troops resistance was useless. Naseby was fought and won by the Parliament. Bridgewater was forced to capitulate. Bristol was surrendered by Prince Eupert. The Scotch were masters of Carlisle. One town after another — Devizes, Winchester, Dartmouth, Exeter, Hereford, Chester — yielded to the Puritans. In vain the gallant Cavaliers, fighting pro aris et focis, essayed to defend their ancestral homes. Berkeley Castle was taken by storm. Basing House was entered sword in hand. Powderham Castle had to yield. Castle after Castle, Hall after Hall, had to succumb. We need not enter into the triumphs of the Parliament, which now followed in quick succession throughout the country. In a few months the power of the Commons was fully established. Charles had fled to Scotland, but the cannie Scots, instead of protecting the monarch who had relied on their promised generosity, made pecuniary capital out of his misfortunes, and sold him to the English for a valuable consideration— 104 ALGERNON SYDNEY. 200,0002. ready money, and another 200,000/. in two subsequent payments. At the close of the year 1645 Algernon Sydney had been returned to Parliament for Cardiff; and at the instance of Sir Thomas Fairfax, the House of Commons, in reward for his past services, voted him 2,000Z. in payment of his arrears. His legis- lative duties were, however, very speedily inter- rupted, for his brother, Lord L'Isle, being appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, to counteract the Cava- lier influence of the Marquis of Ormond, and to supersede Lord Inchiquin as President of Munster, Colonel Sydney accompanied him to his new king- dom. The successes of the Parliament in England had only caused the Irish rebels to wage all the more terrible war against the English Protestants. The Parliament, never regarding the cessation of arms entered into by Charles as valid, sent troops under the command of Lord Inchiquin, a peer of great authority in Munster, to attack the insurgents. The Irish in their turn being also exhorted by their priests not to respect the cessation, but to smite, hip and thigh, all the Protestants in the country, obeyed their instructions to the letter. Thus the unhappy UNDER ARMS. 105 island was devastated by three hostile factions, — the Marquis of Ormond, who represented the Royal authority, and who opposed both the Irish rebels and the assistance of the Parliament ; the Parlia- mentary troops, who resisted the rebels and the Royalists, — whilst the savage Irish Roman Catholic regarded both Royalist and Puritan as his hated foes. In this triangular duel it had gone so hard with Ormond, that Charles, after the battle of Naseby, had instructed him, if he could not defend himself, to yield to the English rather than to the Irish rebels. Accordingly Ormond, being reduced to ex- tremities, delivered up Dublin, Dundalk, and other garrisons, to Colonel Michael Jones, who took pos- session of them in the name of the Parliament. It was at this juncture that Lord L'Isle and Algernon, who commanded a regiment in this expedition, arrived in Ireland. In addition to the command of a regiment, the Council of Government at Derby House also invested Sydney with the title and office of Lieutenant-Governor of the Horse in Ire- land, and Governor of Dublin. But these honour- able appointments were held for a very brief time. 106 ALGERNON SYDNEY. The fact of Lord LTsle being sent to supersede Lord Inchiquin had caused considerable jealousy in the breast of the powerful peer of Munster, who used all his interest with the Parliament to prevent the renewal of Lord LTsle's appointment. His efforts were crowned with success, and the new Lord Lieutenant, after holding actual office but for two months, returned to England.* As Lord Inchiquin had succeeded in removing Lord LTsle, so he succeeded in ousting Algernon Sydney from office. It was represented to the Par- liament that the Governorship of Dubbin should be offered to Colonel Jones instead of to Colonel Sydney. The account of Algernon's removal cannot better be given than as related by Lord Leicester in his Journal : f — "Thursday, 8th April, 1647. — Early in the morn- ing, the House of Commons being very thin, and * "Monday, 1st February.— My son the Viscount L'Isle went from London towards Bristol, and from thence to his command in Ireland. So he went not away till the King was in the power of the Parliament, though he had been declared Lieutenant of that kingdom by the Parlia- ment somewhat more than a year before, that is, in January 1645-6, and had his commission for the same from the Parliament in April 1646, so slow were their proceedings." — Journal of the Earl of Leicester. t Journal of the Earl of Leicester. Sydney Papers, ed. by E. W. Blencowe. UNDER ARMS. 107 few of my son's friends being present, it was moved by Mr. Glyn, the Eecorder, that Colonel Jones should be made Governor of Dublin in chief, and not Deputy-Governor to Algernon Sydney, pre- tending that Jones would not go, unless he might be Governor ; though that were not true : for Jones had accepted of the place of Deputy-Governor to Algernon Sydney, and had his commission for that .place only, which commission was given to him as Deputy-Governor by the Committee at Derby House ; who also had appointed the Lord L'Isle to give his brother Algernon Sydney a commission to be Governor of Dublin, which he had done before he and his brother went into Munster. This motion of the Eecorder was seconded by old Sir H. Vane, who pretended that his conscience moved him to be of opinion, that since the House had thought fit to recall the Lord L'Isle, it was not good to let his brother Algernon Sydney remain Governor of so important a place as Dublin ; which is as much as to say, as that since you have used one brother ill, you ought to do in- justice to the other: an excellent maxim, and fit for such a man's conscience as never finds itself 108 ALGERNON SYDNEY. pressed but to do injustice. Sir William Armyn opposed this motion, and defended Algernon Sydney; but it was carried against him, and resolved upon Jones, which seems to be a strange proceeding, to take from a young - gentleman who had served them in Ireland as soon as he was able to bear arms, and at the battles of York and other places, not only his government of Chichester, but his office of Lieutenant-General of the Horse in Ireland,, and now his government of Dublin, without ever hearing him speak for himself; and he being also at this very time actually in their service in Ireland. But they say that when the resolution was taken, it was moved that some recompense might be given to Algernon Sydney according to his merits ; to which the House assented without any opposition. The commission of the Lord LTsle to be Lord Lieutenant of Ireland being determined on Thursday, 15th April, 1647, he came from Cork on Saturday, the 17th, accompanied with his brother, Algernon Sydney, Lieutenant-General of the Horse in the kingdom of Ireland, the Lord of Valentia, Sir John Temple, and Sir Adam Loftus, Privy Councillors, and the Lord Broghill, Major Harrison, UNDER ARMS. 109 and many other gentlemen and officers, who left that country and their employments rather than stay under the command of the Lord Inchiquin." * Sydney arrived in England on the 1st of May, and received the thanks of the House for his good service in Ireland. Shortly afterwards he was com- pensated for his loss of office by being appointed Governor of Dover, where he resided some time, and in 1648 was "promoted by Parliament to the honourable title of Lieutenant." The military career of Algernon Sydney — the least important part of his history, but still not invaluable — is now ended. Henceforth he appears as a prominent member of the Long Parliament. Though our materials are scarce, and throw but little light upon the personal character of the man during the terrible annals of the Civil War, they are sufficient to show that he did not discredit the proud line from which he was descended. * Lord Inchiquin " being an Irishman by extraction, birth, and name, which is Bryan, and thereby incapable, by the laws of Ireland, to be Governor or Commander-in-chief; and having in these late troubles revolted from the Parliament service to the King, and afterwards again from the King to the Parliament, as their affairs agreed best with his interest, his brother and friends being almost all in rebellion, hath been nevertheless strangely favoured by the Parliament, made President of Munster, received great sums of money, &c.»- Journal of Lord Leicester- 110 ALGERNON SYDNEY. " Sanctus amor patriae dat animum " was the motto that waved on the banner of his own regiment, and it well describes the disinterested zeal and the pure patriotism which, however mistaken some of his views may have been, were the two chief' characteristics of his severe Republicanism. From the very outset of Sydney's life to that bitter day on Tower Hill, a holy love for his country — a love which had no sympathy with aught that was not noble, pure, or tolerant — was the do- minant influence that controlled all his thoughts and actions. " I walk," he wrote to his father, at a later period of his life, " in the light God hath given me ; if it be dim or uncertain, I must bear the penalty of my errors. I hope to do it with patience, and that no burden should be very grievous to me except sin and shame ! God keep me from those evils, and in all things else dispose of me according to His pleasure." Had Sydney remained in the army, his deter- mination of purpose, his administrative talents, keenness of judgment, and air of stern command would undoubtedly have raised him high among the generals of the Commonwealth, but future UNDER ARMS. Ill events closed to him the path of military distinc- tion. Taking his place in the Council of the nation on the side of the House occupied by Vane, Ireton, Scot, Marten, St. John, and other Kepub- licans, he is now to display legislative ability of no contemptible order, and in his success as a states- man we cease to regret the necessity that com- pelled him to exchange the army for the House of Commons. CHAPTER IV. IN THE HO USE. Throughout the alternate hopes and fears of the Civil War, the Long Parliament laboured incessantly at its various duties. The separation of the country into two antagonistic parties had purged the House of Commons not only of the Royalist members, but also of all those who advocated a temporizing policy or a strict neutrality. According to the returns of 1640, the precise number of the House of Commons appears to have been 506. When the Mock Parlia- ment assembled at Oxford, the Commons ordered a call of their House to be made on the same day as Charles had fixed for the meeting of his followers at the old University town. The numbers on that occa- sion were as follows : 120 at Oxford for the King, and 380 at Westminster for the popular cause; 100 of these latter were, however, excused attendance in Parliament on account of being engaged in military service. IN- THE HOUSE. 113 As a natural consequence of the Civil War, the members who sided with the King were precluded from sitting at Westminster, and new writs were issued for filling up the places thus rendered vacant. Such writs were, however, never carried into effect, owing to the Lord Keeper having in his flight taken the Great Seal, which he placed in the King's hands at York.* During the next two years the Parliament was so occupied in resisting the efforts of the Koyal- ists, that it paid scant heed to those who advocated the necessity of introducing new members. Dis- cussions had, it is true, now and again been broached about the matter, but it was not till the August of 1645 that the House seriously resolved to * " No employments," writes Hallam, " could be filled up, no writs for election of members issued, no commissions for holding assizes completed, without the indispensable formality of affixing the Great Seal. It must surely excite a smile, that men who had raised armies and fought battles against the King should be perplexed how to get over so technical a difficulty. But the Great Seal, in the eyes of the English lawyers, has a sort of mysterious efficacy, and passes for the depositary of royal authority in a higher degree than the person of the King. The Commons prepared an ordinance in July for making a new Great Seal, in which the Lords could not be induced to concur till October. The Eoyalists, and the King himself, exclaimed against this as the most audacious treason, though it may be reckoned a very natural consequence of the state in which the Parliament was placed ; and in the subsequent negotiations it was one of the minor points in dispute whether he should authorize the proceedings under the Great Seal of the two Houses, ot they consent to sanction what had been done by virtue of his own."— Constitutional History of Eng- land, vol. ii. p. 222. VOL. I. 1 114 ALGERNON SYDNEY. take the subject into consideration. In order to facilitate the measures Parliament had in view, it was so arranged that a petition was presented by the people of Southwark praying that their borough might proceed to the election of two fresh repre- sentatives in the stead of those who had formerly been their members — one of whom had died, and the other had been disqualified by a vote of the House. This was the signal for a debate, and it ended as Vane, St. John, and the other leaders of the Independents had declared that it should end. By a majority of three it was decided that new writs should be issued for Southwark, Bury St. Edmunds, and the Cinque Ports of Hythe. This decision was but the thin end of the wedge. Before the year 1645 had reached its close, 146 new members were introduced into Parliament. Among these new mem- bers was, as I have said, Algernon Sydney, who had been elected for Cardiff. The illustrious names of Fairfax, Blake, Ludlow, Ireton, Skippon, Massey, and Hutchinson were among those who on this occasion obtained seats in the House. Very shortly after his election, Sydney was allowed leave of absence to accompany his brother to Ire- IN THE HOUSE. 115 land ; but circumstances soon occurred necessitating his withdrawal from the army, and demanding his presence in Parliament. The recent elections had given no little accession of strength to the Independents in the House, and Vane and his fol- lowers now hoped to be able to defeat the policy of the Presbyterians. But these hopes were speedily disappointed. At first the results of the new elec- tions answered every purpose that the fondest wishes of the Independents had anticipated. Then a reaction set in, and those who had been returned to the House of Commons in the Independent interest changed their tactics, and sided with Hollis, Sir Philip Stapleton, and the other mediocrities of the Presby- terians. " Though the greater part of the new mem- bers," says Hollis, "came into the House with as much prejudice as possible against us, yet, when they came to sit there themselves and see with their own eyes the carriage of things, this made them change their minds, and many of them to confess and acknow- ledge that they had been abused." The moment the Presbyterians saw the tide begin to turn in their favour, they seized the occasion, and the flood bore them on to fortune. A petition was secretly got up i 2 116 ALGERNON SYDNEY. in the City and presented to Parliament, praying for religious conformity, for subscription to the Covenant, and for the dissolution of the army. This was but the commencement of a new order of things. After a long and earnest debate it was carried that the army should be reduced to a peace establishment, and the garrisons in England and Wales dismantled. It was also voted that no member of Parliament should have a military command; that there should be no officer of higher rank than that of colonel, with the exception of Fairfax ; and that every officer should take the Covenant and conform to the Presby- terian religion. The result of these measures was that Algernon Sydney, together with Cromwell, Ire- ton, Ludlow, Skippon, Blake, and Hutchinson, were dismissed the service. The Independents now felt that the only way in which they could preserve their power in the State was by relying upon the support of the army — in other words, upon that worst form of despotism, a military despotism. The disgraceful riots in London in favour of the Presbyterians determined Vane and his followers at once to carry into effect their intentions. Accompanied by 7 A' THE HOUSE. 117 Algernon Sydney and several other members, Vane removed to Fairfax's camp at Hounslow, where he was hailed with great enthusiasm. The whole army now marched to London, and the overawed Presbyterians could only effect a peace by abating many of the measures that had given offence to the Independents. But what tended most to excite the gravest fears among the Presbyterians was the audacious capture of the King by one Joyce, a tailor, who had been promoted to the rank of cornet. The event is thus described by the Earl of Leicester, who was still at Penshurst, sulking because the Parliament had never asked him to attend their councils :* — "Wednesday, 2nd of June, 1647. — At night, a party of 500, 600, or 700 Horse (for all those numbers I heard named), of the army commanded by Sir Thomas Fairfax, came to Holmby, where the King then was. Colonel Graves, who com- manded the guard appointed by the Parliament to attend his Majesty, made some show of willingness to defend the house; but his soldiers refused to * Journal of the Earl of Leicester. Sydney Papers, edited by R. W. Blencowe. 118 ALGERNON SYDNEY. fight against their old companions ; and taking the others by the hand, let them into the court of the house. Graves slipped away with some others, and left the place to the new comers, who had no better commander than one Joyce, cornet of Sir Thomas Fairfax's life-guard. Thursday passed quietly, for anything I heard ; and what notice the King took of this change I have not yet heard. But on Thursday, at night, the 3rd of June, Joyce came to the bed-chamber door, the King being in bed, and told some of the waiters that the King must presently be gone. They told him that the King was laid to rest, and desired him not to disquiet his Majesty. He answered, that he had orders to remove the King, and that therefore he must go in. The King, hearing a noise, rose out of his bed, put on his breeches, came to the door, and asked what the matter was. The door being opened, Joyce went in and desired the King to make himself ready to remove. The King said, he was there by the order of the Parliament, and would not remove ; requiring Joyce also to tell him what warrant he had. Joyce replied, that he had his warrant in his sword, and IN THE HOUSE. 119 that he would answer what he did ; and told the King that his Majesty must go betimes in the morning. So there being no remedy, the King went with them, who brought him to Newmarket, or to some house thereabouts, on Friday. It is said, that they gave the King his choice of Oxford, Audley End, or Newmarket, to go unto, and it seems his Majesty chose Newmarket. They gave leave to all that would follow the King to do so, and to all others to go which way they would." The army, delighted at the success of their tactics, now determined to overawe the people, and make the country submit to a military yoke. It was not, however, very probable that the nation which had resisted a royal despot should yield with- out a struggle to a military tyranny. Accordingly, at the first signs of pressure hostile opposition arose. Insurrections in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kent, and Wales, broke out; the fleet in the Thames hoisted the royal colours and menaced the south coast ; a large body of Scotch crossed the Border and advanced into Lancashire ; and Presby- terians and Koyalists, forgetting their numerous 120 ALGERNON SYDNEY. differences, entered into an alliance to crush the Independents. But all these measures were in vain. The Independents, aided by the army, knew that they were masters of the situation. The forces of Cromwell and Fairfax speedily suppressed the in- surrections in the counties, and, marching against the Scotch, were triumphantly victorious at Preston. And now it was that Colonel Pride with a few armed troops entered the House of Commons sword in hand, determined to free the assembly from its antagonistic Presbyterian majority, and to expel all who did not hold Independent principles. Sydney most strongly disapproved of this unjust and outrageous interference of the army, and his friend Vane was so opposed to such an exhi- bition of lawless force, that he quitted Parlia- ment and retired to his country-seat at Eaby. But all the efforts of the more sober Indepen- dents were now fruitless to restrain the power that they had called into being. Men who have once submitted to be dictated to by force must expect that .force will be a master not easy to get rid of. The Independents, to further their endeavours for the promotion of what they deemed IN THE HOUSE. 121 true liberty, had relied upon the aid of a military despotism, and they were now to reap the bitter fruits of such a policy. The army, conscious of its power, determined to exercise to the fullest the authority it had usurped. Into the execution of the King — that foul blot on the escutcheon of English Independence — we need not enter. It was an act which all sensible men now not only regard as a crime, but as a mistake.* From a tyrant Charles was transformed into a martyr, and his calm, king-like conduct, during a time of bitter trial, rekindled in many a heart the dying embers of loyalty. Even those who de- tested the man — his equivocal policy, his endless falsehoods, his underhand tactics, his utter want of principle — began to pity the victim ; and victim he certainly was. The sentence passed upon him was not that of a properly-constituted tribunal, nor * " Even the common hangman objected to it. The executioners were two, and, disguised in sailors' clothes, with vizards andperraques, unknown ; yet some have a conceit that he that gave the stroke was one Colonel Foxe, and the other Captain Joyce, who took the King from Holmby ; but that is not believed. This I heard for certain, that Gregory Brandon, the common hangman of London, refused absolutely to do it, and pro- fessed that he would be shot or otherwise killed rather than do it. The body was put in a coffin, covered with black velvet, and laid in his lodging chamber in Whitehall."— Lord Leicester's Journal. 122 ALGERNON SYDNEY. in accordance with the verdict of the nation. The High Court of Justice for the trial of .the King was composed of a wretched minority— the despised Kump, the last remains of the grandest Parliament that ever assembled at Westminster. None who sat on this occasion as the King's judges could take a sound, unbiassed view of the case before them. Their minds, naturally warped and prejudiced by the most bitter and fanatical hatred against the man who had been the chief cause of the last six years' civil dissension, regarded only one side of the question. The whole political system of the country had undergone a revolution, in order that the object desired — the death of the King — might be attained. The Government had been dissolved by force ; the House of Lords had been blotted out from the face of the Constitution ; the hostile Presbyterians had been excluded from their House ; the Courts of Law had had their authority usurped, — and as the necessary consequence of all these criminally erratic measures, the King, contrary to all law, international as well as muni- cipal, was tried, condemned, and executed as a traitor. Such an act was not justice, but murder. IN THE HOUSE. 123 " In pronouncing upon this great event," writes Mr. Forster,* "as a mere act of statesmanship — an opinion called for in this memoir of one of the King's most ardent and inflexible judges — it needs no hesi- tation to declare it at once a most melancholy and disastrous error. The result proved that, through long years of political sufferings and distraction. But as surely as it was an error, so surely was it committed in good faith — committed as an awful act of justice and to exhibit to the kings of the earth, and through them to all succeeding generations of men, ' a terrible example.' It cannot be denied by any just and unbiassed inquirer into history (for histories are so written that it is not sufficient to read them alone) that Charles I. had, to a degree which can scarcely be exceeded, conspired against the liberty of his country. It was to this he died a martyr — not to the Church or to the people — but to his intense desire for absolute power and authority. For this he laid aside for upwards of twelve years all use of Parliaments ; for this, when driven to them again, he negotiated for an army both in England and in Scotland to overawe their sittings ; for this, * British Statesmen : Henry Marten, p. 315. 124 ALGERNON SYDNEY. he most daringly violated their most sacred privi- leges, at last commenced war against them, and for four years desolated England with the blood of her bravest children Nor should it be forgotten that all hope of compromise at last was rendered doubly vain by the most consummate insincerity on the part of Charles. He could never be recon- ciled ; he could never be disarmed ; he could never be convinced. His was a war to the death, and therefore had the utmost aggravation that can belong to a war against the liberty of a nation." In the execution of the King, Algernon Sydney, like his ally Vane, took no part. He had been appointed one of the Commissioners of the Trial ; but, after one attendance at the Painted Chamber, he so strongly disapproved of the manner in which the trial was conducted that he immediately with- drew his presence from the labours of the illegal tribunal. "My two sons, Philip and Algernon," writes the Earl of Leicester,* " came unexpectedly to Penshurst, Monday 22nd, and stayed there till Monday 29th January, so as neither of them was * Journal of the Earl of Leicester. Sydney Papers, edited by R. W. Blencowe. IN THE HOUSE. 125 at the condemnation of the King ; nor was Philip at any time at the High Court, though a Commis- sioner, but Algernon (a Commissioner also) was there sometimes in the Painted Chamber, but never in Westminster Hall." That Sydney disapproved of the whole proceedings of Cromwell in this matter is evident from his own words. " I was at Penshurst," he writes to his father,* " when the Act for the trial passed, and coming up to town I heard my name was put in, and that those that were nominated for Judges were then in the Painted Chamber. I presently went thither, heard the Act read, and found my own name with others. A debate was raised how they should proceed upon it ; and after having been some- time silent to hear what those would say who had had the directing of that business, I did positively oppose Cromwell, Bradshaw, and others, who would have the. trial to go on, and drew my reasons from these two points: First, the King could be tried by no Court ; secondly, that no man could be tried by that Court. This being alleged in vain, and -* Sydney Papers, edited by E, W. Blencowe ; Algernon Sydney to Lord Leicester, Oct. 12, 1660. ] 26 ALGERNON SYDNEY. Cromwell using these formal words, ' I tell you we will cut off his head with the crown upon it,' I replied : ' You may take your own course ; I cannot stop you ; but I will keep myself clean from having any hand in this business,' immediately went out of the room and never returned. This is all that passed publicly, or that can with truth be recorded or taken notice of. / had an intention which is not very Jit for a letter." With regard to this last sentence, Sir James Mackintosh (to whom Mr. Blencowe showed the Sydney Letters he was then editing) makes a few observations * which doubtless convey what Sydney intended. "What this intention was," says Sir James, " it is no longer possible to ascertain : but we may with tolerable certainty affirm, that it was one which he wished not to be known to the government of Charles II., who were pretty sure to read his letter, and yet was willing to communicate to his father in conversation. By this criterion, compared with the history of the times, a probable conjecture may be formed about its nature. We are told by Clarendon, that after the army had become masters * Sydney Papers, edited by R. W. Blencowe : Notes, pp. 283-4. IN THE HOUSE. 127 of the Parliament and the capital, they were divided into three parties with respect to the disposal of the King's person. The first were for open trial, the second for private assassination, and the third proceeded no farther than deposition, though probably secured by banishment or imprisonment. Against trial, we now for the first time know that Sydney positively protested, and even the enemies of his memory cannot surely think it probable, that a man of so frank and fearless a character should have preferred expedients which had no other recommen- dation than their tendency to, provide for the personal safety of the actors. But it is altogether incredible, that if he had been a partisan of secret regicide, he should have needlessly alluded to such a disposition in a letter written to supply his father with every fair means of procuring his secure ad- mission into England. Such an allusion could have no other effect than of disheartening and silencing Lord Leicester, who had never ceased to be a leader of the Presbyterian party, and consequently a determined opponent of the trial of the King. One supposition only remains, that the design of Sydney was to procure a concurrence of both Houses 128 ALGERNON SYDNEY. — ■■■■■ — _ ■ • of Parliament in the deposition of the King ; a plan which he might have had some hopes of seconding by his influence in the army. Though the Presby- terian party, with whom Sydney was chiefly con- nected, had never gone so far as to approve deposition, it was natural for him to consider it as the legitimate consequence of long war against the King and incurable distrust of his sincerity. The Lords had, in fact, passed an ordinance, rendering it high treason in future for a King of England to levy war against the Parliament, a measure by which they at once declared that the King was guilty of great moral offences, and that the judicial proceedings against him were illegal. Sydney, we know, from a letter to his father, approved that ordinance, and blamed the resolutions of the Commons which were founded on other principles. The design of depo- sition seems perfectly reconcilable with the known opinion of Sydney and his connexions at the moment. It was therefore easy for him to allude to it in a letter to his father even after the Eestora- tion ; but if he had fully stated, in a letter which was sure to be opened, a plan of deposition which, though it would have saved the King's life, would have LV THE HOUSE. 129 approached more nearly to legality, from having the concurrence of both Houses, and must have been enforced by the harsh, however necessary, attendants of banishment or imprisonment, it is probable that such a disclosure at that period would have shut the doors of his country against him." But though Algernon Sydney strongly disapproved of the tribunal which condemned the King to death, he never doubted the abstract justice of the sen- tence. Like Vane, he held that the people were the source of all power, and that a nation was per- fectly justified in calling the monarch whom they had elected to a strict account for past misdeeds.* In his eyes princes were but ordinary mortals, and no law, human or divine, inculcated the time- serving doctrine that nations were tamely to suffer and endure the dominion of a faithless or wicked * "Ou one memorable day," writes Mr. E. A. Freeman, "a Stewart king was reminded that an English king received his right to reign from the will of the people. Whatever else we say of the nature or the acts of the tribunal before which Charles the First was arraigned, it did but assert the ancient law of England when it told him how ' Charles Stewart was admitted King of England, and therein trusted with a limited power, to govern by and according to the laws of the land and not otherwise.' It did but assert a principle which had been acted on on fitting occasions for nine hundred years, when it told its prisoner that ' all his predecessors and he were responsible to the Commons of England.' " — The Ghowth of the English Constitution, by E. A. Freeman, p. 146. VOL. I. K 130 ALGERNON SYDNEY. sovereign. Tyrants had, both in sacred and profane history, been always held tip to scorn, whilst the men who had delivered their country from the tyrannical yoke — men like Pelopidas, Epaminondas, Thrasybulus, Lucius Brutus, Cato, in profane history ; men like Moses, Othniel, Ehud, Barak, Gideon, Samuel, David, and others, in sacred history — were held up to the admiration of the world. The choice of government was vested in the people, and those who constituted one form were, according to his views, perfectly at liberty to abrogate that form, should it become necessary. Monarchs to him were but the creations of the will of the people, and had no other just power but what the laws gave. A king acting in open defiance of the law, which was as much above him as it was above the subject, fully justified the people in resisting to the utmost such vicious inroads upon the liberty of a nation. Where resistance was useless, the people had no alternative but to adopt deposition, or any other course which seemed to them best. But the people, for whom and by whom the magistrate was created, could only judge whether such magistrate had rightly or wrongly per- formed his office. If rightly, obedience ; if wrongly, IN THE HOUSE. 131 resistance. The general revolt of a nation could never be construed into a rebellion, for the people made the king, not the king the people ; hence a general revolt was but the expression of the national will. Was it more just, he said, to suffer Caligula or Nero to destroy the poor remains of the Eoman nobility and people, or to extinguish the race of such monsters, and by their extinction to preserve liberty and 'toleration ? Such was the light in which Algernon Sydney viewed the overthrow of the Stuart dynasty, and such were the arguments he propounded a few years later in his celebrated "Discourses on Government." To him the deposition or decapitation of a king was an act perfectly lawful and justifiable, when properly conducted. All that could make it illegal were the arbitrary proceedings of a Court of Law unknown to the Constitution. Against such pro- ceedings he protested — not against the abstract justice of the act. His father, however, thought very differently. "Whatever may have been Lord Leicester's opinion of Charles's public conduct," says Mr. Blencowe, "and however harshly and unjustly he may have considered himself to have been treated K 2 132 ALGERNON SYDNEY. by him individually, he could not contemplate with- out strong feelings of pity and indignation the hard fate of that unfortunate king ; and when, after his death, the Parliament, upon the recom- mendation of the Earl of Northumberland, placed his children, the Duke of Gloucester and the Princess Elizabeth, under his and Lady Leicester's care, such was the kindness and attention with which they were treated during their short stay in his family, that the Princess Elizabeth, who died shortly after her removal to the Isle of Wight, bequeathed a jewel to Lady Leicester in testimony of her gratitude and regard."* Very shortly after the execution of the King, Sydney returned to London, and, taking his place in the House of Commons, actively co-operated with the new Government. A Council of State, composed of all the leading Eepublicans, was now formed, and * There appears to be no truth in the report mentioned by Hume, that it was the intention of the Parliament to bind the Duke of Gloucester apprentice to a button-maker, and to teach the Princess Elizabeth some trade. The following extract from Lord Leicester's Journal proves that the sum allowed for their education and support was fairly liberal :— " In June 1649, the Parliament placed the Duke of Gloucester and Princess Elizabeth with my wife, allowing for them 3,000£. a year, which was a great accession of means to my wife in proportion to the charge of these two children and ten or eleven servants." IiV THE HOUSE. 133 an oath of office drawn up, obligatory upon each councillor before entering upon his duties. In this oath it was necessary to declare approbation of all that had been done in the King's trial, of the abolition of royalty, and of the extinction of the House of Lords. "When the oath was about to be administered to Vane, the sturdy republican refused to accept it. He did not approve, he said, of what had been done in the King's trial or the King's death. Algernon Sydney rose up and supported the refusal of his friend. " Such a test," he said, with that severe frankness which had created him many a bitter enemy, "would prove a snare to many an honest man, but every knave would slip through it." A new oath was drawn up, but that taunt of Sydney's struck home, and Cromwell never forgot or forgave its utterance. The question which now chiefly engrossed the attention of the Council of State was the dissolution of the House. Nothing more now remained but to dissolve the Parliament, for all that had been originally undertaken had been completed. "They had conquered the determined enemy of Parlia- ments ; they had finished the Civil War ; they had 134 ALGERNON SYDNEY. destroyed despotism — for he that had grasped the sceptre was no more, and his family, and even the idea of government to be vested in the hands of a single person, was publicly proscribed." Little else was now required to be done but for the Parliament to put an end to their authority, and tranquilly to deliver up their power into the hands of their suc- cessors. " Monarchy," says Godwin,* " was at an end. The House of Lords was extinguished ; it had been solemnly decreed that the Commons of England in Parliament assembled were the supreme autho- rity. But all was as yet in a state of convulsion and uncertainty. The tempest might be said to be over; but the atmosphere was loaded with threat- ening clouds, and the waves swelled this way and that, with no unequivocal tokens of uneasiness and turbulence. This was the task that it fell to the present possessors of the legislative power to per- form : to produce that calm, to adopt all those preliminary measures, which might enable the pre- sent Parliament safely to deliver up the reins of political power to the next. They had advanced far to this end. They had erected a Council of State, * Hist, of Commonwealth, iii. 108. Forster's Life of Vane, p, 130, IN TUB HOUSE. 135 which comprised in its body much of what was most extraordinary in talents and most unquestion- able in public spirit and disinterested virtue, that was to be found in the nation The great statesmen who guided the vessel of the Common- wealth at this time had established a Kepublic with- out King or House of Lords, the only government in their opinion worthy of the allegiance and sup- port of men arrived at the full use of their under- standing. They felt in themselves the talent and the energies to conduct this government with success. They wished to endow it with character, and gain for it respect. Having shown their countrymen practi- cally what a Eepublic was, they proposed to deliver it pure and without reserve into their hands, to dispose of as they pleased. This was their project. The present state of England was of a memorable sort. The great mass of the community through all its orders was now, particularly after the able and successful administration of the Commonwealth in its first six months, content to submit, at least for the present, to the existing Government. " But probably not more than a third part of the nation were sincere adherents to the Common-. 136 ALGERNON SYDNEY. wealth's men end the Independents. The other two-thirds consisted of Royalists and Presbyterians. Both of these, however disposed for a time to rest on their arms, were but so much the more exasperated against their successful rivals. Both these latter parties were for a monarchy, to be established in the line of the House of Stuart. Both were averse to the endurance of any religious system but their own. Stubbe, the protSgS and intimate friend of Vane, says, the supporters of intolerance were five parts in seven of the in- habitants of England. The objects of Vane and Cromwell were the administration of a State with- out the intervention of a Sovereign and a Court, and the free and full toleration of all modes of religious worship and opinion. They would have held themselves criminal to all future ages if they supinely suffered the present state of things and the present operative principles to pass away, if they could be preserved. Cromwell, Ireton, Vane, and the rest, were now fully persuaded that by a judicious course of proceeding these ad- vantages might be preserved. If things were allowed to continue in their present state, and if IN THE HOUSE. 137 by a skilful and judicious administration the Com- monwealth came by just degrees to be respected both abroad and at home, they believed that many of those persons who now looked upon it with an unkind jealous eye, would become its warmest friends. They felt in themselves the ability and the virtue to effect this great purpose. The Com- monwealth was now viewed with eyes askance, and with feelings of coldness if not of aversion. But, when once it was seen that this form of govern- ment was pregnant with blessings innumerable, that it afforded security, wealth, and a liberal treatment to all in its own borders, and that it succeeded in putting down the hostility of Ireland and Scotland — in impressing with awe, Holland, France, Spain, and the various nations of the Continent, and in gaining for England a character and a re- spect which she had never possessed under any of her kings — they believed that the whole of the people in a manner would become Commonwealth's men, and would hold embraced in the straitest bond of affection, a Government to which now they had little partiality. They sanguinely anticipated that they should effect all this ; and then how 138 A L GERNON SYDNE Y. glorious would be the consummation to convert their countrymen to the cause of freedom by benefits and honours, to instil into them the know- ledge of their true interests by the powerful cri- terion of experience, and finally, to deliver to them the undiminished and inestimable privileges of free- men, saying, ' Exercise them boldly and without fear, for you are worthy to possess them.'" Such was the process of reasoning, by which men like Vane, Sydney, Marten, Bradshaw, and the loftiest minded of the Eepublican party, were influenced. Shortly after the erection of the Council of State a Eesolution had been voted that, before a time should be fixed for the dissolution of the Parliament, its members should consult upon the succession of future Parliaments and upon the regulation of elections. This consideration was referred to a committee, of which Algernon Sydney was a member. The Commonwealth had no sooner entered upon its grave duties than it began to evince its admini- strative ability by defeating its enemies and by raising the name of England high in the reputation of every State in Europe. Cromwell was head of IN THE HOUSE. "139 the army ; Bradshaw, President of the Council, with Milton for its Secretary. Blake commanded the fleet. Vane was at the head of the Admiralty. The manner in which public affairs were conducted fully justified Warburton's eulogium, " that the mem- bers of this Council were a set of the greatest geniuses for government that the world had ever seen embarked together on one cause." Nor was their work light. Against them were arrayed Eoman Catholics, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Eoyalists, the Scotch and Irish. But the energy of the Council carried everything before them. Ireland was con- quered as she had never been conquered before. "Cromwell," writes Lord Macaulay,* "had deter- mined to put an end to that conflict of races and religions which had so long distracted the island, by making the English and Protestant population de- cidedly predominant. For this end he gave the rein to the fierce enthusiasm of his followers ; waged war resembling that which Israel waged on the Canaanites; smote the idolaters with the edge of the sword, so that great cities were left without inhabitants; drove many thousands to the Con- * History of England by Lord Macaulay, vol. i. p. 12!). 140 ALGERNON SYDNEY. tinent, shipped off many thousands to the West Indies, and supplied the void thus made by pour- ing in numerous colonists of Saxon blood and of Calvinistic faith. Strange to say, under that iron rule, the conquered country began to wear an outward face of prosperity. Districts which had recently been as wild as those where the first white settlers of Connecticut were contending with the red men, were in a few years transformed into the like- ness of Kent and Norfolk. New buildings, roads, and plantations were everywhere seen. The rent of estates rose fast ; and soon the English landowners began to complain that they were met in every market by the products of Ireland, and to clamour for protecting laws. " From Ireland the victorious chief, who was now in name, as he had long been in reality, Lord General of the Armies of the Commonwealth, turned to Scot- land. The young King was there. He had consented to profess himself a Presbyterian, and to subscribe the Covenant ; and, in return for these concessions, the austere Puritans who bore sway at Edinburgh had permitted him to assume the crown, and to hold, under their inspection and control, a solemn and IN THE HOUSE. 141 melancholy Court. This mock loyalty was of short duration. In two great battles Cromwell annihilated the military force of Scotland. Charles fled for his life, and, with extreme difficulty, escaped the fate of his father. The ancient kingdom of the Stuarts was reduced, for the first time, to profound submission. Of that independence, so manfully defended against the mightiest and ablest of the Plantagenets, no vestige was left. The English Parliament made laws for Scotland ; English judges held assizes in Scot- land ; even that stubborn Church, which has held its own against so many governments, scarce dared utter an audible murmur." Though Algernon Sydney was one of the important members of the House of Commons at this period, much of his time was occupied at Dover, where he was continued by a resolution of the House in his post of Governor of the Castle. But a quarrel, the nature of which we know not, having arisen be- tween him and the officers quartered there, he resigned, and retired for a while into private life, dividing his time between Penshurst and committee work in the House of Commons. On the death of William, Prince of Orange, he accompanied Oliver 142 ALGERNON SYDNEY, St. John, the Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, to the Hague, in order to form an alliance between the English and Dutch republicans. But the States, unwilling to form a nearer confederacy with a government whose tenure of office was so precarious, treated the advances of St. John with extreme coldness. Accordingly the haughty judge retired in a huff, and, indignant at many affronts put upon him by the retainers of the Palatine and Orange families, did all in his power to foment a quarrel between the two Republics. He succeeded ; and the well-known war with Holland ensued. On Sydney's return from the Hague,* where he had remained but a few weeks, he devoted himself entirely to political life. We find his name put down on the committees f for the promotion of a union with Scotland (to attain this object Vane * It appears that whilst Sydney was at the Hague a quarrel had arisen between him and the Earl of Oxford. A hostile meeting was arranged, but the atfair ended amicably. " On Saturday last the Lord Oxford and Colonel Sydney fell out at a play here, and are gone into Flanders to fight it out, with their seconds, Colonel Gerard and Captain Clark. Sydney, they say, sent the challenge : what the occasion was we do not yet' under- stand, nor the success. Hague, 19th April, 1651." — Mereurius Politicus, No. 46. " The two duellists, Oxford and Sydney, have had their quarrel taken up by some friends, who prevented them in their way to Flanders. Hague, May 12."— Ibid., No. 49. (Meadley.) f Commons Journal, vii. 23-242. IN THE BOUSE. 143 was sent to Scotland as a commissioner) ; for the effecting important alterations in the practice of the Court of Law ; and as chairman of the committee for the satisfaction of those adventurers who had lent money to the Government to quell the Irish rebellion on an assignment of the confiscated lands. On Nov. 25, 1652, he was appointed a member of the Council of State, and remained in the dis- charge of his duties till the overthrow of the Government. But Sydney's tenure of office was very brief. The ambition of Cromwell had been steadily fixed upon one goal — absolute authority upheld by a military despotism. The Parliament was weak and the Army strong. The future Protector accordingly determined to beard the Parliament and to rely upon the sup- port of his troops, who were with him to a man. An opportunity soon offered itself. The committee on which Vane and Sydney had sat to consider the history of the elections and to decide upon the dissolution of the Parliament, had agreed by a vote of the House that the present Parliament should cease November 3rd, 1654,' — a date which was after- 144 ALGERNON SYDNEY. wards altered to November 3rd, 1653. Cromwell, however, determined that the dissolution should be effected some six months before the period fixed upon. He solemnly swore that he was not actuated by personal motives, and that he was free from " every alloy of the love of greatness and the love of power." Whilst vindicating himself he blackened his former allies — Vane, Bradshaw, Marten, Sydney — as dishonest men. So consummate was his hypocrisy, and so deftly did he exercise his won- drous influence over those whose support he angled after, that his followers never suspected his real designs. "By degrees," says Godwin, "by multi- plied protestations of the purity of his views, by a self-denying temper, and by an apparent frank- ness and the manifestation of a fervent zeal, he succeeded, and formed to himself a party as strong and as completely moulded to his suggestions and his will as the boldness of his purposes required." And now the day approached when the scheme , that he had so carefully planned was to be put into execution. The Dissolution Bill of Vane had reached its third reading, and all that remained was the sanction of Parliament to give it the authority of IN THE HOUSE. 145 law. A debate ensued, in which Vane passionateby ■urged upon the House the necessity of passing the bill at once, and not hazarding any further delay. Harrison replied, and spoke against the measure. It was now that intelligence was brought to Crom- well that if he intended to act, the opportunity had arrived and he had no time to lose. He instantly quitted the military cabal which he was holding in Whitehall, and, hastily ordering a party of soldiers to be marched to the House of Commons, proceeded at once to Westminster, to take his place in the Assembly. As he entered the house, Vane ' was vehemently refuting the arguments of- the last speaker, Harrison, and imploring that the bill should at once be passed. Cromwell, " in plain black clothes, with grey worsted stockings," stood for a moment, intently listening to Vane's passionate flood ■ of eloquence, and then " sat down as he used to do in an ordinary place." He sat silent for a few minutes ; then beckoning to Harrison, said — "Now is the time, — I must do it!" Harrison paused ere he gave his reply, and then gravely repeated — v^t. t. T, 146 ALGERNON SYDNEY. " The work, Sir, is very great and dangercais." " You say well," replied Cromwell ; and tie remained absorbed in thought for a quarter of an hour. Meanwhile files of musketeers had been stationed at the door, and in the lobbies of the House. At last the volcano burst. The question was about to be put by the Speaker when Cromwell, no longer master of the passions which now like molten lead surged within his veins, rose from his seat, threw his hat on the ground, and began to address the House. " At the first," writes the Earl of Leicester,* " and for a good while, he spoke to the commendation of the Parliament, for their pains and care of the public good ; but afterwards he changed his style, told them of their injustice, delays of justice, self-interest, and other faults ; then he said — ' Perhaps you think this is not Parliamentary language. I confess it is not, neither are you to expect any such from me.' Then he put on his hat, went out of his place, and walked up and down the stage or floor in the midst of the House with his hat on his head, and chid them soundly, looking"" sometimes and pointing particularly * Sydney Papers, edited by E, W. Blencowe ; Journal of the Earl of Leicester. IN THE HOUSE. 147 upon some persons — as Sir R. Whitelock, one of the Commissioners for the Great Seal, Sir Henry Vane, to whom he gave very sharp language, though he named them not ; but by his gestures it was well known that he meant them. After this he said to Colonel Har- rison, (who was a member of the House), ' Call them in ! ' Then Harrison went out, and presently brought in Lieutenant-Colonel Wortley (who commanded the General's own regiment of foot), with five or six files of musketeers, about twenty or thirty, with their muskets; then the General, pointing to the Speaker in his chair, said to Harrison, ' Fetch him down ! ' Harrison went to the Speaker, and spoke to him to come down ; but the Speaker sat still and said nothing. ' Take him down,' said the General. Then Harrison went and pulled the Speaker by the gown, and he came down. It happened that day that Algernon Sydney sat next to the Speaker on the right hand ; the General said to Harrison, 'Put him out.' Harrison spoke to Sydney to go out, but he said he would not go out, and sat still. The General said again, 'Put him out!' Then Harrison and Wortley put their hands upon Sydney's shoulders, as if they would force him to go out ; then he rose and went towards the door. L 2 148 ALGERNON SYDNEY. Then the General went to the table where the mace lay, which used to be carried before the Speaker, and said, ' Take away these baubles ; ' so the soldiers took away the mace, and all the House went out ; and at the going out, they say, the General said to young Sir Henry Vane, calling him by his name, that, he might have prevented this extraordinary course, but he was a juggler, and had not so much as common honesty. All being gone out, the door of the House was locked, and the key with the mace was carried away, as I heard, by Colonel Otley." " It was thus," says Ludlow, " that Cromwell contrived to be rid of this Parliament that had performed such great things — having subdued their enemies in England, Scotland, and Ireland ; established the liberty of the people ; reduced the kingdom of Portugal to such terms as they thought fit to grant ; maintained a war against the Dutch with that conduct and success that it seemed now drawing to a happy- conclusion ; recovered our reputation at sea ; secured our trade, and provided a powerful fleet for the service of the nation. And however the malice of their enemies may endeavour to deprive them of IN THE HOUSE. 149 the glory they justly merited, yet it will appear to unprejudiced posterity that they were a dis- interested and impartial Parliament, who, though they had the sovereign power of the three nations in their hands for the space of ten or twelve years, did not in all that time give away among themselves so much as their forces spent in three months." "Thus it pleased God," says Whitelocke, "that this assembly, famous through the world for its under- takings, actions, and successes, having subdued all their enemies, were themselves overthrown and ruined by their own servants, and those who they had raised now pull down their masters : an example never to be forgotten, and scarcely to be paralleled in any story ; by which all persons may be instructed how uncertain and subject to change all worldly affairs are, and how apt to fall when we think them highest. All honest and prudent indifferent men were highly distasted at this unworthy action." " When Van Tromp," writes Algernon Sydney in his Discourses, " set upon Blake in Folkestone Bay, the Parliament had not above thirteen ships against threescore, and not a man that had ever seen any 150 ALGERNON SYDNEY. other fight at sea than between a merchant-ship and a pirate, to oppose the best captain in the world, attended with many others in valour and experience not much inferior to him. Many other difficulties were observed in the unsettled state : few ships, want of money, several factions, and some who to advance particular interests betrayed the public. But such was the power of wisdom and integrity in those that sat at the helm, and their diligence in choosing men only for their merit was blessed with such success, that in two years our fleets grew to be as famous as our land-armies ; the reputation and power of our nation rose to a greater height than when we possessed the better half of France, and the kings of France and; Scotland were our prisoners. All the states, kings-,, and potentates of Europe most respectfully, not to say submissively, sought our friendship; and Borne: was more afraid of Blake and his fleet than they had been of the great king of Sweden when he' was ready to invade Italy with a hundred thousand men." * Disgusted at this exercise of despotic authority on the part of Cromwell, and indignant at the over- * Discourses concerning Government, p. 222. Edited by John Toland.. IN THE HOUSE. 151 throw of that form of Kepublicanism — the sovereign power to be placed in the hands of several persons with discussion among those several persons — which both Vane and he had essayed to establish, Algernon Sydney retired to Pensburst. His name appears no more as an active agent in our political history till the death of the Protector restored the Common- wealth to its original principles. CHAPTER V. A TRINITY OF REPUBLICANS. Among those earnest If somewhat misguided men ■who sat on the same side of the House with Sydney, and whose sole object in life was the pre- servation of the liberties of Englishmen, the aggran- dizement of their country's honour, and the main- tenance of religious toleration, Sir Henry Vane the Younger stands prominently forth. Between him and Algernon Sydney a kind of parallel can be instituted. Both had deeply studied the science of government in all its branches ; both believed in the establishment of a Republic as the only pre- servative in their day against monarchical tyranny and the thraldom of the conscience and intellect ; both disapproved of the proceedings connected with the trial and execution of the King, and withdrew from the scene of judgment ; both opposed the ambitious designs of Cromwell, and retired — the one A TBI NIT Y OF REPUBLICANS. 153 to Raby, the other to Penshurst — from Parliament during his Protectorate ; both hastened the down- fall of Richard, and were elected members of the Council of State ; both were opposed to the Restora- tion, and both ended their days on the scaffold for their staunch advocacy of the "good old cause." But between the two men there was considerable difference of temperament and disposition. Vane was a. warm, enthusiastic, impassioned, and somewhat timid man. Sydney, on the contrary, was cold, resolute, and courageous, and, when opposed, often overbearing. Their similarity of views, combined with their difference of characters, however, tended all the more to increase the friendship that sub- sisted between them. A few words as regards Sir Henry Vane. He was the son of Sir Harry Vane, of Hadlow in Kent, a descendant of a wealthy and ancient Eng- lish family, and was born in 1612. After the usual education at Westminster he was sent at an early age to Oxford, where he was entered as a gentleman commoner at Magdalen College. But before he became a member of the University an event had occurred which was to colour the whole 154 A LGERNON STDNJEY. current of his life, and to give a distinctive pecu- liarity to his teaching. I relate it in his own words, as he described it to the crowd who had come to see him die : — " I was born a gentleman ; had the education, temper, and spirit of a gentleman, as well as others ; being in my youthful days inclined to the vanities of this world, and to that which they call good fellowship, judging it to be the only means of ac- complishing a gentleman. But about the fourteenth or fifteenth year of my age, which was about thirty- four or thirty-five since, God was pleased to lay the foundation or groundwork of repentance in me for the bringing me home to Himself, by His won- derful rich and free grace, revealing His Son in me, that, by the knowledge of the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent, I might even whilst here in the body be made partaker of eternal life in the first-fruits of it." To his father, a courtier and a thorough man of the world, this Puritanical piety, so opposed to the Anglican tendencies of the day and to the fashion- able opinions of society, was extremely obnoxious, and he accordingly did all in his power to in- A TRINITY OF REPUBLICANS. 155 duce his son to abandon such unorthodox views. But he exercised his authority to no purpose. Young Vane was not only a Puritan, but he was- also beginning to hold most radical notions con- cerning the government of the State. Owing to his refusal to take the oaths of allegiance and supre- macy, he quitted Oxford and retired to the Con- tinent, where he spent some time in Geneva. On his return to England, the seeds sown in his mind from residence in the great haunt of Calvinism brought forth fruit abundantly. He now openly professed his dislike to Monarchy, Episcopacy, and to the doctrines of the Church of England. His. father, at this time Comptroller of the Household and a Privy Councillor, indignant that the heir of an ancient and loyal family should hold views. which were only to be expected from a drunken tinker or a half-mad street-preacher, had young Vane roundly taken to task by Laud. The lecture,, however, only confirmed the more the future Ke- publican leader in his opinions. But finding that his views subjected him to persecution, Vane resolved! to cross the Atlantic, and in the new colonies there springing up to enjoy the liberty and toleration 156 ALGERNON SYDNEY. denied him at home. He carried his resolution into execution, and very shortly after his arrival in America was chosen Governor of Massachusetts. His reign of office was, however, very brief; for, openly encouraging those who advocated Antinomian doctrines, he caused such divisions between the Church and the Commonwealth that on the next election he had to resign. On his return to England he lived quietly at Kaby till the assembling of the first Parliament in 1640; and it was during this interval of leisure that he married a daughter of Sir Christopher Wray, of Ashby, in [Lincolnshire. On the meeting of the first Parliament, and also of the Long Parliament, Vane was returned for Kingston-upon-Hull. By the interest of his father he was now appointed Joint Treasurer of the Navy, and a few months later was knighted by Charles. But these honours failed to propitiate the young Republican, and on the break- ing out of the differences between Kins; and Parlia- ment he espoused the popular cause. A personal reason also tended to make him embrace all the more warmly the party of the Parliament. Charles had created Sir Thomas Wentworth Baron of Raby, A TRINITY OF REPUBLICANS. 157 in the diocese of Durham — a house and estate be- longing to the Vane family, and an honour which Sir Henry wished to reserve for himself. This slight, passed both upon his father and himself, naturally increased the vehemence of Vane's opposition to the King and all his measures, and he had not long been in the House before his great ability and weighty eloquence gained him the ready attention of all its members. "In the beginning of the great Parliament," says Ludlow, " he was elected to serve his country among them, without the least application made on his part to that end ; and in this station he soon made appear how capable he was of managing great affairs, possessing in the highest perfection a quick and ready apprehension, a strong and tenacious memory, a profound and penetrating judgment, a just and noble eloquence, with an easy and graceful manner of speaking. To these were added a singular zeal and affection for the good of the Commonwealth, and a resolution and courage not to be shaken or diverted from the public service." During the trial of the Earl of Strafford he communicated some very material information to the Houses respecting th e 158 A L GERNON SYDNEY. Earl's despotic designs upon England, which told greatly against the haughty peer, and considerably turned the scale in his disfavour.* In June 1643 Yane was nominated one of the Assembly of Divines, and the following month was ■appointed one of the Commissioners of the Parliament to negotiate with the Scotch for the purpose of engaging them to unite with the Parliament against the King. He was successful in his mission, and on his return from Dalkeith, where the Commis- sioners had been assembled, he signed the Covenant — his name standing next to that of Cromwell. On this occasion he was also instrumental in conciliating the Scotch, who had taken offence at the two clauses in the Covenant drawn up by the English which related to ' the preservation of the King's person,' and the ' reducing the doctrine and discipline of both Churches to the pattern of the best Reformed.' Vane discovered a softening expedient by adding to the first clause these words ; ' in preservation of the laws of the land and liberty of the subject;' * The gist of this information (derived from notes taken by Vane the Elder at the Council-table) was that Strafford intended to employ the army in Ireland to subdue the liberties of England. A TRINITY OF REPUBLICANS. 159 and to the second clause : 'according to the Word of God/ which fully satisfied the Presbyterians. So high an opinion did the Parliament now entertain of his statesmanship that he was appointed sole Treasurer of the Navy, an office which he continued to hold till the first wars between the English and the Dutch. And now it was that the rare integrity and un- sullied honour of the man appeared. The King had conferred this post on him for life by patent, and Vane was, according to custom, fully entitled to the receipt of all the fees — which at that time, owing to the war, had amounted to the sum, no doubt somewhat exaggerated, of 30,000?. a year. This splendid income the honest Republican deemed too much for a private subject, and very generously giving up his patent to the Parliament, desired but 2,000?. a year to be granted to an agent whom he had bred up to the business, whilst the remainder was to go to the public. His gift was gladly accepted, and the plan of a fixed salary for that office was then first adopted, which has continued ever since. In 1645 Vane was appointed one of the Commissioners at the Treaty of Uxbridge ; in 160 ALGERNON SYDNEY. 1647 one of the Commissioners to persuade the Army to comply with the desires and plans of the Parliament; and in 1648 one of the Commissioners at the Treaty in the Isle of Wight, where his enemies assert that he acted perfidiously. Like Sydney, be disapproved of the proceedings connected with the trial and death of the King, and withdrew from the scene of action to his country seat at Eaby. But no sooner had the Parliament assembled after the execution of Charles than he appeared again in the House, and became one of the most zealous of the Commonwealth's-men. He was now appointed a member of the Council of State, and in 1652 was for a time its President, being then also one of the Commissioners of the Navy. During 1649-50 he was engaged, as we have seen, with Sydney and others in considering the manner of electing future Parliaments. It was at this time that he framed the Eeform Bill, which so irritated Cromwell, that he tore it from the clerk's hands on the day he forcibly dissolved the Parliament.' The bill was, however, a good one. The number of representatives was fixed at 400. Small boroughs were disfranchised, and their members added to the A TRINITY OF REPUBLICANS. 161 larger boroughs. Every large city and town was to be represented. All householders of a certain rental were to be allowed to vote for the towns ; and all persons seised in an estate of freehold of the annual value of 40s., tenants for life of the annual value of 51., and tenants in possession for twenty- one years of the annual value of 2Ql. for the counties. The usurpation of Cromwell, however, consigned the bill to oblivion. Towards the end of the year 1651 Vane was appointed one of the Commissioners to be sent into Scotland to introduce there the English govern- ment, and at the same time to effect a union between the two kingdoms. His mission was, how- ever, not very successful in its results. On his return to England, his keen foresight saw the am- bitious designs of Cromwell, and he did all in his power to frustrate them. With what good fortune, we have already stated. His opposition, however, rendered him most obnoxious to the future Pro- tector. When Cromwell forcibly turned the mem- bers out of the House by his musketeers, Vane, who knew that by the law of the realm the Parlia- ment could only be dissolved by its own order, vol. i. M 162 ALGERNON SYDNEY. cried out, "This is not honest; yea, it is against morality and common honesty." Upon which Crom- well burst out in a fit of temper, and roared out to the fast retreating House, " Oh, Sir Henry Vane, Sir Henry Vane ! the Lord deliver me from Sir Henry Vane ! " But the active, impetuous Ee- publican was not to be deterred by frowns or abuse, and to the dying day of Cromwell proved a most bitter thorn in his side. No sooner had Cromwell illegally usurped the authority which belonged to the Council, than Vane used every effort to withdraw the Protector's parti- sans from their allegiance to the new Government. Henry Cromwell, writing to Secretary Thurloe in 1655, says: "Sir Henry Vane, and such like who are rotten in their principles, can make good use of such delusions as these (Fifth Monarchy) and the like to carry on their designs : ... Sir Henry goes up and down amongst these people and others, endeavouring to withdraw them from their submission to the present Government : ... if he be not prevented he will be a sad scourge to England." Certain it was that Vane left no stone unturned to supplant and ruin the power of Cromwell. A TRIXITY OF REPUBLICANS. 163 In 1656 we find him, when writs were issued for a new Parliament, boldly speaking out his mind, and declaring that " he was one of those who said they would have no swordmen, no decimator, or any that received salary from the State to serve in Parliament, and were resolved to give a lift to the Government, and doubted not of carrying all before them." His sanguine, impetuous nature was, how- ever, doomed for the present to be disappointed He stood for Boston, in Lincolnshire, and afterwards for that county, but was unsuccessful in both elec- tions. It was now that Cromwell, aware of the violent opposition that Vane did his utmost to create against the measures of the Government, determined to arraign him before the Council. He was peremptorily summoned, and, on his appearance, was charged with disaffection to the Government, and accused of publishing a seditious work entitled "A Healing Question proposed and resolved." "In this treatise," says Mr. Forster,* " he enforced his old doctrines of civil and religious liberty, and added some theories and recommendations concerning the * " Lives of the Statesmen of the Commonwealth," by John Forster. See also " Encyclopaedia Britannica," art. " Vane. " M 2 164 ALGERNON SYDNEY. construction of a civil government; the result, no doubt, of quiet and philosophical reflection on the occurrences of his political life, "which are in the last degree striking and memorable." It con- tained numerous vigorous passages directed against Cromwell. Vane admitted being the author of the book, and on his second appearance before the Council told Cromwell frankly that he disapproved of his usurpa- tion, and advised him, as a candid friend, to resign his illegal authority, and return to his duty. The result of this prosecution was that Vane was sent prisoner to Carisbrooke Castle, in the Isle of Wight, for a few months ; and on his release from confine- ment was subjected to numerous annoyances from Cromwell, who essayed his utmost by threats and bribes to conquer the bitter hostility of the vehement but single-minded Republican. But all conciliatory or denunciatory measures failed to soften the severity of Vane's patriotism. As he had remained irrecon- cileable and inflexible during the Protectorate of Cromwell, so he continued to remain under the Pro- tectorate of Oliver's son, Eichard. The adherents of the Government did all in their power to keep him A TRINITY OF REPUBLICANS. 165 out of Kichard's Parliament in 1659, and though they succeeded in getting him defeated at Hull and Bristol, he was returned by a large majority for Whitchurch, in Hampshire. In conjunction with Sydney and other Kepubli- cans, he now laboured strenuously to overturn the Protectorate and to establish a Commonwealth. His abilities and energetic opposition soon gained Tiim a considerable party in the House, and it was not long before those who thought and acted with him were in the ascendant. The abdication of Eichard became every day more and more a necessity, and the warm, indignant speeches of Vane contributed not a little to promote that event. Here is a specimen of one of his philippics : " The people of England, renowned all over the world for their great virtue and discipline, can they yet suffer an idiot without courage, without sense, nay, without ambition, to have dominion in a country of Liberty? One could bear a little with Oliver Cromwell, though, contrary to his oath of fidelity to the Parliament, contrary to his duty to the public, contrary to the respect he owed to that venerable body from whom he received his authority, he usurped the government. His merit was so 166 ALGERNON SYDNEY. extraordinary that our judgments, our passions, might be blinded by it. He made his way to empire by most illustrious actions ; he had under his command an army that had made him a conqueror, and a people that had made him their general. But as for Eichard Cromwell, his son, who is he ? what are his titles ? We have seen that he had a sword by his side ; but did he ever draw it % And, what is of more importance in this ease, is he fit to get obedience from a mighty nation who could never make a footman obey him ? Yet we must recognize this man as our king, under the style of Protector ! a man without birth, without courage, without con- duct. For my part, 1 declare, Sir, it shall never be said that I made such a man my master." On Eichard's abdication, the Long Parliament, that had been restored by a general council of the officers of the army, constituted Vane one of the Committee of Safety ; and a few days afterwards, together with Algernon Sydney and others, he became a member of the Council of State. Three months later, in September, he was appointed a second time Presi- dent of the Council. He now proposed a new model of government, the substance of which was : That A TRINITY OF REPUBLICANS. 167 the existence of a supreme governing power is essen- tial to the welfare of the nation ; that its action should be confined within strict limits ; that it should not be exercised by any king or single person ; but delegated by the people to a body of men in whom they had confidence ; and that it should not inter- fere in matters of religious faith. When the army was excluded from Parliament by the Council, Vane was nominated one of the Council of Ten, to con- sider the best means to be adopted for carrying on the affairs of government. He totally disapproved of the proceedings of General Monk ; and when new commissions were being ordered for raising fresh forces, he was nominated commander of a regiment of Horse, the only military employment he ever held. But a reaction was already setting in against the turbulent reign of Eepublicanism, and the restora- tion of Monarchy was at hand. Before the reassem- bling of the Long Parliament, Vane came and took his place in the House. But his political career was now ended. Owing to his compliance with the army during the late interruption, he was requested to repair to his house at Baby, and there to remain during the pleasure of Parliament. 168 ALGERNON SYDNEY. After the Restoration, unconscious of having done anything in relation to public affairs for which he need hide his head, he came up to London, and resided at a house he then had at Hampstead. It was a deed as bold as it was imprudent for a man in Vane's position, and with his strongly marked antecedents. He was seized and committed to the Tower, and was one of the twenty persons excepted from the Act of General Pardon and Oblivion by a resolution of the House of Commons. For a whole year he was transferred from one prison to another, and finally, on June 2, 1662, was arraigned at the bar of the King's Bench on a charge of high treason. The substance of this charge was, that he had com- passed and imagined the death of the King, had endeavoured to subvert the ancient form of govern- ment, to exclude the sovereign lord from the exercise of his regal government, and, in order to crown his efforts with success, had traitorously and maliciously consulted with other false traitors, and had raised armed troops to resist the King. In his defence Vane pleaded that no treason could be committed against a king de jure and not de facto, as was Charles II. from 1648 to 1659, and A TRINITY OF REPUBLICANS. 169 that as he (the prisoner) had acted throughout by authority of Parliament, the supreme court of the nation, he could not be questioned by any inferior court. But his defence was raised in vain. Accord- ing to his friends, he behaved himself during the whole of the proceedings with great eloquence, soundness of judgment, and presence of mind. Lud- low says, that both at his trial and execution he conducted himself in such a manner, that " he left it doubtful whether his eloquence, soundness of judgment, and presence of mind — his gravity and magnanimity, his constant adherence to the cause of his country, and heroic courage during the time of his confinement and at the hour of death — or the malice of his enemies and their frivolous suggestion at his trial, the breach of the public faith in the usage he found, the incivility of the bench and the savage rudeness of the sheriff, who commanded the trumpets several times to sound that he might not be heard by the people, were more remarkable." On the 14th of June, 1662, he was drawn on a sledge to Tower Hill, and beheaded on the same spot where Strafford had been executed. Thus perished a man of unsullied honour, of 170 ALGERNON SYDNEY. earnest faith, and of a pure if somewhat misguided patriotism. His faults were not few, but they were faults engendered by the turbulent spirit of the times in which he lived. Like Algernon Sydney, circum- stances had made him a Republican, and in a Re- publican form of government was to be found, he believed, the only preventive against the encroach- ments of a Monarchy. He aimed then at what we now enjoy, and what the Revolution of 1688 began, not to institute, but to develop and bring into harmony, a free State, in which the sovereign power is divided among many persons, and in which that sovereign power is exercised after free discussion and deliberation among those persons. The freedom of England, from the reign of the Tudors to the expulsion of the Stuarts, had been merely nominal. The King was an absolute monarch to all intents and purposes ; the Ministers were the toadies of the sovereign and the tyrants of the subject ; the Parliament was but an assembly to grant taxes and satisfy the demands of extravagant royalty or the greed of usurious courtiers ; the National Church was restricted and confined, merely to please the views of a semi-Romish minority, instead of A TRINITY OF REPUBLICANS. 171 being broad and liberal, as becomes a Church estab- lished for a nation and not for a party ; the Legal Tribunals were often unjust and oppressive in their judgments, and much of their authority was usurped by courts unknown to English law ; Education was at a low ebb ; the greatest happiness of an exclu- sive few was the political axiom of the day ; the people were the "dregs of the populace," a "low, vile herd," not subjects but slaves. National Liberty was but a phrase. Vane and the men who acted with him deter- mined to spend every effort to stem this tide of absolutism and oppression, and to restore the con- stitution to its ancient principles of civil and religious freedom. Like all first pioneers of Eeform, he overshot the mark, and went somewhat beyond the plan he had desired to adopt. The more he contrasted the freedom and advantages of a Republic with the tyranny and narrow-minded policy of a king like Charles the First, the more he became enamoured of his new form of government. It was not that he wished to abolish royalty and the prerogatives of a peerage, if such institutions could exist without detriment to that liberty of the sub- 1 72 ALGERNON SYDNEY. ject lie had ever at heart. Had he been spared to witness the English Constitution enter upon a new phase of its existence after the Eevolution of 1688, none would have been more loyal in bis devotion to a Mixed government. Like Sydney, he admitted that the best form of government is that composed of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy ; but failing that, the next best is a Eepublic. It was because he saw no chance of the adoption of the Mixed government he preferred, that he strenu- ously advocated the establishment of the govern- ment he thought next best. His republicanism was the offspring, not of his own inclinations, but of the necessities of the times. Associated with Vane, and occupying a position that entitled him to be called the chief Apostle of the Eepublican School, was a man equally pure and earnest in his patriotism, but of a sterner and colder character than either Vane or Sydney. The name of Bradshaw conjures up a scene which English history can never forget. Westminster Hall fitted up as a Court of Justice. In its centre, seated on a crimson velvet chair, a man of middle height, dressed in scarlet, with a thick-crowned A TRINITY OF REPUBLICANS. 173 beaver hat lined with plated steel upon his stern furrowed brow. Around him, on side' benches hung with scarlet, numerous gentlemen. On each side of the chair of state a strong guard of armed men. Beyond, in the body of the famous Hall and in the surrounding galleries, a dense throng of Englishmen, curious to see a monarch called to account by his subjects for crimes committed during the period of his delegated authority. The stern Judge rises in his chair ; those around him also rise ; he takes a scroll of vellum in his hand, and then coldly pronounces the following sentence upon a pale aristocratic-looking man in front of him: "For all which treasons and crimes this Court doth adjudge, that the said Charles Stuart, as a tyrant, traitor, murderer, and public enemy, shall be put to death by severing his head from his body. The sentence now read and published is the act, sentence, judgment, and resolution of the whole Court." The King : " Will you hear me a word, Sir % " The Judge : " Sir, you are not to be heard after the sentence." The King: "No, Sir?" 174 A LGERNON SYDNEY. The Judge : " No, Sir, by your favour. Guards, withdraw your prisoner ! " The King (with emotion) : "I may speak after the sentence ! By your favour, Sir ! I may speak after the sentence ! Ever ! by your favour " The Judge (sternly) : " Hold ! " — gives signs to the guards to withdraw Charles. The King (with passionate entreaty) : " The sen- tence, Sir! I say, Sir — I do " The Judge: "Hold!" The guards surround their prisoner, and as he is withdrawn, he breaks out into words of passionate indignation : " I am not suffered to speak ! Expect what justice other people will have ! " The Judge was Bradshaw. Bradshaw was educated a lawyer at Gray's Inn. His kinsman John Milton, whose political and reli- gious sympathies brought him into constant con- nection with the Bepublican, has left the following sketch of his character in the second defence Pro Populo Anglicano : " Being of a distin- guished family, he devoted the early part of his life to the study of the laws of his country. Hence he became an able and eloquent pleader, and A TRINITY OF REPUBLICANS. 175 subsequently discharged all the duties of an un- corrupt Judge. In temper neither gloomy nor severe, but gentle and placid, he exercised in bis own house the right of hospitality in an exemplary manner, and proved himself on all occasions a faithful and unfailing friend. Ever eager to ac- knowledge merit, he assisted the deserving to the utmost of bis power. Forward at all times to publish the talents and worth of others, he was always silent respecting his own. No one more ready to forgive, he was yet impressive and terrible when it fell to his lot to pour shame on the enemies of his country. If the cause of the oppressed was to be defended, if the favour or the violence of the great were to be. withstood, it was impossible in that case to find an advocate more intrepid or more eloquent, whom no threats, no terrors, and no rewards could seduce from the plain path of rectitude." Though not a member of the Long Parliament, Bradshaw early entered into the views of the popular party, and sided with the Parliament in all its measures against the King. On the trial of Charles he was appointed President of the self- 176 ALGERNON SYDNEY. styled High Court of Justice, and though nearly half of his brother Commissioners refused or neg- lected to attend the sittings of the Court, he ■was present from day to day, maintaining its authority and jurisdiction against all objections, and finally passing sentence upon his monarch as a "tyrant, traitor, and public enemy." After the execution of Charles, Bradshaw was appointed Pre- sident in the new Executive Council, where he met with Oliver Cromwell as his colleague. Like Vane and Sydney, he strongly opposed the designs of the Lord General, and did all in his power to maintain the purity of the Commonwealth. For the three years which followed the institution of the new Government he took a prominent part, as President of the Council, in all the affairs of the administra- tion, and, on its dissolution by Cromwell, stopd firm to the last to the liberties of his country, by sternly informing the usurper that no power under heaven could dissolve the Parliament but themselves ; " therefore, take you notice of that ! " Unlike Sydney and Vane, Bradshaw did not at once withdraw from active political life during the days of the Protectorate, but on the first Parlia- A TE1NITY OF REPUBLICANS. 177 ment summoned by Cromwell was returned a mem- ber. His legislative duties, however, were of very- short duration, for immediately after his election he opposed the Protector, refused to take the oaths of obedience and allegiance to the new Government, and left the House. His example was followed by the other Eepublicans, and soon the first Parlia- ment was brought to an untimely end. On the meet- ing of the second Parliament, Cromwell, determining not to subject himself to further opposition from the Eepublican party, imprisoned several of its leaders, and excluded them one and all from attend- ance in the House. Thus Bradshaw and his friends were finally prevented from participating in the affairs of the Government. On the meeting of the Parliament summoned by the Protector's son, Richard, Bradshaw once more took his seat, and was one of the chief agents in the overthrow of the second Protectorate. On the revival of the Long Parliament he became again President of the Council, but the same year that saw him re-installed in his old post, ushered in his death. He died asserting, like Marten, with his latest breath, that if the "King were to be again tried and vol. t. "* 178 ALGEBNON SYDNEY. condemned, his would be. the first voice to assent to the justice of the act. He was buried in West- minster Abbey; but no sooner had Monarchy re- ascended the throne than his tomb was ruthlessly violated, and his bones, with those of the dead Cromwell and Ireton, hung on gibbets at Tyburn. His head was decapitated and placed on the top of Westminster Hall. Among the leaders of the Republican party, and the intimate friend of Bradshaw, was a witty, dissi- pated man, whose constant presence amid the gravest and most religious men of the age was regarded as a matter of some curiosity. The name of Henry Marten recalls to mind one of the most poignant orators and lively wits that have ever delighted and amused the House of Commons. He was the son of an eminent civilian, Sir Henry Marten, and was born in the year 1602. After graduating at Oxford he travelled in France, and led a loose, irregular life, both at home and abroad — ("he was a great lover of pretty girls," says Aubrey, "to whom he was so liberal that he spent the greatest part of his estate"), till in 1640 he was sent by the electors of Berkshire to Parliament. He had already made a name as A TRINITY OF REPUBLICANS. 179 an ardent opponent of the Court, and it was not long before lie was regarded by the House of Commons as the bitterest enemy of the King and of the prin- ciples of absolute monarchy. " He was a great and faithful lover of his country," says Aubrey ; " his speeches were not long, but wondrous poignant, perti- nent, and witty. He was of an incomparable wit for repartees : not at all covetous ; humble, not at all arrogant, as most of them were ; a great observer of justice, and did always in the House take the part of the oppressed." Like Sydney, Marten was deeply imbued with the republican spirit of antiquity. His plan of government was to elevate " in the social scale every individual man in England, until the time might come when no Englishman should have a master, and in every corner of the island should be realized that lofty and soaring spirit which made Rome, so long as Rome remained uncorrupted and unprisoned, a mark for the admiration of all succeed- ing ages.'' In all the deliberations of the Liberal leaders, and in all the memorable actions during 1640 and 1641, Marten took a prominent part. On the commence- ment of the Civil War he was appointed one of those N 2 180 ALGERNON SYDNEY. fifteen trusted persons to whom Parliament deputed the powers of a Committee of Safety, " to take into consideration whatever might concern the safety of the kingdom, the defence of the Parliament, the preservation of the peace of the kingdom, and the opposing any force which might be raised against the Parliament." So energetic were his labours, that, in common with Hampden and Pym, his name was excepted by Charles at the beginning of the Civil War from the offer of kingly pardon. Marten was now appointed a Colonel of Horse, and shortly afterwards became Military Governor of Read- ing. The rapid approach of the Royal forces, however, caused him to retire from this post and to return to London, where he took an active share in the disputes that were then being carried on between the two Houses. Marten had been so long known as a most earnest upholder of Republican principles, that his frank avowals of his preference for such a form of government were sure to bring him into trouble. In August 1643 there was a debate upon a work by one Saltmarsh, a Puritan minister, which advocated the extirpation of the Royal line, unless the King granted the demands of the Parliament. A TRINITY OF REPUBLICANS. 181 Several members condemned the work ; but Marten defended Saltmarsh, and bluntly declared that it were better that one family (meaning the King and his children) should be destroyed, than that many families should come to ruin. For this he was expelled the House, and committed to the Tower. A fortnight afterwards he was released ; but it was not till another year and a half had passed that he resumed his seat in the popular assembly. During this interval the conduct of Charles had greatly tended to diminish those feelings of loyalty which had formerly existed amongst many who sided with the Parliament, and on Marten's re-entrance into the House his presence was hailed with delight. From this date to the usurpation of Cromwell his name appears prominently in every transaction of importance. After Charles had fallen into the hands of the Parliament, Marten was the resolute opponent of all accommodation that had for its basis the restoration of a limited monarchy. He held that it was im- possible to treat with such bad faith and constant perfidy as the whole life of Charles had exhibited, and strongly urged the adoption of a new form of government. In the proceedings connected with the 182 A LGERNON SYDNEY. trial and execution of the King he took a prominent part. The duty of " preparing the draft of a final sentence with a blank for the manner of death " was entrusted to him, and the name of Marten figures forty-first on the " bloody warrant " signed by the fifty-nine Commissioners. In the eyes of the chief Eepublicans the death of their King was a necessity. "So long as he was above ground," said the Eepublican Scot, "in view, there were daily revoltings among the army, and risings in all places ; creating us all mischief, more than a thousand kings could do in good. It was impossible to continue him alive. I wish all had heard the grounds of our resolution in that particular. I would have had all our consultings in foro, as anything else was. It was resorted unto as the last refuge. . . . We did not assassinate, or do it in a corner. We did it in the face of God and of all men. If this be not a precept, the good of the whole, I know not what is : — to preserve the good cause, a defence to religion and tender consciences." Whatever may have been the errors of judgment of these men, and they were indeed great, we cannot but feel that their actions belong "to the highest A TRINITY OF REPUBLICANS. 183 order of just and honourable motive. It was the cause — the good old cause— which they ventured everything to sustain." On the substitution of an Executive Council of State for the Committee of Government at Derby House, Marten, together with Cromwell, Bradshaw, and Ludlow, became one of its leading members. Like Vane and Sydney, he strenuously opposed the ambitious designs of Cromwell, and did all in his power to defeat them. During the Protectorate he invariably refused to acknowledge Cromwell's authority, and consequently was excluded from all the Parliaments that were then assembled. Owing to his fearless Eepublicanism, the Protector thought it prudent to silence the sharp tongue of his enemy by throwing Marten into prison for a while. The recall of the Long Parliament, and the expulsion of Eichard Cromwell from the Protectorate, brought Henry Marten once more back to the House of Commons. The intrigues of that "scoundrel of fortune," Monk, were soon perceived by the keen sense of the witty Eepublican. From his place in Parliament he called the attention of the House to the open inconsistency that existed between the 184 ALGERNON SYDNEY. duping words of Monk and the designs he was meditating. "Why, Sir," said he, "he is like a person sent to make a suit of clothes, who brings with him a budget full of carpenter's tools — and being told that such things are not at all fit for the work he has been desired to do, answers, ' Oh, it matters not ! I will do your work well enough, I warrant you/" But the advice of Marten was not acted upon, and the machinations of Monk were crowned with success. Upon the Restoration the name of Henry Marten was "absolutely excepted, both as to life and property," from the so-called Act of Oblivion and Indemnity. He refused, however, to take refuge in flight, and, together with Scot and others, sur- rendered, and resolved to take his trial. Never was justice more open-eyed and distorted. Special clauses were framed to suit the circumstances, the rules of evidence were flagrantly disregarded, and the jury was packed. On the 10th of October, 1660, Marten was placed at the bar of the Old Bailey and required to plead. After some sparring between the Court and the prisoner respecting the necessity of plead- A TRINITY OF REPUBLICANS. 185 ing "Guilty or Not guilty" whilst the Act of Oblivion was in force, Marten submitted, and pleaded Not guilty. He was now accused of both signing and sealing the precept for summoning the Court and the warrant for execution, and that he had with others judged Charles I. maliciously, murderously, and traitorously. In his defence Marten denied the malice, and declared that he had only acted in accordance with the orders of the House of Commons, "the supreme authority of England." " My lord," he continued, " I suppose he that gives obedience to the authority in being de facto, whether de jure or no, I think he is of a .peaceable disposition, and far from a traitor. My lord, I think there was a statute made in Henry the Seventh's time, whereby it was provided that whosoever was in arms for the king de facto, he should be indemnified, though the king de facto was not de jure ; and if supreme officers de facto can justify a war (the most pernicious remedy that was ever adjudged by mankind, be the cause what it will), I presume the supreme authority of Eng- land may justify a judicature, though it be not an authority de facto." 186 ALGERNON SYDNEY. His defence was, however, useless ; the jury took a different view of his conduct, and brought him in guilty. His life was, however, spared, owing to the intercession of his friends and of those Eoyalists whom his humane disposition had in the turbulent days of the past befriended. Instead of the scaffold and the axe, he was sentenced to imprisonment for life, and for twenty long years remained a prisoner at Chepstow Castle. To his last day he never expressed any regret at his complicity with the execution of Charles, and vowed, that if the deed had to be done over again he would again sign the warrant. He died in 1681. " Dost thou ask his crime 1 He had rebelled against a king, and sat In judgment on him — for his ardent mind Shaped goodliest plans of happiness on earth, And peace and liberty. Wild dreams ! but such As Plato loved ; such as, with holy zeal, Our Milton worshipped." Of these three men— Vane, Bradshaw, and Marten — men whom their contemporaries called the " Apostles of the Eepublican party," Marten was the most radical in his Eepublicanism. Unlike his colleagues, who wished to preserve all that was good A TRINITY OF REPUBLICANS. 187 in the Constitution, and build up their new model government on the foundation of the old, Marten aimed at nothing else than the establishment of an entirely new system of constitutional polity. His motto was Revolution, not Reform. He wished to raze the English Constitution to the ground, and on- its site to erect a democracy pur et simple. Mon- archies were detestable, for civil subjection to one man was in his eyes a degradation of the liberty of manhood. A second Chamber was an article of needless superfluity, and the remains of a haughty and exclusive despotism which should at once be swept away. A Mixed government, the govern- ment that Sydney advocated in his "Discourses," and Vane desired, was to Marten but a union of conflicting materials, which could only end in in- cessant disputes, or in a struggle for the supremacy of one of its component parts. Imbued with the loosest ideas of social morality, though amiable and humane, as such men not unfrequently are, he paid scant reverence to the demands of religion, and was- especially hostile to anything like a State religion. Between all creeds, he said, should be perfect equality, and toleration ought to be the leading 188 A LGERNON SYDNEY. principle of them all. If a man was so supersti- tious as to worship, the least that could be allowed him was that he should worship according to the form and manner he most desired. And Marten, to his credit be it written, carried his ideas of tolera- tion into practice, for he it was who, in an age of bitter prejudice, was the first to advocate the return of the Jews to England— a fact generally attributed entirely to the generous sympathy of Cromwell. The only government worthy to be called a govern- ment, according to the views of Henry Marten, was a Democracy. The people were to enjoy universal suffrage, not as a political privilege, but as a natural right, and by the free exercise of that suffrage were to return their representatives to Parliament. Privileged classes were to be abolished. The undue acquisition of wealth or land was to be restrained by the State, and the Executive Government was to be a Council of Representatives elected triennially by the Parliament, and subject to the control and in- terference of Parliament. No one man was to raise himself to power as President or Protector, but those who governed were to be equal in rank, and their opinions supported or defeated by the majority of A TRINITY OF REPUBLICANS. 189 voices in the Council. The one object of government was to be, not the aggrandisement of a class, but the prospeiity of the community through the free and unfettered exertions of its members. Of the doctrine of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity there never was a stauncher advocate or a more repre- sentative man of his school than Henry Marten, Communist and Eepublican. CHAPTEE VI. SWEDEN AND DENMARK. To return to the subject of our biography. From the dissolution of the Long Parliament to the death • of the Protector, Algernon Sydney, with the excep- tion of a second brief visit paid to De Witt at the Hague, remained in strict retirement at Penshurst. During this interval of somewhat uncongenial seclu- sion, he spent much of his time in indulging the taste he had inherited from his father for literary pursuits, and in the solution of abtruse specula- tions on history and political ethics. It is sup- posed that the "Essay on Love," now in manu- script at Penshurst, was written by him at this time. In this essay, Sydney explains the nature and ob- ject of true passion ; and, confining his observations entirely to the analysis of virtuous love, lays down as an unanswerable proposition, that the only passion SWEDEN AND DENMARK. 191 which can add to and never detract from the happi- ness of mankind, is a chaste and lawful love. No misogynist or arrogant lord of creation, Sydney pays, in the pages of this essay, due tribute to woman's character, and avows it as his belief that, with the advantages of a liberal education, the female intellect is fully capable of all the nobler achievements of the human mind. We at the present day, after an interval of nearly two hundred years of neglect, are now beginning to be of the same opinion. "Love," writes Sydney, "is the most intensive desire of the soul to enjoy beauty, and where it is reciprocal is the most entire and exact union of hearts." Such love should be neither absolutely spiritual nor absolutely sensual, but should have regard (for man is a mixed creature) both to the angelical and terres- trial parts in his composition ; for " that can never satisfy which is agreeable only to one part of a com- posed creature ; the soul disdains sensual pleasures, the senses taste not the spiritual ; so that, to please both, the object must be such as both may join in the enjoyment. The spiritual affections are so cold as hardly to have any being ; the sensual, so mad as to be unworthy of anything that pretends to a reasonable 192 ALGERNON SYDNEY. soul; and the strong, lasting, high, and perfectly human passions are only those which proceed from the admiration of an excellent mind clothed with a beautiful body. . . . Wheresoever there is beauty I can never doubt of goodness ; for Nature, which delights in proportion, suits not an excellent mind with a deformed body, nor a vicious mind in a beautiful body." Beauty is the perfection of ex- cellence, and as such is one of our chief motives to admire the greatness and goodness of the Creator. For in this admiration for beauty, we should ever be on our guard " that love to the creature be not of such a degree as to take us from the wor- ship and love of God, or to create in us unlawful desires. And as for illicit passion, it is not more contrary to religion than to love, which delights only in beauty and virtue, hates the deformity of vice, and of that brutish lust which distinguisheth not of honour or justice. He cannot be said to love a woman that would buy his own pleasure with her dishonour or crime — he only loves himself." After dilating upon the happiness that must ensue from a pure and well-regulated love, and the misery arising from a vicious exercise of the passions, he SWEDEN AND DENMARK. 193 concludes his essay in words which show that he held very much the same views, with regard to the natural ability of women, as are held in the present day, by the advocates of what are termed " women's rights " (i.e. an elevation in the intellectual standard for women, and an elevation in the standard of purity for men). He denies, what many in the vicious reign of Charles the Second asserted, and even in our times still assert, that women are such light, frivolous creatures, "fit only to satisfy the senses, maintain our species, and quench our natural desires ; and have not such minds as can give delight to a wise man." " How great an ignorance is this ! " ex- claims Sydney. ..." Who is it that doth not know that every age hath produced some very excellent in those things for which men most prize themselves ? and yet these grave fools despise them. It is true that women have not those helps from study and educa- tion as men have, but in the natural powers of the mind are noways inferior. They exempt themselves from the trouble of those knotty sciences that serve only to deceive fools ; and instead of this they have a pleasantness of wit in conversation very much beyond men, and a well-composedness of judgment vol. i. ° 194 ALGERNON SYDNEY. which, if they did not deserve our love, would move our envy ; and unto whatsoever they apply them- selves, either learning, business, domestic or public government, show themselves at least equal to our sex. . . . Let not any man, then, through a fond and impudent presumption in his own merit, despise that sex." Such a tribute to virtue and to the in- tellectual capacity of women is nowadays not any- thing new ; but coming from a man who lived at the close of the seventeenth century, when woman was regarded as an amusing toy * and nothing more, * " As to the lady of the manor and her daughters, their literary stores generally consisted of a Prayer-boob and a receipt-book. But in truth they lost little by living in rural seclusion. For, even in the highest ranks, and in those situations which aiforded the greatest facilities for mental improvement, the English women of that generation were decidedly worse educated than they have been at any other time since the revival of learning. At an earlier period they had studied the masterpieces of ancient genius. In the present day they seldom bestow much attention on the dead languages ; but they are familiar with the tongue of Pascal and Moliere, with the tongue of Dante and Tasso, with the tongue of Goethe and Schiller ; nor is there any purer or more graceful English than that which accomplished women now speak and write. But, during the latter part of the seventeenth century, the culture of the female mind seems to have been almost entirely neglected. If a damsel had the least smattering of literature she was regarded as a prodigy. Ladies highly born, highly bred, and naturally quick-witted, were unable to write a line in their mother tongue without solecisms and faults of spelling such as a charity-girl would now be ashamed to commit. " The explanation may be easily found. Extravagant licentiousness, the natural effect of extravagant austerity, was now the mode ; and licentiousness had produced its ordinary effect — the moral and intellectual degradation of women. To their personal beauty it was the fashion to SWEDEN AND DENMARK. 195 is a proof both of Sydney's sound liberalism and purity of character. It was during this stay at Penshurst that the Eepublican endeavoured to effect a reform in the vicious and unprincipled conduct of Lord Strangford, who had married his youngest sister. He did his best to get the young man from the clutches of his profligate friends and advisers, and to soften down the dislike which Lord Leicester entertained towards bim. For some time he undertook the management of his embarrassed affairs, and afforded him consider- able pecuniary assistance. But his kindness appears to have been thrown away, for Lord and Lady Strangford, instead of being grateful for Sydney's pay rude and impudent homage ; but the admiration and desire which they inspired were seldom mingled with respect, with affection, or with any chivalrous sentiment. The qualities which fit them to be companions, advisers, confidential friends, rather repelled than attracted the libertines of Whitehall. In that court a maid of honour, who dressed in such a manner as to do full justice to a white bosom, who ogled significantly, who danced voluptuously, who excelled in pert repartee, who was not ashamed to romp with Lords of the Bedchamber and Captains of the Guards, to sing sly verses with sly expression, or to put on a page's dress for a frolic, was more likely to be followed and admired, more likely to be honoured with royal attentions, more likely to win a rich and noble husband, than Jane Grey or Lucy Hutchinson would have been. In such circumstances the standard of female attainments was necessarily low, and it was more dangerous to be above that standard than to be beneath it. Extreme ignorance and frivolity were thought less unbecoming in a lady than the slightest tincture of pedantry."— History of England, by Lord Macaulay ; from Chapter on State of England in 1685. o 2 196 ALGERNON SYDNEY. disinterested generosity, treated their benefactor in after life with, the greatest ingratitude. But the work that undoubtedly occupied much of his thought and reading at this time was the selection of materials for his once famous, but now almost forgotten, " Discourses on Government." The contents of the pages of his Common-place Book, now preserved in the library at Penshurst, exhibit a copious store of extracts, remarks, observations, and the like, collected from the political history of all civilized nations, and illustrative of everj r branch of policy and government. The papers relating to the science of government, which were afterwards imper- fectly produced at Sydney's trial, were also written, it is stated, during this seclusion at Penshurst.* Though Sydney took no share in the affairs of the Protectorate, his friends were incessant in desiring his reappearance amongst them. Bradshaw and Scot, and many of Sydney's former colleagues, were now among the most hostile in the rank of the Opposition. But the political exile at Penshurst deemed it more consistent with his sense of duty, and in better taste, to abstain entirely from attend- * Meadley's Memoirs, pp. 53, 54. 5 WED EN A ND DEN MA RK. 197 ance in the House. His eldest brother, Lord L'Isle, one of that fortunate class of politicians who generally manage to identify their own interests with those of their country, was, however, of a very different way of thinking. He had sided with the Presby- terians when they were the strongest party in the House, with the Independents when they were stronger than the Presbyterians, with the army when it was stronger than either ; and now, as became a true worshipper of the rising sun, he was one of the warmest partisans of Cromwell. Shortly after the dissolution of the Long Parliament his lordship had been summoned as a member of the Barebone Par- liament, and so highly did he acquire the Lord General's confidence, that on the installation of the Protectorate he was named the first upon the Council of State. As a natural consequence of Algernon Sydney's haughty contempt for the usurped authority of Cromwell, a considerable coolness had sprung up be- tween the brothers, which was rendered all the more icy from Lord L'Isle's jealousy of Algernon's authority over his father. A circumstance also now occurred which did not tend to make Lord' L'Isle regard his 198 ALGERNON SYDNEY. brother in a more amiable light. To amuse the house- hold at Penshurst, and to relieve the monotony of his life, Sydney determined to give a representation of the play of "Julius Caesar." A large audience was invited, the actors were in harmony, and the play was a decided success. Sydney sustained the part of Marcus Brutus, and many of his remarks, whether by accident or design, reflected severely on Cromwell. When news of the event was brought to Lord LTsle in London, he at once wrote to his father complain- ing of the insult that had been passed upon the head of the Government, and of the undue authority which Algernon was allowed to exercise at Penshurst. " In my poor opinion," he writes,* " the business of your lordship's house has passed somewhat un- luckily, and that it had been better used to do a seasonable courtesy to my Lord Protector than to have had such a play acted in it, of public affront to him ; which does much entertain the town. I have been in some places where they have told me they were exceedingly pleased with the gallant re- ception of the chief actor in it, and by applauding * Lord L'Isle to Earl of Leicester, June 17, 1656. MS. at Penshurst. See Sydney Papers, edited by R. W. Blencowe, Notes. £ WE DEN A ND DEN MA RK. 199 him they put him several times upon it. . . . And then, my lord, I have my constant sorrow, to see your lordship never omits an opportunity of reproach to me ; and in earnest, I think, laying all other matters aside, this which hath appeared most emi- nently upon this occasion is very extraordinary — that the younger son * should so domineer in the house, that, not only in regard to the matter which I have spoken of, but at all times, I am uncertain whether I can have the liberty to look at it or no ; for, it seems, it is not only his chamber, but the great rooms of the house, and perhaps the whole, that he commands ; and upon this occasion, I think I may most properly say it, that his extremest vanity and want of judgment are so well known, that there will be some wonder at it; for my own part I sub- mit all to your lordship, and am your very obedient son, P. L'Isle." From this time forth Lord L'Isle was at open enmity with his brother — an enmity which in after life by no means tended to the advantage of Alger- non's pecuniary interests. The death of Cromwell, and the subsequent resig- * Algernon. 200 ALGERNON SYDNEY. nation of the feeble Kichard, put an end to the exile of Algernon Sydney. On the re-assembling of the Long Parliament he took his place, together with Vane, Marten, and the other Republican chiefs, and zealously co-operated in all endeavours to promote good government. Once more the statesmen of the Eevolution were at the helm, and their first act was to terminate that military despotism which had been the safeguard of Cromwell's position. A Council was formed, in which care was taken that the officers who had caballed against the Protector Eichard, and had been the means of his overthrow, should be in the minority. Fleetwood was appointed Lieu- tenant-General, but his powers, mainly owing to the cautious suggestions of Algernon Sydney, who was a member of this Council, were limited, and his commission was only to continue during the pleasure of the House. Seven persons selected from the Council had the office of nominating to all vacant commands ; and all appointments and commissions were to be assigned, in the first instance, by the Parliament, and then to pass through the hands of the Speaker direct to the recipients. These measures caused considerable disgust and jealousy among the SWEDEN AND DENMARK. 201 military element. The army, indignant at having to play a subordinate part in the affairs of the nation, would have at once broken out into rebellion, had not danger from the common enemy loomed in the distance. The greater part of the nobility and gentry were now anxious to see peace once more restored, and England freed from the slavery of a military Cgesarism and the turbulent novelties of Eepubli- canism. Cavalier and Presbyterian had agreed to bury their former enmities in oblivion, and to hazard every effort which would ensure permanent tranquillity to the country. And that tranquillity, experience of the past had now taught them, could only be purchased by the restoration of a Monarchy. Conspiracies were organized in various counties among the leading Eoyalists to effect the return of Charles to the throne. A spirit of loyalty began to leaven the different ranks of society, and antagonism to the Parliament broke out in insurrections in the shires. Charles, aided by supplies and forces granted him by the French king, was at Calais, ready to seize the first opportunity offered him by the success of his partisans, and march straight to London. 202 ALGERNON SYDNEY. But the Parliament was on the watch, and the rebellion had no sooner raised its head than it was instantly crushed. Lambert and Booth at the head of their troops gave battle to the conspirators, and before the hardy veterans of the Parliament the raw troops hastily raised by the Koyalists had soon to succumb. This success, however, only hastened the downfall of Eepublicanism. The army, conscious of its power, determined to be reinstated in its former position of authority. A petition was signed by the troops desiring that Fleetwood should be appointed commander-in-chief, Lambert major-general, Des- borough lieutenant-general of the Horse, Monk major- general of the Foot, and that no officer should be dismissed from his command but by court-martial. The Parliament, alarmed and indignant at this petition, immediately cashiered their chief officers, vested the command of the army in seven persons, and voted the abolition of all general officers. Lambert, however, determined to show that might was right, and to decide the controversy by an appeal to military strength. He surrounded the streets which led to Westminster Hall with his troops ; the Parliament was overawed, and once SWEDEN AND DENMARK. 203 more the army was in the ascendant — there to re- main till military jealousies and conflicting interests should pave the way for the overthrow of the English Commonwealth and for the restoration of the son of its victim. During these agitations Algernon Sydney was engaged in diplomacy across the Northern sea. Scarcely had he taken his seat in Parliament when the Council was called upon to mediate a peace between Sweden and Denmark, then engaged in open warfare. Sydney, in conjunction with Bulstrode, Whitelocke, and Sir Kobert Honeywood, was ap- pointed one of the English commissioners to effect this mediation. With one exception, all gladly agreed to undertake their new duties. Whitelocke, however, declined on the plea of old age ; but from his own statement it appears that jealousy had more to do with his refusal than physical inability. He bad some time before been appointed by Cromwell sole Ambassador to Sweden, and the touchy ex- diplomatist could not now brook the thought of acting a subordinate part at the same court. Nor did the old man appear to relish the prospect of being associated with Algernon Sydney. "At the 204 ALGERNON SYDNEY. Council of State," he records in his Memoirs,* " I and Colonel Sydney and Sir Robert Honey- wood were named to go commissioners to the Sound, to mediate a peace between Sweden and Denmark. I was not willing to undertake this service, especially to be joined with those that would expect precedency of me, who had been formerly Ambassador Extraordinary to Sweden alone ; and I knew well the overruling temper and height of Colonel Sydney. I therefore endeavoured to excuse myself by reason of my old age and infirmities ; but the Council pressed it upon me." The excuses of Whitelocke, however, were at last listened to, and one Thomas Boone, a merchant of London, was named commissioner in his stead. Two thousand pounds having been voted for the necessary expenses of the mission, the commissioners quitted England early in July, and arrived at Elsinore on the 21st of the same month. Sweden t at this time was governed by the able and valiant Charles Gustavus, who had ascended the throne January 6, 1654, on the resignation of * Whitelocke's Memorials, p. 680. f History of Scandinavia, by S. A. Dunham, pp. 236 — 240. SWEDEN AND DENMARK. 205 the erotic and erratic Queen Christina. Shortly after his accession Charles invaded Poland, to revenge an affront put upon him by John Casimir, king of Poland, who had refused to acknowledge him as the legitimate successor to the crown of Sweden. The Polish king, however, had soon reason to repent of his impertinence, for everywhere the tactics of the invading Swedes were crowned with success. Poland was forced to succumb, and Casimir only saved himself by flight from falling into the hands of his victors. The Poles would now have elected Charles Gustavus as their king, had not a new friend come to their rescue. The Elector of Brandenburgh, jealous of the triumphs which attended the arms of Sweden, deemed it advisable to march to the assistance of the vanquished Poles, and accordingly gave battle at every opportunity to the victorious monarch. But Charles soon defeated his new foe, and declared ducal Prussia a dependency of Sweden. The diver- sion had, however, been so far successful that it had enabled the Poles to breathe, and to organize more suitable means of defence. It was now a war, not merely between Charles Gustavus and the Polish 206 ALGERNON SYDNEY. army, but between the Swedish army and the Polish nation. Though the victor in every engagement which could be called a battle, Charles found his enemy a more formidable foe than he had imagined. Instead of open warfare, the Poles contented them- selves with harassing the movements of the Swedes, intercepting their supplies, and vigorously attacking and defeating small detachments of their troops. Though in possession of Cracow, Warsaw, Sandomir, and indeed of most of the fortresses in Greater and Lesser Poland, Charles felt that he was far from being master of the country. The Swedish king now began to reflect upon -his position, and to consider that prudence was the better part of valour. The obstacles he had to con- tend against were far from trivial. The winter was unusually severe, and famine, disease, and incessant skirmishing were telling terribly upon his soldiery. An army of Tartars had come to the aid of the struggling Poles, and had proved in many en- counters with the Swedes a most formidable antaaro- nist. Charles felt that single-handed he was fighting against severe odds. Accordingly, he entered into an alliance with the Elector of Brandenburgh, whose SWEDEN AND DENMARK. 207 title to ducal Prussia he now acknowledged, and, joining his forces with those of his changeable ally, severely defeated a combined army of Poles and Tartars on the banks of the Vistula, and in a subsequent action compelled Casimir again to seek refuge in flight. Russia now uniting with Poland, made a powerful diversion in Carelia and Inger- mania ; and the King of Sweden, to strengthen himself against this combination, allied himself with Eagotsky, Prince of Transylvania, the here- ditary enemy of Russia and Austria. All these different alliances were death to un- happy Poland. Open on every side, she offered an easy prey to Swede and Saxon, Pomeranian and Cossack ; whilst she was almost equally oppressed by her allies the Lithuanians, Hungarians, and Russians. And now, whilst Charles Gustavus was engaged to the hilt with his various foes, another and a more dangerous enemy appeared on the scene. The throne of Denmark * was at this time occu- pied by the heavy and stupid Frederick III., the second son of Christian IV. ; a prince who had no * History of Denmark, by S. A. Dunham, pp. 158—171. 208 ALGERNON SYDNEY. principle of conduct beyond his own interests, and whose vices had long been the characteristic faults of the Oldenburg family. Weak and treacherous, his one great aim in life was to aggrandise his position as a sovereign at the expense of the power then wielded by the aristocracy. To attain this object, he paid earnest court to the burghers and the clergy. Unlike that of the present day, the con- stitution of Denmark before 1661 was more of an oligarchy than of a monarchy. The King was but a puppet, whose strings were entirely pulled by the nobles. His election depended solely upon the voice of the aristocracy. The senators were nominated by the nobles without any reference to the King. The four great officers of the Crown — the Grand Chancellor, the Grand Marshal, the Grand Master, and the Grand Admiral — were appointed by the aristocracy. Without permission of his nobles, the King could not quit his realm. He could not modify any decree of the Senate, or prevent it, however obnoxious to him, from becoming law. He was powerless to make peace or war ; to dissolve an old alliance or form a new one ; nor had he any voice in the Senate, where "the general good was SWEDEN AND DENMARK. 209 concerned." All the details of government were entirely in the hands of the aristocracy ; and as generation after generation of continued usurpations had now made the Danish nobles absolute masters of the situation, they trampled alike on king and people. The result of this exercise of undue power by a despotic oligarchy was to make the aris- tocracy of Denmark an object of the bitterest detestation to king, clergy, and burgesses. Between Denmark and Sweden there had always been considerable national animosity, owing to the question of supremacy in the Baltic. And as this question was generally the chief bone of contention between the two rival powers, whenever negotiations ended in an appeal to arms, Holland, to whom Swedish supremacy in the Baltic was as distasteful as it was to Denmark, not unfrequently threw the weight of her aid into the scale of the Danish power. The Peace of Westphalia, which had concluded the last war between Sweden and Denmark, occasioned by the rapacity and duplicity of Christian IV., was one full of humiliation to the latter kingdom. Under its galling terms the Danes smarted as France now smarts under the pitiless demands of triumphant Germany. vol. i. p 210 A LGERNON SYDNEY. By this treaty, Denmark abolished the duties of the Sound and of Gluckstadt, Esthonia, Finland, and Livonia, in favour of all Swedish vessels, and ceded Jamtland, part of Herndale, Gothland, and Oesel to Sweden. The Swedes restored all the conquests they had made in Jutland and Holstein, with the exception of Bremen, which they retained. Large money pay- ments were also granted to Sweden, together with various privileges relating to commerce. It was im- possible that peace built upon such terms, wrung from a proud and sensitive people, could be permanent. That the past should be avenged and all concessions withdrawn was as much the aim of Denmark then as the acquisition of Alsace and Lorraine is now the aim of France. But though revenge was ever pre- sent in the Danish mind, no favourable opportunity was immediately offered for its gratification. At last the abdication of Christina and the accession of Charles X. to the throne of Sweden, inspired Denmark with new hope. "Without the slightest provocation Frederick and his nobles prepared for hostilities, and in 1657 war was declared. Nor did the Danes let the grass grow under their feet. No sooner had war been announced than Bremen, which the Treaty of SWEDEN AND DENMARK. 211 Westphalia had left to Sweden, was invaded by- Danish soldiers, and the recently acquired possessions of the Swedes were in imminent danger of returning to their former owners. But Denmark little knew the character of the enemy she was wantonly provoking. Hastening through Brandenburgh and Pomerania, Charles was in Holstein before the Danes knew that he had even left Poland. Aided by his allies, Ham- burg and Liibeck, always the enemies of Denmark, he soon conquered the whole province, and, content with this victory, returned to Pomerania. At his departure, the onus of the war devolved upon one of his chief officers, General Eangel, whom he left behind with a large body of troops to reduce Fredericia, a fortified town which the Danish monarch had erected on the borders of the Little Belt. And now it went hard with Denmark. Fredericia was taken by assault ; Jutland and Sleswick were sub- dued ; whilst Norway and Scania were gradually suc- cumbing to the victorious Swedes. To add to the distress of the Danes, the elements were against them. The winter of 1657 was unusually severe : the narrow straits between the islands were one mass of ice, and all aid by the fleet was rendered impossible. p 2 212 ALGERNON SYDNEY. Charles, on his return from Pomerania, determined to take advantage of this arctic weather by crossing the Little Belt, and thus gaining possession of Funen. Over the ice-bound highway passed his in- fantry, cavalry, and heavy artillery, and the as- tonished Danes soon saw that they had no alternative but to yield. Funen was soon captured, and the fortresses of Langeland and Laaland almost imme- diately afterwards shared the same fate. Ambition grows by what it feeds upon. Charles had passed the Little Belt and reduced the smaller Danish islands ; he now resolved to cross the Great Belt and to subjugate Zealand, with Copenhagen itself — the last remaining outwork of the Danish monarchy. Ordering General Eangel to lead the infantry, whilst he himself led the cavalry, Charles passed over to Laaland ; then to Falster, and finally over the passage to the Zealand coast. So far all was well. But now Europe, alarmed at the success of the Swedish king, thought it time to interfere and protect the weaker power. A trinity of ambassadors, from England, France, and Holland, appeared on the scene and demanded -peace of Charles. England was naturally averse to the continuance SWEDEN AND DENMARK. 213 of such a conflict. "Cromwell's favourite alliance," says Burnet, " was with Sweden. Carolus Gustavus and he lived in great conjunction of counsels." Sir. Philip Meadows, who was sent as envoy extra- ordinary of the Lord Protector to the court of Denmark, to mediate between the northern crowns, said truly, that his master could not possibly have received a more unwelcome message than that war should have broken out between the two kingdoms. The bitter hostility of the two northern countries was, in Cromwell's eyes, not only an unhappy disunion which would be greatly to the advantage of the common enemy, but would also strike a grave blow to the Protestant cause. " Being thus employed to the effusion of Christian blood, and your mutual ruins," writes Sir Philip to the King of Denmark,* "it cannot but weaken your own force, and consequently endanger the said cause, especially in this juncture of time, when the Papalins are everywhere unanimously and vigorously endeavouring by open force the destruction thereof. Certainly, neither the King of Spain, with whom at this present my master is at open defiance, nor the * Sept. 13, 1657: State Papers, Denmark, 1C41— 1659, No. 13. 214 ALGERNON SYDNEY. King of Hungary, nor the whole House of Austria (that chief pillar of the Papacy), could receive so pleasing an intelligence as that of the present un- happy division. Besides, your Majesty cannot be ignorant how great an impediment this would put to the free commerce of merchants, especially in the Baltic Sea, particularly to us of England, who cannot be without those commodities which are daily brought from those parts for the use of our shipping." As is always the case under such circumstances, each nation blamed the other for being forced to embrace the alternative of war. Denmark unblush- ingly declared* "that she had ever studied to preserve a sincere and cordial friendship with all, especially her neighbours, allies, and confederates; yet at last, being urged by such extreme necessity, and provoked by clivers injuries and considerable losses received by and from the Swedes, who have all along slighted the most fair proposals of peace, she could no longer forbear taking up arms in her own de- fence, and did even in the very beginning of the war propose this end to herself, of securing by her * Oct. 19, 1657: State Papers, Denmark, 1641—1659, No. 13. SWEDEN AND DENMARK. 215 power a free, open, and safe commerce for all the Borderers in and about the Baltic ; nor hath she yet omitted anything that might conduce to the obtaining this so good and happy quiet." Sweden retorted, that nothing but the most treacherous and outrageous conduct on the part of Denmark would have ever induced her to appeal to arms. "His most Sacred Royal Majesty cannot sufficiently com- plain of the manifold injuries the King of Den- mark hath offered both to his person and king- doms. That, contrary to the laws of all nations, contrary to a solemn agreement, contrary to his own oath, contrary to his frequent and reiterated protestation of observing with all integrity that peace which was anciently maintained between the two crowns; and that, contrary to an instrument under his own hand, wherein he obliged himself not to obstruct by any means whatsoever the pro- gress of his Majesty's victorious conquests in Poland; and yet, that after all this, his said Majesty of Denmark, when his Sacred Royal Majesty of Sweden was thinking of nothing less, should offer to invade his dominions in a hostile manner, both by sea and land, and consequently put a stop to 216 ALGERNON SYDNEY.. that full career of victories which his Majesty of Sweden was reaping in the bowels of Poland. Most assuredly, his Sacred Royal Majesty of Sweden may safely profess and call God to witness, that he was compelled by mere necessity, and that against his own inclination, to engage himself in the Danish war." Both nations, however, responded to the interest which Cromwell took in their welfare, by cordially assenting to his proposals for mediation. Sweden, ruled by the able Charles X., was far too dis- agreeable an enemy for the kingdom governed by the stupid Frederick III. and his arrogant Senate not to wish to withdraw honourably from the contest. Whilst Denmark, though not a powerful, was an extremely harassing foe, and a consider- able difficulty in the way of Charles's extending his conquests further into Poland and Prussia. All, therefore, that Sweden now demanded, was con- venient satisfaction for the loss and injuries sus- tained, and to be secured from the further violence of the Danes. The mediation proposed by Crom- well was supported by France, and, after a few months spent in amicable negotiations, peace was SWEDEN AND DENMARK. 217 signed between Sweden and Denmark at Roschild, Feb. 27, 1658. The chief clauses of this Treaty were : — That both nations should renounce all leagues entered into to the damage of the other, and should do all in their power to hinder any hostile fleet from enter- ing the Baltic by the strait in the Sound or the Belt ; that all Swedish ships upon exhibition of their lawful passports should be allowed to pass the Sound and Baltic without let or hindrance, and free from all payment of customs ; that Den- mark, as a satisfaction to Sweden for past injuries, should surrender, to the last-named Power, Hailing, Blecking, Schonen, and Bornholm, together with all islands subject to them, and also the castle of Bahuse in Norway, and the dominion of Nidrose, commonly called Trundheim ; that in her turn Sweden should restore to Denmark all lands, places, and forts seized by her during the war in Denmark, Norway, Sleswick, Holstein, and the county of Pinnenberg; and should also renounce all rights and pretensions to the counties of Delmenhorst and Dithmarsen, by reason of the dukedom of Bresne ; and lastly, that Denmark should deliver to Sweden 218 A LGERNON SYDNHY. 2,000 horsemen and 2,000 foot,, and should restore all lands and ships seized from Sweden.* But these articles were soon rendered null by the conduct of Denmark. Within a few weeks after the Treaty of Eoschild had been solemnly signed, but before it was ratified, war again broke out between the two countries. Denmark, with that treacherous policy which is the refuge of the cunning and the hostility of the weak, not only endeavoured to evade the obligations she had pro- mised to fulfil, but acted in open contradiction to them. In defiance of all the clauses of the recent treaty, she began secretly to plot with the enemies of Sweden for the overthrow of Charles ; and, in addition to her refusal to withdraw from those leagues that she had previously entered into to the prejudice of the Swedes, formed new alliances still more hostile to her northern rival. In open viola- tion of her articles of agreement, she admitted a foreign fleet into the Baltic ; exacted customs and other charges from Swedish ships in the Sound ; re- fused to deliver up the island of Ween, which was * State Papers, Denmark, 1641—1659, No. 13. (Treaty of Kosohild, or Roskild.) SWEDEN AND DENMARK. 219 attached to Sclionen ; endeavoured to tamper with the loyalty of the Swedish soldiers and the alle- giance of the Swedish nobles ; and in short, did all in her power to stultify Charles and to elude her obligations. The King of Sweden had now no alternative but to declare war against Denmark, " since the Danes knew right well what peace-breakers were to ex- pect, and that war must of necessity return where the peace solemnly made, through the Danes' per- verseness, could take no effect. . . . And though his Sacred Eoyal Majesty of Sweden had enter- tained quite another opinion of the King of Den- mark, . . . yet could he not, though it was his earnest desire, refrain from war, which was the only imaginable remedy to preserve himself against the treacheries of the Danes."* But the interval occasioned by the negotiations for peace had been well employed by the Danes. When Charles de- scended for the second time upon Zealand, he saw that the formerly panic-stricken soldiery were pre- pared for resistance, and resolved to fight to the * State Papers, Denmark, 1641—1659, No. 13. (A Kemonstrance of his Sacred Koyal Majesty of Sweden.) 220 ALGERNON SYDNEY. last. And now ensued the memorable siege of Copenhagen. In vain Charles essayed all his arts to gain the capital ; the defenders were more than a match for the assailants. Holland, the old ally of Denmark, also now came to the rescue of her friend, and with her well-manned fleet threw suc- cours into the besieged town, by forcing the passage of the Sound. England, too, at this crisis of affairs, sent a fleet of thirty sail into the Sound, less to assist the Danes than to prevent the Dutch from deriving too great an advantage from any accidental turn of events. It was at this juncture that Sydney and his col- leagues appeared on the scene. Charles was at Fredericksburg ; the Danish court was pent up at Copenhagen. The Commissioners at once proceeded to act according to their instructions. These instructions were cautious, interested, and comprehensive. Briefly they were as follows : — * After having held a conference with Sir Philip * " Instructions for Edward Montague, General of the Fleet ; Algernon Sydney, a member of Parliament and of the Council of State, appointed by authority of Parliament ; Sir Robert Honeywood, Knt., a member of the said Coiineil of State ; and Thomas Boone, a member of Parliament, commissioners, Plenipotentiaries to the Kings of Sweden and Denmark." — Slate Vapers, Denmark, 1641 — 1659, No. 13. SWEDEN AND DENMARK. 221 Meadows, the Commissioners were to repair to the Kings of Denmark and Sweden, and to let them know " that the Parliament of the Commonwealth of England, having a deep sense of the present wars which are fallen out betwixt them and their king- doms, and of the consequences which must now follow thereupon to themselves, their allies, and the Protestant cause, and also in respect of the freedom of navigation and commerce in those parts," had thought fit to offer its services of mediation, in the hopes that such services would put an end to the unhappy hostilities now existing between their northern majesties. In order to arrive at this wished-for result, the Commissioners were instructed to correspond with the public ministers of the King of France and of the States-General, and to take care that in all matters connected with the treaty which it was hoped would soon be entered into, the interests of the Commonwealth were to occupy a prominent place. Should differences arise between Sweden and Denmark in the framing of a new treaty, then the late Treaty of Roschild was to be the foundation of a peace between the two kingdoms. If, on the King 222 ALGERNON SYDNEY. of Denmark refusing to perform the obligations con- tained in the Treaty at Roschild, the United Pro- vinces should agree to withdraw their assistance from the Danish king, then the assistance of Eng- land was also to be withdrawn from the King of Sweden, unless his Swedish Majesty would, in his turn, promise to confirm the aforesaid Treaty of Eoschild. The English Commissioners, after having agreed with those of the States-General respecting the terms that should be adopted for the preserva- tion of the interests of England and of the United Provinces in the Sound, were to enforce such terms upon Sweden or Denmark, either by with- drawing their fleets or by combining them, so as to compel the recalcitrant Power to accede to the terms demanded. Should Denmark or any other State ever endeavour to obstruct the navigation of the Baltic, then England agreed to ally herself with Sweden to prevent such obstruction, provided that Sweden would not demand any toll from English ships passing through the Sound or the Belts. All acts of hostility were to cease if pos- sible between Sweden and Denmark during the discussion of the mediation. Advantages granted SWEDEN AND DENMARK. 223 by Denmark to the States-General were also to be granted to England. Every endeavour was to be made to reconcile the differences between Sweden, Poland, the Elector of Brandenburgh, and the town of Dantzic. That in any treaty of peace between Sweden and Poland, care was to be taken to pro- vide for the restoration of those Protestant churches which had been exiled from Poland, and for the maintenance of the liberties and privileges they had formerly enjoyed. If the States-General should make a point of Denmark retaining Bornholm and Dron- theim, instead of yielding them to Sweden, as by the Treaty of Eoschild she had agreed to do, the English Commissioners were instructed " to endeavour to pro- cure the King of Sweden's consent and good liking thereunto," rather than that war should continue for that cause only. The instructions concluded with the request that satisfaction be demanded from Denmark, for damage done to the ships of the Company .of the Merchant Adventurers in 1643. CHAPTER VII. DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. At first the efforts of the Commissioners did not make rapid progress towards the restoration of peace. Diplomatic ceremonies and official conven- tionalities not only occupied much valuable time, but Sweden, when negotiations began in earnest, showed herself averse to peace. The genius of Sydney, however, proved itself equal to the occa- sion. He resisted the high pretensions of Charles Gustavus at the commencement of the transactions, and, deprecating the continual warfare between the two neighbouring nations, did all in his power to settle their disputes on the broad and satis- factory basis of mutual advantage. The onus of the mission very shortly after the arrival of the Com- missioners devolved almost entirely upon Sydney. Montague, the admiral of the fleet, was secretly attached to the cause of the Restoration, and even DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 225 in his capacity as mediator between Denmark and Sweden was plotting the return of the fleet to England, and giving in his adherence to those who were now agitating for the return of Charles II. The keen penetration of Algernon Sydney, however, soon fathomed the admiral's intention, and he im- mediately communicated the news to the Parliament, who ordered six additional frigates to be equipped, under the command of Lawson. But the days of the English Commonwealth were now numbered, and on the first signs of its down- fall, Montague left Sydney and returned with the whole fleet to England. " Montague," says Clarendon,* " was of a noble family, of which some were too much addicted to innovations in religion : and in the beginning of the troubles appeared against the King, though his father, who had been long a servant to the Crown, never could be prevailed upon to swerve from his allegiance ; and took all the care he could to restrain this his only son within those limits ; but being young, and more out of his father's control, by being married into a family, which at that time also trod awry, he was so far * Clarendon's History, vol. iii. p. 1107. VOL. I. Q 226 ALGERNON SYDNEY. wrought upon by the caresses of Cromwell, that out of pure affection to him he was persuaded to take command in the army, when it was new modelled under Fairfax, and when he was little more than twenty years of age. He served in the condition of a colonel to the end of the war, with the reputation of a very stout and brave young man ; and from that time, Cromwell, to whom he passionately adhered, took him into his nearest con- fidence, and sent him first joined in commission with Blake, and then in the sole command by sea, in which he was discreet and successful. And though men looked upon him as devoted to Crom- well's interests, in all other respects he behaved himself with civility to all men, and without the least show of acrimony towards any who had served the King, and was so much in love with monarchy, that he was one of those who most desired, and advised Cromwell to accept and assume that title when it was first offered to him." " It is not surprising," writes Hume,* " that with these feelings, Admiral Montague should have en- gaged heartily in the restoration of Charles ; he was * Hume, vol. vii. p. 485. DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 227 then Commander of the Fleet, and in that capacity was enabled to render him very important services ; for which he was created Earl of Sandwich." Abont the same time that Montague deserted his former associates, Boone returned to England to acquaint the Government that the Commissioners were in want of money. Thus the most impor- tant stages of the negotiation had to be conducted by Sydney and Honey wood; and what with having their bills of exchange frequently dishonoured, owing to the exhausted state of the Treasury, and what with the insolence of the Dutch, who tried their utmost to thwart the designs of England, it re- quired all the tact and discretion of the two Com- missioners to bring the proceedings to a successful issue. The following letter from Algernon Sydney shows what the practical Eepublican thought of the progress and prospects of the mediation he was commissioned to effect : — Algernon Sydney to the Earl of Leicester.* Copenhagen, Sept. \Zth, 1659. My Lord, Though this be a place that few persons would desire to know, and there is nothing to be written * Sydney Papers, edited by A. Collins. Q 2 2 2 S A LGERNON 8YDNE Y. from it, that, relating anything that is here seen or done, can probably give any great satisfaction ; I think it my duty to give your Lordship sometimes an account of my own concernments and proceedings, which have been so far retarded by the tedious cere- monies and disputes that are usual in these northern courts, that all the Ministers of the mediating states are not much farther advanced in their negotiation for peace than when we came : the most part of the time hath been spent upon the preliminaries, in tedious and frivolous disputes about precedence, titles in safe conducts, nomination of commissaries to treat for both the Kings, and other things, in which all the time appointed by an agreement between the crowns of Sweden and Denmark was lost : I think to the satisfaction of both those Kings ; for neither of them desiring peace, but as they were driven on unto it by their allies, they were willing to favour the customs of their parts, to draw things out into an intolerable length, each desiring to avoid the peace, without any such positive denial as should give the Ministers of England and Holland occasion to declare him the refuser of it, or to employ any force belonging unto either Commonwealth against him for refusing, as they were obliged to do by the agree- ment of the Hague. The treaty being yet prolonged after the days formerly allotted, some time was spent in fencing, each striving to cast the refusal upon the other. We helped the Swede unto two advantages ; the one to oblige the Dane to a parti- cular treaty with him, excluding the Emperor, King of Poland, and Elector of Brandenburgh, which has DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 229 exceedingly discontented them; the other, to make him declare his mind upon every particular, before the Swede did discover anything of his intentions. But this lasted not long, for the Danish commissaries, when they found there was no other way of making the Swede a refuser, produced a declaration of then- King's, whereby he yielded entirely to all those con- ditions agreed upon at the Hague to be propounded unto the two Kings ; which the Swede calls an im- position, and dishonourable unto him to receive ; he did absolutely refuse them ; upon which the Holland Ministers have declared him to be the refuser of the peace, and given orders to the commanders of their fleets to assault him by sea and land, as they should see occasion ; and will very suddenly trans- port into this island about 3,000 Danish horse that are in Holstein, some foot of the same nation, and the 4,000 foot brought out of Holland by De Euyter. The Swedes desire the removal of the treaty from the tents between the town and their camp to Roskill ; which seems very reasonable, for the weather growing very ill in these parts, it is troublesome continuing there. The Holland Minis- ters assert to the continuing of the treaty, they seek- ing (as they say) a peace, not an occasion of war, with the King of Sweden, and to the change of the place. The King of Denmark and his Council, having engaged the Holland fleet in their assistance, think their business is done, seek nothing more than breaking of the treaty, and for a pretence say, they cannot in honour treat longer with the Swede, unless the King sign a declaration, assenting unto 230 ALGERNON SYDNEY. what was agreed at the Hague. We are to have an audience this morning upon this business from the King of Denmark, and there being nothing of justice in what his officers demand, hope our de- sires will be easily granted, whereby the treaty may be continued, with some expectation of concluding a peace. We have to treat here with two princes of very different natures. The King of Sweden is a man of exceeding wit, valiant, industrious, vigilant, who thinks nothing is well done either in military or civil business, which passeth not through his hands; and he is thought to understand affairs of both natures better than any man in his court or army, but is so violently transported with ambition and choler upon every slight occasion, that he doth frequently omit things that are most for his advan- tages, and cast himself into those extremities, which would have ruined him, if he had not been often assisted by his friends, beyond what could in reason be expected.* On the other side, the King of Den- mark is a heavy sleepy man, understands very little of business, of peace or war, is swayed much by some little people about him, and if the constitu- tion of the kingdom would permit it, a German Groom of the Chamber, that is the Queen's favourite, and by her means his, would have more power in the government than all the Senate.! This un- * "Even Algernon Sydney, who was not inclined to think or speak well of kings, commended him (Charles X.) to me, and said he had just notions of public liberty." — Burnet, vol. i. p. 139. f Before 1661 the Danes, as I have said, though living nominally under a monarchy, had actually been governed by the Senate. The Crown was DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 231 certainty of affairs makes me uncertain of my own concernments here, and my return home. The report of the Cavaliers' numbers and strength in England had spread into this place, and were believed to be very terrible by all here, except some of us, that by knowing their temper could guess at the issue ; but we were thought, according to the custom of public Ministers, to speak what we wished, and what we would persuade unto others, rather than what we did believe. I hope that whatsoever be the issue of our negotiations, as mediators of peace between these two northern kings, we shall have this fruit of our journey, as to be able to lay a good foundation of a near alliance between the United Provinces and England. I am perfectly, Your Lordship's, Algernon Sydney. The Earl of Leicester. And now, whilst the absent son was occupied in the arrangement of these Northern disputes, a domestic affliction fell heavily upon the chief inmate of the old elective, extremely limited in its prerogative, and dependent upon the nobles. In 1661, however, the people, disgusted with the oppressive authority of the Senate, surrendered their liberties voluntarily and un- conditionally into the hands of the " heavy, sleepy " Frederick III. In the course of four days the Crown of Denmark became hereditary and abso- lute ; the leading principle of the new Constitution being " That the King has the privilege reserved to himself to explain the law and to alter and change it as he shall find good." One of the first acts of Frederick III. was to raise the German groom, alluded to by Algernon Sydney, to the highest dignity in the State. 232 ALGERNON SYDNEY. hall at Penshurst. Fate had not been dealing over kindly with the learned Earl as time wore on, and other principles and other manners were rudely thrust- ing ha to the background the conservative notions of Church and State, of royalty and privilege, in which he and his forefathers had been reared. Though he had retired into seclusion shortly after the begin- ning of the Civil War, he had been disturbed by the Parliament, and it had required all the interest of Lord Northumberland and of his own sons to pre- vent his estates being sequestered. In addition to the mortifications arising from the course which public events had taken, private sorrows had frequently visited him. He was estranged from his eldest son ; he disapproved of the views of Algernon, and was disposed to look sternly upon him. His two favourite daughters were carried off by consumption. His youngest daughter was unhappy with her spendthrift husband, and made her father the confidant of her troubles. Several of his grandchildren, and one in particular, who was his pet, had died in his arms. And now his wife, after a lingering illness, was also to be taken away. Though of a warm and somewhat irritable temper, Lady Leicester was an excellent DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 233 woman, and, as her letters to her lord plainly show, a most affectionate wife. Her last moments are thus touchingly recorded in her husband's journal : — "On Saturday the 20th of August, 1659, between six and seven o'clock in the morning, my wife sent one of her women, who came in some haste to tell me that she desired to speak with me. I was not yet out of my bed, but I put on my clothes as fast as I could, and came and knelt by her bed-side, where she had caused herself to be raised, and sat up, being stayed by one of her women. I took her by the hand and kissed it. She inclined her face towards me to kiss me, and said, ' My dearest heart, I find that I must very quickly leave you ; but before I die, I desire to say a few words unto you, and many I cannot say. Love God above all, fear Him and serve Him. My love hath been great and con- stant to you ' (then she wept gently) ; ' and I beseech you pardon my anger, my angry words, my passions, and whatsoever wherein I have offended you, even all my faults and failings towards you. Pray for me in this my weak estate and near approach of death. Commend me to my dear boy [Algernon]; 234 ALGERNON SYDNEY. I should have been glad to see him before I die ; but it is not God's will to have it so. I recommend him to God and you, and earnestly desire you to be careful of him. Keep all your promises, and trouble not yourself for me. I pray God that you may live happily when I am gone, and that God will be pleased to take you at that time when He shall find it best for you. Pray for me. Fear God : love God : serve God : remember me, and love my memory. Think continually upon eternity. I can say no more, and so my dear lord, farewell.' Then inclining her face to mine as well as she could, and gently pressing my hand she said, ' God bless you : and now lay me down to rise no more.' " Then Mr. Lee (the Vicar of Penshurst) came and prayed, at which, both with eyes and hands up- reared, she showed with her eyes and hands many great signs of devotion and resignation of herself to God, and at the saying of the Lord's Prayer she lifted up her hands and eyes ; and I perceived her lips moved, saying, as I believe, the same prayers with us, though I could not hear her, and so like- wise at the benediction and conclusion of our prayers. Then she called for her daughter Anne Sydney, to DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 235 whom kneeling by her bed-side, she said, 'Nan, I confess that I have been sometimes sharp and un- kind to you, but I have always loved you well. I desire you to forgive all my passions and sharp speeches ; ' then she kissed her and said, ' Pray for me : so farewell, God bless you. Now,' said she, ' I pray draw the curtains ;' which being done I sat down by the bed-side, and heard her groan, but gently, and not very painfully, as I thought, but rather moaning than groaning; then thinking that she was in a little slumber, I left her and went to despatch some businesses which she desired to be done, and, having finished it, I came again to her bed-side. ... I promised to do all she had desired of me ; then she thanked me again, and then having kissed her, she laid her head lower on the pillow, and I drew the curtain, leaving her inclining to slumber, and gently groaning or moaning as she had done before ; that day I dined not, but about one o'clock I came to her bed-side and heard her make the same noise, and when they offered her any nourishment or cordial she refused it; and so again about three o'clock, and so at other times when I came; and last of all after five o'clock, a little 236 ALGERNON SYDNEY. before prayers, I came again, and she lay as she had done, having taken nothing at all ; and at seven o'clock I went to prayers, and as the minister was reading, one came running to call me. I presently went out of the chapel and came to her bed-side." On receipt of the intelligence of his mother's death, Sydney at once wrote to condole with the Earl. " The passage of letters from England hither," he writes,* "is so uncertain, that I did not until within these few days hear the sad news of my mother's death. I was then with the King of Sweden at Nycopin in Falster. This is the first opportunity I have had of sending to condole with your Lordship a loss that is so great to yourself and your family, of which my sense was not so much diminished, in being prepared by her long, languishing, and certainly incurable sickness, as increased by the last words and actions -of her life. I confess, persons in such tempers are most fit to die, but they are also most wanted here ; and we, that for a while are left in the world, are most apt, and perhaps with reason, to regret most the loss of those we most want. It * Sydney Papers, edited by A. Collins ; Nov. 5, 1659, Copenhagen. DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 237 may be, light and humane passions are most suitably employed upon humane and worldly things, wherein we have some sensible concernment ; thoughts, abso- lutely abstracted from ourselves, are more suitable unto that steadiness of mind that is much spoken of, little sought, and never found, than that which is seen amongst men. It were a small compliment for me to offer your Lordship to leave the employ- ment in which I am, if I may in anything be able to ease your Lordship's solitude. If I could propose that to myself, I would cheerfully leave a condition of much more pleasure and advantage than I can with reason hope for. Before I undertook this, many difficulties did appear unto me, and I have not found them less than I expected ; the ambition of the King of Sweden, and the weakness of the King of Den- mark, make those businesses very difficult, that must be so ordered as to satisfy them both ; the one hates everything that stops his conquests, and the other doth not well understand the state of his own affairs." Sydney then proceeds to discuss the pros- pects of the treaty, but in no sanguine light, and talks about a probable journey into Poland with the French ambassador to mediate a peace there. The 238 ALGERNON SYDNEY. following letter to Whitelocke enters into fuller details respecting the mission he had undertaken : — Algernon Sydney to Lord Commissioner White- locke.* Elsinore, Nov. \Zth, 1659. My Lord, Since your Lordship's of the 21st of Sep- tember, I have received no letter from England, but such as have come to me by chance from per- sons so far from the knowledge of business, that they did not know of the liberty granted unto us by the Parliament and Council to return home, so that my colleagues and I have depended wholly upon the information we should receive from the Holland Ministers for the knowledge of all that hath been done in England since that time. I was never more surprised with anything, than the votes and acts of the Parliament upon the petition of the fifth of last month,f the contents of it being so modest, * Sydney Papers, edited by R. W. Blencowe. During the Interregnum the holders of the Great Seal were styled Lords Commissioners. f The purport of this petition was, that Fleetwood should be made Commander-in-Chief ; Lambert, Major-General ; Desborow, Lieutenant- General of the Horse ; Monk, Major-General of the Foot ; to which a demand was added that no officer should be dismissed from his command but by a court-martial. The Parliament, alarmed at the danger, imme- diately cashiered Lambert, Desborow, Berry, Clarke, Barrow, Kelsey, and Cobbet. Sir Arthur Haselrig proposed the impeachment of Lambert for high treason. Fleetwood's commission was vacated, and the command of the army was vested in seven persons, of whom that General was one. The Parliament voted that they would have no more general officers. DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 239 that, for aught I can see, they gave a very fair "way and opportunity unto the Parliament of gratifying them, and composing those differences that were about to spring up amongst them ; than which, I think, nothing was more desirable. I cannot imagine what could put them upon so contrary a course, destructive unto themselves and dangerous to our long-defended cause ; but there is a vis abdita which sways all human things, turns them which way it pleaseth, blasts the best weighed counsels, and makes the most absurd follies often serviceable unto the greatest good. "We have seen much of this in our age, and no man knows but their late actions may render it more evident ; and your Lordship's prudence may do very much towards the making it so, by making use of their extravagances for the procuring such a settlement as would, with much more difficulty, have been obtained, if they who had intentions to oppose it had not destroyed themselves. Your Lordship sees how much I am in the dark as to those actions amongst you, wherein I have the nearest concernment, both as an Englishman, and as one that, for these many years, has been engaged in that cause, which, by the help of God, I shall never desert. I do not know how it will be taken that we make no use of the liberty that was granted unto us of returning home ; but I think whoever sees the condition in which we are, will hardly believe that we could have any other reason than the care of the public interest, and the not daring to take upon ourselves (when it was re- ferred to our discretion) the leaving of a business, in which the whole nation may receive an extreme 240 ALGERNON SYDNEY. prejudice. I am not able to speak more particularly of the general state of our business than in the re- presentation we have made unto the Council ; nor am I able to tell whether we may be able to obtain a particular peace betwixt Denmark and Sweden, which will be followed by Poland and Brand enburgh, or the general peace of Germany ; but I think I am sure it is good for us to endeavour the first, and have an eye to both, that if it be possible we may preserve the Swedish interest in Germany and the Sound, or, if he be so obstinate that he must be destroyed, to take care that we do not fall with him. He doth ask a general peace, and everybody believes he doth abhor it. The Danes eagerly hearken after a general treaty, which we have hitherto diverted, thinking it certain that the Imperialists will insist upon keeping what they have, or shall hereafter take from the Swede, or force him to restore Schonen unto the Danes, or, which is worst of all, while they dispute according to the German manner, upon foolish cir- cumstances and ceremonies, touching the preliminaries, they may most probably gain such advantage upon him as will absolutely change the conditions of the treaty. These things, and many others, are very obvious to any man's understanding ; but the King of Sweden, though he is very able, is so carried away with his ambitious humour, the flattery of some of his Ministers here, and the false information that he receives from those that he employs abroad, that he sees nothing of this, but runs blindly on, as I fear, to his destruction. Amongst other things in which I think he is absurd, I think that relating unto DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 241 England is not the least. Since the unhappy return of our fleet he hath never thought England would do anything against him. A few shot of our cannon would have made this peace and given no leisure to consult of the German affairs ; but now he is so possessed with an opinion that the army govern all, and is wholly for his interest, upon the information he receives from M. Frizendorf and Brushute, a che- mical Swedish senator (who, as they say, is making money at Lambeth). We say what we can, but it is all in vain; he will have a general peace, or an assurance of assistance from us, before he will leave this island ; but small accidents may change their resolutions. If he hath ill-success in Funen, the difficulty of concluding this peace will be on the other side. When we are in this uncertainty as to public business, both in England and here, you may be sure we cannot be more settled in that which con- cerns our own particulars. I refer myself very much unto your Lordship as to that. If the Government in England do continue on the good old principles, I shall be ready to serve them; if it returns to monarchy, I desire nothing but liberty to retire — finding myself a very unfit stone for such a building. Having thus far and freely declared myself unto your Lordship, I desire you will, according to your accus- tomed favour, take care that I may know what I have to depend upon in relation unto our negotiation and myself, who am, by a most fixed inclination, Your Lordship's most humble and faithful Servant, Algernon Sydney. VOL. I. K 242 ALGERNON SYDNEY. We hear General Monk is marching into England, but I hope you have ordered matters so as to keep the army united. The difficulties which environed the negotiations of the Commissioners — difficulties increased by the intrigues of the confederates of Denmark, Poland, Austria, and Brandenburgh, who, anxious to deprive Sweden of her distant dependencies, did all in their power to prolong the war ; whilst Sweden, on the other hand, confident that England and France would not allow her to fall, was no less hostile to pacific views — now entered upon a new phase, owing to the death of the King of Sweden. Whilst his Majesty was at Nyborg endeavouring to repair a defeat he had there sustained, he was carried off by an epidemic fever, February 23rd, 1660. The character of Charles Gustavus is well described by Sydney in the two following letters : — Algernon Sydney to the Earl of Leicester.* Copenhagen, Feb. 22nd, 1660. My Lord, I send this to your Lordship by our secretary, whom we have despatched unto the Parliament and Council, with the news of the King of Sweden's * Sydney Papers, edited by A. Collins. DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 243 death, and to receive such orders as, upon the re- presentation of affairs here, the Parliament will think fit to send, upon so great a change as this is likely to bring unto all the northern parts of Europe. I think, never prince had so many and so potent enemies as he, and that did so well defend himself against them with so small a strength. His greatest was his own industry, wit, and courage, and I make no doubt they will grow as insolent after his death, as they were fearful and humble when they were to deal with him singly ; and will express their hatred against the young King and his mother, which could never hurt him, unless when multitudes assembled on all sides to assault him. I have of late thought we should speedily have a peace here : I hope this will not retard it, but the conditions will be less for the advantage of Sweden. I was then desirous of seeing it concluded before I returned; I confess I now am more unwilling to leave it undetermined. The chief inducement then was the interest of England ; I can now add to that consideration an obligation, by all the rules of humanity and charity, to endeavour the protection of an infant, and of a very virtuous mother. I am apt to think the Queen Christina will now think fit to turn a Lutheran again, and endeavour to breed some disturbance in Sweden ; but I hope her party is so much diminished by the reports that are made of the life she leads, that her designs will vanish without doing any great mischief. I have appointed this bearer to wait upon your Lordship, that if you care to know anything of our business here, he may give you a very full relation, having been employed B 2 244 ALGERNON SYDNEY. by me in it. I have not heard anything of your Lordship this many months, which is a great trouble to me. I desire your Lordship to take me out of it, and if your own affairs or health will not give you the convenience of writing to me, that you appoint some servant to send me news of your health and concernments — how you are and how you live at this time, which I know must needs be solitary to you, and I fear uneasy. I shall rejoice in hearing I am mistaken, and that all things do succeed according to your Lordship's own desire, and the prayers of your Lordship's Algernon Sydney. Algernon Sydney to Lord Commissioner Whitelocke.* Copenhagen, March lit, 1660. My Lord, It is not long since I received from your Lord- ship a letter dated the 16th of December; I know not where it had travelled in that time, nor into whose hands it had fallen, but I observed the seal was untouched, which was a better fortune than doth befall many letters that come this way. The death of the King of Sweden falling out at the time he was full of great designs, it was expected that very great alteration should follow it, but I am apt to think they will be something less than they were expected ; for having time to discover unto his * Sydney Papers, edited by R. W. Blencowe. Also State Papers : Denmark, 1641-1659, No. 14. DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 245 principal officers his intentions, and the ways of his bringing them to pass, businesses are like, by the prudence of the Senate, to be carried on perhaps as well as before, and the war in Germany being com- mitted to the charge of Admiral Eangle, there is no great cause of apprehending any other person will be there wanted. The peace here I think will be more speedily concluded than if the King had lived ; all obstacles unto it being now taken away on that side, by a declaration of assent to all the conditions of the treaty of the Hague ; and referring the points there omitted to the judgment of the mediating Ministers. Present a copy of it to the Council. I think it not unworthy to be known, that this Prince, who, by the many and great actions of his short reign deserves to be remembered with honour, had not so noble a stage to act his part upon as his predecessor Gus- tavus. The constancy and serenity of mind showed in all the time of his sickness and the certain approaches of death, deserve not less praise if they are well considered. He would not so much as give himself the ease of a bed in the violence of his fever, saying, he did not live or reign for himself, but for his people ; and that those few hours which God should add unto his life he would employ in nothing but ordering the affairs of his kingdom, that it might not suffer from his death. In this exercise did he spend all the last days of his life; writing with his own hand letters and orders to his principal absent officers, and giving directions to those that were present, when he had finished his work (not forgetting either message of civility and compliment 246 ALGERNON SYDNEY. to some that had obliged him, ordering several sums of money that he owed, even small ones, to be paid and rewards to be given, which he had promised to many well-deserving officers). About eleven of the clock on the 12th of February he took his bed, and within an hour after died, having spent part of that short time in discourse with his servants, the rest in private meditation ; after which, he was heard to say, "Lord, when I can no longer speak, hearken unto my sighs," and presently expired ; leaving this certain testimony of his greatness and constancy of mind, that nothing could make him omit the duty which he thought he owed unto his people : by which I think it may be justly concluded, that if in the other actions of his life there were some things which are not easily to be excused, he did them for the good of that people committed unto his charge ; thinking himself free from blame or guilt, if he pressed too hard upon others, the care of preserving them belonging to their own princes, not to him. I am much joyed at the expec- tation of peace here, as thinking it of exceeding importance unto England, and convenience unto myself, by putting an end to my banishment here. I bear there is some dissatisfaction in the Parliament with some actions of your Lordship's ; and a day was given you to answer.* Since that I have heard * When the Parliament had been forcibly prevented from meeting by Lambert and the army, the latter appointed a Committee of Safety to con- duct the government, of which committee Whitelocke was a member. Hence the Parliament, when it reassembled, was disposed to call him to a severe account. Whitelocke thus relates the whole circumstance : DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 247 nothing : pray do me the favour to inform me particularly ; for no man is more tenderly concerned in your Lordship's concernments than your Lord- ship's Most humble and most affectionate Servant, Algernon Sydney. Whilst Sydney was thus engaged in the duties of his mission, events had occurred in England which were soon to result in his withdrawal from office. The conflicting interests in the nation were now no longer controlled by the vigorous rule of a Cromwell, aided by a united army. The over- throw of the amiable but weak Richard, by the officers, was a proof of the strength of the military power, and that strength the cabinet of commanders " I saw how things passed, and that the old Parliament were now met again, who I knew would be severe against me for acting in the Committee of Safety ; and being informed that Scot, Nevil, and others had threatened to take away my life, and that Scot had said that I should be hanged with the Great Seal about my neck, and I knew Scot's malice to me, upon some former contest about elections to Parliament ; this made me to consider how to provide for my own safety. The Speaker sent » letter to me requiring my attendance in the House, whereupon I went to the Speaker and made my objections, that some in the House seeing me there, might move against me, and get me sent to prison. The Speaker said he believed no such thing would be moved ; but they would take it as an owning of their authority if I sat with them." Finding the feeling of the members strongly against him, Whitelocke, to avoid being sent to the Tower, retired to a friend's house in the country. (Whitelocke's Memorials, p. 691.) 248 ALGERNON SYDNEY. determined to direct against their old enemy, the Long Parliament, upon its revival. As we have seen, the plot of Lambert was successful, and the authority of the Legislative chamber at Westminster was once more usurped by those who wielded the sword. And now, had the army been united, as in the time of Cromwell, order and liberty would have fared ill in England. But at this time the position of affairs was exactly the reverse of what it had been during the Protectorate. Instead of the nation being divided and the army united, the army was divided and the nation united. The dread of the horrors of a lawless military despotism blended together all classes in the country for the promotion of one common object — the restoration of law and liberty. This union, however, of the nation, would have been unable to resist the machinations of the military council, which now controlled the affairs of the people, had the army not been weakened by intestine jea- lousies. Fortunately, discord among the commanders paved the way to the downfall of military des- potism, and to the restoration of the ancient line. The officer who held the supreme command in DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 249 Scotland was General Monk, a friend of Cromwell, and one who had done good service with his sword against the Royalists in all quarters of the three kingdoms. Between him and Lambert considerable jealousy existed ; and on the dissolution of the Long Parliament by Lambert, Monk, protesting against such an exercise of authority, resolved to vindicate the privileges of the Legislature. Collecting his troops, and aided by the co-operation of Lord Fairfax* — assistance too often forgotten by both historian and reader — he commenced his memorable march southwards. Everywhere in England his arrival was greeted with the wildest expressions of delight. His progress was one continued trium- phal procession. On the other hand, the forces of Lambert were ill received, and well-nigh penniless from the refusal of the nation to pay taxes till lawfully summoned by Parliament. The military cabal now deemed it prudent to summon the Parliament, which twice before it had expelled with so much reproach and ignominy. Writs were issued, and the members assembled. * See for the assistance rendered by Fairfax at the Restoration, the valuable'" Life of the Great Lord Fairfax," by C. R. Markham, F.S.A. 250 ALGERNON SYDNEY. The first act of the Legislature was to remove Lambert from the command of the troops, and to cashier those officers who had exceeded their just authority. The Kepublicans, like Vane, Haselrig, and Whitelocke, who had allowed themselves to become members of the Committee of Safety, as the military council which had usurped the power of Parliament was called, were severely reprimanded, and ordered into confinement. On the arrival of Monk in London, he was introduced to the House, and received its thanks for the eminent service he had rendered his country. The General was now at the head of affairs, and the result of his supremacy is well known. The Long Parliament was dissolved, amid the joy of the nation, and writs were issued for assembling a new Parliament. Everywhere the elections were in favour of the King, and on the meeting of the House the Eestoration of Charles the Second was unanimously voted. A Committee of Lords and Commons was despatched to invite his Majesty to return, and on the 29th of May, 1660, the King, after an exile of eleven years, entered the capital of his kingdom, to take for the first time possession of its government. DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 251 Lord Leicester thus records in his Journal the King's entrance : — " Tuesday, the 29th of May, 1660.— The King, Charles II., made his entry into London, and passed to Whitehall, where the House of Peers and House of Commons severally met and saluted his Majesty, and welcomed him with orations by their Speakers, the Earl of Manchester of the one pro tempore, and Sir Harbottle Grimstone of the other. I saluted his Majesty among the rest, and kissed his hand, but there was so great disorder and confusion, that the King scarce knew or took particular notice of anybody. " Thursday, the 31s£ of May. — A messenger came to my house, and warned me to come to Whitehall ; the like he did to the Earl of Northumberland. We went together, not knowing for what, and having stayed a while in the King's withdrawing chamber, we were called into the Council Chamber, and then, contrary to his and my expectations, we were sworn Privy Councillors, as was likewise the Earl of Manchester and others, that, and the next day." Thus fell the first attempt to establish a Common- 252 ALGERNON SYDNEY. wealth within these realms. From the brief history of its rise and fall we learn how utterly unsuited to our political and social atmosphere is such a form of government. Englishmen, like most con- stitutional nations, are essentially conservative and aristocratic in all the graver matters concerning administration; hence the mixture of despotism and democracy, which it is the nature of repub- licanism more or less to foster, cannot but be repugnant to us. Based on political theories more plausible than practicable, a republic pure and simple can never be approved of for long by" a people accustomed to the aristocratic republicanism of a constitutional monarchy. A republic, such as Englishmen in the seventeenth, and Frenchmen in the eighteenth century, endeavoured to erect within their respective countries, bears with it the seeds of its own dissolution ; and the reason is not very difficult to discover. No constitutional monarch — monarchs like Queen Victoria, or the King of Belgium — exercises such absolute autho- rity as the President of a republic. A con- stitutional monarch succeeds to the throne by hereditary right; his political conduct is regulated DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 253 by the law ; his actions are interpreted by his Ministers ; he is above ambition, and indifferent to party feeling. If he be a wise and moral man, the amount of social good he can effect is incalculable. If he be silly or vicious, it is beyond his power to do any real political harm. Not so with the Presi- dent of a republic. He has worked his way to the front by his superior abilities, by his elo- quence, by his skill in administration, and by the successful management of party intrigues. Unlike a constitutional monarch, he has every temptation before him that overweening ambition can suggest. Unlike a constitutional monarch, the Legislature is not his master. As supreme head of the state, he is sup- posed to be the exponent of the views of the National Assembly ; but how often has the President of a republic been bent on forcing his own ideas, in spite of all opposition, upon the Legislature ! How frequent have been the conflicts in America between the executive power and the legislative power ! What position can be more absolute, more auto- cratic, than that of M. Thiers at the present day? Political history teaches us this, if it teaches us nothing else, that when the executive power is 254 ALGERNON SYDNEY. placed in the hands of a man elected by the people it is always strong, and when placed in the hands of an hereditary constitutional monarch it is always weak. Kepublicans like Vane and Sydney, who were opposed to despotism in every form, knew well what would be the consequence to true liberty when the executive power was entrusted to one man, and accordingly withdrew indignantly from the government as soon as Cromwell usurped its leader- ship. Absolutism more complete than that exercised by Cromwell during his Protectorate it is difficult to imagine. Nor is a republic in which the democratic ele- ment preponderates favourable to the progress of that boasted liberty and equality we hear certain people talk so much about. Says Tocqueville, "Every step which modern nations take towards equality brings them to despotism. It is easier to establish an absolute and despotic government among a people where equality reigns than amongst any other." Does not history bear this assertion out ? How often have a people risen against their superiors, dragged them down to their own level, abolished every social barrier, and then, when pri- DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 255 vilege is at an end, democracy lias commenced — commenced only to result in anarchy, or the in- stallation of some lucky son of Ambition, who rules with the iron rod of a tyrant, till the country, disgusted with the change, joyously returns within its ancient constitutional lines. The means to attain despotism is to preach mob doctrines, the means to legalize confiscation, to preach equality. The history of the English Commonwealth is an illustration of the above evils. It owed its origin to the unconstitutional tyranny of a King, and it ended the first act of its history by instituting a tyranny equally severe, and equally unconstitu- tional, under the name of a Protectorate. On the overthrow of the Protectorate, it ushered in its second act, by resolving to secure the liberty and property of the people, without the government of " a single person, kingship, or House of Lords." We know the carrying into effect of that resolu- tion — endless jealousies, increasing dissensions be- tween the civil and military powers, and the country only saved from political anarchy by the re-establishment of monarchy. In the establishment of this Commonwealth it 256 ALGERNON SYDNEY. is true that Sydney was an active agent, but his voice — though always overruled — was opposed to many of the details of its government. He was what would be now termed a Conservative Eepublican, in contradistinction to a Destructive Eepublican. " As to popular government," he says in his " Discourses," " that is pure democracy where the people perform all that belongs to government ; I know of no such thing, and. if it be in the world, have nothing to say for it." There was no- thing of the Democrat or Communist about Syd- ney. He held that a mixed government was pre- ferable to any simpler schemes of administration, and looked upon an aristocracy interested in the welfare of their country as one of the firmest barriers against the encroachment of arbitrary sway. Living at a time when the honours of the peerage were prostituted, and the prerogatives of the Crown out of all proportion in the political balance, he was opposed to the evils, not to the forms, of the English constitution. It is not too much to say, that had Algernon Sydney lived at the present time he would have found his typical commonwealth (i.e. a government based solely on the consent of DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 257 the governed) realized in the organization of such a constitutional monarchy as ours. England is, to all intents and purposes, a republic — not a democratic republic, but undoubtedly a republic, with all the advantages of self-government, and without the dangers of usurpation. It matters little, so far as the mere name is concerned, whether the executive power is placed in the hands of an hereditary sovereign or of an elective president, so long as the will of the nation is the supreme in- fluence in the State. In a constitutional monarchy, as in a republic, the directing power emanates from the people, with the happy difference that in the one there is far less probability of such power being abused than in the other. No one who takes the trouble to analyse the English constitution can come to any other conclusion than that our form of government is, both in theory and practice, essen- tially republican— thanks to 1688 and to the ever- increasing development of Parliamentary govern- ment amongst us. The Sovereign of these realms is an hereditary president of high social distinc- tion. The prerogatives of the Crown have given place entirely to Parliamentary government. The vol. I. s 258 ALGERNON SYDNEY, public authority of Koyalty is now exercised solely through the medium of Ministers who are re- sponsible to Parliament for every public act of their Sovereign, as well as for the general policy they have been called upon to carry out. What we mean nowadays by the British Constitution, is that form of government in which the supreme power is virtually in the laws, though the majesty of government and the administration are vested in a single person. Personally, and of his own free will, an English sovereign is powerless to take any direct steps in affairs of administration. He is the fountain of justice ; but the administration of justice has from time immemorial been delegated to the hands of the judges, who have a stated jurisdiction, which can only be altered by Act of Parliament. He is head of the army ; but the real head of the army is the Secretary at "War, responsible to Parliament. The right of declaring war is vested exclusively in the Crown; but this, like the other prerogatives, must be exercised by the advice and under the responsibility of Ministers who are accountable to Parliament, and liable to impeachment for the im- proper conduct of a war. And, considering that the DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 259 Mutiny Act has to be renewed annually, and that Parliament furnishes all supplies, it would be a matter of some difficulty for this prerogative to be abused. The Sovereign is head of the navy ; but since 1690 the virtual head of the navy is the Board of Admiralty. The Sovereign is the arbiter of domestic commerce ; but the real arbiter of domestic commerce is the Board of Trade. He is head of the Church ; but his ecclesiastical jurisdiction is in the hands of the Court of Arches and of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and his ecclesiastical patronage in the hands of the Lord Chancellor and the Premier. He is the representative of his people, and has the sole power of sending ambassadors to foreign States and of receiving ambassadors at home ; but really that power is exercised by the Foreign Secretary. With the exception of being able, as the fountain of honour, to confer titles on his subjects (and that, after all, is more a social than political power), it is impossible to find a single political measure that an English sovereign of the nineteenth century is able, of his own will and motion, to enforce. No doubt there are dormant powers in the Crown, s 2 260 ALGERNON SYDNEY. the exercise of which would violate no written law, but what would happen if they were called into action is a question which can best be answered by the reply of a certain Speaker, who, being asked what would happen if he named a member, answered — " The Lord only knows." Instead of exercising independent authority, an English Sovereign of the present day, under cover of a graceful fiction, merely endorses the decision of his Ministers, his Parlia- ment, or his people. The outward forms of mon- archical authority are preserved as perpetual and visible memorials of a suspended Reality, — forms which it is inexpedient to abolish because they may be of service, in some future and extraordinary crisis, in calling into activity powers that are now in suspense. For instance, as Mr. Gathorne Hardy once said in the House of Commons, it is not diffi- cult to conceive the occasion when, supported by the sympathies of a loyal people, the exercise of the Eoyal veto (which has not been exercised since the days of Anne) might be instrumental in de- feating an unconstitutional Ministry and a corrupt Parliament. The usefulness of the Crown at the present day lies not so much in what it can do DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 261 as in what it can prevent being done. Its power really means the power of the Ministers, the power of the Ministers the consent of Parliament, the consent of Parliament the verdict of the House of Commons, and the verdict of the House of Com- mons (thanks to 1832 and to 1867) the verdict of the nation. Hence the English Constitution is estab- lished according to Sydney's teaching, upon "the only legitimate basis of government, the consent of the governed." It may be said that Sydney was opposed to an hereditary succession because he argued that to make the functions of Eoyalty hereditary was as absurd as to make the functions of a coachman hereditary. But his argument implied the existence of absolute, not of constitutional monarchs. When the coach- man does not drive, it is a matter of indifference whether he is a good whip or not. The real coach- man who drives the cabinet team along the care- fully-protected road of Parliamentary government is not the Sovereign, but the Premier. The King reigns, but. the Prime Minister governs — subject, however, to the jealous scrutiny of a keen-eyed Parliament. The faults of a King do little political 262 ALGERNON SYDNEY. harm to a constitutional nation, while his private virtues shed a lustre which illumines every social grade in the State. Hereditary succession is only to be feared when a monarch has both the fate of his subjects and the destiny of his country in his own hands. The House of Lords is another feature in our Constitution which, though abolished by the Ee- publicans of the seventeenth century, was yet cor- dially approved of by Sydney. He held that an aristocracy was a most necessary barrier against the encroachments of Royalty on the one hand and those of Democracy on the other. He maintained, that, until the English nobility became corrupted by the intrusions of venal hirelings into their order, the Peers had always essayed to keep Kings within the limits of the law ; and that no other way of supporting a mixed monarchy had ever been known in the world, than by putting the balance into the hands of those who by their birth and estate had the greatest interest in the welfare of their country.* "If by noblemen," he writes,! "we are to understand such as have been * Discourses, chap. iii. sec, 37. t Ibid. sec. 28. DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 263 ennobled by the virtues of their ancestors, mani- fested in services done to their country, I say that all. nations amongst whom virtue has been esteemed have had a great regard to them and their posterity. ... No better defence has been found against the encroachments of ill kings than by setting up an order of men who, by holding large territories and having great numbers of tenants and dependents, might be able to restrain the exorbitancies that either the King or the Com- mons might run into." Sydney knew that in every well-ordered State the existence of two chambers was a necessity. He believed that with one chamber better laws would be made, but that with two chambers the system of government was better carried on. Even Cromwell, usurper and administrative genius though he was, constituted an Upper House to interpose " between him and the tumultuous and popular spirits in the Commons House." If, then, a second chamber is a necessity (and the more republican we become, the greater is the necessity of having a second chamber), what better institution can be discovered than an hereditary senate whose 264 ALGERNON SYDNEY. members form a corporation without degenerating into a caste ? " The House of Lords," says Earl Russell, "possesses an authority which can belong to no other body. Nothing more excites reverence than ancient prescriptive privilege ; nothing more moves the imagination than ancient lineage combined with recent achievement." And the remark is a true one. The strength of a second chamber like our Upper House lies in the very essence of its organization, in its combination of men deriving their titles and privileges from an illustrious and remote past, with able men of the present day. But its power also rests on the wise behaviour of the Peers themselves. They are not elected by counties or boroughs, never- theless they represent the nation, as they have done with admirable effect from the days of Magna Charta downwards. Mixing in the world, they can feel the pulse of the people as a whole ; and if the nation is carried away by a wild fit of religious or political passion, the House of Lords can appeal to the sober second-thought of the people, and can triumph through its ability to delay the national decision. Thus its origin, its historic associations, its constant infusion of new blood, its harmony with the spirit DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 265 of the time, and its wise conduct in seasons of crisis, all combine to bestow on it an aggregate stability and strength that no mere hereditary chamber nor any elected senate could ever possess. Sydney, as a representative man of the Liberalism of the seven- teenth century, did well to pay proper homage to the element of aristocracy in a mixed constitution. The miserable men who call themselves the Bepub- licans of the nineteenth century might imitate his example in this respect to advantage. It has been the fashion to represent Algernon Sydney as a kind of melodramatic Kepublican, clothed in the toga of antiquity, regarding with fierce and scowling eye the details of modern con- stitutions, and anxious to erect an impossible sort of commonwealth. Judging the man by his life and writings, I can see nothing in him beyond a sincere Englishman devoted to the welfare of his country, and a staunch Protestant strongly opposed to the degrading despotism of Popery. As to his political views being unpractical, the easiest answer to this objection is to point out that they have been almost completely realized in the English Constitution as it now stands. The great axiom 266 ALGERNON SYDNEY. which Sydney never ceased to uphold, that "the whole body of a nation cannot be tied to any other obedience than is consistent with the com- mon good according to their own judgment," is the keystone of the arch of our system of Parlia- mentary government, and the secret of our national happiness and political tranquillity. Between the ideal commonwealth of Sydney, and a constitutional monarchy sincerely carried out, there is so much in common, that in exchanging the one for the other the difference would be scarcely perceptible. In the seventeenth century Sydney's principles were branded as treason, in the nineteenth they are called con- stitutional. In other words, under the House of Hanover the liberty of the subject has developed into its proper proportions, and the prerogatives of the Crown returned to their proper limits. The expansion of the one and the restriction of the other are due to the maintenance of the "grand old cause" for which Hampden pleaded and Sydney perished. Since Sydney had resumed his connection with the Eepublican party on the death of Cromwell, and had been sent as the diplomatic agent of the Council DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 267 to Sweden and Denmark, Lord Leicester regarded him with extreme coldness, and neglected to forward any pecuniary help, which, in his son's present straitened circumstances, was greatly needed. In the following letter Algernon Sydney complains of this neglect, and from its contents we see that he was anxious to know how his past labours would be regarded by the new Government. Algernon Sydney to the Earl oe Leicester.* Copenhagen, May 28, 1660. My Lord, I did the last week receive some letters from Sir John Temple, dated many months since, wherein he mentions some expressions of favour that your Lordship had used concerning me. If his letters had sooner come to my hands, I should sooner by mine have testified unto your Lordship how joyful that news was to me. I have had nothing more in my inclinations and desires than to serve your Lordship, nor more in my opinion, than that it was my duty. I should never had any thoughts of intermitting my endeavours to that end, as long as any hopes did remain of being accepted, and they shall be reassumed with as much earnestness as ever, upon the least appearance that I may be so happy as to give your Lordship satisfaction. I confess that, being * Sydney Papers, edited by R. W. Blencowe. 268 ALGERNON SYDNEY. conscious to myself of no thought or action that was not suitable unto this, I have been very sensible, when I found your Lordship's temper to me so different from what I had expected; and that when I was fallen into as deep a degree of inconvenience and mis- chief, as one could be cast into, by the destruction of the party which for many years I had followed, and the ingratitude of some of my friends, whom I had obliged in every manner that it was possible for me to do, I was troubled to find your Lordship less careful to give me some relief, than I hoped you would have been : especially, when I could accuse myself of no other fault, by which I -had brought myself into that condition, unless that name be given to the evil choice I may be thought to have made, both of party and friends, and an unhappy constant adherence unto both. I confess my error in the latter, but for what concerns the party, I should lie, if I said I- found any. It is very true, those that were of it have of late run into extreme great extravagances, and the ill management of their power is the cause of their destruction,* but they that endeavoured only by good and honest ways * Alluding to the conduct of the conflicting parties, the Parliament and the Wallingford House party or army, after the death of Cromwell, of which Ludlow speaks in these terms : " In the mean time, the Wallingford House party, as if infatuated by a superior power, to procure their own destruction, continued obstinately to oppose .the Parliament, and fixed in their resolution to call another. On the other side, I was sorry to find most of the Parliament men as stiff in requiring an absolute submission to their authority, as if no differences had happened amongst us, nor the privileges of Parliament ever been violated ; peremptorily insisting upon the entire subjection of the army, and refusing to hearken to any terms of accommodation, though the necessity of affairs seemed to demand it, if wc would preserve our cause from ruin." — Ludlow's Memoirs, j}. 323. DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 269 to gain them that power, which they might have employed for better uses than the last winter were intended, have nothing to answer for that : but I do expect to suffer as much by those actions, as those that have been most active in them. My fortune hath been more than ordinary ill, that having suffered many troubles by several accidents, to accumulate the evils that are likely to fall upon me, I should be absent about this employment, in this time of various and strange changes in England, and, I think, obliged to return in a time that may be as inconvenient as my absence hitherto hath been. In all these alterations and variety of accidents, I do not find any that help me, unless it be, that some of my friends chance to be of the Council of State, and that we have at last obtained the desired success in the treaty between Sweden and Denmark. The peace between those two Crowns is concluded, the treaty signed yesterday by both parties — the Emperor and Elector of Brandenburgh included, in what relates in their assistance given to Denmark — and the peace made at Dantzic thereby confirmed. The Duke of Holstein enjoys the benefit of the treaty made in 1648, between the King of Denmark and his father. The siege of Tuning is to be immediately raised ; the Danish troops, upon receipt of the order to be sent unto their commander, are to retire some miles from thence, and within one month to leave his territories. The Swedish camp is to be raised from before this town within four days. The islands of Falster, Moen, and Laaland to be delivered to the King of Denmark in eight days after that time. The entire evacuation of all the Swedish troops out of Denmark ALGERNON SYDNEY. to be made within six weeks from this day, and last of all, Croninghurgh Castle is to be delivered to its ancient master. We have met with a multitude of difficulties in this business : the unsettled condition of England did not create a few of them, but the end I hope will be now happy ; and as animals that are long in the mother's womb are ordinary long lived, this treaty of peace, that hath been long perfecting and finishing, will be of a proportionate continuance, both parties seeming well satisfied. The King of Sweden having the provinces of Bleking, Schonen, and Bahrus, formerly conceded, now confirmed unto him. And to the King of Denmark four hundred thousand dollars are remitted, the province of Drontheim restored, and an exchange obtained for the island of Bornholm, which he did most passionately desire. My colleague and I have sent this messenger with the news of the peace ; I do not know whether the King is yet come over, nor how he would accept an address from us, who came hither without his authority. We leave all our other affairs to be managed by our friends upon the place, who have a true sight of those things that we can only guess at. When the last letters that I have received came from London, your Lordship was not yet arrived there, and not knowing whether you are yet there, I have mentioned some things that your Lordship might, if you were in town, more at large receive from Mr. Thurloe. I have written particularly unto my Lord of Northumber- land and Sir John Temple, and some others of my friends, of my own concernments, desiring their assist- ance and advice in this time of difficulty. It will not, DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 271 I think, be thought strange, that I am startled a little with these sudden blows, and ask for help. I press nothing upon them, but that this employment (where I think I have served England, and consequently him that is at the head of it) may be no prejudice unto me : in all other things, I solely refer myself to what your Lordship shall command, or they shall advise. Since the Parliament hath acknowledged a king, I know and acknowledge I owe him the duty and the service that belongs unto a subject, and will pay it. If things are carried in a legal and moderate way, I had rather be in employment than without any. If I am trusted, I shall perform my duty with as much fidelity and care as any that I have ever undertaken in my life. But if those that have gone my way are suspected ; designs carried on in which such as I am should be unfit instruments ; or, that amongst a multitude of pretenders, which is certainly much greater than can possibly be satisfied, I should be left out ; I am almost as well contented with a private life, or liberty to go beyond sea. If your Lordship is in town, I have desired Sir John Temple to confer with your Lordship of all my concernments, and I desire you would be pleased therefore to send me your commands, which, with all duty and respect, shall be observed by your Lordship's Algebnon Sydney. On the conclusion of the Treaty, Sydney went to Stockholm as plenipotentiary of the Council of State, ALGERNON SYDNEY. but on receiving the formal news of the restoration of Charles, he declined to act as a public Minister till authorized by the new Government. He was well received by the Swedish Court, and especially by Prince Adolph, the brother of Charles Gustavus. But still no official communications from England were brought to him confirming him in his post ; nor did he receive any answer to his letter to the King. The Council of State before its dissolu- tion had given him full leave to return home, but he thought it more becoming to continue at the Court in a perfectly private capacity, rather than abandon altogether the duties assigned to him. His letters to his father show considerable anxiety as to the light in which his conduct as a prominent servant of the Commonwealth would be regarded by the restored Monarch and his advisers. " I am now at the utmost point of my journey northward," he writes * to the Earl of Leicester, " and have nothing more in my thoughts than to return to England with as much expedition as I can, according to the liberty granted unto my colleague and me by the Council of State. We * Sydney Papers, edited by A. Collins : Stockholm, June 16, 1660. DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 273 could not think it at all reasonable to leave the "work in which we were employed, when we saw a certainty of accomplishing it within a short time, unless we had received a positive command : now the peace is concluded, I think we may very well justify making use of that concession. I look upon all the powers granted unto us as extinguished by the coming in of the King, and do not take upon me to act anything as a public Minister, except it be giving notice unto the Crowns of Sweden and Denmark of the restitution of the ancient govern- ment in England, and the proclaiming of the King. Upon this occasion I accept of a public audience, which is here offered unto me. I shall not willingly admit of any other stop of my journey homeward, unless my resolution of returning be altered by new orders from thence. I do not at all know in what condition I am there, nor what effects I shall find of General Monk his ex- pressions of kindness towards me, and his remem- brance of the ancient friendship that was between us; but the Lord Fleetwood's letters to the Senate and private persons here mentions discourses that he makes much to my advantage. I do receive vol. i. T 274 ALGERNON SYDNEY. neither more nor less civility here than is ordinary, unless the excuses I receive for receiving no more may deserve that name. I am in private told they fear to offend the King by any extraordinary expressions towards me : your Lordship may easily imagine how powerful that consideration will be, when those in my condition can pretend to no civilities upon any other account, but as they are respects unto their superiors and masters." A few days later, when congratulating his father upon reassuming his former place in the House of Lords, he says,* "My business here has gone well enough ; if the peace had been concluded a little sooner I could not have desired better. I am un- certain how my actions or person will be looked upon at home. I hope I shall be able to give a good account of all that I have done here, and for other things I must take my fortune with the rest of my companions." Shortly before the entry of Charles into London the Council had informed Sydney that for the future he was to expect orders from the King if he intended to remain any longer either at Stockholm or Copenhagen. * Sydney Papers, edited by A. Collins, June 23, 1660 : Stockholm. DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 275 Having received no reply to his letters or any instructions from England, lie was in some per- plexity as to what course he should adopt. If he remained long in his present private and yet semi- official position, he would incur expenses which his fortune was not able to defray ; whilst, at the same time, if he returned to England he would be entirely removed from executing any orders that might arrive from Charles. " I am absolutely uncertain what course I shall take," he writes to his father.* "Your Lordship may easily imagine I would be unwilling to stay in a place where I have been long under a character that rendered me not inconsiderable, now that my powers are extin- guished, and I am left in a private condition : and that it is very unsuitable unto my fortune, to continue here without knowing, whether the bills drawn for moneys taken up here, according to our allowance, will be paid or not. On the other side, I know the advantage it would be to me, to have new orders from the King, and am un- willing to put myself out of a condition of receiving them, unless I am thereunto necessitated, or know * Sydney Papers, edited by A. Collins, June 27, 1660 : Stockholm. T 2 276 ALGERNON SYDNEY. that none will be sent. The news I hear from England of public things is punctual and certain enough, but my friends are so short in what par- ticularly relates unto myself, that I can make no judgment at all upon what they say. Perhaps the truth is, they can say nothing to my ad- vantage, and leave me to guess at the rest by public things." On the 28th of June Sydney quitted the Swedish Court, and his labours were so much appreciated by the young King that he was presented with a hand- some gold chain and a picture of Charles Gustavus set with diamonds. On his return to Copenhagen he found letters awaiting him, his friends advising him to remove to Hamburg, and from thence to Holland, or to some place in Germany, where he could wait till future events would direct his course of action. He accordingly resolved to follow this advice. The Swedes having now complied with the clauses of their treaty by evacuating Zealand, the Commissioners, on the 21st of July, took leave of the King of Denmark, and Sir Eobert Honey wood returned to England to give an account of their proceedings. Sydney remained a few days longer at DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 277 Copenhagen meditating his plans, and then communi- cated his intentions to his father : — " I have been long doubtful of my condition in England," he writes, * " wavering between the opinions expressed by some of my friends, in then- letters, and my own. The letters of the two last posts have put me out of that uncertainty, and show me plainly what I am to expect. My resolu- tion upon that is easily taken, for though I can very joyfully retire myself into as private a life as any man in England is in, I have too well learnt, under the government of the Cromwells, what it is to live under the protection of those unto whom I am thought an enemy, to expose myself willingly unto the same. I acknowledge that I owe all duty and service unto the King, as to my lawful Sove- reign, and would live as quietly under his govern- ment as any man within his dominions ; but unless he did, by some act of favour or trust, show that he is reconciled to me, as unto others, that have as well as I been of a party contrary unto his and his father's, I shall be ever suspected and often affronted, and upon every little tumult that * Sydney Papers, edited by K. W. Blencowe, July 28, 1660 : Copenhagen. 278 ALGERNON SYDNEY. may happen be exposed to ruin. I know the uneasiness of this posture by experience, and can find no other way of preserving myself from it than by keeping on this side the sea. Whilst I am here I would willingly have come over, to give an account of what business had passed through my hands, or what I had learnt relating unto these parts ; but finding myself and my proceedings dis- owned and slighted, I cannot expect that either the King or his Council will give me the hearing, or receive any account from me, so that I find nothing more unnecessary than to expose myself to trouble to give it. I choose this voluntary exile as the least evil condition that is within my reach. It is bitter, but not so much so as the others that are in my prospect. I am in an ill condition to make a long journey; if I came into England and stayed a month or two I should be in a worse, and perhaps not able to come away when I desire it. I have not yet resolved upon the place of my residence ; but I dislike all the drunken countries of Germany and the North, and am not much in- clined to France. I think I shall choose Italy. I can from Hamburgh by ordinary journeys at a small DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 279 charge, as I am informed, be at Mantua or Milan in sixteen or eighteen days, and from thence easily to some place that I shall find convenient to reside in." We now enter upon the period of Algernon Sydney's self-imposed but necessary expatriation. CHAPTER VIII. IN EXILE. To a man of Algernon Sydney's indomitable energy and love of activity in public affairs, the long period of inaction on which he was now about to enter must have been a matter of sore trial. Both com- mon prudence and self-respect, however, taught him that he had done right in resolving for the present not to return to England. Though not excepted out of the Act of Indemnity, he was aware of the hostility his name created in Whitehall. And, besides, had not recent events shown him that no reliance could be placed on the King's word : that men who had returned to their own country fully believing in the good faith of the general pardon, had been seized the moment they landed and im- prisoned ? As the power and not the justice of the law had been exercised to secure and crimi- nate Vane, Lambert, Fleetwood, Haselrig, Goodwin, IN EXILE. 281 Lenthall, and others, what guarantee had he that he would not meet the same fate if he placed himself in a similar position ? The Earl of Leicester was now in good odour at the Court, and he appears to have exercised his influence somewhat in favour of his son. Sydney, when informed of this, at once wrote to his father that he had no intention at present of returning to England, and begged him not to interest himself further in the matter. " Sir John Temple,"* he writes,! " sends me word your Lordship is very intent upon finding a way of bringing me into England in such a condition as I may live there quietly and well. I acknowledge your Lordship's favour, and will make the best return for it that I can; but I desire you to lay that out of your thoughts ; it is a design never to be accomplished. I find so much by the management * The chief management of Sydney's affairs in England was now en- trusted to Sir J. Temple, Master of the Eolls in Ireland, an old friend of Lord Leicester's, with whom, notwithstanding some difference in their political attachments, he] had heen long and most intimately connected. .This distinguished lawyer, availing himself of the privileges of friend- ship delicately, yet strongly, remonstrated with Lord Leicester on the cruelty of his present conduct in not furnishing his son with supplies— a policy calculated to drive Sydney to desperation, and, if no attention was paid to his difficulties, to prevent all chance of recovery. f Sydney Papers, edited by R. W. Blencowe, August 30, 1660. 282 ALGERNON SYDNEY. of things at home that it is impossible for me to be quiet one day, unless I would do those things, the remembrance of which would never leave me one quiet or contented moment whilst I live. I know myself to be in a condition that for all circum- stances is as ill as outward things can make it. This is my only consolation, that when I call to remembrance as exactly as I can all my actions relating to our civil distempers, I cannot find one that I can look upon as a breach of the rules of justice or honour. This is my strength, and I thank God by this I enjoy very serene thoughts. If I lose this by vile and unworthy submissions, acknow- ledgment of errors, asking of pardon, or the like, I shall from that moment be the miserablest man alive, and the scorn of all men. I know the titles that are given me, of fierce, violent, seditious, mutinous, turbulent, and many others of the like nature, but God that gives me inward peace in my outward troubles doth know that I do in my heart choose an innocent, quiet retirement before any place unto which I could hope to raise myself by those actions which they condemn, and did never put myself upon any of them but when I could IN EXILE. 283 not enjoy the one or thought the other my duty. If I could write and talk like Colonel Hutchinson* or Sir Gilbert Pickering, I believe I might be quiet. Contempt might procure my safety ; but I had rather be a vagabond all my life than buy my being in my own country at so dear a rate ; and if I could have bowed myself according to my interest perhaps I was not so stupid as not to know the ways of settling my affairs at home, or making a good pro- vision for staying abroad as well as others, and did not want credit to attain unto it; but I have been these many years outstripped by those that were below me whilst I stopped at those things that they easily leaped over. What shall I say ? It hath been my fortune from my youth, and will be so to my grave, by which my designs in the world * The circumstance of Colonel Hutchinson, who had been always zealous in his opposition to Charles, and who had signed the warrant for his execution, escaping with impunity, and without the forfeiture of his estate, subjected him to the imputation of having secured his safety by unworthy means. Ludlow distinctly charges him with treachery to his party, and co-operation with Monk. But it appears, from the history of his life written by his widow, that he owed his exemption from punish- ment, in the first instance, to the great interest that was made for him by his friends of the King's party, in requital of many services he had rendered them during the civil wars ; assisted by the circumstance of his having zealously and successfully opposed the proposal made by Sir Arthur Haselrig, of an oath to be taken by all the Members of Parliament, of renunciation of the King and his family. 284 ALGERNON SYDNEY. will perpetually miscarry. But I know people will say I strain at gnats and swallow camels; that it is a strange conscience that lets a man run violently on till he is deep in civil blood, and then stays at a few words and compliments ; that can earnestly endeavour to extirpate a long-established monarchy, and then cannot be brought to see his error and be persuaded to set one ringer towards the setting together the broken pieces of it. It will be thought a strange extravagance for one that esteemed it no dishonour to make himself equal unto a great many mean people, and below some of them, to make war upon the King; and is ashamed to submit unto the King, now he is encompassed with all the nobles of the land, and in the height of his glory, so that none are so happy as those that can first cast themselves at his feet. I have enough to answer all this in my own mind. I cannot help it if I judge amiss ; I did not make myself, nor can I correct the defects of my own creation. I walk in the light God hath given me ; if it be dim or uncertain I must bear the penalty of my errors. I hope to do it with patience, and that no burden shall be very grievous to me, except sin and IN EXILE. 285 shame. God keep me from those evils, and in all things else dispose of me according to His pleasure. I have troubled your Lordship very long, but it is that I might ease you of cares that would be more tedious and as unfruitful. I do not know whither the course of my fortune doth lead me — probably never to return to see your Lordship or my own country again : however, if I have offended your Lordship, transported by folly or the violence of my nature (I have nothing else that needs your forgiveness), I be- seech you to pardon it ; and let me have your favour and blessing along with me. If I live to return, I will endeavour to deserve it by my services ; if not, I can make no return but my prayers for you." This resolution of self-imposed exile was not, however, allowed to pass without opposition. Many of Sydney's friends, and among them Monk, who was a distant connection of the Leicesters, wrote to him requesting him to return, to acknowledge the faults of the past, and to submit to the new government. To submit to the new government Sydney was perfectly willing, but nothing would induce him to own that the line of conduct he had adopted during the Eepublic was an act to be 286 ALGERNON SYDNEY. ashamed or repented of. And, whatever might be the evils in store for him, his high sense of honour spurned with contempt any base and interested system of action. He refused all the offers that Monk made to him as so many "rewards of ini- quity," and felt, as he looked forward into the dreary blank of the future, that all indeed was lost save honour. But this honour he determined at least to keep pure and unspotted. It was after the receipt of one of these letters, advising him to buy his ease and safety by sub- mission, that he wrote the following spirited refusal. His reply brings out into prominent relief the stern contempt of the man for all interested motives — a reply that might have been given by the purest of the heroes of antiquity whom he so deeply admired, and whose severe incorruptibility of character he so nobly imitated. To whom the letter was addressed we know not.* * This letter has no date by which it can be precisely ascertained from what place, or at what time, it was written ; but as Sydney in the course of it alludes to the Act of Indemnity as not yet passed, it must have been written before the 29th of August, 1660, the day upon which that Act received the King's assent, or so soon afterwards as not to have allowed him time to see it. (See Sydney Papers, edited by E. W. Blencowe.) IN EXILE. 287 "I am sorry," he writes to this unknown friend, "I cannot in all things conform myself to the advices of my friends. If theirs had any joint concernment with mine, I should willingly submit my interest to theirs ; but when I alone am inter- ested, and they only advise me to come over, when the Act of Indemnity is passed, because they think it is best for me, I cannot wholly lay aside my own judgment and choice. I confess we are naturally inclined to delight in our own country, and I have a particular love to mine ; I hope I have given some testimony of it. I think that being exiled from it is a great evil, and would redeem myself from it with the loss of a great deal of my blood. But when that country of mine, which used to be esteemed a paradise, is now like to be made a stage of injury; the liberty which we hoped to establish, oppressed; luxury and lewdness set up in its height, instead of the piety, virtue, sobriety, and modesty, which we hoped God by our hands would have introduced; the best of our nation made a prey to the worst; the Parliament, Court, and Army corrupted, the people enslaved; all things vendible, no man safe, 288 ALGERNON SYDNEY. but by such evil and infamous means as flattery and bribery; what joy can I have in my own country in this condition ? Is it a pleasure to see that all I love in the world is sold and destroyed? Shall I renounce all my old principles, learn the vile court arts, and make my peace by bribing some of them ? Shall their corruption and vice be my safety ? Ah, no ! better is a life among strangers, than in my own country on such con- ditions. Whilst I live I will endeavour to preserve my liberty, or at least not consent to the destroy- ing of it. I hope I shall die in the same prin- ciples in which I have lived, and will live no longer than they can preserve me. I have in my life been guilty of many follies, but, as I think, of no meanness ; I will not blot and defile that which is past, by endeavouring to provide for the future. I have ever had it in my mind, that when God should cast me into such a condition, as that I cannot save my life but by doing an in- decent thing, He shows me that the time is come, wherein I should resign it. And when I cannot live in my own country, but by such means as are worse than dying in it, I think He shows me IN EXILE. 289 that I ought to keep out of it. "Let them please themselves with making the King glorious, who think that a whole people may justly be sacrificed for the interest and pleasure of one man, and a few of his followers. Let them rejoice in their subtility, who, by betraying the former powers, have gained the favour of this ; and not only pre- served, but advanced themselves in these dangerous changes. Nevertheless, perhaps they may find, their King's glory is their shame — his plenty, the people's misery; and that the gaining of an office, or a little money, is a poor reward for destroying a nation, which, if it were preserved in liberty and virtue, would truly be the most glorious in the world ; and that others may find they have with much pains purchased their own shame and misery ; a dear price for that which is not worth keeping, nor the life that is accompanied with it. The honour of English Parliaments have ever been in making the nation glorious and happy, not in selling and destroying the interest of it, to gratify the lusts of one man. Miserable nation! that, from so great a height of glory, is fallen into the most despicable situation in the world having vol. i. u 290 ALGERNON SYDNEY. all its good depending upon the breath and will of the vilest persons in it ! cheated and sold by them they trusted ! Infamous traffic ! equal in guilt almost to that of Judas. In all preceding ages, Parliament has been the palace of our liberty, the sure defenders of the oppressed; they who formerly could bridle kings, and keep the balance equal between them and the people, are now become instruments of all our oppressions, and a sword in his hand to destroy us ; they themselves led by a few interested persons, who are willing to buy offices for themselves, by the misery of the whole nation, and the blood of the most worthy and eminent persons in it. Detestable bribes ! worse than the oaths now in fashion in this mercenary Court. I mean to owe neither my life nor my liberty to such means. When the innocence of my actions will not protect me, I will stay away till the storm be overpast. In short, where Vane, Lambert, Haselrig, cannot live in safety, I cannot live at all. If I had been in England, I should have expected a lodging with them ; for though they may be first, as being more eminent than I, I must expect to follow their IN EXILE. 291 example in suffering, as I have been their com- panion in acting. I am most in amaze at the mistaken informations that were sent to me by my friends, full of expectations of favours and employments. Who can think that they who imprison them would employ me, or suffer me to live, when they are put to death ? If I might live and be employed, can it be expected that I should serve a Government that seeks such a detes- table way of establishing itself Ah, no ! I have not learnt to make my own peace by persecuting and betraying my brethren, more innocent and worthy than myself. I must live by just means, or serve to just ends, or not at all After such a manifestation of the ways by which it is intended the King shall govern, I should have renounced my place of favour, into which the kindness and industry of my friends might have advanced me, when I found those who were better than I were only fit to be destroyed. I had formerly some jealousies : the fraudulent proclamation for indemnity increased them ; the imprisoning of those three men, and turning out all the officers of the army, contrary to promise, confirmed me in my resolutions U2 292 ALGERNON SYDNEY. not to return. To conclude, the tide is not to be diverted, nor the oppressed delivered, but God in His time will have mercy on His people. He will save and defend them, and avenge the blood of those who, in their pride, think nothing is able to oppose them. Happy are those, whom God shall make instruments of His justice in so blessed a work. If I can live to see that day, I shall be ripe for the grave ; and able to say with joy, 'Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace.' Farewell, my thoughts as to King and State depending upon their actions, no man shall be a more faithful servant to him than I, if he make the good and prosperity of the people his, glory — none more his enemy if he doth the contrary. To my particular friends I shall be constant on all occa- sions, and to you a most affectionate servant," On the conclusion of his mission, Sydney, as he had informed his father, quitted Denmark and settled down in Hamburgh, where he lodged with one Missenden, who, as Secretary to the English Companies there, had shown him many courtesies during his stay in the North. Here he remained a few weeks, and in a letter to his father he IN EXILE. 293 records his impression of the place. The forti- fications of the town and the peaceful character of the inhabitants appear to have been the two points which most struck him. "The town of Hamburgh," he writes,* "is exceedingly increased since your Lordship saw it, and the fortifications upon which they were at work then, and five-and- twenty years after it, are now perfected, and, as is said, are now as good as any in the world. I never saw anything like it. The best that are in Italy, which are so highly commended, look like lines cast up in a night, to defend a camp, in comparison to this. It consists of one and twenty bulwarks, all alike, except four towards a marsh, encompassed by the Elbe, where an enemy can neither land, lie, nor make any approach. They are less, the others of the full proportion of Le Grand Koyal. Two of them have casemates of earth, which, though of fascines, are thought the best. Between every pair of bastions, and before each port, are very good gravelines. In the most suspected places are two hornworks, the one single, the other double. They have a vast pro- * Sydney Papers, edited by A. Collins, Sept. 8, 1660 : Hamburgh. 294 ALGERNON SYDNEY. portion of artillery, ammunition, victuals, and all things necessary for a long siege. That they abhor war, their motto is, ' Da pacem, Domine, in diebus nostris.' Whensoever they are frightened they will buy their peace. The King of Denmark knows it, and, if I am not mistaken, prepares to get a good sum of money from them." It was whilst at Hamburgh that Sydney obtained an interview with Christina, the ex-Queen of Sweden, whom he feared might now occasion some disturb- ance in Sweden. Anxious to discover the designs she had in view — for on the death of Charles Gustavus she had hurried from Eome to the North with a small retinue — he, in company with the French Ambassador to Denmark, M. Terlon, who was then staying at Hamburgh, en route for Copenhagen, had an audience of her Majesty. The result of the interview entirely removed any fears Sydney might have entertained. "I left the Queen Christina," he writes in the same letter, "at Hamburgh, with the design of going into Sweden, before the time of the Diet, which is to begin the twenty-second of this month, at Stockholm. She is thought to have great designs, of which everyone judges ac- IN EXILE. 295 cording to their humour. Some think she will pretend to the Crown, others that she would be contented with the Eegency ; and there doth not want those that say she is employed from Eome to sow divisions in Sweden, and to make use of the Prince Adolph his discontent, others to marry him. I have conversed a good deal with her, and do not believe a word of all this. She hath a great aversion to the Prince Adolph — thinks him not to be trusted with anything, nor capable of any great business. When she resigned the Crown, she did publicly advise the Senate not to admit that Prince unto the Crown, in case his brother should die without sons, he being unfit for government, of an evil nature, and of understanding nowise able to bear such a weight; upon which, by an act of the Senate, confirmed by the succeeding Diet, it was declared that the Crown should de- scend only to the heirs male of the King's body, and those failing, the power of election to revert unto the Senate and Diet. This is the obstruction unto Prince Adolph his pretension to be Constable left, that he, having the power of the militia in his hands, might either attempt something to the 296 ALGERNON SYDNEY. prejudice of the young King, or, if he died, strengthen his own pretensions. Notwithstanding this, he did write to the Queen Christina, earnestly- endeavouring to engage her, and offering great services if she would favour him. The contents of this letter were reported to me, and I saw the answer, which if he is not absolutely out of. his wits, will take from him all hope of advantage from her. A day or two before I came from Hamburgh, talking with her of the opinions people had of her pretensions to the Crown, or Eegency, she told me plainly, there was but one place for her in Sweden, and, having resigned that, she could neither pre- tend again unto it, nor content herself with any other. I do not beHeve this barely because she said it (for I am in this year's employment grown much less credulous than I was), but because the impossibility of effecting anything is so plain, that she, who hath a great deal of wit, and as good counsel as any is perhaps in Europe, can- not but see it. For besides the assertion that is made as to her religion, and the little appearance that the jealous Swedes would give credit to her change if she left it, the Senate and nobility like no IN EXILE. . 297 government so well, as while the Kings are in minority ; for now they have the power in their own hands, whereas before they depended upon the will of a King, and will more hardly be brought to innovate anything perhaps than when their last King was living. This and many other reasons do convince me, that her only business is to procure of the Diet the settlement of her yearly revenue of two hundred thousand dollars, reserved at her resignation, of which for these last four years she received but the tenth part; and this being done, to return to Eome." From Hamburgh Sydney travelled southwards towards Italy, where he had resolved to pass the winter. Passing through Germany, he was much struck with the general desolation the country displayed, owing to the Thirty Years' War, and with the heavy taxes under which the people groaned. " The towns are poor and ill-fortified," he writes, " the land generally is not very fertile ; but clean, pleasant, and very well furnished with springs, rivers, and woods. In passing through all these countries, I do not see many gentlemen's houses. Most of them are seated upon extreme 298 ALGERNON SYDNEY. steep bleak rocks, which, they say, are exceeding strong, but of little use, more than being safe in them, they not being of extent to keep any con- siderable garrisons, and that only of foot. Many of them are hardly accessible for one horse, and incapable of receiving or maintaining many, though they were. . I did not see anything of neatness or handsomeness about, or in, any house in all these countries. The people seem generally fierce, harsh, and rude, much more than the Swedes. Whether that temper is natural unto them, or grown by the custom of doing and suffering mischiefs in the time of the war, I am not able to judge. The women have generally tanned, smoky faces ; motions and actions more suitable unto our sex than theirs : which may be caused by their ugly dwellings, poverty, and per- petual labour. All things belonging unto husbandry are performed by them." Sydney was no lover of the Germans, and in one of his letters he calls them a "set of coarse drunken brutes." It was his aversion to their uncouth habits and barbarous tastes, that made him desirous of exchanging their society for that of the polished and cultivated Italians. Accord- IN EXILE. 299 ingly, he appears to have spent but a very short time in the different towns of Germany through which he was obliged to pass. But as the tone in which he speaks of the architecture, poverty, and discomfort of such towns is disparaging to a degree, no doubt his brief stay within their walls was quite long enough. It was when spending a few days at Frankfort, that Sydney at last received a reply to the different letters he had from time to time addressed to his father. The old Earl's health was now none of the best, and his temper anything but angelic. He had been compelled, shortly after the adjourn- ment of the first Parliament assembled by his Sovereign, to ask leave of absence from the Council, and to return to his country seat. "After the King and Council were risen," he records in his journal, "I went to the King and said, 'Sir, I have not the vanity to think that your Majesty will miss me, or take notice of my absence, but having the honour to be your servant, I thought it would not agree with my duty to go from hence without your leave and permission, which I beseech your Majesty to grant, that I may go into the 300 ALGERNON SYDNEY. country for my health.' The King with a favour- able and smiling countenance said, ' With all my heart ; but how long will you stay 1 ' ' Sir/ said I, ' to myself I have proposed to stay a good while, unless your Majesty command the contrary.' 'Whither do you go 1 ' said the King (still with a smiling coun- tenance). 'Sir,' said I, 'to my house in Kent.' 'Well,' said the King, 'and when will you come again V 'Sir,' said I, 'it is for my health that I go, but if your Majesty's service require it, I shall not consider either my health or life itself, but will be where you please to command me.' ' I thank you,' said the King, ' but for the present I have no occasion to stay you : I wish you a good journey.' ' I pray God bless your Majesty,' said I, ' with health, long life, and all hap- piness. ' I thank you,' said the King, again with the same favourable countenance, and gave me his hand, which I, kneeling down, kissed, and so came from him who stayed to let me say more to him, if I would." And now it was, whilst about to enjoy the quiet and retirement of Penshurst, that the querulous old man thought he would condescend to correspond with his absent son. It would have been better had he IN EXILE. 301 maintained a perfect silence. His letter " is full of undeserved reproaches, and of those spiteful little stabs which irritate more than they wound. It appears that Sydney had deeply offended his father by not bidding him farewell before he started for Sweden, and by not paying sufficient attention to the advice and exhortations he had from time to time given him. But what angered the Earl more than anything else was a story told him by one Pedicombe, who was resident for the King of Den- mark, and who had known Algernon at Copenhagen. This story is repeated in the body of the Earl's letter to his son, and was no doubt one of the chief causes of the irritable tone which is plainly evident through- out the paternal epistle. The accusation that Algernon neglected writing to his father except about money- matters, seems scarcely just when we know how frequently he communicated with the Earl when in Sweden and Denmark. The Earl of Leicester to Algernon Sydney.* London, Aug. 30, 1660. Disuse of writing hath made it uneasy to me, age makes it hard, and the weakness of sight and hand * Sydney Papers, edited by R. W, Blencowe. 302 ALGERNON SYDNEY. makes it almost impossible. This may excuse me to everybody, and particularly to you, who have not invited me much unto it, but rather you have given me cause to think that you were willing to save me the labour of writing and yourself the trouble of read- ing my letters ; for after you had left me sick, solitary, and sad at Penshurst, and that you had resolved to undertake the employment wherein you have lately been, you neither came to give me a farewell, nor did so much as send one to me, but only wrote a wrang- ling letter or two concerning money. ... It is true, that since the change of affairs here, and of your con- dition there, your letters have been more frequent, and if I had not thought my silence better both for you and myself, I would have written more than once or twice to you ; but though for some reasons I did forbear, I failed not to desire others to write unto you, and with their own to convey the best advice that my little intelligence and weak judgment could afford ; particularly, not to expect new authorities nor orders from hence, nor to stay in any of the places of your negotiation, nor to come into England, much less to expect a ship to be sent for you, or to think that an account was or would be expected of you here, unless it were of matters very different from your transac- tions there. That it would be best for you presently to divest yourself of the character of a public Minister, to dismiss all your train, and to retire into some safe place, not very near, nor very far from England, that you might hear from your friends sometimes ; and for this I advised Hamburg, where I hear you arc by your man Powell, and by them that have received W EXILE. 303 letters from you, with presents of wine and fish, which I do not regret nor envy. . . . And now I am again upon the point of retiring to my poor habitation, having for myself no other design than to pass the small remainder of my days innocently and quietly, and, if it please God, to be gathered in peace to my fathers. And concerning you, what to resolve in myself, or what to advise you, truly I know not ; for you must give me leave to remember of how little weight my opinions and counsel have been with you, and how unkindly and unfriendly you have rejected the exhortations and admonitions, which in much affection and kindness I have given you on many occasions, and in almost everything, from the highest to the lowest, that have concerned you, and this you may think sufficient to discourage me from putting my advices into the like danger : yet somewhat I will say. And first, I think it unwise, and perhaps as yet unsafe, for you to come into England ; for I believe Powell hath told you that he heard when he was here that you were likely to be excepted out of the general Act of Pardon and Oblivion, and though I know not what you have done or said, here or there, yet I have several ways heard that there is as ill an opinion of you as of any, even of those that condemned the late King ; and when 1 thought there was no other excep- tion to you than your being of the other party, I spoke to the General in your behalf, who told me that very ill offices had been done to you, but he would assist you as much as justly he could. And I in- tended then also to speak to somebody else, you may guess whom I mean; but since that, I have heard 304 A LGERNON SYDNEY. such things of you, that in doubtfulness only of their being true no man will open his mouth for you. I will tell you some passages, and you will do well to clear yourself of them.* It is said that the University of Copenhagen brought their album unto you, desiring * "Mr. Pedicombe, as I hear his name is, resident for the King of Denmark, came to visit me at Leicester House, the 12th of July, 1660 ; and after some courtesies said to me, he expressed much affection and esteem for my son Algernon, whom he had known at Copenhagen, during the treaty between Denmark and Sweden, wherein Algernon was employed ; and offered himself to be ready to do my son any good offices that might be in his power : but though he much commended my said son's good parts, yet he said he was rough, and had been so to the King of Denmark, and had been so to the King of Sweden. I returned my thanks to him, and so we parted. Saturday, 28th July, I returned his visit, and falling into discourse about my said son, and of our King's displeasure to him, he said, that according to the usages of Germany and Denmark, the University of Copenhagen had brought to my son a new Album, which is a book, wherein the University desired him to write some word or motto, and to sign his name in that book, and that my said son had written in albo these words — ■ * Manus hsec inimica tyrannis,' and set his name to it ; which, says Mr. Pedicombe, being written in the Album of the said university, must needs be known to many, and may do your son some hurt, because he hath declared himself to be a defender of the Commonwealth. He said, too, that he was told by a gentleman in Denmark, who was well acquainted with the minister, or preacher, of Copenhagen ; that this minister being in company with my said son, said to him, ' I think you were guilty of the late King's death.' ' Guilty,' said he, ' do you call that guilty ? why, it is the noblest and bravest action ever done in England, or anywhere,' with other words to the like effect. To which I answered that this seemed very strange to me, because I knew that my said son was none of the King's judges, nor had anything to do in the death of the said King ; but if it were known that he had said such words, he must not think of coming into England ; and that action was so much condemned and abhorred by all men, and particularly by me who am his father." (Extract from » manuscript of Lord Leicester's in the possession of Mr. Lambard. Blencoive.) IN EXILE. 305 you to write something therein, and that you did write in albo these words — " Manus hsec iniraica tyrannis," and put your name to them ; this cannot choose but be publicly known if it be true. It is said also that a Minister, who hath married a Lady Lawrence here of Chelsea, but now dwelling at Copenhagen, being there in company with you, said, " I think, you were none of the late King's judges, nor guilty of his death," — meaning our King. " Guilty ! " said you, " do you call that guilt ? Why, it was the justest and bravest action that ever was done in England, or anywhere eke;" with other words to the same effect. It is said, also, that you, having heard of a design to seize upon you, or to cause you to be taken prisoner, you took notice of it to the King of Denmark, and said, "I hear there is a design to seize upon me, but who is it that hath that design ? Est ce noire bandit ? " By which you are understood to mean the King. Besides this, it is reported that you have been heard to say many scornful and contemptuous things of the King's person and family, which, unless you can justify yourself, will hardly be forgiven or forgotten, for such personal offences make deeper impressions than public actions of war or treaty. Here is a resident, as he calls him- self, of the King of Denmark, whose name I hear is Pedicombe; he has visited me, and offered his readi- ness to give you any assistance in his power and credit with the ambassador, Mr. Alefield, who was then expected, and is now arrived here, and has had his first audience. I have not seen Mr. Pedicombe since, vol. i. x 306 ALGERNON SYDNEY. but within a few days I will put him in mind of his profession for you, and try what he can or will do. Sir Eobert Honeywood is also come hither, and, as I hear, the King is graciously pleased to admit him into his presence ; which will be somewhat the better for you, because then, the exception against your em- ployment and negotiation, wherein you were col- leagues, will be removed, and you will have no more to answer for than your own particular behaviour. I believe Sir Eobert Honeywood will be industrious enough to procure satisfaction to the merchants in the business of money, wherein he will have the assistance of Sir John Temple, to whom I refer you for that and some other things. I have little to say to your com- plaints of your sister Strangford's unequal returns to your affection and kindness, but that I am sorry for it, and that you are well enough served for bestowing so much of your care where it was not due, and neg- lecting them to whom it was due ; and I hope you will be wiser hereafter. She and her husband have not yet paid the thousand pounds, whereof you are to have your part, by my gift, for so I think you are to understand it, though your mother desired it ; and if for the payment thereof your being in England, or in some place not far off, be necessary, as some pre- tend, for the sealing of some writings, I think that and other reasons sufficient to persuade you to stay a while where you are, that you may hear frequently from them, and they from you. I am wholly against your going into Italy as yet, till more be known of your condition, which for the present is hard, and I confess I do not as yet see any more than this, that IN EXILE. 307 either you must live in exile or very privately here, and perhaps not safely ; for though the Bill of In- demnity be lately passed, yet if there be any par- ticular and great displeasure against you, which I fear there is, you may feel the effects thereof from the higher powers, and receive affronts from the inferior. Therefore you were best to stay at Hamburg, which, for a northern situation, is a good place and healthful. I will help you as much as I can in discovering and informing you of what concerns you, though as I began, so must I end, with telling you that writing has now grown troublesome to your affectionate Leicester. Sydney did not allow many days to elapse after the receipt of this " nasty " letter, before he penned the following answer. Algernon Sydney to his Father.* Augsburg, Sept. 21, 1660. My Lord, I have received your Lordship's letter of the 30th August, and find myself to have been as much mis- informed of your Lordship's thoughts concerning me, as I was of my own condition, in relation to the public. I did hope I had deserved better, and that your Lordship had allowed me better ; but this is not my first mistake, nor am I the first man that hath too much suffered his judgment to follow his desires. I * Sydney Papers, edited by R, W. Blencowe. x 2 308 ALGERNON SYDNEY. will not trouble your Lordship with, answering every particular, for if what I have already several times said be not sufficient to change your opinion, I despair of doing so. I was not persuaded to pay any respect to you by the change of my fortune ; I began when it Was, for aught I knew, prosperous enough, and did continue them [his respects], as frequently as I could reasonably think they would be acceptable. That which I wrote of my mother's death was as soon as I knew it. The relations of what I did in Denmark should have been constant, if you would have let me known you would receive them. I never thought my fortune better than three days before I sent Sterry, nor did I find any other alteration in it when he went, but that of the King of Sweden's death. I did appoint him to wait upon your Lordship, and acquaint you with all you would be contented to know ; if he did not stay long enough, it was not my fault. Before that time, I had written more letters than your Lord- ship mentions. When you were coming to London, I thought it necessary to give you more perfect accounts, believing you would have been displeased if I had not done it, and certainly it would have looked strangely, if I had sent relations to others, and left your Lord- ship ignorant of our transactions. I confess I thought the business of these parts worth the consideration of any that were in the government ; and do now think they that neglect it may live to find their error. I thought the whole course of my life would have defended me from the suspicion of too much complying with fortune ; but since that which is past is not enough, I will endeavour to leave no possibility of IN EXILE. 309 thinking so for the future. Whatsoever is laid to my charge, there shall be no ground for that, which I hate and despise above all things in the world. That which I am reported to have written in the book at Copen- hagen is true ; and having never heard, that any sort of men were so worthily the objects of enmity, as those I mentioned, I did never in the least scruple avowing myself to be an enemy unto them. I know the Minister your Lordship mentions ; his name is Brockman ; but I do not know that ever he asked me any such question. If he had, I should have given him such an answer as his folly and ill manners would have deserved; but that which is reported is not in my style, / never said it. Yet that your Lordship may not think I say this in compliance with the time, I do avow, that since I came into Denmark, I have many times so justified that act, as people did believe I had a hand in it ; and never did disavow it, unless it were to the King of Sweden, and Grand Maitre of Denmark, who asked me privately. Your Lordship doth perfectly understand the duty of my place ; you may judge how good a servant I had been, if I had waived justifying the authority that had employed me, in a thing of such importance. I did as far as I could, and most fully, when the King was nearest coming in. I found all parties marked my words, actions, and countenance, and guessed thereby the truth of what they heard of England ; they knew I was well enough informed whilst the Parliament sat; they thought I had such grounds for my proceedings as en- couraged me, and concluded the King was not so near coming in as they had heard, or that he 310 ALGERNON SYDNEY. should have no power. By this Denmark was brought to the peace. If I had showed any faint- ness, I should have had no more credit than my footboy. The work was only to be carried on with vigour and boldness ; I was forced to take that part : my colleague grew slack. The letters I received from Mr. Thurloe and others helped me, which I showed as I had occasion, and interpreted as I pleased : serious and set discourses would have had no effect ; scattered words, slighting expressions, and the like, did my business, brought that treaty to a conclusion, without which that of Dantzic would never have been ratified, and con- sequently all the North had continued in war; with great danger, if not certainty, of engaging the greatest part of Europe. I have too many witnesses of this : Denmark is now enraged, find- ing my design, and themselves deluded by it. The Holland Ministers do the like. Slingesland did then suspect me, and in vain endeavoured to cross me. In revenge, they made the reports you men- tion, some true, some false. I thought this work worth the hazard to which I exposed myself. I was then contented with it, and without repining bore the consequences. I hope I do not in this attribute too much to myself. I was not the efficient cause of the peace, but (as great matters do sometimes depend upon small), I was the cause, without which to this day it had not been con- cluded. All that I fear can be objected against me in this business is, that I too much leaned to the Swedish party. Perhaps that is true, but I IN EXILE. 311 followed my orders, and my opinion of what I thought was good for England; which I think I can make appear to any reasonable person, that will have patience to examine it. How far it will agree with the King's inclination to favour the King of Denmark, either for nearness of blood,* or friendship contracted, I neither know, nor thought it my business to examine. I did my duty, and troubled myself no further. The work I had in hand was difficult enough, without perplexing my- self with such intricacies. If this clear and naked truth will not defend me, let me fall. I will use no other means to preserve myself. I desire my friends to observe the same rule, and not to speak one word in my behalf. My answer to the third point will more elucidate this by showing in what condition I was, and with whom I had to deal. I had information that it was debated in the Danish Court whether my commission were expired or not, or whether, if his Majesty should demand me, as one of those that put the King to death, the King of Denmark should not seize on me, and deliver me into his hands. You may easily imagine how I took this discourse, after having been received with as much honour as any Ambassador that ever came thither, since this King came to the throne. At this time we pressed a little hard upon that King, for the accomplishment of his several declarations in concluding the peace. An accident did then fall out, which I must also relate. The young Countess Conyngsmark, sister * James the First married a Princess of Denmark. 312 ALGERNON SYDNEY. to Admiral Wrangle, and the Countess de la Gardie, daughter to old General Conyngsmark, with some other persons of quality, embarked from the Swe- dish quarters for Ltibeck, in a Holland man-of- war. The French Ambassador and I went in a small boat from Copenhagen, to take our leave of them ; being within half a league on our return, we saw fire given to three great pieces from one of the town batteries. One of the bullets grazed upon the water two or three yards from us, the others went very close over our heads. As soon as we landed I went to the battery and asked who fired those pieces. The gunner told me the Queen had been there, and they were fired to show her Majesty how well they were planted to carry a bullet close to the surface of the water. The Monsieur and I had it from other hands, that one Paterson, a valet de chambre (who is a busy fellow, enemy to the peace, and much favoured at Court), had planted them, and the Queen had given fire to one of them with her own hands. We knew she saw and knew us, for we were not a quarter of an English mile from the battery, the weather was very clear, and both at our entry and coming out of the ship, which was also hard by, we had been saluted with at least forty guns. We spoke of this slightly. The Queen thought fit to send a gentleman to me with an ex- cuse. I put it off as a jest, saying, that all things which came from her Majesty were favours, even cannon bullets, and if that she had a mind to try her skill, 1 would go again to the same place, and make myself her mark as long as she pleased : but IN EXILE. 313 he affirming gravely her Majesty did not see the boat, I replied a little more seriously, " Sa Majestie a les yeux fort beaux ; je ne doute pasqu'elle ne les aie fort bons aussi ;" and added, that though that was something of an extraordinary entertain- ment for men under my character, there was a dis- course made on such a day before the King, at which I was much more scandalized ; but mentioned no par- ticulars. This was reported to the King, who was troubled at both, and sent to me to come privately to him. I found his Majesty alone in his study, who did disavow having said or heard anything to my prejudice, much less having a design to do anything that I could dislike ; desired that the foolish words or actions of others might not be imputed unto him : promised severely to punish any person that had done me injury ; admitted my commission to be still in full force, and desired some important things from me, which I performed. I answered civilly, and if his Majesty will say I said any word like that which you mention, I will come into England, waive all benefit of the Act of Amnesty, and put myself into the King's power, to be dealt with as he pleaseth. As to the other points your Lordship mentions, I am not at all surprised by them. I did not take the war in which I was engaged to be a slight matter, nor to be done by halves. I thought it undertaken upon good grounds, and that it was the part of an honest man to pursue them heartily. It is not strange that this should raise great animosities against me. It is usual to desire to destroy those that will not be corrupted. I could expect not less. This is all that I can or will 314 ALGERNON SYDNEY. allege for my justification, that what I did was in pursuance of the business I had undertaken, and per- formance of the trust reposed in me ; and if the King be such a person as they say he is, I expect he should have a better opinion of me for this than of those that betrayed their masters and brethren. He that has been constant and faithful to his first engagements, will probably be so unto others; he that is once false, will never be firm longer than his interest teaches him fidelity. No man that is in his senses married a whore in hopes of making her honest, nor employed a knave but in works fit for one. If I have said anything more particularly of my own proceedings, it is to justify myself in your Lordship's opinion, that you may not think whatsoever I did or said proceeded from a delight in hearing myself prate, or such a giddiness as not to see whither I went, but that to which I was forced by affairs I had in hand. If I had regarded my own convenience I might perhaps have known where the sun rose, how to adore him, and how to gain the benefit of his rays, as well as General Montague, or at least I might have been equal to Colonels Ingoldsby and Thomlinson.* * " There were others that had been seduced into that treason, viz. Colonel Ingoldsby, Francis Lassels, and John Hutchinson ; but so much was said in the House in their favours, that they were not made culpable with the rest. As for Ingoldsby, it was made to appear that Oliver Cromwell, without his consent, put his hand and seal to the warrant for the execution of the King : besides that, by many actions of his loyalty since, and his engagement in Sir George Booth's business, and against Lambert, he had given evident testimony of his abhorrency of so foul a crime."— Kennett's Register, p. L51. Colonel Thomlinson had the command of the guard, to whom the custody of the King's person was entrusted during his trial and stay IN EXILE. 315 But whatsoever my fortune is, I hope I shall show unto your Lordship I am not capable of base com- pliance with fortune in relation to any person what- ever, nor an indecent action ; and before I swerve from this rule I hope God will put an end unto my life. Your Lordship may perhaps think you have a son that is headstrong and violent, or guilty of some other faults, of which he is often accused; but you shall not find I have any quality that is dishonourable to you or your family. I looked upon myself as ruined as soon as the King's coming in grew certain, and expected as little favour as any one man in England, until letters from my friends represented his coming in upon terms very different from what I now find, and were full of discourses of employ- ments and preferments for me if I would remit of my severity and obstinacy, in which I had now no companions. As I thought I might most justly oppose the first and second King whilst I followed the autho- rity of Parliament, I knew it was my duty to submit and serve him when that same authority did acknow- ledge him, and by the letters I received I thought my service would easily be accepted, when I pretended to nothing more than the continuance in this employ- ment, for which no man will be my rival that is in his senses : and yet I knew so well how I should be at Westminster ; and he attended the King to the scaffold. He seems honourably to have deserved the pardon that was granted him, by his kind and humane treatment of his royal prisoner ; conduct which so won upon the gratitude and affection of Charles, that the night before his execution he presented him with his gold toothpick case, as a memorial of himself ; and he appears during all the last trying scenes of his life to have considered him, and to have relied upon him as a friend. 316 ALGERNON SYDNEY. looked upon that I intended no more than by staying there awhile to make a more handsome way into England, and to live more securely. But before I had answers unto my letters, I understood the busi- ness better, and lost all thoughts of living at home. Nevertheless, I intended to go and give an account of my negotiation, and had come with my colleague, if, by accident, some letters had not come a day or two before he went, which advised me to go into Holland, all pressing me to come over speedily until that day. As things stand, I have very little thoughts of ever seeing your Lordship, or my own country. God's will be done ; I must bear my condition as well as I can. It is ill enough to satisfy the malice of my most bitter enemies, and not easily capable of an aggravation, but by doing something that would dissatisfy myself. I was advanced near six hundred miles from Hamburg, before I received your Lord- ship's command not to stir from thence. The expense of an unsettled condition, in a place where I was known lately to have borne a public character, obliged me to remove, being very unproportionable to my fortune. I have, since I came from Copen- hagen, spent that which would have carried me to Rome, and maintained me a good while there, or brought me back again ; I can live so no longer, not knowing from whence to expect a supply; I would return from hence if I could think it was your Lord- ship's mind, but I cannot think it is so. . . . When I lost the thought of living in England, I cast as well as I could where to place myself. It is hard to resolve ; I am to meet at Rome some eminent persons IN EXILE. 317 that I have lately been acquainted with, to see whether I can, upon conference with them, fix upon anything. The little money I have, is sent thither ; I have hardly enough left for my journey : but if your Lordship will have me come out of Italy, I will (by the help of God) be at Strasburg or Frankfort before Christmas ; either of which places is much better for me than Hamburg. I have ever endea- voured to please your Lordship, and will do so still, but not a whit more than if I were in a prosperous condition. The advices your Lordship speaks of have come to me very imperfectly, and some in your name contrary to those in your letter. The first word I heard of any intentions to except me out of the Act of Oblivion, was in your Lordship's letter, but of myself I did expect it ; especially when I heard how Sir H. Vane and Haselrig were dealt with. I have seen the Act, and find there is not one clause that can trouble me, but I do not value it one straw. I know how easy a thing it is, for those who have power to vex me, and that many things are more to be apprehended than a hatchet. I give your Lordship many thanks for the money you mention, and desire you will be pleased to cause it to be paid unto my sister Sunderland, for the discharging of a debt, for which she was engaged as well as me. I ask your Lordship's pardon for having troubled you with this long letter. The answer unto the many particulars of your Lordship could not be brought into a small volume ; that which is the cause of my error, I hope will be my excuse ; writing ' long and much hath made me do it ill, I 318 ALGERNON SYDNEY. hope your Lordship will make use of some other eyes than your own to read it. I am your Lordship's Algernon Sydney. , r -r Augsburg, Sept. 26, 1660* My Lord, I did within these three days write a very long letter unto your Lordship, yet cannot well persuade myself to leave this town without making some addition to it. My first business is to desire your Lordship not to impute my paying of my respects unto you to the change of my fortune, assuring your Lordship that nothing can so strongly divert me from that which is in my heart I am desirous to perform as such an interpretation ; and I hope both my past life and that which is to come shall beget good credence, that I neither deserve it from your Lordship, nor from any other person in the world. The next is this, to assure your Lordship that all the letters which I received from my friends, until about the 20th of July, did, in your Lordship's name and their own, press my speedy return home. My first stop was from things I learnt from the Grand Maltre of Denmark of what was passed, and I intended to come over, till those letters I received a day or two before I and my colleague parted, advised me not to make too much haste ; and others that I found at Hamburg limited me to the passing of the Act of Oblivion, and making my peace ; I knew the one would make my return more unhandsome, and * Sydney Papers, edited by A. Collins. IN EXILE. 319 not at all more secure. Or perhaps the indecency of it might add to the danger, and my confession of fear would be such an argument of guilt as might persuade those to trouble me who before thought not of me. If I was before in doubt whether to return or not, this did almost make me resolve not to return. I confess I had no opinion at all as to the other points concern- ing my particular peace. The same reasons which made it advisable to seek before I came over, showed that it was impossible to obtain. That aversion which persuades the King or his Ministers to separate me from the party I have followed, will hinder them from receiving satisfaction, if I endeavour to give it. The cause and root of all the bitterness against me is from my stiff adherence to the party they hate. I do not wonder at it ; the reason is sufficient ; but that which the King cannot avow, without contradicting the very grounds upon which he doth promise to govern. No exceptions are so fit for one, who seeks not to be satis- fied, as words : they are in their own nature subject to various interpretations, and are almost ever variously reported. The true sense of them depends upon the time, place, occasion, persons, what went before, what followed, and a multitude of other circumstances, which makes the intricacy so vast, as all defence is impossible. Who can answer for that he hath said in eighteen years of a party, unto which he professed utter enmity ? I do in my heart believe that I never made any discourses that are reported of me, at least not in the manner in which they are reported : yet cannot I say they are absolutely false : some such thing may have passed that I have forgotten that 320 ALGERNON SYDNEY. would make my assertion a lie, or at least it would be thought so. How can I apply myself unto a justifi- cation in such things wherein it is impossible for me to know whether I speak true or false ? Or though I could remember all that is now objected, I can no sooner justify myself in one point, but a multitude of others will be alleged against me. Such an un- limited accusation is a hydra. I can no sooner strike off one head but ten more rise up against me in the place of it, fuller of poison than the former. Or if T could destroy them all, by giving a rational justi- fication in every point, and I could convince the King in all, who shall oblige him to say he is satisfied ? Where is the law or rule to which such pleadings should be reduced, by which such controversies should be determined ? And to show that words are not the cause, but the pretence, of the displeasure against me, I need no other argument but the proceedings against some that can be accused of nothing but might as well be laid to my charge, unless it be that they are more eminent ; and they being taken away, that reason is taken away also, and I may be among the next. Shall I not then, by endeavouring a justification, weary my friends and myself with a fruitless appli- cation of a remedy to that which is no evil, or at least not in that place : and by misplacing it shall I not lay a salve to my foot to cure a wound that is in my head ? All that I can say is, that I have in private conversation said many things suitable unto my actions against both the Kings and their parties ; but in public places never anything but what I had thought necessary to the business I had taken in hand. IN EXILE. 321 When I acted against them, I never scrupled saying those things that should give efficacy unto my actions, and help me to effect them ; and the same amnesty which buries all those actions, should in justice and reason extend to all those words that conduced unto them, and that were caused by them. But this is not all that keeps me out of England. I do believe my peace may be made, but not by the means that are proposed ; the King doth not give any testimony of desiring to destroy all that were against him, but he will have all to submit, to recant, renounce, and ask pardon. I find this and other things are expected from me. I can do the first, cheerfully and willingly, as he is acknowledged by the Parliament : nothing of the others. I do the more apprehend the discontenting of my friends in denying those things I must deny, than all the other inconveniences that may befall me for my denial. No condition can be more unhappy than mine if I should, in compliance with my friends, cast myself into so great inconveniences, and then discontent them more than by keeping myself out of them. These reasons have persuaded me to content myself with a temporary exile, as the least evil that is within my power of choosing. If these clouds do pass over, and the next spring, or any other time after, there are reasonable grounds for my return, I can within a few weeks be at London, if I am alive ; if not, my friends' cares and my own are ended. In the meantime I have a small provision for my main- tenance, that will serve me perhaps two years in such a condition as I intend to put myself into, and in that time I will not trouble your Lordship, nor any- vol. i. Y 322 ALGERNON SYDNEY. body else, with any desire of assistance, — unless I should, either upon my friends' advice or my own in- clinations, return in the spring into France and Ger- many ; and then it will be only to send me a couple of horses, which I think your Lordship will not con- sider a great burden. I have in this and my other letters very plainly and sincerely laid open unto your Lordship my intentions, and I hope your Lordship will judge favourably of them, or rather justly, since in this business I have no need of favour. Perhaps I do not take the nearest way to my own interest, but it is certain if 1 do not, the hurt is only to myself; I am willing to bear it, since I have no means of avoid- ing it, but such as seem to me greater than the evil. I am now ready to take horse for Venice ; my first journey will be to Minchen, from thence to Inspruck, through the Tyrol, to Trent. There is a much nearer way to Eome than this, which I did at first intend to take, but it is so troublesome that I, who have not rode a good while, doubt I should not be well able to bear it. I shall from time to time write to your Lordship. I am, your Lordship's Algernon Sydney. Venice, Oct. 12, 1660.* My Lord, I did write to your Lordship twice from Augs- burg : I have little to add to what I then said, unless it be in relation to something from him who was my * Sydney Papers, edited by R. W. Blencowe. IN EXILE. 323 colleague. I think he intends nothing less than my hurt, but doubt he may do me very much.* Not knowing at all the grounds of my proceedings in Denmark, which I think is the principal thing objected against me, he will be subject to aggravate that which he doth intend to attenuate. I do in that whole busi- ness refer myself wholly to my two last letters to your Lordship, being assured nobody knows my mind upon that point, unless it be those that have seen them, or some few words inserted into others written at the same time. He also mentions another point, but so obscurely, that I understand it not, no other person having spoken one word of it, which is, that there is something in the Clerk of the Court's book,t that put the King to death, which doth much prejudice me. I do not know the particulars, but the truth of what passed I do very well remember. I was at Penshurst when the Act for the trial passed, and coming up to town I heard my name was put in, and that those that were nominated for judges were then in the Painted Chamber. I presently went thither, heard the Act read, and found my own name with others. A debate was raised how they should proceed upon it, and after * Honeywood appears to have made various malicious charges against Sydney, and to have tried to defraud him of certain moneys. -j- The name of Algernon Sydney occurs twice in the list of the Com- missioners who assembled for the trial of the King, published in the Clerk of the Court's book. The days upon which he attended their meetings were Monday the 15th, and Friday the 19th of January ; upon which occasions the Court sat privately. On the Monday following, as appears from the Journal of the Earl of Leicester, he went to Penshurst, where he remained till the 29th ; and the Earl's entry, with the exception of the previous attendance upon the Monday, coincides with Sydney's account of his part in that transaction. Y 2 324 ALGERNON SYDNEY. having been sometime silent to hear what those would say, who had had the directing of that business, I did positively oppose Cromwell, Bradshaw, and others, who would have the trial to go on, and drew my reasons from these two points : First, the King could be tried by no court ; secondly, that no man could be tried by that court. This being alleged in vain, and Cromwell using these formal words, " I tell you, we will cut off his head with the Crown upon it," I replied, " You may take your own course ; I cannot stop you ; but I will keep myself clean from having any hand in this business," immediately went out of the room, and never returned. This is all that passed publicly, or that can with truth be recorded, or taken notice of. I had an intention, which is not very fit for a letter.* Some few months after, it was moved in the House that none should be of the Council of State but those that had signed the order for the King's death : that motion soon fell ; the company appearing unfit for such a work. Afterwards it was moved that none should be of the Council but such as would subscribe a paper, declaring their approbation of that act : calling that a test whereby those that were close and sure unto the work in hand, might be distinguished from those that were not. I opposed that, and having given such reasons as I could to justify my opinion, I chanced to use this expression, that such a test would prove a snare to many an honest man, but every knave would slip through it. The Lord Grey of Grooby took great exceptions at this, and said I had called all * See page 125, IV EXILE. those knaves that had signed the order ; upon which there was a hot debate, some defending, others blaming what I had said, but all mistaking the true sense of it : and I was not hasty to explain myself. Harry Marten saved me the trouble of doing it all, by saying that indeed such expressions did sound something harsh, when they related to such actions, in which many of my brethren had been engaged ; but that the error of him who took exceptions was much greater than mine, for I had said only that every knave might slip through, and not that everyone who did ship through was a knave. I mention these two things as public ones, of which I can have many witnesses, and they had so ill effects as to my particular concernments, as to make Cromwell, Brad- shaw, Harrison, Lord Grey, and others, my enemies, who did from that time continually oppose me. Love to truth, rather than expectation of success, persuades me to give your Lordship this information, which you may be pleased to make use of, as you see occasion. I have had a very cold, wet, and troublesome jour- ney through the mountains of Bavaria and Tyrol, and in some places dangerous, by the overflowings of the torrents. After one fortnight those ways will be hardly passable, until the snows are all fallen, and the frost follow upon them. I have been here a week, and to-morrow I intend to begin my journey towards Rome. It will perhaps seem a little ridiculous for me to say I have business in Rome, but it is true. When I saw there was no man would advise me to come into England before the Act of Oblivion passed, few after it, 326 ALGERNON SYDNEY. and that I myself was extremely averse to it, and found great inconvenience in staying at Hamburg, I did engage myself to go thither, and could not recede but with extreme prejudice. I do also incline rather to stay there, or at Florence, than in any other place out of England ; but if your Lordship doth dislike either, I will upon your command remove from thence into Germany or France, or in the spring into England ; though I know not where or how to live there, though I should be free from trouble from the Court, which I do not expect. I am, your Lordship's Algeenon Sydney. The next month Sydney had arrived at Eome. CHAPTEE IX. RESIDENCE AT ROME. The sanguinary vengeance which the triumphant Koyalists were now, in spite of the Declaration of Breda and the Act of Indemnity, dealing out towards, those who had been engaged in the direction of the late Commonwealth, had warned Sydney that his stay in the North of Europe was pregnant with danger. Three of the late King's judges had been treacherously seized in the United Provinces and sent over to England, there to fall under the executioner's axe. Many who had been excepted from the general amnesty had been thrown into prison, and were in daily expectation that the block and Tower Hill would be their fate. Carew, Scot, Scroope, Clements, and Jones, all members of the High Court of Justice, had been executed. Cooke, solicitor for the Parliament, and Axtell and Hacker, who had successively commanded the guards at the trial 328 ALGERNON SYDNEY. and execution of the deposed King, had received the same terrible punishment. Hugh Peters, an Inde- pendent Mmister, who had warmly approved of the sentence passed upon Charles, had also shared the fate of the King he despised. Hutchinson and Har- rington were in strict confinement. Sir Arthur Haselrig, who had only escaped death from the readiness with which he had surrendered his garrisons to Monk, was a prisoner in the Tower. Vane, too, who like Sydney had taken no direct part in the execution of the King, was also committed to the Tower. All these circumstances tended the more to confirm Sydney in his resolution not to return to England. "I think," he says in his first letter from Eome* to his father, "the counsel given me by all my friends to keep out of England for a while doth too clearly appear to have been good, by the usage my companions have already received ; and perhaps will be yet further verified by what they will find. Nothing doth seem more certain to me than that I must either have procured my safety by such means as Sir Arthur Haselrig f is said to have * Sydney Papers, Nov. 29, 1660 : Collins. t " Although Sir Arthur Haselrig had taken no part in the proceed- ings upon the King's trial, and had not signed the warrant for his execu- RESIDENCE AT ROME. 329 used; or run the fortune of some others who have showed themselves more resolute. I hope my being here will in a short time show that the place was not ill chosen, and that besides the liberty and quiet which is generally granted to all persons here, I may be admitted into that company, the knowledge of which will very well recompense my journey." Sydney's hopes as regards admission into Eoman society were soon realized. Furnished with a letter of introduction to the celebrated Cardinal Palla- vicini, the historian of the Council of Trent, and the friend and confessor of the Supreme Pontiff, he was at once launched into the most brilliant and distin- guished company that the Eternal City then possessed. A keen observer of men and manners, he amused tion, yet so zealous and active had been his opposition to the King, both in council and in the field, from the beginning of the civil troubles, that upon the restoration of Charles II. he, with Sir Harry Vane and Lambert, were excepted in the Act of Indemnity. No one exerted himself more zealously than he did to prevent the restoration ; but when that event became certain, he applied to Monk to use his interest to procure his safety ; which Monk, being unwilling to drive him to desperation, for he had then several regiments under his command, quartered in some strong garrisons, engaged to exert in his favour upon condition that he would give up his command and retire to his own house. Monk's interposition prevailed so far as to secure his life, and his estate was granted to his next heir. Sir Arthur Haselrig was imprisoned in the Tower; but one of so wild a spirit could not live long encaged ; he died shortly afterwards in confinement." — Kennett's Register. 330 ALGERNON SYDNEY. himself by watching the current of Eoman life, and depicting in his different letters to his father the characters of those who were at the head of its society. That he enjoyed himself as much as a man in his unfortunate position could do so, during his residence at Rome, is plainly evident. Constantly in his letters we meet with enthusiastic remarks upon the beauty of the surrounding scenery and the charm of Roman social life. "I do not know," he writes shortly after his arrival, " whether any place' in the world affords good company in greater perfection than that which I have here met with." The chair of St. Peter's was at this time occupied by Alexander VII., a virtuous and accomplished Pontiff, who, in consequence of some verses written in praise of Urban VIIL, had been rapidly promoted in the Church, and on the death of Innocent X. had succeeded to the Pontificate. He appears, however, to have taken but little share in the active adminis- tration of the state, and to have left all matters of government in the hands of his favourite Cardinals. His time was principally spent in encouraging litera- ture and the fine arts, whilst his chief amusement was to listen to authors reading their works aloud RESIDENCE AT ROME. 331 and to suggest amendments. " I passed forty-two months," says Giacomo Tuirini, "at the Court of Pope Alexander, and I discovered that he had merely the name of a Pope, not the substantial power of the Papacy. Of those qualities which he had dis- played as Cardinal, vivacity of spirit, power of dis- crimination, decision in difficult cases, and facility of expression, not a trace remained ; business was put aside, and he thought of nothing but how to live in undisturbed repose of mind." * " There are many characters given of the Pope," writes Sydney to his father, f " That which appears to me most probable is, that he is a good man, of gentle nature, free from all vice even from his youth, little ambitious or covetous, something too indulgent to his nephews, of a fine wit rather than a great judgment, a great delighter in poetry, history, and that learning which is here called belle letter -e; he is much better versed in these than in deeper studies. From hence was his first preferment, upon occasion of a copy of verses made by him in praise of Urban VIII. given to Padre Sforza Pallavicini (then Jesuit, now * The Popes of Rome, by Leopold Ranke, vol. iii. p. 38. f Sydney Papers, Dec. 29, 1060 : Collins. 332 ALGERNON SYDNEY. Cardinal), and by him showed to the Pope, who, pleased with them, would know the man, then a private gentleman of Sienna; and he being brought to him by Pallavicini, through a similitude of nature and studies grew kind to him, persuaded him to turn prelate, promising preferment, and performed it. Now he is attained to the highest, he shows kindness to the family of his benefactor, made Pallavicini a Cardinal, and is thought more his friend than to any one of the college. His government is gentle and easy, neither troubling his neighbours with great undertakings, nor his subjects with too heavy impositions. To say the truth, they are hardly able to bear those that were laid by his two last prede- cessors. The prices of all things necessary to life are much increased since I was here the first time ; but temperance is in fashion, everybody lives upon little, so that the burden is not great to strangers. Five shillings a day serves me and two men very well, in meat, drink, and firing." Owing to the age of Alexander VII. and to his preference for literary pursuits, the government of the Pontificate was, as we have just said, carried on by the Cardinals. Of these Cardinals, twelve RESIDENCE AT ROME. 333 constituted themselves the chief supporters of the Pope, and to their hands all the grave affairs of state were entrusted.* No measure was ever undertaken by the Supreme Pontiff, unless it had received the full sanction and approval of this coterie of confidential advisers. Sydney, thanks to Pallavicini, appears to have become very intimate with the various members forming this exclusive Cabinet, and in one of his letters to his father indulges in a series of brief biographical sketches of their different characters. First among them, he writes, is Cardinal Albizzi. " Of a free, open nature, little favoured at Court for the plainness of his language, expressing his dislike to all things that deserve it. Excellently versed in the affairs of this Court. Never employed abroad. Virtuous in his life, zealous in his religion, honest in his dealings. His disposition is not ill represented by his countenance, which, though something hard and severe, has so much of vigour, vivacity, and constancy, as renders him not unlovely, and very estimable. He is industrious, studious, and learned, especially in divinity ; and has been an excellent * Sydney Papers, April 15, 1661 : Collins. 334 ALGERNON SYDNEY. preacher. Not much a friend to Pallavicini. He deserves the triple crown, but is not likely to wear it. The opinion of his severe and resolute nature will probably exclude him, as too strict and dan- gerous, both to cardinals and prelates." Next to Albizzi comes Cardinal Sacchetti. " G-entle and affable in behaviour. Sincere and in- corrupt in the charges that he hath exercised. Much versed in business, not much acquainted with books. Very constant in the repulses he has received, which were so sharp and direct, as to deserve the name of affronts. More a lover of honour than of profit. Careful of his health, perhaps in hopes of repair- ing, by living long, his formerly well-grounded but failing pretences. I have found him a little troubled with the disease incident to old men that have been eminent in the world ; he loves to talk a little too much, and often makes his own actions the subject of his discourse. Those please him best, wherein he has showed integrity and constancy, rather than great subtilty of wit. He glories most in having been advanced to all the principal charges of this Court, without ever having sought any, and refusing some that were very considerable. I confess, these RESIDENCE AT ROME. 335 things might sound better from others than from himself : but he that has so much good to say of his own life, and all true, deserves to be excused, if he employ a few more words in it than ought to be allowed another of less merit. He seemed to be pleased once, when I told him that he had found a way of attaining that dignity which is equal to kings, by meriting it ; and had ascended unto that which is above them all, to the completing of his glory and fortune, if he had not merited it too well. Which, though a compliment, is exactly true." The character of the chief adviser of the Pope is well drawn. " Italy has not a finer wit than Cardinal Palla- vicini, nor has any convent a monk of a stricter life. It is said that sixpence a day serves him in meat; his bread and wine is furnished from the palace. Women never trouble his thoughts ; the use of them is unknown to him. He has constantly refused great church livings ; and being lately pressed by the Pope, who favours him very much, to receive one of great value, he answered, ' Your holiness can add nothing to the favour of giving me this hat but by employing me in such things as 336 ALGERNON SYDNEY. may be for your service, and bear testimony of my gratitude : I want nothing else. He makes good his words, receiving not above three or four thousand crowns a year, to keep up the state of a Cardinal, having had nothing before he came to it. He labours incessantly in those knotty businesses, that require much pains, and yield no profit. This humour defends him from having rivals in his pretences. He has showed that it is possible for the same man to be excellent in the belle lettere, and the most deep and abstruse sciences. I do not think he has so well joined the theory and practice of business. The extreme acuteness of his wit renders him admirable in the one, and fills his head with notions too nice and high for the other. Besides this, he has lived more amongst books and papers than men. He ever aims at perfection, and frames ideas in his fancy, not always proportionable to worldly businesses : some- times forgetting that the counsels as well as the persons of men are ever defective ; and that in human affairs, governors and ministers are not so much to seek what is exactly good, as what is least evil, or least evil of those things that they have power to accomplish. He is most meek and humble in his RESIDENCE AT ROME. 337 behaviour; easy and gentle in treating of his own concernments; but in spiritual and ecclesiastical affairs his zeal renders him sharp and violent. These qualities show him to be an excellent Cardinal, but would render him an ill Pope ; at least in the opinion of the courtiers, who will not endure to be overlooked by so sharp-sighted a master, nor re- formed by such a bitter enemy to corruption and looseness. His severity beginning with himself, it is not hoped that he will spare others. The fourth in rank was Spada. " This Cardinal is subtle, and loves to be thought so. He is pleased both with honour and profit : glories in what he gets by his wit and industry. He allows not above four hours in a night, and half-an-hour after dinner, for sleep. He is not at all ashamed to appear solicitous for his family ; it is numerous, and finds good fruit of his dexterity. When he went into the last conclave a friend told him he hoped to see him come out Pope ; he answered, ' No, my nephews destroy me.' Age hath not taught him to be idle. When he goes to take the air for a few days, his principal entertainment is with books, and some learned persons that he takes with him vol. i. 2 338 ALGERNON SYDNEY. When he is at home his time is divided between business and study. Though he has many qualir ties that are highly estimable, he is more pleased with the praise given to one of his epigrams than some think is suitable to his age, dignity, and person. No man is thought to excel him in fit- ness to manage great business, nor in human learn- ing. He is a great patron of those that have qualities like unto his own. He is a living history ; and his memory is a magazine, where the records of all the affairs of the world are kept in so good order that he knows when and how to bring forth every piece to the best advantage of business or conversation. If any particular hath escaped his knowledge he gives very sharp and adequate judg- ments upon the hearing of it. He doth not much love dissimulation, but knows how to do it when it is necessary." " Cardinal Barbarini, the fifth, has great sharp- ness of wit and invention : some think him defective in point of judgment. He loves subtle and intricate ways better than straight paths. Age hath not abated his vivacity. His industry is indefatigable. In times of greatest trouble and danger he is best ; RESIDENCE AT ROME. 339 and of no use when business runs softly and quietly in their usual channel. No man ever saw him frighted or despairing, though he hath had reason enough for both. Some say he is a great dissembler; I hope not, for he shows much kind- ness to me, and I should be sorry to find it not real. A great man told me there was no commerce between his tongue and his heart. He is kind to his friends and family ; a great despiser of sensual pleasures ; simple in the manner of his life ; intent upon business. The nation that is under his pro- tection speaks ill of him ; but truly, I think their discontent proceeds rather from the repulses which they draw upon themselves by their impudent im- portunity in asking, and ravenous and insatiable thirst of gaining more than is reasonable to desire, or possible to obtain for them, than that he fails of helping them as far as he can. If this Pope dies he is likely to have a great part in the choice of his successor; but his own pretences are weak. "Cardinal Azzolini, the sixth, owes his advance- ment to his wit and virtue. The last Pope was pleased with his excellent qualities, and gave him such a part in the management of affairs as was z 2 340 ALGERNON SYDNEY. thought unproportionable to his age. But he was known to be so good a judge of men that the wisest durst not blame his choice. This soon ripe young man, by his behaviour, showed his own merit, and that his master's judgment was well grounded. He received the purple when he was twenty-nine years old, as a testimony and reward of his fidelity. That Pope, who had many qualities and great actions to glory in, thought the choice of this Minister deserved to be bragged of. He is of a cheerful nature, not a despiser of innocent pleasures ; delights in things of splendour, gives good testimonies of inclination to liberality if his fortune gave him the power of exercising it. He could never in the least degree be accused of covetousness, but the narrowness of his fortune obligeth him to avoid unnecessary expenses, and by that means lives so handsomely that he who sees his palace would think he spends twice as much as he doth. His conversation is sweet and affable, wit sharp, subtle, and dexterous. Inferior to Palla- vicini in learning, but much above him in practice and knowledge of worldly business, as well as ability to manage great ones. The one is more speculative, the other hath an understanding far RESIDENCE AT ROME. 341 better suited to government. He would never be engaged to be of the French or Spanish faction, by which means he hath less money, and better repu- tation, than those that too closely join themselves to either. He is esteemed Capo dello squadrone volante ; * though he hath no prerogative above his companions, but their voluntary yielding unto him for his merit. His youth for the present cuts off his pretences to the papacy. If he lives, he is likely to meet with no greater obstacle than that which accompanies those that come young to be eminent. It is observed they seldom rise above the degree of Cardinals ; for no person is so perfect, as not to have some defect, nor so innocent, as not to offend somebody. The one cannot be long concealed, and the other must certainly make enemies, who will * " Hitherto, the kinsmen of the deceased Pope had come attended by numerous bands of creatures devoted to their interests to overawe the election. But Innocent X. left no nephew who could unite the suffrages of the Cardinals, or bind them into a faction For the first time for many centuries, therefore, the new Cardinals entered the conclave with unshackled freedom of choice. It was proposed to them voluntarily to unite under one head ; they are said to have replied that every one of them had a head and feet of his own. They were, for the most part, men of distinguished talents and of an independent spirit ; but though united (they were called the squadrone volante) they were no longer disposed to follow the beck of a nephew, but to obey their own convictions and under- standing."— Eankb, History of the Popes, vol. iii. p. 34- 342 " ALGERNON SYDNEY. Use all means to cross his pretences, being incited by those two sharp spurs, desire of revenge, and fear of resentment, if he whom they hate, and think themselves hated by, should come to be their master. Upon this occasion I will a little wander from my purpose, and relate an accident of great importance, known to few. The Cardinal Panciroli did use to say nothing was more destructive to a Cardinal's pre- tences to the papacy than to be thought revengeful. To take away that opinion of himself (which was too common at Court) he did by all means imaginable advance the interest of the Cardinal Chigi, now Pope, with whom he was known to have ancient disputes. He commended his person, as the true model of a perfect prelate, equal in modesty and integrity to the ancient fathers ; which coming from the mouth of one known to be a very good judge of men, and his enemy, was looked upon as a confession extorted by the certainty and evidence of truth, but had an effect very different from the intention of the author ; who instead of gaining the opinion of meekness, which he sought, gave such a reputation to his enemy, as raised him to the throne, and was no advantage to himself. RESIDENCE AT ROME. 334 "Cardinal Imperiali, the seventh, shows his dis- position by his face, full of that sharp fierceness which suits better with a soldier than a Cardinal ; but his wit, diligence, and dexterity in business make amends for much greater faults. The second person that I mention in my list was the first that took notice of him, as an extraordinary man ; and according to his custom and nature, ever inclined to favour virtue, sought by all means to advance him. His choice and judgment is justified by his beha- viour in all the charges that he has borne ; espe- cially in that which he now executes, which is full of thorns. He shows himself as incorrupt as any of his predecessors, and of better despatch than any. He is generally called a man of execution. I believe that is a true character ; his ready wit and great boldness are good ingredients for such a composition. "The eighth, Cardinal Eospigliosi, is thought a good man, rather regular and methodical in the management of affairs than of extraordinary acute- ness. His abilities are rather acquired by practice, than the gifts of nature. Others of this place and ao-e apply their thoughts to business, and perhaps 344 ALGERNON SYDNEY. use a little poetry for entertainment. Poetry is his principal business, other affairs come in by chance, and are performed par maniere d'acquit. I do not hear of any great exception to him, but that he may be as likely to be chosen Pope as any other; and being known not to have an active, dangerous head, may perhaps advance him before those that are more eminent. " Cardinal Pallotta, the ninth, has by long experi- ence gained great knowledge of business, and has very good natural understanding ; acute and compre- hensive, but confused ; and he is thought capricious and fantastical. He speaks well of all things, and delights in nothing more than the sound of his own tongue. He does as little want good intentions, as knowledge ; but the length of his discourses ren- ders him unfit for any business. Some think that proceeds from his earnest desire to be exact in all his actions, that makes him search so nicely into every- thing that comes before him. Others take it to be ostentation of wit and eloquence ; and those are not wanting who attribute all to the greatness of his fancy and memory, which upon all occasions repre- sent unto him such a multitude of species, that they RESIDENCE AT ROME. 345 perplex and confound his judgment, which naturally is not very distinct ; so that every slight matter proves to him a most intricate labyrinth. Whatso- ever the reason is, it is certain, he that I named last, save one, will despatch twenty businesses while he sticks upon one. This quality will keep him from being Pope ; in other respects, he might have good pretences. " Cardinal Borromeo, the tenth, is a principal orna- ment to the college ; few excel him, either in natural parts, learning, or innocence and strictness of life ; none in all those qualities. The faculty in which he most excels is the law. He drinks but eight ounces at a meal. His life in all things is proportionable unto this. In countenance and disposition he resembles his great uncle,* whose memory is so highly rever- enced. His delight is in study, and conversation with learned persons. He yields to some of the college in experience of state business, perhaps to none in qualities fit to make a great Minister, unless a pure and strict conscience be an obstacle and imperfec- tion. If God gives him life, no head is more likely * Carlo Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, whose talents and virtues caused him, some twenty years after his death, to be enrolled as a saint in the Romish Calendar. 346 ALGERNON SYDNEY. to wear the triple crown, since none deserve it better. " Cardinal Chigi, the eleventh, is rather innocent than good, or good than wise. He could never have attained to that degree, by merit or industry, to which he is advanced by fortune. But he is to be commended, that he does behave himself modestly in it. He thinks the use of pleasures is an advan- tage justly belonging to greatness, since he uses no ill means to procure them. " Cardinal Pio, the twelfth, is more a gentleman than a prelate, and would have been a gallant man in a secular Court, or perhaps better in an army. Nevertheless he does accommodate himself well enough to the life of an ecclesiastic. He does not pretend to be very zealous, but lives very free from scandal. He is magnificent in his nature, and his riches give him good opportunity of showing it. He is more courted by cavaliers than priests ; and if he ever ascends into St. Peter's chair, he must be chosen for being of a frank, ingenuous, and good nature, as free from severity to others as corruption in himself." Sydney's acquaintance at Eome lying more with RESIDENCE AT ROME. 347 " the prelates than the nobility," as he told his father, necessarily made him pay attention to all rumours which floated on the tide of ecclesiastical gossip. The age of the Pope, and his feeble health, caused frequent speculation as to who was to be his successor. Among the various competitors none was deemed more likely to be the future Pontiff than Cardinal Mazarin, and frequent were the discussions upon the important consequences such an election would have upon the political future of France. But all such speculations were soon to be turned into another channel. Instead of lamenting the death of the Pope, the Catholic world had to mourn that of Mazarin himself, and, as is usual on such occasions, political forebodings were intimately connected with conversation respect- ing the deceased. " On the 8th of this month* came an express to the Cardinal d'Este with the news of the Cardinal Mazarin's death. This town is full of discourse of it, everybody philosophizing upon the consequences according to their affection and understandings. Some good judges, considering the disposition of the French king and nation, think a governing Minister * Sydney Papers, March 12 (22), 1661 : Collins. 348 ALGERNON SYDNEY. necessary to the one, and that the other will hardly submit to any unless it be a prince of the blood or a cardinal. The interest of Court goes directly against the persons and quality of the first ; and of the second order it is hard to find a fit person. The Cardinal de Eetz* is thought to merit that honour ; but to leap immediately from banishment, confisca- tion, and proscription, to government, is a change not to be expected, even from the extravagance of fortune. Besides, none doubt but that the friends of his dead enemy will persecute him with all pos- sible asperity. And though they will not, perhaps, have power to choose his successor, they will have enough to exclude him that he so mortally hated. The three principal persons of the French faction here are the Cardinals d'Este, Antonio Barbarini, and Grrimaldi ; they are also named ; but there are such strong exceptions against each of them, that few persons think any of them will be chosen. Some speak of Cardinal Mancini ; but his natural incapacity cloth so certainly exclude him, that I do not believe he hath the least pretension. If the King would take * He had been banished by Mazarin for the prominent part he played in the insurrection of the Fronde. RESIDENCE AT ROME: 349 one of the squadrone volante, it were easy to find a man that would be without exceptions in his person, and perfectly free from any interest preju- dicial to that of France. But nothing is more improbable than that a man known only by repu- tation should be chosen for so great a work. I speak in this the fancies of others. I have no other opinion of my own than that he will be chosen that can find most favour with the ladies, and that can with most dexterity reconcile their interests, and satisfy their passions. I look upon their thoughts as more important than those of the King and all his council; and their humour as of more weight than the most considerable interest of France." The obsequies of Mazarin were celebrated with great solemnity, and his death, according to Sydney, afforded a fertile subject for the wits of Rome, where public characters appear to have been discussed with as much freedom as severity. In framing a compa- rison between Richelieu and Mazarin, Sydney told old Cardinal Spada that the one was more violent but that the other was more artful. Whereupon the Cardinal " did a few days after make these two 350 ALGERNON SYDNEY. verses upon a medal that had the picture of them both, alluding unto the Gordian knot : — ' Magnus uterq. fuit ; dignos sed vindice nodos Richelius secuit, Julius expliouit.' The Pope commended them extremely, but another Cardinal, friend to neither him nor Mazarin, said it would have been better if he had said Julius im- plicuit." In one of Sydney's letters to his father, we come across a passage which shows the hostile light in which the Jesuits were then regarded at Kome. Much of this hostility was due to two causes. In the middle of the seventeenth century, the consti- tution of the Order had undergone a most material change. Instead of confining themselves to the exercise of a strictly spiritual authority, as hitherto had been their wont, the Jesuits now aimed at the possession of temporal power. Professed followers of the Company of Jesus were everywhere struggling to obtain all offices requiring secular activity. They became members of the administration, received a share of the revenues of the colleges, attained to the position of rectors and provincials, and the one great aim of every member of the Order was to reach the RESIDENCE 4T ROME. 351 highest rank which conferred at the same time both spiritual consideration and temporal power.* The result of this desire to make the best of both worlds was, as can easily be imagined, most injurious to the cause of true religion- Instead of acting as teachers, spiritual advisers, and consolers of the sick, the Jesuits were transformed into scheming politi- cians of the worst class. So arrogant were they from the success that now followed in their steps, that they took up a position, in a great measure, independent of the General of their Order. Indeed, during the very first year of Sydney's stay in Eome, they virtually deposed their General, Goswin Nickel, by appointing a vicar, with the right of succession, to whom they transferred their obedience — so long as it suited them. " Thus it happened," says Kanke,f "that the Order whose leading principle was uncon- ditional obedience themselves, deposed their head, and this without so much as the imputation of a crime. From this fact it is evident how predo- minant aristocratical tendencies had become even known in an order founded upon such totally different principles." * History of the Popes, by Eanke, vol. iii. p. 89. t lb. p. 92. 352 ALGERNON SYDNEY. That species of diplomacy which employs religion as a mask for the satisfaction of a purely mundane ambition, has never been an agreeable study, and though success not infrequently rewards such a policy, it seldom creates respect or affection for those who carry it out. The Jesuit in the middle of the seventeenth century, and especially at Eome, was confessor and money-lender, teacher and trades- man, monk and manufacturer, spiritual adviser and commercial speculator. "When the Eoman citizen, who was aware that the fundamental principles of the Jesuits were the renunciation of all worldly ties and an entire devotion to spiritual duties, saw the members of the Company employing their leisure in the different branches of trade and making their Order a commercial necessity in the State, he not unreasonably asked himself, " Que diable allaient-ils faire dans cette galere ? " To the trading classes of Eome the Jesuit was as unpopular in the middle of the seventeenth century as is the organization of the Civil Service Co-operative Society to the trading classes of London in the middle of the nineteenth century. Nor was the Jesuit a whit more popular among RESIDENCE AT ROME. 353 the Roman clergy. The primary object of the Order — nay, the very origin of its institution — was to defend the interests of the See of Rome. But the connection of the Order with the House of Bourbon was so intimate that the Jesuit, instead of being Ultramontane, was staunchly Gallican. In the various disputes that arose between the govern- ments of Rome and France, the Jesuits invariably sided with the latter. Indeed, the Inquisition had often to condemn the works of various mem- bers of the Company of Jesus because they de- fended too vehemently the rights of Kings. Again, Pope Alexander, like his two immediate prede- cessors, owed his election to Spanish influence, and not to that of France. Hence the over- whelming power of the head of the House of Bourbon was naturally dreaded at the Vatican (for Louis XIV. could not endure that the See of Rome should pursue a policy independent of his own), and the Supreme Pontiff did all in his power to check its growth. The consequence of this Papal opposition was to make France often retaliate upon Rome by adopting an extremely irritating course of action, which resulted from time to time in vol. i. A A 354 ALGERNON SYDNEY. various collisions between the two Courts. In all these collisions the Jesuits took the side of France. We have said enough, therefore, to explain the reason why the Order was unpopular in the Eternal City. As an instance of this unpopularity, Sydney, writing to his father, says, "Last week, at a time when all the Cardinals were at several churches, a gentleman put into every one of their hands a printed memorial, and retired immediately before they could read it. Being examined, it was found to be a most bitter invective against the Jesuits, as persons that set up a commonwealth amongst themselves, independent of, and destructive to, the Pope's supremacy; representing them as little better than political heretics, and with such sharp- ness, full of sueh truths, as they cannot deny in particular, though they protest against any such end. The Cardinal Franciotti was the first that sent this paper unto the General of the Order concerned in it ; some others did afterwards follow his example. It is thought to be written by some of the same Order, as containing secrets that could hardly have come to the knowledge of others. Some think that the Cardinal Pallavicini does not dislike this, that brings his RESIDENCE AT ROME. 355 brethren into some trouble, for there are some things in practice amongst them which he is said not to approve of; and the sharp visitation, which dis- pleased them so much last year, is looked upon as his work."* Pallavicini, as the most illustrious of the Cardi- nals, not unnaturally turned his gaze towards the chair of St. Peter, which he expected the sickly Pontiff soon to vacate. Aware that the name of Jesuit would be a very grave- obstacle in the way of attaining the object of his ambition, he appears to have been glad of taking any oppor- tunity to show that, though a Jesuit, he by no means approved of the " holy- worldly " policy of bis brethren. In the difficult task of incul- pating others to exculpate himself, he was, how- ever, not ultimately rewarded with the success be hoped to obtain. Rospigliosi, as Sydney had anticipated, was elected as successor to Alex- ander VII. It is agreeable to find in the pages of Sydney's letters, that the Koman clergy were generally free from those vices and coarser frailties of the flesh in * Sydney Papers, April 18, 1661 . Collins. A A 2 3 5 6 ALGERNON SYDNEY. which bigoted and illiterate Protestantism has always loved to envelope them. " I have much more ac- quaintance," he writes,* " amongst the prelates than the nobility of this place. The Ursini, Coloni, Savelli, and others of the most ancient Koman families, have lost all the vigour and virtue of their ancestors. Their most remarkable qualities are now pride, laziness, and sensuality. I do not find that those of the other robe want any quality that makes men estimable ; and they are so far from that looseness of life, of which they have been formerly and ordinarily accused, that I have not seen any of that Order do an indecent thing, nor speak a loose word ; and yet I mark them as narrowly as I can. There is a great altera- tion of that kind for the better since I was here last." At the approach of summer, Sydney withdrew from Eome and became the guest of Prince Pamfili, nephew of the late Pope Innocent the Tenth, who had offered to receive him in his magnificent villa, near Frascati. The change was fully appreciated by the illustrious exile. " Almost everybody at Eome," he writes to * Sydney Papers, Feb. 8, 1661 : Collins. RESIDENCE AT HOME. 357 his father,* " is panting and gasping for life in the heat, which they say this year is much greater than ordinary : I enjoy so fresh an air, as to have no reason at all to complain of the sun. Here are walks and fountains in the greatest perfection, and though my natural delight in solitude is very much increased this last year, I cannot desire to be more alone than I am, and hope to continue. My conversation is with birds, trees, and books : in these last months that I have no business at all, I have applied myself to study a little more than I have done formerly ; and though one who begins at my age cannot hope to make any con- siderable progress that way, I find so much satisfaction in it, that for the future I shall very unwillingly, though I had the opportunity, put myself into any way of living that shall deprive me of that entertain- ment. Whatever hath been formerly the objects of my thoughts and desires, I have now intention of seeking very little more than quietness and retirement. This place is about half a mile from Frascati, where there hath been store of company this spring, but they are almost all returned to Borne, and the rest within a few days will follow ; there being an opinion, that * Sydney- Papers, June 13, 1661 : Collins. 358 ALGERNON SYDNEY. after the latter end of June it is extremely unwhole- some to go from hence to Kome, until the air be purged by the rain, which ordinarily comes in October, which is enough to persuade everyone to return, it being hard to find a man here that doth not make rules of health the principal care of his life. The Cardinal Saechetti went from hence on Thursday last, having first, with great civility, offered me his villa, with many conveniences in it, for this summer ; but I being settled here, excused my remove." Again, in the following month,* he writes to the Earl how fully he enjoys the beauty of the scenery and the solitude of retirement. " I know nothing," he says, "of what is done in the world, and have retired myself hither that I might know nothing, unless it be that which relates unto England ; my friends there do (as it seems) think the knowledge of that would disturb my solitude, by making me as much a stranger unto all that is done there as to the affairs of China. I left Kome, where I had made a great deal of acquaintance, to avoid the necessity of making and receiving visits, and live now as a hermit in a palace. Nature, art, and treasure can hardly * Sydney Papers, July 3, 1661 : Collins. RESIDENCE AT ROME. 359 make a place more pleasant than this. The descrip- tion of it would look more like poetry than truth. A Spanish lady coming not long since to see this house, seated in a large plain, out of the middle of a rock, and a river brought to the top of the mountain, with the walks and fountains, ingeniously desired those that were present not to pronounce the name of our Saviour, lest it should dissolve this beautiful enchant- ment. We have passed the solstice, and I have not yet had occasion to complain of heat, which in Kome is very excessive, and hath filled the town with sickness, especially that part of it where I lived. Here is what I look for — health, quiet, and solitude. I am with some eagerness fallen to reading, and find so much satisfaction in it, that though I every morning see the sun rise, I never go abroad until six or seven of the clock at night ; yet cannot I be so sure of my temper, as to know certainly how long this manner of life will please me. I cannot but rejoice a little to find, that when I wander as a vagabond through the world, forsaken of my friends, poor, and known only to be a broken limb of a shipwrecked faction, I yet find humanity and civility from those who are in the heio-ht of fortune and reputation. But I do also well 360 ALGERNON SYDNEY. know I am in a strange land, how far those civilities do extend, and that they are too airy to feed or elothe a man. I cannot so unite my thoughts into one object, as absolutely to forbid the memory of such things as these are, to enter into them ; but I go as far I can, and since I cannot forget what is passed, nor be absolutely insensible of what is present, I defend myself reasonably well from increasing or anticipating evils by foresight. The power of foreseeing is a happy quality unto those who prosper, and can ever propose to themselves something of greater felicity than they enjoy ; but a most desperate mischief unto them, who by foreseeing can discover nothing that is not worse than the evils they do already feel. He that is naked, alone, and without help in the open sea, is less un- happy in the night, when he may hope the land is near, than in the day when he sees it is not, and that there is no possibility of safety." <' I have very little to say," he continues a few days later, " because I neither do anything, nor know what is done by others. I intend this half-burial as a preparative to an entire one ; and shall not be much troubled though I find, if upon the knowledge of my manner of life, they who the last year at RESIDENCE AT ROME. 361 Whitehall did exercise their tongues upon me, as a very unruly-headed man, do so far change their opinion of me on the sudden, as to believe me so dull and lazy as to be fit for nothing. When that opinion is well settled, I may hope to live quietly in England, and then shall think it a seasonable time to return. I have some inclinations, this autumn, to go to Naples, and from thence to Sicily and Malta, to pass the winter in some of those places, and return to Eome in the spring. It is not usual for me to look so many months beforehand, nor possible to extend my sight any further. I must then know from my friends at home whether it be yet time to return thither. I have ever had it in my thoughts to choose that before anything ; but if it be still inconvenient for me to take that resolution, I must then think of making another pause at Eome, or some other place that may prove convenient." But in spite of Sydney's interest in the various objects which surrounded the city of his exile, and of the kindness and consideration he received from its inhabitants, the heart of the man was unmistakably sad. Throughout the whole of his letters from Eome there are numerous expressions revealing the dejection 362 ALGERNON SYDNEY. into which he had been cast by the solitude of his position, the silence of his friends at home, the severity with which his father continued to view him, and the embarrassed condition of his affairs. But above either the desertion of his friends, or the ingratitude of Lord Strangford, he seems to have felt the most the harsh, unpaternal conduct of his father. We can scarcely take up one of the numerous letters he wrote to the Earl from Eome without finding some allusion to the cruel silence which the recluse at Penshurst still maintained, and to his continued refusal to make some settlement whereby Sydney's future might be rendered less blank and uncertain. " Though it is long since I heard from your Lord- ship," he writes,* " and the contents of the last letter I received were such as gave me little expectation of having others, or reason to think mine would be acceptable unto you, I esteem it my duty to continue writing until I do, by some more indubitable testi- mony, find your Lordship has so far rejected me as to be unwilling to hear of me or my concernments." — " I hear," f continues he, " from some of my friends that your Lordship had been desired to do that * Sydney Papers, Dec. 22, 1660 : Collins. f Ibid. Jan. 8, 1661. RESIDENCE AT ROME. 363 business for me [the settling an allowance] which has been often mentioned, and that may be easily settled upon the composure of that with the Lord Strangeways ; and your Lordship's answer was, I had made a provision for myself, and discharged you of that care. If there be no difference in living, but he that hath bread hath enough, I have some hopes of finding a provision for a longer time than I mentioned. If there be no reason for allowing me any assistance out of the family, as long as there is a possibility for me to live without it, I have discharged you. If those helps are only to be given to those that have neither spirit nor in- dustry in anything to help themselves, I pretend to deserve none. Or if supplies are only the rewards of importunity, or given to avoid the trouble of being solicited, I think I shall for ever free you from that reason. And, as I have for some years run through greater straits than I believe any man of my con- dition has done in England since I was born, without ever complaining, I shall with silence suffer what fortune soever does remain unto me. I confess I thought another conclusion might reasonably have been made upon what I had said, but I leave that 364 ALGERNON SYDNEY. to your Lordship's judgment and conscience. If you are satisfied in yourself you shall not receive any trouble from me." " I hear," * resumes he, " that your Lordship hath some suspicions concerning me ; if I might know in what, I do upon my word promise your Lord- ship, to let you know my thoughts punctually without either dissimulation or reserve. Sir John Temple speaks something of your Lordship's laying down the money for the two mortgages upon Swingfield. I confess that is more than I could have desired of your Lordship, but if you will please to favour me so much in the ruin of my fortune, as to take off that burthen, so that I may have that land free for my subsistence, I shall as long as I live endeavour to deserve it ; and that is all the argument I can give to persuade you — ■ unless I should add, that at my age, growing very near forty, and giving marks of declining by the colour of my hair, it is time that I had something which I may call my own, out of which I may in rest have bread, when fortune hath taken from me all means of gaming it by my * Sydney Papers, April 18, 1661 : Collins. RESIDENCE AT ROME. 3(55 industry." And again,* he observes : " I did intend to have said no more ; but it is a folly to con- ceal the evils that oppress me. I have with diffi- culty written this ; and the troubled thoughts into which the letters received by the last post have cast me, give me not easily the liberty of saying more. The misfortunes into which I was fallen, by the destruction of our party, did not shake me. The cheats and thefts of servants were too ordinary to trouble me. I suffered my mother's legacy to be drawn from me, upon which I might have subsisted a good while. I was not very much surprised to find myself betrayed and robbed, by the destruction of all that with which I had trusted Lady Strangford ; but I confess that I am sorely troubled to find, that Sir John Temple is going into Ireland : the agreement which he had so often said should be made with Strangford broken, from which I might expect some part of what is due unto me to live upon ; and the mort- gage to the Earl of Thanet, which I was so often promised should be taken off, to continue upon Andrews's land. By all these means together, I * Sydney Papers, May 2, 1661 : Collins. 366 ALGERNON SYDNEY. find myself destitute of all help at home, and exposed to all those troubles, inconveniences, and mischiefs, unto which they are exposed, who have nothing to subsist upon, in a place far from home, where no assistance can possibly be expected, and where I am known to be of a quality, which makes all low and mean ways of living shameful and de- testable. These are part of the evils with which I find myself encompassed, and out of which I see no issue ; nor can I make one step that is not as likely to prove my destruction as preservation. It will not, I think, be thought strange that I am sensible of them, since he that is not must be an angel or a beast : my only hope is, that God will some way or other pat an end to my troubles or my life." It is the custom to consider Algernon Sydney only as a stern, inflexible patriot, without regarding those softer, kindlier gifts of nature which his mother characterized as "sweetness of disposition." In analysing his character we find him, whatever might be his temper towards the world, ever tender and considerate in his domestic relations. Though he addressed letter after letter to the Earl without RESIDENCE AT ROME. 367 receiving any acknowledgment, he never retaliated by any unfilial conduct. On the contrary, he was always showing his father little attentions, for frequently in his letters we meet with allusions to presents of valuable books, or medals, or cameos, or the like, which he sent home, hoping that they would be acceptable to the old man. Nor was this attention the result of any interested policy. Sydney desired nothing more than simple right — that the money left him by his mother should be refunded, that the money he advanced to Lord Strangford should be repaid, and that certain lands might be released from the mortgages he had been compelled to burthen them with, to defray the losses sustained by his disinterested generosity to his sister. He never permitted his requests to his father to degenerate into any unmanly or cringing petitions for aid. All he asked was that common justice should be done him, and that out of sight should not in his case also mean out of mind. Nor had he done aught that any of his requests should be denied. To both father and mother he had ever been an affectionate and duti- ful son, and it seemed hard that because he held 368 ALGERNON SYDNEY. certain political views lie should not only be banished from his country but also be blotted out of the memory of home and friends. Deserted by his friends, ignored by his father, forgotten by those whom he had befriended, and crippled in his pecu- niary affairs, Algernon Sydney had need indeed of all his stoicism to maintain his resolve "to suffer in silence what fortune soever remained unto him." In that silence we must for a time leave him. CHAPTEE X. THE RESTORATION. It would have been impossible for a king to have ascended the throne under better auspices than Charles II. The tide of reaction had strongly set in, and monarchy was everywhere greeted with the most loyal acclamations. The austerity of the Puri- tans, their narrow-minded observances, their suppres- sion of those sports which had ever been the delight of Englishmen, and the sickening cant with which their conversation was incessantly mingled, had wearied and disgusted the nation. People who had witnessed during the last few years nothing but military despotism, endless jealousies, and, finally, divisions in the army nearly followed by social anarchy, now looked upon the Restoration as the harbinger of peace, commercial prosperity, and all the other comforts and advantages which follow in the wake of good government. The country was, VOL. I. B B 370 ALGERNON SYDNEY. however, soon disappointed in its expectations. A lustrum had scarcely passed ere Englishmen saw their country sink to the level of a third-rate state, national honour and reputation a by-word, religious toleration dead and buried, the Five Mile Act dancing over its grave, commercial prosperity crippled by taxes which went to defray the expenses of orgies at Whitehall, a social morality made fashionable which would not have disgraced Sodom and Gomorrah, and a King who might have attained renown, contenting himself with notoriety. " The King," writes Burnet, in his description of the character of Charles on his accession to the throne, " was then thirty years of age, and, as might have been supposed, past the levities of youth and the extravagance of pleasure. He had a very good understanding. He knew well the state of affairs both at home and abroad. He had a softness of temper that charmed all who came near him, till they found how little they could depend on good looks, kind words, and fair promises, in which he was liberal to excess because he intended nothing by them but to get rid of importunities, and to THE RESTORATION. 371 silence all further pressing upon him. He seemed to have no sense of religion ; both at prayers and Sacrament he, as it "were, took care to satisfy people that he was in no sort concerned in that about which he was employed He said once to myself that he was no atheist, but he could not think God would make a man miserable only for taking a little pleasure out of the way. He disguised his Popery to the last. But when he talked freely, he could not help letting himself out against the liberty that, under the Eeformation, all men took of inquiring into matters of religion; for from their inquiry into matters of religion, they carried the humour farther to inquire into matters of State. He said often he thought government was a much safer and easier thing where the authority was believed infallible, and the faith and submission of the people was implicit, about which I had once much discourse with him. He was affable and easy, and loved to be made so by all about him. The great art of keeping him long was, the being easy, and the making everything easy to him He had a great compass of knowledge, though he was never capable of much application or study. He under- B B 2 372 ALGERNON SYDNEY. stood the mechanics and physic, and was a good chemist, and much set on several preparations of mercury, chiefly the fixing it. He understood navi- gation well, but above all he knew the architecture of ships so perfectly, that in that respect he was exact rather more than became a prince. His appre- hension was quick and his memory good. He was an everlasting talker. He told his stories with a good grace, but they came in his way too often. He had a very ill opinion both of men and women, and did not think that there was either sincerity or chastity in the world out of principle, but that some had either the one or the other out of humour or vanity. He thought that nobody did serve him out of love ; and so he was quits with all the world, and loved others as little as he thought they loved him. He hated business, and could not be easily brought to mind any ; but when it was necessary, and he was set to it, he would stay as long as his Ministers had work for him. The ruin of his reign and of all his affairs was occasioned chiefly by his delivering himself up at his first coming over to a mad range of pleasure." With his faithful Commons the King at his Eestora- TEE RESTORATION. 373 tion was on the best of terms. As the Parliament had been summoned without the Royal consent, it had received at first only the title of a Convention, but an Act was soon passed for the express purpose of entitling the Assembly to be called by its proper appellation. All the judicial proceedings transacted in the name of the Commonwealth or the Protector were ratified by a new law ; and both the Houses having acknowledged the guilt of the former rebelbion, received from Charles his gracious pardon and indemnity. It was very natural that the conduct of the regicides and of the other eminent Republicans should be among the first matters to engross the attention of the King. In his Declaration of Breda, not wishing to reduce his enemies to despair, and at the same time being unwilling to offer a total pardon to all who had been implicated in the death of his father and the overthrow of the mon- archy, he had expressed himself very cautiously, and had promised an indemnity to all criminals whom Parliament should except. But such caution Charles now thought unnecessary. A Proclamation was accordingly issued, declaring that all who had 374 ALGERNON SYDNEY. acted as the late King's judges, and who did not yield themselves prisoners within fourteen days, should receive no pardon. In answer to this order nineteen of the regicides surrendered themselves, whilst the remainder were either captured on the point of flight, or else were fortunate enough in making their escape beyond sea. The Act of Indemnity now passed both Houses, and received the Boyal assent. By it all who had an immediate hand in the late King's death were excepted from its saving clauses. Cromwell, Ireton, Bradshaw, and others mouldering in their graves, were attainted, and their estates forfeited. Vane and Lambert, though no regicides, were also excepted. All who had sat in any illegal High Court of Justice were disabled from taking office. "Whilst St. John and seventeen other Bepublicans were deprived of eveiy benefit arising from this Act, should they ever accept any public employment, no mention was made of Algernon Sydney. Very shortly after Parliament had abolished the tenure of wards and liveries and allowed the King, as a compensation for the emoluments of these prerogatives, 10Q,OOOZ. a year, the regicides THE RESTORATION*. 375 were called up for trial and execution. The courage with which these men owned their opinions, and the fortitude with which they met their death, struck the bystanders, who crowded every window around Tower Hill, with wonder and respect. " No saint or con- fessor," says Hume, " ever went to martyrdom with more assured confidence of heaven than was ex- pressed by those criminals, even when the terrors of immediate death, joined to many indignities, were set before them." The first to suffer was General Harrison. Ad- dressing himself to the sea of heads that sur- rounded the scaffold, he proudly said that the deed for which he was to die was no crime ; that it was a deed committed before the eyes of all the world, and not hastily done in a corner ; and that the sovereign power of Heaven was clearly shown in the singular and marvellous conduct of that deed. Often, he said, had he been agitated by doubts, and often had he addressed himself with passionate tears to the Divine Majesty earnestly seeking for light and con- viction; and as often as he had done so had he been assured of a heavenly sanction, which made him return from his supplication satisfied, and tranquil. 376 A LGERNON SYDNEY. Could he suspect these frequent illapses of the Divine Spirit to be interested illusions, since he was conscious that for no temporal advantage would he offer injury to the meanest man or poorest woman on earth ? All the allurements of ambition, all the terrors of imprisonment, had not been able, during the usurpation of Cromwell, to shake his steady resolution, or bend him to a compliance with that deceitful tyrant. Nay, more ; when invited by the Protector to sit on the right hand of the throne, when offered riches and splendour and dominion, he had disdainfully rejected all temptations ; and, neg- lecting the tears of his friends and family, had still through every danger held fast to Iris principles and his integrity. And then bidding the crowd guard jealously their liberties, and beware of the tyranny of kings, he submitted himself to the executioner. The next moment the headsman's voice sounded through that dead silence which curiosity and suspense never fail to create, — " Behold the head of a traitor ! " Scot was the next to follow ; calmly he laid his head on the block, and desired no other epitaph on his tombstone than "Here lies Thomas Scot, who ad- judged the King to death." The heroism with which THE RESTORATION. 377 these men and their companions met their death, counteracted the impression which their executions were intended by the Government to excite in the common people. Men lost sight of their crime in admiration for the manner in which they faced its punishment. Principles professed by such men, it was said, could not be so bad, after all. It was therefore thought prudent to make a virtue of necessity, and to adopt a policy which would reflect much magnanimity on the Sovereign. Only six of the late King's judges — Harrison, Scot, Carew, Clement, Jones, and Scrope — were executed, the remainder being reprieved and confined in various prisons throughout the country. The same leniency, however, was not shown to Axtel, who had guarded the High Court of Justice ; to Hacker, who com- manded on the day of the King's execution ; to Coke, the solicitor for the people of England ; and to Hugh Peters, the preacher : all these were condemned to die, and suffered with those of the regicides sentenced to execution. The second step was to restore national affairs to something like order. The army was disbanded — that army which Cromwell had so frequently led to victory 378 ALGEBNON SYDNEY. — and no troops were retained, save a few guards and garrisons. The fortifications of Gloucester, Taun- ton, and other towns which had resisted the King during the civil wars, were demolished. The Parlia- ment was studiously economical, and not only granted supplies with a very sparing hand, but endeavoured to throw much of the expenditure required for the maintenance of the various services upon the Crown. But the chief subject which now engrossed public attention was the re-establishment of episcopacy. The Parliament, not wishing to be embroiled in the matter, left the settlement of the Church to the King, its chief head. Charles, who during the days of his residence in Scotland had had to listen to the long and tedious prayers, and the still longer and more tedious sermons, of the Presbyterian ministers, bore but scant affection to the religion of the Kirk, and was accustomed to say that Presbyterianism was not the religion for a gentleman. He accordingly began with much pleasure, but, it must be owned, with moderation, the work of Church reform. The laws disestabbshing the hierarchy were repealed. The beautiful liturgy was once more read in our churches. The disestablished bishops were restored to their sees, THE RESTORATION. 379 and the ejected clergy to their livings. But in order not to offend the Presbyterians, who still constituted a goodly section of the Parliament, and aware that the compromise would be but momentary, the King left the use of some ritual observances optional, as the use of the cross in baptism, the use of the surplice, and the custom of bowing at the name of Jesus. Scotland next attracted the King's attention. In order to prevent any recurrence of rebellion against the English, all the forces of Scotland were disbanded, and the forts erected by Cromwell razed to the ground. By annulling every statute enacted in favour of Presbytery, prelacy was tacitly restored, and Sharp, who had been commissioned by the Scotch Presbyte- rians to uphold their cause with the King, deserted his party, and received as the reward of his treachery the Archbishopric of St. Andrew's. And in order to impress upon the people of the North the awful- ness of the sin of rebellion, the Marquis of Argyle, and one Guthry, a seditious preacher, were accused of high treason, and suffered capital punishment. To complete the programme of monarchical reform across the border, the Covenant was declared unlawful, and its obligations null and void. 380 ALGERNON SYDNEY. The composition of the Parliament which suc- ceeded the dissolution of the Convention, strikingly- reflected the general loyalty of the country. Royalists and Churchmen had successfully contested almost every election in the shires and boroughs, and Presbyterianism was no longer dominant in the House of Commons. The effects of the change were soon apparent. An Act was passed for the security of the King's person, which branded as high treason the levying war against the King, at- tempting his deposition, or plotting to do him any bodily harm. It was also enacted that those who should endeavour to alienate the affection of the King's subjects, or who should affirm that His Sacred Majesty was a papist, or a heretic, should be incapaci- tated from holding any employment in Church or State. The assertion that Parliament without the King is capable of possessing legislative authority, was made punishable by Praemunire. As a natural consequence of this re- establishment of royalty in all its exaggerated prerogatives, the Church of England, whose members had always been zealous advocates for the monarchical principle, resumed its old place in the State. Once more the TEE RESTORATION. 381 prelates took their seats on the benches of the House of Lords, and exercised important influence in the government of the country. The old hostility between Episcopacy and Presbyterianism broke out afresh, and the dominant church oppressed its rival with harsh restrictions. As in the days of the Commonwealth both Presbyterian and Puritan had exerted every effort to degrade and abolish episcopal authority, so now, the tables being turned, Episco- pacy quietly took its revenge for the past, according to the usual measures of party justice. The Bill of Uniformity became law, and its clauses dealt severely with the Nonconforming bodies. Every clergyman who had not received episcopal ordination was required to be reordained. Every clergyman was to declare his assent to everything contained in the Book of Common Prayer ; to take the oath of canonical obedience ; to abjure the Solemn League and Covenant, and to renounce the principle of taking arms on any pretence whatsoever against the King. All who refused to comply with these clauses were compelled to give up their livings. Numbers who preferred their convictions to their interests, resigned their cures. In the hope of tempting the Presby- 382 ALGERNON SYDNEY. terians, bishoprics were offered to Calamy, Baxter, and Reynolds : Reynolds was the only man who took the bribe. Meanwhile, Charles, notwithstanding his zeal for the restoration of the Anglican Creed, led a life utterly inconsistent with religious convictions of any kind. The sole objects of his attention were his delicate spaniels, the sirens of his harem, the witticisms of the gentlemen of his court, his orgies and banquets, and his pecuniary embarrassments. It was hoped that his marriage with Catherine of Portugal would in some degree correct the profligacy of his conduct, but the new Queen was neither agreeable in person nor temper ; and Charles made no secret of seeking in the society of his mistresses consolation for the absence of domestic happiness. Such a course of conduct was hardly calculated to promote economy, and in order to defray the expenses at Whitehall, the nation had to endure more calls upon its pockets than it felt inclined patiently to bear. Soon one act after another made the country murmur against the open profligacy of the court, and the dissolute tone of morals that was now the fashion. The disgraceful sale of Dunkirk, the harshness towards Dissenters, THE RESTORATION. 383 the King's evident partiality for Roman Catholics, the increase of the royal prerogatives, the decline of England's prestige, and the ingratitude shown by Charles to his royalist friends, were gradually beginning to have their effect upon the country. Whilst national feelings were taking this turn, Algernon Sydney was quietly residing at Eome. Circumstances, however, soon occurred which put an end to his sojourn in the Eternal City. Though the Government had deemed it prudent, after its first ebullition of revenge, to show some signs of leniency towards the regicides, and those adherents of the late Commonwealth who had yielded them- selves up to the law, such leniency was carefully withheld from those who had refused obedience to the Royal Proclamation and still remained beyond sea. In the mountain valleys of Switzerland, by the canals of Holland, in the forest recesses of Ger- many, by the banks of the Tiber, wherever the friends of Republicanism obtained refuge, there they were pursxied by a secret and vindictive hostility. Sydney was peculiarly obnoxious at Whitehall, and more than once during the days of his exile had he owed his escape from the assassin's dagger to 384 ALGERNON SYDNEY. the timely advice of sympathising friends. For a season his stay at Eome had been free from the secret malice of his enemies, but at last the relent- less persecution of his foes found him out, and he had to seek another asylum. "We have his own words, that the Eternal City was too hot for him, and that it was only by the charity of strangers that he escaped a violent death. He writes thus in his Apology : — " It being acknowledged, that though I had ever opposed the then triumphing party, no man had ever shown himself to be a fairer enemy, and that I had done many personal and most important services, as well to the royal family as unto such as depended upon it, I hoped that no man would search into my present thoughts, nor so far to remember my former actions as to disturb me in a most innocent exile ; and that the most malicious of my enemies should not pretend that I practised anything against the Government, I made Eome the place of my retreat, which was certainly an ill scene to act anything that was displeasing unto it. But I soon found that no inoffensiveness of behaviour could preserve me against the malice of those who sought to destroy THE RESTORATION; 385 me ; and was defended from such as there designed to assassinate me, only by the charity of strangers." The asperity of this persecution — a persecution which a friend of his, " who well knew the temper of the Court," said was due to Sydney " being distin- guished from the rest because it was known he could not be corrupted "*— caused the exiled Eepublican hastily to quit Eome, and return once more towards the north of Europe. Before, however, he took his departure, his mind had been greatly relieved by the receipt of a letter from his father, f written in a much kinder tone than was his Lordship's wont. The Earl of Leicester had at last consented to act upon the suggestion so frequently offered by Sir John Temple ; he inquired after Sydney's welfare, regretted that his absence from England should still be advisable, and furnished him with some supplies. In acknow- ledgment for this long looked for attention the son sent his father a vellum manuscript discourse on politics, written in Italian. The manuscript bears Sydney's cipher at the end in a disguised hand, and though Lord Leicester marks it as the work of an un- known author, it has generally been regarded as the * Apclogy. t Sydney Papers, June 28,, 1661 : Collins. VOL. I. C C 386 ALGERNON SYDNEY. production of the Republican, and is still preserved in the library at Penshurst. Quitting Italy in 1663, Sydney crossed the Alps, and spent a few weeks by the Lake of Geneva. Here, in the charming little town of Vevey, he became the guest of Ludlow, who had fled to Switzerland on the downfall of the Commonwealth.* The two exiles were delighted at meeting, and, amid protestations of friendship and affection, boldly avowed the cause for which they suffered, and refused to ensure their peace or security by any act of fawning submission or cowardly compromise. The Swiss cantons had warmly espoused the views of the English Republicans, t and on the restoration * In the church at Vevey there is this inscription : " Here lies Edmond Ludlow, an Englishman of the county of Wilts, son of Henry Ludlow, Knight and Member of Parliament, as he also was ; honourable by descent, but more so by his own virtue ; by religion a Protestant, and eminent for piety. In the twenty-third year of his age he was made Colonel of a regiment, and soon after Lieutenant-General of the Army. In that post he helped to reduce Ireland ; intrepid and careless of life in battle, in victory merciful and humane ; a defender of his country's liberty, and a warm opposer of arbitrary power, for which cause banished from that country thirty-two years ; though worthy of a better future, he took refuge in Switzerland, and, dying there in the seventy-third year of his age, regretted by his friends, flew to the eternal seat of joy." f Prom a letter from Lord L'Isle to the Earl of Leicester, we see how warmly the Swiss cantons had entered into the views of the English Republicans. He writes : " The Parliament declaration made since the change of the government hath been, as the Council is informed, much THE RESTORATION. 387 of monarchy in England had offered a most gene- rous asylum to those whom, like Sydney, royal vengeance compelled to self-banishment. Sydney felt deeply the kindness shown to him by the Swiss, and especially by the magistrates at Berne ; and in return for such kindness strongly recommended that some public acknowledgment should be made by the numerous exiles who then crowded the Cantons, of their gratitude for the help and protection offered them by the Helvetian Government.* On bidding adieu to his brother exile at Vevey, he presented him with a pair of pistols, of Italian workmanship, which Ludlow vowed should ever be preserved in his family as an heirloom. Passing into Germany, a country he by no means affected, Sydney procured a licence from the French Government, then at war with England, allowing him to repair to Montpellier, where he intended to winter, f But he soon after- wards changed his mind, and quitting France, spent approved of in many parts of the Swiss's country ; and the Ministers there do publicly give God thanks for the establishment of the republic, and pray for it, upon which, I believe, an agent will be sent thither."— Sydney Papers, Nov. 6, 1649 : Collins. * Ludlow's Mem., 425. f " To all Governors and our Lieutenants-General, &c. greeting. Mr. Sydney, son to the Earl of Leicester, having desired, notwithstanding the war against Eugland, that he might change his place of abode from C C 2 3S8 ALGERNON SYDNEY. the winter in Flanders, taking up his abode in September at Brussels. Here, acting upon his father's wish, he had his portrait painted by one Justus Van Egmondt, an eminent artist, and a pupil of Vandyke. The portrait is still preserved at Penshurst. Whilst staying in the pretty Flemish capital Sydney received a proposal to engage in the service of the Emperor of Germany, and as his means of living were precarious, and the incessant persecution he suffered made it expedient for him to seek the protection of foreign Princes, he was willing to close with the offer, provided such offer were bond fide, of which he seems to have entertained his doubts. Before accepting it, however, he thought it prudent to write to his father in order to ascer- tain whether the Government of England would be opposed to his design. Accordingly he sent the following letter : — " I received last week a letter," he writes,* " from Germany to go to Montpellier ; to which we having assented, we com- mand you to let him pass freely through your several jurisdictions with his domestics to Montpellier without interruption, and to show him all the favour and aid him as far as you can. Given at our castle of Vincennes, Aug. 3, 1663. Signed, Louis." * Sydney Papers, Dec. 1 (11), 1663 : Blencowe. THE RESTORATION. 389 Mr. Hodgskius, -who said that young Culpeper had a regiment of those men (i.e. the men in favour of a Republic and opposed to Charles II.) reported to be raised for the service of the Emperor, who bid him to tell me, that if I would engage myself in that business I might have a good employment. I am not much inclined to believe those men are intended for that service, nor that those that dispose of the commands will be willing to employ me ; nor if they were, should I rely much upon the judgment of him that sent the message, nor enter far upon the treaty of a business of such importance with him that con- veyed it. I did therefore return no other answer unto him than that I was not in a condition to refuse a good employment, and if I might know in what company, and upon what terms I might have it, I would return a speedy answer. I have reflected upon this business since I writ that letter, and joining it with some other circumstances that have come to my knowledge, I incline to believe the proposer did follow the directions of some person more important than himself, rather than his own opinion; which persuades me to send a better 390 ALGERNON SYDNEY, answer. If there be anything of reality in the pro- position, I can ascribe it only to the desire that those in power may have to send away those that are suspected by them : they shall have their end. I will serve them in it if they please, and upon more easy terms than will be expected by others. I will undertake to transport a good strong body of the best officers and soldiers of our old army, both horse and foot. Though the obtaining of this would be a very considerable advantage unto me, and some of my friends, I do not ask it as a favour ; I know neither they nor I shall receive anything upon that account. The first that I ever did ask, and the least that I ever can ask (I mean assur- ance of being permitted to live quietly for a few months at Penshurst), not having been granted, I am like to make few requests for the future. But as I think the advantages which the King expects, by ridding the land of those persons, is the motive upon which the offer was made, I believe it to be a very considerable one ; for they who find them- selves suspected may possibly grow unquiet ; the destroying them will be a work of time, and not without difficulty and danger, and it cannot be THE RESTORATION. 391 expected that they will of their own accord leave their country, unless it be with some man of whom they have a good opinion ; and all those are as little favoured as I am. I desire your Lordship to send for Culpeper, and know of him, upon what ground he made the proposition, and then to pro- ceed as you shall think fit. If it be granted, it is well, and I hope to carry those who will gain honour unto the nation wheresoever they go, and either find fortunes for themselves, or graves, which is as good, and it will be very suitable unto my intention, who, as I told you in a letter about three weeks since, have thoughts of passing the next summer as a volunteer in Hungary. I doubt your Lordship will be unwilling to propose this, lest it should make the King or his Ministers believe that I am upon better terms with my old companions than you would have them think me. I desire your Lordship to waive that scruple ; I have credit enough with them for such a business as this is ; and if I were not thought at Court to have far more than I have, they would not trouble themselves with me so much as they do. What- soever it is r I desire to make use of it, to carry me, 392 ALGERNON SYDNEY and a good number of those in the same condition, so far from England as those who hate us may give over suspecting us." But the English Government refused to sanction the design, and Sydney was not only disappointed in his hopes of foreign service, but again very narrowly escaped assassination at Augsburg, where he had retired for a time, at the hands of some vin- dictive Royalists. Meanwhile Charles was becoming less and less popular with the nation. The authority of the loyal but somewhat narrow-minded Clarendon over his Royal master was rapidly declining. The staunch Royalist, instead of a congenial friend, had become a thorn in the King's side. Whenever Charles wished to show some favour to the Roman Catholics, to whom it was supposed he was secretly attached, or to attempt some invasion upon the liberties of the nation, or to levy unjust taxes to defray his dis- solute expenditure, Clarendon invariably raised his voice in opposition. The old Minister, too, had nothing of the rake about him ; he had been brought up in another school, for Charles the First, with all his faults, was a man pure of life, and THE RESTORATION. 393 free from those social vices which were now the fashion. Clarendon had no taste for the society or patronage of the sultanas of his master's harem. He refused to know them, to meet them, to dis- cuss State secrets with them, or to look upon them in any other light than as abandoned and shame- less women. Accordingly the despised favourites vowed that they would ruin the man, and under- mine his credit with their lord. They succeeded only too well. Careless of restraint, and feeling that he was now safely established on his throne, Charles gave full rein to his indolent and sensual habits. His scandalous licence offended all but those who imitated his example. The austere Eoyalists were pained and shocked. The poor Cavaliers, who had bravely and disinterestedly supported the Eoyal cause in the dark hour of its distress, were left so neglected by the master they had too well served that the Parliament out of pity distributed 60,000£. amongst them. And yet the King's boon com- panions and kept women were rolling in wealth, and satiated with luxury ! Many, too, of his former enemies — men who at the last hour had been reconciled to their King — men like Monk and 394 ALGERNON SYDNEY. Montague — had been rewarded with titles and estates, while the services of those who had borne the whole heat and toil of the day were politely ignored. The poor and disappointed Royalists bitterly said that the Act of Indemnity and Obli- vion was rightly so called,, for it was an act of indemnity to the King's foes, and an act of oblivion to the King's friends. Nor was the restored Church gaining upon the feelings of the nation. Those outside its pale were ruled with an iron hand. Any community of more than five persons not belonging to the same house- hold assembling as a religious congregation, were punishable for the first offence with three months' imprisonment, for the second offence with six months, and for the third offence with seven years' transportation, or a fine of 100Z. The dissenting bodies were accordingly becoming formidable from their murmurs and complaints. The Cavalier Par- liament was, it is true, still heart and soul for the King, but it no longer represented the feeling of the country. Were a general election to take place the Royalists would be almost in a minority. THE RESTORATION. 395 And now, to add to England's, evils, a war disgraceful in its origin, and doubly disgraceful by the marked incapacity with which it was con- ducted, was forced upon the United Provinces. The prosperity of the Dutch, their commercial rivalry with the English, and their superiority in every department of trade, were viewed with ex- treme jealousy by our merchants. It was hoped that the commercial predominance we could not obtain by superior industry and ability could be attained by superior strength. Charles, who saw a prospect of filling his rapidly emptying Treasury, and who hoped, by defeating De Witt and his party, to reinstate the young Prince of Orange on the throne of his ancestors, and thus bring the States to a dependence upon England, had no objection to the war. His brother, the Duke of York, who hated the Dutch because they opposed a new African Company of which he was the head, and who wished for an opportunity of gaining distinction, cordially sided with the King, and did all in his power to fan the dying embers of his Eoyal brother's ambition. Parliament, acted upon by the avidity of the mercantile classes, voted for 396 ALGERNON SYDNEY. hostilities, and were lavish in furnishing supplies. Satisfaction was demanded from the Dutch for ima- ginary grievances ; redress was refused, and war declared. At the commencement of hostilities, the busy, prosperous town of the Hague was crowded with English exiles — with men who had been so in- timately connected with the proceedings of the late Commonwealth as to render return to their country more rash than prudent, and with men whom Angli- can bigotry and intolerance had driven beyond the sea. Among these political refugees Sydney, who had quitted Brussels (whither he had again repaired after his flight from Augsburg) for the Hague, at the out- break of war, occupied a leading position. In his retirement he had keenly watched the various phases of national feeling which were incessantly agitating the surface of English social and moral life, and his scrutiny had told him that the reaction which had set in at the Restoration in favour of Royalty, was ebbing fast. Everywhere he remarked strong signs of discontent. He saw that the abandoned conduct of Charles had loosened every moral tie ; that his marriage, unpopular at first, was still more THE RESTORATION. 397 distasteful to tlie nation from its offering no pros- pect of legitimate issue ; that his brother was disliked, and belonged to a religion then detested by Englishmen, and associated with everything that was mean, avaricious, and despotic ; that Charles himself was regarded as a most doubtful Protestant, and that many who did not look upon him as a Papist, looked upon him as an infidel ; that his court of toadies, mistresses, and gallants was deemed a public insult to the country ; that his Ministers were rapacious and incapable ; that the nation was heavily taxed, and suffering from agricultural dis- tress ; that the penal laws against the Nonconformists were regarded by all moderate men as severe and uncalled for ; that liberty, religion, and good govern- ment were things of the past, and that between the proud position of the country governed by Cromwell, and the country governed by the sensual and in- dolent Charles II., there was as wide a difference as that existing between honour and dishonour, law and licence, prestige and contempt. He felt sure that even the sternest Eoyalisfc, when he compared the England of the Commonwealth with the England of the Restoration, could not but admit that the 398 ALGERNON SYDNEY. institution of monarchy was seen at a most mor- tifjdng disadvantage. And now it was that Sydney and his brother exiles determined to strike for the liberties of their country, and to sweep away the vile crew of panders and fine gentlemen who ruled proud England, from the bou- doirs of their mistresses, and once more to establish on the ruins of an incapable monarchy a vigorous and prudent Commonwealth. In the eyes of Sydney and of those who thought with him, a Eepublic was the only cure for the evils which the nation was then labouring under. Monarchy was connected with odious memories — with the absolutism of James I., — -with the faithlessness, arrogance, and despotism of Charles I., — with the profligacy, and intolerance, and incapacity of Charles II. ; and these memories caused the lovers of liberty to cling all the more to the idea of a Eepublic in which the greatest happiness of the greatest number, and a strict preservation of the honour and fair fame of their country, were to be the ruling maxims of government. The limited monarchy under which we now live — in which the powers of government are exercised by ministers dependent upon the support of the THE RESTORATION. 399 House of Commons, and in which the ultimate ver- dict upon every exercise of political power is sought for in the judgment of that House — was a com- bination Sydney well knew utterly impossible whilst a member of the House of Stuart was on the throne. To plot for the overthrow of the House of Stuart, and to substitute in its stead the House of Orange, and thus anticipate the Revolution of 1688, was, according to the light of the Republicans, to suffer all the turbulence and anarchy of a rebellion for the institution of a state of things which might be better, but at the same time might be just as bad as that now complained of. But a Commonwealth — such a Commonwealth as had existed before the usurpation of Cromwell — had proved itself, in spite of all its faults, to be instrumental of great good. Its success none could deny. "Such," wrote Sydney,* " was the power of wisdom and integrity in those that sat at the helm, and their diligence in choosing men only for their merit was blessed with such success, that in two years our fleets grew to be as famous as our land armies ; the reputation and power of our nation rose to a greater height than * Discourses concerning Government, p. 222. 400 ALGERNON SYDNEY. -when we possessed the better half of France, and the kings of France and Scotland were our prisoners. All the States, kings, and potentates of Europe most respectfully, not to say submissively, sought our friendship ; and Rome was more afraid of Blake and his fleet than they had been of the great King of Sweden when he was ready to invade Italy with 100,000 men." Such a Commonwealth Sydney determined to erect, and aware that there were many in England who would cordially co-operate with him when once the movement was set on foot, he began to agitate the subject to De Witt. In his patriotic but imprudent attempts to save, by means of a foreign invasion, the liberties of his country from extinction, and his friends and party from a cruel and unrelenting oppression, he was but acting in a manner in which both exiles and subjects have frequently acted. Witness the English in the reign of King John, and the English in the reign of James II. Sydney now endeavoured to enter into an agree- ment with the Dutch Government. He said that the greater part of the English nation were hostile to their king ; that the country was ripe for a revolution : that THE RESTORATION. 401 the war with Holland did not originate with the nation, but with the Court acted upon by the Duke of York, and the avidity of the merchants ; and that the popular English feeling was for the abolition of mon- archy and the restoration of the Commonwealth. He promised his assistance and the co-operation of his friends in a Dutch invasion of England, if De Witt would conclude a treaty with the exiles and the Eepublicans at home, promising to re-erect the Com- monwealth in our island. But the prudent Grand Pensionary expressed his disapproval of the proposed invasion. As a private man and a Eepublican, . he was attached to the cause of the English Ee- publicans ; but as a statesman, and one who had experienced the power of a British Commonwealth, he had no wish to be the means of creating the revival of such power. A luxurious monarchy was in his eyes a far safer neighbour than a vigilant and powerful Eepublic. Nor did De Witt place much reliance on the promises of exiles where the interest of their party were involved. He therefore, when the offer of the Eepublicans came before the Stafes- General, gave it as his advice, that to invade England on such terms was to adopt a suicidal policy. E D 402 ALGERNON SYDNEY. Holland, he said, had no sufficient reason to expect a general rising against the English Government. "Besides, the ruin of the States must ensue from the success of the Eepublicans, since many people would be then induced to exchange a country re- quiring so great an expense to maintain it, for the plenty and security of a richer land."* The aim of De Witt was not to increase the strength of Holland's formidable commercial rival, but to weaken her trade and destroy her fleet. History tells us how well he succeeded. On the first triumph of the English navy — for in the first engagements fortune was auspicious to the fleet of Charles, — France, who had no desire of seeing England's dominion over the seas supreme, united, in spite of all entreaties from Whitehall, with the States-General. Sydney, in nowise disconcerted by the refusal that he had received, now resolved to offer Louis the same terms he had offered De Witt, and at once started for Paris. He had urgently desired the co-operation of Ludlow in the object he had in view, but the cautious exile felt sure that France, so staunch an advocate for absolute monarchy, * Burnet, Hist., vol. i. p. 331. THE RESTORATION. 403 would never heartily enter into any schemes anta- gonistic to the prerogatives of royalty, and refused to quit his charming retreat on so doubtful a mission. Accordingly, Sydney was left alone to conduct his project with the French Court. Ushered into the presence of the* Most Christian King, he offered to create an insurrection in England, provided the French Government would furnish him with 100,000 crowns ; but the wily Louis knew better than to venture that sum on the faith of a fugitive till he had seen some more positive disposition amongst the English to concur in such a scheme. The in- ternal condition of the country of Charles was not a perfect terra incognita at Versailles ; for Louis, not deeming it prudent to attack England openly, had formed a secret alliance with the Irish Catholics and a certain section of the Republicans, whom he incited by money and advice to create dissensions in the kingdom. Sydney, therefore, not unreason- ably thought that Louis would gladly embrace his offer, but the Grand Monarque knew far better the pulse of the English nation than did the zealous, imprudent Republican, whose wishes outran his judgment. 404 ALGERNON SYDNEY. Louis was perfectly aware that the body politic across the Channel was being split up into factions and that discontent was working its way amongst al: classes ; but he also knew that the Parliament was with the King, and that a second rebellion was the last remedy the country would wish to adopt after its experiences of the former one. " Better bear the ills we have than fly to others we know not of," was, Louis knew, the political feeling of the greater part of Englishmen at that time. Still he had no objection to encourage Sydney's scheme to a small extent, in order to see how far matters were ripe for a more important movement. " J'ecoutai les propo- sitions," he accordingly writes,* " que me furent faites par M. Sydney, gentilhomme anglais, lequel me pro- mettoit de faire e'clater dans peu quelque soulevement, en lui faisant fournir cent mille 6cus ; mais je trouvai la somme un peu trop forte, pour l'exposer ainsi sur la foi d'un fugitif, a moins de voir quelque disposition aux choses qu'il me faisoit attendre. C'est pourquoi je lui offris de donner seulement vingt mille e*cus comp- tant, avec promesses d'envoyer apres aux souleves tout le secours qui leur seroit necessaire, aussitot qu'ils * CEuvres de Louis XIV. ii. 203. THE RESTORATION. 405 paroltroient en e'tat de s'en pouvoir servir avec succes." This offer Sydney, however, declined. At the close of his fruitless negotiations he obtained for the second time permission to reside in France, feeling, that nowhere under the present circumstances would he be safer from the malice of his enemies than under the protection of the French King. And now for a while he withdrew entirely from political activity, and retired to Montpellier. During these years of his obscurity, it is suggested that he was digesting the various materials he had collected for his "Discourses on Government." Conjecture, how- ever, is the only authority for the suggestion. END OF VOL. I. LONDON : B. CLAY, SONS, AND TAYLOB, PELNTEBS, BBEAD STEEET HILL. TINSLEY BROTHERS' NEW NOVELS, AT ALL LIBRARIES. NOTICE.— A NEW NOVEL BY HARRISON AINSWORTH. BOSCOBEL: a Tale of the Year 1651. By William HARRISON AINSWORTH, Author of "Rookwood," "The Tower of London," &e. "With Illustrations. In 3 vols. AT HIS GATES. 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