Preface

PREFACE.

The Papers comprised in the present volume embrace only a period of eight months, the numerous news-letters addressed to Williamson, as editor of the Gazette, to which allusion was made in the preface to the preceding volume, swelling the papers for the years 1666–1667 considerably beyond the average bulk.

The most important event that occurred during this period was the fire of London, which broke out in Pudding Lane on the night between Saturday and Sunday Sept. 1 and 2, and continued its devastations for four days, until two-thirds of the then London within the walls was reduced to a mass of ruins.

The first paper on the subject, dated September 3rd, is an official list of the five posts, viz., Temple Bar, Clifford's Inn Gardens, Fetter Lane, Shoe Lane, and Bow Lane, at which the constables of the respective parishes were required to attend, with 100 men each; at every post were to be 130 foot soldiers, with a good careful officer and three gentlemen, empowered to give 1s. each to those who were diligent all night; five pounds in bread, cheese, and beer to be allowed to every post; the men to be relieved from the country the next day. Two companies of the trained bands were to guard the goods sent for safety from the burning houses to Lincoln's Inn Fields, Gray's Inn Fields, Hatton Garden, and St. Giles's Fields, and a chief officer was to go round to see those orders executed. (fn. 1) Three other stations were afterwards added. The gentlemen were punctual in attendance to their duty, but the constables were complained of as being absent, probably because looking after their own burning houses. (fn. 2) John Lord Berkeley, one of the Ordnance Comrs., wrote to Sir Wm. Batten, a Navy Comr., on September 3, entreating the use of all the water engines remaining in store at Deptford and Woolwich, for preservation of the Tower. The Duke of York ordered the justices of peace and deputy lieutenants to summon workmen by break of day on September 4, and to have ready the great hooks for pulling down houses which were kept in some churches and chapels, as it was already found that the only means of stopping the fire was to afford it no fuel. (fn. 3) The seasonable orders to pull down houses, in order to secure the powder magazines, stayed it at the very gates of the Tower, so that none of the naval stores were destroyed; by Sept. 6th it was well subdued, though in that evening it burst out again at the Temple; the Duke of York, who, with the King, had exerted himself much during the whole time, watched it in person all night, and extinguished it. (fn. 4)

The nobleman who possessed a stronger hold than any other upon the affections of the people, Monk Duke of Albemarle, was absent from London, commanding the fleet; the King and Council, foreseeing the disasters inseparable from so devastating a calamity, sent to sound him, as to whether he would be willing to return home. On Sept. 4th, Lord Arlington thus addressed Sir Thos. Clifford, who was with the fleet sent out in expectation of an encounter with the Dutch. (fn. 5)

"A fire began Sunday at one o'clock in the morning, in Pudding Lane, and hath burned since both ways, towards the Tower and towards Westminster, and likewise as far into the body of the city as Paul's, with such a violence that no art or pains can meddle with it; all our hopes are now, under God, in cutting off a part of the town along by Holborn Bridge, and so down to Bridewell, to see whether we can save this. I leave you to judge what a distraction this misfortune puts us into, whereof the consequences are yet more terrible to us, by the disorders that are likely to follow. For these considerations, His Majesty, by the unanimous concurrence of his Council, wishes my Lord General were here; and yet, not knowing how the resolution of commanding him home would be acceptable to him, hath thought fit to sound his Grace's mind therein, by a letter Mr. Secretary Morice is bid to write to him. If my Lord General could see the condition we are in, I am confident, and so is everybody else, he would think it more honour to be called to this occasion than to be stayed in the fleet, where it is possible he may not have an opportunity of fighting the enemy; but here it is certain he will have it in his hands to give the King his kingdoms a second time, and the world see therein the value the King makes of him. If his Grace admits you to discourse the point with him, you must take pains to enforce it all you can, but still with this reserve and conclusion, that His Majesty leaves him to make his choice himself." (fn. 6)

The Duke obeyed the royal wishes, but the fire was stayed before his return; in his capacity of lord lieutenant of Middlesex he assisted in the subsequent precautions to restore order. (fn. 7)

The progress of the fire is occasionally traced by the hurried letters that happen to be preserved among the State Papers. James Hickes, senior clerk of the post office, writes on September 3rd, that Sir Philip Frowde had fled at midnight on the 2nd from the post office for safety; he himself stayed till 1 a.m., when his wife and children's patience could endure no longer, and fearing lest the streets would soon be blocked up, he escaped to the Golden Lion in Red Cross Street.

On the 4th, at 2 a.m., another writer says that he has escaped from the Temple, with little more than the skin of his teeth, to the house of Lord Lyonberg, the Swedish resident, in Covent Garden, where a great part of his books was to be brought till he could get a cart to proceed, but that at the Temple neither boat, barge, cart nor coach was to be had; all the streets were full of goods, and the fire flaming into the very Temple. Lord Lyonberg himself begs a warrant from Lord Arlington to press four waggons to carry his goods, beginning to feel insecure in Covent Garden. (fn. 8)

The eagerness to obtain any mode of conveyance for goods was such that 4l. a load for a carter or 10s. a day for a porter was considered small wages. A private letter, dated September 6, which was printed amongst others on the subject addressed to citizens of York, (fn. 9) details that "on Sunday burned all Thames Street; on Monday the bridge was set on fire, and but for great care and precaution, it would have brake into Southwark, but by Providence escaped; on Tuesday Lombard Street, Cannon Street, Gratia Street, and all those parts were in flames; on Wednesday the post house, Cornhill, Exchange, and all those parts were burning; on Thursday Cheapside, Doctors' Commons, Ludgate, Newgate, and all those parts were burning; on Thursday night the battlements of Paul's were burning; Fleet Street, Sue Lane, Hatton Garden, and part of Chancery Lane were burning. There is but Leadenhall Street, Aldgate, and Bishopsgate Street, that hath escaped it."

Second in importance to the steps needful for quenching the fire were those taken to prevent disorders, and to supply the destitute inhabitants with shelter and food. For the former object the militia were called out, not only in Middlesex and Surrey but in Kent and Hertfordshire, and marched to the city; for the latter, the neighbouring justices of peace and deputy lieutenants were exhorted to forward the bringing in of supplies of provisions, lest the want of food should add to the general calamity. Markets were held in Bishopsgate Street, Tower Hill, Smithfield, and Leadenhall Street, the former markets having been burned down. Vigorous efforts were made to put down pilfering, to persuade or compel the inhabitants of the suburbs to receive the distressed fugitives, and to elicit charity for the numerous houseless poor; an appeal for a general collection on their behalf through the country was authorized, and readily responded to. (fn. 10)

Of the destruction of private property and stock-intrade, 13,000 houses having perished, of the consequent distress, and the multiplied calamities accruing therefrom, we have striking evidence. The danger resulting from the condition of the ruined and desolate streets is forcibly described. One correspondent writes, three months after the fire, that (fn. 11) —

"There are many people found murdered and carried into the vaults amongst the ruins, as three last night, as I hear, and it is supposed by hasty fellows that cry 'Do you want light ?' and carry links; and that, when they catch a man single, whip into a vault with him, knock him down, strip them from top to toe, blow out their links, and leave the persons for dead; and an apothecary's man in Southwark, coming into Fenchurch Street, being so served and being left for dead, when these villains had done, struck fire with a tinder box which they took out of their pockets, lighted their links and away, and by glimpse of their lights, as the story goes, the man perceived a dead body lying by him in the said vault. When the murderers were gone, the young man made shift to get out, from whom this relation is spread, and a woman dead in the vault was found. For want of good watches, no person dare, after the close of the evening, pass the streets amongst the ruins."

Next came the question how the fire originated; the despair of the people sought some object on which to vent their fury; but that object varied with the character of the individual.

The French and Dutch were naturally suspected, so much so that foreigners were hardly considered safe in London. The Catholics, the Anabaptists, and other disaffected persons, and even the English Court, fell in for their share of suspicion as having caused the fire; whilst the "fanatics," so called, believed it to be God's judgment on English barbarity in burning the islands of Vlie and Schelling, or on the national sins in general.

A Quaker near Windsor reported himself to have heard a miraculous voice saying, "they have had the pestilence and fire and other calamities, and yet are not amended, but a worse plague has yet to come on them and the nation." (fn. 12)

An examination of the papers will show how wild and vague and contradictory were the current reports; investigations were made, but the only person condemned was a Frenchman, who was pertinacious in his assertions that he had fired the city, and took his keeper to the house which he affirmed himself to have fired, and which proved to be the very house where the fire broke out. He was executed at Tyburn, though denying at the gallows the facts which he had previously stated. (fn. 13) The conviction of the government, deliberately made and announced, was "that notwithstanding that many examinations have been taken, with great care, by the lords of the Council and His Majesty's ministers, yet nothing hath been yet found to argue it to have been other than the hand of God upon us, a great wind, and the season so very dry." (fn. 14)

The popular excitement refused to be thus satisfied. Some scapegoat must be found to bear the blame of so unprecedented a disaster. Without shadow of proof, the Catholics were fixed upon; the House of Commons petitioned for and obtained the banishment of priests and Jesuits, the enforcing of the laws against Papists, and the disarming of all who refused the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy. (fn. 15) They also passed a vote that all the members of the House should receive the Lord's supper, on penalty of being taken into custody. The day of Gunpowder treason afforded an opportunity for those of the clergy who were so disposed, to inveigh against the Papists, and to argue that they still retained the same principles as formerly, (fn. 16) and rumours of Popish plots were rife; (fn. 17) Sir Geoffry Shakerley, governor of Chester Castle, writes that "the most intelligent judge them to be the old Presbyterian design revived, to disturb the peace of the kingdom once more through the Papists' sides; and I could heartily wish," he adds, "the same penal laws were put in execution against all that will not take the Oath of Supremacy, that pretend so much against Popery." (fn. 18) Another writer in a similar tone says, "I heartily wish that this new zeal enkindled against the Papists stirred not so greatly amongst us that the rabble of other Nonconformists escape by the light of it, and grow warm by the heat of that flame to which (some think) they have added no small increase, by their declarations and other acts of insinuation." (fn. 19)

Other Nonconformists did not, however, altogether escape the severity of the laws. The following letter bears witness to the extremity of suffering for conscience' sake, which was unhappily too frequent. (fn. 20)

"Oh King!

"In humility of heart, and in the fear of t[he Lord], I here present and lay before thee the illegal and unreasonable proceedings that I have met withal in this place, whe[re I] have been a prisoner above two years and eight months, for no other cause than waiting on God, and keeping the com[man]ds of Christ Jesus. And therefore I have drawn up a brief and certain information of some part of my sufferings, and the illegal proceedings of such as have made their little fingers above ninefold heavier than the penalties of thy laws, oh King! which I hope is contrary to thy mind and pleasure, and that, upon serious perusal hereof, thou wilt give judgment according to equity and truth, by breaking the bonds of oppression, and setting the innocent free, &c.

"This may inform the King that I came to this town to visit my friend and countryman that had been a prisoner here above two whole years, with whom I stayed but one night, and had a full purpose to have passed forth of this county the next day; in order whereunto I travelled seven miles that morning, and then stayed at a friend's house, intending in a short time to have passed on my journey. But so it was that, (some more being there also), in the interim, I was apprehended (being a stranger) and sent unto this prison, under pretence of being at an unlawful meeting. And after sometime imprisonment, I was sent for before some in commission to do justice, (not into the open general sessions, but) into a chamber at an inn, where none was permitted to come save those they sent for; no, not the prisoners' wives. And having no matter of fact to charge against me, altogether waived that for which at first they pretended to commit me, and asked me if I would take the Oath of Allegiance; unto which I answered, that I was a stranger in their country, and came thither only to visit my friend as aforesaid, which I looked upon to be no breach of law, but rather a duty, both of Christianity and humanity, and that I intended to have passed forth of their county that very day on which I was taken prisoner, if I had not been stayed; and therefore I then desired that I might be acquitted, if they had nothing criminal to lay to my charge, and that they would not seek to insnare me afresh, and so to detain me. But as to that oath, I told them that I had been a prisoner in the county where I lived upon that account, and that the King's judge of assize, in open court, did accept of the words or promise of above a hundred of us instead of the oath, and that I was bound in conscience to live peaceably, and to perform my word and promise as firmly as those that swore should perform their oaths, and much more to this effect. Yet they, not regarding what was said in that behalf, caused me to be taken away and returned back to prison, where I have been kept prisoner above two years since that day.

"And now, at this last assizes held here the 6th of August 1666, I and some others, laying our long-continued sufferings before the King's judges, we was had forth before the one of them, unto whom I laid open the unreasonable proceedings that I had met withal in this place, and how long I had been kept a prisoner for visiting my friend as abovesaid. Whereunto he answered, that the sessions had indicted me for refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance, and had entered a judgment of prœmunire, and he could not revoke it (or to this purpose); unto which I replied, that no such thing could be legally done, for that I never heard their indictment against me read, (if there be any), and so could not put in a plea in answer to it; neither was I ever convicted for not going to church, &c., according to the tenor of that Act (an. 3 Jacobi); nor did I ever see or hear of any jury called forth or empannelled to be tried by, neither was there such sentence pronounced against me in their open general sessions, that ever I heard or know of; but if any such things was done, they was done in private as to me, and therefore I did believe they was null and void in law. Yet nevertheless he said that it was not in his power to reverse it, but that I might petition the King for remedy in that case, &c.

"And, therefore, oh King! I here present these things before thee, desiring thee wouldst weigh them in an equal balance, and judge according to equity and truth, whether this proceeding to indict and sentence any of thy native subjects, not in open court before the country, without reading of the indictment to the party indicted, or granting the liberty of a trial by a jury of 12 men, be equal and just, or altogether irregular, and contrary to the tenor of the law itself. (See Mag. Chart., 5 Ed. 3., 28 Ed. 3.) And the judgment that's entered, as it was returned in the calendar of prisoners, (which is all I have seen of it), runs thus, viz., that I and 13 more by name are to be kept prisoners in the common gaol during their lives.

"And now I appeal to the King, if this be not contrary to the tenor of the said Act, to commit any to prison during their lives, (upon that account), without any restriction or regard had to the King's pleasure; and whether it do not tend to the infringing of the King's power given by the Act, and to the taking away his royal prerogative to release at his pleasure, I leave it to the King to judge. And further, I desire that the King would consider if this be not contrary to the tenor of that Act made against meetings, &c. (an. 13 and 14 of thy reign, oh King!), wherein it is enacted that, for want of payment of such fine imposed for being at such meeting, or denying to swear at all, the person shall be committed to prison (the first time) for the space of three months.

"Now I verily believe that it's very well known unto the King that our denying to swear is not upon any Popish account, but only in obedience to Christ's command recorded Mat., v. 34; James, v. 12. And that we do in our hearts (and are ready to) deny the Pope, his power and supremacy upon all accounts whatsoever; and therefore to keep me in prison during life, (and the rest of my friends), by an Act made against Popish recusants, I hope will appear to the King to be altogether unreasonable and improper, being I am no Popish recusant, nor an adherer thereunto; neither was I committed upon that account, but pretensively for being at an unlawful meeting, upon the last-mentioned Act, the penalty whereof for meeting, and also for denying to swear, in the extent of it (the first time as aforesaid), is three months' imprisonment; but I have been kept prisoner here above three times three months, and yet I know not any end thereof.

"In which time of imprisonment great hath been the cruelty inflicted upon me, (and others of my friends here,) by being thronged up in stinking rooms, and sometimes in one room above 20 of us, where we could not all lie down at once, and no straw allowed us to lie upon, except we would pay 2s. 6d. for one bolting, which was sold to the felons for 2d., and no manner of victuals allowed to be brought to us, except we would pay 6d. for one penny loaf of bread, and as much for a quart of milk, and 3d. for a quart of water, &c., which unreasonable rates we was not willing to pay; and our friends and relations was not only kept from us, but what they brought to minister to our necessities was taken from them and given to other prisoners, and this was continued for four or five days together at one time, insomuch that moderate people in the town, (although not of our judgment), hearing of this cruelty inflicted upon us, were stirred up in tenderness to throw bread over a house top into the dungeon court, for our present relief, to the frustrating of the expectation of our cruel oppressors. Our bed clothes also, and other goods and necessaries was taken away from us and locked up by the gaoler, and me and others he struck with his staff and naked faunchion, and several times hath chained me with fetters to another man, and locked me to a post, and many more inhuman and seldom heard of cruelties and incivilities hath he inflicted upon me and others of my friends (and all this for serving the Lord and of keeping Christ's command).

"And yet, nevertheless, I do not hereby seek revenge against him, nor the worst of my persecutors, but rather that they may repent and turn to the Lord, that He may forgive them. Only it's upon my heart at this time to spread it before the King, that he may not be altogether ignorant of the multiplied sufferings and cruelties inflicted upon many honest, innocent, and peaceable subjects, and that for no evil doing, as aforesaid. And this the rather am I induced to lay before thee, because I have taken notice of thy indulgence, oh King! held forth in a late declaration touching the protection of the French and Dutch that shall come hither to inhabit and live peaceably, &c. By this I hope it may be gathered that it is not thy mind and pleasure that any of thy native subjects which do live peaceably should be despoiled, both in persons and estates, by a perpetual imprisonment, and that without a legal trial, which is granted to felons, murderers, and the worst of malefactors.

"And now, oh King!, if it be thy mind and pleasure that the indulgence holden forth to aliens and foreigners should be extended to the native and peaceable subjects of thy dominion, (who seeks the peace, welfare, and prosperity both of thee and thy kingdoms), and if it be not in the King's heart to countenance such irregular, illegal, and unreasonable proceedings, oh let it be made manifest, by giving forth an order under thy royal hand and signet, not only for my release, but also for the enlargement of the rest of my friends who suffer for conscience' sake; and that from henceforth we may live an holy and peaceable life under thy government, labouring honestly in our callings and employments, that we may have wherewithal to maintain ourselves, families, and children, and to pay the taxes and dues which shall be charged upon us, in all things approving ourselves as men of peace, truth, and uprightness, both towards thee and towards all men, in all godliness, sobriety, and honesty, which will be an honour unto thee, oh King! and tend to bring a blessing upon this kingdom; which that it may so be is the fervent desire and supplication of him that wishes thy eternal welfare, and remains,
A prisoner for righteousness' sake, in the common
gaol of Warwick, called (a Quaker), by name
HENRY JACKSON, younger.

"The truth of this information (if any should question it) may be verified and made good by the testimonies of about 20 witnesses, who are prisoners with me, and partakers in the sufferings above mentioned for conscience' sake. And why should so many honest men thus be made a prey of, (who might do much good in their generations,) concerning whose peaceable lives and blameless conversations I verily believe the King is fully persuaded in his own heart; and therefore, oh King! let the nobility of thy royal word (to Richard Hubberthorne unto whom the [King said] that our promise should [be taken] instead of the oath, &c., and that he had the word of a [King upon] it, &c.) and mind be fully performed and made good, by breaking the bonds of oppression, and setting the innocent free throughout all thy dominions, that the Lord God Almighty may be on thy side, and the hearts of such as truly fear Him towards thee."

The endorsement of this letter bears date September 3, 1666. On November 14 following, Sir Thos. Tyrell, justice of the Common Pleas, who had been on the circuit, records that the 13 prisoners named have been in Warwick gaol since the Lent assizes of 1664, and cannot be delivered except by His Majesty's pardon. (fn. 21) On November 18th, Jackson makes a long and earnest appeal to Lord Arlington, and sends him a list of 22 Quakers, prisoners in the gaol for life, some of whom have been there five years, and of seven more fined 30 marks for waiting upon God, and sent till payment to prison, where they have been two years and five months. (fn. 22) No record of their release appears.

On the other hand, the occasional leniency of government towards the Quakers was complained of by those who desired the rigid enforcement of the laws, because it was shown, not by abrogating the severer laws, but by conniving at their non-performance; this rendered it difficult for local authorities to know how to proceed. A correspondent writing to Williamson from Kendal, September 16, 1666, says (fn. 23) :—

"I perceive by several Quakers' letters, (which I this day opened,) that they are very glad that George Fox is set at liberty, and hope great things from him at his arrival at London. His discharge will (I fear) much discourage the justices in Lancashire and this county to act anything against the Quakers. They clearly intimate in their letters no sorrow for the late burning down so many steeple houses (as they call them) in all the city, and methinks they begin now to write more boldly than formerly. I need not tell you how our Lancashire gentry are fallen all in pieces (the Papists stomaching that some of their houses should have been searched for arms), since I am told that there hath been addresses made (by both parties) to His Majesty and Council."

The details of the rising in Scotland of 1666 are given at some length in letters from Robert Mein, postmaster at Edinburgh, to Williamson, as well as in the letters of other northern correspondents. They are also elucidated by official documents. The originating cause was the proclamation issued at Edinburgh, on 11th October 1666, to enforce the subsisting but ill-executed laws against Papists and other Nonconformists, and disaffected persons. Masters of families were made responsible for their households, and landlords for their tenants, that they should attend the church, and abstain from conventicles, on penalty of dismissal by the former, and of being denounced to the horn by the latter; magistrates of boroughs were made similarly answerable for the inhabitants. (fn. 24)

To carry out these orders, Sir James Turner was sent into the West with a body of soldiers, and he enforced the new mandates with a rigour that brought upon him the deadliest hatred of the sufferers. On 15th November, a party of from 120 to 200 men from the neighbouring parishes, all except two of the lower orders, came to Dumfries early in the morning, seized Sir James in bed, and carried him, without clothes, first to the Tolbooth and then to Maxwell, committing no violence, and declaring they only sought vengeance against the tyrant who had laid waste their families; they seized also the minister of Dumfries, who had been the accomplice of Sir James. This done, they quietly dispersed, leaving 20 men to guard the offender. (fn. 25) The government, eager to revenge the affront, raised 2,000 foot and 2,500 horse, which, under the guidance of the Earl of Annandale and Lieut.-General Dalziel, marched at once into Galloway, for the rescue of Sir James. The fanatics, as they were usually designated, assembled their forces, being in number variously estimated at from 2,000 to 4,000 men; they are described as "a rude undigested rabble"; a few had horses, swords, and pistols, but they were chiefly armed with scythes, made straight and fixed upon long staves, or with clubs, and had little but their strong religious enthusiasm to sustain them in the combat with armed and disciplined troops. (fn. 26) Their leader was James Wallace, whom they surnamed "the good man;" most of their captains were deposed ministers, and their party cry was for King and Covenant, and down with the bishops. (fn. 27)

The tidings of the rising were at once dispatched to London, and found the King at a ball; no time was lost; the Earl of Rothes, Lord Commissioner of Scotland, was immediately sent northwards, and the Earl of Carlisle, Lord Lieutenant of Cumberland and Westmoreland, was instructed to return to his lieutenancy. He was to take with him such of his militia officers as were in town, to draw together troops in his lieutenancy and in Northumberland, which were ordered to be supplied with arms, when needful, and with ammunition, from Carlisle, Tynemouth, and Berwick, and to hold them in readiness to march, on orders from the Earl of Rothes. (fn. 28) The general tumult was increased by the appearance in Leith harbour of a small fleet of ships, which some said were English, others Dutch, sent to aid the rebels, and consequently the bailies planted on the citadel some guns which they borrowed from ships in the river, and provided a vessel ready to be sunk, to prevent the entrance of fire-ships. (fn. 29)

The army which went against the rebels was estimated at 3,000 foot and 3,000 horse, commanded by the Duke of Hamilton, Earl Annandale, and Lieut.-General Dalziel. (fn. 30) They looked upon the contest seriously. Their adversaries were resolute, and the sympathies of the people so strongly in their favour that, if they succeeded in maintaining their ground awhile, persons of influence were sure to join them, especially as they declared also for liberty of conscience and freedom from taxes. (fn. 31) Their policy was to avoid actual collision with the army sent to oppose them, and to seize horses and arms wherever they could. By cutting down bridges and burning boats behind them, they managed to avoid pursuit, and to approach within a few miles of Edinburgh, where they hoped for the sympathy of the inhabitants. By the vigilance of the Lord Provost, And. Ramsay, and of the Council, which sat from 7 a.m. till midnight, all possible precautions were taken. No less than 2,000 of the citizens took arms against them, and hearing this, they were obliged to retire. They retreated towards the Pentland hills, and there encountered the forces sent to oppose them. They had the advantage of position, for General Dalziel had to lead his troops up a steep hill to the attack; his men were faint and weary, having marched 20 and 24 miles a day for eight days, with only such scanty remnants of food as their opponents had left. Twice they were repulsed, but the third attack proved successful; 500 of the rebels were left dead on the field, many more were taken prisoners, and the rest sought safety in flight. (fn. 32)

There follow many painful details of vengeance and execution. If confessions under torture, or with the fear of torture, are to be relied on, the chief leaders, Alex. Robertson, Col. Jas. Wallace, and Major Learmont, had exasperated their followers by assuring them that Dalziel was coming to hang every man at his own door who had been absent from church for a year, and that 100 had already been so hanged at Glasgow. He had further deluded them by assurances that the country was generally in their favour; that Edinburgh Castle was gained, and the Lord Provost their friend; that there would be a general rising in one day, in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and that they would not have to fight, but God would arise and scatter their enemies before them. (fn. 33) Sixteen of the ringleaders were executed at Edinburgh, and four at Glasgow, all dying with firmness, adhering to their hatred to episcopacy, laying their blood at the door of the prelates only, and praying fervently for the King, and for the removal of wicked men from about the throne. Their heads and right hands were affixed in prominent places, in those towns most suspected of disaffection. Many, especially in the West of Scotland, were saved by the sympathy of the common people, who sheltered them, though at the peril of their own lives. (fn. 34) By the end of December, the Lord Commissioner had returned to Edinburgh, the rebels being entirely subdued, and "having paid well, both in life and estate, for their late mad attempt." (fn. 35)

A few details of the private life of Joseph Williamson, afterwards Secretary of State, are deserving of notice. In August 1666, he presented to Queen's College, Oxford,— the college in which he had been educated, and which in later years owed so much to his munificence,—a silver trumpet, with two pairs of banners; they were very gratefully received, and the Provost, Dr. Thos. Barlow, assured him that his gift of the trumpet "is most welcome, not only for its cost and curiosity, but for its congruity to them, who by statute are to be called to dinner with a trumpet; though fitter for him to give than for a poor college to receive, to call them to a mess of pottage and twopenny commons." He adds that it shall be used on all solemn days, but at other times their old brass trumpet will serve the turn. A grand feast was held at its inauguration. Williamson sent them a buck from Woodstock, Lady Foster of Aldermaston another; the trumpet sounded long in the quadrangle, wine was drunk throughout the hall, and venison pasties were at every table. (fn. 36)

Williamson's gift seems to have had a motive. He had been engaged in a long contest with the college for the right of retaining possession of his rooms during his protracted non-residence, and making a benefit of them by letting them, and he threatened that, if refused, he would "take it undecently, by ways that he would be unwilling to recur to." Dr. Barlow submitted his letter to the college, when it was decided that he should retain his name in the books, his place in chapel, his commons in the hall, and his vote in college business when there, receive his salary punctually, and have his chamber when he chose to reside, but not else, as then all the fellows below him could have a better chamber. (fn. 37)

The same grasping spirit in smaller things threatened to interfere with the success of his periodical, the Gazette. Its distribution was chiefly intrusted to women called the book-women, and the previous manager had conciliated these persons by a present of 20s. each, inviting them to Hornsey to dinner, providing coaches for them there and back, and giving them a quire of books monthly and 5s. each quarterly. Now, though it was known that Williamson had larger profits from the work, as he printed 18 reams of the Gazettes, his agents gave the distributors only 10s. a quarter amongst them; (fn. 38) Hickes, his post office agent, several times commended these women to his generosity, one in particular, Mrs. Andrews, who sold the largest number, indeed almost a third of the whole stock, and who lost all she had, except the clothes on her back, in the great fire. The fire also caused much inconvenience by compelling the removal of the printer, Mr. Newcome, to a distance, and to an unhealthy situation in an offensive churchyard. (fn. 39)

Williamson was extremely desirous to become a member of Parliament, but neither his official connection with Lord Arlington, nor his high character as a man of business, sufficed to prevent repeated disappointments. In September 1666, he was a candidate for Morpeth, and the Earl of Carlisle wrote a letter to the burgesses in his favour, but as the other candidate was the Earl's own son, Lord Morpeth, they probably thought that non-compliance with the written request would not offend, and they elected the latter, pleading in excuse that they were obliged to choose Lord Morpeth, in gratitude for his assuming the town's name as his title of honour, although he was under age. (fn. 40)

Lord Arlington wrote to the Earl of Derby to have Williamson returned for Preston, and he was depicted to the corporation in glowing colours, as "a man of learning and incomparable goodness, who may do signal service to the place he represents, the county, and the kingdom, one who loves honour and justice, will plead the cause of the distressed, and scorns to put a price upon his favours;" but the corporation asserted their independence by adhering to Vice-Chancellor Otway, to whom they had previously pledged their adhesion. (fn. 41)

He was next proposed for the town of Dartmouth, and for awhile had a fair prospect of success, although there was a previous candidate in the field, Sir John Colleton, recommended by the Dukes of York and Albemarle, and by the Duchess of York; Sir John, being a merchant, was thought better able to understand the business of the corporation; he was, moreover, related to several of the magistrates, and well known in the town, and therefore was a formidable rival, and as he could not be induced to resign, Williamson's friends wished to find out that he had favoured the unpopular tax of the hearth or chimney money, which they knew would be a serious damage to him, or at least that he had been in the Canary Company. (fn. 42)

A third candidate started up in Sir Walter Young, a gentleman of the county, highly recommended by Sec. Morice and others, and supported by most of the eastern deputy lieutenants of the county, by the gentry near, and by several persons in London and at Court. (fn. 43) After a wonderful amount of cajoling and tergiversation, related in detail in the papers quoted, and a vain attempt to defeat Sir Walter Young by a combination of the other two candidates, Sir Walter was chosen, and Williamson a third time disappointed. (fn. 44)

In the present volume we come into contact with an eccentric female, one of the earliest of English poetesses and novelists, but the character of whose writings is a reproach to her womanhood, and a disgrace even to the licentious age in which she lived—Aphara Behn.

This lady, in August 1666, undertook a secret and semiofficial journey to Antwerp, in order, by her intimacy with William Scott (son of Thos. Scott the regicide) and others of the English fugitives resident in Holland, to obtain information about their movements, and those of their sympathizers in England, and also about those of the Dutch themselves. (fn. 45) The two agents with whom she corresponded were Thos. Killigrew, groom of the bedchamber, and James Walsall, cupbearer. She left England in August 1666; found Scott willing to undertake the office of intelligencer, but fearful of Bamfield, who was considered the head of the exiled English at the Hague, and who exercised careful vigilance over their actions. She details several interviews with him, conducted with the utmost caution.

"Here is a man in town now," she writes, "whose name is Corney, who hearing Celadon [Scott] was here, (for my Lord Stafford sent him word of it,) came to find him, and, as it happened, he was gone; however he is still in town, in hope he will come again to me, and he swears he will kill him, so that for that reason I durst not suffer him now to come into town; but he is now without the town, and I am fain to borrow money to go to him, and to get coach, and to order it so as none may know, for he is most wonderful fearful of being suspected; and surely if Bamfield knew of his coming, he would doubtless accuse him of certain treachery to them. Celadon is afraid to have anything go in his own hand, and therefore will for the future make me write all, whom I hope you may confide in. This Mr. Corney is a strange kind of prating fellow; if you employ him, as he talks full big of, I fear his tongue will undo all his will would perform; he makes as if he were His Majesty's right hand, but I fear he is not to be employed because of that talking quality, so that I never heard such a rhodomontade in all my life." (fn. 46)

Scott was anxious for his pardon, and willing to earn it by betraying the confidence of others. Mrs. Behn pleads for some assurance of favour, and for money for him, and still more urgently for supplies for her own wants, beyond the 50l. which she brought with her. Several of her letters mention intestine commotions in Holland, as do the letters of Scott addressed to her; also that the Dutch have a design, which they carefully conceal, of landing in England, with the help of the English fanatics; (fn. 47) and that they boast that the English fleet has gone in, and dared not engage them; (fn. 48) but no trace has been found in these letters to verify the statement of her biographers, that through her agency, the design of the Dutch against the ships in the Medway was first communicated to the English government. She returned to England in December 1666.

Several instances of extraordinary natural phenomena occur among the news letters: e.g., a singular fish caught in the Tweed; a mis-shapen child born in Coventry; and a lamb born without a head, which nevertheless lived some time. (fn. 49)

A meteor was seen at Coventry in October, which flew directly over the city from east to west; the head as big as a bowl, "exceeding bright and splendid; from it streamed a bright fiery tail, appearing about a yard and a half or two yards long, which seemed to wriggle and wave as it went, and after it followed a very long stream of blue; its motion was swift but very low, being judged to have been not so high as the spires of our steeples." (fn. 50) On October 13, 1666, occurred in Lincolnshire "the most strangest whirlwind or earthquake, or both, that was ever heard of;" at Welbourn hardly any even of the stone houses were left standing; trees were plucked up by the roots, a church spire blown down, &c.; it caused such terror that people thought the world was at an end. About the same time, at Denton near Grantham, was a prodigious storm of hail, some stones three inches long, some like darts, bearded arrows, and other strange shapes. (fn. 51) A lover of the marvellous also records that at Lady Hungerford's house, Cosham, near Chippenham, in a room that was made very clean and shut up at night, there was found in the morning a picture of Lady Hungerford, drawn in colours on the floor to the life. She would not have it rubbed out, and seemed to slight it, but has since fallen into a hectic fever. (fn. 52)

A writer from Harwich mentions that a mighty eagle alighted on the ropehouse on the Green, her wings 7 feet long, and one claw 9 inches long; that she seemed to have come from some far country, and to have been extremely weary, for she did not budge at the first shot made at her, but was killed by the second. (fn. 53) At Yarmouth, the herring fishery was so abundant in 1666 that "12 herrings a penny filled many a hungry belly." (fn. 54)

Amongst incidental subjects on which information may be gleaned from the following papers, we may note the general want of money, (fn. 55) one development of which was such abuse in the payment of seamen's wages by tickets, that a fourth or sometimes a third of the amount due had to be sacrificed to obtain cash for the remainder; (fn. 56) also the disturbances arising in the collection of the unpopular hearth or chimney money tax. (fn. 57)

The papers of literary interest are few; several by John Heydon relating to the Rosie-crucian philosophy, and two on the Dutch war, are the principal; to these may be added a political disquisition by the second Duke of Buckingham, drawing a contrast between Cromwell and Charles II., (fn. 58) and a casual notice of Prince Rupert's scientific labours. He had been under surgical treatment, and trepanning the skull had been found necessary, but the operation was only partially successful, and had to be repeated. The report then was that "His Highness Prince Rupert gets good sleep, though but by intervals, and gives himself often divertisements in his workhouse, where, among other curiosities, he hath made an instrument that the surgeons make use of in dressing him, and they say with more ease and greater satisfaction than any other they formerly practised with." (fn. 59)

The progress of the war with France and Holland may be gradually traced, but the only important action was the attack upon the islands of Vlie and Schelling, by a detachment of the English fleet under Sir Rob. Holmes, in which not only was much damage done to the land, but a fleet of valuable merchant vessels was destroyed by fire. (fn. 60)

Later comes the partial dismissal of the fleet, the negotiations for the treaty at Breda, and an important letter from the Duke of York to the Navy Comrs., dated March 25, 1667, as follows (fn. 61) :—

"Gentlemen,

"Having lately directed that the safety of His Majesty's ships in the river of Medway should be taken into consideration upon the place, by some persons sent down to that purpose, upon the report which they have since made, I desire you to give order that the Unity may have 20 seamen added to the 40 already allowed, and that, besides the Dolphin fire-ship already about Sheerness, one other of the first ready (except those appointed for the West Indies) may be sent thither, and two other to lie within the chain at Chatham, to be ready for any occasion; that the Unity, Dolphin fire-ship, and the two ketches now attending there, may be forthwith cleaned; that each ship and the ketches may have sheerhooks, grapnels, and chains furnished them, with each a good pinnace with ten oars, with a small grapnel and chain. This is what I have at present to direct you for Sheerness. As for the upper part of the river of Medway, I desire you to take care that all His Majesty's ships may be moored in the safest places you can, especially the first and second-rate ships, and that, besides the completing the chain for their further security, the ship Charles V. and Matthias may be moored within the chain, in such manner as that upon occasion they may bring their broadsides to bear upon the chain, and that a competent number of seamen may be allowed to be borne on them; that 30 good pinnaces, well fitted with oars, grapnels, and chains, may be provided in readiness. I desire you to give order for the discharging of the men from all other of His Majesty's prize ships not already fitted and ordered to sea, and that for the better manning the fleet intended to the West Indies, the men discharged from them may be put on board such ships bound thither as shall be found to want them; amongst the ships whose men are to be discharged, I reckon the Sophia, which I mention particularly, lest her having been lately fitted for the sea might cause you to mistake, as on the other hand I would not have the Elias stopped, in regard I am informed she saileth well, and may be fit for service abroad.

"I am, your affectionate friend,
"Whitehall, 25th March, 1667. James."

This letter shows consciousness of the danger of throwing down arms in treating with an armed enemy, and a foreboding of the humiliation brought upon the kingdom by the destruction of the ships in the Medway by the Dutch, which will form a prominent feature in the succeeding volume.

M. A. E. G.

7, Upper Gower Street,
Sept. 27, 1864.