idle. Very obscure; and now likely to remain so, they and the others,-unless indeed Jamaica should produce a Poet of its own, pious towards the Hero-Founder of Jamaica, and courageous to venture into the Stygian Quagmires of Thurloe and the others, and vanquish them on his and its behalf! Apparently these Official Letters are First-draughts, in the hand of Thurloe or some underling of his; dictated to him, as is like, by the Protector: they would afterwards be copied-fair, dated, and duly despatched; and only the rough originals, unhappily without date, are now left us. Birch has put them down without much criticism; the arrangement of some is palpably wrong. By the spelling and punctuation we judge them to be of Thurloe's handwriting; but the sense is clearly Oliver's, and probably, with some superficial polishings, the composition. They cannot, after much inquiry, be dated except approximately; the originals are gone with Birch, who has not even told us in whose handwriting they were, much less has tried to make any sense of them for himself, the idle ineffectual Editor! In fact, Thurloe in regard to these Jamaica businesses has had to go without editing; lies widespread, dislocated, dark; and, in this passage, read by Birch's light, is mere darkness visible. One of the Letters, we at length find, is even misaddressed, seemingly by idle Birch, at random. Happily it is with the sense alone that we are much concerned; and that is in good part legible. Fancy Penn and Venables dismissed, after some light got out of them by cross-questioning; fancy 'Vice'Admiral Goodson, Major-General Fortescue, Daniel Serle Governor of Barbadoes, and Major-General Sedgwick' new from England, made Commissioners, with Instructions,1 with full power over Jamaica,—and then read. 6 LETTER CCIV. VICE-ADMIRAL GOODSON, as his title indicates, went out as second under Penn; whose place he now fills as chief. Letters of his in Thurloe indicate a thick blunt stout-hearted sailor character, not nearly so stupid as he looks; whose rough piety, sense, stoicism, and general manfulness grow luminous to us at last. The Protector hopes the Lord may have blessed Goodson to have lighted upon some of the Enemy's vessels, and burnt them ;'which is a hope fulfilled: for Goodson has already been at St. Martha on the Spanish Main, and burnt it; but got few 'ships,' 1 Given in Thurloe, iv. 634. nor any right load of plunder either; the people having had him in sight for six hours before landing, and run away with everything to the woods. He got 'thirty brass guns and two bases,' whatever these are. The rest of the plunder, being ‘accurately sold at the mast of each ship' by public auction, yielded just 4717. sterling, which was a very poor return. At the Rio de Hacha ('Rio de hatch' as we here write it) the bay was so shoal' no great ships could get near; and our 'hoys' and small craft, on trying it, saw nothing feasible; wherefore we had drawn back again. Santa Martha, and plunder sold by auction to the amount above stated, was all we could get.1 SIR, 6 To Vice-Admiral Goodson, at Jamaica. Whitehall, 'October 1655.' I have written to Major-General Fortescue divers advertisements of our purpose and resolution, the Lord willing, to prosecute this Business; and you shall not want bodies of men nor yet anything in our power for the carrying-on of the work. I have also given divers hints unto him of things which may probably be attempted, and should be very diligently looked after by you both; but are left to your better judgments upon the place. Wherein I desire you would consult together how to prosecute your affairs with that brotherly kindness that upon no colour whatsoever any divisions or distractions should be amongst you, but that you may have one shoulder to the work; which will be very pleasing to the Lord; and not unnecessary, considering what an enemy you are like to have to deal withal. We hope that you have with 'you' some of those ships which came last, near Twenty men-of-war; which I desire you to keep equipt, and make yourselves as strong as you can to beat the Spaniard, who will doubtless send a good force into the Indies. I hope, by this time the Lord may have blessed you to have light upon some of their vessels,-whether by burning them in their harbours or otherwise. And it will be worthy of you to improve your strength, what you can, both to weaken them by parcels, and to engage them as you have opportunity,— Goodson's Letter, in Thurloe, iv. 159 et seqq. 2 would' in orig. which, at such a distance I may probably guess, would be best 'managed' by not suffering, if you can help it, the new Fleet, which comes from Spain, to go unfought, before they join with the ships that are to the Leeward of you. We are sending to you, with all possible speed, Seven more stout men-of-war, some of them forty guns, and the rest not under thirty, for your assistance. This Ship goes before, with instructions, to encourage you to go on in the work; and also with instructions to Mevis, and the other Windward Islands, to bring so many of the Plantations as are free to come, 'that they may settle with you at Jamaica.' And I desire you, with your lesser merchant-ships or such others as you can spare, to give all possible assistance for their removal and transplantation, from time to time, as also all due encouragement to remove them. You will see by the Enclosed what I have writ to MajorGeneral Fortescue. And I hope your counsels will enter into that which may be for the glory of God and good of this Nation. It is not to be denied but the Lord hath greatly humbled us in that sad loss sustained at Hispaniola; and we doubt we have provoked the Lord; and it is good for us to know and to be abased for the same. But yet certainly His name is concerned in the work; and therefore though we should, and I hope do, lay our mouths in the dust, yet He would not have us despond, but I trust give us leave to make mention of His name and of His righteousness, when we cannot make mention of our own. You are left there; and I pray you set up your banners in the name of Christ; for undoubtedly it is His cause. And let the reproach and shame that hath been for our sins, and through (also we may say) the misguidance of some, work up your hearts to confidence in the Lord, and for the redemption of His honour from the hands of men who attribute their success to their Idols, the work of their own hands. And though He hath torn us, yet He will heal us; though He hath smitten us, yet He will bind us up; after two days He will revive us, in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight.1 The Lord Himself hath a controversy with your Enemies; even with that Roman Babylon, of which the Spaniard is the great 1 Hosea, vi. 1, 2. underpropper. In that respect we fight the Lord's battles;and in this the Scriptures are most plain. The Lord therefore strengthen you with faith, and cleanse you from all evil: and doubt not but He is able, and I trust as willing, to give you as signal success as He gave your enemies against you. Only the Covenant-fear of the Lord be upon you.1 If we send you not by this, I trust we shall by the next, our Declaration setting forth the justness of this War. I remain, Your loving friend, OLIVER P.* The Declaration here alluded to, of War with Spain, came out on Tuesday, 23d October 1655;2 which with sufficient approximation dates this Letter for us. By obscure intimations, allusions to events, and even by recurrence of phrases, the following Letter seems to have the same or a closely subsequent date; but no sense could be made of it till the Address, Major-General Fortescue, at Jamaica' (which, being nonsense, we have to impute to Birch), was erased,-was altered, by dim lights and guessings still a little uncertain, as below. LETTER CCV. 'To Daniel Serle, Esquire, Governor of Barbadoes.' SIR, 'Whitehall, October 1655.' These are first to let you know that myself and the Government reckon ourselves beholden to you for the ready expressions of your love in giving assistance to our late Design.5 Which indeed, though it hath miscarried in what we hoped for, through the disposing hand of God, for reasons best known to Himself, and as we may justly conceive for our sins,— No other fear; nor is there need of any other hope or strength! 2 Ibid. iv. 117; Godwin, iv. 217; Antea, p. 124. 3 Thurloe, iv. 633, &c. &c. 4 'beholding' in orig.; as the old phrase usually is. > Hispaniola: to which Serle, at Barbadoes, had given due furtherance, as the Expedition passed. yet is not this Cause the less His, but will be owned by Him, as I verily believe: and therefore we dare not relinquish it;1 but shall, the Lord assisting, prosecute it with what strength we can, hoping for 'a' blessing for His name's sake. You will receive some Instructions,2 with encouragements to remove your people thither. Whereto I refer you: only let me tell you, that if you shall think to desire some other things which are not mentioned in those Instructions, 'you may' rest upon my word that we shall be most ready to supply what they may be defective in or you may reasonably demand, when once you are upon the place,-where certainly you may be better able to judge what may tend most to your accommodation than at a distance. Surely the sooner you remove thither,3 you will have the more time to strengthen yourself, in such place and upon such part as you shall like of. And for your own part, I have named you one of the Commissioners there for managing of the whole affair; whereby you will have your vote and interest in that Government. Having said this, I think fit to let you know that we have Twenty men-of-war already there, and are sending Eight more, many whereof have forty guns and upwards, and the rest above thirty. We hope the Plantation is not wanting in anything; having at the least Seven-thousand fighting-men upon the place and we are providing to supply them constantly with fresh men and we trust they are furnished with a twelvemonth's victuals;—and I think, if we have it in England, they shall not want. We have also sent to the Colonies of New England like offers with yours,5 To remove thither; our resolution being to people and plant that Island. And indeed we have very good reason to expect considerable numbers from thence, forasmuch 1 No! 2 Thurloe, iv. 633-7; worth reading, though in great want of editing. 3 Will mean, if our Addressing of this Letter is correct, that it had at one time been intended and decided to send Serle of Barbadoes, an experienced man, the ablest and principal English Governor in the West Indies, to take charge of Jamaica himself. Which however, in the quick succession of new lights and occurrences, never came to pass. 4 Same phrase in the preceding Letter. 5 Encouragements to them, as to 'your' Colony, to emigrate thither. |