Then say some, None must be admitted except, perhaps, ' he will be baptized "again." That is their opinion. [Ana'baptists.] They will not admit a man into a Congregation 'to be Minister, except he commence by being so much less. "The Presbyterians "again," they will not admit him unless ' he be ordained.' Generally they will not go to the In❝ dependents :-truly I think, if I be not partial, I think if 'there be a freedom of judgment, it is there.

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[With the • Independents: that is your Highness's opinion.] Here are 'Three sorts of Godly Men whom you are to take care for; ' whom you have provided for in your Settlement. And how 'could you put the selection upon the Presbyterians without, by possibility, excluding all those Anabaptists, all those In' dependents! And so now you have put it into this way, 'That though a man be of any of those three judgments, if ' he have the root of the matter in him, he may be admitted. [Very good, your Highness!] This hath been our care and 'work; both by some Ordinances of ours, laying the foundations of it, and by many hundreds of Ministers being "ad'mitted" in upon it. And if this be a time of Settlement,' ' then I hope it is not a time of shaking;—and therefore I hope you will be pleased to settle this business too: and that you will neither 'shake' the Persons [Us] who have been 'poorly instrumental in calling you to this opportunity of 'settling this Nation, and of doing good to it; nor shake • those honest men's interests who have been thus settled. ' And so I have done with the offers to you,-" with these my suggestions to you.”—

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[His Highness looks now on the Paper again; looks at Article Seventh there, "That the Revenue shall be 1,300,000%."; and also at a Note by himself of the Current Expenses ;much wondering at the contrast of the two; not having Arithmetic enough to reconcile them!]

But here is somewhat that is indeed exceedingly past my

⚫ understanding; for I have as little skill in Arithmetic as I ' have in Law! These are great sums; it is well if I can count them to you. [Looking on his Note.] The present 'charge of the Forces both by Sea and Land will be 2,426,9897. The whole present revenue in England, Scot'land and Ireland, is about 1,900,000l.; I think this was • reckoned the most, as the Revenue now stands. Why, now, 'towards this you settle, by your Instrument, 1,300,000%. 'for the Government; and out of that 'to maintain the 'Force by Sea and Land,' and 'without Land-tax,' I think: ' and this is short of the Revenue which now can be raised by "the "present Act of" Government 600,000l.! [4 grave [A • discrepancy!] Because, you see, the present Government ' has 1,900,000l.; and the whole sum which can be raised 'comes "short" of the present charge by 542,689.,-[So his Highness says; but, by the above data, must be mistaken or misreported: 526,9891. is what Arithmetic' gives.] And although an end should be put to the Spanish War, yet there will be a necessity, for preserving the peace of the 'Three Nations, to keep up the present established Army in England, Scotland and Ireland; also a considerable Fleet 'for some good time, until it shall please God to quiet and compose men's minds, and bring the Nation to some 'better consistency. So that, considering the Pay of the 'Army, which comes to upwards of 1,100,000l. per annum, ' and the 'Support of the Government' 300,000l., it will 'be necessary for some convenient time,-seeing you find things as you do, and it is not good to think a wound 'healed before it be,-that there be raised, over and above 'the 1,300,000l., the sum of 600,000l. per annum; which 'makes up the sum of 1,900,000%. And likewise that the 'Parliament declare, How far they will carry on the Spanish 'War, and for what time; and what farther sum they will 'raise for carrying on the same, and for what time. [Explicit, ' and undeniable !] And if these things be not ascertained,— 'as one saith Money is the Cause,' and certainly whatever

VOL. IV.

H

'the Cause is, if Money be wanting, the business will fall to the ground, all our labour will be lost. And therefore

'I hope you will have a care of our undertakings !—[Most practical paragraph.]

'And having received expressions from you which we may 'believe, we need not offer these things to you; "we need 'not doubt" but these things will be cared for. Those 6 things have "already in Parliament" been made overture ' of to you; and are before you :-and so has likewise the 'consideration of the Debts, which truly I think are apparent.

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And so I have done with what I had to offer you,-I ' think I have, truly, for my part. [Nothing of the Kingship, your Highness?' Committee of Ninety-nine looks ex'pectant]-And when I shall understand where it lies on me to do farther; and when I shall understand your pleasure ' in these things a little farther; we have answered the • Order of Parliament in considering and debating of those things that were the subject-matter of debate and considera'tion;—and when you will be pleased to let me hear farther • of your thoughts in these things, then I suppose I shall be ' in a condition to discharge myself [Throws no additional light on the Kingship at all!], as God shall put in my mind. • And I speak not this to evade; but I speak in the fear and reverence of God. And I shall plainly and clearly, I say,— ' when you shall have been pleased among yourselves to take • consideration of these things, that I may hear what your 'thoughts are of them,-I do not say that as a condition to 'anything-but I shall then be free and honest and plain to discharge myself of what, in the whole and upon the whole, may reasonably be expected from me, and "what" God shall 'set me free to answer you in.'

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Exeunt the Ninety-nine, much disappointed; the Moderns too look very weary. Courage, my friends, I now see land!This Speech forms by far the ugliest job of buckwashing * Somers Tracts, vi. 389-400.

(as Voltaire calls it) that his Highness has yet given us. As printed in the last edition of Somers, it is perhaps the most unadulterated piece of coagulated nonsense that was ever put into types by human kind. Yet, in order to educe some sense out of it as above, singularly few alterations, except in the punctuation, have been required; no change that we could detect has been made in the style of dialect, which is physiognomic and ought to be preserved; in the meaning, as before, all change was rigorously forbidden. In only one or two

places, duly indicated, did his Highness's sense, on earnest repeated reading, continue dubious. And now the horrid

buckbasket is reduced in some measure to clean linen or huckaback: thanks be to Heaven!

For the next ten days there is nothing heard from his Highness; much as must have been thought by him in that space. The Parliament is occupied incessantly considering how it may as far as possible fulfil the suggestions offered in this Speech of his Highness; assiduously perfecting and new-polishing the Petition and Advice according to the same. Getting Bills ready for 'Reformation of Manners,' with an eye on the 'idle fellows about Piccadilly,' who go bowling and gambling, with much tippling too, about 'Piccadilly House' and its green spaces. Scheming out how the Revenue can be raised. — Land-tax,' alas, in spite of former protest on that subject; 'tax on new buildings' (Lincoln's Inn Fields for one place), which gives the public some trouble afterwards. Doing somewhat also in regard to Triers for the Ministry'; to 'Penalties for taking Office when disqualified by Law; and very much debating and scrupling as to what Acts and Ordinances (of his Highness and Council) are to be confirmed.

Finally, however, on Friday 1st of May, the Petition and Advice is again all ready; and the Committee of Ninety-nine

1 Dryasdust knows a little piece of Archæology: How 'piccadillies' (quasi Spanish pecadillos, or little-sins, a kind of notched linen-tippet) used to be sold in a certain shop there; whence etc. etc.

wait upon his Highness with it,'-who answers briefly,' speaking very low,' That the things are weighty, and will require meditation; that he cannot just at present say On what day he will meet them to give his final answer, but will so soon as possible appoint a day.

So that the Kingship remains yet a great mystery! 'By the generality' it is understood that he will accept it. But to the generality, and to us, the interior consultations and slow-formed resolutions of his Highness remain and must remain entirely obscure. We can well believe with Ludlow, sulkily breathing the air in Essex, who is incorrect as to various details, That in general a portion of the Army were found averse to the Title; a more considerable portion than the Title was worth. Whereupon, for the present,' as Bulstrode indicates, his Highness did decide to—in fact speak as follows:

SPEECH XIV

BANQUETING-HOUSE, Whitehall, Friday forenoon 8th May 1657, the Parliament in a body once more attends his Highness; receives at length a final Answer as to this immense matter of the Kingship. Which the reader shall now hear, and so have done with it.

The Whitlocke Committee of Ninety-nine had, by appointment, waited on his Highness yesterday, Thursday May 7th; gave him a Paper,'-some farther last touches added to their ultimate painfully-revised edition of the Petition and Advice, wherein all his Highness's suggestions are now, as much as possible, fulfilled ;—and were in hopes to get some intimation of his Highness's final Answer then. Highness, 'sorry to have kept them so long,' requested they would come back next morning. Next morning, Friday morning: We have been there; his Highness will see you all in the Banqueting-House

1 Burton, ii. 101.