YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Bought with the income
of the
ALFRED E. PERKINS FUND

•2 Z.-cU ^iCtuA.

JTOlfilM ASlfflBUiaHHAi

NARRATIVE BY
JOHN ASHBURNHAM
OF HIS
ATTENDANCE ON KING CHARLES THE FIRST
FROM OXFORD TO THE SCOTCH ARMY,
AMD
FROM HAMPTON-COURT TO THE ISLE OF WIGHT :
NEVER BEFORE PRINTED.

TO WHICH IS PREFIXED
A VINDICATION OF
HIS CHARACTER AND CONDUCT,

MISREPRESENTATIONS OF LORD CLARENDON,
Gieorg*. 2e| ear! of A^h bumhEm. . ,
BY HIS LINEAL DESCENDANT AND PRESENT REPRESENTATIVE.

" Exoriare aliquis nostris ex ossibus ultor.'

VOL. I.
LONDON :
PAYNE AND FOSS, PALL-MALL ; BALDWIN AND CRADOCK,
PATERNOSTER- ROW.
"M.DCCC.XXX.

PRINTED BV W. NICOL, CLEVELAND-ROW.

CONTENTS.

VOL. I.
Introductory Apology  1
Vindication of the Character and Conduct of John
Ashburnham. Part 1  13
Part II. ......... us
Part III  277

VOL. II.
Biographical Notices of John Ashburnham .... l
A Letter from Mr. Ashburnham to a Friend .... 41
Narrative  55
Letters and Warrants of the King  137
Letter from Mr. John Ashburnham to the lord Culpeper,
and from the lord Culpeper to Mr. Ashburnham 173
APPENDIX.
I. A true and perfect Accompt of all such Monies, &c. iii
II. Regiments of the King's army  xlii
III. Stat. 10. Hen. vii. [Poyning's Act] Stat. 11 Eliz.
Sess. 3  xliii
IV. Letter from general Ireton to colonel Hammond,
and from Oliver Cromwell to colonel Hammond xlviii
V. Supplementary Evidences, obtained from the earl
of Clarendon's own authority, in confirmation and
illustration of certain facts, arguments, and in
ferences, advanced in the first part of a Vindica
tion of John Ashburnham's character ... lxi

CONTENTS.

Page

cxxix

VI. Memoirs of sir John Berkley, containing an account
of his negotiation with lieutenant-general Crom
well, commissary-general Ireton, and other Officers
of the army, for restoring King Charles the First
to the exercise of the government of England .
VII. Of Salmonet, and his " Histoire des Troubles
d'Angleterre"  cxcviu
VIII. Lord Clarendon's Characters of those illustrious
and eminent Persons with whose esteem and
friendship John Ashburnham is known to have
been honoured  ccln

ERRATA.

VOL. I.
Page 26, line 17, for was equal read was of equal.
117, line 10, for men read man.
137. The side note Clarendon Papers should be at line 4.
180, line 15, read a boldness of design and a breadth, fyc.
228, line 7, for confesses read confessed.
262, line 5, note, for to entertain read from entertaining.
273, Une 10, for too unsuccessfully read too successfully.
289, line 3, for escaped read ceased.
369, line 23, of courtier read of a courtier.
VOL. II.
Page lxxii. (Appendix) line 7, for transpired read transpire.

INTRODUCTORY APOLOGY.*
To the public, some apology is not less due from
the editor of another man's writings, than from
an author, who ventures to obtrude his own. It
was only in the more humble character (or at most
as a commentator) that the writer of this Vindi
cation had at first intended to present himself,
and would yet wish to be considered.
In his editorial capacity, he offers, not the trite
and hackneyed plea of encouragement given in
private by some too partial friends ; but repeated
calls more or less directly made upon him, in
periodical, and other publications : the fact, that
John Ashburnham's Narrative is still preserved
in his family, being little less known from some
extracts given in Collins's Peerage, than that of
its former existence, is notorious from lord Cla
rendon's avowed and recorded condescension in
having honoured it with his perusal.
The resolution having been at length taken to
comply with these demands, it seemed expedient,
as usually practised, to accompany the publica
tion with some biographical notices, and historical
illustrations. The researches after the information necessary
for such purposes led to other, and very different
discoveries ; equally unexpected, surprising, and
* For all the passages quoted from lord Clarendon's History
and Life, the references are to the last Oxford. edition.
VOL. I. B

2 INTRODUCTORY APOLOGY.
important : so numerous, as well as various, that,
if the primary design had not been abandoned,
a scanty stream of text would soon have been lost
sight of in the wide-spreading inundation of notes
and comments.
But if, however reluctantly, he must be raised
to the rank and dignity of an author, he is pro
vided with an excuse for the publication of his
work, which he offers with as much undisguised
confidence, as the work itself with unfeigned dif
fidence. It is the irresistible impulse of a sacred
duty, forbidding him to suppress the means, which
in his conscience he believes himself to have ac
quired, of rescuing innocence from calumny, and
merit from detraction. And if this be so on a
general principle and in ordinary relations, much
more forcibly must it be, as it ought to be, felt in
the case of a venerated ancestor : and above all
of one, whose chiefest care it has been to preclude
from his descendants the painful humiliation of
being contaminated by the foul aspersions of his
merciless revilers.*
Yet, while he feels secure that the having un
dertaken such a task will abstractedly be deemed
* " And though for no other motive, yet for this, that my
" own posterity may know, I have not stupidly through silence
" passed by the heavy censures upon me, there shall be (for
" their information) this faithful discourse extant, to settle
" their judgement of my integrity to his majesty, and prevent
"the irreverence which otherwise may peihaps not only be
"paid by them to my memorie, but give them cause (taking
" loose reports for granted truths) to loath themselves for being
" branches of so unworthy and so wicked a stock." Narrative
p. 62.

INTRODUCTORY APOLOGY. 3
even meritorious, he cannot but be aware of the
peculiar difficulties, which in this case he has to
encounter, and of the peculiar disadvantages
under which he is placed. Of these many he will
here restrict himself to the notice of one alone :
and to impress it he will borrow part of a leaf out
of his ancestor's book.
" He, that goes about to persuade multitudes,
" that they are not so well informed, as they ought
" to be, in things generally received, and deeply
" rooted in them, shall never want impatient
" hearers. Because men's natural inclinations are
" more prone to rest upon what they have already
" embraced, and what for a long time hath had
" no opposition, than to be curious in the search
" after the truth thereof; though it be the truth."
This observation of " a grave and most judicious
" author on a more divine subject," John Ash- Hooker.
burnham, says, that he " cannot but make use of,
" since it is so very pertinent to his purpose :" —
that of preparing a " Narrative, which he very
" much scorns to call a Vindication." But it is
far more pertinent to the present purpose of sup
plying that Vindication ; which himself would
hardly have disdained, could he have foreknown
by what arm " the unkindest stab of all," as well
as the deepest, would be inflicted on his honour ;
and from " under what lips" would so forcibly
be projected the " adder's poison :" which, from
others feebly exuding, he might safely disregard
and despise.
In truth, wherever there exists a suspicion, that
to be better informed may lead to the thinking

4 INTRODUCTORY APOLOGY.
less well of one, whom we have long been taught
to admire and revere, the natural reluctance springs
from a virtuous propensity. Yet surely the de
liberate and persevering indulgence of it is repre
hensible; and the avowal of it inconsiderate.
Since all honourable, all honest, men have, and
ought to feel that they have, their own interest
promoted in every fresh instance confirmatory of
the great maxim that— "The truth is mighty, and
" will prevail."
There is no event which the noble historian of
the rebellion has so fully and minutely related;
none, over which be has, in his remarks, so dis
cursively expatiated, or which he has so closely
examined, as the king's withdrawing himself from
Hampton Court, and repairing to the Isle of
Wight. It was natural therefore, if only for that
reason, independently of the well-founded reliance
on his having had the best means of information,
and on the accuracy, candor, and good faith, with
which he had availed himself of these advantages,
that later historians should adopt his statement
of the facts, and his opinion of the transaction.
Of these the more popular, Rapin and Hume,
manifestly, and avowedly his followers, have in
their turn been followed by a numberless host of
abridgers and compilers. Hence, it is impossible
that any one, whether deeply imbued, or superfi
cially tinged with a knowledge of English history,
should not have formed an opinion of Ashburn
ham's conduct, equally injurious, and unmerited.
That such is the only deduction which can be
obtained from lord Clarendon's circumstantial

INTRODUCTORY APOLOGY. 5
details, so peremptorily and oracularly predicated,
it is essential to this Vindication to shew.
Here then of the difficulties and disadvantages,
before alluded to, is one most disheartening and
appalling. The author of this Vindication sensi
bly feels that he has already alienated many of
his readers, whom he most desires to conciliate ;
that he has prejudiced against him some, whom
he most wishes to convince ; and that he shall
continue to disgust others, whom he is most am
bitious to please.
No one can be more aware than he is, into
what utter insignificancy must sink, — at what an
immeasurable distance must be cast the lowly ser
vices of a groom of the bed-chamber, when com
pared with those, which transcendent abilities and
exalted stations enabled the chancellor to render
to his king and country. But in point of honour
and integrity; of loyalty to his sovereign, and
fidelity to his master; of zeal, attachment, and
devotion, he has yet to learn that he is bound to
admit any, the least, inferiority ; or that it is not
for him rather to invite, than to decline, any com
parative enquiry, which there are still existing
ample means to institute. Surely it cannot be
required that the memory of such an ancestor
should be held by him less dear, less sacred than
that of this illustrious statesman by his descend
ants. For those noble persons even from early
youth he has ever and invariably entertained a
sincere regard and an unfeigned respect. And he
hopes that by them he shall not now be thought
acting inconsistently with the sentiments here

6 INTRODUCTORY APOLOGY.
professed, while he obeys the more powerful re
quisition of a paramount duty.
Surely he is not to be debarred from detecting
and exposing calumnies, of which John Ashburn
ham has been the victim, because of these lord
Clarendon has adopted some, and originated
others. Equally sincere and unavailing is the regret
here felt, that it is impossible in any case to prove
that charges or allegations are false, without con
victing him of falsehood, by whom they have been
avowedly and notoriously preferred. It remains
for his advocates to shew that he has not been a
calumniator wilfully, or wittingly.
However it may often be ungenerous, and
sometimes even unjustifiable, to retaliate injuries
and insults, it cannot be denied that there are
occasions wherein retaliation is not only expe
dient but unavoidably necessary.
When some restless and ambitious power wan
tonly violates the territory of his peaceful neigh
bour, he will have little reason to complain, if, on
being repulsed, pursuit be carried beyond those
boundaries, which himself has been the first to
transgress. Nor on the part of the latter will it
cease to be a defensive war, when fortune shall have
removed the seat of it from the invaded country
to that of the invader. The " generous unknown,"
who often in Spanish romance not less oppor
tunely than gallantly places himself by the side
of a cavalier singly engaged in an unequal combat
with many, would ill entitle himself to the thanks,
which await him, were he only to parry the

INTRODUCTORY APOLOGY. 7
assailant's thrusts, and not contribute to disable
some of the bravos, and to put the rest to flight.
Whethert there be any analogy between these
imaginary cases and that, which is the subject of
the present enquiry, will hereafter appear. Mean
while the author pledges himself that in the course
of the following Vindication such a proof shall be
given of his once submissive, confiding, and entire
faith in the supremacy of lord Clarendon's autho
rity, as perhaps not one of all his enthusiastic ad
mirers and zealous votaries can boast of having
displayed. (Page 258.)
How many thousands might say of this their
idol, (as Rousseau has made Pygmalion say of his
statue) " Je ne l'ai point encore examinee ; Je
" n'ai fait jusq'ici que l'admirer !" To those few,
who have not sacrificed, without any reservation,
all their faculties, an intellectual holocaust, on the
oracular altar of infallible authority: to those
few, who take the liberty to judge, or the trouble
to think, for themselves, it may be perceptible,
that the religious or moral observances of a well
disciplined mind had not given to this illus
trious personage the controul over his temper ;
on the contrary that he shews himself prompt
to take offence, where none has been intentionally
offered; and slow, — slow indeed, — to receive
apology, when earnestly and sincerely pressed
upon him :
iracundus, inexorabilis.
They may discover that all, the fullest, consci
ousness of real and intrinsic worth, deservedly
conspicuous in the most distinguishing honours,
and splendid dignities, iii which even a wise man

o INTRODUCTORY APOLOGY.
may be best allowed to pride himself, had not
rendered him insensible to the frivolous gratifica
tion of a puerile vanity : and that the many en
dowments, natural and acquired, of a vigorous
and enlarged understanding had not wholly ex
cluded such jealousies, suspicions, and enmities,
as are usually the characteristics of a feeble and
narrow mind.
In one of those highly-finished whole length
portraits, which (besides half-lengths, kit-cats,
three-quarters and heads innumerable) the noble
artist has painted of himself, he is represented to
Life, p. 11. have been a man, who was " in his nature inclined
" to pride and passion, and to a humour between
" wrangling ' and disputing very troublesome,
" which good company in a short time so much
" reformed and mastered, that no man was more
" affable arid courteous to all kind of persons ;
" and they who knew the great infirmity of his
" whole family, which abounded in passion^ used
" to say, he had much extinguished the unruliness
" of that fire."
" Naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret."
Lord Clarendon considered himself as an ex
ception to the Horatian rule ; but others saw in
him an illustration of it. For they who, not having
the advantage of being acquainted with the whole
of this very choleric family, could not judge by
comparison, seem positively to have formed a very
different estimate of his " affability, and courtesy
" to all kind of persons." Here may be cited the
concurring characters briefly given of him by two
of his contemporaries, in every respect the very
reverse of each other. Burnet says, " he was

INTRODUCTORY APOLOGY. 9
" high ; and was apt to reject those, who addressed
" themselves to him with too much contempt." —
While the gay and witty author of the " Memoires
" de Grammont," little likely to view any object
through the same medium, as it was seen by the
grave Protestant Bishop, tells us — " Ce n'est pas
" qu'il manquat de capacity ; mais il avait encore
* plus de preemption."
When Charles the second, yielding to counsels
more in unison with the dictates of his heart, than
of his head, had dismissed this, the most virtuous
and able minister of that period,* he undertook,
with his own hand, to communicate this his own
disgrace to the duke of Orriiond, then in Ireland ;
of whom it is well known, that the profligate and
unprincipled monarch had at least the grace to
stand in awe. In this letter, there is no charge
or imputation of blame, but simply the complaint
of " a certain peevishness of temper." This accu-
. sation, though a most insufficient excuse for his
removal, was in point of fact well founded; since
lord Clarendon himself adiriits it, both in his letter
to the king, and in his vindication. His much
attached and admiring friend Evelyn, has noted
of him in his Diary (August 27, 1667)—" The
" truth is, that he made few friends, during his
" grandeur, among the royal sufferers ; but ad-
" vanced the old rebels : he was, however, though
" no considerable lawyer, One, who kept up the
" form and substance of things, with more so-
* The earl of Southampton was then no more : and sir Ed.
Nicholas, however with less talent, inferior to no one in integ
rity, had retired from office.

10 INTRODUCTORY APOLOGY.
" lemnity, than some would have had. He was
" my particular kind friend on all occasions."
Hence, whether, correct or not in point of like
ness, this sketch has been delineated by no hostile
pencil. The foregoing extracts may be considered as
affording an exhibition of the chancellor in public
life : the following gives a glimpse of him in his
hours of relaxation and retirement.
" August 15th, 1662. Came my lord chancellor
" and his lady : his purse and mace borne before
" him to visit me. (N. B. in his villa at Deptford)
« — they were likewise collationed with us, and
" were very merry. This great person had ever
" been my friend."
If, even when deigning thus to share the pas
toral feast and rural mirth of the suburban villa,
our time-honoured Clarendon could not lay aside
the loved insignia of his high office ; if even amidst
the dog-days there was for him no refreshment in
shady arbours, or cool tankards, unless the "graced
* " person" of his portly mace-bearer " were pre-
" sent," it is no wonder, among the buffooneries
of that " chartered libertine" —

at council, in a ring

Of mimick'd statesmen, and their merry king,"
that Buckingham should have been particularly
successful in personating the lord chancellor with
a pair of bellows in his hand instead of the purse ;
and for the mace, a fire-shovel " borne before him"
by colonel Titus.
It is with unfeigned reluctance and regret that
* " Were the graced person of our Banquo present."

INTRODUCTORY APOLOGY. 11
the little failings in a great character should be
here conspicuously revealed ; as if the purpose were
to magnify some few dark points of human pas
sion, which, to unaided vision are imperceptibly
lost amid the dazzling blaze of godlike attributes.
It proceeds from a firm and sincere conviction,
that the exposure of them is essential towards the
vindication of one, who, not on the conclusive
evidence of substantiated facts, but on the arbi
trary authority of prejudiced opinion, has been
arraigned, tried, and condemned. Justice can
never be obtained for Ashburnham, unless it be
shewn, how unworthily of himself lord Clarendon
has treated him. Nor to this end will even proofs
avail, if it be not demonstrable, that there were co
existent in the character of this illustrious states
man far other qualities than those, for which it has
been so highly extolled, and loudly celebrated.
But were it not for this sense of duty ; could
the advocate of this cause reconcile to his con
science the omission, he would gladly avoid
subjecting himself to the reproach of sceptical
irreverence towards a name, which common con
sent has long since canonized. He would shrink
from incurring the suspicion of being one of those,
who can only contemplate a hero with the eyes
of his valet de chambre ; or who, placed before a
colossal statue, even of Grecian sculpture, would
be curious only to search for specks, flaws, and
blemishes in the material. POSTSCRIPT.
When it shall be known that the author of this
Vindication, now in his seventieth year, can attest

12 INTRODUCTORY APOLOGY.
the uniform tenour of a life, throughout which he
has as sedulously avoided, as others, at any period
of theirs, have sought, to attract public notice j
perhaps the foregoing protestations, here solemnly
renewed, may be the better entitled to credit.
Since it will be evident that the motive, by which
alone he professes to have been actuated in this
attempt, has also been the only sufficient stimulus
to rouse and estrange him from the inveterate in
dulgence, not of a ruling passion, but of predo
minant infirmities'; — a constitutionally morbid
indolence, and reserve.
Perhaps too, for the same reason, his sincerity
may be the less questionable, while he deeply
laments' that an object, in itself so legitimate,
should be unattainable but by means so ungraci
ous, irreverent, and offensive.
Not to care whom he may offend, so long as he
asserts, or reveals nothing, but what is strictly
true is a stoicism, which, as he does not feel, so
neither will he boast. But this conviction he dares
to avow ; — that it is only in so far as the truth is
in him, that he can be found capable of provoking
resentment ; or will be deemed worthy of such
manifestations of notice as, if he had not been by
others duly warned, he should of himself alone
have been enough prepared, to expect ;—censure^
rebuke, and reproach.

VINDICATION
OF THE CHARACTER AND CONDUCT OF
JOHN ASHBURNHAM. PART I.
" L'Histoire n'est fondle que sur le temoignage
" des auteurs, qui nous l'ont transmise. II im-
" porte done extremement, pour la savoir, de bien
" connaitre quels etaient ces auteurs. Le tems '
" ou iis ont vecu, leurs naissances, leur patrie, la
" part qu'ils ont eue aux affaires, les moyens par
" lesquels iis ont &t6 instniits, et Tintoret qu'ils y
" pourraient prendre sont des circonstances essen-
" tielles, qii'il n'est pas permis d'ignorer : de la
" depend le plus ou le moins d'autorit^ qu'ils dot-
" vent avoir, et sans cette connaissance on courra
" risque tres souvent de prendre pour guide un
" historien de mauvaise foi, ou du moins mal in-
*' form6."* (Hist, de l'Acad. des Inscriptions.)
These two defects, not being incompatible with
each other, may sometimes have been united in
the same historian. It cannot therefore be inex-
* This very just observation forms the motto to Walpole's
" Historical Doubts."

14 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
•pedient to furnish the reader with the means of
judging how lord Clarendon stood affected to
wards John Ashburnham antecedently to the year
1647, by extracts from that illustrious author's
historical and biographical works.
The earliest notice of him occurs at page 108
of Clarendon's Life; where the character of sir
John Colepepper is.thus given in contrast with his
own. " But his (sir John Colepepper's) greatest
" advantage was, that he had an entire confidence
"and friendship with Mr. John Ashburnham,
" whom the king loved, and trusted very much ;
" and who always imprinted that advice in the
" king's mind, which the other had4afused; and
" being a member of the house, was always ready
" to report the service he did his majesty there,
" as advantageously as the business would bear."
That a rivalry for the king's favour was at this
time subsisting between Mr. Hyde and sir John
Colepepper is sufficiently apparent in this passage
alone. And that it was attended with no little
jealousy and suspicion on the part of the former,
is equally observable in others that occur not un-
frequently. In the History of the Rebellion we are informed,
that " Berkeley had not found that respect, from
" Cromwell and Ireton, that he expected ; at least
" discerned it to be greater towards Ashburnham,
" than it was to him ; which he thought evidence
" enough of a defect of judgment in them." Per
haps lord Clarendon might have formed his esti
mate of John Ashburnham's intellectual faculties
by the same criterion.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 15
Here it is difficult to refrain from making a re
mark, to which frequent temptations will occur.
In this one sentence we read, that " the king loved
" and trusted John Ashburnham very much :"
and that sir John Colepepper " had an entire con-
<( fidence and friendship with him." The king,
according to lord Clarendon, " saw and observed
" men long before he received them about his
<e person : and did not like strangers, nor very
" confident men." Of sir John Colepepper we are
told, that " he was a man of great parts, a very
" sharp and present wit. and an universal under-
" standing." And yet this is the king and this the
statesman, who with all their penetration, discern
ment, and circumspection, lavished, the one his
love and trust ; the other his friendship and con
fidence, on a man whom lord Clarendon usually
represents as destitute of every estimable quality,
or talent.
The first direct and deliberate attack on John
Ashburnham is made at page 196 of Clarendon's
Life ; and is entitled —
" The chancellor of the exchequer's office in-
" vaded by Mr. Ashburnham "
" The chancellor of the exchequer had under-
xe gone some mortification during the short abode
" at Bristol, which was the only port of trade
" within the king's quarters ; which was like to
" yield a considerable benefit to the king, if it
" were well managed ; and the direction thereof
u belonged entirely to his office : but when he sent
" to the officers of the customs, to be inforiried of
*' the present state of trade, he found that some

16 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" treaty was made, and order giyen in it by Mr.
" Ashburnham, a groom of the bedchamber ; who,
" with the assistance and advice of sir John Cole-
" pepper, had prevailed with the king to assign
« that province to him, as a means to raise a
« present sum of money for the supply of the
" army: which the chancellor took very heavily;
" and the lord Falkland, out of his friendship to
"him, more tenderly; and expostulated it with
" the king with some warmth ; and more pas-
" sionately with sir John Colepepper and Mr.
" Ashburnham, as a violation of the friendship
" they professed to the chancellor, and an invasion
" of his office ; which no man bears easily.
" They were both ashamed of it, and made
" some weak excuses, of incogitance and inad-
" vertence ; and the king himself, who discerned
" the mischief that would ensue, if there should
" be an apparent schism amongst those he so en-
" tirely trusted, was pleased to take notice of it to
" the chancellor, with many gracious expressions ;
" and said, * that Mr. Ashburnham being trea-
" e surer and paymaster of the army, he did believe
" ' some money might have been raised for the
" ' present occasion ; and only intended it for the
" e present, without considering it would be an
" c invasion of his right ; and therefore directed,
" e that an account should be given to him of all,
" ' that had been done, and he should do as he
" ' thought fit.' But when he understood all, that
" had been done, he would make no alteration in
" it, that his majesty might be convinced that his
" service was not looked after in the design. And

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 17
" it was discernible enough, that Mr. Ashburnham,
" who usually looked very far before him, had not
" so much intended to disoblige the chancellor, as,
" by introducing himself this way into the customs,
" to continue one of the farmers of the customs,
" when the war should be at an end ; of which he
" got a promise from the king at the same time ;
" who had a great affection for him, and an ex-
" traordinary opinion of his managery. If there,
" remained after this any jealousy or coldness be-
" tween the chancellor of the exchequer and the
" other two, as the disparity between their natures
"and humours made some believe there did, it
" never brake out or appeared, to the disturbance
" or prejudice of the king's service ; but all pos-
" sible concurrence in the carrying it on was
" observed between them."

" The chancellor of the exchequer's office in-
" vaded by Mr. Ashburnham, a groom of the,
" bedchamber." That Ashburnham was a groom of the bed
chamber, is matter of not less notoriety, than his
having existed; and that he did that, which is
here termed invading the chancellor of the ex
chequer's office, instead of there being any wish
to deny, an authentic and inedited document shall
be adduced to prove. So far then " the truth,
" and nothing but the truth," has been told ; but
inasmuch as the " whole truth" has not been told,
we have here a statement as fallacious in effect,
(whatever it may have been in design), as if it
vol. '. c

18 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
contained with the truth no slight admixture of
falsehood. And surely where the " suppressio
" veri," is not less injurious, than the " suggestio
" falsi," either is alike disreputable to the accusing
party. Neither from this passage, nor from any other
in lord Clarendon's Historical Works, often as
Ashburnham is mentioned in them, would it be
supposed, that he had ever held any other si
tuation, or had been ever known in any other
character, than the one, by which he is here
designated. Who then from the first publication
of lord Clarendon's Life to the present moment
can have read, without emotions of amazement,
indignation and disgust of the chancellor of the
exchequer's office invaded by a groom of the bed
chamber ? Or who can cite a parallel instance of
effrontery, presumption, and arrogance, unless it
be when the two thrones of Brentford were simul
taneously invaded by a physician and a gentleman
usher ? Mention indeed is subsequently made of
Ashburnham's being " treasurer and paymaster of
" the Army:" but surely jt is in such a way, as
rather to discredit, than to affirm it as a fact.
" The king said so." Is it not then the natural
inference, that the chancellor of the exchequer
had never before heard of it ? And thus the whole,
of what the king is represented to have said, has
the appearance of an indulgent master's endeavour
to palliate the transgression of a favourite servant.
But the real case is, that Ashburnham had his
office,— whatever might be its style and title,— or,
whether, or not, it had any at all. The document,

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 19
above alluded to, is entitled — " A true and perfect
" accompt of all such monies, as have been re-
" ceived and paid for your majesty's service, and
" by your appointment, by John Ashburnham
« from the 1st of April, 1642, to the 26th of Oc-
" tober, 1643."*
In this account will be seen ; first, the sum of
money obtained from the customs of Bristol ; se
condly, that there are other items -j" apparently
indicating as much an invasion of the chancellor
of the exchequer's office ; thirdly, that the office
was of so comprehensive, multifarious, and unde
fined a nature, as that it could not fail sometimes
of coming in contact, or rather clashing, with that
of the chancellor of the exchequer, amidst the
confusion, disorder, and anarchy necessarily at
tendant on civil war ; fourthly, that Ashburnham
* Not only as a voucher for what is here advanced, but as
the perusal may be otherwise not uninteresting, this document
is given entire in the Appendix.
t In the ledger for 1643, wherein are enumerated the Pay
ments made to the several regiments, there are the entries of
many miscellaneous disbursements, little to be expected to have
passed through the hands of the treasurer and paymaster of the
army, — such as " To his majesty — for his occasions.
" To the queen— ditto.
" To the prince of Wales — ditto.
" Duke of York — ditto.
" Prince Rupert — ditto.
" The lady Falkland — ditto.
and
" To the clerks of the exchequer ! ! !
This last the chancellor might well have protested against, as
one, " the direction whereof belonged entirely to his office."

20 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
had been entrusted with it twelve months before
Mr. Hyde was appointed chancellor of the ex
chequer; fifthly, that this must have been matter
of notoriety and of approval, to the king's minis
ters, to his court, to the army, and to the royalists
in general; and sixthly, to sir Edward Hyde in
particular,-^* there are entries of sums paid to
him, and received from him. In like manner
appears also the name of lord Falkland.
In addition to these considerations it may be
submitted as little credible, that the customers
(as they were then called) should have treated,
much less that they should have concluded any
arrangement, with John Ashburnham, unless they
had known him to be in the exercise of other
functions, than those Of a groom of the bed
chamber. II.
" Bristol which was the only port of trade
" within the king's quarters ; which was likely to
•" yield a considerable benefit to the king, if it
¦"were well managed; and the direction thereof
" belonged entirely to his (chancellor of the ex-
" chequer's) office."
In the Section immediately preceding the one
now under our examination, we read — " The set-
" tlement of the port, which was of infinite im-
" portance to the king in point of trade, and his
" customs with reference to Ireland — " &c.
Surely the more " considerable" this " benefit"
and the more " infinite" this importance" and the
more " entirely the direction thereof belonged to

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 21
"the chancellor of the exchequer's office," the
more extraordinary it is;, that Ashburnham, with
all his " mariagery," should have managed to an
ticipate sir Edward Hyde in his treaty with the
officers of the customs. The possibility of which
the latter might, and ought to have, entirely pre
cluded. Neither is it reasonable, that a man
should complain of a " mortification" he has
" undergone," or claim redress of a grievance,
which he has suffered, when it is evident, that
such can only have originated in his own " laches" *
and supineness.
It is difficult to discover precisely when Mr.
Hyde was appointed chancellor of the exchequer.
The noble Historian's dates, like Falstaff's reasons,
not being so " plenty as blackberries." It appears,
however, that he was holding that office early in
the year 1643. Bristol was not invested till the
22d, and surrendered on the 26th of July. Sir
Edward Hyde was therefore a minister long before
that enterprise could have been projected, — And
however others of his majesty's council, who sug
gested, planned, or executed it, might have over
looked the vast advantages, likely to accrue from
its success, to the king's finances -y although Prince
Rupert might have looked no further than to the
" Pride, Pomp and Circumstance of glorious War,"
and lord Falkland, of whom we are told, that
" peace was his dear delight," might only have
contemplated in it the nearer approach to that
" consummation devoutly to be wished ;" yet it
* Laches — A law-term signifying " slackness or negligence."
(Law Diet.)

22 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
must have been an object, which could not have
escaped the vigilant eye of a chancellor of the ex
chequer ; especially of one new in office, and who
did not " despair of enabling himself by industry
to execute it." *
Anxiously awaiting the fall of Bristol, yet aware
that so long as the king should remain at Oxford,
the presence of a chancellor of the exchequer
(whom his majesty consulted generally on all
transactions, but more particularly employed in
those, which appertained to the secretary of state's
office) could not be dispensed with, one should
naturally suppose, that sir Edward Hyde would
have been prepared, oil the first receipt of this
joyful and glorious intelligence, to despatch in
stantly some confidential agent, in order that
without loss of time " some treaty might be made
" and order given" towards an arrangement with
the customs. Now, until Bristol had actually
surrendered, Ashburnham could have had no in
tercourse with the officers of the customs of that
port. But lord Clarendon tells us, that " his
" majesty resolved, the next day after the news to
" go himself to Bristol." Accordingly on the 1st
of August he left Oxford, taking with him, of his
ministers, only lord Falkland, sir John Colepepper
and sir Edward Hyde. Lord Clarendon does not
say that he discovered on his first -arrival, that
Ashburnham had got the start of him. The
* Mr. Hyde's answer to the king on his appointment was —
" That though it was an office much above his merit, he did not
" despair of enabling himself by industry to execute it, which
" he would do with all fidelity." (Life, page 170.)

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 23
" mortification" is said to have been undergone
" during the short abode at Bristol." Now ad
mitting, that more important cares demanded the
chancellor of the exchequer's earlier attention, a
message to the officers of the customs, inti
mating, that they would be sent for by him at his
leisure, would have effectually closed their ears
to any propositions from a groom of the bed
chamber. Lord Clarendon states, that there were three
reasons, that determined the king to go to Bristol.
The first, to compose the jealousies and disputes,
which had so unfortunately arisen between his
nephews, and the marquis of Hertford ; secondly,
the settlement of the port ; thirdly, " the apply-
" ing the army to- some new enterprise, which
" could not be done without his majesty's pre-
" sence." But there was something besides the
king's presence, without which no new enterprise
could be undertaken ; something, to which it be
hoved " the treasurer and paymaster of the army,"
ex officio, to attend ; something, as we learn from
the best authority, which the port of Bristol could
yield more readily and abundantly than any other
within the king's quarters — money.
Ashburnham, as we are repeatedly told, was
" as entirely trusted by the king, as any man in
" England, so that he could not be ignorant of
" any thing, that moved him." He must there
fore have been as well apprized, as sir Edward
Hyde, of all these circumstances, which we now
learn from the noble historian. He must have
known, that there was much confusion in the

24 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
administration generally; and that little regard had
been paid to the adaptation of talent, natural or
acquired, to the particular duties of the several
departments. He must have known, that his
friend sir John Colepepper, who had been recently
made master of the rolls, was no lawyer; and
that on the contrary sir Edward Hyde, for whom
the place of chancellor of the exchequer had been
expressly vacated, was a lawyer. He must have
known that the latter had been so appointed, not
because he had any experience, skill, taste, or turn
for finance, but because he was admirably gifted
with some of those qualities which peculiarly fitted
him for the office of secretary of state. He -must
have known, that the real motive of the king's
haste to remove to Bristol, was " to be absent
" from his council at Oxford, when he should
" settle these differences," which - to his great
concern were prevailing between the princes his
nephews, and lord Hertford ; being aware, that
" the lords of the council were solicitous that the
" marquis might receive no injustice or disobliga-
" tion." He must have known too, how slowly,
and how hopelessly, the work of pacification be
tween the said parties was going on; and pro
bably how much to the neglect and prejudice of
all other affairs. Was it then, under all these
circumstances, so heinous, so inexpiable a crime
in the treasurer and paymaster of the army, with
the king's knowledge, approbation, and authority ;
and so advised and encouraged by a minister of
state, to perform a duty, which, in other times, as
it strictly « belonged to the chancellor of the

, AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 25
"exchequer's office," would not have been left
unperformed. If this was to invade office, it was
as Milton says —
 " to invade vacant possession."
Not less fairly in extenuation, if not in justifica
tion, of this interference may be pleaded its result ;
the attainment of one of the three objects of the
king's journey, namely, " the applying the army
" to some new enterprise without loss of time."
It was not till the 2d of August that the king
arrived at Bristol. On the 10th of the same month
Gloucester was invested and summoned. This
could hardly have been so soon effected, if " some
" treaty had not been made, and order given
" therein by a groom of the bedchamber," before
the chancellor of the exchequer bethought himself
of " sending to be informed of the present state
of trade." " II faut toujours garder les formalitys,
quoiqu'il puisse arriver" — such was the dictum
of one of Moliere's physicians ; who further de
clared, that he would rather kill a patient, accord
ing to the established rules, than cure him by any
departure from them. On the same principle lord
Clarendon seems to have thought it better, that
Gloucester should never have been invested at all,
than by an army, set in motion by ways and means,
which the chancellor of the exchequer had not
himself regularly provided, formally budgeted,
and officially recommended. III.
" An invasion of his office ; which no man bears
" easily."

26 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" Every body knew that Mr. Hyde was trusted
" by the king in his most secret transactions ; but
" he was under no character in his service:' In
order therefore effectually to remove all the in
conveniences arising from his not being invested
with any official trust, the king " was resolved to
" make secretary Nicholas master of the wards :
" and then (these were his majesty's own words)
" I must make Ned Hyde, secretary of state : for
" the truth is, I can trust nobody else." This is
not to be wondered at, after having been told
that, while " as yet having no relation of service"
though lord Falkland and sir John Colepepper
were, both, what is now termed cabinet ministers,
" his principles were much more agreeable to his
" majesty's own judgment, than those of either of
" the other ; and what he said was equal autho-
" rity with him ; and when any advice was given
" by either of the other, the king usually asked,
" whether Ned Hyde were of that opinion."
On the king's announcing this resolution, Mr.
Hyde declined the intended honour; alleging,
besides other reasons highly creditable to him,
" that he knew he was very unfit for it, and unable
" to discharge it." — To which the king replied,
with a little anger, that " he did4he greatest part
" of the business now" — What was this doing of
the secretary of state's business, but that, which
according to lord Clarendon should be called —
" the invasion of the secretary of state's office ?"
And this by one, who was " under no character in
" the king's service ." — not even so much as that
of a groom of the bedchamber.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 27
Lord Clarendon goes on to relate, that when
Mr. Hyde went, by the king's command, to apprise
secretary Nicholas of the proposed arrangements,
the latter, instead of " bearing very heavily this
" mortification," (of which he could not have been
ignorant for some time past) received him " with
" a cheerful countenance, and embracing him
" called him his son." IV.
" The king who had a great affection for him,
" (John Ashburnham) and an extraordinary opi-
" nion of his managery," &c.
There is naturally a propensity to believe the
man, whom we love, to be really such as we are
desirous that he should be. Here we shall find
that the king's opinion, extraordinary as it was,
of Ashburnham's " managery," was entertained by
one, who most certainly had not for Ashburnham
the king's " great affection."
" The king directed that an account should be
" given to the chancellor of the exchequer of all,
" that had been done, and he should do as he
" thought fit. But when he understood all, that
" had been done, he would make no alteration in
" it." Surely it would be not only unjust, but irre
verent, to suppose that sir Edward Hyde would
thus have sanctioned, or adopted the financial
' coup d'essai' of a groom of the bedchamber, if
after a thorough investigation, it had been disco
vered in anywise detrimental to the king's present

28 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
or future interests. If, through want of skill, it
had failed to secure all that " considerable, be-
" nefit which the port of Bristol might have yielded,
" if well managed ;" or if, through excess of zeal,
exacting too much, it had risked to alienate the
good disposition of a class of his majesty's sub
jects, whom it was more especially politic to con
ciliate ; the chancellor of the exchequer without
doubt would instantly have cancelled the impro
vident agreement. But above all, if aught of
peculation or malversation had transpired; had
there been the evidence to shew, or the ground
to suspect, such corrupt and fraudulent practices,
see the sth as twenty years after lord Clarendon himself was
•nd6thAr-c]jai.nre{i withal ; had it appeared, that John Ash-
ticlesofthe s .,,,,. ,
charge, burnham—" had prevailed to have his majesty s
"customs farmed at a lower rate, than others
?' offered ; and that by persons, with some of
" of whom he went a share," we may be sure, that
the chancellor of the exchequer would have ex
posed the gross delinquency of a worthless fa
vourite : — if only for the salutary purpose of con
vincing the king, how much his partiality was
misplaced, and his confidence abused.
Admitting, that never was impeachment more
groundless than that of lord Clarendon for high
treason ; yet may it fairly and consistently be
doubted, whether this particular charge would
have been twice brought forward, both in 1663,
by the earl of Bristol, and again in 1667 by the
house of commons, unless lord Clarendon had had
some concern in the management of the customs ;
" some treaty made, and some order given ;" though

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 29
doubtless much to the advantage of the crown,
and to his own honour. When therefore we are
told that " the direction thereof belonged entirely
to the " chancellor of the exchequer's office," so
much so, that even to treat with the officers of
the customs is an "invasion" of it; surely the
chancellor of the exchequer of that day, if jealous,
as sir Edward Hyde had been, of the inviolability
of his department, would have made no discrimi
nation between Trojan and Tyrian; but would
have considered his office equally invaded, whe
ther by the lord high chancellor, or by a groom
of the bedchamber.
But the possible case, here hypothetically sug
gested, was for a time effectually precluded by
lord Clarendon's continuing chancellor of the
exchequer three years after he had been appointed f j!^|
lord high chancellor of England. Besides which and,cla-
o o renuon s
he was at the restoration secretary of state, a com- L/fe : .Con-
" tinuation.
missioner of the treasury, and also of the customs.
Not so much prime, — as sole, — minister. In truth,
his royal master was well content, or rather de
sired nothing more than that the chancellor should
invade the office of king, so long as himself might
be allowed to invade that of his own master of
the revels.* V.
"But when he understood all, that had been
" done, he would make no alteration in it, that his
" majesty might be convinced that his service was
" not looked after in the design."
To justify the chancellor for having ratified, or
* A place at court abolished in 1782.

30 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
for having made no alteration in Ashburnham's
agreement with the officers of the customs, there
could be no other sufficient reason or excuse, than
—either, if not absolutely unobjectionable, there
was at least nothing in it so objectionable, as ne
cessarily to require its being cancelled, or amended ;
or else, on account of its having been once con
cluded, to have set it aside, and substituted
another, however better, might have induced more
inconvenient if not injurious consequences. But
of all insufficient reasons and excuses, surely none
can be imagined less admissible, or less creditable,
than the one, which is here so strangely and unac
countably, because so gratuitously and voluntarily,
advanced. " That his majesty might be convinced, that his
" service was not looked after in the design."
Whose service ? According to grammar, the answer
may be, the king's ; but according to reason,
it must be the chancellor of the exchequer's.
Nothing surely can be more irrational than to
suppose, that the latter is here wishing, that the
king should be convinced, that his majesty's ser
vice was not looked after in the design of the
chancellor of his exchequer. Little less probable
is it, that sir Edward Hyde would make no alter
ation in this agreement, for the sake of convincing
the king, that the royal interests had not been
looked after in Ashburnham's " design." Because
that end would have been more completely at
tained by the very opposite means : namely, the
substituting of the more advantageous bargain ;
and thus, the two having been brought into

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 31
contrast, practically to have demonstrated the
impolicy, improvidence, or dishonesty of the ori
ginal contract.
Be it further considered ; who alone could be
benefited by the king's conviction, that the whole
mind and soul of the chancellor of the exchequer
were exclusively absorbed in " designing the ser
vice" of his sovereign and his country ? To whose
honour alone could it redound, that sir Edward
Hyde should be deemed a stranger to all unworthy
jealousies, and disparaging rivalries ? To whose
sole advantage could it conduce, that honest Ned
Hyde should be thought the most placable, if not
the least irritable of men ?
" Asperitatis, et invidiam, corrector et irse :''
in short, that he should appear to be the very re
verse of that, which, by his own confession, he
really was ?
However irreverent, even to profaneness, it may
be to impute such sentiments and views to this
illustrious personage ; that such an imputation is
not unwarranted, shall be proved in another in
stance, on his own spontaneous and incontro
vertible testimony ; recorded in language, which
though also his own, is neither equivocal nor am
biguous, as it too often is ; and in which alone
the statement can be credited.
It was early in 1649 when Charles the second,
having then recently succeeded to the title of his
royal father, was at the Hague, that " the lord History
" (treasurer) Cottington took occasion to confer Rebellion,
" with the chancellor of the exchequer (with ™.i\o.
" whom he held a strict friendship, they living

32 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" and keeping house together) of the ill condition
" the king was in &c."— And concluded with say
ing, " that, if the king would be advised by him,
" he should send them two thither," (that is to
Spain) : " and he did believe they should do him
" very good service."
" The chancellor was weary of the company,
" he was in, and the business, which, having no
" respect but towards despair, was yet rendered
p. 312. « more grievous by the continual contentions and
" animosities between persons. He knew he was
" not in the queen's favour at all, and should find
" no respect in that court. However, he was very
" scrupulous, that the king might not suspect that
" he was weary of his attendance, or that any body
" else might believe that he withdrew himself from
" waiting longer upon so desperate a fortune.* In
* In Pepys's Diary is related, how (July 4, 1664) he waited
on the lord chancellor, in order to appease the wrath, which he
and other commissioners of the navy had excited, by directing,
as they were authorized, some trees to be cut down in Clarendon
Park for the king's use. He concludes thus — " I think I did
thoroughly appease him ; till he thanked me for my desire and
pains to satisfy him : and upon my desiring to be directed, who
of his servants I should advise with on this business — he told
me — nobody : but would be glad to hear from me himself. He
told me he would not direct me in anything, that it might not be
said the lord chancellor did labour to abuse the king ; or (as I
offered) direct the suspending the report of the purveyors. But
I see what he means ; and will make it my work to do him service
in it." " July 18, 1664. — I went to my lord chancellor, and discussed
his business with him. I perceive, — and he says plainly, that
he will not have any man to have it in his power to say that my
lord chancellor did contrive the wronging of the king of his

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 33
" the end, he told the lord Cottington, that he
" would only be passive in the point ; and refer it
" entirely to him, if he thought fit to dispose
" the king to like it ; and if the king approved of
" it so much as to take notice of it to the chan-
" cellor, arid commend it as a thing he thought
" for his service, he would submit to his majesty's
" command." The lord Cottington having thus ascertained
that Mr. chancellor of the exchequer had no ob
jection to partake of these Spanish chesnuts, pro
vided that he risked not the burning of his fingers,
immediately set about roasting them: and with
equal alacrity, intrepidity, skill, and success got
them out of the fire without injury to his own. —
" For he managed so warily with the king and
" presented the whole scheme to him so dexter- Rebellion e
" ously,* that his majesty was much pleased with^ 6,p-
" it ; and shortly after declared his resolution pub-
" licly, to send the lord Cottington, and the chan-
" cellor of the exchequer, his ambassadors extra-
timber : but yet I see he would be glad to have service done him
therein : and told me that sir G. Carteret hath told him, that he
and I would look after the business to see it done in the best man
ner for him.''
* Surely it needed not all the lord treasurer's wariness and
dexterity to recommend to his majesty " the whole scheme," or
more correctly speaking, the ostensible parts of it ; when we
are told, that it professedly was " to obtain a sum of money ; if p. 310.
" not as much as might serve for a martial expedition, yet such
" an annual exhibition as might serve for his support." Since
exhibitions such as this, no matter how or where obtained, were
always acceptable to his unscrupulous and dissipated master :
and the more so as being most conducive to other exhibitions,
for which his majesty is well known to have retained through,
life a very decided partiality.
VOL. I. D

34 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" ordinary into Spain; and commanded them to
" prepare their own commission and instructions ;
" and to begin their journey as soon as was pos-
" sible." Although less strictly in point with respect to
the particular subject now under consideration, it
is by no means irrelevant to the general purpose
of this disquisition, to add here what were the
real objects of this important political measure ;
its origin, prosecution, and termination. But even
if it were, the matter in itself is too curious not
to justify a digression. The recital of them shall
be given in extracts from lord Clarendon's own
pages; because on any other authority, as has
been already observed, it cannot be credited.
Hist, of the " The lord Cottington who had a just excuse
vol. 6, P. ' " from his age, being then seventy-five years old,
" to wish to be in some repose, considered with
" himself how to become disentangled from the
" fatigues of those voyages and journeys, which
" he saw the king would be obliged to make. In
" Holland he had no mind to stay, having never
" loved that people, nor been loved by them ;
" and he thought that the climate itself was very
" pernicious to his health, by reason of the gout,
" which frequently visited him. France was as
" ungrateful to him, where he had not been
" kindly treated." " So that he was willing to find
" a good occasion to spend the remainder of his age,
" where he had spent so much of his youth, in
" Spain." This wished for occasion presented
itself in the resolution being taken, that the king
should in person attempt an expedition to Ireland.
Hence originated the lord treasurer's proposal to

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 35
the chancellor of the exchequer " that they two
" should be sent to Spain," which sufficiently ac
counts for " his heart's being so much set upon
" this employment." The reasons for the latter's
ready, though prudently conditional, acquiescence,
so far at least as to the " quitting a company, of
" which he was weary," and an attendance, of
which he was equally weary ; (provided always, as
it was here provided, that the king should not
suspect, that he was so,) have been already stated.
But it remains to be shewn, why " he was ex-
" ceedingly pleased with the commission." It
was " because, he did believe that he should in
" some degree improve his understanding, and very
" much refresh his spirits"
As the chancellor " was wont to say, that of the Continua-tionofLord
" infinite blessings, which God had vouchsafed tociaren-
" confer upon him almost from his cradle, he es- p. 458. '
" teemed himself so happy in none as in his three
" acquiescences ; which he called his three vaca-
" tions and retreats he had in his life enjoyed from
" business of trouble and vexation ." and as the
second of these acquiescences was on this occasion
of his embassy extraordinary into Spain ; during
which " he did still acknowledge, that he did
" receive much refreshment and benefit : though
" the employment proved ineffectual to the pur-
" poses for which it was intended;" (or rather pre- P. 479.
tended) " and mended his understanding in the
" observation and experience of another kind of
" negotiation, than he had formerly been ac-
" quainted with."
And as " the less of business he had, he was
" the more vacant to study the language, and the

36 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
w manners and the government of that nation —
it is not to be wondered at, that however much he
has dilated " con amore" on this truly gratifying
reminiscence, both in his history, and in his life, he
should in the continuation of his life have entered
into fresh details.
From these the following are extracted : which
shew, in what manner the lord high treasurer
" managed so warily with the king, and presented
" the whole scheme so dexterously," without com
mitting or betraying his chosen colleague.
At the first private audience, which the lord
Cottington had of the king, he only recommended
the measure of his being sent alone on this em
bassy. " This was too reasonable not to make
" an impression on the king." The next day he
proposed, that, on account of his being so Old
?77C4776' anc* *nfirmJ " ^e m*ght have a companion with him,
." of more youth and a stronger constitution :" and
in fine proposed, ^ that the chancellor of the ex-
" chequer might be joined in the commission with
" him :" &c.
"The king was surprised with the overture;
" and asked ' whether the chancellor would be
"'willing to undertake the employment, and
" ' whether he had spoken with him of it.' To
" which the other presently replied, that he knew
" not, nor had ever spoken to him of it, nor would
" do, till his majesty, if he liked it, should first
"prepare him; for he knew well, he would at
^ first be startled at it, and it may be might take
" it unkindly"
It will now be seen, that the Nisus, who first
projected this notable enterprise, could not have

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 37
made choice of a youthful Euryalus, better qua
lified to second him :
" When the king spake to. him of it, as a thing,
" that had resulted from his own thoughts" — The
chancellor did not " dissemble the apprehension,
" that this device had been contrived at Paris. —
" But the king quickly expelled that jealousy.
" And he desired a short time to consider of it : and
" received such reasons (besides kindness in the
" invitation) from the lord Cottington, that he
" did not submit only to the king's pleasure, but
" very willingly undertook the employment."
Having, not without difficulty, as is circum
stantially related, found the ways and means of
effecting their journey to Madrid, at the king's
expence ; on their waiting to take leave of the
queen-mother, she declared her opinion to be, that
it would prove "fruitless, as to any advantage theute,vo\A.
"king would receive from it," and her majesty p'262'
might have added —
" I tell you that, which you yourselves do know."*
* " She (further) said, that she did desire, that he might al
ways be about his majesty's person ; not only because she
thought he understood the business of England better than any
body else, but because she knew that he loved the king, and
would always give him good counsel towards his living vir
tuously," &c.
" This (his appointment,) was no sooner known than all hinds H.gt volyi
of people, who agreed in nothing else, murmured and complained p. 313,14.
of, this counsel, and the more, because it had never been men*
Honed or debated in council."
¦ " They who loved him were sorry for him and themselves ;
they thought he deserted a path he had long trod; and was
well acquainted with, and was henceforward to move, exted

38 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
For when this royal prediction had been fully veri
fied, we find, that their excellencies "rested for
Life, vol. i. « some time without giving the court any further
" trouble ; and enjoyed themselves in no unpleasant
" retreat from business" And as we are further
told, that during their protracted sojourn among
the Spaniards, " the chancellor of the exchequer
Hist. " betook himself to the learning their language,
V039o' "by reading their books; of which he made a
" good collection :" — there is every reason to con
clude, that he more than " in some degree im-
" proved his understanding." And since his
accounts of the entertainments, given at court in
celebration of the king's marriage, (such as their
masquerades, running at the ring, and bull-feasts,)
are so ample and animated, as to bespeak an at
tentive, and delighted spectator, there can be no
doubt, that he must " very much have refreshed*
" his spirits."
spharram activitatis, in an office, he had not been acquainted
with. — And there were many, who were very sorry out of parti
cular duty to the king ; who being young, they thought might
be without that counsel and advertisements which they knew
well he would still administer to him."
* The chancellor's spirits, however impaired, could hardly
have needed refreshment so much as did his memory ; else he
would not have related with the utmost self-complacency how
he did the very things, which he so much censures and condemns
others for having done. For instance ; he charges Colepepper
Life>voli with an intention to keep the place of chancellor of the exche
quer, " until he should get into quiet possession of the rolls,"
which implies certainly a future, probably a distant, and, as it
eventually proved, a time, which never came to pass. Yet he
himself thought it unnecessary to resign the former of these
offices after not only having been appointed to his embassy

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 39
" Dii immortales ! homini homo quid prsestat ! stulto intelli-
gens
" Quid interest ! Hoc adeo ex hac re venit in mentem mihi."
While sir Andrew Ague-cheek is lamenting,
that he " had not bestowed that time on the
" tongues, which he had in fencing, dancing, and
" bear-baiting ;" as though the two pursuits were
absolutely incompatible ; behold ! sir Edward
Hyde, not less, successful, than diligent in both:
and thus effectually securing the only two real
objects of his diplomatic mission : — the improve
ment of his understanding, and the refreshment
of his spirits.
That there was no delay in taking the first steps
towards the attainment of this important object,
most satisfactory proof is given. Fortunately the
ambassadors extraordinary arrived at Madrid,
when his most catholic majesty was celebrating
his recent nuptials amidst the most joyous and
splendid festivities. They were shortly waited on
by a gentleman, sent by the prime minister, Don
Lewis de Haro, " to invite their excellencies to Hist.
" all the fiestas; and to apprize them, that there p. 369.'
" would be places provided for them. The chan- Life, vol.
" cellor went that afternoon to the place assigned : p'
" where he saw the masquerade, and the running
" of the course : and the toros the day following."
" And so for two or three days together." Surely
the aforesaid worthy knight of Illyria never evinced
a more laudable alacrity and solicitude for the re
freshment of spirits ; though he says of himself—
" I am a fellow of the strangest mind i* th' world :
extraordinary, but when he had " got into quiet (in truth very
quiet) possession of it."

40 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" and delight in masks and revels sometimes alto-
" gether."* How far the chancellor of the exchequer's re
sidence at Madrid may be fairly termed- protracted,
H"1-. he has enabled the reader to judge. " All ways
p?458'. " were taken to. make them— (the ambassadors)
* Among the heretofore suppressed passages, now restored in
Hist- . the last edition, we find, that even during his journey the ex,
p. 362. traordinary ambassador was not unmindful of those duties,
which at Madrid were principally to engage his attention : for
he says, that he and his noble colleague " chose rather to make
" use of mules, till they came to Vittoria, .... than to wait for
" their letters at St. Sebastian's, of which they were heartily
" weary ; either because they had been compelled to stay there
" near twenty days against their will, or that it be indeed a most
" unpleasant place to live in, and where there are no kinds of
" advertisements." It seems, that the latter of the two was the more cogent rea
son ; because, notwithstanding their impatience to enter upon
their diplomatic functions, " when they came to Burgos, the
" Magistrates invited them to see the toros, which was per-
" formed the next day." So " they staid that day to see the
" fight." On his first arrival at Madrid, the chancellor of the exche-
P. 370. quer was immediately struck with the great superiority of the
bulls to those of Burgos ; " where they were much tamer, and
" where they were not' charged by men on horseback, and little
" harm done." The less perhaps on account of their not being
so charged. For at Madrid, there were in one of those days
" no fewer than sixteen horses, as good as any in Spain, 
"killed, and four or five men; besides many more of both
"hurt: and some men remained perpetually maimed." This
" was indeed to " find no boy's play here ;" but " harm" enough
"done" to satisfy any spectator, ' ut-quamvis avido.'
N.B. For a full and particular description of these Iberian
Circenses, see lord Clarendon's life. And for curious and inte
resting Anecdotes, connected with the same, bis History of the
Rebellion and Civil War in England may be consulted with ad
vantage.

P. 372.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 41
'.' —perceive, that it was heartily wished they were
" gone ; which they were resolved to take no
" notice of. In the end one morning the secre-
" tary of state came to them from the king ; and
" told them, ' that they had been now above a
" l year in that court, where they had been well
"¦' treated, notwithstanding some miscarriages,
"f which might very justly have incensed his
" ' catholic majesty,  that they were extra^
"' ordinary* ambassadors, and so needed not any
" ' letters of revocation ; that they had received
" ' answers to all they had proposed, and were at
" ' liberty to depart ; which his catholic majesty
" ' desired they would do.' "
" O' that mine adversary had written a book ;"
had he been an auto-biographer, a book written
by his adversary might very possibly have stood
Job in better stead, than all the Oral comfort ad
ministered by his friends.
Much curious matter in this extraordinary re
lation of an extraordinary embassy will yet re
main unnoticed, after one more extract from, it.
From their first entrance into Spain, the ambas
sadors had met with every possible discourage
ment, even to insult ; which could not but have
forced them to abandon their mission, if there
had been the slightest reality in the pretended
and ostensible objects of it. They had written
letters requesting that passports might be sent to
them at St. Sebastian ; and that a house might be
provided for them at Madrid. When after some
delay the passport was received, they found them
selves styled in it the ambassadors of the prince
* That they were indeed.

42 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
of Wales: and no notice taken of the application
for a house. After a month's delay at St. Sebas
tian, and that the wilful mistake, as to their titles,
had been rectified, they proceeded on their journey
as far as Alcavendas, within three leagues of
Madrid. There they were joined by sir Benjamin
Wright, the British minister, who informed them,
^0ie'i. that all things were in the same state : " that no
p- 264, " house was yet prepared for their reception ; and
" that there was an evident want of attention for
" them in the court." " Upon this new mortifica-
" tion, they writ again to don Lewis de Haro, to
HiBt " desire, that they might not be put to stay there
voi.vi. « for Want of a house : and so be exposed to con-
p. 364,4c. J -L , , __ , . A, ^
" tempt. Nor were they accommodated in that
" place in any degree." This remonstrance prov
ing not more successful, than the former, " after
" a week's stay in that little town, and ill accom-
" modation,  they went privately in the
"evening into Madrid in sir Benjamin Wright's
" coach, and came to his house : and if they had
" not been thus accommodated, they must have
"been exposed to reproach and infamy by the
" very little respect, they received from the court."
" The court well enough knew of their arrival, but
"took no notice of it." At last lord Cottington
requested and obtained a private audience of the
prime minister. ;
Still however, " there was yet no house provided
¦ yoiA. "for them, which they took very heavily; and
P. 273, &c. « believed, that it might advance that business, if
" they had once a public reception as ambassa-
" dors ; and therefore they resolved to demand an
<c audience."

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 43
Now what can be meant by " that business" but
the getting of a house P and to what else can the
"therefore" relate, of having demanded an au
dience ? Surely then it is a fair and natural in
ference, that, had they found on their arrival a
house provided, they might possibly not have
thought of applying for an audience at all.
The request, of being admitted to a public au
dience, having been granted ; — " Don Lewis came
" to be advertised that the ambassadors had pre-
" pared mourning for themselves, and all their
" train, against their audience ; which was true ;
"for they thought it the most proper dress to ap-
" pear in, and to demand assistance, to revenge the
" murder of their master, it being yet within the
" year" It is very clear, that Don Lewis thought
so too ; nay more, that in his opinion it was the
only one, in which they could possibly appear on
such an occasion, and for such a purpose ; and
therefore, (the object being to delay as long as
possible, if it should prove impracticable to evade
altogether, their being publicly acknowledged,)
" sent to them, that he hoped that when the whole
" court was in gala, upon the joy of the marriage
" of the king, and to give the queen a cheerful re-
" ception, they would not dishonour the festival
" by appearing in luto, which the king could
" but take unkindly ; which, he said, he thought
" to advertise them out of friendship."*
* Could the chancellor have been permitted till now to take
his station, evening after evening, —
" Robed in the sable garb of woe,"
amidst the gorgeous bravery of royal revels, or the radiant gal
lantry of chivalrous carousals ?

44 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" Whereupon, as well to comply in an affair
" which seemed to have somewhat of reason in it,
" as out of apprehension, that from hence they
" (that is to say Don Lewis) might take occasion
" to defer their audience, they changed their pur-
" pose, and caused new clothes to be made ; and
" then sent to demand their audience."
This could no longer be refused: and having
thus outwitted the Spanish minister, the result
was such, as they anticipated; for they imme-
Hist. diately "had a house provided for them in the
p°38i.' " Calle de Alcala, belonging to the marquis of
" Villa Magna, to whom the king paid four hun-
" dred pounds sterling by the year."
There it was that " they rested for some time
Life, " (above a year) without giving the court any
l°275,6. "further trouble, and enjoyed themselves in no
" unpleasant retreat from business ; if they could
" have put off the thought of the miserable con-
" dition of their master, and their own particular
" concernments in their own country."
" Denique, si conferendum exemplum est :" let
the reader, who delights in the contemplation of
powerful contrast, first turn his eyes to the chan
cellor's future illustrious colleagues, and friends;
to Ormond in Ireland, and Southampton in Eng
land; (nay, even on the so much reviled groom*
of the bedchamber,) .daily risking that forfeiture,
which Montrose in Scotland so gallantly incurred,
and so gloriously paid. Then let him view the
* " He did send over to the king, and had leave to stay"
"there; and sometimes supplied the king with considerable
" sums of money. Cromwell did hate him ; and desired to have
" taken his life." Clarendon's Hist, pages 494 and 501, vol. v.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 45
chancellor himself at the Spanish court; freely
indulging his equally strong propensities to literary
pursuits, and sportive recreations; his person in
safety, and his mind at ease ; unless when the oc
casionally intruding recollection of a royal " mas-
" ter's miserable condition" threw a transient
gloom Over the spirits of his adventurous servant,
and self-devoting minister of state : or when the
patriot's bosom heaved a sigh at the thought of
" his own particular concernments in his own coun-
" try" Among these it is consoling to reflect,
that his wife and children were not included. Sir
Edward, before he set out on his extraordinary
embassy, " on which two full years were spent,"
having had the satisfaction of knowing, that lady
Hyde and family were safely arrived, and com
fortably settled, at Antwerp.
Surely when the life of lord Herbert of Cherbury
was pronounced by its very ingenious editor to be
" the most extraordinary account, that was ever
" given by a wise man of himself," he must either
never have read, or else he must have forgotten,
the auto-biography of the " wisest," as well as
" best, of English statesmen." VI.
" It was discernible enough, that Mr. Ashburn-
" ham, who usually looked very far before him,
" had not so much intended to disoblige the chan-
" cellor, as, by introducing himself this way into
" the customs, to continue one of the farmers of
" the customs, when the war should be at an end ;
" of which he got a promise from the king at the
" same time."

46 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" It was discernible enough that Mr. Ashburn-
" ham, who usually looked very far before him."
Was it also discernible enough, on what object
this eagle-eyed speculator was intent on the 28th
of August, 1667 ? Clarendon house, then better
known as Dunkirk house, was yet standing—
" At non ingentem foribus domus alta superbis
Mane salutantum totis vomit sedibus undam."
Evelyn, Legge, and Ashburnham were on that day
the only guests seated at the sometime chancel
lor's so lately crowded board. The first of these
in his Diary, speaking of his noble host, says that
he found " his lordship pretty well in health ;
" though now many of his friends and sycophants
" abandoned him." But lord Clarendon himself
tells us further; that, though the king denied,
that he had forbidden any of his servants to
Life, vol. visit him, " yet it appeared more every day, that
iii. P. 297. (e they were kggj. looked on? wh0 forbore going
" to him, and the other found themselves upon
"much disadvantage."* And in a letter dated
* According to E chard, the king reprimanded sir Stephen
Fox, who was of his household, and member of the house of
commons, for having voted in favour of the earl of Clarendon.
To which sir Stephen replied, that " he knew the earl to be an
" honest man ; and was sure, he could never be guilty of the
" crimes laid to his charge."
Pepys has noted in his Diary, that sir Geo. Carteret told him,
that " the king do all he can in the world to overthrow my
" lord chancellor ; and that notice is taken of every man about
" the king, that is not seen to promote the ruin of the chan-
" cellor." N. B. Ashburnham was at this time, as well as Legge, still a
groom of the bedchamber.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 47
the 24th of September, 1667, addressed to his il
lustrious friend the duke of Ormond, he writes —
" The duke of York hath been, and is, as gracious
" to me, and as much concerned for me, as pos-
" sible. I have not many other friends to brag
" of. I confess I have so much mortification upon
" the observation of the humours of men, that the
" very ridiculousness thereof is some allay to the
" melancholic." To follow the fortunes of a fallen minister, or
to keep up a connection with him, may sometimes
have been the result of sordid calculation, or of
ambitious policy. But here lord Clarendon's age,*
his bodily infirmities, and domestic afflictions;
the recent death of the earl of Southampton, the
protracted absence of the duke of Ormond, and
the confirmed victory of their opponents ;— every
consideration forbade the hope of his regaining
his lost ascendancy. If ever therefore an un
equivocal proof was given of genuine respect, of
disinterested attachment, and of unfeigned pre
ference of " the house of mourning to the house
" of feasting ;" it was on this occasion manifest in
the conduct of that man, whom lord Clarendon
(as will be hereafter shewn) has deliberately and
studiously consigned to the odium, scorn, and
ridicule of succeeding ages, as a time-serving, self-
seeking, scheming sycophant.
It must however be admitted, that no man was
ever more entitled, or better warranted, to pass
* Ashburnham was himself five years older, having been
born in 1603.

48 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
on another the censure and reproach conveyed in
this sarcastic parenthesis* than lord Clarendon.
That his paternal estate was not large may be
inferred from the judged expediency of his adding
to it by the practice of that learned profession,
which he began to study, as many a young templar
has since done, in the society of wits, poets and
bon-viyants. After his emancipation from these fascinating
witcheries, both sensual f and intellectual, no long
time intervened, ere from having been returned
to the parliaments of 1640 and 1641, the lawyer
migrated first into the politician, and next into
the minister of state ; at a time, when the latter's
was least a thriving trade. And surely if any one
had asked, whether from the time, when the royal
standard had been raised, to that when the mo
narchy was restored, sir Edward Hyde's property
had escaped those sequestrations and confiscations,
by which the estates of other loyalists had been
impaired and dilapidated, the indignant answer
would probably have been returned in some such
words as these, which Addison has put into the
mouth of the Roman patriot ;
* " That Ashburnham usually looked very far before him."
f " He indulged his palate very much, and took even some
delight in eating and drinking well, but without any approach
e, vo . i. ^ juxury . an(j^ jn truth, rather discoursed like an epicure, than
was one; having. spent much time in the eating hours with
the earl of Dorset, &c. men who excelled in gratifying their
appetites." What therefore is said of there having been " no approach to
luxury" must be with reference only to the Attic Triclinium at
the mermaid in Friday- street ; with old Ben in the chair.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 49
" I should have blush'd, if Cato's house had stood
" Secure, and flourish'd in a civil war."
From out of what funds then was that gorgeous
palace raised, which with its stately gardens soon
covered the present site of Dover Street, Albemarle
Street, and Bond Street ; or out of which their
wages were paid to the keepers of Wychwood
Forest, of the Manor of Cornbury, or of Hyde
Park. It is little probable, that expences like
these should have been defrayed from the accu
mulated savings of the Wiltshire rents, or from
the frugal hoardings of many a well-earned pro
fessional fee. If then the above-mentioned grants
of crown lands were rendered available to their
purpose by less notorious gratuities* of royal
* Of these, the following have transpired :
1st. At page 385 of the continuation of his life, lord Claren
don has related that — " the king had often offered the chancel-
" lor to make him a baron,  but he had still refused it, and
" besought his majesty not to think of it ; that it would increase
" the envy against him if he should confer that honour upon
" him so soon ; but that hereafter, when his majesty's affairs
" should be settled, and he, out of the extraordinary perquisites
" of his office, should be able to make some addition to his small
"fortune, he would, with that humility that became him, re-
" ceive that honour from him."
" The king, in a few days after, coming to him, and being
" alone with him in his cabinet, at going away gave him a little
'• billet into his hand, that contained a warrant of his own hand-
" writing to sir Stephen Fox to pay to the chancellor the sum,
" of 20,000?  This bounty flowing immediately from
" the king,  and of which nobody could have notice, could
" not but much raise the spirits of the chancellor at such a
" melancholic conjuncture."
It seems that of these flowings or over-flowings of the king's
bounty, those which made the least noise, were always the more
VOL. I. E

50 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
munificence, lavish'd at a time, when penury and
policy, — " Res dura, ac regni novitas,"
were speciously pleaded in excuse of apathy and
ingratitude — an impartial judge will pause, before
he receives the verdict, by which lord Clarendon
is so emphatically pronounced, " the most virtuous
" of statesmen."
Still however with no other plea than that of
guilty can be met the charge, brought against
Ashburnham of having " usually looked very far
readily absorbed by the chancellor's gratitude. For we read (at
page 406) that he purposed to raise his fortune only " by the
" perquisites of his office, which were considerable at the first,
" and by such bounty of the king as might hereafter, without
" noise or scandal, be conferred on him in proper seasons and
" occurrences." 2ndly. We read in Pepys's Diary, Feb. 22, 1664. " The king
" has this day sent his order to the privy seal for the payment
" of this 20,000Z. to the chancellor to clear the mortgage."
N. B. On Clarendon Park ; subject to which it had been
granted to the duke of Albemarle, and by him sold to the noble
earl " whose title of earldome is fetched from thence."
It may be — it has been — asked, — are detractions from so il
lustrious a character as lord Clarendon's to be credited on the
obscure authority of Pepys ? Certainly not ; — whenever it be,
so much as possible, in reason to discredit them. But this can
hardly be the case in instances, where, in addition to the many
strong internal evidences of a general truth, and correctness of
statement, particular facts are in strictest analogy with others,
authenticated by the noble auto-biographer himself.
3rdly. The grant of 25,000Z. out of money voted to the king
by the parliament of Ireland, of which lord Clarendon has given
more than one account, — too much at length to be here inserted ;
but which, as too curious to be omitted, will be given at the end
of this disquisition at page 75.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 51
" before him." The proofs are too visible to be
concealed, and too substantial to be removed.
No sooner had the king's restoration liberated
him from an imprisonment of eight years, in which
he had been kept by Cromwell — "who (as our
noble historian asserts) " did hate him, and de,-
" sired to have taken his life, and would have
" been glad to have blasted his reputation," — than
we find, that he instantly relapsed into his former
inveterate habit. That within five years he had
completed, at his own expence, the rebuilding of
the church at Ashburnham, is attested by the
initials of his name, and the date of 1665 simply
carved on the unornamented coping of the chancel
door. His usual failing is further certified by the sig
natures of the minister and churchwardens to their
registered acknowledgement of having received
from him, on behalf of the parish, " all appliances
" and means to boot" for the due performance of
every service, and the solemnization of every rite,
prescribed by primitive, rather than reformed,
christian worship.
This was, it must be granted, " to look far — "
very far ! — " before him," since it could not have
been done with a view to find favour for himself,
or others, in the sight of any earthly king ; least
of all to propitiate the one, then seated on the
throne of England : who lived the life of an atheist,
and died the death of a papist.
" Had not so much intended to disoblige the
" chancellor."

52 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
Had he in the least,— had he at all,— intended
to disoblige the chancellor ? If he had, his cha
racter cannot have been such, as a contemporary,
to whom he was so well known, as the earl of
Clarendon, has deigned to describe it. It is little
probable, if possible, that an insinuating, subtle,
and assiduous observer, and promoter of his own
interests, should have been regardless of the ad
vantages to be derived from making to himself a
friend of that minister, whom, above all, it was
then the king's delight to honour ; and more espe
cially of the one " to whose office entirely belonged
" the direction of the customs ;" at the time too
when " to introduce himself as a farmer" of the
same was the grand object of his ambition.
In the Works of the noble Historian abundant
proof may be found, that the chancellor of the
exchequer was incapable of lending himself to
such base practices as those, which the lord high
chancellor was afterwards charged withal : as
" the prevailing to have the customs farmed at a
" lower rate, than others offered," to benefit him
self or to favour a protege\ But we are no where
warranted on the same authority, to ascribe to
Ashburnham the same conscientious scrupulosity.
" Of which he got a promise from the king at
" the same time."
Hist.voi.iu Ashburnham, according to lord Clarendon, " was
Hist. vol. v.'" of entire confidence with his master" — " he was
P. 382. " as entirely trusted by the king as any man in
p.49'3? 'v' " England" — " was known to have so great an

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 53
" interest in the affections of his majesty, and so
" great an influence on his counsels and resolu
tions"— " was one whom the king loved and Life, vol. i.
" trusted very much"—" for whom the king hadLelvou.
" a great affection and an extraordinary opinion" p' 20°-
— " who had power and credit with the king:" — Life,voi.i.
so that (as it will presently be shewn) he was at p- 225-
this time making peers as fast as a turner can
people a toy-shop with fac-similes. When there
fore presuming on all this confidence, trust, in
terest, influence, power, credit, love, affection and
opinion, he had contrived so far to —
" Screw his courage to the sticking place,"
as to venture to apply for (" prodigious bold re-
" quest") the situation of a farmer of the customs,
it is passing strange, that as " the port of Bristol
" was now within the king's quarters," he should
have preferred a contingent, remote, reversionary
grant, to the immediate appointment. But then
we are told, that he " usually looked very far be-
" fore him." And perhaps it may be with the
mind's eye, as it is with the grosser organ of ma
terial vision ; which as it becomes long-sighted,
loses its power to discern nearer objects without
artificial aid.
VII.
" If there remained after this any jealousy, or
" coolness between the chancellor of the exchequer
" and the other two," 
If there remained not any jealousy, it is here
" discernible enough" after the slow protracted

54 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
course of twenty-five eventful years, that there re
mained some yet baser passion in the breast of lord
Clarendon, unsubdued, and unmitigated. While
it is equally manifest, that the brief period of
scarcely twenty-seven months had sufficed to obli
terate from that tablet, on which deeper, and more
durable impression might well have been made,
all reminiscence, how, — at the time, when, by his
ungrateful sovereign, sacrificed to the malignity
of a ruthless faction ; — abandoned to the fury of a
deluded populace ; —
" Interque mcerentes amicos
" Egregius properaret exul;"
Ashburnham had been among those few, who
dared to evince their friendship, and testify their
sorrow. So much for that mortification, which the chan
cellor " took" as we are told (and as he has here
given it) " very heavily ;" which he has stated very
uncandidly; treated very contumeliously ; and
entitled very pompously—" the chancellor of the
" exchequer's office invaded by a groom of the
" bedchamber !" Was ever mole-hill magnified
into such a mountain ? Was ever mountain de
livered of so " ridiculous" a mouse ?

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 55

The next attack on this unfortunate groom of
the bedchamber, now to be introduced under
another title, soon occurs in the auto-biographi
cal pages of our illustrious annalist. If it were
not difficult to convey a sufficient knowledge of
the whole transaction, so circumstantially detailed,
by transcribing only such as may appear the more
material parts, the attempt would be injudicious ;
since however unintentionally the selections, or
rejections, might be unfairly made; and hence
induce suspicions of a design to garble the rela
tion, which it is professed to abridge. But surely
for extracting largely from so admired a writer,
especially where he is narrating events, of which
he himself was an eye-witness, and still more —
" quorum pars magna fuit,"
there can be little expediency to apologize. If
there be, the best compensation, which can be
made, is that, as compared with the antecedent
article, there will be more of text ; so, that in like
proportion, there shall here be less of comment.
The reader will thus be doubly a gainer, both
positively and negatively, by the change.
The king said, " he hoped that he (chancellor LifeT0li
" of the exchequer) would give him (duke of Rich- p> 222j &c-
" mond) good counsel ; for he had not of late
" lived towards him in the manner he was used to
" do ; that he knew well the duke was a very

56 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" honest and worthy man, and had all the kind-
" ness, as well as duty for his majesty ; but that
" he was grown sullen, or discontented, and had
" not the same countenance as he used to have ;
" for which he could imagine no other reason,
" but that his man Webb gave him ill-counsel :
" he said, he was well contented that he (the duke)
" should take notice, that his majesty was not well
" satisfied. The chancellor of the exchequer accordingly
waited the same day on the duke. And after
he had spent a short time with him, he said, " he
" thought it was time to go to Oriel college, (where
" the committee for secret affairs used to meet)
" and asked his grace, whether he would please
" to go thither. For which he making some ex-
" cuse, the other pressed him with some earnest-
" ness, and said, it was observed that he had a
" good time declined that meeting, and if he
" should not now go thither, he should be doubt-
" ful there was some reason for it.
" The duke replied, that he had indeed been
" absent from thence for some time, and that he
" would deal clearly with him as his friend, but
" desired it should not be known ; that he was re-
" solved to be there no more. Then complained,
" that the king was not kind to him ; at least, had
" not that confidence in him which he had used
" to have : and then spake of many particulars
" loosely ; and especially, that before the treaty,
" he had advised the king to use all the means
" he could to draw them to a treaty, for many
" advantages which were like to be gotten by

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 57
" it ; and to that purpose produced a letter that
" he had newly received from the countess of Car-
" lisle, and read it to his majesty, who then seemed
" not to be moved with the contents ; but after-
" wards, in several discourses, reflected upon it in
" such a manner, as if he were jealous that the'
" duke held too much correspondence with that
" people : which he looked upon as such a point
" of diffidence, that it was no longer fit for him to
" be present when the secret part of his affairs
" was transacted ; and so he had and would for-
" bear to meet in that place, till his majesty should
" entertain a better opinion of him : yet he con-
" cealed the trouble of mind which he sustained ;
" and wished that no notice might be taken of it.
" The chancellor told him, it was too late for
" that caution ; that the lords themselves could
" not but observe his long absence, who before
" used to be the most punctual ; and confessed to
" him, that the king himself had spoken to him of
" it with a sense of wonder and dislike 
" In sum, it was easy to discern, that the thing
" that troubled him was the power and credit
" that John Ashburnham had with the king ;
" which his vanity made him own to that de-
" gree, that he was not content to enjoy the
" benefit of it, except he made it public, and to
" be taken notice of by all men ; which could not
" but reflect upon his honour : and when the chan-
" cellor seemed to think it impossible, that himself
" could believe that the king could prefer a man
u of Mr. Ashburnham's talent before his grace,

58 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" he proceeded with many instances, and insisted
" with most indignation upon one.
" That about a year before, sir John Lucas, who
" was well known to his grace, having met him
" abroad in his travels, and ever after paid a par
ticular respect to him, had applied himself to
" him, and desired his favour ; that when there
" should be any opportunity offered, he would re-
" commend him to the king, to whom he was not
" unknown : that his affection to his majesty's
" service was notorious enough, and that his suf-
" ferings* were so likewise, his house being the
" first that was plundered in the beginning of the
" war ; by which, the loss he sustained in furni-
" ture, plate, money, and stock, was very con-
" siderable ; so that he might modestly hope, that
" when his majesty scattered his favours upon
" others of his own rank, his poor service might
" likewise be remembered : but he had seen men
" raised to dignities, who he was sure had not
" the advantage over him in their sufferings, what-
" ever they might have in their actings ; and he
" desired no more, but (since it was too evident
" that his majesty's wants were great, and that
" money would do him some service) that he might
" receive that degree of honour, which others had,
* This is noticed in the History of the Rebellion, vol. iii. p.
229, wherein it appears further that sir John Lucas's life was
saved by the interference of the mayor of Colchester. Who was
however compelled to send him to the common gaol, " where
" he remained, glad of that security, till the house of commons
" removed him to another prison, without ever charging him
" with any crime."

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 59
" and he would make such a present to him as
" should manifest his gratitude ; and he desired
" to owe the obligation to his grace, and to re-
" ceive it only by his mediation.
" He said, he had moved this matter, with the
" relation of all the circumstances, to his majesty,
" who spake very graciously of the gentleman, as
" a person of merit, but said, he was resolved to
" make no more lords ; which he received as a
" very good answer, and looked upon as a good
" resolution, and commended it ; desiring only,
" that if at any time his majesty found it neces-
" sary to vary from that resolution, he would re-
" member his proposition, and gratify that gentle-
" man ; which he promised to do ; and with all
" which he acquainted the person concerned ;
" thinking, it could not but well satisfy him. But
" he told him, that he was sorry that he could not
" receive the honour by his grace's recommen-
" dation ; but for the thing itself, he could have
" it when he would ; and shortly after it was des-
" patched by Mr. Ashburnham : he asked whether
" this was not preferring Mr. Ashburnham very
" much before him. The chancellor told him, he
" was preferred as the better market-man, and
" that he ought not to believe that the king's
" affection swayed him to that preference, but an
" opinion that the other would make the better
" bargain. He replied, that his majesty was de-
" ceived in that, for he had told him what the
" other meant to give, without the least thought
" of reserving any thing for himself; whereas his
" majesty had now received five hundred pounds

60 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" less, and his market-man had gotten so much
" for his pains.
" In conclusion, he prevailed so far with him,
" that they went that afternoon together to the
" Committee to Oriel college ; and the next day the
"chancellor spake with the king again, and told
" him, that the duke had been in the afternoon
" with the committee, where many things had been
" consulted ; and that he found all his trouble pro-
" ceeded from an apprehension, that his majesty
" had withdrawn his affection from him ; at least,
" that he, the duke, had not the same credit with
" his majesty which he had formerly had ; and that
" the sense and fear of that, could not but make
" an impression upon a good servant, who loved
" his master as well as he did. His majesty said,
" they two should not live as well together as
" they had done, as long as the duke kept his
" man Webb ; who made him believe that the
" king was wholly governed by Ashburnham, and
" cared not for any body else. He said, nobody
" who knew him could believe he could be go-
" verned by Ashburnham ; who, though an honest
" man, and one that he believed loved him well,
" no man thought was of an understanding su-
" perior to his majesty ; and enlarged himself
" upon this argument so much, that he seemed as
" it were glad of the opportunity to clear himself
" from that aspersion or imputation."
The maxim " ut nequid falsi dicere audeat, ne-
" quid veri non audeat," however as a motto it
may grace the title-page of the History of the Re-

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 61
bellion, has in the work itself been as little ob
served by its so superstitiously accredited author,
as by any other of least vaunted authenticity.
With respect to Ashburnham it shall be unde
niably attested, even by himself, that he has not
feared to say. that, which is false: — in point of
fact absolutely false: — nay more, that, of which
however possibly not aware at the moment of
writing it, he must in some instances antecedently,
and in others subsequently, have known to be so.
And surely if not the internal conciousness of an
uncontroulable antipathy, the too manifest be
trayal of a predominant enmity might have warned
him, for his own sake, to verify and ascertain
those facts, by the misrepresentation of which he
has so basely and foully calumniated a man, as
innocent, and as honourable, as himself: one,
whose disinterested attachment, and zealous de
votion to their royal master, will bear at least as
strict a scrutiny as his own.
Most assuredly the duke of Richmond was, as
the king is here said to have pronounced him to
be, " a very honest and worthy man." But many
a very honest and worthy man has thought, and
spoken, and acted, very unlike himself, when in a
very ill-humour. Such was the unusual temper
of his grace's mind at the moment, when he is re
presented to have accused Ashburnham of a dis
graceful and abominable abuse of the royal favour.
But let it be remembered, that however correct in
point of fact the statement may be, the language,
in which it has been given is that of one, who was
equally an avowed friend to the former, and an

62 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
undisguised enemy to the latter. A further pre
liminary remark, which is here submitted, as no
frivolous objection to the unreserved admission of
all this full and minute detail, (and the same will
be, as it has been, of frequent application,) that
the third part of Clarendon's Life, from which this
extract is taken, bears the date of November 5th,
1669, being twenty-six years after the occurrence
of the event there recorded. We are no where
told that the noble writer was in the habit of
noting down at the moment these " Memorabilia,"
so very worthy of transmission to all succeeding
ages. Indeed the preface to the first edition of
his life seems to discountenance the notion; as
does the internal evidence of almost every relation
in the work itself. Surely then where the precise
words are purported to be given, after such a lapse
of time, some more satisfactory vouchers than
unaided and unrefreshed reminiscences are neces
sary to merit unqualified acceptation.* When
the illustrious biographer, relating the gracious
expressions in which the king announced the re
solution to appoint Ned Hyde his secretary of
* " Faciunt aliena pericula cautum." There are few who
have less profited from the experience of others than the author
of this Vindication. Yet here for once it has not been thrown
away upon him. Having, before he began to write these com
ments, exceeded the age, at which lord Clarendon had finished
his great Historical Work, he has taken care to enable himself
iri all matters, whether of fact or of opinion, not only to name
his authorities, but to submit to his reader's better judgment the
several passages, faithfully transcribed ; precluding thereby the
possibility of even unintentionally misleading others by his- own
involuntary misapprehensions.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 63
state, adds in parenthesis— (" these were his ma-
" jesty's own words :") is it not naturally to be in
ferred, that all the others are lord Clarendon's
own words ?
Little could the duke of Richmond have ex
pected, or earnestly would he have deprecated,
that of his whole life (with the honourable tenour
of which it is so much at variance and in contrast)
this passage' should be the one most circumstan
tially and indelibly perpetuated in a record,

aere perennms.

Among some portraits of John Ashburnham's
most distinguished contemporaries, which have
continued till now as heir-looms in his family, is
one of the duke of Richmond. For its merit and
value, as a work of art, the present possessor of it
is far less earnest to contend, than for the reason
ableness of the gratifying hope, which he indulges,
that it may have been originally placed there a
token of friendship, or a pledge of reconciliation,
between two men, who in their respective stations
were well entitled to each other's esteem and re
ciprocal consideration. " Credo equidem : — nee vana fides."
Their zeal and fidelity, their exertions and suffer
ings, in a common cause ; their necessarily con
sequent intercourse throughout the calamitously
eventful period from the close of 1643 to that of
1648; the affectionate confidence, with which
both were honoured by their royal master ; and

64 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
his well known benign solicitude,* that those,
whom he loved, and by whom he thought him
self beloved, should also love one another : and
(" though last not least") the absence abroad of
the chancellor of the exchequer ; who after the
4th of March, 1644, never saw the king, or the
duke ; all unite to render the gratifying supposi
tion not improbable.
But the hope rests not in plausible conjectures
alone. These are powerfully corroborated by a
fact, which, as being verified in the parliamentary
journals (Dec. 8th, 1645), shall here be given in
lord Clarendon's own words.
Hi3390l'v" " He (the king,) sent again to the parliament,
" that they would send a safe conduct for the
" duke of Richmond, and the earl of Southampton,
" Mr. John Ashburnham and Mr. Geoffrey Pal-
" mer ;-f- by whom he would make such particular
" propositions to them as he hoped would pro-
" duce a peace."
Surely it would little accord with the character
given by the noble historian of the king, and of
the duke, to suppose, that the former would pro
pose, or the latter accept Ashburnham for a col
league in a commission consisting of four persons
only ; if his grace had still continued to entertain
the same opinion of the market-man, as he is here
* Exemplified in his earnest endeavour to effect a reconcilia
tion between sir John Colepepper and sir Edward Hyde ; and
again to obtain the chancellor's forgiveness for Ashburnham,
the invader of his office.
t Afterwards attorney general.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 65
said to have declared to the chancellor of the ex
chequer. I.
" He (sir John Lucas) desired to owe the obli-
" gation to his grace, and to receive it only by his
" mediation." How is this declaration reconcilable with sir
John Lucas's subsequent reply, when on the duke's
informing him of the failure of his application to .
the king ; namely that " he was sorry, that he
" could not receive the honour by his grace's re
" commendation, but for the thing itself he could
" have it when he would ?" Because from this it
would appear that sir John Lucas had first secured
to himself the promise of a peerage, and then
asked the duke to obtain it for him.
II.
" And shortly after it was despatched by Mr.
" Ashburnham." The natural inference therefore seems to be that
this business had been already despatched at the
time, of which lord Clarendon is here speaking :
that is to say towards the close of the year 1643 ;
or very early in 1644. Because this transaction
is related in part iii. of lord Clarendon's Life ; in
the concluding paragraph of which it is stated,
that lord Clarendon left Oxford on the 4th of
March, 1644. " And this was the last time, the
" chancellor ever saw that gracious and excellent
" king." VOL. I. F

66 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
But it appears, that the creation of the barony
of Lucas of Shenfield was in 1645, (on the autho
rity of Bank's Extinct Baronage, and Beatson's
Political Index.)*
In the 15th of Charles IL, Mary, the only
daughter and heiress of lord Lucas, was created
baroness Lucas of Crudwell, with remainder to
her heirs, male or female, by her husband, Antony
earl of Kent. By the marriage of John Ash-
• burnham's great grandson with Jemima, second
daughter-^ of Henry duke of Kent, his descen
dants in the fourth generation, are within the li
mitation of the patent. Here again we see the
" great appearance of truth," with which Ash
burnham is said to have " usually looked Very far
" before him." III.
" The chancellor told him, he (Ashbumham)
" was preferred as the better market-man."
It is presumed that a market-man is one em
ployed by the owner of a commodity, who wishes
to sell it for the best price, that can be obtained
for it. Now it is here stated, that the king " was
" resolved to make no more lords," that is, to sell
no more peerages. How came he then among his
retainers to have a market-man ? That his ma-
* According to Dugdale, sir John Lucas was made baron
Lucas by letters patent, dated 3rd of January, 20th year of
Charles I. Whose accession to the throne was on the 27th
March, 1625.
t The countess de Grey, as descended from the eldest daugh
ter of Henry duke of Kent, is now baroness Lucas of Crudwell.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 67
jesty was at all times very averse from dealing in
this sort of merchandise, may be further seen at
page 257, vol. iii. of the History of the Rebellion.
" There was a gentleman of a very good extrac-
" tion, and of the best estate of any gentleman of
" that country, who lived within four or five miles
" of Shrewsbury, and was looked upon as a very
" prudent man, and had a very powerful influence
u upon that people, and was of undoubted affec-
" tions and loyalty to the king, and to the govern-
" ment both in church and state : his eldest son
" was a young gentleman of great expectation,
" and of excellent parts, a member of the house
" of commons, who had behaved himself there
" very well. This gentleman intimated to a friend
" of his, ' that if his father might be made a baron,
" ' he did believe he might be prevailed with to
" ' present his majesty with a good sum of money.'
" It was proposed to the king, who had no mind
" to embrace the proposition, his majesty taking
" occasion often to speak against e making merchan-
" c dize of honour ; how much the crown suffered
" ' at present by the licence of that kind, which had
" ' been used during thefavour of the duke of Buck-
" ' ingham ; and that he had not taken a firmer re-
" ' solution against many things, than against this
" 'particular expedient for raising money" How-
" ever after he returned from Chester and found
" by the increase of his levies, and the good dispo-
" sition all things were in, that he might in a short
" time be able to march, and in so good a con
dition, that he should rather seek the rebels, than
" decline meeting with them, if the indispensable

68 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" want of money did not make his motion im-
" possible ; the merit and ability of the person,
" and the fair expectation from his posterity, he
" having two sons both very hopeful, prevailed
" with his majesty to resume the same overture ;
" and in a few days it was perfected, and the gen-
" tleman was made a baron, who presented the
" sum of six thousand pounds to his majesty."
It is observable that none of the parties in this
transaction are named. With respect to one of
them, the friend of this young gentleman, by
whom it was proposed to the king, some curiosity
is naturally excited. We know, that a friend on
such occasions, a proposer of such overtures, and
manager of such bargains, is denominated " a
market-man ;" such at least is the title bestowed
on Ashburnham. But he could hardly have been
the market-man on this occasion. For the noble
historian is not much in the habit of eulogizing
those between whom and Ashburnham a friend
ship subsisted. On the contrary an appeal may
he confidently made to all, who have been attentive
readers of the History of the Rebellion, and
Clarendon's Life, whether their illustrious author
has not often alluded to himself in terms at least
as circuitous, enigmatical, and mysterious.
IV.
" He, (the duke of Richmond) replied his ma-
" jesty was deceived in that, for he had told him,
" what the other meant to give, without the least
" thought of reserving any thing for himself;

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 69
" whereas his majesty had now received five hun-
" dred pounds less, and his market-man had gotten
" so much for his pains."
After that, the duke had told the king what
sir John Lucas meant to give, without the least
thought of reserving any thing for himself, could
his majesty have received five hundred pounds less,
and his market-man gotten so much for his pains,
without the bribe, fraud, or embezzlement being
instantly detected ? If indeed instead of the king's
having received five hundred pounds less, it were
stated, that sir John Lucas had paid five hundred
pounds more than the price, which the duke had
told the king that he meant to give ; then indeed
there might have been a presumption, that " the
" market-man had gotten so much for his pains."
Since from the king's not getting less than he had
been taught to expect, the peculation might not
have been discovered. But this has not been
stated. And in what has been stated, it is sub
mitted, that there is not a fair pretext for charg
ing Ashburnham with rapacity, venality, and a
disgraceful abuse of unmerited favour.
And then what a solution would this be of sir
John Lucas's very flattering preference of the
duke's recommendation to that of Ashburnham !
The former to be had gratis ; the latter by the
payment of five hundred pounds! Truly if this
were really so, it would appear, that, as for any
acquired skill in well-imagined, well-timed, and
well-turned compliments, sir John Lucas must
have returned from " his travels abroad," like sir
Wilful Witwoud, — " as much improved, as a
" Dutch skipper from a whale-fishery."

70 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
What then but an inveterate antipathy, and in
terminable hate, could have betrayed lord Cla
rendon into thus circumstantially relating a tran
saction, wherein appear so little to advantage, three
persons, whom he " so entirely loved," as the duke
of Richmond, the king, and himself?
" Tantum odiis iraeque dabat."
The duke guided by his man Webb ; the king
governed by his market-man. His grace, instead
of remonstrating respectfully, yet firmly, on this
real or imaginary slight ; in a tone equally be
fitting a dignified consciousness of his own worth,
and a due sense of the justice and affection of an
" approved good master," absents himself from the
council board, and the presence chamber ; leaving
king, ministers, and courtiers to form their several
conjectures and surmises on the mysterious cause
of a sullen moodiness, evident to all. While his
majesty yields to the mercenary importunities of
a rapacious favourite that honour denied to the
well-attested services and sufferings of a meri
torious, faithful, and devoted loyalist. Lastly, the
chancellor of the exchequer himself (in the former,
as well as the present extract), is seen so hostilely
propense, so injuriously prejudiced, so malevolently
unjust, as to warrant, the advocate of John Ash
burnham to say, on the behalf and in the name of
his much calumniated Client, —
" I do believe,
" Induc'd by potent circumstances, that
" You are mine enemy ; and make my challenge. —
" You shall not be my judge."

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 71
In what manner the chancellor of the exche
quer's friendship with the duke of Richmond was
contracted, or rather solemnized, is a matter of
too much importance for the illustrious auto-bio
grapher to have passed over unnoticed ; and of too
much curiosity for his obscure commentator to
leave unnoted.
" The chancellor, with the king's approbation,
" forms a friendship with the duke of Richmond." ^j*01, ''
" When his majesty arose from council, the
" duke of Richmond whispered somewhat pri-
" vately to him, upon which the king went into
" his bedchamber ; and the duke called the chan-
" celloiv and told him, the king would speak with
" him, and so took him by the hand, and led him
" into the bedchamber ; the privilege and dignity
" of which room was then so punctually preserved,
" that the king very rarely called any privy-coun-
" sellor to confer with them there, who was not
" of the bedchamber : which maintained a just
" reverence to the place, and an esteem of those,
" who were admitted to attend there." (Query :
grooms included ?)
" As soon as he came into the room, before he
" said any thing to the king, who was there alone,
" the duke spake to the chancellor, and told him,
" that he had been brought up from his childhood
" by the crown, and had always paid it the obe-
" dience of a child ; that as he had taken a wife
" with the approbation and advice of the crown,
" so he had never made a friendship, which he took
" to be a kind of marriage, without the king's

72 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" privity and particular approbation ; that he had
" long had a kindness for him, but had taken
" time to know him well, which he thought he
" now did ; and therefore had asked his majesty's
" consent, that he might make a friendship with
" him: and then said to the king, ' Sir, have I
" ' not your approbation to this conjunction?' To
" which his majesty said, ' Yes, my lord, I am very
" ' glad of it ; and I will pass my word to you for
"'the chancellor, that you will not repent it;'
" with many gracious expressions to them both :
" and so the duke led him out of the room again,
" saying, ' now, Mr. Chancellor, it is in your power
" e to deceive me? "
Having been thus admitted, as it were, to wit
ness so grave and pompous a mummery, so bur
lesque and ludicrous a solemnity ; one is tempted
to exclaim like father Foigard, at the mutual
self-pronounced divorce between Mr. and Mrs.
-Sullen — " Upon my shoul, a very pretty shere-
" mony." So far as the preliminary substitution of a special
license for the publication of banns, this " kind of
" marriage" seems to have been very much the
same as any other. The greatest difference is
perceptible at the conclusion ; when the duke
having again handed out of the closet his better
half, said — " Now, Mr. Chancellor, it is in your
" power to deceive me." In the more ordinary
" conjunctions," cela va sans dire : making no
part of the ritual, it is neither said, nor sung.
The matter not being irrelevant it might be
deemed uncandid here to suppress a circumstance

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 73
little creditable to the " managery" of the king's
" market-man ;" and to his majesty's extraordinary
opinion of it : and the more remarkable, as it
concerned his own interests; to which, we are
assured, that he was principally, if not exclu
sively, atten-tive.
Lord Clarendon's account of this business oc
curs at page 170, vol. i. of his life, and is, as
follows : —
On the death of sir Charles Caesar, the master
of the rolls, " sir John Colepepper, who had long
" had a promise from the king of that place, when
" it should become void, now pressed the per-
" formance of it : which was violently opposed
" by many, partly out of ill will to him, (for he
" had not the faculty of getting himself much
" loved,) and as much out of good husbandry,
" and to supply the king's necessities with a good
" sum of money, which Dr. Duck was ready to
" lay down for the office. And the king was so
" far wrought upon, that he paid down three
" thousand pounds in part of what he was to give ;
" but his majesty caused the money to be repaid,
" and resolved to make good his promise to sir
" John Colepepper, who would by no means re-
" lease him."
It has been said of some men, that their geese
are swans. Surely lord Clarendon is here passing
off this duck for a very great goose : when he re
presents him to have paid down ^uch a sum, in
part only of the exorbitant price to be given, for
the mastership of the rolls : at a time when his
honour, without a court for his suitors, or suitors

74 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
for his court, could not so much as have said, like
M. Bartolin in " l'Avocat Patelin."
" Je veux au moins avoir un avocat a mon audience."
That the presbyterian ornithologists considered
him to be of the " genus anser," is evident from
their having been in the habit of plucking him
alive most unmercifully. For instance,
Commons Journals, November 12, 1642.
" Resolved :
" That Dr. Duck shall forthwith be sent
" for, as a delinquent : and that the captains that
" lie near Chiswick, be required to search his house
" at Chiswick, for arms, horse, money and plate,
" and to seize them for the commonwealth. And
" if they can light upon him to send him up
" likewise." This surely was treating a learned civilian very
cavalierly; or, more correctly speaking, very round-
headedly. Since it betrayed more eagerness to
secure his plate, than his company. Whether the
captains happened to light on the doctor, we are
not told. Nor, as being so very much a secon
dary consideration, is the omission to be wondered
at, or regretted. But Whitelocke in his Memorials
informs us, that —
Jan. 19th 1646.
" The House ordered 300/. to be paid to Mrs.
" Settle, a widow, out of Dr. Duck's Estate."
It is probable that Dr. Duck had already entered
into the holy and happy state of matrimony. Else

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 75
he had reason to think himself very well off, that
they did not settle him, as well as part of his
estate, on this widow-gentlewoman,* whose name
invites a similar observation to the one, which
Falstaff could not refrain from making on that of
Justice Silence. — " It well befits, that he should be
" of the peace."
Now in John Ashburnham's " True and perfect
" Account," &c. to which reference has already
been given, it will be seen, that the largest sum
acknowledged to have been received from any in
dividual, is that of " 3,800/. from Dr. Duck,"
which according to lord Clarendon was only 3000/.
If therefore these two statements had been re
versed : if the former had named the smaller, and
the latter the larger sum, the document must have
been suppressed altogether; or at least the par
ticular entry omitted. Because it would then to
a certainty have been said (and of course, " with
" great appearance of truth,") that the market-man
had only carried to account the 3000/., having put
the 800/. into his own pocket. As it is, we have
only a proof, on what an inadequate foundation
the king's " extraordinary opinion of his mana-
" gery" had been raised.

(See note, p. 50.)
In lord Clarendon's vindication of himself against
the impeachment of the commons, there is given
of this grant an account almost as extraordinary
* Ralpho insists that Hudibras has the absolute right to
dispose of Crowdero in any way he may please.

76 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
as that of his own embassy extraordinary, and of
the extraordinary ambassador himself.
It appears that immediately after the Restora
tion the parliament of Ireland imposed " a cer-
Life,voi.ii. « tain sum of money upon some specified lands in
" several provinces, which was to be paid to his
" majesty within a limited time, and to be disposed
" of by his majesty to such persons who had served
" him faithfully, and suffered in so doing."
" He (the lord chancellor) often protested that
" he never saw the act of parliament, and was
" most confident that he never heard of it at the
" time, when it passed," — and in order to place
beyond the reach of scepticism so strange an as
sertion he adds : — " he being often absent from
" the council, by reason of the gout, or other acci-
" dents." As if acts of parliament are no where
heard of but at the council board !
Moreoverif everthe parliament of Ireland passed
an act, which could not fail to attract universal
attention, and excite general interest throughout
England, it was this ; which encouraged the ex
pectation of a welcome afflux at a period when
there was no palling glut, no surfeiting repletion
of superabundant species ; and no lack of famished
supplicants, or voracious claimants. It is noto
rious that " soon after the king's happy return,"
the lord chancellor was not so much his prime, as
his sole, minister. That he was such virtually,
though not nominally, he himself repeatedly ad
mits, or affirms* Was he not, then, most specially
* The chancellor was generally thought to have most credit
with his master, and most power in the councils ; because the

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 77
bound to advise in the distribution of the money
placed at the king's discretion, for this specific
purpose ? Yet " he never heard of the act, till
" two years after it had been passed !"
How then can the lord chancellor's protestation
be credible, or intelligible, but as a quibbling,
Jesuitical equivocation ? He might safely protest
that he had never seen, the act itself: and yet, of
necessity, be well apprized of the nature and pur
port of every clause. His never having " heard
" of it at the time, when it passed," is no presump
tive proof, that he did not hear of it immediately
after. That he must of necessity so have heard of it
cannot admit of doubt. By Poyning's act* (in
the reign of Henry VII.) the lord lieutenant was
bound to transmit to the English privy council
the head of every bill to be proposed in the Irish
parliament. Now at this time (soon after the
Restoration) the privy council was sir Edward
Hyde. He was then in possession of that, to
which Bottom the weaver, had in vain aspired, —
a monopoly of the whole dramatis personae.
king referred all matters of what kind soever to him. Continua
tion of Life, vol. i. p. 363. Burnet says, " He (the king) did then
" so entirely trust the earl of Clarendon, that he left all to his
" care, and submitted to his advices, as to so many oracles."
* Stat. 10, Henry VII. Chap. iv.
' An act that no parliament be holden in this land, until the
' acts be certified unto England.' Rot. Pari. Cap. 9.
In Henry VHIth's reign, there appears to have been a repeal,
or rather a temporary suspension of this act. But the eleventh
of Elizabeth revived it in a form in which it continued in force
tiU the union. See Appendix..

78 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
< Often as he was absent from the privy council
' by reason of the gout,' we learn also upon the
same authority, it was not seldom that at those
times the king used to go to him for advice,*
and his colleagues in office for instructions. On
one occasion the duke of Ormond's purpose was
to prevail upon him to give up the great seal,
and to take on himself the title, as well as office,
of prime minister. But the chancellor was not
to be prevailed on, even at the instance of his
illustrious friend, to grasp at the shadow of power,
and thereby to risk the letting drop from his hand
the substance : he had not so fruitlessly meditated
on the spirit of the English constitution, the temper
of the public mind, and the moral of yEsop's fable.
Yet we read that it was not till two years after
Life voi.ii.w^en " no man can be more surprised, than the
p. 93. « chancellor was, at the receipt of a letter" in
which lord Orrery informed him, there was now
payable to his use the sum of 12,600/. ; and
that there would be the like sum received at
the end of six months. On this the chancellor,
" without returning any answer to the earl of
" Orrery, writ by that post to" (his friend, the
duke of Ormond,) " the lord lieutenant, to in-
" form him of what the earl of Orrery had writ
" to him, and desired him to inform him by his
" own enquiry, what the meaning of it was." In
answer, the lord lieutenant " informed him at
" large, what title he had to that money, and how
* ' The gout did often disable him from waiting on the king ;
' yet during his credit, the king came constantly to him, when
he was laid up by it.' Burnet's History.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 79
" he came to have it : that shortly after the passing
" that act of parliament, which had given his ma-
" jesty the disposal of the money before men-
" tioned, the earl of Orrery had come to him, the
" lord lieutenant, and putting him in mind, how
" the chancellor had rejected all overtures which
" had been made to him of benefit out of that
" kingdom,  and wished that he would move
" the king to confer some part of that money upon
" the chancellor ; which the lord lieutenant very
" willingly did, and his majesty as cheerfully
" granted." It is natural to conclude, that he, who was thus
anxious, that such merits as lord Clarendon's
should be adequately appreciated, and rewarded,
must himself have been a meritorious man. Hence
it cannot be unacceptable to apprize, or remind
the reader, that the earl of Orrery, better known
as the lord Broghill, had really been (what others
are erroneously stated to have been) " of nearest
"trust with Cromwell;" to whom he had been
eminently serviceable, especially in managing the
affairs of Ireland. This noble lord had now in a
similar employment transferred to the present
king, the zeal and ability, which had been before
devoted to the late lord protector.*
In Macpherson's Original Papers, among the
" Extracts from the Life of King James II. writ-
" ten by himself," occurs the following character
of this noble personage. — " They began to think
* " The lord Broghill had been eminently against the king,
" but upon this turn, when all other powers were down, emi-
" nently for him." Continuation of Life, vol. ii. p. 49.

80 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" of removing Ormonde from; the lord lieutenancy
" of Ireland. 'Twas the earl of Orrery, who first
" put Buckingham on it : which earl was famous
" for changing parties so often : and for making a
" speech to Cromwell, to take the title of king.
" His tongue was well hung. He had some good
" parts : and he was reckoned so cunning a man,
" that nobody would trust him, or believe what
" he said."
Yet it is evident, that the royal annalist's father^
in-law trusted him, so far as to believe what he
had written, when bidding him to prepare for
25,200/. which no ill wind was blowing across the
Irish channel in the very teeth of him, and against
which there was no standing. This however was
in the year 1662. Whereas king James is speak
ing of a political intrigue which did not happen
till 1668.
Life,voi.u. The noble historian says, that the king had
" resolved to retain all that should by forfeiture
" or otherwise come to his majesty in his own
" power ; to the end, that when the settlement
" should be made, he might be able to gratify
" those of the Irish nation, who had any thing of
" merit towards him, or had been least faulty. . . . .
" And though the king had before designed all
"those forfeited lands to his brother the duke,
" yet his highness was so pleased with the resohi-
" tion his majesty had taken, to retain them to
" that purpose, that he forebore to prosecute that
" grant, till he heard of great quantities of land
" every day granted away by his majesty to his
" servants and others  And then he resolved to

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 81

" be no longer a loser for the benefit of those, who
" had no pretence to what they got"
" The king had swerved from that rule, before Life.voi.i
" it was scarce discerned ; and the error of it may
" be very justly imputed to the earl of Orrery, and
u to none but him ; who believing that he never
" could be well enough at court, except he had
" courtiers of all sorts obliged to him, who would
" therefore speak well of him in all places and
" companies i  he commended to many of such
" friends  many suits of that kind, and sent
" certificates to them, oftentimes under his own
" hand, of the value those suits might be to
" them, if obtained  Then he directed them a
" way  for the more immediate passing those
" grants they could obtain, without meeting those
" obstructions which they had been subject to :
" for when any of those grants had been brought to
" the great seal of England, the chancellor always
" stopped them."
Having thus traced to its main, and primary
spring, this complicated movement of his sove
reign's liberality, and having obtained from his
friend secretary Nicholas, " a large account of
" many gracious circumstances in the king's grant-
" ing it, and the obligation laid on him of secrecy,* p. 94.

* In the letter to which his friend sir Edward Nicholas, then
secretary of state, procured his majesty's signature " there was
" a clause, whereby it was specially provided, that I (the earl of
" Clarendon) should have no notice of it : because it was said,
" that if I had notice of it, I should be so foolish, as to obstruct it
" myself."
VOL. I. G

82 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" and the great caution that was used that he
" might have no notice of it." The chancellor
We are taught by the poet, that —
" Where ignorance is bliss,
" 'Tis folly to be wise."
Here we learn from the historian, that —
Where policy is ignorance
'Tis wisdom to be "foolish."
The gentle reader may possibly recollect, how, in order to
Life, vol. i. accelerate the chancellor's advancement to the peerage, an adroit-
p ' ness of legerdemain, not inferior to any, that ever cleared a pocket
of its contents, imperceptibly conveyed into the chancellor's
hand " a little billet :" at once equivalent to the computed
amount of slowly accumulating savings out of " the extraordi-
" nary perquisites of his office." And hence " good easy man,"
he may. naturally have concluded, that, ' sublata caasil tollitur
' effectus ;' the sole objection to the peerage being removed,
that the patent was made out without further difficulty. But,
that this inference, however rational, is most erroneous, may be
seen at page 386, from whence the following passage is tran
scribed. " Nor did the king's goodness rest here ; but the night be-
" fore he began his journey towards the queen, he sent for the
" attorney general, whom he knew to be most devoted to the
" chancellor, and told him, ' that he must entrust him in an
" ' affair that he must not impart to the chancellor :' and then
" gave him a warrant signed for the creation of him a baron ;
" which he commanded ' to be ready to pass the seal against the
" ' hour of his majesty's return, and he would then see it sealed
" 'himself; but if the chancellor came first to know it, he would
" ' use great importunity to stop it.' The attorney said, ' it
" ' would be impossible to conceal it from him, because, with-
" ' out his privity and direction, he knew not what title to give
" ' him for his barony.' The king replied with warmth, ' that
" ' he should confer with some of his friends of the way ; but
" ' that he would take it ill of him, if there were any delay in it,

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 83
" did not think that there was any thing left for
" him to do, but to make his humble acknow-
" ledgement to his majesty for his royal bounty,
" and to take care for the receiving and trans-
" mitting the money ; and doubted not but that
" he might receive it very honestly."
If on the propriety of this conclusion, a doubt
can any where exist, it must instantly cease on
reading the following extract. — " The king's in- Life, vol. i.
p. 441,
" terest had been so totally extinguished in that
" kingdom for many years past, that there was no
" person of any consideration there, who pretended
" ' and if it were not ready for the seal at the time of his return,
" ' which would be in a few days.' The attorney came to the
" chancellor and told him, ' he would break a trust to do him
" ' a service j and therefore he presumed, that he would not be
" ' so unjust to let him suffer by it :' and then told him all that
" had passed between the king and him. And the chancellor
" confessed, ' that the king's obliging manner of proceeding, and
" ' the conjuncture in which this honour was given, though he
" ' had before refused it with obstinacy, made it now very grate-
" ' ful to him.' And so without hesitation, he told him what
" title he would assume. And all was ready against the king's
" return, and signed by him and sealed the same night."
Not many months after, the chancellor forfeited for a time
the filial duty and affection of his royal son-in-law, by refusing
an earldom : but soon " found upon recollection, he could not P. 493.
" prudently refuse it."
It is curious to observe the contrivances and stratagems, to
which recourse was necessarily had, in order to hoodwink this
most reluctant dragon* of disinterestedness, and to deprive him
of all power of resistance, whenever he was to be pierced with
a fresh honour or made to writhe under an additional grant.

* " Nunc in reluctantes dracones."

84 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" to wish that it were revived. At Cromwell's
" death, and at the deposition of Richard, his
" younger son Harry was invested in the full au-
" thority, by being lieutenant of Ireland. The
" two presidents of the two provinces, were the
" lord Broghill in that of Munster, and sir Charles
" Coote in that of Connaught;v both equally de-
" pended upon the lieutenant : and they more de-,
" pended upon him and courted his protection, by
" their not loving one another,  and bothofalong
" aversion to the king, by multiplication of guilt?*
It is said a misfortune seldom comes unattended:
we have here an extraordinary instance of a rapid
succession, or rather simultaneous coincidence of
Life, voi.ii. most fortunate occurrences. — " At the very same
p. 95 96. " time, and the very day that the chancellor re-
" ceived the letter from the lord lieutenant, the
" earl of Portland came to him, and informed him
" of a difference that was fallen out between the
" lord Lovelace and sir Bulstrode Whitlock ;" —
that he had in vain attempted to reconcile them,
and that the only expedient remaining was, that
the chancellor should buy an estate, the sale and
purchase of which was likely to become the sub
ject of litigation between them. When lo! this
very oyster, which the learned lord was requested
to swallow, in order fully and equally to satisfy
the two contending parties, turned out to be no
other than the Blunsdon estate ; immediately ad-
* If we may believe Evelyn — " the truth is, the chancellor,
" during his grandeur, advanced the old rebels." Here, unless
we disbelieve the chancellor himself, the truth is, that during his
grandeur, the old rebels advanced him.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 85
joining his own paternal property in Wiltshire.
Hence luckily, as the noble auto-biographer ob
serves, " the land was well known to him ;" — and
of course its value: and as he further repeats,
" this proposition was made upon the very day,
" as is said before, that he had received the let-
" ter,  by which it appeared that there was near
" as much money already received for him, as
" would pay for that purchase, besides what was
" more to be received within six months after."
Thus circumstanced " the wisest of English states-
" men," like the wisest of the Grecian chiefs,
" Nestor — componere lites
" Festinat,"
instantly concludes the bargain, and " was as
" easily prevailed with to undertake the payment
" of the greatest part of the money upon sealing
" the writings." How he was so easily prevailed
with, we are not told, Possibly the practice of
making allowance, and abatement on prompt
payment, might have been already introduced.
At all events we know, that the chancellor was at
the moment in no want of ready cash.
Still remains one more fortunate coincidence
to be noticed. The settlement, which the chan
cellor was at that time making on the marriage
of his second son, afforded him the means of ap
plying the residue of the second payment, which
was to be made within six months ; so that all,
that was " left for him to do," namely, " to take
" care for the receiving and transmitting the
" money," was speedily and effectually done. For
however ' surprised' the chancellor was at the

86 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
receipt of lord Orrery's letter, (and that "no man
" was ever more surprised," we know on the best
authority,) we have the following proof, that his
presence of mind had not forsaken him. But
here alas ! we have also an instance of that, which
is of far less rare occurrence, — the fickleness of
fortune. " But the next letters he received from Ireland
" informed him, that the necessities of that king-
" dom had been such, that they could only return
" 6000/  and so he found himself engaged.in
" a purchase which he could not retract, upon
" presumption of money which he could not re-
" ceive. And he did not only never after receive
" one penny of what was due upon the second
" payment,  but the remainder of the first sum,
" which was so borrowed or taken from him, or
" any part of it, was never after paid to him or to
" his use." Most justly therefore the ex-chancellor
in his vindication observes, that " he might rea-
" sonably say that he was a loser, and involved
" in a great debt, by that signal bounty of his
" majesty ;" having agreed to pay down more
money together, than is usual in such purchases ;
presuming that he could not be disappointed of
the mentioned sum of money from Ireland: " the
" sole ground and encouragement to undertake
" the bargain." He hopes however, that the king's
signal " bounty will in due time be made good to
" him, being under so good a security,* as an act
" of parliament."
* That this act of parliament was the best possible security,
which the king could have had, for the payment of the money

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 87
To have submitted that lord Clarendon's pro
testation of his " never having seen the act of par-
" liament," and of his being " most confident, that
" he never heard of it at the time when it passed,"
can only be considered as a quibbling Jesuitical
equivocation, must doubtless have appeared un
warranted, uncandid, and irreverent, even to pro-
faneness. On the inferences to be drawn from
the following extracts, let the votaries of that illus
trious personage pronounce judgement, and desig
nate the result by its most appropriate title.
On being apprized by the duke of Ormond of
his majesty's gracious disposition to confer on him
a considerable grant of crown lands, " the chan- Life, vol. i.
0 p. 407.
" cellor, — after having extolled the king's gene-
" rosity, that he could, in so great necessities of his
" own, think of dispensing so great a bounty upon
" a poor servant, who was already recompensed be-
" yond what he could be ever able to deserve," —
declared to his illustrious friend " that ' he would
" ' never receive any crown lands from the king's
" ' gift, and did not wish to have any other honour
" ' or any advantage, but what his office brought
" ' him, till seven years should pass ; in which all
" ' the distractions of the kingdom might be com-
" ' posed, and the necessities thereof so provided
" i for, that the king might be able, without hurting
to be levied upon some specified lands in the several provinces
of Ireland, and to be disposed of afterwards according to his
majesty's discretion, is as obvious as it is certain. But it is not
equally so, how the same can be said to have guaranteed to the
lord Clarendon the making good to him of that " signal bounty,"
which the king had of his own free will and pleasure granted.

88 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" ' himself, to exercise some liberality towards his
" < servants who had served him well.' How he
" seemed to part from this resolution in some
" particulars afterwards, and why he did so, may
" be collected out of what hath been truly set
" down before."
This occurred in the year 1660. In the year
1667, precisely the above-stated period of seven
years, the chancellor was impeached by the com
mons of England of high treason. And the eighth
article of the charge is—" that he had in a short
" time gained to himself a far greater estate, than
" can be imagined to be lawfully gained in so
" short a time ; and contrary to his Oath, he had
" procured several grants under the great seal
" from his majesty to himself, and to his relations,*
" of several of his majesty's lands, hereditaments,
" and leases to the disprofit of his majesty."
In answer the ex-chancellor repels the oppro
brious allegation by declaring, that " he never
" moved his majesty in his life for any one grant
" to himself or any of his relations. Yet since his
" majesty's goodness had thought him fit for it,
" he hoped many others would think so too."
On this it may surely be admissible to suggest
the following question : — Whether to have himself
moved his majesty for any one grant would have
been more disgraceful than to have received a
grant, to confer which his majesty had been moved
* " There was a clause likewise in the said letter, — (to which
" secretary Nicholas procured his majesty's signature) — which
" directed the payment of the same monies to his heirs, execu-
" tors and assigns, if he should die before the receipt thereof."

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 89
by one, such as the noble historian has repeatedly
described the earl of Orrery to have been ? May
it not further be asked, whether the instances
occur not of similar distinctions having been satis
factory to the conscience of this most scrupulously
disinterested minister? The specific charge of
having " procured grants under the great seal" is
not refuted, as certainly it might have been in one
case. For in the already extracted entry in
Pepys's Diary we have read — ¦" the king has this
" day sent his order to the privy seal for the pay-
" ment of this twenty thousand pounds to the
" lord chancellor to clear the mortgage."
In the same answer to the same article of charge
— " he said, he hath none of his majesty's lands,
" but what he had bought for as much, as any body
" would pay for them, of those who had the same
" granted to them by his majesty's bounty." This
may be very true, but that which appears to be
not less true, is that Clarendon Park had been
granted to the duke of Albemarle, with a mort
gage, and without the timber : but when the chan
cellor " fetched his title of earldom from thence,"
it was with the timber, and without the mortgage.
The illustrious auto-biographer says, — " there
" are many persons of honour, who will be ready
" to testify, that when upon his majesty's first re-
" turn, some propositions were made to him of
" receiving the grant of some forfeited lands in
" Ireland, and other overtures of immediate benefit
" in money, (which others did and lawfully might
" accept;) he rejected all propositions of that kind,
" or relating to it and declared publicly and

90 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
"privately, that he would neither have lands in
" Ireland nor the least benefit from thence till all
" differences and pretences in that kingdom should
" be so fully settled and agreed, that there could
" be no more appeal to the king, or repairing to
" the king's council for justice : in which, he said,
" he should never be thought so competent an
" adviser, if he had any title of his own in that
" kingdom to bias his inclination. And he was
" often heard to say, that he never took a firmer
" resolution in any particular in his life, than to
" adhere to that conclusion. Yet because he did
" receive some money out of Ireland, and had a
" lawful right to receive more, it may not be amiss
" in this place, for his vindication, to set down
" particularly how that came to pass." This he
has done in that narrative, from which the material
parts have already been extracted. Thus his
readers are fully enabled to judge, how far they
concur with him in " not doubting, but that he
" might receive this royal bounty very honestly ;"
and how far they adopt " the judgment of all im-
" partial men," that this " very true account of
" that business," with all the circumstances of the
money so received, " cannot reflect to the prejudice
" of his integrity and honour."
But there can be no difference of opinion, as to
the justice of the following, and last, observation
on this transaction. " That the chancellor has
" great reason to complain of these his very good
" friends, who first disposed his majesty to that act
" of grace ; and were not afterwards solicitous
" enough, in their several places, to make it effec-

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 91
" tualto him ," Hence these his very good friends
(among whom, ci-devant Broghill like another
" Turnus, — ut ante volans tardum precesserat agmen"
and had been the first to dispose those, " who first
" disposed the king to that act of grace,") must
have discovered, how greatly, in consequence of
the chancellor's having " rejected all overtures"
they had over-rated his "foolishness." There is
however this to be pleaded in excuse of their own,
that it was not till several years after, that Dryden
produced his Spanish Friar, who had " sworn not
"to take the fifty pieces."
In penetration, sagacity, and discernment how
much were these two great peers surpassed by
little Pepys. He though like Witherington, but
" a squire alone," saw at once the difference be
tween "overtures" and "propositions" of (grants,
and the grants themselves; and, though never
before having had the honour to' be in the lord
high chancellor's presence, no sooner heard his
lordship protest, that " he would not direct him
" in any thing : that it might not be said, that the
" lord chancellor' did labour to abuse -the king;
" or direct the suspending the report of the pur-
" veyors ;" but he at once saw " what his lordship
" meant " and " resolved to make it his work to do
" him service therein." And when this keeper of the
king's conscience (so vigilant, intent andiabsorbed
in watching over that sacred deposit, as that his
own could, unobserved, occasionally find means
for little temporary escapes,) was heard to " say
" plainly, .that he would not have *any man have

92 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" it in his power to say, that my lord Clarendon
" did contrive the wronging the king of his tim-
" ber :" the intuitive secretary of the admiralty as
plainly " perceived, that he would be glad to have
" service done him therein ; and that his business
" should be done in the best manner for him."*
Upon which ' unhappy Pepys' (as he calls him
self for having incurred the premier's displeasure)
instantly set about making a report of the timber
in Clarendon Park, such as might " appease" the
scrupulous statesman : and at last drew up one,
which " he hopes will please his lordship." Nor was
he disappointed : for not only was he " thanked
" for his desire and pains to serve him ;" but —
" it was pleasant to think" (says the delighted
commissioner) " that, while he was talking to me
" comes into the garden sir G. Carteret : (against
" whom lord Clarendon was at the moment de
claring how, much he was incensed,) and my
" lord avoided speaking with him, and made him
" and many others stay expecting ; while I walked
" up and down above an hour, I think : and he
" would have me walk with my hat on !" There
can be no doubt, that at parting he was as much
impressed, as his lordship himself, that no man
" was more affable and courteous to all kinds of
" persons than the chancellor."
Not so sir G. Carteret. He had reason to dis
cover that—
" Still in their ashes lived their wonted fires ,¦"
* That, for which " these his very good friends," were re
proached, was the not being " solicitous enough" in " their se-
" veral places to make the act of grace effectual to him."

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 93
however " much extinguished their unruliness " See p. 8.
and that there was yet remaining somewhat of
" pride and passion ;" and of " that humour, be-
" tween wrangling and disputing, which" (for
merly) " had been very troublesome." Sir G. Car
teret, at this time treasurer of the navy, had been
governor of Jersey, when the prince of Wales took
refuge there, with the council appointed by the
king to attend him : of which sir Edward Hyde
was the member, in whom, of course, his majesty
principally confided. The queen had been long
anxious, that her son should be under her own
eye at Paris. And it had been a matter of warm
debate in the prince's council, whether or not her
earnest wishes should be complied with. The
prince at last decided for himself, that he would
go to his mother. On this the chancellor of the
exchequer, who had been the most strenuous op
ponent to that measure, determined to remain in
the Island. The account, given by the noble
writer of his own life, of how he passed his time
during so momentous a public crisis, is too curious, .
interesting, and edifying not to be here acceptable.
" The chancellor being thus left alone, he was Life, vol. i.
" with great civility and friendship invited by sirpz
" George to remove from the town, (where he had
" lived with his friends till then,) and to live with
" him in the castle Elizabeth ; whither he went
" the next day after the departure of the lord
" Hopton, and remained there, to his wonderful
" contentment, in the very cheerful society of sir
" G. Carteret and his lady ; in whose house he re-
" ceived all the liberty and entertainment he could

94 VINDICATION 0*1 THE CHARACTER
" have expected in his own family ; of which he
" always retained so just a memory, thai there,
" was never any intermission or decay, ofthatfriend-
" ship he then made.
" He built a lodging* hi the castle, of two or
" three convenient rooms, to the wall of the church,
" which sir G. Carteret had repaired and beauti-
" fied i and over the door of his lodging he set up
" his arms, with this inscription?-- -" Bene vixit, qui
" bene latuit :" — and he always took pleasure in re-
" lating, with what great tranquillity of spirit
" (though deprived of the joy he took in his wife
" and children) he spent his time here, amongst his
" books (which he got from Paris) and his papers ;
" between which he seldom spent less than ten
" hours in the day : and it can hardly he believed
" how much he read and writ there ; insomuch as
" he did usually compute, that during his whole
" stay in Jersey, which was some months above two
" years, he writ daily little less than one sheet of
" large paper with his own hand ; most of which
" are still to he seen amongst his papers."
As the society of sir G. Carteret and his lady
was so very cheerful, it is not likely that there
should have been a niggardly dispensation of good
cheer at their hospitable board. So that their
right honourable and learned guest may well be
said in a sensual acceptation of the words to have
lived well. But how is the ' bene latuit' to be
interpreted, as applicable to this best as well as
wisest of English statesmen ; to this most efficient
as well as most virtuous of ministers at such a
period as this of public calamities.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 95
If during the two years of his ' refreshment' in
Spain, he could not at all times e put off the
' thought of the miserable condition of his (second)
' master,' how could he in Jersey for one moment
be unmindful of the infinitely more ' miserable
' condition' of his first, for the space of two other
years, commencing in July, 1646 ? How could he
be unsolicitous to hasten to the aid of that master,
in his utmost need, with those sage counsels,
which, as he affirms, were ever deservedly prized
beyond others ? How could he then feel, but
still more how could he ever after reflect on, and
even relate, with pleasure his ' great tranquillity
' of spirit ;' while lying thus snugly perdu (' bene
latuit') immersed in the enjoyment of his French
books, Latin mottoes, and (untaxed) armorial
bearings ?
But far above all, how could he have been Life,
" wont to say, that of the infinite blessings which ™45&
" God had vouchsafed to confer upon him almost
" from his cradle, among which he delighted in
" the reckoning up many signal instances, he es-
" teemed himself so happy in none as in his three
" acquiescences, in every one of which God had
" given him grace and opportunity* to make full
" reflections upon his actions, and his observations
" upon what he had done himself, and what he
" had seen others do and suffer ; to repair the
" breaches in his own mind, and to fortify himself
* However this may have been in his third and last acqui
escence surely during the two first, considering where they were
passed, and how they were employed, he was more blessed with
opportunity than grace.

96 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" with new resolutions against future encounters
" in an entire resignation of all his thoughts and
" purposes into the disposal of God Almighty,
" and in a firm confidence of his protection and
" deliverance in all difficulties he should be obliged
" to contend with ; towards the obtaining whereof
" he renewed those vows and promises of integrity
" and hearty endeavour to perform his duty, which
" are the only means to procure the continuance
" of that protection and deliverance."
The king always (lord Clarendon mentions more
than one instance of it) strongly inculcated on his
children the utmost obedience and deference to
their royal mother, excepting in matters of re
ligion. No one knew better than sir Edward
Hyde how bigoted a Catholic her majesty was,
and how zealous in gaining proselytes to that
faith. Hence some perhaps may think, that the
prince's determination to reside with the queen
his mother, and especially at Paris, was at least
an additional reason, if not a stronger than any
before operating, why the Telemachus of England
needed more than ever his tutelary Minerva under
the form of the ' chancellor.' And they may
further think, that this duly appointed guardian
of the heir to the throne was not duly ' functus
officio :' because (as he writes to the duke of Or
mond on the 22nd of June, 1646), " I have de-
" sired leave of the prince to breathe in this island
" a little* for my refreshment." And if they think
so, and in so thinking err ; they err with the king.
* " Tempus inane peto, spatium requiemque" of only two
whole years.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 97
This fact is established by the most strangely com- Life, vol. i.
municative of all auto-biographers. Who certifies, p" m'
that by the king's command, Dr. Sheldon, then
clerk of the closet, writ to him word, " that the
" king was sorry that he, the chancellor, staid at
" Jersey, and did not attend the prince into France ;
" and that if he had been there, he would have
" been able to have prevented the vexation his
" majesty had endured at Newcastle, by messages
" from Paris."
Of these messages, one, of which sir William
D'Avenant was the bearer, has been particularly
noticed in the History of the Rebellion. When
D'Avenant, who had been despatched by the
queen, for the purpose of persuading the king to
give up the church, among other things, said, " itp.'fii? '*'
" was the advice and opinion of all his friends ; his
" majesty asking, ' what friends ? ' and he answer-
" ing, ' that it was the opinion of the lord Jermyn,'
" the king said, ' that the lord Jermyn did not un-
" ' derstand any thing of the church.' The other
" said, ' the lord Colepepperwas of the same mind.'
" The king said, ' Colepepper had no religion : ' and
" asked whether the chancellor of the exchequer
" was of that mind? to which he answered, rhe
" ' did not know, for that he was not there, (at
" c Paris), and had deserted the prince:'. . . to which
" the king said, ' the chancellor was an honest
" c man ; and would never desert him, nor the
" ' prince, nor the church ; and that he was sorry,
" ' he was not with his son.' "
But that the king could entertain no other
sentiments and opinion on this point, lord Claren-
VOL. I. H

98 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
don antecedently possessed a knowledge, at least
equally, clear and precise as that, which he sub
sequently obtained. This is ascertained at page
214, vol. i. of his life.
" The king at that time having resolved to
" separate the prince his son from himself, by
" sending him into the west, the chancellor had
" a great desire to excuse himself from attending
" upon the prince in that journey ; and represented
" to his majesty, that his office made it more
" proper for him to be near his majesty's person ;
" and therefore renewed his suit again to him,
" that his service might be spared in that employ-
" ment ; which he was the less inclined to, because
" he had discovered, that neither the duke of
" Richmond or the earl of Southampton did in-
" tend to wait upon his highness in that expedi-
" tion : but the king told him positively, and
" with some warmth, that if he would not go, he
" would not send his son : whereupon he sub-
" mitted to do any thing which his majesty should
" judge fit for his service."
The reason for the king's determination, that
the chancellor's attendance on the prince should
be an absolute ' sine qua, non' to the adoption of
this important measure, is evident in many pas
sages, both in the History of the Rebellion, and
in the life of the noble historian. The king in his
attempt to reconcile the chancellor with Cole
pepper, is represented to have said to the former, '
Life, vol. i." though you are joined with other honest men,
n 229 v j
" yet my great confidence is upon you two."
In the continuation of lord Clarendon's life, we

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 99
read — " when the prince was separated from his vol. iii.
" father, the king commanded him (the chancellor) 1)-
" to attend his highness into the west, under more
" than a common trust, 8$e." " The unavoidable
" necessity of transporting the person of the prince
" out of the kingdom, which was entrusted only
" to four of the council, by the king, and by his
" command reserved from his governor (the earl
" of Berkshire) and another," &c. Is it not then
strange, that the chancellor thus strictly enjoined,
" under more than a common trust " — expressly
told by the king, that his greatest confidence was
in him and Colepepper ; and knowing, as he well
did, that his majesty, however highly and de
servedly he rated the ability, zeal, and devotion
of the latter, concurred with himself in thinking
him not sufficiently impressed with the importance
of preserving entire the church establishment,*
should have felt himself justified to remain in
Jersey, and to see the prince depart for France,
* " When the two bills were sent to the king, for the grant-
" ing the militia, and the removing the bishops out of the house of- ., . .
"peers,  sir John Colepepper  much desired that the p. 112-15.
" king would pass that against the bishops, and absolutely reject
" the other  He urged therefore to the king, no other person
" present, the necessity of giving the parliament satisfaction in
" one of those bills ; and that there were more who would be
" satisfied with that concerning the bishops, than with the other
"concerning the militia; and therefore it would be best to
" gratify the major part  The king asked him whether Ned
" Hyde was of that mind ; to which he answered he was not;
" nor did wish that either of the bills should be passed ; which
" he thought, as the time was, could not be a reasonable judg-
" ment : the king said ' it was his ,¦ and that he would run the
" ' hazard.' "

p. 403

P. 406

100 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
and there to join the queen his mother, attended
only by this very Colepepper, who alone of the
whole council, appointed by the king, had not
protested against that measure : and that he should
think the permission so to remain, granted by the
son, yet a minor,* could cancel and abrogate the
reiterated solemn charges and injunctions im
posed by his royal father.
Histvoi.v. On " this so positive declaration of the prince's
" own resolution  every man of the council,
" the lord Colepepper only excepted, besought his
" highness, ' that he would give them his pardon,
" ' if they did not further wait upon him ; for they
" 'conceived their commission to be now at an
" ' end.'" " Within a day or two after the prince's
" departure from Jersey, the earl of Berkshire left
" it likewise,  . the lords Capel, Hopton and the
" chancellor of the exchequer, remained together
" in Jersey to expect the king's pleasure, and to
" attend a conjuncture to appear again in his ma-
* If his royal highness at Jersey had forgotten that he was
still " in statu pupillari," he was soon reminded of it after his
arrival at Paris : and practically taught, that Horace has truly
described as — " — piger annus
" Pupillis, quos dura premit custodia matrum."
P. 414. " The only notice taken of him by the French court, being a
" mean addition to the pension which the queen had before,
". without any mention of the prince her son; who was wholly
" to depend upon her bounty, without power to gratify or
" oblige any of his own servants ; that they likewise might
P 555 " dePend only upon the queen's goodness and favour ; and so
" behave themselves accordingly  Nor was the prince
" himself ever master of ten pistoles, to dispose as he desired."

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 101
" jesty 's service ;  who very well interpreted all
" that they had done according to the sincerity of
" their hearts; yet did believe, that if they had like-
" wise waited upon the prince into France, they
" might have been able to have prevented or diverted
" those violent pressures, which were afterwards
" made upon him from thence, and gave him more
" disquiet than he suffered from all the insolence
" of his enemies" So that it is clear, that Cole
pepper was the only one of the council, who ful
filled his majesty's intentions and expectations.
And, as Capel and Hopton, not long after Berk
shire's departure, found " a conjuncture to appear
" again in his majesty's service" so it is not less
clear, that the chancellor was the only one of the
council, who remained in Jersey ; and this for the
sole and avowed purpose of " refreshment 7" Yet
lateither on his appointment to that commission,
any more than on occasion of his subsequent em
bassy to Spain, had he thought it necessary to re
sign his office of chancellor of the exchequer ; the
duties of which " requiring his constant attendance
" on the king's person" had been the pretence, by
which he had sought to excuse himself from being
nominated of the prince's council.
We read in the History of the Rebellion, that vol. v.
" John Ashburnham, who was driven from the p"
" king by the Scots  having found upon his ad-
" dress to the queen at Paris upon his first arrival,
" that his abode in some other place would not
" be ungrateful to her majesty,* so removed to
* Where lord Clarendon, speaking of himself, says — " He
" knew he was not in the queen's favour at all," Warburton in

102 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" Rouen ; where he had the society of many who
" had served the king in the most eminent quali-
" fications When he heard where the king was
" (with the army) ; and that there was not the
" same restraint that had been formerly, he re-
" solved to make an adventure to wait on him;
" having no reason to doubt but that his presence
" would be very acceptable to the king." And
it is added, that his arrival proved, as he had an
ticipated, " most welcome to his royal master."
If then the chancellor had " resolved to make
" a similar adventure" how cordial would have
been the reception which he would have met with
from his gratified and grateful sovereign ? How
far beyond a mere adequate atonement, or a coun
tervailing compensation, for all the vexatious and
mortifying messages from Paris, (which the king,
as he conceived, might have been spared by the
chancellor's attendance on the ' prince), would
have been found in the positive advantages, de
rivable from the restoration to the royal presence
of the most confidential, most influential, and
most congenial* of all his responsible advisers !
The possible extent of the beneficial conse-
his notes observes — ' this was the greatest, as well as the most
' deserved compliment he could pay himself.'
Life, vol. i. * " His principles were much more agreeable to his majesty's
P- 110- " own judgment, than those of either of the other (sir John
" Colepepper, or the lord Falkland) ; and what he said was of
" equal authority with him ; and when any advice was given by
" either of the other, the king usually asked, ' whether Ned Hyde
" ' were of that opinion ? '  but his having no relation ofser-
" vice, and so no pretence to be seen often at court,  great
" jealousy was entertained towards him."

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 103
quences are truly incalculable. Knowing, as we
do, how much lord Clarendon has disapproved of
the king's removal from Hampton Court, he would
probably, and with the happiest success, have re
commended that prospective caution, which
" makes us rather bear those ills we have,
" Than fly to others, that we know not of."
Or if escape on mature deliberation had been
the ultimately adopted measure, what expedients
would not his fertile and cultivated mind have
substituted for the only one, which the barren
imagination of a groom of the bedchamber, when
resorted to in the absence of all the ministers
of state, had been able to devise r The Isle of
Wight — which to all other eyes, instead of a
place of refuge, retreat, and retirement, was ob
viously, as inevitably, but the half-way house on
the high road to the scaffold! It may be said,
that the insignificancy of John Ashburnham, both
in his personal, and official character, was the
best recommendation to the favor of those, into
whose hands the king had fallen : and that hence
was readily conceded to him that permission,
which would have been peremptorily denied to
the most able and efficient member of the king's
late council. Yet here at least it is ascertained
on the, not unconfirmed, authority of the most
candid and authentic of historians, that very shortly
before this disastrous flight, the duke of Ormond,
and the lord Capel, had each separately been
allowed access to their captive sovereign. And
surely these most distinguished and illustrious
royalists, from their ceaseless and indefatigable

104 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
ubiquity, were to Cromwell and Ireton as much,
and as deservedly, objects of suspicion, dread,
and hatred, as the more stationary, and quiescent
sir Edward Hyde.
Hist. vol. v. « in this general and illimited indulgence,* the
" lord Capel took the opportunity to wait on the
" king at Hampton Court ; and gave him a par-
" ticular account of all that passed at Jersey."
It was then his majesty heard with so much satis
faction, that the chancellor was employed on his
great historical Work. In consequence of which
" he writ, with his own hand, a very gracious and
" kind letter  He thanked him for undertak-
" ing the work he was upon ; and told him, he
" should expect speedily to receive from him some
" contribution towards it." Surely neither from
these approving thanks, nor promised contribu
tions, can it be fairly argued, that his majesty
sanctioned the chancellor's remaining two years
longer in Jersey. Such a consequence, as no
very logical deduction, might be fairly denied,
even if fewer instances had been cited of the
king's regret ; and even that one,-^ which shews
* " The marquis of Ormond had often attended the king at
p!i522°1'V- " HamPton court,"—" and having conferred with his majesty,
" as much as was necessary, upon a reasonable foresight of what
" was like to fall out, shortly after, or about the time that the
" king left Hampton Court, he in disguise, and without being
<< attended by more than one servant, rid into Sussex; and, .
'' in an obscure and unguarded port or harbour, put himself on
" board a shallop, which safely transported him into Normandy."
"24301" '' « + " HC dS° WrU ™th Ms 0wn hand>  that he looked «Pon
" him as one of those who had served him most faithfully, and

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 105
that, if these declarations of regret had not been
accompanied with those of censure, it was alone
owing to that considerate candour, which " well
" interpreted all, that they had done, as accord-
" ing to the sincerity of their hearts." Which
interpretation must surely be considered, as
conveying an implied disapprobation of the re
solution itself. But we are told, that, having
finished " the first four Books of his immortal
" History," the chancellor immediately betook
himself to his " devotional exercises, in a Com-
" mentary on the Psalms." Was that also a task
imposed, or to which he was encouraged, by his
royal patron ? — It is not impossible ; for he was
in truth a still more invariably ' religious,' than
universally ' gracious king ;' but as a fact, it has
never been so affirmed, or even insinuated. At
all events the connection between the two tasks,
and how the one led to the other, is not very ob
vious. In sir Hugh Evans's more tuneful medley
of madrigal and psalmody, the transition is natural
and easy from " shallow rivers" to the " Waters
"of Babylon."
It may be objected, that in contradiction and
defiance of sentiments, professed in the Exordium
to this Discourse, there is here an attack on lord
Clarendon, rather than a defence of John Ash
burnham. It may be asked ; what are all these
details to the latter, or he to them ; that they
" therefore, he might be confident of his kindness ; though 
" he said he did not hold him to be infallible, as he might
" discern from what he had commanded Dr. Sheldon to write to
" him." See p. 96.

106 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
should be inserted in a vindication of his conduct ;
since they are those of transactions, to which so
far from having been a party, he is not so much
as remotely implicated in them ? The answer sub
mitted is ;— that in cases, where no positive facts
have been adduced in proof;* and where in dis
proof none are now adducible : where the charge
is raised solely on unsubstantial allegations, and
unauthenticated depositions; these are entitled
to our belief no further, than the ascertained cha
racters of the accusers, or deponents, are deserving
of our deference and respect. And how is this
preliminary requisite to be secured ?
" Saxum gutta cavat, non vi, sed saepe cadendo :"
even so, and by such slow degrees only, is a man's
character to be penetrated. From a view taken
of him on some single, or rare, occasion of for
tuitous emergency, or some momentary crisis of
uncommon pressure, it is as likely, that the con
clusion should be erroneous, as that it should be
correct. But so often as various opportunities may not
have been wanting to observe in similar situations,
and analogous cases, a manifestly habitual identity
of sentiments, and uniformity of actions ; so often
is discovered, or detected, a quality, which, be it
good or bad, must be a constituent element, rather
than an accessory ingredient of the compound
character, subjected to analytical examination.
Few have been so profusely lavish of facilities for
instituting, and pursuing such a process, as the
. * Such as that of the king and his market-man.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 107
lord Clarendon. Who in his confidential, and
even confessionary communicativeness, unreserv
edly developes to the readers of his posthumous
publications, how he outwitted his contempo
raries, and more especially duped* his two suc
cessive sovereigns. Hence in the foregoing dis
quisition, no fact has been advanced unsupported
by at least one parallel.
The farce of resisting coyness to the solicitations
of the king, and his colleagues in office, is so often see pages
repeated, that it may be said in theatrical phrase,
to have had quite a run. And it is twice in evi
dence, that as the poet says of the rose-bud,
" Quanta si mostra men', tant' e piu bella,"
so the less notorious was a grant, or a gratuity, Page 49.
the more was it prized. For his skill in handling
a cat's paw, the lord treasurer Cottington may
vouch : but this was not only equalled, but sur
passed, in the ingenuity, by which, (in case that
some little incorrectness had been discovered in
the commissioner's report, concerning the timber
in Clarendon Park,) it was contrived, that " un-
" happy Pepys" alone would have got a rap on
the knuckles ; while the chancellor's (whose alone
was the " itching palm,") would have escaped un
broken. The necessity of elucidating one of those
ambiguous sentences, with which the pages of
* : As for instance, when he made Charles II. believe, that he
was going to Madrid on purpose to get him an " annual ex-
" hibition;" but having once arrived there, we hear only of
those daily exhibitions of the Fiestas ; to which alone his unre
mitting attention is evidently directed.

108 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
this admired writer so much abound, introduced
the two instances above alluded to; in order to
shew, that it was lord Clarendon's desire and ob
ject, to appear the very reverse of that, which he
really was. Nor can it have escaped the reader,
that the first and second of " his three Acquies
cences, Recesses, Vacations, or Retreats" are the
see p. 97. exact counterparts of each other. The true reason,
and the false pretence, for excusing himself from
being named of the prince's council, in the first
instance ; and the false pretence and true reason
see P. 35. for his contriving to be sent on the extraordinary
embassy, in the second, are alike distinctly as
signed. And it is equally manifest, that neither
in Jersey, nor in Spain, could he find the " otium,"
of which he was in search ; unless it was — " cum
" dignitate." As neither bull-feasts, nor book-
feasts, could " refresh his spirits," and " improve
" his understanding," until he had been fairly es
tablished in one of the most gorgeous palaces of
Madrid. For of such must have been one, for
which at that day the king paid a rent of four
hundred pounds sterling* So, notwithstanding
* Since this conjecture was hazarded, it appears from the
last edition of the " History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in
" England," that in all the former, " the following description
" of their house and condition had been omitted;" which is
now happily restored.
Hist. " A good house, wherein three grandees had lived ; and yet, ....
P° 38l! " they were compelled to defer their remove for at a least a week,
" to devise a place where to make a kitchen, there being no
" chimney in the house, but in the garrets, and of those not
" one big enough to roast a joint of meat ; but rather hearths,

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 109
the wonderful tranquillity, familiar liberty, and
cheerful society, which he enjoyed under the hos
pitable roof of sir George Carteret and his lady,
could he never feel himself quite at home ; until
he had set up over the door of his lodging an ap
propriate motto, and more appropriating coat of
arms. Latin mottoes indeed seem at all times to have
" on which several pipkins might be set together  So that
" there being a stable adjoining to the house, they built a
" chimney and ovens there, which accommodated them well."
" All the rooms of reception and entertainment were well
" furnished out of the king's wardrobe, with tapestry hangings
" and chairs, which were changed upon the change of the
" season, with a cloth of state, and two very good beds for the
" ambassadors themselves  The king's coach always waited
" upon them at their door."
" So that they began to be at much more ease, and looked
" more like ambassadors than they had done, and began to
" think of their negociation."
" It will not be unseasonable in this place to take a view of
" the state of that court at this time, and of the kingdom, that
"¦ it may be the less wondered at, that an embassy, which had
" no other end than to procure relief and support for a distressed
" prince, had no better effect."
Surely for — " no other end," we should here read no other
pretext. We have learnt, that the lord high treasurer had come
to Madrid for two purposes ; the one to change the " dismal
" gloom" of a dank Dutch atmosphere, for the " celestial light"
of Spanish sun-shine ; the other to apostatize, a second time,
from the established religion of his native country. The chan-
chellor of the exchequer also had his two purposes, already more
than sufficiently noted. The ostensible object of the extra
ordinary embassy being to obtain an eleemosynary "exhibition"
for the king of the beggars, — even after the restoration of his
three hereditary crowns, that "facile princeps" of royal pen
sioners, and stipendiary sovereigns.

Life,

110 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
been prized by the chancellor of the exchequer,
not less than Spanish proverbs were by the go
vernor of Barataria. At an earlier period— " Caute
M6o.' " non caste"— was the maxim,* by which as we
are told, his course of life was regulated. During
his third and last acquiescence, it is probable that
this was reversed. It is certain that the " caute"
was no longer observed in his writings bearing
the dates of Montpelier, Pezenas, or Moulins.
These attest, that the pen of autobiography was
never guided by a hand more incautious, than the
chancellor's. " 'Twas strange, 'twas passing strange," (and is
it not " pitiful, — wond'rous pitiful ?") thus to read,
not in the tone of contrite confession, but of boast
ful avowal, these (lord Clarendon's !) self applaud
ing reminiscences. To be told of repeated dere
lictions of the most sacred duties to his king ; and
consequently to his country ; as if these were but
the venial vagaries of a truant school-boy: — and
of personal advantages, and unimparted benefits,
meanly secured by the hazardous agency of others,
without risking his own : as though such were
the laughably mischievous tricks of wanton, yet
harmless childhood. — To behold him with exult
ing complacency pointing out the contrasted dis
cordance between the ostensible objects, and the
real motives, of his own ministerial counsels. At
* It does not appear that this motto was inscribed over his
door. On the contrary he relates, that he was " careful" to pre
serve himself " from any notable scandal ; " thus shewing in one
more instance (making the fourth) that it was his object, to be
one thing, and to be thought another.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. Ill
one time without a blush unveiling his own deceit :
at another shamelessly exposing his own duplicity :
and thus, unconsciously, holding himself forth to
the world, a warning spectacle, to shew how self-
injurious is the indulged pruriency of an over
weening self-conceit ; — how suicidal the uncurbed
licence of a garrulous egotism !
Before these concluding Remarks be pronounced
libellous, or rather, considering to whom they re
late, blasphemous, let it be remembered that they
arise out of a statement of facts, which is in truth:
but a cento of passages collected from lord Cla
rendon's own writings. And whether they have
been fairly extracted, and faithfully transcribed,
there can be no difficulty in ascertaining, since
there is not one, for which a reference has not
been given to the volume and page, where it
occurs. Let it not be said, that vindication is but the
excuse for this attack, while vindictiveness is the
excitement to it. Nor let the means be so mis
taken for the end, as to induce a suspicion, that
in order to palliate the invasion of the chancellor
of the exchequer's office, or by way of a set-off
against the charge of Ashburnham's being the
king's market-man for the contraband traffick and
illicit prostitution of the royal prerogative, in
stances have been sought, and collected, to shew
that not even in the first and wisest of English
statesmen, or in the most authentic of historians,
has been realized that most extravagantly fanciful
of chimeras, the " faultless monster."
Let it be remembered that in all courts of

112 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
justice, as it is allowed to the advocate, so it is
his bounden duty, to avail himself of the two most
powerfully efficacious pleas, which can be urged
to the invalidation, if not to the rejection, of the
testimony against the accused, by establishing
the pre-existence of a particular enmity, or general
laxity of adherence to truth, in prosecutor, or
witness. But above all, let it be recollected that besides
these comparatively trivial charges, his client
stands impeached for treason to his king, for
treachery to his master, for ingratitude to his be
nefactor. A combination of atrocious crimes so
horrible, that if the calumnious imputation cannot
be repelled, even to demonstration, it must be
acknowledged that a more opprobrious inheritance
was never in perpetuity entailed, a more execrable
stigma was never indelibly branded, than the name
of such a monster on his lineal descendants.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. Ill*

*** The author regrets that he had not suffi
ciently acquainted himself with the contents of the
Clarendon State Papers, until his first, and, in part,
his second volume had been printed. Hence he
has been obliged to avail himself in the Appendix
of those important extracts, which he should
otherwise have incorporated with the materials
composing the latter portion of the foregoing
commentary. Reasonably anticipating the probability, that
not many readers will persevere in toiling through
all the intermediate dulness, which separates this
early stage of. the Vindication from it's remote
Appendix, he conceives it to be fit that he should
here apprize those, who may not already, through
disgust, or impatience, have thrown aside the
book, that they will find, (as he verily believes),
at page lxxvi and the following, (to page cxxvii)
of the Appendix, borne but to the utmost, on lord
Clarendon's own testimony and authority, every
construction, conclusion, and conjecture, which
have been hazarded in the remarks on the first
and second of his (so called) Acquiescences.
They will further find raised to a height of cer
tainty, beyond the reach of denial, doubt, or cavil,
the surmise, that the king (notwithstanding all
attempts to induce a contrary belief) never could
have approved of the chancellor's desertion of the
prince, or of his subsequently continued residence
for two years in the island of Jersey. Nay more,

112* VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
they will be convinced, on the same incontro
vertible evidence, not only that sir Edward Hyde
did thereby incur, but that he knew he had so
incurred, his majesty's marked and notified dis
pleasure, as to despair of obtaining, till after
death, that royal forgiveness, which, while living,
he had in vain implored.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 113

PART II.

" NEQUID FALSI DICERE AUDEAT, NEQUID VERI
NON AUDEAT."

Such is the motto affixed to the title-page of
lord Clarendon's History of the Rebellion. Surely
tho former of these precepts is understood in too
limited a sense, or but partially observed by an
historian, who considers himself to be thus re
stricted only from saying what he knows to be
false, and therefore at liberty to adopt, and
consequently to accredit matters of fact and of
opinion, without ascertaining the truth of the
one, or the justice of the other. If minute cir
cumstances be voluntarily and unnecessarily de
tailed, their abstract insignificancy affords no
excuse for the careless introduction of them.
Nothing deemed by him worth recording can be
undeserving of his pains to verify, though much,
which claims research, may not prove entitled to
ulterior notice.
Where the existence of authentic and incon
trovertible documents is notorious, the historian's
neglect to consult them is not more reprehensible
with respect to others than impolitick towards
VOL. I. i

114 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
himself ; inasmuch as he cannot incur the liability
of misinforming his readers on the authority of
others without the risk of invalidating his own.
From many passages in the History of the Re
bellion relating to transactions, in which the illus
trious author was not personally engaged, or to
events which occurred not within the scope of his
own observation, there is evidence of his having
relied either too credulously on information little
competent to establish facts and dates, or too con
fidently on a memory not exempt from human
fallibility. This is no where more strongly exem
plified than throughout his very circumstantial,
most authoritative, and equally erroneous account
of the king's, removal to the Isle of Wight.
Hist- vol-v- " The king found himself in great perplexity,
seq. « from what he discerned, and observed himself,
" as well as what he heard from others ; but what
" use to make of the one or the other, was very
" hard to resolve : he did really believe that their
" malice was at the height, and that they did design
" his murder, but knew not which was a probable
" way to prevent it. The making an escape, if
" it were not contrived with wonderful sagacity,
" would expose him to be assassinated, by pretended
" ignorance, and would be charged upon himself;
" and if he could avoid their guards, and get be-
" yond them undiscovered, whither should he go P
" and what place would receive and defend him P
" The hope of the city seemed not to him to
" have a foundation of reason ; they had been too

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 115
" late subdued to recover courage for such an
" adventure ; and the army now was much more
" master of it than when they desponded. There
" is reason to believe that he did resolve to trans-
" port himself beyond the seas, which had been
" no hard matter to have brought to pass, but with
" whom he consulted for the way of doing it, is
"not to this day discovered; they who. were in-
" strumental in his remove, pretending to know
" nothing of the resolution, or counsel. But, one
" morning, being the eleventh of November, the
" king having, the night before, pretended some
" indisposition, and that he would go to his rest,
" they who went into his chamber, found that he
" was not there, nor had been in. his bed that night.
" There were two or three letters found upon his
" table, writ all with his own hand, one to the
" parliament, another to the general ; in which
" he declared ' the reason of his remove to be,
" ' an apprehension that some desperate persons
" ' had a design to assassinate him ; and therefore
" ' he had withdrawn himself with a purpose of
" ' remaining concealed, until the parliament had
" ' agreed upon such propositions as should be
" ' fit for him to consent to ; and he would then
" ' appear, and willingly consent to anything. that
" ' should be for the peace and happiness of the
" 'kingdom.' There were discovered the treading
" of horses at a back-door of the garden into which
" his majesty had a passage out of his chamber;
" and it is true that way he went, having appointed
" his horse to be there ready at an hour, and sir
" John Berkley, Ashburnham, and Legg, to wait

116 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" upon him, the two last being of his bedchamber.
" Ashburnham alone seemed to know what they
" were do, the other two having received only orders
" to attend. When they were free from the appre-
" hension of the guards, and the horse-quarters,
" they rode towards the south-west, and towards
" that part of Hampshire which led to the New
" Forest. The king asked Ashburnham, where the
" ship lay P which made the other two conclude
" that the king resolved to transport himself.
" After they had made some stay in that part next
" the sea, and Ashburnham had been some time
" absent, he returned without any news of the ship;
" with which the king seemed troubled. Upon this
" disappointment, the king thought it best, for
" avoiding all high-ways, to go to Tichfield, a
" noble seat of the earl Of Southampton's, (who
" was not there,) but inhabited by the old lady
" his mother with a small family, which made the
" retreat the more convenient : there his majesty
" alighted, and would speak with the lady ; to
" whom he made no scruple of communicating
" himself, well knowing her to be a lady of that
" honour and spirit, that she was superior to all
" kind of temptation. There he refreshed himself,
" and consulted with his three servants, what he
" should next do, since there was neither ship ready,
" nor could they presume that they could remain
" long there undiscovered.
" In this debate, the Isle of Wight came to be
" mentioned (as they say) by Ashburnham, as a
" place where his majesty might securely repose
" himself, until he thought fit to. inform the parlia-

ii

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 117
" ment where he was. Colonel Hammond was
" governor there, an officer of the army, and of
'f nearest trust with Cromwell, having by his ad-
" vice been married to a daughter of John Hamb-
" den, whose memory he always adored ; yet, by
some fatal mistake, this man was thought a
" person of honour and generosity enough to trust
" the king's person to, and Ashburnham and
" Berkley, were sent to him with orders, ' first to
" ' be sure, that the men would faithfully promise
" ' not to deliver his majesty up, though the par-
" ( liament or army should require him ; but to
" c give him his liberty to shift for himself, if he
" ' were not able to defend him : and except he
" ' would make that promise, they should not let
" 'him know where his majesty was, but should
" ' return presently to him.' With this commis-
" sion they two crossed the water to the Isle of.
" Wight, the king in the mean time reposing
" himself at Tichfield. The next day they found
" colonel Hammond, who was known to them both,
" who had conversation with him in the army,
" when the king was well treated there, (and
" their persons had been very civilly treated by
" most of the officers, who thought themselves
" qualified sufficiently for court preferments.) They
" told him, ' that the king was withdrawn from
" ' the army ;' of which he seemed to have had
" no notice, and to be very much surprised with it.
" They then said, ' that the king had so good an
" ' opinion of him, knowing him to be a gentleman,
" ' and for his relation to Dr. Hammond, (whose
" ' nephew he was,) that he would trust his person

a c
a c
a i

118. VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" 'with him, and would from thence write to the
" 'parliament, if he would promise that if his mes-
"'sage had not that effect which he hoped it
" 'would have, he would leave him to himself to
" 'go whither he thought fit, and would not de-
" 'liver him to the parliament, or army, if they
" ' should require it.' His answer was, ' that he
" ' would pay all the duty and service to his ma-
" 'jesty that was in his power ; and, if he pleased
" 'to come thither, he would receive and enter-
" ' tain him as well as he could ; but that he was
an inferior officer, and must obey his superiors
in whatsoever they thought fit to command
him :' with which when he saw they were not
" satisfied, he asked, ' where the king was ?' to
" which they made no other answer, ' but that they
" 'would acquaint his majesty with his answer,
" ' and, if he were satisfied with it, they would re-
" ' turn to him again.' He demanded ' that Mr.
" ' Ashburnham would stay with him, and that the
" ' other might go to the king ;' which Mr. Ash-
" burnham refused to do.
" After sometime spent in debate, in which he
" made many expressions of his desire to do any
" service to his majesty, they were contented that
" he should go with them ; and Ashburnham said,
" ' he would conduct him to the place where the
" ' king was ;' and so, he commanding three or
" four servants or soldiers, to wait on him, they
" went together to Tichfield ; and, the other staying
" below, Ashburnham went up to the king's
" chamber. When he had acquainted him with
" all that had passed, and that Hammond was in

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 119
" the house, his majesty broke out in a passionate
" exclamation, and said, ' Oh Jack, thou hast un-
" ' done me !' with which the other falling into a
" great passion of weeping, offered to go down,
" and to kill Hammond : to which his majesty
" would not consent ; and, after some pausing,
" and deliberation, sent for him up, and endea-
" voured to persuade him to make the same pro-
" mise, which had before been proposed : to which
" he made the same answer he had done, but
" with many professions of doing all the offices
" he could for his majesty ; and seemed to believe
" that the army would do well for him. The king
" believed that there was now no possible way to
" get from him, he having the command of the
" country, and could call in what help he would;
" and so went with him into the Isle of Wight,
" and was lodged at Carisbrook Castle, at first
" with all demonstration of respect and duty.
" It never appeared afterwards that the king was
" maliciously betrayed to this unhappy peregrina-
" tion, by the treachery and practice of those he
"trusted; and his majesty himself never enter-
" tained the least jealousy, or suspicion of it : yet
" the whole design appeared to be so weakly con-
" trived, the not being sure of a ship, if the re-
" solution were fixed for embarking, which was
" never manifest, the making choice of the Isle of
" Wight, and of Hammond to be trusted, since
" nothing fell out which was not to be reasonably
"foreseen and expected, and the bringing him to
" Tichfield, without the permission of the king, if
" not directly contrary to it, seemed to be all so

120 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" far from a rational design, and conduct that
" most men did believe there was treason in the
" contrivance^ or that his majesty entrusted those
"who were grossly imposed upon and deceived
" by his greatest enemies. Legg had had so ge-
" neral a reputation of integrity, and fidelity to
" his master, that he never fell under the least im*
" putation or reproach with any man : he was a
" very punctual and steady observer of the orders
" he received, but no contriver of them ; and
" though he had in truth a better judgment and
" understanding than either of the other two, his
" modesty and diffidence of himself never suf-
" fered him to contrive bold councils. Berkley
" was less known among those persons of honour
" and quality who had followed the king, being in
" a very private station before the war, and his
" post in it being in the farthest corner of the king-
" dom, and not much spoken of till the end of it,
" when he was not beholden to reports ; ambition
" and vanity were well known to be predominant
" in him, and that he had great confidence in him-
" self, ^nd did not delight to converse with those
" who had not ; but he never fell under any blemish
" of disloyalty, and he took care to publish that
" this enterprise of the king's was so totally without
" his privity, that he was required to attend on
" horseback at such an hour, and had not the least
" intimation of his majesty's purpose what he in-
" tended to do. Another particular, which was
" acknowledged by Hammond, did him much
" credit that when Hammond demanded that Ash-
" burnham should remain with him whilst the other

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 121
" went to the king, which Ashburnham refused to
" do, Berkley did offer himself to remain with him
" whilst Ashburnham should attend his majesty ;
" so that the whole weight of the prejudice and
" reproach was cast upon Ashburnham ; who was
" known to have so great an interest in the affec-
" tions of his majesty, and so great an influence
" upon his counsels and resolutions, that he could
" not be ignorant of any thing that moved him.
" The not having a ship ready, if it were intended,
" was wnexcusable; and the putting the king into
" Hammond's hands without his leave, could never
" be wiped out. There were some who said, that
" Ashburnham resolved that the king should go
" to the Isle of Wight, before he left Hampton
" Court ; and the lord Langdale often said, ' that
" 'being in Mr. Ashburnham's chamber at that
" 'time, he had the curiosity, whilst the other
" ' went out of the room, to look upon a paper
" 'that lay upon the table; in which was writ,
" ' that it would be best for the king to withdraw
" ' from the army, where he was in such danger ;
" ' and that the Isle of Wight would be a good re-
" ' treat, where colonel Hammond commanded ;
" 'who was a very honest man.' And this was
" some days before his majesty removed. And
" then it was observed, that Hammond himself
" left the army but two or three days before the
" king's remove, and went to the Isle of Wight at
" a season when there was no visible occasion to
" draw him thither, and when the agitators in the
" army were at highest ; and it was looked upon
" with the more wonder, because Ashburnham was

122 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
"not afterwards called in question for being in-
" strumental in the king's going away, but lived
" unquestioned long after in the sight of the par-
" liament, and in conversation with some of the
" officers of the army who had most deceived him;
" and which was more censured than all the rest,
" that after the murder of the king he compounded,
" as was reported, at an easy rate, and lived at
" ease, and grew rich, for many years together
" without interruption.
" On the other hand, he preserved his reputation
" and credit with the most eminent of the king's
" party ; and his remaining in England was upon
" the marriage of a lady by whom he had a great
"fortune, and many conveniences ; which would
" have been seized by his leaving the kingdom ; and
" he did send over to the king, and had leave to
" stay there ; and sometimes supplied the king
" with considerable sums of money. Afterwards
" he was committed to the tower by Cromwell,
" where he remained till his death ; and the king
" was known to have had, to the last, a clear
" opinion of his affection and integrity ; and
" when king Charles II. returned, most of those
" of greatest reputation, as the marquis of Hert-
" ford, and the earl of Southampton, gave him a
" good testimony ; yet then the old discourses
" were revived, and major Huntington did affirm,
" ' that Mr. Ashburnham did intend the king
" ' should go to the Isle of Wight, before he left
" ' Hampton Court.' Many who did not believe
" him to be corrupted, did still think that Crom-
" well and Ireton had overwitted him, and per-

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 123
" suaded him, upon great promises, that it should
"prove for his majesty's benefit, and that they
" should the sooner do his business, that he should
" withdraw from the army, and put himself into
" Hammond's hands ;for if in truth transportation
" had been thought of, it is hard to believe that a
" ship would not have been provided.
" Sir John Berkley, who, shortly after the king's
" being in the Isle of Wight, had transported him-
" self into France, and remained still with the
" duke of York to the time of king Charles the
" second's return, and Mr. Ashburnham, who
" continued in England, and so the more liable
" to reproach, had been so solicitous to wipe off
" the aspersions which were cast upon them jointly,
" that they had it in care to preserve the repu
tation of a joint innocence; but whilst each
" endeavoured to clear himself, he objected or
" imputed somewhat to the other, that made him
" liable to just censure ; and, in this contention,
" their friends mentioned their several discourses
" so loudly, and so passionately for the credit and
" reputation of him whom they loved best, that
" they contracted a very avowed animosity against
" each other ; insomuch as it was generally believed
" upon the king's return, that they would, with
" some fierceness, have expostulated with each
" other in that way which angry men choose to
" determine the right, or that both of them would
" have desired the king to have caused the whole
" to be so strictly examined, that the world might
" have discerned, where the faults or oversights
" had been, if no worse could have been charged-

124 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" upon them : but they applied themselves to
" neither of those expedients, and lived only as
" men who took no delight in each other's con-
" versation, and who did not desire to cherish any
" familiarity together. And the king, who was
" satisfied that there had been no treasonable con-
" trivance, (from which his father had absolved
" them,) did not think it fit, upon such a subject,
" to make strict inquisition into inadvertencies,
" indiscretions, and presumptions, which could
" not have been punished proportionally.
" It is true that they both writ apologies, or
" narrations of all that had passed in that affair,
" which they made not public, but gave in writing
" to such of their friends in whose opinions they
" most desired to be absolved, without any inclina-
" tion that one should see what the other had writ;
" in which, though there were several reflections
" upon each other, and differences in occurrences
" of less moment, there was nothing in either that
" seemed to doubt of the integrity of the other ;
" nor any clear relation of any probable induce-
" ment that prevailed with the king to undertake
" that journey. / have read both their relations,
" and conferred with both of them at large, to dis-
" cover in truth what the motives might be which
" led to so fatal an end ; and, if I were obliged to
" deliver my own opinion, I should declare that
" neither of them were, in any degree, corrupted in
" their loyalty or affection to the king, or suborned
" to gratify any persons with a disservice to their
" master. They were both of them great opi-
" niators, yet irresolute, and easy to be shaken by

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 125
" any thing they had not thought of before ; and
" exceedingly undervalued each other's under-
" standing ; but, as it usually falls out in men of
" that kind of composition and talent, they were
" both disposed to communicate more freely with,
" and, consequently, to be advised by new ac-
" qiiaintance, and men they had lately begun to
" know, than old friends, and such whose judg-
" ments they could not but esteem ; who they had
" no mind should go sharers with them in the merit
" of any notable service which they thought them-
" selves able to bring to pass. Then, in the whole
" managery of the king's business, from the time
" that they came into the army, they never con-
" versed with the same persons ; but governed
" themselves by what they received from those
" whose correspondence they had chosen. Ash-
" burnham seemed wholly to rely upon Cromwell
" and Ireton ; and rather upon what they said to
" others than to himself. For besides outward
" civilities, which they both exercised towards
" him more than to other men, they seldom held
" private discourse with him, persuading him,
" ' that it was better for both their ends, in respect
" 'of the jealousy the parliament had of them,
" ' that they should understand each other's mind,
" ' as to the transaction of any particulars, from
" 'third persons mutually instrusted between them,
" ' than from frequent consultations together ;' and
" sir Edward Ford, who had married Ireton's
" sister, but had been himself an officer in the
" king's army from the beginning of the war, and
" a gentleman of good meaning, though not able

126 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
"to fathom the reserved and dark designs of his
"brother-in-law, was trusted to pass between
" them, with some other officers of the army, who
" had given Ashburnham reason to believe that
" they had honest purposes.
" Berkley had not found that respect, from
" Cromwell and Ireton, that he expected ; at least
" discerned it to be greater towards Ashburn-
" ham, than it was to him ; which he thought evi-
" dence enough of a defect of judgment in them;
" and therefore had applied himself to others, who
" had not so great names, but greater interest, as
" he thought, in the soldiers. His chief confidence
" was in doctor Staines, who, though a doctor in
" physic, was quarter-master-general of the army ;
" and one Watson, who was scout-master-general
" of the army ; both of the council of war, both
" in good credit with Cromwell, and both notable
"fanatics, and professed enemies to the Scots and
" the presbyterians, and, no doubt, were both per-
" mitted and instructed to caress sir John Berk-
" ley, and, by admiring his wisdom and conduct,
" to oblige him to depend on theirs ; and dissimu-
" lation had so great and supreme an influence
" on the hearts and spirits of all those who were
.". trusted and employed by Cromwell, that no
" man was safe in their company, but he. who re-
" solved before, not to believe one word they said.
" These two persons knew well how to humour
" sir John Berkley, who believed them the more,
" because they seemed very much to blame Ire-
" ton's stubborness towards the king, and to fear
" that he often prevailed upon Cromwell against

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 127
" his own inclinations : they informed him, of
" many particulars which passed in the council of
" officers, and sometimes of advice from Cromwell,
" that was clean contrary to what the king received
" by Ashburnham as his opinion, and which was
" found afterwards to be true, (as it may be the
" other was too,) which exceedingly confirmed sir
" John in the good opinion he had of his two
" friends. They were the first who positively ad-
" vertised the king by him, that Cromwell would
" never do him service ; and the first who seemed
" to apprehend that the king's person was in
" danger, and that there was some secret design
" upon his life.
" / do not believe that sir John . Berkley knew
" any thing of the king's purpose in his intended
" escape, or whither he resolved to go, or, indeed,
" more of it than that he resolved at such an
" hour, and in such a place, to take horse, and
" was himself required to attend him; nor do I,
" in truth, think that the king himself, when he took
" horse, resolved whither to go. Some think he
" meant to go into the city ; others, that he in-
" tended for Jersey ; and that was the ground of
" the question to Mr. Ashburnham, ' where is the
" ' ship?' Certain it is that the king never thought
" of going to the Isle of Wight. I am not sure that
" Mr. Ashburnham, who had not yet given over
" all hope of the chief officers of the army, and
" believed the alterations, which had fallen out,
" proceeded from the barbarity of the agitators,
" and the levelling party, had not the Isle of
" Wight in his view from the beginning, that is,

128 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" from the time his majesty thought it necessary
" to make an escape from the army. , It had been
" a difficult task to go about to dissuade the king
"from an apprehension of his own safety, when it
" was much more natural to fear an assassination,
" than to apprehend any thing that they did after-
" wards do. Mr. Ashburnham had so great a
" detestation of the Scots, that he expected no
" good from their fraternity, the presbyterians of
" the city ; and did really believe that if his ma-
" jesty should put himself into their hands, as was
" advised by many, with a purpose that he should
" be there concealed, till some favourable conjunc-
" ture should offer itself, (for nobody imagined
" that, upon his arrival there, the city would have
" declared for him, and have entered into a con-
" test with that army which had so lately subdued
" them,) the security of such an escape was not to
" be relied on, and very earnestly dissuaded his
" master from entertaining the thought of it ;, and
" this opinion of his was universally known, and,
" as hath been said before, was an ingredient into
" the composition of that civility and kindness
" the officers of the army had for him. They
" did, to him, frequently lament the levelling
" spirit that was gotten into the soldiers, which
" they foresaw in the future would be as incon-
" venient and mischievous to themselves, as it
" was, for the present, dangerous to the person of
" the king ; which they seemed wonderfully to
" apprehend, and protested ' that they knew not
" 'how to apply any remedy to it, whilst his raa-
" 'jesty was in the army; but that they would

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 129
" ' quickly correct or subdue it, if the king were
" ' at any distance from them ;' and it is not im-
" possible, that, in such discourses, somebody who
" was trusted by them, if not one of themselves,
" might mention the Isle of Wight as a good
" place to retire to, and colonel Hammond as a
" man of good intentions ; the minutes of which
" discourse Mr. Ashburnham might keep by him :
" for the lord Langdale's relation of such a paper,
" which he himself saw, and read, cannot be
•' thought by me to be a mere fiction ; to which,
" besides that he was a person of unblemished
" honour and veracity, he had not any tempta-
" tion : yet Mr. Ashburnham did constantly deny
" that he ever saw any such paper, or had any
" thought of the Isle of Wight when the king left
" Hampton Court, and he never gave cause, in the
" subsequent actions of his life, to have his fide-
" lity suspected. And it is probable, that Crom-
" well, who many years afterwards committed
" him to the tower, and did hate him, and desired
" to have taken his life, would have been glad to
" have blasted his reputation, by declaring that he
" had carried his master to the Isle of Wight,
" without his privity, upon his own presumption ;
" which, how well soever intended, must have
" been looked upon by all men as such a trans-
" cendent crime, as must have deprived him of all
" compassion for the worst that could befall him."

VOL. i. k

130 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER

I.

" But, one morning, being the 11th of November,*
" the king having, the night before, pretended some
" indisposition, and that he would go to his rest,
" they who went into his chamber, found, that he
" was not there, nor had been in his bed that
" night. There were two or three letters found
" upon his table, writ all with his own hand, one
" to the parliament, another to the general.""f-
If there were here simply the error of a date,
the mere inadvertency of stating that to have
happened on one day, which really occurred on
* According to the last Oxford Edition this — " being the 11th
" of November" — is in the original Manuscript, — " about the
" beginning of September."! ! !
t A third letter was addressed to colonel Whalley. It begins
thfls — " Col. Whalley I have been so civilly used by you, and
" Major Huntington, that I cannot but by this parting farewell
" acknowledge it under my hand," &c. &c, and it concludes thus
" —So being confident, that you wish my preservation and re-
" stitution, I rest your friend — Charles R." It is very possible
that the king may have greatly over-rated the sincerity of Whal-
ley's good wishes ; but it seems quite impossible;, that he should
have written in these terms to him, if he had been such as lord
Clarendon describes him — " A man of a rough and brutal tem-
" per, who offered great violence to his nature, when he appeared
" to exercise any civility and good manners." If so, the gaoler
in point of restraint must have had a worse time of it than his'
prisoner.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 131
the nexfy might well be suffered to pass unno
ticed. But not so, when intimately, if not in
separably, blended, as it is, with matter of fact
imperiously demanding investigation. The king's
escape from Hampton Court, so far from having
been discovered on the morning of the 11th, was
not effected till the evening of that day. The
point however, which in this enquiry it is most
essentially important to establish, is, what was
the interval from the time when the escape was
effected to that when it was discovered? Inas
much as the result will afford a criterion, by which
the credibility of lord Clarendon's relation, in
many of its subsequent particulars, may be fairly
estimated. That the king during his confinement at Hamp
ton Court was not more vigilantly guarded than
the safe custody of his person had been calculated
to require, the subject under discussion sufficiently
proves. In the treatment of him that at least the
outward forms of respect and the customary usages
of decorum were not unobserved ; that his hours .
of privacy were not wantonly invaded ; and that
the attendance of his own domestics had not as
yet been interdicted, all accounts agree. Lord
Clarendon's is in the following words : — " In the
" mean time, they neither hindered his majesty
" from riding abroad to take the air, nor from
" doing any thing he had a mind to, nor restrained
" those who waited upon him in his bedchamber."
These therefore must have been " they, who went
" into his chamber on the morning of the Wth of
" November," which they were not likely to do

132 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
before sunrise : and as little likely, when they
"found, that he was not there" to be in haste to
give the alarm, and to raise a hue and cry after the
"royal fugitive. And further if they "found, that
" he had not been in his bed that night" the natural
inference is, that he must have escaped at the close
of the preceding evening. Considering therefore
the length of days at that season of the year, the •
king, according to lord Clarendon, could not
have had the start of all pursuers by less than ten
or twelve hours.
It is therefore, " with great appearance of truth,"
that we are told afterwards, that — "after they
" had made some stay in that part next the sea,
" and Ashburnham had been some time absent" 8gc.
— " the king thought it best for avoiding all
" highways to go to Tichfield, a noble seat of the
" earl of Southampton's," 8gc. that " he there re-
" freshed himself: and consulted with his three
" servants, what he should next do."
Some time and some stay are indefinite terms;
but usually, if not invariably, signifying no short
time or stay. And after having rode all night,
and a part of the next day, it must have required
some time further for the king to " refresh himself
before he consulted with his " three servants, what
" he should next do." Now the aggregate (for it
would be hazardous to use the more familiar term,
sum-total) of all these " somes" must be calcu
lated at a very considerable amount. Not how
ever more than might be well afforded out of the
very liberal allowance, which lord Clarendon has
providently taken care to supply; a period of

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 133
about twelve hours. And that the fugitives had
time enough and to spare, is manifest from their
having been so unboundedly lavish of it. Nothing
therefore can be more satisfactory than the whole
of this account: wherein the first part and the
last, the causes and the effects, reciprocally prove
each other, like rules of arithmetic.

" Servatur ad imum

Qualis ab incepto;  et sibi constat."
But it is with itself alone that this account is
consistent, being irreconcileably at variance with
all others. Whitelock tells a very different story.
" November 11. This night news came of the
" king's departure from Hampton Court."
" November 12. Letters from lieutenant general
" Cromwell, to the house, of the king's going
" away. That the commissioners and Col. Whaly
" missing him at supper went into his chamber,
" and found him gone ; leaving his cloak in the
" gallery, and some letters of his own hand-writing
" upon the table."
This is confirmed by Rushworth thus — "No-
" vember 11. This night came the unexpected
" news of his majesty escape from Hampton Court.
" About nine of the clock the officers, who attended
" him, wondered he came not forth of his chamber,
" went in, and missed him within half an hour
" after his departure"
It is to be remembered, that, while these two
plodding Journalists * were noting down the pass-
* Whitelock and Rushworth, probably without intended, ob
conscious, deference to Seneca, were more careful as to. what

134 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
ing events day by day, as they occurred, the noble
and classical Historian of the Rebellion was either
in Jersey or in France ; having quitted England
three years before, and not having returned till
nearly twelve years after, the time of this transac
tion. But as the preference given on these grounds
to the united testimonies of the former may be
disallowed by some, recourse shall be had to do
cuments, which, all must admit to be of para
mount authority : — the Journals of the two Houses
of Parliament.
" Lord's Journals" Die Veneris 12 Novembris.
" The lord Montague acquainted the house,
" that the king escaped last night from Hampton
" Court : and these papers were found in his
" chamber. Letter to lord Montague ; letter to
" the speaker of the house of commons ; and letter
" to colonel Whaly."
All which letters are dated the Wth November.
" Commons Journals" Die Veneris 12th No
vember. " A letter from lieutenant-general Cromwell of
they wrote, than as to how they wrote. On the contrary, lord
Clarendon is evidently not so much influenced by the precept*
of the moralist, as by the example of the historians of antiquity,
who certainly attended as much to elegance of style, as to ac
curacy of statement. Among these Livy seems to have been
his favourite, if not his model. In so far at least, as from his
having adopted the Patavinian practice of giving a flavour to the
insipidity of matter of fact by. a few spices of the marvellous
and preternatural.
* Quaere quid scribas ; non quemadmodum 
Cujuscumque orationem videris solicitam et politam, scito ani-
mum quoque non minus essepusillis occupatum. Senec. Epist. 115.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 135
" Nov. 11, twelve at nighf, was read ; signifying
" the king's escape ; who went away about nine
" of the clock yesterday evening."
Here then are incontrovertible proofs that in
stead of many hours, not a single hour elapsed
between the king's escape and the discovery of it.
Another fact will now be demonstrated, in its
application not less important than the former;
that the king and his attendants at the moment of
their departure must have known that the chance
of longer concealment was absolutely hopeless.
Colonel Whalley in his letter to the speaker of
the house of commons writes — " and as for the
" manner, Mr. Speaker, of the king's going away,
" it was thus. Mondayes and Thursdayes were
" the king's set dayes for his writing letters, to be
" sent into forreigne parts. His usual time for
" coming out of his bedchamber on those dayes
" was betwixt five and six of the clock. Presently
" after he went to prayers. And about half an
" houre after that to supper : at which times I set
" guards about his bedchamber. Because he made
" no long stay after supper before he retired him-
" self thither."
" About five of the clock, I came into the room
" next his bedchamber ; where I found the Com-
" missioners and bedchamber men. I asked them
" for the king : they told me, he was writing let-
" ters in his bedchamber. I waited without mis-
" trust till six of the clock ; I then began to
" doubt, &c."*
* The following account is taken from a newspaper of that
time, entitled "the Moderate Intelligencer," from Thursday

136 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
Such having been Whalley's —
 " Custom always of the afternoon,"
the king could not but have been aware that, as
the attempt was impracticable till after sunset, his
absence must be discovered as soon as he had with
drawn himself. But it is to be remarked, that
his majesty throughout the whole transaction is
Nov. 11, to Thursday November 18, 1647. " Nov. 11. — This
",day will be famous in after times because towards the end of it
" his majesty escapt a kind of restraint ; under which he was
" at Hampton Court : and according to the best relation, thus :
" — He, as was usual, went to be private a little before evening
" prayer ; staying somewhat longer than usual, it was taken
" notice of; yet at first without suspicion ; but he not coming
" forth suddenly, there were fears, which encreased by the
" crying of a greyhound* again and again within ; and upon
" search it was found the king was gone ; and by the way of
" Paradise, a place so called in the garden ; in probability sud-
" denly after his going in, and about twilight. He left a paper
" to the parliament, another to the commissioners, and a third
" to colonel Whalley."

* A postscript to the last of these letters concludes thus—
" I had almost forgot to desire you to send the black grew
" bitch to the duke of Richmond."
Sir Philip Warwick has noticed the king's preference of grey
hounds to spaniels ; and his majesty's reason for it.
"Methinks because it shews his disesteem of a common
" court vice, it is not unworthy the relating of him; that one
" evening his dog scraping at his door, he commanded me to
" let in Gipsey : whereupon I took the boldness to say, Sir, I
" perceive you love a greyhound better than you do a spaniel;—
" Yes, (he replied) for they equally love their masters ; and yet
" do not flatter them so much."
Sir P. W's. Memoires of the Reign of King Charles the First,
page 329.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 137
represented as scarcely having had even " voix en
" chapitre," While those, who advised, planned,
and contrived, what lord Clarendon elsewhere calls
" this so precious affair," are made to appear so
utterly devoid of common prudence, that the
greater the folly, the more likely they were to
commit it; the more obvious the danger, the
more likely to precipitate their royal master into
it. Vain however as would be the attempt to
argue, that lord Clarendon's account is impro- clarendon
bable ; it may not be equally so, to prove that it PaPers-
is untrue. When between two statements of the same
transaction there is the most perfect and entire
concordance, as to all essential points, with just
enough of trifling variation in detail, as to bear
internal evidence of their not having been written
in concert, they have a fair claim to consideration.
But when it is known, as it here is of Berkeley
and Ashburnham, on the unquestionable authority
of lord Clarendon, that the respective authors " had
" contracted a very avowed animosity against each
" other ;" and that " there was no inclination, that
" one should see what the other had writ ;" that,
" while each endeavoured to clear himself, he ob-
" jected or imputed somewhat to the other, that
" made him liable to just censure ;" surely such
documents are so far entitled to unqualified credit.
As in the course of this discussion frequent re
ference to Ashburnham's Narrative must neces
sarily occur, it is expedient here to premise, that
there is no wish to obtain the admission of any
fact, resting solely on his authority; no desire,

138 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
that any credit should be conceded,' which can in
reason be witheld : all, that is hoped, being, that
the testimonies of others may not be invalidated
by his concurrence. II.
(a) " Ashburnham alone seemed to know what they
'" were to do, the other two- having received only
" orders to attend"
" He (Berkley) took care to publish that this
" enterprize of the king's was so totally without
" his privity, that he was required to attend on
(b) "horseback at such an hour, and had not the
" least intimation of his majesty's purpose what
" he intended to do."
" I do not believe that sir John Berkley knew
" any thing of the king's purpose in his intended
" escape, or whither he resolved to go, or, indeed,
(c) " more of it than that he resolved at such an
" hour, and in such a place, to take horse, and was
" himself required to attend him."
(d) " Nor do /, in truth think that the king hiwr
"self, when he took horse, resolved whither to go"
While analysing this most elaborately com
pounded portion of the whole history of the Re
bellion, the following questions are neither fri
volous, nor impertinent; however obvious the
answers to them may be.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 139
1. To whom did Ashburnham alone seem to
know what they were to do ? — To Berkeley and
Legge. And to them only : for at the performance
of this scene none but the actors could have been
present, 2. When assembled " what were they to do" —
but to ride off as fast as they could ?
3. How or in what way could Ashburnham's
sole and exclusive knowledge, of what they were to
do, have betrayed itself; but by this then taking
the lead ?
To all the readers of Clarendon's History, for 00
more than a. century past, Ashburnham alone, of
the king's three attendants, must seem to have
been at this juncture about his majesty's person ;
and the only inmate of the palace : — " the other
" two having received only orders to attend on
" horseback at such an hour and in such a place."
This implied fact,* even without the notoriety of
Ashburnham's having been at all times honoured
above his icolleagues with a distinguished share of
the royal confidence, might in itself suffice to ac
credit the assertion of his having been alone cog
nizant of their common destination. It is one
therefore, which it is most important to ascertain :
and, happily, not less easy. In sir John Berkeley's
Memoir, which every one, who consults it, will
* Such it has been considered by Rapin, Who says distinctly
— " The king came with Ashbumham to the garden gate where
" Berkeley waited with the horses."

14Q VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
find to be such as lord Clarendon has described
it ; written for the purpose of " clearing himself,
" by objecting or imputing somewhat to the other,
" that made him liable to just censure ;" we read —
" I had been now absent three weeks removed
" from the king; and about a fortnight after me
" Mr. Ashburnham : Mr. Legge still remained with
" his majesty and waited in his bedchamber, &c."
" I went the Tuesday night after to Hampton
'• Court privately being introduced a back way by
"Mr. Leg."
" On the Wednesday we had orders to send
" spare horses to Sutton in Hampshire ; and the
" Thursday after his majesty with Will. Leg
" came out at the closing of the evening, and im-
" mediately went to Oatlands, and so through the
" forest : where his majesty was our guide."
Ashburnham's account, (after having by the
king's command withdrawn his parole) is — " For
" that cause, and for the plain language, that I
" used to Cromwell at my last being with him, I
" was the next day dismissed from my attendance
" upon the king" &c.
" Not many days after, Mr. Leg came to me
" from his majesty. For he only was permitted
" to continue still near him."
If any doubt can possibly remain of the truth,
which these two adversaries unite in establishing,.
it will effectually be removed by again having re
course to colonel Whalley's letter to the speaker—
— " But for some fifteen weeks I had Mr.
"Ashburnham's engagement for the king's safe
" abiding with me. And truly I must do him so

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 141
" much right as to declare, that he dealt honestly
" and like a gentleman with me. For about three
"weeks ago he came to me, and minded me of his
" engagement, which was to continue no longer
" than he gave me warning ; which, he told me,
" he now did." — He after mentions colonel Legge,
as the only remaining attendant on the king, who
had not been put about his majesty's person by
the parliament. And lastly that Legge went
away on " Thursday morning."*
If Berkeley took care to publish that this enter- ( b )
prize was totally without his privity ; and that he
had not the least intimation of what the king in
tended to do ; he shewed that sometimes they, who
are not " great wits have short memories."
If lord Clarendon believed that Berkeley knew (c )
nothing more of the king's purpose than that at
such an hour and in such a place he had resolved
to take horse, he must have either disbelieved, or
forgotten, what he had read in sir John's Memoir;
which, he says, was not made public; but which
he himself read, and conferred upon with the writer
at large.
From that work the following passages may be
not unfairly extracted. — " About eight or ten days
* This is not inconsistent with Berkeley's saying that Will,
Legge came out of the Palace with the king at the close of the
evening. For not having been dismissed from his attendance
on the king, as Berkeley and Ashburnham had been, he might
be as much at liberty to return in the evening as to go away in
the morning.

142 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" before the time appointed for the drawing toge-
" ther of the army, Mr; Ashburnham invited me
" from London, and Mr. Leg from Hampton
" Court, to dine with him on Sunday at Ditton, &c.
" — They told me, that his majesty was really
" afraid of his life, and was resolved to make his
" escape ; and that they, had order from his mar
" jesty to command me in his name to wait on
"his majesty in his intended escape." Sir John
in reply advises, that Mr. Ashburnham should
" provide three or four ships in several ports to be
" ready in all events :" and requires that Aa may
receive the king's commands immediately from
himself. " On Monday, Mr. Ashburnham and I went to
" the head quarters to desire passes to return be-
" yond the seas. He asked me, what I thought
" of his majesty's coming to London, and appear-
" ing in the House of Lords ? I replied, very ill.
" He then asked, me, what I thought of the Isle
" of Wight ? I replied, better than of London,
" though I knew nothing of it, nor who was go-
" vernor. I then asked him why his majesty would
" not make his retreat secure by quitting the king-
" dom ? He replied, not for two reasons.*
" I went the Tuesday night after to Hampton
" Court privately being introduced a back way
" by Mr. Leg. The king told me he was afraid
" of his life, and that he would have me assist in
" person in his escape. I asked, which way his
* The one being the policy of waiting till the rendezvous of
the army was over, the other, that of waiting till the treaty with
the Scots was concluded.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 143
" majesty would go? His majesty replied, that
" both Mr. Ashbumham, who was present, and I
" should know that by Will: Leg. On the wed-
" nesday we had orders to send spare horses to
" Sutton in Hampshire. And the Thursday after
" his majesty with Will. Legg came out, &c. &c.
From these extracts the following conclusions
may be drawn.
1st. That Berkeley has avowed a knowledge
which lord Clarendon (b) states him to have
publiely denied.
2d. That he has shewn, that he knew more than
lord Clarendon (c) believes him to have known.
3d. That he must of necessity have known more
than it has been his purpose to disclose.
Of which latter the evidences are these —
1st. The admission that Ashburnham consulted
him as to the scheme of the king's going to
London; which met with his decided disappro
bation. 2d. That he himself suggested the king's es
caping out of the kingdom ; to which Ashburn
ham objected, assigning his reasons.
3d. That when Ashburnham afterwards asked
him what he thought of the Isle of Wight ? He
replied " better than of London." Thus of three
plans the two first were instantly and decisively
rejected : while to the last no objection was made.
For sir John's knowing nothing of the Island, or
of the governor, might be reason enough for his
not going there ; but certainly was none, why the
king, or any one else should not go there : and
further, why he should not of himself recommend

144 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
the measure, but not why he should refuse his
concurrence at the recommendation of another.
4th. That he received orders to send a relay, of
horses to Sutton in Hampshire. Now however
modestly sir John may speak of his topographical
acquirements, he surely cannot mean to disclaim
the knowledge, that Hampshire is a maritime
country, and that from its shore —
" Est in conspectu  notissima fama
" Insula :
It therefore seems incredible that this order of
the king's should not have reminded him of his
consultation with Ashburnham ; in which, of the
three places proposed, the Isle of Wight was the
only one, to which no exception was offered.
Berkeley indeed is not one of those writers, of
whose facts a true understanding and right judg
ment are likely to be elicited by a too rigorously
critical acceptation of his words. Yet it may be
observed of one, that it is perhaps more fully and
precisely expressive than it may have been de
signed. " We continued our way towards South-
" ampton." The way that was continued at Sutton
had been begun at Hampton Court. If then he
was aware of the former, it is probable that he
was not unconscious of the latter.
Nor are these the only indications which trans
pire of Berkeley's having been really, more than
he would fain have been considered, in the secret.
On being apprized by Legge and Ashburnham of
the king's commands to attend him, he requires,
" that he may receive those commands imme-
" diately from the king himself." Thus evincing

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 145
a spirit highly creditable both to his character,
and to lord Clarendon's delineation of it. On
being in consequence of this requisition " pri-
" vately introduced by Mr. Legge," and in answer
to his enquiry "which way his majesty would
" go?" The king tells him that " both he and
" Ashburnham, who was present, should know
"that by Will. Leg." Now an appeal may
here be confidently made to every reader of
Berkeley's Memoir, whether there be not through
out internal evidence, even to conviction, that
Berkeley would not only have noticed the omis
sion, if such there had been, but that he would
have ascribed it to Ashburnham's intolerant jea
lousy, overweening arrogance, and abused ascen
dancy. He allows, that the next day he received
orders from the king to send forward horses to
Sutton, and that these orders were delivered by
" Will. Leg." On which no observation is
made. Is it not most probable therefore that he
then learnt something more on the subject ? If
not, — is it not certain, that not only colonel Legge,
but Berkeley himself, and the king too, must have
understood this order as an implied virtual noti
fication, according to promise, of his majesty's de
cision ?
Ashburnham in his Narrative affirms that when
he proposed the Isle of Wight, Berkeley fully as
sented. The difference in the two statements
therefore is only in the degree ; that is, between
assenting and not dissenting ; the latter answer
ing the present purpose quite as well as the former ;
VOL. I. !•

146 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
because it equally proves Berkeley's knowledge
of the proposition.
They both speak but of owe interview with the
king; and each mentions, that the other, as well
as Legge, was present ; with this difference, that
Berkeley dates it on the Tuesday, and Ashburn
ham on the Wednesday. When all the circum
stances and the relative situations of the parties
are considered, it must be admitted, that although
one interview had been successfully contrived* to
have attempted a second would have been {hazar
dous. Nor can it reasonably be conceived, that
there was any other channel of communication
between the king and Ashburnham than that of
colonel Legge ; whom Whalley distinctly notices,
as well as Berkeley and Ashburnham, as " being
" the only remaining attendant on the king, who
" had not been put about his majesty's person by
" the parliament." So far then from " Ashburn-
" ham alone seeming to know what they were to
" do," it is clear, that he knew no more, than what
was equally known to the other two attendants,
as to " what they were to do ;" or more correctly,
where they were to go.
Not inconsistently with the disclaimer of all in
tention to rest one particle of this Vindication on
the sole authority of Ashburnham's Narrative, the
following extract may be subjoined, though most
materially differing from Berkeley's statement. At
that one audience, which he with Berkeley in the
presence of Legge had of the king, he says, that
on his having enquired of his majesty " whither

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 147
" he had resolved to go ?"— the king told us that
he " had had some thoughts of going out of the
" kingdom ; but, for the shortness of the time to
" prepare a vessel to transport him, and for the
" other reasons I had sent him by Mr. Legge, he
" was resolved to go to the Isle of Wight. And,
" the manner of his escape being then agreed on,
" we left him ; and the next night he performed
" his part, and we ours." As some readers may
be disposed to weigh against each other these con
tradictory statements, with a view to .determine,
which is the more worthy of credit, it will per
haps not be useless to remind them, that lord
Clarendon affirms, that these apologies or narra
tions Ashburnham and Berkeley" made not public,
" but gave in writing to such of their friends in
" whose opinions, they most desired to be ab-
" solved." — That Legge must have been one of
those in whose opinions Ashburnham would be
more particularly desirous of being absolved, even
if no friendship subsisted between them, is to be
presumed from the noble historian's testimony,
that "he had so general a reputation for integrity
" and fidelity to his master, that he never fell
" under the least imputation or reproach with any
" man." But further, that Ashburnham might
consider him to be among his friends, reasons are
not wanting to induce belief. In his Narrative
he mentions, that after they had been expelled
from the Isle of Wight, Legge and himself con
tinued together " waiting on the coast for nearly
" a quarter of a year" in expectation of the king's
being able to effect his escape from Carisbrook

148 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
Castle. This fact is more than confirmed by en
tries on the Journals of both Houses of Parlia
ment : " That Mr. Ashburnham and colonel Legge
" were taken and apprehended near Winchester
" Park in the County of Hants on the 19th of
" May :" being nearly five months from the time
of their separation from their royal master. Till
then a common service, both being of the bed
chamber, would account for their association.
Afterwards what could have been the connecting
link between them but that " idem velle atque
" idem nolle," the surest foundation of a true and
lasting friendship? And that such was twenty
years after still subsisting between them, there
are grounds to infer from their having been the
only two guests, whom Evelyn met at Clarendon
House, when it was " the house of mourning." It
is impossible therefore to suppose, that Ashburn
ham would dare to submit his Narrative to Legge's
inspection, if it contained misrepresentations of
occurrences, in which Legge himself was so prin
cipally engaged.
Berkeley on the contrary is far less likely to
have communicated his Memoir to Legge. The
former immediately, after he had been dismissed
from the Isle of Wight, returned to the queen his
well known Patroness.
(d) Lord Clarendon's thinking " that the king when
" he took horse, had not resolved whither to go,"
appears much at variance with his stating, that
" when they were free from the apprehension of
" the guards, and the horse-quarters, they rode

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 149
" towards the New Forest." It proves at least
that his majesty was no sooner mounted than his
resolution was taken. Berkeley says " the king
" was their guide." But it matters not, whether
he— " Most like a baron bold,
" Rode foremost of the company ;"
or whether he brought up the rear ; since it is not
.pretended that he was carried away by force.
III.
" Certain it is that the king never thought of
" going to the Isle of Wight."
If we trace back the gradation of lord Claren
don's ascent to that height of certainty, which he
has now attained, we shall find him, 1st. " think-
" ing," that the king at setting out from Hampton
Court, was ignorant of his own destination : —
2dly. " believing," that Berkeley knew no more of
the king's purpose, than his majesty himself ; who
is thought to have had none : — and 3dly., affirming,
that " Ashburnham alone seemed to know what
" they were to do," or more correctly, where they
were to go. From these data the only deduction
is, that " Ashburnham with great* appearance of
" truth has been suspected of treachery ;"-— but
not so of "folly." There is no such alternative.
For that man could have been no fool, who was
able to lead by the nose the king, and Legge, and
* Such is the opinion most gratuitously pronounced by W.
Bray, Esq. the venerable editor of Evelyn's Memoirs, &c. in, a
Very irrelevant note.

150 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
Berkeley, from Hampton Court to the Isle of
Wight, as Gulliver drew by its cables the whole
>fleet of Blefuscu into the ports of Lilliput.
It will be found upon reference to the volume
itself, (for the charge of so great a discrepancy
will hardly be taken on trust,) that in the same
page, lord Clarendon has annexed to this most
positive assertion the following contradictory ob
servation — " It is probable, that Cromwell, who
" many years afterwards committed him (Ash-
" burnham) to the tower, and did hate him, and
" desired to have taken his life, would have been
" glad to have blasted his reputation, by declaring
" that he had carried his master to the Isle of
" Wight, without his privity, upon his own pre-
," sumption : which, how well so ever intended,
"must have been looked upon by all men as
," such a transcendant crime, as must have de-
" prived him of all compassion for the worst that
" could befall him." — 'Why then did he not declare
it ? What could have restrained him ; but con
viction, that the declaration was too monstrous;
the fiction too grossly palpable ; the idea too ex
travagantly absurd, to be palmed upon public
credulity ; even iby him , the most successful, as
the most daring, of all impostors ? But could he
have been aware how far the chancellor of the
exchequer was disposed to countenance the notion,
we may be sure, that Ashburnham would not have
lived to see the restoration.
Hume is evidently not satisfied with lord Cla
rendon's relation of this transaction, although he
has avowedly followed it. He observes/ that all

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 151
other writers of that " age represent the king's
" going to the Isle of Wight as voluntary and in-
" tended." He also quotes the letter written to
the earl of Lanerick by the king soon after his
arrival in the island ; in which his majesty says —
" I wonder to hear, if that be true, that some of
*' my friends say, that my going to Jersey would
" much more have furthered my personal treaty
" than my coming hither : for which as I see no
" colour of reason, so I had not been here, if I
" had thought that fancy true; or had not been
" secured of a personal treaty ; of which I neither
" do, nor, I hope will* repent."
In addition to the testimonies, to which Hume
has referred, some documents will now be adduced
from which it may appear, that " certain it is,"
that the king had not Only been long prede
termined in his choice of the Isle of Wight for his
asylum, but of colonel Hammond as the fittest
person to be entrusted with the safe-guard of his
royal person : and that it is probable, that the
idea of this so much censured, deplored, and exe-
* In Rushworth's Collections, vol. vii. page 941, it is said to
be " certified by letters from the Isle of Wight, December 22,
" 1647 : that the king affirms, that that was the place he first
" designed, when he apprehended it not safe to continue any
" longer at Hampton Court : and that if1 he were at liberty to
" choose any place in his three kingdoms, he would not remove
" thence, except to London upon a personal treaty."
Ludlow's Memoirs, page .92, " others counselled him to
" secure his person by quitting the kingdom. Against which
" .the king objected, that the rendezvous being appointed for
" the next week, he was not willing to quit the army till that
" was passed."

152 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
crated measure originated in his own mind, with
out the suggestion, advice, or even knowledge of
Ashburnham. In Wood's Athense Oxonienses, Art. Dr. Henry
Hammond, will be found the following passage—
" When king Charles was a prisoner at Hampton
" Court, dr. Henry Hammond, the learned divine
" before mentioned, conducted this his nephew to
" his majesty, as a penitent convert. Which his
" majesty taking well gave him his hand to kiss,
" &c." — His majesty, after he had been frighted
" from Hampton Court, did choose rather to put
" himself into his hands for the safety of his
" person, rather than any other."
Dr. Hammond is well known to have been, and
most deservedly, on account of his eminent piety
and learning, distinguished as the king's " favourite
" chaplain." At his majesty's particular request,
he had been suffered to attend upon him at Hamp
ton Court : and therefore needed not the interven
tion of Ashburnham to obtain access to the royal
presence, or an opportunity to introduce his ne
phew. Sir John Bowring, in his " manuscript,* pre-
* Published in an octavo volume entitled a " Collection of
"Private Papers," 1703.
It is repeatedly quoted by bishop Kennet in his " Life and
" Reign of Charles the First."
Sir John commences his manuscript with the following ac
count of himself. — " Being presented to the king's majesty at
" Oxford, at the time of the late war, by the hands of the lord ,
" high chamberlain Lindsey, by directions of my lord keeper
" Littleton, before he died in his privy chamber at Christchurch j
" in respect I was a practicable clerk at common law in the

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 153
" sented to king Charles the second," relates a
conversation, which he had with the king at Sion
House* on one of those occasions, when the royal
captive was indulged with a sight of his beloved
children, thus — " the king gave me special charge
" to keep my friendship with Mr. Lisle : for, says
" his majesty, I shall in a short time, for aught I
" know, be in that man's power : (meaning, as I
" afterwards understood, his majesty's resolution
" was, suddenly to retire from Hampton Court
" to the Isle of Wight ;) and therefore I charge
" you by the duty and respect you have for me,
" and upon your allegiance, that, whatsoever you
" do, you keep your interest and friendship with
" Mr. Lisle. It concerns me very much, says his
" majesty, and you may perchance do me the
" greatest service, and be better able to perform
" it than any other friend. Be secret ; and I
" shall sometimes send to you." Bowring after
wards, when in the Isle of Wight adds — " It was
" not in the power at that time of any other per-
" son living to do his majesty any good, except
" they had a secret interest with Mr. Lisle.-f- And
*
" inns of court, by the ablest clerks then living j and so recom-
" mended by the judges to his majesty. The king immediately
" sent for Mr. Secretary Nicholas ; and then gave Mr. Secretary
" directions for a civil employment for me ; and a warrant
" for me to be sworn one of the clerks of the council extra-
" ordinary." * It appears that the king dined and passed three or four
hours with his children at Sion house, August 24 ; and again
August 30, 1647- (Whitelock, p. 267. Rushworth, p. 789,
795.) t Whitelock's Memorials, page 286, " Jahuary 1, 1648. Di-

154 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" this the king knew very well : because his ma-
"jesty knew, that Hammond received his orders
" from Lisle in all things, by reason Hammond
" was otherwise a stranger in the island."*
" Certain it is" therefore— not as lord Claren
don has affirmed, that previously to quitting
Hampton Court " the king never thought of going
" to the Isle of Wight"— but that he had at least
thought, if he had not determined, on that step,
toot less than ten-f- weeks before he took it.

IV.

" The king asked Ashburnham, where the ship
" lay ? which made the other two conclude that
" the king resolved to transport himself."
"After they had made some stay in that part
"next the sea, and Ashburnham had been some
" time absent, he returned without any news of the
" ship : with which the king seemed troubled."
" The not being sure of a ship, if the resolution
" vers letters came from the Parliament Commissioners at the
¦" Cowes — some related not without ground, that Mr. William
¦" Lisle had undertaken to provide a ship for his majesty's es-
" cape out of the Island."
* Commons Journals, 9th of September, 1647. " Ordered
" that Mr. Bulkeley, and Mr. Lisle, and the rest of the gentle-
" men that serve for the Isle of Wight, do go down with the
" governor for the better settling him in the government of the
" said Isle."
t From August 30, to November 11.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 155
" were fixed for embarking, which was never ma-
" nifest."
" The not having a ship ready, if it were in-
" tended, was unexcusable."
" ^"in truth transportation had been thought
" of, it is hard to believe that a ship would not
"have been provided."
"Others think, that he intended for Jersey: and
cfthat was the ground of his question to Mr. Ash-
" burnham, where is ; the ship?"
It is observable, that of the foregoing passages
the two first, extracted from lord Clarendon's re
lation, are peremptory assertions of unquestionable
facts ; while the four last, given as comments, are
hypothetical and conjectural. The latter may at
first sight appear contradictory of the former, or
at least inconsistent. But it will be found, that
the streams, however numerous, issue from the
same source ; flow through parallel conduits ; and
discharge themselves into one common reservoir.
" The king asked Ashburnham where the ship
" lay ? which made the other two conclude that
" the king resolved to transport himself."
A very safe conclusion. But what must they
have concluded from Ashburnham's returning no
answer to the king's question? For, that no
answer was returned is the fair and natural in
ference, — 1st. because if they heard the question,

156 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
they would equally have heard the answer: 2d.
because the latter must have been to the full as
likely to attract their attention, to impress itself
on their memories, and to be thought, as interest
ing, and as well worth repeating, as the former.
It is true, that the answer might have been re
turned in a whisper; though the question had
been asked aloud. But then what an astounding
proof would there have been, where there is such
a dearth even of plausible assumptions, convert
ing surmise into certainty, that " Ashburnham
" alone knew what they were to do," while the
other two knew no more, as lord Clarendon verily
believes, of the king's purpose, than the horses with
which they were ordered to attend.
And who were " the other two" — rivals of
CEdipus himself for sagacity in guessing ? They
are the same two heretofore designated as " the
" other two :" Legge and Berkeley. But as in that
instance* they, on examination, have proved to
be Berkeley and Ashburnham; so in this they
will turn out to " be Legge and Ashburnham.
Berkeley's account is ; — and it is only from him,
or Ashburnham, or Legge, that lord Clarendon
could possibly have known what was said, or
done, and the last of these is never cited, or even
alluded to, as authority. — " The king asked me
'• (sir John), if / had ever a ship ready? I
" answered that / neither had, nor could have
"any: having not one penny of money: that I
" had desired Mr. Ashburnham earnestly to make
* See page 11, where it is shewn that Legge alone was with
the king in Hampton Court palace, while Berkeley and Ash
burnham were waiting at the garden gate.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 157
" provision ; * but I knew not what he had done
" in it. The king then asked me, what /thought
" might be the reason they should say, I had one,
" and that discovered, if I had none ? I replied,
" that it was hard for me to affirm what was their
" meaning in that particular ; or in general with
" their proceeding with his majesty. But I did
" conjecture, they (the Scotch) were very desirous
" to . have his majesty out of the army ; which
" made them present his dangers to him so fre-
" quently, as they had done. His majesty laid
" his hand upon my shoulder and said, I think
" thou art in the right."
Thus is Berkeley's relation most essentially, and
entirely, different from lord Clarendon's : and so
irreconcileably, that one of the two must be re
jected. And reasons may be adduced, which
cannot easily be controverted, for giving pre
ference to the former. — While the noble historian
simply gives the king's question, as addressed to
Ashburnham — " and there an end ;" — sir John
not only affirms, that the question was directed
to him, but informs us what was his answer : then,
as naturally arising out of that answer, comes a
second question : to which also his reply is added :
and finally on that answer the king's remark.
In support of Berkeley's statement generally,
and especially of his " conjecture" respecting the
Scotch, the following testimonies may be offered. —
Ludlow's Memoirs page 92 : " Some there were,
" who proposed his going to Jersey. But the
* Very liberal provision : — " three or four ships in several
ptprts, to be ready in all events."

158 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" king being told by the earl of Lanerick* that
" the ships, provided by sir John Berkeley for that
" purpose had been seized, &c." And colonel
Whalley in his letter to the speaker writes thus—
" Whereas you desire, Mr. Speaker* to know, who
" were with the king two or three days before his
" going. The lord Lanerick was with the king on
" Monday morning : but staid not. On Tuesday
" all the Scots commissioners : who went away
" likewise that night."
Thus it appears to be clearly demonstrated,
first; that the king's question was addressed to
Berkeley, and not to Ashburnham — secondly, that
the question was, whether there had ever been a
ship in readiness any where ; and not in what par
ticular place the particular ship lay : and thirdly,
that the king had been apprized, at the same time,
of both pretended facts : that of a ship having
been secretly provided ; and that ¦ of its having
been subsequently discovered. The question there
fore was one not of anxiety but of curiosity.
" After Ashburnham had been some time ab-
" sent, he returned without any news of the ship ;
" with which the king seemed troubled."
Alas! poor king! — Many a dismal day must
have passed since there had been cause for his
seeming otherwise. But if at this moment he
seemed more than usually troubled, it might have
been (like royal Arthur) —
— " from love ; * or the wind-cholic,"
but it could not have been from disappointment.
* Nothing can be more remote from all intention, or more

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 159
For that feeling must ever be a stranger^ where
expectation has not previously been an inmate.
No one, who credits the character given by lord
Clarendon either of sir John Berkeley, or of his
Memoir; or who has qualified himself to form
his own judgement of both by a perusal of the
work, the whole design and purpose of which
being, as we are expressly told* an endeavour " to
" clear himself, by, objecting or imputing somer
" what to the other that made him liable to just
" censure," can possibly, conceive, that he should
have passed over absolutely unnoticed such facts
and circumstances* as have been here detailed,
and insisted on by the noble historian, if theyhad
really occurred.
Here then, as well in what Berkeley has said,
as in what he has omitted to say, are the positive,
and negative, disproofs of this article of a complex
charge brought against Ashburnham, of a treachery
so enormous as to be without precedent or parallel
in the registries of human depravity. The charge
indeed is no where specifically, and distinctly, ad
vanced : but it is every where intelligibly, as in-
siduously, conveyed.
It has been so understood by Rapin ; who
repugnant, more abhorrent, to every feeling, than it is here to
treat with profane levity the sacred sorrows " of the worthiest Lord Cla_
" gentleman ; the best master ; the best friend ; the best hus- rendon's
" band ; the best father ; and the best christian, that the age, in Charles I.
" which he lived, produced/' But when by such a motley garb
as this, " of shreds and patches" it is attempted to give the
fair semblance of truth to so hideous a calumny, either gravity
or patience must be abandoned.

160 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
with a masterly freedom of pencil has thus filled
up the outline of a sketch, purposely left un
finished : or rather added colouring to the original
chiaroscuro : " Then the king asked Ashburn-
" ham, where the ship lay ? Ashburnham riding
" before, as it were to get information, returned
" in some little time without any news of the ship j
" at which the king seemed uneasy."
It may be objected, that it does not follow,
from Rapin's having so understood it, that such
must necessarily have been lord Clarendon's mean
ing. It is most true, that the whole of the noble
historian's relation is as full of perplexities, as of
errors. It is indeed
" A mighty maze : — but not without a plan."
Of which plan having been supplied with the
original design, we need not fear to bewilder
ourselves in the labyrinth ; however tortuous and
complicated may be its intricacies. In the Sup
plement to Clarendon's State Papers (page 78),
where a character is given of sir John Berkeley,
the following passage occurs : " this gentleman
" and John Ashburnham, the latter of whom he
"/the king) had entrusted to provide a ship for
" him to transport him beyond the sea : but by
" What accident was not known, there was no ship
" ready, &c."
" These two persons lay ever under great re-
" proaches for their ill conduct of that so precious
" affair : which requires an ample enlargement in
" a more proper place."
Here then is that more proper place : and ample
indeed has been the enlargement. But it is such,

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 161'
as. the shapeless lump of unleavened dough ob
tains by pressure; — a broader surface, but no
additional weight ; or such as misapplied culture
has given to certain fruits; increasing the size
without heightening the flavour.
Can there then be a doubt, that it has been lord
Clarendon's intent to impress on the world a be
lief, that the assurances of having provided the
ship were the lure, by which Ashburnham enticed
the too confiding monareh from Hampton Court ?
As though he had been there luxuriously reclined,
and solacing himself, on a bed of roses !
Before dismissing the present subject, it may
not be irrelevant, though perhaps superfluous, to
submit one more extract from the History of the
Rebellion, and some observations, to which it
naturally gives rise.
" There is reason to believe that he (the king)
" did resolve to transport himself beyond the seas,
" which had been no hard matter to have brought
" to pass; but with whom he consulted for the
" way of doing it, is not to this day discovered ;
" they, who were instrumental in his remove, pre-
" tending to know nothing of the resolution or
" counsel."* We have been positively told that Ashburnham
" had been entrusted to provide a ship." His
* On this passage Warburton has observed : " this indeed
" looks as if he had been betrayed by his servants ; otherwise
" why should he, who was consulted with about his ''transport-'
" ing himself, deny the knowledge of the design? But they
" who deceived him did not intend it should be to him harm,
" but probably were first deceived themselves."
VOL. I. M

162 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
therefore must have been a pretended ignorance
of the king's " resolution and counsel." We have
been also told, that " Ashburnham was some time
" absent in quest of the ship ;" having (as it is
added) " ridden before, as it were to get informa-
" tion." Here is then a pretended knowledge of
the pretended fact.
But he neither did the one, nor the other. It
has been already proved, that so far from having
pretended, that a ship was in readiness, he has
been censured and reproached by Berkeley for
having rejected even the very idea of such a pre
caution. And it will now be shewn, that of " those,
" who were instrumental in the king's remove,"
he was not the one pretending to know nothing of
the resolution or counsel. Because in his narrative,
when speaking of the interview, which he and
Berkeley in the presence of Legge contrived to
obtain in the gallery of Hampton Court, may be
found the following passage — " the king told us,
" that he had some thoughts of going out of the
" kingdom ; but for the shortness of time to pre-
" pare a vessel to transport him, and for the other
" reasons I had sent his majesty by Mr. Legge,
" he was resolved to go to the Isle of Wight."
Thus avowing his knowledge of the king's resolu
tion and counsel ; and stating the king's reasons
for having abandoned it.
May it not further be asked, how lord Claren
don's averment, of the king's having asked Ash
burnham where the ship lay, and of, his having
seemed troubled, and been disappointed, when
Ashburnham returned without any news of the

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 163
ship, can possibly be reconciled with lord Claren
don's express belief, that " when the king took
" horse he had not resolved whither to go ?" It
is impossible, that he should have asked where the
ship lay ; if he had not been told, that a ship was
ready somewhere. It is improbable, that he should
not at the same time have enquired on what coast,
at least of the kingdom, it lay at anchor. But
admitting, that he might have suppressed what
was even then no unseasonable curiosity; and
thought that it would be time enough to indulge
it, when he should have got fairly out of his prison-
palace, what could be his inducement to ask
" where the ship lay," but the resolution, wherever
that might be, thither to direct his course?
The result of this investigation may be a warn
ing, especially to an old man to mistrust his
memory. For as the retentive faculty insensibly
becomes impaired, so by a like gradation pre
judices are strengthened, and antipathies con
firmed. Neither the mere want of recollection,
nor of candour, would singly, and alone, have
betrayed lord Clarendon into such a series of
errors, and absurdities, as constitute this portion
of his history. Having read Berkeley's Memoir,
it is evident, that some faint indistinct impression
was still retained of the king's having asked a
question about a ship ; but when, and where, — to
whom, and for what purpose, — had been obliterat
ed,- and malevolence was suffered,' perhaps uncon
sciously, to fill up the blanks.*
* " Lord Clarendon began the History of the Rebellion on
" the 18th of March, 1645-6, in the Island of Scilly • and con-

|§4 VIN^PA-TION OF TW.% C^I^'FEg

'? Upon this disappointment, the Ming- thqnght
" it best, for avoiding all highways, to go tq Titch-
'i field, a noble seat of the earl of Southampton's,
" inhabited by the old lady his mother. There
'f his majesty alighted ; and would speak with
" the lady. There he refreshed himself, and con-
'£ suited with his three servants, what he should
" next do, since there was neither, ship ready, nor
" could they presume that they could remain long
" there undiscovered.
" In this debate the Isle of Wight came to be
" mentioned (as they say) by Ashburnham, as a
" place where his majesty might securely repose
" himself, until he thought fit to inform the. par-
'f lament where he was."
Even with the certain knowledge of lord Cla
rendon's having been abroad at the time, it is dif-
" tinued it to the e^nd, of the seventh book, (with portions, of
" the three following books,) during his residence in the IsW
" of Jersey, previously to the year 1648, as appears from the
" dates prefixed to those several portions as they were respec-
" tively entered upon, and, finished ; and that he did not. proceed
" further until some years after his barusjhment,* appears, like-
" wise from the saine source of information."
Adyertwemen| to the last Oxford Editio^, 1,82<?.

* In 1667. So, that there was an intermission of not less
than twenty years.

ANti CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 165
fieult for his readers to divest themselves of the
persuasion^ that he rtmst have been present at a
scenes the details Of Which are SO naturally and
plausibly related; so fully and particularly de
scribed: But for them to doubt of the noble his
torian's having conscientiously verified facts, so
gravely and peremptorily propounded^ is impos
sible. Yet no adventure is to be found in all the
righfce pleasaunte Histories of the Eihperdr Charle
magne arid his Paladins, or of king Arthur and the
Knights of his Round Table, embellished by in
cidents more fictitious* or accessories more unreal*
than this of king Charles and his three servants
at Titchfield House : saving and excepting only
the simple fact, that, sooner or later, they were
ther"e all assembled.
That such things as are related did actually
happdn, lord Clarendon can have no more known
than his readers. While on the contrary, that
such things must of necessity have happened, is
as Well known to the readers, as ever it was1 to
their illtistrioils author. Thus, when it has been
premised, that the king resolved to go to Tlichfield
Hoiise,- (where he afterwards remained not less*
than twenty-four hours,) to tell us, that, on his
arrival — " there he alighted/' is indeed presenting
us nbt so much with " a great appearance Of truth,"
as with a good specimen of truism. Then " he
" Would Speak with the lady." To he sure he
Would. And so would any one ; though far less
observant of good breeding than her royal guest :
even though, reversing Don Quixote's error, he

166 . VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
should have mistaken the earl of Southampton's
" noble Seat" for an inn; and " the old lady his
" mother" for its landlady. Especially if he should
have come, like the king, not so much in quest of
refreshment, as of concealment.' Hence not only
her consent to admit him, but her connivance to
harbour him, became necessary: and how was
this to be obtained, unless " he would speak with
the lady." Then " he refreshed himself." After
having first paid his courteous devoirs to the coun
tess Dowager, his " honoured hostess" with all
the chivalrous solicitude of a hero in romance ;
that he should have next indulged the more ig
noble propensities of one in real life, is a conclu
sion, whieh without lord Clarendon's word for
the fact, we might have drawn from his majesty's
having rode the whole of the preceding; night,
and till mid-day without rest or refreshment.
After his refreshment " he consulted with his
" three servants what he should next do." It was
in truth high time for him so to consult them.
And not the less so, because (as we have been
assured) thus far, not only he had proceeded with
out having consulted them, but even without hav
ing " resolved himself, when he took horse, whither
" he should go." But it is somewhat singular,
that at the moment of this first consultation,, as
to what he should next do, the Isle of Wight
should have been before his eyes : that very place,
to which alone, " certain it is, that he never thought
" of going." Yet to which, it is not less certain,
that from the moment of quitting Hampton Court,

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 167
he had been hastening by the most direct road:
while " Mr. Ashburnham had it in his view from
" the very beginning." Why what an Ignis-fa-
tuus ! What a Will o' the Wisp, what a Jack a
Lantern must this Jack o' the bedchamber have
been ! first to lead his royal master such a wild
goose chace after " the ship ;" and then to set him
fast in that most tenacious of quagmires, Caris-
brook Castle !
We next find, that the reason for holding this
extraordinary privy council was, because the king
and his three attendants " could not presume,
that they could remain long there undiscovered."
If, as lord Clarendon affirms, it was not till after
the king " had made some stay in that part next
" the sea;" and " Ashburnham had been some
" time absent" in quest of the ship ; that " his
" majesty thought it best for avoiding all high
" ways to go to Titchfield," there to hold this
consultation; it is no wonder that the first reso
lution, passed nemine contradicente, should have
been, that " they could not remain there long un-
" discovered." So in truth they could not, even
if they had had at starting the noble historian's
liberal allowance of ten or twelve hours; but
which colonel Whalley had reduced to less than
one. " It was during this debate that the Isle of
" Wight came to be mentioned." Now it has been
already shewn that even some days previous to
his majesty's having left Hampton Court, she (the
Isle) might have been greeted, not only with the

168 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
.well-known flattering.assurance given to M. Jour-,
idain of *' on a parle" de vous dans rantichambre
"du Roi;" but even with that of having been
jnentioned an the presence chamber ^ and by the
leing himself. It may indeed be objected, that
.the knowledge of this fact rests on no better au-
:thority than Ashburnham's Narrative. Bjat whence
can a ,more satisfactory and .conclusive proof be
derived for establishing the point, to which ail
lord Clarendon!s arguments are directed ; namely,
that it was by his fatal advice and persuasion, that
the 'king was, (though not maliciously) " betrayed
'.' to .this unhappy peregrination." For so ow
noble classic has, not very happily, termed his ma-
j:esty!s journey of less than fourscore miles within
his own dominions.
Positive as is the assertion of the Isle of Wight's
having been ifirst mentioned in this debate, the
fact of its having been then and there mentioned
by Ashburnham, is thus parenthetically qualified;
(" as they say.") On the first publication of the
History of the Rebellion, Le Clere, the great re
viewing critic of that day, objects, that many
things have been admitted, too frivolous and nu
gatory to be worth the noble author's notice. But
there is perhaps more cause to regret, that the
majestic march of a severe, though not senten
tious, style should so often trip and slide into the
equivocal laxity, and ambiguous carelessness of
familiar colloquy. " In this debate the Isle of
"Wight, came to be mentioned (as they say)
" by Ashburnham." Who are they, that say so ?

AND COND-UCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 169
Are we to understand from " they say," that such
was the -common rumour: the mere indefinite
equivalent of the French on dit ? If so ; the fair
inference is, that, whoever may say so, lord Cla
rendon d<*es mot say so. All, that has hitherto
been said, has been said by him alone, and upon
his own authority. When, therefore, he, as it
were, interrupts himself to affix this parenthesis
to a particular fact, he must be understood to
caution his readers against attributing to him a
responsibility, which he thus virtually disclaims.
If on the contrary (" they say") is to be under
stood with reference to Legge and Berkeley, the
only two persons, who having been present, could
be competent to say any thing, we have here a
fresh instance of too confident a reliance on a
treacherous memory.
It does not appear, as has been already observed^
that Legge ever said, or wrote, any thing relating
to this transaction. If his testimony can here^ or
any where else, be adduced, it is entitled to entire
creditj and unqualified deference ; as decisive au
thority, from which there is no appeal. What
Berkeley has said, will be here subjoined: and
thus will be redeemed the pledge, heretofore given,
to prove, — that from the moment of his quitting
Hampton Court, the king was as frugal and chary
of time, as became one aware that from the scan
tiness of his store he had not a moment to spare :
and to shew instead of going out of his road, and
retracing his steps, " making some stay" and
" waiting some time," and then alighting, and

170 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
complimenting, and refreshing, before he con
sulted with his three servants, that there was in
truth " Nee mora, nee requies ;"
that the consultation was held, while the journey
was without intermission pursued; when at the
distance of several miles from Titchfield House ;
consequently, several hours before his majesty
alighted there ; and further that by that time his
" three" attendants had been reduced to one ; and
that Ashburnham was not that one.
Berkeley relates, that when near Sutton (which
place the king had told him, that he expected to
reach three hours before sun-rise, and to which
the relay of horses had been sent forward,) " his
" majesty thereupon sent for our horses out; and
" we continued our way towards Southampton ;
" and his majesty resolved, that we four should
" walk down the next hill, with our horses in our
"hands, and, as we walked, consult, what we
" were to do."
Surely the king's thus consulting all three of
his servants collectively, without exception, or
distinction, early on Friday morning is any thing
but confirmatory, of his having consulted only one,
until late on Thursday evening.
Sir John concludes by stating, that, " his ma-
" jesty resolved (and that for the first time for
" aught I could then, discover) to go for the Isle
" of Wight. Whither he ordered Mr. Ashburn-
" ham and me to go to the governor: and to
" return to his majesty : who went with Will

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 171
" Legge to a house of my lord Southampton's at
" Titchfield." Ashburnham's relation is the following. " Being
" come by the morning within less than twenty
" miles of the island, his majesty called us all to
" him ; and said, that his mind was changed : (in
" probability very unfortunately :) for he would
" not go into the island, until he knew how the
" governor would receive him. And therefore
" commanded sir John Berkeley and myself to
" go to him, &c. &c. In the meanwhile he would
" go to Titchfield, the earl of Southampton's house ;
i' where we should find him, if we did return in
" any reasonable time."
Such is the unconcerted and unconscious agree
ment as to place and time between the respective
narratives of two men, who " had contracted a
" very avowed animosity against each other :" and
" were without any inclination that one should
" see, what the other had writ." It is true, that
lord Clarendon lowers and dilutes somewhat of
the strength of the argument to be drawn from
the amalgamation of these discordant elements,
by saying that Berkeley and Ashburnham " had
" been solicitous to wipe off the aspersions, which
" were cast upon them jointly, and that they had
" it in care to preserve the reputation of a joint
" innocence." But this care extended no further
than to restrict them from branding each other
with the name of traitor : for as to all other
charges, Berkeley is ever ready to impugn, cen
sure, and vilify, all thoughts, words, and deeds of

172 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
his colleague; and, as the hoble historian says,
" to clear himself by objecting, or imputing sbriie-
" what to the other." Above all the preservation
of a joint innocence could not have been in dare,
so often as Berkeley takes credit to himself for
having invariably recommended the king's trans
porting himself beyond sea, and casts on Ash
burnham the reproach of not having readily con
curred in adopting so sage a counsel ; and one so
feasible and expedient, as that of within three of
four days " providing three or four ships in several
" ports :" or whenever he so vehemently protests
against the being supposed ever to have counte
nanced a project, so rash and insane, as the king's
retiring to the Isle of Wight ; while the other, so
far from disowning it, exclaims,
" Me ! me ! Adsum qui feci ....
"  nihil iste hee ausus,
" Nee potuit."
If, therefore, as lord Clarendon says, that, " in
" this debate" (whether it occurred on the high
road near Sutton, or at the noble seat at Titch
field) " the Isle of Wight came to be mentioned
il by Ashburnham, as a place, where his majesty
" might securely repose himself;" how came Ber
keley, ever inveighing, as he is* against the groerfl
Of the bedchamber's unmerited and overweening'
influence, to pass by unnoticed so marked and
culpable an instance of it? For surely if the
suggestion had been delayed Until the king had
been brought within sight of the island, the blame
would have been greatly aggravated. But hap-

AND, CONDUCT OF JOIIN ASHBURNHAM. \7S
y$y, as unwittingly, sh? John has proved, that it
was not so delayed.
He says (while we four were walking down the
'-'• hill with our horses in our hands) I enquired of
* Mr. Ashburnham if he had gotten a ship : and
" finding he had not ; I proposed going further
" west : where I was sure, I had some friends, who
" would favour our escape.* And here again I
" found the two reasons prevail, of not leaving
" the army, before the rendezvous was passed,
" and the treaty with the Scots finished-"
It is impossible here to abstain fron^ reGjirri#g
to a former subject of argument, Berkeley's
thus inquiring whether Ashjbumham had got; a-
sfyip3 is perfectly consistent with his own account
of the king's having antecedently put the same
question to him (Berkeley). But, if it was: of
Ashburnham, (as lord Clarendon affirms); that the
king had, asked, " where the ship lay," it is pre
posterous and irrational. For even if no answer
in, the first instance had been given, sir John could
hardly have expected to obtain from his fellow
subject that satisfaction, which had not been conr
ceded by the servant to his royal master. But
* That they would readily so have favoured him, sir John
had good reason to be sure : if we may judge of > his friends in
the west, from what we know of those in the south. For the
latter seem never to hgve been better pleased,, than when they,
had got rid of hirn. Lord Clarendon relates that, when atFaris,
Berkeley offered to repair to the lpng ; boasting of the great
services, which it was in his power to render him. " The queen
" believed all he said : and those who did not, were very willing,
" he should make the experiment. For he, that loved him best,
" was vej-y willing to be without him."

174 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
our noble historian has told us, that the cause of
the king's going to Titchfield was his " disappoint-
" ment" at Ashburnham's returning, " after hav-
" ing been some time absent, without any news
" of the ship : at which his majesty seemed
" troubled." Now who but Berkeley could have
heard Ashburnham's report, or seen the king's
trouble. When Berkeley says, that on proposing that
they should go further west, for the purpose of
embarkation, he " again found the two reasons
" prevail of not leaving the army till the rendez-
" vous was passed, and the treaty with the Scots
" finished :" it is evident, that his omission to
name the person, by whom these reasons were so
successfully urged, is grounded on the confidence,
that his readers will not have forgotten, that pre
viously to quitting Hampton Court, Ashburnham
on being asked by him, " why the king would not
" make his retreat secure by quitting the king-
" dom ?" replied " not for two reasons" &c. It
was then also that Berkeley in his turn was asked
by Ashburnham " what he thought of the Isle of
"Wight?" To which, according to his own ac
count, he made no other objection than that of
his never having been there, and his having no
knowledge of the governor : but that he thought
better of it, as an expedient, than of the king's
going to London. Now admitting (for the sake
of the argument only) that the king had not de
clared, (as Ashburnham has affirmed,) in the pre
sence of Legge and Berkeley, that he had aban
doned his first design of quitting the kingdom,

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 175
and had now resolved to go to the Isle of Wight,
there is here sufficient reason to protest against
Hamlet's admonition to the players " let not those,
" Who play your clowns, speak more, than is set
" down for them," being thought applicable to one,
who was the very reverse of your clowns ; a most
accomplished courtier. Let not sir John be under
stood to have spoken more than has been set down
for him : and by himself too. Which is simply,
that the king then " resolved, (and as far as he
" could discover for the first time) to go to the
" Isle of Wight." But this is very far from saying
that his majesty had never before had it in con
templation; and still more so, that it never before
had been recommended to him.
Thus are the several relations of Clarendon and
Berkeley in some parts mutually contradictory,
and in others each disagreeing, with itself. But
it is hoped, that Ashburnham's on being assayed
by the same tests, will be found throughout, and
invariably, self-consistent ; and occasionally cor
roborated by the discrepancies between these two
authorities, equally hostile to him. Consistency
may be a less sure criterion, for the ascertainment
of truth, than inconsistency is for the detection of
falsehood. Yet, if in any case it may be available
towards framing a right estimate of a man's cre
dibility, it must be in that of one, who was of
" no deep and piercing judgement : and a free
" speaker of what he imagined'' Such Ashburn
ham is pronounced to have been by a contem
porary, so little partial to him as the earl of Cla
rendon.

17<* VINDICATION OB TfH*.' CHARACTER
When Ashburnham says, that the king, on
" (jailing them all to him, declared that his mind'
" was changed; for he would not go into the Isle
" of Wight, until hehnew how the governor would
"receive him," he is strictly consistent; having
relatedj that,, before quitting Hampton, Court the
king said to him, in the presence of Legge. and
Berkeley, " that for the shortness of the time to
"procure a vessel, and for the other reasons, I
* had sent him by Mr. Legge, he was resolved to
" go to the Isle of Wight." If then, the king's
mind was changed it could not have been in " re-
" solving for the first time" to go thither; but
because he would not go ; as he had before re
solved, in pursuance of Ashburnham's advice,
before adopted. Which was " to continue con-
" cealed at sir John Oglander's house, until he
" had gained the experience of the governor's in-
" clination to serve him. When, if no conditions
" could be had from the governor, his majesty
"would then be close by the water side; and
" might take boat, and dispose of his person into
" what part beyond the seas he pleased." Such
having been Ashburnham's plan; he may most
truly, as well as consistently^ on saying,; that the
king's " mind was changed," add, that it was-
(" in probability very unfortunately.") Not be
cause it eventually proved to be so : but because
the king by thus changing his mind had deprived1
himself of two chances, either of which was in his
favour. The one, that of continuing for a time
in the island without the governor's knowledge -;
the other that of the latter's not being very eager

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 177
to take notice of the fact, though not unknown
to him : * so long as it was not forced upon his
observation. Of which, the possibility alone is
here assumed : the probability or rather certainty
will hereafter be shewn. But Hammond was dis
qualified alike from the plea, either of real, or
pretended, ignorance ; so soon as the king's in
tention was formally announced, conditions pro
posed, and pledges, at least of honour, required.
It is to be observed, that according to Berkeley's
account the king was the first, if not the only per
son, at the consultation, by whom so much as the
name of Hammond was uttered. And his silence
here, with respect to Ashburnham's having started
the proposition, tallies exactly with his notices.
elsewhere given. He relates, that Ashburnham,
when he first suggested the Isle of Wight, on
being interrogated on that point, replied : " that
" he had had some communication with the gover-
" nor of late : and conceived good hopes of him :
" but had no assurances from him." And again,
when both having been dispatched with the king's
* In Peck's Desiderata Curiosa, vol. ii. p. 396, is given an
anonymous letter, (probably addressed to Oudart the king's
private secretary) written so late as the time of the treaty of
Newport. — " If then he (the king) will betake himself to his
" escape, let him do it on Thursday or Friday next : but by all
" means out of some door, and not from the top of the house,
" by the help of ladders. For I have heard too much of that
" talked of by some near him. Further I desire, that none may
"' be trusted herewith but your son and Le'vet. — For your own
" particular I have such grounds of the governor's indisgust of
" his majesty's escape, as if performed, shall never bring you into
" any examination or trouble about it."
VOL. I. N

178 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
message, and on their road to Lymington, Ber
keley says, " by the way I asked Mr. Ash-
" burnham, if he had any acquaintance with the
" governor, Hammond. He replied, not very much,
" yet he had lately had some discourse with him
" upon the highway near Kingston, and found
" him not very averse to his majesty. But that,
" which made him conceive the best hopes of
" him, was the character, that Mr. Denham, and
" the commendation, my lady Isabella Thynne*
" gave of him."
Now if Berkeley be correct in reporting these
conversations, at several times and places, and
under very different circumstances ; (and if he be
not, no kindness for Ashburnham has drawn him
into error,) the similarity of expressions, and the
identity of sentiments are the more worthy of
credit, when reported of one, who was " a free
" speaker of what he imagined." There is on both
occasions the same distinction made between hope
and trust: the former alone is indulged, while
the latter is held in check. Nay more, the hope
at first expressed to be entertained of Hammond's
good dispositipn is subsequently explained to rest
on the recommendation of others ; his own obr
servation extending no further than to the haying
" found him not very averse to his majesty." And
his w not having much acquaintance with the go-
" nor," corresponds with his having " had of late
" some communication with him,." Which com
munication is, afterwards reduced to " some dis-
* Isabella, daughter of Henry Rich, earl of Holland, wife of
sir James Thynne.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 179
" course" when accidentally meeting him on the
"highway near Kingston." After having thus
committed himself, and to Berkeley too, is it cre
dible that Ashburnham should ever have declared
" Colonel Hammond to be a man, whom the king
" might safely trust," from whom he acknowledges
himself to have received " no assurances ?"
But had the king no such assurances ? Had
it not been " as a penitent convert," that the king's
deservedly favourite chaplain, the pious and loyal
Dr. Hammond, " presented this his nephew ?" And
" which taking well," had not his majesty * " given
" him his hand to kiss ?"
Surely then it is neither irrational, nor unfair,
to suspect, as has been already hinted, that the
communication (" in all probability very unfor
tunately") thus opened with Hammond by a mes
sage, so graciously expressive of confidence in his
loyalty and honour, originated in the king's^ own
mind :-f" and that Ashburnham's advice was re-
* Anthony Wood's authority is not here to be made light of;
were it only on account of the friendly habits and confidential
intercourse between him and sir Thomas Herbert ; who during
the last twelve months was in constant attendance on his ma
jesty ; and the only one of his servants present at tte execution.
In preference to his own relations he entrusted Wood with the
publication of his very interesting memoir ; which first appeared
in the Athense Oxonienses.
t Ludlow says — " at last the king resolved to go to the Isle
" of Wight ; being, as is most probable, recommended thither
" by Cromwell, who as well as the king, had a good opinion of
" Hammond the governor, there."
Hume quotes both Ludlow and Salmonet as distinct and
original authorities. Whereas in all, that relates to this tran-

180 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER.
stricted, as he affirms it to have been, to the king's
taking refuge in the Isle of Wight, and there re
maining, (as surely for a time he might) unknown
to the governor.
It is further material to observe, that lord Cla
rendon has only said that Ashburnham mentioned
the Isle of Wight, " as a place where his majesty
"might securely repose himself;" and not that
Hammond was a man, whom his majesty might
safely trust. But then immediately after, his
readers are told, who Hammond was ; and how,
and why, most unfit to be so trusted. Thus has
Rapin been once more supplied with a fresh can
vass to display his talent for embroidery. And
the flowers, introduced with a boldness of design,
breadth of light and shade equally admirable, are
these, — " Ashburnham was the first to advise the
" king to retire to the Isle of Wight ; and to put
" himself into the hands of colonel Hammond, the
" governor. He must however have known Ham-
" mond was Cromwell's creature, &c. Notwith-
" standing these reasons, which should have di-
" verted Ashburnham from giving such advice,
" he ceased not to persuade the king : who after
" some objections consented to it."
Here, besides Ashburnham's having " advised
" the king to put himself into the hands of Ham-
" mond," we are told of his unpardonable per
tinacity in urging the advice, and of the king's
reluctance to adopt it, as positively, . as though
saction,;the one has merely transcribed, and the other translated
verbatim, the account of it given in Berkeley's memoirs:

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 181
these assertions were amply warranted by un
questionable authorities.
It is thus that history becomes little less amusing
than romance; and little more to be relied on.
Yet, however, here as elsewhere, and as often as
M. R. de Thoyras, like justice Shallow, presents
us with " a pippin of his own grafting," even those,
who are not members of the Horticultural Society,
may recognise in its flavour the asperity of a Cla
rendon crabstock. VI.
" The making choice of the Isle of Wight, and
" of Hammond to be trusted, since nothing fell
" out which was not to be reasonably foreseen
" and expected, and the bringing him to Titch-
" field, without the permission of the king, if not
" directly contrary to it, seemed to be all so far
" from a rational design, and conduct that most
" men did believe there was treason in the con-
" trivance, or that his majesty entrusted those
" who were grossly imposed upon and deceived
" by his greatest enemies."
Perhaps the time has been, when " most men"
were taught to think little less uncharitably, but
not more unjustly of the earl of Clarendon, than,
as we are here told, that they did of John Ash
burnham. But unless " most men" have been
also in their turn equally mis-represented and tra
duced by Fontenelle, in the following extract from
his " Histoire des Oracles," the introductory ex
hortation will be found well worth their attention

182 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
and observance^" Assurons nous bien du fait,
" avant que de nous inquieter de la cause. II est
" vrai, que cette m6thode est lente pour la plupart
"> des gens; qui courent naturellement a la cause,
" et passent par dessus la verite' du fait : mais enfin
" nous eviterons le ridicule d'avoir trouvS la oause
"¦ de ce qui n'est point."-  Of this truth, for,
that such it is no experience will controvert, a
more apt illustration can hardly be adduced than
the case now under consideration. If " most
" men" had taken the necessary time and trouble
to ascertain the state of the Isle of Wight, and the
disposition of its inhabitants, at the time of the
king's arrival, " the making choice" of it for his
asylum might not have appeared so perceptibly
pregnant with all those calamitous consequences,
to which it successively gave birth; nor might
the design have been deemed so " irrational" as
not otherwise to be accounted for, than by con
cluding " that there was treason in the contri-
" vance." — It is not however even now too late to
institute the enquiry. For the means are not yet
lost to demonstrate, that Ashburnham was not
unwarranted, when in his letter published in the
year 1648 (consequently while the king was a
prisoner in Carisbrook Castle) he writes — " I do
" still believe it was as his affairs then stood the
'¦' best of any place, which hi& majesty could then
" make choice of." That within the region, then
retaining nothing of a kingdom, but the name,
there was no place accessible to it's virtually de
posed sovereign, where he could have so safely
trusted himself, as the Isle of Wight, two testi-

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 183
monies, equally unexpected, and unexceptionable,
will be here produced ; that of the earl of Claren
don, and of sir John Berkeley.
The latter, whose enmity, being of a most com
municative nature, is always more valuable than
a score of ordinary friendships, declares, — " In
" the morning" (of the day after he landed) " the
" king went with the governor to Carisbrook ;
" and was met by the way with divers gentlemen
" of the island, by whom we learnt that we were
" more fortunate than we were aware of, for the
" whole island was unanimously for the king ex-
" cept the governors of the castles, and Ham-
" mond's captains. That there were but twelve
" old men in the castle, who had served under
" the earl of Portland* and were all Well affected.
" That Hammond might be easily gained, if not
" more easily forced ; the castle being day and
" night full of loyal subjects and servants of his
" majesty." " His majesty having daily liberty to ride abroad,
" might chuse his own time of quitting the island.
" Indeed not only his majesty and all that were
" about him, but those that were at a further dis-
" tance approved by their letters this resolution
" of his majesty."
Such was the condition of the king and his at
tendants at their first landing. But Berkeley
goes on to say — " the fifth day after our arrival,
* Commons Journals, 14th of September, 1647. "The
" house concurs with the lords, that the earl of Portland's se-
" questratioh may be taken off in consideration of the gove'rn-
" ment of the Isle of Wight being taken from him."

184 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" we heard that in the rendezvous of the army
" the superior officers had carried it. This made
" us bless God for the resolution of coming into
" the island."
Macbeth exclaims —
" The expedition of my violent love
" Outran the pauser reason."
So here has the speed of sir John's stimulated gra
titude double distanced his overweighted memory.
For it was not a " Te Deum" for the victory of
the superior officers, that he began chaunting;
but " Non nobis Domine" for the resolution of
coming into the island. That is in other words
— for the providential frustration of his own no
table project of an agreeable surprise to his
" friends in the west."
This account might safely be allowed and ac
cepted upon trust, as just and true. Yet for
customary form's sake, and in accord with our
established practice, it may be satisfactory, though
not necessary to examine some few of the many
vouchers. The following is an extract from Fair
fax's letter to the parliament, dated November
21, (being eight days after the king's arrival) as
entered upon the journals — " The king's being in
" the Isle of Wight, while the house thinks fit he
" should be continued there, will necessarily re-
" quire some strength to be sent to col. Hammond,
" both for the better securing the king's person,
" and for the strength of the island, to prevent any
" confluence of such persons* there, as may breed
* Herbert says—" at this time several of the king's old ser
vants were allowed to join him." Page 26.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 185
" danger for the kingdom, for which in my opinion
" the island, and the king's being in it, yield too
" great opportunity."
Excepting in the day of battle, or at most in
matters purely military, Fairfax is represented by
all contemporary writers, as having had no opinion
which had not been suggested to him by Crom
well. There is in the above letter not only with
respect to the sentiments, but even to the words a
striking identity with those which occur in one
of the same date, addressed by Ireton to Ham
mond.* " Now for your better securing the king
" and making sure the island to prevent any danger
" to the kingdom, which a confluence or appearance
" of ill-affected persons there might occasion, I
" advise you by no means to trust so wholly to
" the affections of the islanders ; but taking
" soldiers, whom you may have more surely at
" command. For which purpose we have ordered
" some to you, and shall send more. In the mean
" time, I pray you, neglect not to send for those
" ordered from Southampton ; and we shall take
" care, those you take into the island shall be
" paid, while they stay there, whatever others
" are." Lastly, after these as well as other rein
forcements must have been received, Hammond
on the 28th of December writes to the earl of
Manchester, the speaker of the house of lords —
" I most humbly beg, because / know it is impos-
" sible long to secure the king here, that his person
* From a publication entitled, " Letters to and from Col.
" Hammond;" the authenticity of which will be hereafter in
vestigated.

186 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" may be removed, as soon as conveniently he
" may be:"
It was at a time considerably posterior to the
date of this letter that lord Clarendon relates—
" There was a general murmur that the fleet had
" lain so long idle at the mouth of the river. When
" it had been proposed, that it might go to the
" Isle of Wight ; where they might probably have
" released the king. Carisbrook being near the
" sea, a castle not strong in itself, the island well
" affected, and at that time under no such power
" as could subdue them"
How well affected, how devotedly loyal the
island in truth was, a tragical proof soon evinced.
The fact recorded by Whitelock and Rushworth,
as well as in the Parliamentary Journals, shall be
here given in the words of lord Clarendon. —
" When Hammond caused all the king's servants,
" who till then had liberty to be with him, to be
" immediately put out of the eastle and forbid,
" any of them to repair thither any more ; and
" appointed a strong guard to restrain any body
" from going to the king, this insolent and im-
" perious proceeding put the island, which was
"generally inhabited by a people always well
" affected to the crown, into a high mutiny. They
" said they could not endure to see their king so
" used, and made a prisoner. There was at that
" time one captain Burley who was of a good
" family in the island :" &c.
It was under this brave man,, that the loyal in
habitants of Newport rose; — but not in arms.
For Ludlow relates, that " there was but one

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 187
" musket among them all." And the noble his
torian adds — "The attempt was presently dis-
" cerned to be irrational and impossible, and the
" poor gentleman paid dear for his ill-advised and
" precipitate loyalty."
It is to be recollected that at the time, when
this attempt was made, the Isle of Wight with
regard to its being in the power either of the par
liament, or of the army, was very differently
circumstanced from what it had been on the
king's first arrival ; when Berkeley says, that the
only military force consisted of twelve old invalid
royalists ; or according to Ashburnham, " there
" being then no soldiers of the army in that island."
Whereas it appears from the foregoing extracts
that reinforcements were instantly ordered : and
if it were not unnecessary, several passages in
Rushworth might be adduced to prove, that these
orders had not been disobeyed.
It is true that this absolute liberty, which, ac
cording to lord Clarendon and Berkeley, the king^
at first enjoyed, ceased on the departure of the
parliament's commissioners. There was however
the interval of more than a month, during which,
the former says, " the king" had from the time
of his coming to the Isle of Wight " enjoyed the
" liberty of taking the air and refreshing himself
" throughout the island, and was attended by
" such servants as he had appointed, or sent for
" to come thither to him :" the latter adding, that
" having daily liberty to ride abroad, he might
" have chosen his own time of quitting the island."
But Herbert, who being present is better autho-

188 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
rity, says that, " the king was allowed liberty to
" ride till the middle of February." Ashburnhahl
has related, that it was not until after the dif
ferences between the parliament and the army
were reconciled, that " that detestable villain
" (Hammond) began to use his majesty with
" great irreverence." Then it was that the king
for the first time attempted, or had so much as
meditated, an escape. Which accords well with
the sentiments expressed in his letter to the lord
Lanerick ; as well as in that given in Rushworth ;
which have been already quoted.
After the king's confinement had become most
strict in Carisbrook Castle, if sir Thomas Herbert,
sir Philip Warwick, and sir John Bowring (the
first of these in constant attendance and the two
others having frequent access to him during his
captivity, and all of them much in his confidence,)
may be credited, frequent were the opportunities
for his majesty to have escaped, if he could have
been persuaded to make the attempt. Colonel
Cooke in his Narrative* drawn np by the king's
* From this work (the unquestionable authority of which
will be hereafter shewn) the following passage is transcribed.
After having stated the reasons, which the king opposed to the
earnest entreaties of the duke of Richmond, the earl of Lyndsay,
and of Cooke himself, that he would effect his escape, his ma
jesty concluded thus :— " Nay, what if the army should seize
" him ? They must preserve him for their own sakes. For,
" that no party could secure its own interest without him."
" The earl of Lindsay replied— Take heed, sir lest you fall
" into such hands, as will not steer by such rules of policy.
" Remember Hampton Court, where your escape was your best
" security."

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 189
express command, circumstantially relates, how it
might have been effected, even so late as within a
few hours of his being carried off to the pestilen
tial dungeon of Hurst castle.
Here is no mean accession to the small minority dissentient
from lord Clarendon and his " most men," who so " reasonably
" foresaw, and expected all the evils, which fell out in conse-
" quence of this unhappy perigrination : who could discover no
" probable inducement, nor the motives which led to so fatal an
" end." To the above may be added a fact on the authority of lord
Clarendon himself; which has been already introduced, as ap
plicable to another argument.
If (as we read in the 5 th vol. of the History of the Rebellion,
at page 522), " the marquis of Ormond had often attended the
" king at Hampton Court :  and having conferred with his
" majesty, as much as was necessary, upon a reasonable foresight
" of what was like to fall out, shortly after, or about the time that
" the king left Hampton Court, he in disguise, and without being
" attended by more than one servant, rid into Sussex  and
" thence transported himself into Normandy ;" is it not hence to
be fairly inferred, that at these conferences Ormond entertained
an opinion of the projected escape, such as Lyndsay subsequently
avowed? It is little probable that the king, while communing
with one, who, (the chancellor of the exchequer alone excepted,)
deservedly enjoyed as large a share of his majesty's confidence as
any member of the privy council, should have withheld from him
an intimation of so important a measure. As little probable it is
that the marquis should have suppressed his disapprobation of
the expedient, if it had appeared to him so destitute of " all
" rational design ;" still more so, if evidently pregnant with
symptoms of treachery and " treason in the contrivance." Yet
less probable it is that never in after times the duke of Ormond
should have imparted to his noble friend and colleague how " so
" fatal an end would have been avoided," had not his dissuasions
and remonstrances been rejected. And then least of all, is it
probable that our illustrious historian should have neglected to

190 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
Yet has the world been taught to believe (and
by lord Clarendon too) that " from the making
" choice of the Isle of Wight" for the king's place
of refuge, " nothing fell out which was not to be
" reasonably foreseen and expected !" that this
was but the first fatal step, which necessarily, in
evitably, obviously led to each consecutive scene
of affliction, and humiliation, of privation and
persecution; of contumely, indignity, and out
rage; through which the royal victim passed,
even to their last dreadful catastrophe ; when he
laid his prematurely " grey, discrowned head," on
the block,  * " placid&que ibi demiim morte quievit."
*#* Among Bishop Warburton's Notes, pub
lished in the last Edition of Clarendon's History,
is the following on this passage. — " This was ano-
" ther unaccountable piece of conduct in the king,
" that when he had been brought to the Isle of
« Wight he knew not how, but when he could
" not engage Hammond's word to let him go as
" he came, whenever he should choose it, saw,
" and said, that he was ruined, that he should not
" employ the liberty he had from his first coming,
" to the arrival of the parliament commissioners,
" to take the first opportunity of escaping. But
" the bringing him to the scaffold seemed to be
" as much the work of inevitable destiny, as
name emphatically so respected an individual, as at the head
of his anonymous " most men ;" or to magnify to the utmost
this one " true man," amidst his multiplicity of " rogues in
" buckram."

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 191
'any event recorded in the civil history of man-
'kind." It is hence very evident, that, in the opinion of
the right revd. Commentator, the bringing of the
king to the scaffold was not more an inevitable
and necessary consequence of his having been
brought to the Isle of Wight, than of his having
been previously brought to Hampton Court, to
Holdenby, or Newcastle.

VII.

" They both writ apologies or narrations of all
" that passed in that affair — in which there was
" not any clear relation of any probable induce-
" ment that prevailed with the king to undertake
" that journey."
Ashburnham, as it appears, had not even the
sufficient talent to state with clearness a case to
one, so well acquainted with each particular of
it, as lord Clarendon has shewn himself to be in
the following, true and pathetic description of the
miserable state of existence, to which at Hampton
Court the ill-fated monarch had been reduced.
— =" The king found himself in great perplexity,
" from what he discerned, and observed himself,
" as well as what he heard from others ; but
" what use to make of the one or the other, was
" very hard to resolve : he did reality believe that
" their malice was at the height, and that they
" did design his murder, but knew not which was
" a probable way to prevent it. The making an

192 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" escape, if it were not contrived with wonderful
" sagacity, would expose him to be assassinated,
"by pretended ignorance, and would be charged
" upon himself; and if he could avoid their guards,
"and get beyond them undiscovered, whither
" should he go ? And what place would receive
" and defend him ?"
Surely much of the above quoted passage must
have escaped the recollection of the noble his
torian, at the time when he subsequently affirmed,
that " when the king took horse" it is probable,
that " he had not resolved whither to go ;" and
that " certain it is" that he had not thought of
" going to the Isle of Wight :" that his two other
attendants only knew, that they had orders to
wait with their horses " at such a place and at
" such a time ;" while " Ashburnham alone seemed
" to know what they were to do." Because this
is to ascribe to the latter the entire, unpartici-
pated merit of having effectuallyaccomplished, and
triumphantly atchieved an enterprize of " great
" pith and moment," which could not so much as
be " contrived" without " wonderful sagacity''
It is however hoped, that the following extract
from Ashburnham's Narrative, though " no clear
" relation," may prove not wholly unintelligible,
after lord Clarendon's luminous exposition of the
subject to which it relates — " When we came into
" the gallery (at Hampton Court) I told his ma-
" jesty, that Mr. Legge had delivered his pleasure
" to us, to provide for his going from thence :
" and we were very ready to obey him. But I
" did most humbly beg of him, that he would be

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM 193
" pleased to say whether really and in very deed
" he was afraid of his life in that place. For his
" going from thence seemed to us an occasion of
" a very great change in his affairs. His majesty
"protested to God, that he had great reason to
" apprehend some attempt upon his person; and
" did expect every hour when it should be. I re-
" plied, that it did not then become us to make
" any further enquiry ; but to apply ourselves to
" the discharge of our duty."
VIII.
" I have read both their relations, and conferred
" with both of them at large, to discover in truth
" what the motives might be which led to so fatal
" an end."
If Ashburnham could have expressed himself
with sufficient clearness to be understood, how
greatly would the noble historian have been surr
prised to find, that there was so little difference
between their respective sentiments; or rather
how indignant to discover, that those. of the chan
cellor of the exchequer should have been by anti
cipation usurped, as unblushingly, as heretofore
" his office had been invaded, by the same groom
" of the bedchamber I" For it is evident that the
latter concurred with the former in opinion, that
" it had been a difficult task to go about to dis-
" suade the king from an apprehension of his own
" safety, when it was much more natural to fear
" an assassination, than to apprehend any. things
vol. i. o

194 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" which they did afterwards do :" and that on the
contrary it was scarcely a mbre easy one to set
about to advise him, " whither he should go ;" on
account of the perils, to which any attempt at
removal would expose him.
In this dilemma, and with only an alternative
of evils, he seems to have done all, that a wiser
man, so situated, could have done, that is, of
those presented to him to have chosen the least.
To supply the advice thus imperatively exacted
from him, he was limited to the resources of his
own mind. For lord Clarendon has told us,
that the king was irresolute : that colonel Legge
" having in truth a better judgment and under-
" standing, was no contriver of bold counsels"—
and that sir John Berkeley, (having a worse,) was in
variably and indiscriminately a strenuous opposer
of all counsels whatsoever, which he had not him
self contrived. It was indeed a difficult task to
name a place which " would receive" the king,
and which having received could " defend him."
For to be such it was requisite, that it should be
" generally inhabited by a people always well-
" affected to the crown ; and at that time free
" from all such power as could subdue them ;"
that it should be " near the sea ;" and that in the
mean time his majesty should " enjoy the liberty
" of taking the air and refreshing himself;" so
that he " might at any time transport himself;"
in a word such, as lord Clarendon has described
the Isle of Wight : and such as was nowhere else
to be found within the titular kingdom. But
the unnatural coincidence in judgment of the so

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 195
opposite characters had " this extent, no more."
Since from the same premises the most contrary
conclusions were drawn.
For we find, aware that the Isle of Wight was
in all respects such, as lord Clarendon has de
scribed it, Ashburnham with equal obstinacy and
folly writing (in his letter published in the year
1648, while the king was yet alive and a prisoner
there) — " I do still believe it was, as his majesty's
" affairs then stood the best of any place, which
" he could then make choice of. And I will not
" be afraid to avow my opinion, because success
" has made it seem less reasonable." While lord
Clarendon on the contrary has decided that, " from
" the making choice of the Isle of Wight," (morally
and physically circumstanced as it then was, ac
cording to his own authority) " nothing fell out,
" which was not to be reasonably foreseen and
" expected." And that " it seemed to be so far
" from a rational design and conduct, that most
" men did believe, that there was treason in the
" contrivance." Subsequently to this last para
graph not many intervene before the following
occurs, which has been lately noticed-^-" It was
" much more natural" (the king being then at
Hampton Court) " to fear an assassination than
" any thing that they did afterwards do."
The introduction of Ashburnham's own state
ment of his motives cannot here in fairness be
objected to : which though very circumstantial is
submitted without fear to the strictest scrutiny :
— "I did then (unfortunately in regard to the

196 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
'" success, not of the ill choice of the place) offer to
" their thoughts sir John Oglander's house in the
"Isle of Wight, where his majesty might continue
" concealed till he had gained experience of the
" governor's inclination to serve him. Which if
" good ; that place would secure him certainly
"from the fears of any- private conspiracy of the
" agitators (the principal end of his remove) there
" being then no soldiers of the army ; if by any
" accident they should resume their desires of
" serving him : (his flight from thence being liable
" to no other interpretation than to save his life.)
" Hold up the drooping hearts of his own party;
" and give opportunity to the Scots, or the houses
" of parliament, (both being then highly in oppo-
" sition to the army,) to make some further ap-
" plication to his majesty : and be more in readi-
" ness there than in any other part of the kingdom
" to receive advantage by the fleet, if at any time
" the seamen should return to their duties. But
" if no conditions could be had from the governor,
" his majesty would be then close by the water-
" side ; and might, when there should be no argu-
" ment left for his stay, take boat : and dispose
" of his person into what part beyond the sea he
" pleased." In the above observations will have been found
the denial of all the facts without exception, such
as they have been stated by lord Clarendon in his
account of the time and manner 'of the king's
escape from Hampton Court, and of all the sub
sequent circumstances of his Journey to the Isle-

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 197
of Wight, on which have been founded his unqua
lified censure and reprobation of that much misre
presented transaction. Whether the contradicT
tions amount to a refutation, wholly or partially,
of the noble historian's averments, not only the
several authorities have been named, but the pas
sages have been fully and faithfully transcribed,
and submitted to the reader's judgment and de
cision. M. Villemain in his deservedly admired
work, " la Vie de Cromwell" has justly remarked,
that " la Narration de Clarendon,, enticement
" adoptee par Hume, est fort inexacte, et con-
" traire aux registres du parlement," Such it
has already been, and will hereafter be further,
proved. But Hume though he has expressly
avowed his having followed this illustrious leader,
is evidently (as has been before noticed) not sa
tisfied with a relation on many points at variance
with those of his contemporaries, some of which
he has particularly indicated. But if he further
detected, he has abstained from exposing, any of
the numerous discrepancies, and frequent incon
sistencies, which occur within the narrow compass
of a few pages. Most of these, as occasion has
required, have been already noticed. Yet it would
be too great an abandonment and sacrifice of the
cause here advocated if with a view to spare the
reader's time, or patience, a brief recapitulation
of them, synoptically contrasted, were to be here
omitted.

198

VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER

1.
" The king did really believe, that
" their malice was at the height, and
" that they did design his murder, but
" knew not which was a probable
" way to prevent it."

" It had been a difficult task to go
' about to dissuade tbe king from an
' apprehension of his own safety,
' when it was much more natural to
' fear an assassination than to appre-
' hend any thing that they did after-
' wards do.'' 3.
" The island being well affected ami
' at that time under no such power as
' could subdue them.
" The island was generally in-
1 habited by a people always well
' affected to the crown.

" The making an escape, if it were
" not contrived with wonderful saga-
" city> would expose him to be assas-
" sinated, by pretended ignorance."

" When they were free from the
" apprehension of the guards, and
" the horse quarters, they rode to-
" wards the south-west, and towards
" that part of Hampshire which led
" to the New Forest." 6.
"The king asked Ashburnham,
"" where the ship lay."

" I hare read both their relations,
" and conferred with both of them
" at large, to discover in truth what
" the motives might be which led tp
" so fatal an end.
" There was no clear relation of
" any probable inducement that pre-
" vailed with the king to undertake
" that journey."

In consequence " of the making
" choice of the Isle of Wight, nothing
"fell out which was not reasonably
"foreseen and expected.

" The making choice of the Isle of
" Wight, seemed to be so far from a
" rational design, and conduct, that
" most men thought there was trea-
" son in it."

(N.B. After havipg been effected)
the whole design appeared to be so
' weakly contrived."

5.
" Certain it is that the king never
" thought of going to the Isle of
" Wight."

6.
" Nor do I, in truth, think that the
"king himself, when he took horse,
" resolved whither to go."

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 199

".Ashburnham returned without
" any news of the ship ; with which
" the kjng seemed" troubled. Upon
" this disappointment," &c.

" Ashburnham alone", seemed to
" know what they were to do, the
" other two having received only
" orders to attend." 9.
" Berkeley took care to publish
" that this enterprize of the king was
" totally without his privity.
" I'Zgg* liad had so general arepu-
" tation of integrity, and fidelity to
" his master, that he never fell under
" the least imputation, or reproach
" with any man.
" Certain it is that the king never
" thought of going to the Isle of
" Wight. So that the whole weight
of the prejudice and reproach was
" cast upon Ashburnham"

" The not being sure of a ship, if
the resolution were fixed for embark
ing, which was never manifest,"

" There he refreshed himself, and
" consulted with his three servants
" what he should next do."

" It is probable, that Cromwell, who
" many years afterwards committed
" Ashburnham to the tower, and did
" hate him, and desired to have taken
" his life, would have been glad to
" have blasted his reputation by de-
" daring that he had carried his
" master to the Isle of Wight, without
" his privity, upon his own presump-
" tion. Which, how well soever in-
" tended, must have been looked
" upon by all men as such a trans-
" cendent crime, as must have de-
" prived him of all compassion for the
" worst that could befall him."

If experience had not demonstrated, that for a
century past, " most men" have believed lord Cla
rendon's to be a very clear relation ; it might have
been supposed, that any man, whether in his
chariot or his closet, with this portion of the His
tory of the Rebellion before him, on being inter
rogated ; " understandest thou what thou readest ?"
would answer in the negative ; readily, as did the
eunuch ; but not so readily meet with an inter
preter.* * If Philip were now living, he would hardly be among the
patron saints of the Bible (without comment) Society.

200 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
IX.
" Ashburnham said he would Conduct him
" (Hammond) to the place where the king was.
" The putting the king into Hammond's hands
" without his leave could never be wiped out."
Ashburnham in the introduction to his Narrative
says — " Since my coming out of prison, I have met
" with some friends of mine, who tell me of a dis-
" course, written by the lord John Berkeley, upon
" his majesty's going to the Isle of Wight: wherein,
" though he lays no stress upon my integrity, yet
" he spares not to lay faults of other natures upon
" me ; which after examination, mayperhaps prove
" to be his own."
The examination of Berkeley's own statement
will alone suffice to decide, whether it was by his
folly, or Ashburnham's, that both incurred the sus
picion of treachery. He relates, that, on arriving
at Carisbrook Castle, they " found the governor
" was newly gone out towards Newport. When
" we overtook him, Mr. Ashburnham desired me
" to open the matter to him." Why Ashburnham
so desired him (as in fact he did,) is left to con
jecture. Perhaps it might be for the same reason,
that Marcellus desired Horatio to address the
ghost : " Thou art a scholar, speak to it Horatio."
But however this may be, scholar or not, the lord
John was not a man a se le laisser dire deuxfois.
Indeed, when it was to put himself forward, he
seems seldom to have waited for a first invitation.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 201
He proceeds to say—" After I had saluted him,
I took him aside, and " delivered our message to
" him word for word " This was surely not so
much " to open the matter," as it was at once to
jump " in medias res" and to

unloose, the gordian knot,

" Familiar as his garter."
Here two observations present themselves. The
first is ; that Berkeley's omitting to mention, that
he said any thing introductory, or prefatory to his
delivering of the message " word for word," is not
tantamount to averring, that he said nothing of
the kind. The second is, that immediately after
this most dry, jejune, matter-of-fact, commence
ment, " laconic even beyond laconicism," he again
becomes as unreservedly communicative, as he
was before, and continues to be ever after. Indeed
the remainder of his statement is given in a style
so interlocutory, as to be quite dramatic. Nor
does he only shew his skill as a dramatist, but
as a painter also. He groupes his figures, shews
us how they were placed relatively to each other ;
their looks and gestures, as well as the precise
words of each personage. How then inthis single
instance can be accounted for such a departure
from his habitual egotistical garrulity; such a
forbearance from the constant indulgence of his
ruling passion ?
On a point, where Berkeley's Memoir fails, it
is natural to have recourse to Ashburnham's Nar
rative for information. In which we find the de
sideratum thus supplied :  " On meeting with
" the governor, I desired sir John Berkeley would

il

202 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" inform him with the reason of our coming to
" him. Who then asked the governor, who he.
thought, was very. near him P He said, he knew
not. Sir John Berkeley replied ; even the good
" king Charles : who was come from Hampton ,
" Court for fear of being privately murdered."
There cannot in reason be a doubt, that Berkeley
must have uttered, if not these very words, others
of the same import, and to the like purpose, from
what he himself relates to have been the imme
diate effect produced on Hammond by his having
" delivered the message word for word." — " But
" he (Hammond) grew so pale, and fell into such
" a trembling, that I did really believe, he would
" have fallen off his horse. Which trembling
" continued with him at least an hour. after; in
" which he broke out into passionate and dis-
" tracted expressions ; sometimes saying, ' . Oh
" ' gentlemen, you have undone me by bringing
" ' the king into the Island : if at least you have
" ' brought him : and, if you have not, pray let
" ' him not come : for what between my duty to
" ' his majesty, and my gratitude for this fresh
" ' obligation of confidence, and my observing my
" ' trust to the army, I shall be confounded.' Other-
" while he would talk to a quite contrary purpose.
" I remember, to settle him the better, I said that
" God be thanked, there was no harm done; that,
" his majesty intended a favour to him, and his
" posterity, in giving him an occasion to lay a
" great obligation upon him ; and such as was
" very consisting with his relation to the army :
" who had so solemnly engaged themselves to his

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 203
" majesty. But, if he thought otherwise, his ma-
" jesty would be far from imposing his person
"upon him. To that he replied; that then, if
" his majesty should come to any mischance, what
" would the army and the kingdom say to him,
" that had refused to receive him ? To this I re-
" plied, that he did not refuse him, who was not
" come to him. He returned, that he must needs
" know where his majesty was, because he knew
" where we were. I told him, he was never the
" nearer; for my part."
No ! " not upon compulsion Hal." Who would
not warrant sir John ? —
 " Phalaris licet imperet ut sis"

" Falsus, et admoto dictet perjuria tauro."
But unfortunately, as unwittingly, he had (if
the homely phrase may be allowed) " let the cat
"out of the bag:" and there was no getting her
into it again. From whom could Hammond needs
know where his majesty was, because he knew,
where Berkeley and Ashburnham were; if the
former had not told him, that " the good king
" Charles was very near him, and come from
" Hampton Court ?" Nobody but Berkeley, even
by his own account, had as yet spoken to Ham
mond. Ashburnham's reflection on Berkeley's exordium
is as follows : — " This was (to speak modestly)
" a very unskilful entrance into bur business :
" nothing being to be preserved with greater se-
" crecy from him (Hammond) than that the king
" was come from Hampton Court : our pretence
" naturally being to have returned thither with

204 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" his answer. To the end, that his majesty might
" have made a judgment of Hammond's resolu-
" tion at his own leisure. Which of necessity he
" must have done, if sir John Berkeley had not
" discovered, that the king was so near him."
To entitle Ashburnham to credit for what he
has here said ; or at least to prove, that this pre
caution was no after-thought, Berkeley has thus
unconsciously born witness. On their separation
from the king, when he determined to go with
Legge to Titchfield-house, he says — " the first
" thing we resolved was that, since his majesty
" went towards the east side of the island, that
" we would go on to the west : to a place called
" Lymington : where Mr. Ashburnham told me,
*' there was a short passage over."
Lord Clarendon says, that Berkeley " by the
" custom of making frequent relations of his own
" actions, grew in very good earnest to think, he
" had done many things, which nobody else ever
"heard of." If sir John's " frequent. relations"
had only been those of " his own actions," it is not
very obvious, how such a custom should have led
to such a result, as the one here attributed to it.
But it is discoverable from his own memoir, that
he not seldom took credit to himself for the actions
of other men ; if not claiming them exclusively
as his own, at least arrogating to himself the full
participation in a joint merit, arising from com
bined resources, and preconcerted policy. And
this habit would naturally induce, in very good
earnest, the " mentis gratissimus error," noticed
by the noble historian. This betrays itself in a

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 205
passage recently quoted: where he relates, that
on the morning after landing on the Isle of Wight,
" we learnt, that we were more fortunate, than we
" were aware of." Now who are we. — First, there
is (" myself, fidelicet, myself") sir John : who, as
lord Clarendon has correctly affirmed, " took care
" to publish, that this enterprize of the king's was
" wholly without his privity; and that he had not
" the least intimation of his majesty's purpose ;"
and which when known, he invariably protested
against and deprecated. Secondly, there is the
king (" fidelicet the king") who readily adopted
the scheme. And (" the three party is, lastly and
"finally") Ashburnham, who alone and on his
own responsibility, proposed it. But when the
news came of the agitators having been suppressed,
never did Pharisee more devoutly, gratefully, and
" in very good earnest," acknowledge the just dis
cernment, with which a bounteous Providence is
dispensed. — " This made us bless God for the re-
" solution of coming into the island:" instead of
" going further west ;" according to sir John's
own advice.
When therefore Berkeley says — " The first thing
" we resolved was, that since his majesty went
" towards the east side of the island, we would
" go on to the west," the reason for this precau
tion is obvious. And there cannot be a doubt,
with whom it originated. Berkeley's first objec
tion to the king's going to the Isle of Wight was,
that he " knew nothing of the island, or of the
" governor." And in further proof, no doubt, of
his being no willing party to that measure, adds,

206 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
that he had never in his life been at Sutton in
Hampshire ; on being ordered to send forward a
relay of horses. And when he now speaks of " a
" place, called Lymington," it is natural to infer,
that he is speaking of a place, with the name of
which he has but recently become acquainted;
and which he therefore presumes to be unknown
to his readers. But whether the merit of this
precaution belong to Berkeley or Ashburnham ;
the latter is equally exempt from the blame, which
he would have justly deserved, if, knowing, as he
must have done, his colleague's judgment and dis
cretion, he had " desired him to open the business,"
without a previous hint, as to the expediency of
concealing, from Hammond the fact of the king's
escape from Hampton Court.
It too often happens, that an action is pro
nounced to be wise, or foolish, in consequence of
the notion, justly or unjustly, entertained of the
man's character. For, even, where the latter be
duly appreciated, no universally sure criterion is
obtained to decide on the former. Would it then
be too absurd to suppose, that this very resolu
tion,* so blamed and condemned in Ashburnham,
might in some other, who had found favour in the
sight of lord Clarendon and " most men," have
been extolled as a rare instance of " wonderful
" sagacity," and of admirable presence of mind :
and that this separating of the governor from his
government might have been compared to the
detaching of Antaeus from his mother earth? For
* " That he would conduct him (Hammond) to the place
" where the king was."

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 207
it was in fact to place Hammond in the power of
the king, and not the king in that of Hammond*
So it was considered by the two persons, whom
it best behoved, as it most interested, to judge
rightly of the relative situations, in which they were
thus placed :— the king and Hammond. It is re
lated by Berkeley, that when " Mr. Ashburnham
" replied, that if he (the king) mistrusted Ham-
" mond, he would undertake to secure him. His
" majesty said I understand you well enough : bat
" the world would not me. If I should follow
" that counsel, it would be said, and believed,
" that he ventured his life for me, and that I had
" unworthily taken it from him'' And Hammond
in his letter to the parliament announcing the
king's arrival in the Isle of Wight, concludes thus
— " Conceiving myself no way capable to secure
" him there (at Titchfield House,) I chose, (he de-
" siring it,) to bring him over into this island;*
" where he now is."
Yet lord Clarendon has here been pleased to
affirm, that " Hammond, having the command of
" the country, could call in what help he would."
The truth is, however, that Hammond had not
the command of the country .-f- Beyond the prer
cincts of the Isle of Wight he had been invested
with no authority whatsoever, civil or military.
And with respect to influence, locally considered*
a governor is the very reverse of a prophet. At
all events, of that, which Hammond could, or
* " Where he now is" seems rather to imply, that he is there
by his own choice and desire, and not as being detained by force.
t This will be hereafter proved.

208 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
could not, do at Titchfield House, he himself on
the spot must have been a better judge, than the
chancellor of the exchequer at Jersey.

X.

" Another particular, which was acknowledged
" by Hammond, did him (Berkeley) much credit,
" that when Hammond demanded that Ashburn-
" ham should remain with him whilst the other
" went to the king, which Ashburnham refused to
" do, Berkeley did offer himself to remain with him
" whilst Ashburnham should attend his majesty ;
" so that the whole weight of the prejudice and
" reproach was cast upon Ashburnham."
Berkeley is repeatedly and invariably repre
sented by lord Clarendon to have been the most
vain glorious of egotists. Yet in that very " apo-
" logy or narrative" of his, drawn up, as we are
assured, on the same authority, and as in truth
it has evidently been, for the double purpose of
" clearing himself and of objecting or imputing
" somewhat to the other ;" he has neither dealt
out that copious measure of panegyric on himself,
nor of vituperation on his colleague, which has
been lavished on either by the noble historian.
From whose account, as above quoted, Berkeley's
thus materially differs — •" Hammond thereupon
"concluded, that I should go into the castle; and
" that Mr. Ashburnham should take his horse,
" and go to the king, and tell his majesty what
" he said. I embraced the motion most readily,

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 209
" and immediately went over the bridge into the
" castle. Though I had the image of the gallows
" very perfectly before me. Mr. Ashburnham
" went, I believe with a better heart to horse.
" But before he was gone half a flight shot, the
" governor, being before the castle gate called to
" him and had a conference of at least a quarter
" of an hour with him. To what purpose I never
" knew until I came into Holland. Where a
" gentleman of good worth and quality told me,
" that the governor afterwards affirmed in London,
"and in many places, that he then offered to
" Mr. Ashburnham, that I should go, and that he
" should stay : as believing his majesty to be less
" willing to expose him than me ; but that Mr.
" Ashburnham absolutely refused."
From this account it neither appears that under
such circumstances as those related by lord
Clarendon, nor under any circumstances, that
Berkeley did spontaneously " offer himself" to
remain with the governor : but only that " he
" readily embraced the motion." That is, acqui
esced in the arrangement, which the governor,
(like a despotic manager easting the dramatis
personae of a piece without regard to the wishes
of his actors,) had concluded for him. Neither is
there any mention of Hammond's having de
manded, but only of his having offered, that Ash
burnham, instead of Berkeley, should remain
with him. Surely it will not be denied, that there
is a distinction, and a difference too, between re
fusing to comply with a demand, and refusing to
accept an offer. Then as to this refusal, be it what
VOL. i. p

210 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER .
it may, we have not Berkeley's own word for it.
So very " perfectly" as he tells us, that " he had
" the image of the gallows before him," when he
went over the bridge into the castle, the could
hardly have noticed what was passing behind him,
between the governor and Ashburnham.; — On the
contrary he admits, that all he knew of this re
fusal was from the hearsay report of an anony
mous informant : though indeed, we are assured,
that he was "a gentleman of good worth and
" quality." Yet after all Berkeley really did make this
offer: if Ashburnham's narrative may be credited;
though not in the way related by lord Clarendon.
Ashburnham says — " He (Hammond) then pro-
" posed to sir John Berkeley, that one of us
" should stay with him, till the other did return.
" Wherewith sir John Berkeley acquainted me, and
" offered himself to stay. Which I did not much
" dispute : as well because I thought that part
" least dangerous (signifying only a man's draw-
" ing his neck out of the collar), as for that I did
" believe myself most useful to his majesty, in case
" he had taken up any other resolution : well
" knowing all the sea coast in that county."
Why should that, which Ashburnham, or any
man, says, be disbelieved, unless there be some
sufficient reason to justify, or at least to excite,
incredulity : such as, — first that there is proof of
it's being false ; or, secondly, that there is. opposed
to it some more plausible solution, or more satis
factory statement; or, thirdly, that the proposi
tion in itself is too absurd and extravagant to be-

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 211
probable : or, lastly ; that the man is notoriously
a liar. That such was not Ashburnham's charac
ter, will hereafter be certified to conviction : and
that none of the other reasons exist in this case
shall be immediately demonstrated. According
to this narration, it does not appear either, that
(as lord Clarendon affirms) Hammond made any
demand on Ashburnham to stay; or that (as
Berkeley says) Hammond made him that offer.
But only, that the governor proposed, that one,
either, of the two, should remain with him. On
the two reasons assigned by Ashburnham for not
contesting with Berkeley the post of honour, that
is, as it often is, of danger, a few observations
may be allowable. Whether the more perilous
part of the two were the one, which Berkeley had
chosen for himself (namely by remaining in Caris-
brook castle, to be exposed to the vengeance of
the parliament, or of the army, for having aided
and abetted, comforted and assisted, the king in
his flight ; when all concur, that flight alone
could in all probability have saved his life :) or
whether the one, which devolved on Ashburnham-,
namely the attempt to rejoin the king under the
incertitude, whether his majesty would have still
ventured after so long a delay to remain, at Titch
field house : if indeed some one of the many acci
dents, to which his situation became hourly more
and more exposed, should not have already re
lieved him from all anxious thought for his ulte
rior safety, is a question, on which, it must be
admitted, that contrary opinions may be . enter
tained with equal sincerity, as well as equal

212 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
plausibility. Ashburnham imagined, (and here
he has shewn himself such as he is described by
lord Clarendon, " a free speaker of what he ima-
" gined,") that of the two the former enterprize
was the least hazardous : and in this instance he
will once more be found consistent in his senti
ments and his statements. In enumerating the
various reasons (already quoted) for having re
commended the king's retiring to the isle of
Wight, he says—" his flight being liable to no
" other interpretation than to save his life."
In one of the three letters, found on the king's
table on quitting Hampton court, he declares to
the parliament, that " his personal security is the
" urgent cause of this his retirement" And he
concludes thus : — " Let me be heard with free-
" dom, honour, and safety, and I shall instantly
" break through this cloud of retirement" These
expressions surely rather convey the idea, that his
going out of the kingdom was not in contempla
tion. Certainly they better accord with the no
tion of his predetermination to go to the isle of
Wight, than with lord Clarendon's " certainty,
" that his majesty never thought of going there."
We further find subsequently in Ashburnham's
narrative, that, " the king being come to the
" island, had for a while all the satisfaction from
" the governor, which that place could afford ; his
" flight from Hampton court being understood by
"parliament and army, to carry great innocence
" with it." Nor could it by either of them be un
derstood otherwise. The parliament could not be
displeased at the king's having escaped out of the

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 213
hands of the army : nor the principal officers at
his having placed himself out of the reach of
assassination by the infuriated agitators : least of
all could Cromwell : to whom, through the evi
dence of colonel Whalley's letter to the Speaker,
the intimidating warning of the king's danger had
been traced. But if, before Ashburnham's arrival
at Titchfield house, the king had already de
parted : or if being still there, he had been dissa
tisfied, as he actually proved to be, with the terms
obtained from Hammond, then indeed, still more
than before his escape, it might be asked, " whi^
" ther should he go?" and " what place would
" receive and defend him ?" now that he had be
trayed himself, through that ill-advised message
to the governor ; and thereby frustrated all the
hopes, which had been reasonably conceived, of
his security " among a people" (so described by
lord Clarendon) " always well-affected to the
" crown: who would not bear to see. their king
" ill-used and made a prisoner : and at that time
" under no such power as could subdue them."
But the king impatient with too much reason
at the necessarily protracted absence of his two
emissaries, had already before their return " sent
" to Hampton for a vessel to transport himself
" into France." And we further learn from Ash
burnham's narrative, that " after two hours stay
" no news came of the ship : nor indeed was it
" possible, that there could be any ; for that very
" night orders came to the mayor of Southampton
" to shut that port, and to send the like orders- to
" the isle of Wight." Now if the king had been

214 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
apprehended in an attempt to embark ; or after
having actually embarked ; or even, if the prepa
rations for such evasion had been brought to
light, would that attempt have been equally un
derstood by parliament or army to carry great
innocence " with it P" And in that case would
Berkeley or Ashburnham have chosen the better,
that is the safer, part ?
Ashburnham's second reason for declining colo
nel Hammond's obliging invitation to pass a few
days with him at Carisbrook castle, accompanied
with the offer to oust sir John Berkeley, (whose
account is here followed) was that " he did be-
" lieve himself more useful to his majesty in case
" he should take any other resolution : well
" knowing all the sea coast." Of which Berkeley
has admitted, if not prided himself on his entire
ignorance. He was aware also, that there was
another point, on which the difference between
them was equally great. How acceptable to his
royal master his own services always were; and
how much the reverse were those of his colleague,
he had very recently received the strongest testi
mony. Which is thus related in his narrative —
" Not many days after" (his being dismissed
from his attendance upon the king at Hampton
court) " Mr. Legge came to me from his majesty ;
*' and told me, that his majesty was resolved to
" escape from Hampton court ; and commanded
" me to contrive it for him. To which I did most
" readily submit : and promised to do my duty
" therein : but desired to know whither he in-
" tended to go ? He replied, his majesty left that

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 215
" thought to me. I told him, that was too hard
" a burden for me to undertake : but if he would
" get the king's consent to impart it to sir John
" Berkeley, we would offer him our opinions next
" morning. Mr. Legge told me, it was his ma-
" jesty 's positive pleasure, that sir John Berkeley
" should not be acquainted with his escape. Yet
" in regard he was sent over by the queen ; and
" that I was very doubtful of my own judgement
" in so weighty a matter ; and for that he was so
" constantly with me, that I could not well avoid
" him, I did (very presumptuously I confess) send
" the king word, that he ought to have the know-
" ledge of that business : and I would be respon-
" sible for him. The next day Mr. Legge came
" to know what our sense was upon his majesty's
" remove." All expectation, hope, or even desire . having
been repeatedly disclaimed to obtain credit for
any fact, resting on the authority of Ashburn
ham's narrative, it is necessary here to shew, that
the above relation cannot be discredited by those,
who believe lord Clarendon's, to be an authentic
history.

" He (the king) saw and observed
" men long before he received them
" about his person.
" And did not love strangers nor
" very confident men."

" Berkeley was little known to the
" king and that little not without some
" prejudice." " Ambition and vanity were known
" to be predominant in him ; and
" that he had a great confidence in
" himself."

On Berkeley and Ashburnham's joining the
king on his progress from Holmby to Hampton
court (as lord Clarendon says) " nearly at the

216 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
"same time," though not having come from
France together — " they were both welcome to
" his majesty : the one bringing a special recom-
" mendation from the queen : the other needed
"no recommendation; the king's own inclina-
" tions disposing him to be very gracious to him."
Still more recently, and by a most appalling
proof, Ashburnham had learnt, what fatal conse
quences had ensued from his presumptuous recom
mendation of Berkeley to the king's confidence,
and on his own responsibility. The only atone
ment, if indeed any could expiate this abuse of
the royal favour and reliance, (it being impossible
with any increase of zeal to devote, and exert him
self in his master's service,) was to prevent, if pos
sible, ulterior mischief from the garrulous levity
of unconscious indiscretion, and uncontroulable
conceit. It is true that Ashburnham must have known
that colonel Legge still remained in attendance on
his majesty, who is represented by lord Clarendon
as having " had in truth a better judgment and
" understanding than either of the other two."
And no one, who, like the author of this vindica
tion, has known three generations of his descen
dants, can read, that colonel Legge " had so
" general a reputation of integrity and fidelity to
" his master, that he never fell under the least im-
" putation or reproach with any man," and not
feel convinced, that lord Clarendon never pro
nounced a more merited eulogium. Yet when
we are told at the same time, and by the same au
thority, that " he was a very punctual and steady

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 217
" observer of the orders he received ; but no con-
" triver of them :" and that " his modesty and
" diffidence of himself never suffered him to con-
" trive bold counsels," it is not to be forgotten,
that, if ever there was a situation, in which " bold
counsels," energetic measures, and prompt resolu
tions were likely to be required, it was that of the
ill-fated Monarch at this critical juncture. It was
indeed one of those, in which the hesitating deli
beration of the " better judgement" may prove
more disastrous, than the reckless precipitation of
the weaker " understanding." Surely then it was
no very blameably overweening presumption in
Ashburnham on this, as on the former occasion,
to entertain " no doubt, but that his presence
" would be very acceptable to the king" (these
are lord Clarendon's own words,) especially when
having so lately found, as we are assured on the
same authority, that he had not erred in a similar
anticipation of his master's sentiments.
But the very time when, according to Berkeley,
the offer was made by Hammond to Ashburnham,
that he should exchange places' with Berkeley,
might alone justify the rejection of it. More than
twenty-four hours had elapsed, since the king had
despatched the bearers of this, perhaps fatal, mes
sage. Ashburnham therefore could not but be
aware, that great must have been the king's im
patience for their return; but not greater than
his momentarily increasing danger from any ad
ditional delay, however trifling. Already was
Berkeley in the castle ; and himself mounted^ and

218 VINDICATION OF THE. CHARACTER
actually on his way: short as might have been
the time requisite for effecting this exchange,, it
was not, unless unavoidably, to be wasted : more
especially, as it might have afforded occasion for
another alteration of the governor's capricious
will and pleasure.
Formidable as is the conclusion, that "the
" whole weight of the prejudice and reproach cast
" on Ashburnham" is deducible from his refusal,
and Berkeley's offer, to remain with Hammond ;
these premises would not have been discussed so
much at length, if opinions, not more unfavour
able, than unjust, had been exclusively confined
to judges, so little impartial as lord Clarendon,
and so little unprejudiced as "most men." But,
alas ! it is not to be concealed, that there is un
deniable evidence of an uncandid and uncharit
able interpretation of Ashburnham's motives in
a quarter, where such sentiments were least
likely to be entertained. Sir Philip Warwick, in
that part of his memoirs, which relates to his at
tendance on the king, when a prisoner in Caris-
brook castle, says:—" I never had occasion but
" once at the Isle of Wight to speak with the king
" about this affair ; and it Was by an accident, in
"the king's letting himself into that discourse:
"and he did but touch upon it : nor durst I seem
" to be more inquisitive. But when I mentioned,
" that the world had an ill opinion of my friend,
" Mr. Ashburnham's guiding him thither, I re-
" member, he freely replied: 'I do no way believe,
" ' he was unfaithful to me ; but I think, he wanted

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 219
« 'courage at that time,' (which I interpreted his
.*' majesty meant his not staying with the governor)
" ' whom I never knew wanted it before.' "*
If sir Philip Warwick here correctly interpreted
his majesty's expressions, surely a more favourable
judgement, as to the motives of Ashburnham's not
staying with the governor, would have been more
worthy both of him, who declared it ; and of him,
whom it condemned ; more probable, as more ra
tional : because more consonant with the character
of eaeh; such as they have been certified to us:
that of the king on lord Clarendon's authority ;
and that of Ashburnham on the unimpeachable
evidence of recorded facts. The king, who " ob-
" served men long before he received them about
" his person" had been not less than twenty years
the gracious master of one, whom he has desig
nated under his own hand "the most persecuted,
" because the most faithful, of all his servants ;"-f-
when he called upon him to devise the plan and
means of an escape, which, as we are well assured,
that it " could not be contrived without wonderful
" sagacity;" so we need not to be told, that it was
not to be effected without a more than ordinary
* This very perceptible dislike of the king's to converse on
the causes which led to his confinement, (so much as that War
wick dared not to betray his curiosity,) tends not to discounte
nance the notion, that his having entered into the ' preliminary
communication with Hammond was his own spontaneous reso
lution. And indeed nothing more is drawn from him, than his
exculpation of Ashburnham ; on hearing, that the world had
formed an ill opinion of his fidelity.
t See in the appendix the king's letter to the queen, dated
from Newcastle.

220 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
firmness and courage. But even this proof of an
unlimited reliance was vague and feeble compared
with the one, afforded on a former occasion. When
the king resolved secretly to withdraw himself
from Oxford, surrounded as he there was, by many
a gallant and loyal adherent, where was his cha
racteristic judgement, his circumspection, — and
where that slowly matured confidence, the late
fruit of a deep-rooted observation, in trusting by
preference and choice his royal person and for
tunes, in so perilous an enterprize, to the sole gui
dance, safe-guard and protection of an individual,
the intrepidity of whose devotion had not been
tried, and approved, by tests more powerfully
and surely decisive, than the equivocal criterion,
by which Ashburnham's courage has been here
estimated ?
But, be it as it may ; — whatever may have been
Ashburnham's motives, happy has it been for his
character, that he suffered himself to be swayed
by them to the refusal of the demand, or to the
rejection of the proposal, made to him by Ham
mond. They indeed, who have found in it a
handy implement wherewith to " cast all the
" weight of the prejudice and reproach upon him,"
would not the less have overwhelmed him with
their foul aspersions, if, like Sir John Berkeley,
he had " embraced the governor's motion most
" readily." But then, far more arduous, if not
hopeless, had been the task to exonerate him from
the accumulated incumbrance. For, as it is, all,
who, like the king, suspect, that he was on this
occasion wanting in courage, must, like the king,

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 221
absolve him from all suspicion of having been
deficient in fidelity. The decoy-duck fearlessly
trusts herself under the tunnel with the decoy-
man. — Why then should the traitor Ashburnham
scruple to remain in Carisbrook castle; not the
governor's prisoner, but the guest of his accom
plice ? XI.
" Sir John Berkeley, shortly after the King's
" being in the Isle of Wight, transported himself
" into France, and remained still with the duke
" of York, to the time of king Charles the second's
" return, Mr. Ashburnham continued in Eng-
" land, and so more liable to reproach."
From liability to reproach, " so" to be incurred,
the duke of Richmond, the marquis of Hertford,
and the earls of Lindsay and Southampton were
not solicitous to be exempt. On the contrary, as
the constitutionally responsible advisers of a king,
who can do no wrong, having first proffered in
vain the vicarious sacrifice of their lives; and
having then, as loyal subjects and faithful ser
vants, paid the last duties to their sovereign and
master, in such funeral rites, as the well grounded
mistrust, suspicion, and fear of a rebellious usur
pation dared to vouchsafe, they too thought, that
by remaining at home they should best consult the
interests of their king^ the welfare of their country,
and the maintenance of their own honour. Leav
ing to other ministers and great officers of state
to grace the empty pageant, the " unreal mockery"

222 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
of a royal court; internally, distracted by cabal;
and disgraced by profligacy; externally,* humi
liated by neglect, and outraged by duplicity.
As soon as the king's attendants had been
forced by the governor to quit the isle of Wight,
sir John Berkeley relates in his memoir, that he
suggested to Legge and Ashburnham the propriety
of some one of them being despatched to the
queen to inform her majesty of the recent occur
rences. They who have obtained no further in
sight into Berkeley's character than such as is to
be derived from the extracts given in this com
mentary, will perhaps as readily anticipate, as sir
John himself had done, the results of this sugges
tion. Not only that it was instantly adopted, but
followed up by the unanimous resolution that no
one was so fit to perform this duty as he, who was
known to rank so high in her majesty's estimation
and confidence. If on the former occasion Berke
ley was right in his conjecture, that " Mr. Ash-
" burnham went with a better heart to horse"
(which he might well do) than the one, with
which sir John went over the drawbridge, with
" the image of the ; gallows very perfectly before
" him ;" it is to be supposed, that the heart of the
latter setting out on his return to his royal patro
ness's court had in its turn at least as great an
advantage over that of the former. And it is here
that Ashburnham's remark on sir John's offering
* The prince had been above two months with the queen his
mother before any notice was taken of his being in France by
the least message sent from the court to congratulate his arrival
there. — Clarendon's Hist.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 223
himself as the hostage, would have been better
timed and more fairly applied, namely, that sir
John's going on this mission " signified only a
" man's drawing his neck out of the collar." And
a galling collar it proved to be. Legge and Ash
burnham, according to the narrative of the latter,
" being after near a quarter of a year's attendance
" in the night upon the sea-shore, and the greatest
" part thereof in the winter season, taken pri-
" soners, &c." This fact rests not solely on his
testimony: in point of time the severity of the
service is by the most unquestionable documents
shewn to have been underrated. It appears on
the journals that the house on the 19th of May,
being informed, that " Mr. Ashburnham and
" colonel Legge were taken and apprehended
" near Winchester park in the county of Hants,
" it was ordered, that they should be forthwith
" secured and committed to Windsor castle."
And in the letters from the committee at Derby
house to Hammond, notice is given of the disco
very at Netley of preparations for the king's
escape ; where Ashburnham mentions horses for
that purpose having been more than once provided.
XII.
" They were both of them great opiniators, yet
" irresolute, and easy to be shaken by any thing
" they had not thought of before ; and exceed-
" ingly undervalued each other's understanding ;
" but, as it usually falls out in men of that kind
" of composition and talent, they were both dis-
" posed to communicate more freely with, and

224 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
'f consequently to be advised by new acquaint-
" ance, and men they had lately begun to know
" than old friends, &c."
From a partial resemblance, real or imaginary,
in some particular quality, or propensity, to infer
a general congeniality of character and disposition
is an assumption less uncommon than unfair. It
is thus that lord Clarendon's readers are taught
to believe, that Berkeley and Ashburnham had,
as it were, but one character between them.
Whereas it may be shewn, and almost on lord
Clarendon's authority alone, that they possessed
in common absolutely nothing, but that noble and
learned statesman's displeasure and disdain. These
however were not in equal shares divided between
them- Why the so evidently larger portion of the
former was bestowed on Ashburnham is unac
counted for : but, that it was, (and undeservedly)
so, has already been in some measure, and will
hereafter be more fully demonstrated.
Of the king's affection for Ashburnham the his
tory of the rebellion abounds with reiterated as
surances : while the instances of the queen's par
tiality for Berkeley are not few. On the other
hand it appears, that the queen's aversion to
Ashburnham was even stronger than the king's
dislike of Berkeley. So early as the 13th of
March 1645, it may be seen in the intercepted
letters published by the parliament, that the queen
was urging the too uxorious monarch to "re-
" member what she had spoken to him concerning
" Jack Berkeley for master of the wards."

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 225
The king in his answer reminds her majesty
that the place had been long destined for sir Ed
ward Nicholas, who was then, and had been for
many years, secretary of state. It was, however,
according to lord Clarendon, afterwards given to
the lord high treasurer, Cottington. Which facts
sufficiently bespeak the situation, as one of high
dignity and large emolument, to have been deemed
the honourable meed, and liberal remuneration of
long and meritorious services in the administra
tion of government. And it was for such an office
as this, that statesmen  " old

" In bearded majesty"
found a competitor in one " little known to the
"king, and that little not without some prejudice;"
and of whom we are elsewhere told, that " he was
"less known among those persons of honour and
" quality, who had followed the king, being in a;
"Very private station before the war, and his
" post in it being in the farthest corner of the
"kingdom, and not much spoken of, till the end
"of it, when he was not beholden to reports."
This intercepted letter may alone suffice to prove,
that Berkeley's character has not been misrepre
sented, where we read — " Ambition and vanity
"were well known to be predominant in him and
" that he had a great confidence in himself."
"Sir John Berkeley (lord Clarendon's History is
here quoted) " after his surrender of Exeter  Vol v
"waited upon the queen at Paris being still a.?*4*6,
"menial servant to her majesty, and -having a
VOL. i. Q

226 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" friend in that court that governed, and loved
" him better than any body else did." This friend,
and a more powerful one he could not have had,
\vas the lord Jermyn, afterwards earl of St. Albans :
Wi:o was at that time (according to the same au-
voi.v. thoiity) " the queen's chief officer, and governed
p. 555. <c aU her recejptSj) ami he loved plenty so well,
" that he would not be without it, whatever others
" suffered . All who had any relation to the Prince,
" were to implore his aid ; and the prince him-
" self could obtain nothing but by him ; which
" made most persons of honour of the English
" nation who were driven into banishment, as
" many of the nobility and chief gentry of the
" kingdom then were, choose rather to make their
" residence in any other place, as Caen, Rouen,
" and the like," &c. Of the queen's favour, and of
her chief officer's friendship, how well sir John
knew to avail himself has been recorded in many
a page of History.
How different Ashburnham's reception was at the
Vol. t. same court, — is thus related by lord Clarendon.
— Having been " driven from the king by the Scots
" after he had conducted his majesty to them, he
" had transported himself into France, and was
" at this time residing at Rouen ; having found,
" upon his address to the queen at Paris upon his
" first arrival, that his abode at some other place
" would not be ungrateful to her majesty, and so
" he removed to Rouen ; where he had the society
" of many,* who had served the king in the most
" eminent qualifications."
* Among these were the lord treasurer Cottington, and the

p. 448.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 227
So large a share of the king's favour and confi
dence, as that with which Ashburnham had long
been honoured, was perhaps at no time the recom
mendation best calculated to ensure to him a gra
cious reception from the queen. But that he should
at this juncture have experienced unequivocal
proofs of her majesty's positive dislike may be thus
accounted for. It appears, that, at the moment
of his arrival at Paris, the queen, who had been
for some time very urgent that the prince of Wales
should quit the Isle of Jersey, and reside with heiy
had at length resolved to send thither the lords
Digby and Jermyn with her absolute commands
to that effect. This gave occasion to very warm
debates between the lords of the queen's party, and
the members of the prince's council, appointed by
the king. Which ended in the latter's protesting
strongly against that measure ; and refusing, (un
til they should have received his majesty's plea
sure,) to attend the prince. It is on this occasion,
that lord Clarendon avows that which the reader
will probably learn not without surprise, even
though he may not have forgotten former simi
lar instances of inadvertency and inconsistency ;
" Moreover, Mr. Ashburnham's opinion, which he vol. v.
" had delivered to the lord Capel, wrought very p* 405,
" much upon them ; for that a man so entirely
" trusted by the king, who had seen him as lately
" as any body, should bring no directions from
earl of Bristol and sir Edward Nicholas, secretaries of state ; to
whom was afterwards added sir Edward Hyde, chancellor of the
exchequer. Hist, of Rebellion, vol. vi. p. 22.

228 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER '
" his majesty to his son, and that he should Relieve,
" that it was fitter for the prince to stay in Jersey
"than to remove into France, till his majesty's
"pleasure was better understood, confirmed them
" in the judgment, they had delivered." The opi
nion here alluded to is as follows: Mr. Ashburn-
" ham confesses to the lord Capel, that he thought
" it very pernicious to the king, that the prince
" should come into France in that conjuncture."
Now what was this opinion, so delivered to the
lord Capel ? It was not a conjecture, as to what
he fancied, that his majesty's inclination might
probably be ; but the confession of his own opi
nion, that it would be very pernicious to the king,
if the prince were removed into France : and that
he believed it was fitter for the prince to stay in
Jersey. And of whom was this the " opinion ;"
which " wrought so much upon" the whole privy
council ; whereof sir Edward Hyde was a mem
ber ; so as to have " confirmed them in the judg-
" ment they had delivered?" It was that of an
individual, heretofore known to lord Clarendon's
readers, as the " king's market man :" as shallow
a sycophant, as ever insinuated himself within the
precincts of a royal bedchamber : and of whom
they are in a very few pages after told, that,
" though he had some ordinary craft in insinuating,
" he was of no deep and piercing judgement to
" discover what was not unwarily exposed." Yet,
though " neither deep nor piercing," this judge
ment was the touchstone,, on which an illustrious-
statesman assayed the metal of his own senti->

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 229
ments ; and the authority, to which he submitted
his own .-counsel to be approved, sanctioned, and
ratified. From the manner, in which the lord Capel is
mentioned in the two passages above quoted, it
may not perhaps be too presumptuous, — it cannot
surely be absurd,— to avow a hope, in which it is
so natural to indulge, — that this truly: great man
may by inference be considered as one of " those,
"of greatest reputation,"* who are represented to
have entertained of Ashburnham's honour and
talents a less mean opinion, than that, which lord
Clarendon is so often diligently labouring to esta
blish ; and not seldom incautiously co-operating
to overthrow. Of these his patrons and cham
pions the noble historian has in particular named
the king ; as also the marquis of Hertford, the
earl of Southampton, the lord Culpepper, and sir
Edward Nicholas.
To contrast with these we shall find the penates
* No prouder eulogium ever immortalized the name and'cha-
racter of a man than the one pronounced by Cromwell, when vir
tually passing sentence of death on the lord Capel. . , Aftersome
of the customary hypocritical canting about " his affection for the
" public good outweighing his private friendship," he spoke the
truth ; when in the following words he said, — " he knew the
" lord Capel very well, and knew that he would be the last man
" in England that would forsake the royal interest ; that he had
" great courage, industry, and generosity ; that he had , many
" friends who would always adhere to him ; and that as long as
" he lived, what condition soever he was in, he would be a thorn
" in their sides ; and therefore, for the good of the common-
'¦' wealth, he should give his vote against the petition."
- Hist, of the Rebellion, vol. vi. p, 260.

230 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
of sir John Berkeley, (those tutelary household-
gods, whom he served and worshipped,) to be
carved out of other materials, or cast in other
moulds. We are told, that at this time he (the
would-be master of the wards !) " was still a menial
" servant to her majesty :" but soon afterwards
that he became the superior of the duke of York's
vol. vi. family ; having before been " sent by the queen
p. 20-589. ie to wa^ Up0n j^g r0yai highness as governor in
" the room of the lord Byron," — " and called
" himself, without any authority for it, ' Intendant
" ' des affaires de son Altesse royale ;' had the ma-
" nagement of all his receipts and disbursements ;
" and all the rest depended upon him." As for
his friends ; with the single exception of the lord
Jermyn's Comparative love of him, who according
to lord Clarendon only " loved him better, than
" any one else did," sir John seems to have been,
like the hero of Lafontaine's Fable,
" Un homme, qui s'aimait sans avoir de rivaux."
There can be no doubt, that among the principal
causes, though not declared, which weighed with
the chancellor in forming that judgment, so satisfac
torily confirmed by the decisive opinion of a groom
of the bedchamber, that the queen's wishes and
commands for the prince of Wales' residing with
her, could not be complied with, was her majesty's
well known zeal for making converts to the ca
tholic religion. That sir Edward Hyde was a
staunch assertor, and powerful advocate of the
established church, is not less notorious : but that
Ashburnham, an obscure individual, save when
the malevolence of his detractors throws a fklse

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 231
light on his character, was not less ardent and
sincere in his devotion to it, is a truth, which no
thing but the course observed in this vindication
could have brought into notice. Berkeley, when
speaking of the treaty in negotiation between the
king and the Scots commissioners, says, — " But
" Mr. Ashburnham refined much upon several ex-
" pressions of the articles, that concerned the cove-
" nant and church of England ; of which he was
" a great professor." That he was no little per
former of that, which he so greatly professed, will
be elsewhere demonstrated. On the contrary,
Burnet affirms of the lord Berkeley, that " he
" seemed to lean to popery." That there was no
deception in this apparent leaning the uninter
rupted support of the queen, and that of the duke
of York, which continued the same, through a
period of thirty years, to the time of his death in
1678 are irrefragable proofs. To the efficacious
influence of this well cultivated and exuberant
patronage are to be ascribed in 1658 his elevation
to the peerage : at the restoration, his admission
into the privy council, with the office of comp^
troller of the household : and in 1669 his appoint
ment to the lieutenancy of Ireland. On which
occasion Burnet has observed, that ; " he was a
" man in whom it appeared with how little true
" judgment courts distribute favours, and honours.
" He had a positive way of undertaking, and de-
" termining in eveiy thing : but was a very weak
" man ; and not incorrupt." Nor did he reach
the goal of his successful career, until he had been
sent embassador to the court of France.

232: VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
Far different were the retributory honours, and
compensating emoluments, which fell to the/share
of Ashburnham on the restoration of that monar
chy, to which he had contributed,. as he had; be-;
fore done in defence of it. These were; the rein
statement as groom of the bedchamber, to which
he had been. appointed in the year 1627, early in
the preceding reign: and the, tardy, piece-meal,
repayment of " sums of money," (admitted by
lord Clarendon to have been " considerable"), with
which, at the hazard of his life, as well as of his
fortune, he had supplied his necessitous and expa
triated king.
More than enough has been adduced to. shew
how essentially and universally different from each
other must have been these two characters, which
lord Clarendon has so strangely assimilated. Yet
there is one more instance to be added, which has
not been, reserved, for the climax of the contrast,
but on account of its applicability to a considera
tion of more importance. It maybe seen in the
History of the Rebellion, that soon after the acces
sion of king Charles the second to all that re
mained, of regal inheritance, its style and title, —
his majesty resolved to appoint a new council.
Vol. vi. When " the queen very earnestly pressed the king,
" that. sir John Berkeley might likewise be made
" a counsellor ; which his majesty would not con-
" sent to ;  Berkeley took this refusal very
"heavily,  confidently insisted upon a right
" he had, by a promise of the late king, to be
"master of the wards; and that officer had usu-
" ally been of the privy council  He pressed

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 233
" the chancellor of the exchequer to urge this
" matter of right to the king, and said, the queen
" would declare, that the (late) king had promised
" it to her." Lord Clarendon proceeds to say,
that "he had at that time much kindness for him,
" and did really desire to oblige him, but he durst
" not urge that for a reason to the king, which
" could be none ;" and which, he knew, " had no
" foundation in truth  and told him, that
" the king could not at this time do a more ungra-
" cious thing, that would lose him more the. hearts
" and affections of the nobility and gentry; of
" England, than in making a master of the wards,
"  and insisting on that part of his preroga-
" tive, which his father had consented to part with."
Sir John, dissatisfied with so very insufficient a
reason, resolved, that " since his friends would
" not, he would himself require justice of the
". king." To whom, being " in the next room," he
immediately went, and " pressed his majesty to
"make good the promise his. father had made;
" and magnified the services he had done. ....... .
" The king, who knew him very well, and believed
" little of his history, and less of .his .father's pro-
" mise, was willing rather to reclaim him from his
" importunity, than to give him a positive denial,
"  lest it might .indispose, his mother, or
" his brother." But finding, that this would not
prevail, " at last the king, which he used not to do
" in such cases, gave him a positive denial, and
" reprehension at once." Berkeley, imputing the
whole of this failure to lord Clarendon, reproached
him with it ; and ended with telling him, " that

234 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
"from henceforward he might not expect any
" friendship from him!" Many years after this
sir John proved himself to be much more than,
what is commonly called, as good as his word*
In a letter of lord Cornbury's of the 8th December
1667, on his father, lord Clarendon's quitting the
kingdom, addressed to the duke of Ormond, is
the following passage : " One thing I must not
" omit telling your grace, which is, that lord
" Berkeley very industriously spreads abroad a
" rumour, that, to his knowledge your grace hath
" broken all friendship with my father for above
" these two years : which I am sure a better au-
" thority than his cannot make me believe. Your
" grace hath too much generosity to abandon one,
" whom you have long protected, without telling
" him of it." It must be superfluous to add, that
the duke in his answer denied, that there had
ever been grounds for the fabrication of so foul a
calumny. It may be equally superfluous to observe, that
if at this moment the feelings of Clarendon were
susceptible of still further excitement, malevolence
never was more ingeniously exercised in the appli
cation of additional torture, than when Berkeley
thus circulated a rumour that the recently dis
missed chancellor had been previously abandoned
by the duke of Ormond.
Be it here recalled that while Berkeley was thus
* The first opportunity which presented for any marked dis
play of Berkeley's malevolence was on the occasion of the duke
of York's intrigue and subsequent marriage with the chancellor's
daughter. Continuation of Life, vol. iii. p. 374, et seq.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 235
basely intent on the rancorous gratification of an
unprovoked malignity, Ashburnham has been seen
fearlessly continuing to pay the voluntary tribute
of undiminished homage, and unshaken attach
ment to a meritorious statesman, now become the
persecuted prey of factious virulence ; the sport of
popular delusion ; and the victim of royal turpi
tude. To what causes then are to be attributed
the inveteracy of lord Clarendon's ill will towards
the latter : and the propensity to his more lenient
judgement, and favourable opinion of the former,
equally manifest, and equally unaccounted for?
It is true, that in speaking of Berkeley singly
and separately, he is not sparing of positive invec
tives ; yet, in the details of his relation, comparison
is never instituted but to the premeditated disad
vantage of Ashburnham.
Nothing can appear more strange and unna
tural, than lord Clarendon's partiality for Berke
ley, when we consider the above-noticed atrocious
and unpardonable intent to outrage his feelings,
and to blast his reputation. The chancellor's ori
ginal predilection could not but have been much
impaired, as we are told, that it was, by Berkeley's
indecent and insulting application, that he would
join in urging on the king a plea which he knew
to be most untrue, for the purpose of placing him
in a situation, for which he knew him to be most
unfit. Nor could the force of the affront have been
mitigated by his subsequently betraying a nature,
so selfishly vile, as that the better to secure to
himself a seat at the Council Board, he would not
have scrupled to expose to greater jeopardy the

236 VINDICATION , OF THE CHARACTER
precarious restoration of the king to his hereditary
throne. To counterbalance such disgusting enormities
where are the offensive depravities to weigh, down
the opponent scale ?
There can be no doubt, that, lord Clarendon
without entreaty, exhortation or, appeal, .would
have had the candour freely, to impart, whatever
had come to his knowledge respecting Ashburn
ham more culpable than. has been set forth in the
History, of " the Invasion of the Chancellor of
"the, Exchequer's Office;" more despicable than
has been told in the Tale of " the King and the
"Market Man:" or more ridiculous than has
Hist. vol. been recounted in " that pleasant story much
ui. p. 246. « gpQ^en 0f jn the court; which administered
" some mirth ;" — the pleasantry of which mainly
consists , in describing, when the lord Capel and
Ashburnham were sent by the king to borrow
money, how the latter was taken for an impostor;
and how, " after an ill supper, he was shewed an
"indifferent bed." Great must surely, be the
dearth of fact, and " lack of argument," when
frequent recourse is had to sarcastic ridicule, and
contumelious disparagement ; to disingenuous con
struction and slanderous insinuation.
" Sed aliud est maledicere, aliud accusare. Ac-
" cusatio crimen desiderat, rem ut definiat, homi-
" nem ut notet, argumento probet, teste confirmet.
" Maledictio autem nihil habet propositi prseter
" contumeliam." (Cic: Orat: pro M: Coelio.)

(a)
00

m

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 237

XIII.
" Ashburnham was not afterwards called in
" question for being instrumental in the king's
"going away : — but lived unquestioned long after
" in the sight of the parliament, and in conver-
" sation with some of the army who had most
"deceived him."
" And, which was more censured than all the /c)
" rest, after the murder of the king he compound-
" ed, as was reported, at an easy rate: 
" And lived at ease and grew rich for many
" years together without interruption."
It is possible, and therefore it shall be presumed,
that lord Clarendon was ignorant of all, and each,
of these allegations being utterly false. But that,
which it is impossible to admit is, that he should
not be aware that collectively, or separately con
sidered, such data could lead to no other conclu
sion, than that Ashburnham was favoured by those
men, who had put to death the king ; of whom
he pretended to be the eminently loyal subject
and faithful servant ; and who had destroyed both
in church and state the constitution, of which he
professed himself an ardent admirer and zealous
assertor. Nor can he be supposed to have been
unconscious, that the only conviction which can
result from that conclusion will necessarily be,
that to have been so favoured, Ashburnham must
have been guilty of the foulest treachery and the

238 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
blackest ingratitude, that ever merited the execra
tion of mankind.
Equally impossible is it to reconcile on this
occasion, (as on many others*) the noble histo
rian's practice with his theory, or his perform
ances with his professions. Where, than in the
paragraph, which forms the Thesis of the present
disquisition, or indeed throughout the relation,
from which it is extracted, can be found a stronger
instance of disregard, and violation of that maxim,
for the observance of which, on another occasion,
the illustrious moralist thus seems to apologize?
" Mons. Montrevil was a person utterly un-
Hist.vol.v.p. 383-4. " known to me, nor had I ever intercourse or cor-
" respondence with him ; so that what I shall
" say of him cannot proceed from affection or
" prejudice, nor if I shall say any thing for his
" vindication from those reproaches, which he did,
" and does lie under  I say, if what I here set
" down of that transaction shall appear some vuv
" dication of that gentleman from those imputa-
" tions under which his memory remains blasted, it
" can be imputed only to the love of truth, which.
" ought, in common honesty, to be preserved in his-
" tory as the very soul of it, towards all persons
" who come to be mentioned in it  I take it
" to be a duty incumbent on me to clear him from
" any guilt with which his memory lies unjustly
" charged* and to make a candid interpretation of
" those actions, which appear to have resulted from
" ingenuity, and upright intentions, how unsuccess-
"ful soever"

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 239
How can it be said that Ashburnham " was not (a)
" called in question" for being instrumental in the
king's going away, when the following facts are
verified upon paramount authority ?
Commons Journals, 12th November 1647.
" Ordered — John Ashburnham to be sent for in
" safe custody, upon suspicion of being privy to
" the king's escape."
Nov. 15.
" To be sent for as a delinquent."
That these orders were not carried into execu
tion was owing to the king's formal protest, and
Hammond's earnest remonstrance, as may be seen
in his letter, to the speaker, against the measure,
as a breach of good faith and a violation of express
engagement. But that, however suspended, they
were never revoked, or cancelled, and that on
Ashburnham's being driven from his attendance
on the king in the Isle of Wight, and thereby
deprived of all protection on account of Ham
mond's promises, they revived, is evident from
the following entry on the Journals.
May 19, 1648.
" The house on being informed, that Mr. Ash-
" burnham and colonel Legge were taken and
" apprehended, ordered: that they should be forth-
" with secured and committed to Windsor Castle."
Now for What reason could Ashburnham have
been thus both " taken and apprehended," but
for being instrumental in the king's going away?
It does not appear that he had ever, before or
since, committed any highway robbery ; or indeed
burglary; with the sole exception of that metapho-

240 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER.
ricaily felonious breaking open of the Chancellor
of the Exchequer's Office. If it was not long,
before he regained his liberty, the cause and man
ner of effecting it are proofs of any thing, rather
than of favour and indulgence, on the part of those
into whose power he had fallen.
"Commons Journals, July 1, 1648.
" Ordered : The general to offer an exchange
" of the lord Capel's son for sir William Massam."
— This offer was rejected by the lord Goring;
who commanded the royal army. Then comes
the resolution of
" July 10th. That Mr. John Ashburnham a pri-
" soner by order of the house be forthwith
" exchanged for sir William Massam, and the
"gentlemen of the Committee of Essex, now pri-
" soners in Colchester."
That the same was carried into effect, but not
readily, Rushworth has thus recorded.
" August 7th, 1648. — Sir William Massam was
"this day exchanged for Mr. Ashburnham ; the
" most considerable prisoner in the kingdom."*
In the more detailed account of this transaction
in Ashburnham's narrative, which is here sub
mitted, there will be found nothing, that is not in
* It is passing strange, that one, whom we know, on' the
authority of lord Clarendon, to have been nothing more than a
groom of the bedchamber, should have been, looked upon- as
" the most considerable prisoner in, the kingdom," and as such,
have been in exchange as well worth a major general, (being
moreover a knight,) and a whole committee of Essex squires, as
a sovereign is now equivalent to a half-sovereign in gold and
ten shillings in silver.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 241
strict accord with the foregoing authenticated
facts. " By his majesty's great favour in writing to
" those honourable and faithful persons in Col-
" Chester, and by their submission to his majesty's
" pleasure, and friendly inclinations towards me,
f' I was exchanged for sir William Massam : but
" with this condition ; that I should depart the
" kingdom in two months ; and1 in the mean time
" to continue at my house in Sussex, and not to
" come nearer London. So very rigid and severe
" the parliament and army were to me. With one
" of which, or both, it had been thought, T kept
" an unworthy and disloyal correspondence."
Lord Clarendon in noticing the several resolu
tions of the house of commons, preparatory to the
treaty of Newport, has given the following. " That
" all those persons, who were named by the king,
" should have free liberty to repair to him, and to
" remain with him." But he has thought proper
to omit one of these resolutions, by which it ap
pears that of all those persons so named, amount
ing to forty-six in number, two only were refused.
" August 30th, 1648.
" The question being put for giving liberty to
" Mr. John Ashburnham and Mr. William Legge
" to go the king to attend him during the time
" of the treaty, it passed in the negative : Mr.
" John Ashburnham standing in the first excep-
" tion from pardon : and Mr. William Legge be-
" ing under restraint." *
* It may not be irrelevant to notice the difference' between
the two reasons, here distinctly assigned for this refusal. With
VOL." I. R

242 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER"
This exception may not have been designedly
omitted by lord Clarendon ; although he is so far
circumstantial in his relation, as to state, that on
Hist. vol. the king's list of those of " his servants, which he
vi. p. ios. « desired might be admitted to come to him, were
" the duke of Richmond, the marquis of Hert-
" ford, the earls of Southampton and Lindsey all
" four gentlemen of his bedchamber. He named
" likewise all the other servants, whose attendance
" he desired in their several offices.*" The noto
rious fact of Ashburnham's having been taken
prisoner shortly after his expulsion from the Isle
of Wight, and the stipulations on which his ex
change was effected, may also have escaped the
noble historian's memory : certain however it is,
that bat for these omissions he never could have
asserted, that " Ashburnham was not afterwards
" called in question for being instrumental in
" the king's going away, but lived unquestioned
" long after in the sight of the parliament."
(jo) As for Ashburnham's having " lived in conver-
" sation with some of the officers of the army,"
it could only have been with those, whose na
tures were the most christianly charitable. Be
cause five years of the interregnum were passed
respect to Legge, it is because he is still a prisoner : with respect
to Ashburnham, who had been liberated on exchange, it is he-
cause " he was in the first exception from pardon." Which
throws no discredit at least on his stating, that a condition of his
exchange was that he should depart the kingdom in two months.
* The names of each of these servants, as well as the bishops
and king's chaplains, and law officers of the crown may be seen
in the Commons'- Journals.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 243
by him in close imprisonment in the Tower ;* and
three in Guernsey Castle. Thus however eight
years out of the period of somewhat more than
eleven years are accounted for. In what manner
the remainder was passed by Ashburnham, he has
in that part of his Narrative where he replies to
the objections made to his having remained in
England after concluding his composition, thus
supplied — " First I was followed so close with
" actions of forty-four thousand pounds for mo-
" nies I stood engaged for his late majesty, that
*' it was utterly impossible for me to Stir from
" hence : in the next place I was for the space of
" three years so persecuted by committees to dis-
" cover who had lent the king any money during
" the war as I had scarce time to eat my bread.
" In which examination, it must be granted, that
" I was equally careful of other men's preservation
" with my own."
* Even lord Clarendon himself (not very consistently with the
above account either that Ashburnham " lived unquestioned"
or " lived at ease") has certified, that Ashburnham " was com-
" mitted to the Tower by Cromwell, where he remained till his
" death." The cause of this his last imprisonment is thus recorded in
Whitelock's Memorials.
" June 7, 1654. — Upon the examination of the plot against
" the lord protector and his government it appears that the
" conspirators intended to assassinate the protector and some
41 chief persons in the government and to proclaim the king,
" with pardon to all except three persons,
" Sir Gilbert Gerrard, and two of his brothers, colonel Ash»
" burnham and Mr. John Ashburnham with several others are
<c under custody for it. And addition made to the guards at the
*' Tower."

244 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
Now admitting, that under these circumstances
the whole of Ashburnham's leisure Was passed
" in conversation with some of the officers of the
" army," until it shall be ascertained, who these
officers were, there can be here no sufficient foun
dation, On which to raise even a suspicion of trea
chery. Mrs. Hutchinson in her Memoirs says
that, " while at Hampton Court, the king had
" gained over some of the officers' of the army."
This is confirmed by lord Clarendon in these
words : — " There were some officers, who would
" have been glad, that the king might have been
" restored by the army, for the preferments, which
" they expected might fall to their share."
But there were others actuated by purer mo
tives to resume their native allegiance": in whom
a sense of honour and of: good faith, as well as of
loyalty, had never been extinct.
Among these the noble historian has thus par-
Histvoi. ticularly noticed major Huntington, as — " one of
v p. 484. "'
" the best officers they had ; and major to Crom-
" well's own regiment of horse, upon whom he
" relied upon any enterprize of importance more
" than upon any man, &c. — Huntington, when he
" observed Cromwell to grow colder in his expres-
" sions for the king than he had formerly been,
" expostulated with him in very sharp terms for
" ' abusing him, and making him the instrument to
" cozen the 'king,' &c." " In a short time after he
" gave up his commission, and would serve no
" longer in the army."
To which notices the noble historian might have
added one of still greater importance, which makes

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 245
the omission of it the more strange. Soon after
this resignation, Huntington presented to the
house of lords — " a charge of high treason against
" lieutenant general Cromwell ; making oath be-
" fore the lords, that what he had affirmed in this
" charge, as of his own knowledge, was true : and
" what upon hearsay, he believed could be attest-
" ed." This charge was read by the lords ; and
by them sent down to the commons. But Crom
well's party, apprized in time, contrived to prevent
the message from being received. Nothing there
fore appears in the Commons Journals on this
subject. Huntington on finding himself thus ex
cluded, made his appeal to the public by printing:
— " Sundry reasons inducing major Huntington
" to lay down his commission ; humbly presented
" to the honourable houses of parliament." * Of
which two editions (according to the parliamen
tary history) were printed on the same day.
But there is a subsequent mention made of
Huntington, which, in point of time, is still more
applicable to the present argument. Speaking of a
time previous to Monk's tardy declaration in favour
of the crown, lord Clarendon says — " Some of
" the officers of the army, as Ingoldsby, and Hun-
" tington, made tender of their services to the
" king." There was also colonel Cook. Who wrote —
" Certain passages, which happened at Newport
* These " sundry reasons" are given at length in the Lords'
Journals as entered on the second of August 1648, as well as the
proceedings of the house thereon, on the third, fourth and fifth
of the same month.

246 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" in the Isle of Wight Nov. 29, 1648 : relating to
" king Charles I. written by Mr. Edward Cook of
'" Highnam in Gloucestershire; some time colonel.
" Of a regiment under Oliver Cromwell."* The
author declares, that this account was drawn up
in pursuance of the king's injunctions ; who at
parting from the duke of Richmond, when on his
way to Hurst Castle, said : " Remember me to my
" lord Lindsay, and to colonel Cook : and com-
" mand Cook from me never to forget the passages
" of this night." Cook further adds, that he drew
up this Narrative, with the approbation and assist
ance of the duke of Richmond and earl of Lindsay,
" while all the passages were ripe in their memo-
" ries." Lastly there was Fairfax himself. Of whom the
noble historian has truly said, that — " he wished
" nothing that Cromwell did, and yet contributed
" to bring it all to pass." When at length, bnt
not till after the execution of the king, he had
discovered whose army it really was, of which he
had so long mistaken himself to be the general,
Fairfax was among the first and most zealous for
* This Narrative was published in 1690 with a preface written,
by Dr. Tennison ; afterwards archbishop of Canterbury ; as he
himself told bishop Kennet. (See a note in Rennet's History of
England, vol. iv, p. 178.)
The Narrative (which may be found in Rushworth' s Collec
tions, vol. vii. part iv. ch. 34) relates very circumstantially the
earnest entreaties and arguments vainly urged by the duke of
Richmond and the earl of Lindsay, to induce the king to make
his escape : within a few hours previous to his being carried off
to Hurst Castle : as well as the practical proof, given by Cook,
of the facility, with which he could have accomplished it.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 247
the restoration of monarchy. To have " lived"
therefore " in conversation with officers of the
" army," such as these, could not have been inju
rious to the king's interests, or to Ashburnham's
honour. On the contrary, if other faithful adherents to
the royal cause beside him had not lived in simi
lar conversation, the monarchy had never been
restored. " He compounded, (as was reported,) at an
" easy rate."
" They say" — " most Men thought" — " As was
" reported," &c.
Such are the parentheses, or expletives, by which
the peremptory tone of positive assertion is in the
History of the Rebellion not unfrequently miti
gated. Their effect however is but transient. The
human memory, like the law " de minimis non
" curat." It is a sieve, in which the grain alone
is likely to be retained, while the chaff is sure to
escape. But then all the other averments, not so
qualified, obtain by the contrast additional force :
because the distinction implies a rigid scrupulo
sity as to the admission of facts on the writer's
own authority.
A parenthesis is in Johnson's Dictionary defined
to be " a sentence so included in another sentence,
" as that it may be taken out without injuring the
"sense of that which encloses it." Rapin, whose
uniform omissions betray the want, not of adver
tency, but of candour, is evidently of opinion, that
the taking out of the part, so far from injuring,

(<0

248 • VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
greatly benefits 'the sense of the ¦ whole. How far
he has availed himself of the licence so granted;
the following passage affords one more notable
instance.— "Supposing no treachery in what Ash-
" burnham did, probably his easiness to beide-
" ceived procured him afterwards a very favour-
* able and much, lower than usual, composition:
'/> which greatly, contributed to encrease the suspi-
" cions, already conceived, against him."
Were there no means, by which the refutation
of this calumny could be attempted, its context
alone carries with it internal evidence sufficient
for self-cOhviction. Is it credible, that a man's
purse should be spared by those, who, according
to lord Clarendon, imprisoned his person, and
desired his death ? Ashburnham in his Narrative
says : — " In the prosecution of my composition I,
" found, that no less than the one half of my little
" estate would be accepted : though there was no
" precedent for the like amongst all those; who
" had the honour to serve the king in his' wars :
" nor hath there been since any man; who was
" admitted to composition, that hath had the same
" measure." Now when we are assured on the
highest authority^ that this, " his Apology, or Nar-
" ration, was given in writing to such Of his friends,
*' in whose opinion he most desired to be absolv
ed :" when we are further told, that those, in whose
opinion he was much more than absolved, were
" those of the greatest reputation ; as the marquis
" of Hertford and the earl of Southampton;"
when we are told, that these illustrious person
ages also remained at home ; and must therefore

AND CONDUCT. OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 249
have been the better informed as to domestic
transactions : and when we are lastly told, that
his apology was submitted to the perusal and con
sideration of lord Clarendon himself, it is not to
be supposed, that he could have dared to advance a
falsity, which all his contemporaries were able, and
too many of them willing, to detect, and expose.
For the same reason it is equally unlikely, that
he should have ventured to state himself to have
passed eight years in close confinement, unless the
fact had been really so. If therefore he " lived
" at ease for many years together, without inter-
" ruption," it can only prove a degree of commo-
diousness in the gaols, and of urbanity in the
gaolers of that day, highly creditable to republican
philanthropy. The assertion, that Ashburnham besides living (d)
at ease " grew rich for many years together" can,
as matter of reproach, have reference only to years
antecedent to the restoration: certainly not to
those immediately subsequent to that epoch. Be
cause, at the man, then, " more censured than all
" the rest," as most censurable ; not so much for
growing gradually, but for at once, as though by
creation, becoming rich, the lord chancellor of
that day could hardly have cast the first stone : at
least it would not have been a fragment from
among those, which, first destined for the rebuild
ing of the cathedral, had been removed from St.
Paul's church yard to that more elevated site,
where speedily arose a mansion, which so well
qualified and critical a judge as Evelyn pronounced

250 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
to be of all, that he had anywhere seen, the most
complete and sumptuous.
Whether Ashburnham ever " grew rich, as was
" reported," may be a question ; but, if he did,
Whether he afterwards became poor, is no question
at all. It appears from his will, that he had mort
gaged the estates in Bedfordshire; not, as has
been said, " granted to him by Charles the second
" as a reward for the faithful* services, which he
" had rendered to that monarch, and his father :"
for, those faithful services were " left" —
" To point a moral,"
which teaches, that, " virtue is its own reward ;"
but as a repaying, by instalments, of those " con-
" siderable sums of money," with which he suc
cessively supplied his two sovereigns in their ut
most need. From the same document a further
criterion, to judge of his accumulated wealth, may
be found by his having directed, that not more
than two hundred pounds a year be allowed to
his grandson and heir, until he should have attain
ed the age of twenty-four years : and by having
further directed, that all the money which could
be saved out of the proceeds of his estate, should
be applied, when possible, to the repurchasing of
lands, formerly belonging to his ancestors, which
his father had been obliged to sell.
XIV.
" His remaining in England was upon the mar-
" riage of a lady, by Whom he had a great fortune;
* Lysons' Magna Britannia : Bedfordshire.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 25 1
and many conveniences ; which would have been
seized by his leaving the kingdom."

If there were truth in this averment, which as
sumes the semblance of defence, it would not be
less injurious to Ashburnham's character, than any
one of the undisguised attacks would have been, if
not repelled and defeated. If he remained in En
gland on account of a marriage, it must have been
one recently contracted ; either during the latter
period of his sovereign's unparalleled sufferings, or
immediately after their unprecedented consum
mation; with which alone terminated the unin
terrupted course of favour, kindness, and " affec-
" tion," which for more than twenty years, and
through all vicissitude of fortune, he had uniformly
experienced from that most gracious master.
From such premises no other conclusion can be
drawn, than that, under these circumstances, Ash
burnham's thoughts were wholly absorbed in the
sole contemplation of those " many conveniences,''
to be secured by marrying a lady possessed of
" a great fortune." At the bare idea of such abject
and heartless selfishness, who is not tempted to
exclaim in the words of the indignant prophet —
" Is this a time to receive money, and to receive
" garments, and olive yards, and vineyards, and
" sheep, and oxen, and men servants, and maid
" servants ?"
How very differently Ashburnham's thoughts
were employed, his time passed, and his services
directed, he has described in his narrative. The
details of which will throughout be found conso-

252 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
nant with facts certified and recorded by the most
unquestionable authorities. Such are Rushworth's
Collections, Whitelock's Memorials, and above all
the Journals of Parliament.
It is true, that Ashburnham was twice^married,
but it is not less true*, that neither of these mar
riages can account for his remaining in England :
much less from the dread, lest the " great fortune
" and many conveniences" should be " seized by
" his leaving the kingdom :" for all property, which
he possessed, had been long since sequestered.*
His first wife Frances Holland,-f- the mother of
his eight children, did not die till some time in
the year 1650 ; consequently not till after more
than twelve months had elapsed since the king's
execution. His second wife was the relict of the
lord Powlet. When this marriage took place is
not known, but it is certain that she did not be
come a widow till the year 1649. The lady dow
ager Powlet was indeed an heiress ; but being,
* Commons Journals 14 Septr. 1643. "Resolved — that the
" estate of Mr. John Ashburnham shall be forthwith seques
tered." f Lords Journals Dec. 3: 1646.
" Read the petition of Mrs. Ashburnham desiring some main-
" tenance may be allowed her out of her husband's estate for
" herself and her children.
" Ordered : To be sent to the House of Commons with re-
" commendations." " Commons Journals Dec: 7: 1646
" Ordered : That Mrs. Frances Ashburnham's petition be read
" on Saturday morning next."
It does not appear that it was read on that, or any other
day : and there can be little" doubt, that it never was read.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 253
also the joyful mother of children* by her first
lord, the " conveniences," which she brought to
her second, were probably not quite so " many/'
or at least not of so permanent a nature, as
hitherto lord Clarendon's readers may naturally
have supposed. XV.
" Mr. Ashburnham had so great a detestation
" of the Scots, that he expected no good from
" their fraternity, the presbyterians of the city;
" and did really believe that if his majesty should
" put himself into their hands, as was advised by
¦*• many, with the purpose that he should be there
" concealed, till some favourable conjuncture
" should offer itself, (for nobody imagined that,
" upon his arrival there, the city would have de-
" clared for him, and have entered into a contest
" with that army which had so lately subdued
" them,) the security of such an escape was not
" to be relied on, and very earnestly dissuaded his
" master from entertaining the thought of it"
Whenever the illustrious author of the History
of the Rebellion honours Ashburnham with his
notice, (and it is not seldom,) the powers of his
memory seem for a time to be suspended under
the paralyzing influence of some magic spell. So
far was Ashburnham from having " dissuaded his
* John Ashburnham's eldest son married one of the lord
Powlet's daughters. But as she had at least one brother, it is
not probable, that the fortune, which her husband had by her was
great, or the conveniences many.

254 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" master from entertaining the thought of putting
" himself into the hands of the Scots and their
" fraternity the presbyterians of London," that
he was the first to suggest and advise that step.
In that very narrative, which " the chancellor"
deigned to peruse, he has declared, that, on receiv
ing the king's positive command to contrive the
plan of his escape, and to recommend the fit
test place for his asylum, he in the first instance
" took the freedom to offer to his (the king's)
" consideration the trying, whether the Scots
" commissioners, who were then at Hampton
" court, and had made several overtures of their
" service,* would meet his majesty the next day at
" the lord mayor's house in London ; (whither I
" would undertake to carry him) and there declare
" their whole nation to be satisfied with the king's
" last answer to the propositions, delivered to him
" at Hampton court ; and to endeavour to make
" all the presbyterian party in the city, over whom
" they had then a strange influence, to acquiesce
" in that answer." In this passage extracted from
* " In this general and illimited indulgence he (lord Capel) took
" the opportunity to wait upon the king at Hampton court.
" .... To the lord Capel his majesty imparted all his hopes
" and all his fears ; and what great overtures the Scots had again
" made to him ; and ' that he did really believe that it could not
" be long before there would be a war between the two nations;
" in which the Scots promised themselves an universal concur-
" rence from all the presbyterians in England. . . . And there-
" fore desired Capel to watch such a conjuncture and draw his
" friends together' ; which he promised to. do effectually ; and
" did, very punctually, afterwards to the loss of his own life."
Clarendon's Hist, of the Reb. vol. v. p . 476-7.

AND CONDUCT QF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 255
Ashburnham's narrative all, that is essential to
the purpose is confirmed and certified by his
constant censurerand reviler, Berkeley; in the fol
lowing words is found the absolute refutation of
this the noble historian's so authoritative averment
— " The Monday before" (that is to say before
the Thursday evening, when the escape was effect
ed) " Mr. Ashburnham and I went to the head
" quarters, to desire passes to return beyond sea.
" He asked me, what I thought of his majesty's
" privately going to London, and appearing in the
" house of lords ? . . . . He then, asked me what I
" thought of the Isle of Wight ? I replied better
" than of London." XVI.
" There were some who said, that Ashburnham
" resolved that the king should go to the Isle of
" Wight, before he left Hampton court -, and the
" lord Langdale often said, &c. . . . And major
" Huntington did affirm, that Mr. Ashburnham
" did intend the king should go to the Isle of
" Wight before he left Hampton court . . , I am
" not sure, that Mr. Ashburnham had not the Isle
" of Wight in his view from the time his majesty
" thought it necessary to make an escape from the
" army. " Yet Mr. Ashburnham did constantly deny,
" that he ever had any thought of the Isle of
" Wight, when the king left Hampton court."
When Paulus Jovius was once reproached for
some of those defamatory misrepresentations, by

256 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
which his history is too frequently disgraced, he
is said to have replied, that it mattered not ; be
cause, when the men should be dead, all, which
he had said of them; would be as much believed,
as if it were true * Far from lord Clarendon,
while; (in his " Kri),ua k ad") recording the merito
rious, and criminal, actions of his contemporaries,
and thus assigning to each that good or evil fame,
by which he was to be known through all suc
ceeding ages ; far be the imputation of an indiffe
rence, and apathy to truth, little less censurable
than a wilful and premeditated perversion of it.
The prediction however of the Italian, with refe
rence to his own writings, has been fully accom
plished in those of the English historian. As a
more peremptory and authoritative assertion was
never made than this ; that " Mr. Ashburnham
" did constantly deny, that he had ever any thought
" of the Isle of Wight, when the king left Hamp-
" ton court," so a charge more utterly, and de
monstrably false, in point of fact, however origi-
* The reckless indifference or rather heartless apathy, so un-
blushingly acknowledged by this right reverend and "jolly thriv-
" ing" sycophant cannot be more strongly contrasted than with
the ingenuous solicitude of the proscribed and persecuted exile ;
that he might be known to posterity, such as he had indeed been,
not only the strenuous assertor,but the scrupulous observer also of
truth and justice, even in the sublimest flights of poetical fiction.
" E s'io del Vero son timido Amico
" Temo di perder vita appo coloro,
" Che questo tempo chiameranno antico.
These lines may be regarded as the modest plea advanced by
Dante for having placed in the "inferno" his instructor Brunetto
Latini and others ; who, but for their vices, were to him objects
of respect and affection.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 257
nating, has never been deliberately, or inadver
tently, preferred. In this, as in so many similar
instances, error shall be ascribed to failure of me
mory ; not so much impaired by advanced age, as
by accumulated sorrow, and increasing infirmity.
But if here to suppose the operative and influen
tial existence of a cause, —
 " which must subdue at length"

all human faculties, be deemed so irreverent as to
be inadmissible ; then, as Bassanio says, (for there
remains no alternative,)
" If this will not suffice, it must appear
" That malice bears down truth."
Since Ashburnham in his Narrative has not
only fearlessly avowed, but pertinaciously justi
fied, the having advised that measure, which lord
Clarendon, (having duly premised that he had
read the Narrative, and conferred at large with
its author on the subject,) positively affirms, that
he did " constantly deny" no other solution seems
to present itself, by which these contradictions
can be reconciled, than to suppose that there
must have been two Narratives ; materially differ
ing from each other: and that the one, left for
the satisfaction of his descendants, contains pas
sages, which could not have been prudently in
serted in the other, shewn to the lord chancellor,
and " given in writing to such of his friends, in
" whose opinions he most desired to be absolved." *
* That the Narrative now published is the same, which lord
Clarendon read, the following proof is offered, as not unworthy
VOL. I. S

258 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
Such at least was for many years the humiliating
conclusion, and painful apprehension of the writer
of this Vindication : and such the reason for his
having so long resisted public, as well as private,
calls for the editing of his ancestor's Narrative.
So deeply had he been impressed with inculcated
veneration for the most authentic of historians,
and the most virtuous of statesmen.* From this
of consideration, though it may not impress on other minds the
same conviction which it has wrought on the Editor's.
The original rough draught of it in Ashburnham's own hand
writing is yet preserved. Of which in different places perhaps
nearly a fourth part has been blotted out. It is in quarto, and
bound in a plain leather cover. There was also a copy of the
same, fairly transcribed and without erasures by the same hand,
on the same sized paper and in a similar binding ; which dis
appeared about twenty years ago ; before the custody of that
heirloom devolved on the present representative of its author.
But there are also two other copies evidently written by some
practised amanuensis ; , both in folio, in vellum bindings, with
gilt, ornaments on the sides, and with gilt edging to the leaves.
Of these the one was given as a present, and the other be
queathed as a legacy to the Editor's father.
These two facts together with the great distinction to be
remarked between the two copies restored, and the other two
which have always remained in the family, accord well with lord
Clarendon's statement of Ashburnham's having given in writing
his " Apology or Narration" to his friends.
These four copies having been carefully collated, the variation
of a word has been occasionally discovered, but nowhere the
slightest addition, omission, or difference in the substance of any
one sentence.
* The Editor trusts that he has here fully redeemed the
pledge, given in his introduction, to adduce such an unequivocal
proof of his faith in Clarendon as perhaps not one of his nume
rous devotees can boast of having displayed.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 259
severe mortification he has been relieved by the
discovery of two documents, already made known
to his readers by frequent references and extracts.
The first of these is the " Memoirs of sir John
" Berkeley ; " who, in a passage lately quoted,
most distinctly says, that before leaving Hampton
Court, Ashburnham consulted him as to his opi
nion of the king's retiring to the Isle of Wight ;
and in subsequent allusions, often mentions, and
uniformly condemns the measure, as having been
adopted at Ashburnham's recommendation. The
other is entitled " a Letter from Mr. Ashburnham
" to a Friend first published in the year 1648 :" in
which the policy of that step is strenuously con
tended for on the same grounds, as those subse
quently maintained in " his Narrative." Having
thus in the first instance committed, and laid him
self at the mercy of Berkeley, who was his enemy ;
and in the second to that of the world, which was
not his friend, to believe that he could ever have
denied, (however much he might be supposed to
have wished to deny,) the act, to which he had
himself given so much notoriety, is to presuppose
him to have been an idiot. Perhaps it may be
said, that there is no difficulty in forming the
supposition. The word indeed does not occur ;
as in truth it would little suit the dignity, or deli
cacy of the noble historian's sentiments, or lan
guage. But so frequent and unequivocal are the
insinuations to that effect, that Ashburnham needs
not to say, like Dogberry, — " Though it be not
" written down, yet forget not, that I am an ass."
To the coming however to so otherwise an easy,

260 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
and satisfactory conclusion, there is but one
obstacle ; and that is, the necessarily consequent
sacrifice of much more important and interesting
matter ; of some of the most admired passages in
the History of the Rebellion : namely the masterly
drawn characters of the king ; of sir John Cole
pepper; of the marquis of Hertford; of the earl
of Southampton ; of the lord Capel; of sir Edward
Nicholas, and of sir Philip Warwick. Of all and
each of whom Ashburnham is described by its
noble author to have been honoured with the
affection or the friendship ; the confidence, or the
good opinion. Even the portraits painted by the
great artist of himself must lose much of their
resemblance, when we behold him elsewhere, self- -
represented, as confirmed in his own judgement,
on a question of great difficulty and delicacy, on
finding, that it coincided with the declared opinion
of this groom of the bedchamber : who " was of
" no deep and piercing judgement to discover
" what was not unwarily exposed."
Surely then good and sufficient evidence has
been here adduced, that Ashburnham, (so far
from having " constantly denied his ever having
" had any thought of the Isle of Wight, when the
" king left Hampton Court,") always avowed and
justified the king's having retired thither, as a
measure recommended, or suggested, by him to
his royal master : further, that he could not have
denied it, if he had ever desired so to do : and
lastly, that, even if he had at any time wished to
deny it, lord Clarendon himself has proved, that
there was no reasonable inducement to entertain

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 261
any such wish. The reader will doubtless be here
reminded of the noble historian's pathetic descrip
tion of the intolerable misery of the king's condi
tion ; of his majesty's determined resolution at all
risks to liberate himself from it by flight ; and of
the minute and accurate description of the state of
the Isle of Wight ; at that moment so differently
circumstanced from all other places within the
kingdom. Well then might Ashburnham, in his letter pub
lished in 1648, within a few months after the
transaction had taken place, make to the world
the following declaration* — " I do still believe it
" was, as his affairs then stood, the best of any
" place, which he could make choice of. And I
" will not be afraid to avow my opinion, because
" success hath made it seem less reasonable.
" Which being taken out of the scale, and all cir-
" cumstances worthy debate before his departure
" from Hampton Court considered, perhaps wiser
* Intentionally, or unintentionally, it is always the fate of
Ashburnham to be misrepresented. Of the latter there is an
instance in a note of Warburton's, who mistaking this printed
letter for the manuscript Narrative, says — " It is very poorly
" written : wholly employed in vindicating his own integrity
" from the charge of betraying his master on corrupt motives,
" without any account of the particulars of the transactions."
Worse than poorly written would bis Narrative in truth have
been, if, while the king was yet alive, it had contained the par
ticulars of the transaction.
Another instance of certainly most unintentional misrepresen
tation has recently appeared in a note to Mr. Hallam's Consti-.
tutional History. Where he says — " I have been told, that in
" the manuscript of Ashburnham, it is asserted, that he was in
" previous correspondence with Hammond."

262 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" men than those, who in that presumed to con-
" demn his majesty's judgement, may yet approve
" of that choice."
Well too might he repeat the same avowal and
the same justification many years after (in that
Narrative, which the noble and learned earl in
forms his readers, that he deigned to read, and to
confer at large with its author on the subject,)
thus : — " I did then* unfortunately in regard of
" the success, and not of the ill choice of the
" place, offer to their thoughts sir John Oglander's
" house in the Isle of Wight." And subsequently
in another passage — " I do end thus, and I do
" hope to be justified by all ingenuous and consi-
" dering men, that it was not the king's remove
" from Hampton Court into the Isle of Wight,
" that brought the evil fate upon him (how cruelly
" and injuriously soever I have by unworthy and
" base detracting tongues been dealt with) for
" after his being there, he had by the entrance of
" duke Hamilton's army ; by the insurrections in
" Kent, Essex, Wales, and Pomfret, far greater
" hopes of being restored, than ever he had, whilst
" in person in arms : adding besides all this, that
" he had a treaty there with the parliament per-
" sonally ; a thing till then ever laboured for by
" his majesty, but still refused by them. But it
* " I did then". . . that is, when the Scots commissioners had
retracted their declared concurrence, and promised co-operation
in the plan suggested by Ashbumham, but which lord Clarendon
has been pleased to say that he very earnestly dissuaded his master
to entertain the thought of, when advised by many to put him
self into their hands.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 263
" was the ill success of all these great attempts,
" together with the jealousy of the army," &c.
Having thus proved that Ashburnham never
attempted to deny, or sought to evade the charge
here brought against him, it might be idle to exa
mine the foundation on which so frail and flimsy
a superstructure has been raised ; or rather the
buttresses here added for its support ; were it not
for the sake of illustrating antecedent observa
tions, as to the wretched shifts and paltry expe
dients, both in point of fact and of argument, to
which lord Clarendon is constrained to have re
course. The most material fact, by way of proof,
which here occurs, is the lord Langdale's having
" often said" — (which, if he ever did, it would
have been for his own credit better that he never
should have said) " that being in Mr. Ashburn-
" ham's chamber at that time, he had the curiosity,
" whilst the other went out of the room, to look
" upon a paper that lay upon the table ; in which
" was writ, that it would be best for the king to
" withdraw from the army, where he was in such
" danger ; and that the Isle of Wight would be a
" good retreat, where colonel Hammond com-
" manded ; who was a very honest man." Lord
Clarendon afterwards observes ; " the lord Lang-
" dale's relation of such a paper, which he himself
" saw, and read, cannot be thought by me to be a
" mere fiction ; to which, besides that he was a
" person of unblemished honour and veracity, he
" had not any temptation : yet Mr. Ashburnham
" did constantly deny, that he ever saw any
" such paper." Now admitting this noble lord's

264 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
honour and veracity to be as unquestionable, and
as unbounded as his curiosity, (and more highly
rated they cannot be,) what are we here required
to believe? — Not that he saw this paper in. Ash
burnham's hands : but saw it lying upon the
table ; and while he was out of the room. And
what is it that Ashburnham denies ? Not the ex
istence of" any such paper," but his " ever having
" seen it." There is then no contradiction in the
two statements. And the probability is that, if
Ashburnham had ever seen it, he would hardly
have left it open upon the table of his room in
Hampton Court ; well knowing that he, and all
attached to the king's person or service, were
there exposed to many watchful, prying, and curi
ous eyes ; not to be so safely trusted, as those of
the lord Langdale, who according to the noble
historian, " had not any temptation:" — that is,
excepting the one, which he states him to have
been unable to resist.
The argument, worthy of the proof, on which it
is raised, is the following, — " It is not impossible,
" that somebody, who was trusted by them (the
" officers of the army) if not one of themselves,
" might mention the Isle of Wight, as a good
" place to retire to, and colonel Hammond as a
" man of good intentions ; the minutes of which
" discourse Mr. Ashburnham might keep by him."
So indeed he might. So too might Lord Claren
don have kept by him, (and it would have been
well if he had) a memorandum, whenever he
should come to " a proper place for the ample
"enlargement which Ashburnham's ill conduct

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 265
" in that so precious affair required" to insert,
that this paper was in the groom of the bedcham
ber's own hand-writing: and another memoran
dum, to leave out, that he was absent, when the
paper was found on his table. Because from the
omission of the former, and from the admission of
the latter circumstance, the fact constitutes no
proof; the proof would establish no argument:
and the argument would make out no case. Thus
it is, that the elaborate reasoning of a wise man,
when the truth is not in him, like " a tale told by
" an idiot," ends in " signifying nothing."
If however Ashburnham ever kept these minutes
at all, (for that he did so, is candidly suggested
to be a mere possibility) there is a positive cer
tainty of his having kept them by him for a long
while: and further, (excepting in that solitary
instance, when they were left so temptingly lying
open on his table) of his having kept them to
himself. For, so long as he had in Hampton
Court " his chamber ;" in which he received visits
from the lord Langdale, and a table, on which he
laid his papers, Ashburnham must have been an
inmate of the palace. It has been shewn how
Whalley deposed, that Ashburnham withdrew his
parole three weeks previously to the King's escape :
and on the authority of Berkeley, as well as his
own; how he was instantly (as it was natural
that he should be) removed from all further
attendance on his royal master. Now lord Cla
rendon has confidently asserted, that it was not
till after the king had alighted at Titchfield
house, saluted the noble and venerable dowager,

266 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
his " honoured hostess," and refreshed himself,
that he summoned the council at which " the
"Isle of Wight came to be first mentioned by
" Ashburnham." Still hoWever Mr. Ashburnham might have kept
these minutes ; which somebody, if not himself,
might have taken down. But then what a sieve,
what a colander, of a memory must his have
been, if he could not rely on it even for retain
ing the names of a person and of a place so
(especially tO him) familiar as those of colonel
Hammond, and the Isle of Wight. Yet this is
the man, by the noble historian himself pronounced
to have been through a long series of years inva
riably most intrusted, consulted, and employed by
a sovereign, whom he has characteristically pane
gyrised for sagacious discernment, and deliberate
cautiousness in the choice of his confidential
servants. (" He saw and observed men long
"before he received them about his person.")
This too is the man, known on the same authority
to have been honoured with the favourable opi
nion, the considerate regard, and the attested re
liance of those illustrious colleagues in adminis
tration, between whom and the earl of Clarendon
it was the boast of the latter, that there subsisted
congeniality of sentiment, unity of affection, and
identity of principle : a reciprocal deference, and
a mutual devotion.
Immediately after having affirmed, that " Ash-
" burnham always denied his having so much as
" thought of the Isle of Wight," lord Clarendon
in the same paragraph adds, that « he never gave

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 267
" cause in the subsequent actions of his life to
" have his fidelity suspected." It seems therefore,
that the context here requires the word fidelity to
be understood in the sense of veracity : with
which it is not unfrequently synonymous.
But if the word is to be taken here in its more
ordinary acceptation, it maybe observed, that the
specious candour of a general acquittal is well
calculated to remove suspicion from the intrinsic
unfairness of a particular charge, and to induce
belief that liberality and ingenuousness abound,
where in reality prejudice and malevolence pre
vail. Why should this absolution be only pros
pective, instead of being, as it more usually is,
retrospective ? Had Ashburnham ever given cause
in the antecedent actions of his life to have his
fidelity suspected? So far as lord Clarendon's
knowledge extended, most certainly not. For a
confident appeal may be made to every reader,
whose patience has carried him thus far through
this prolix and tedious Vindication, whether there
can be a doubt, if any such instance had ever
transpired, that the illustrious Author would have
found the occasion, and means of introducing it,
as opportunely, applicably, and relevantly, as
many others, which add no embellishment to his
so much admired History.
The ends of justice are more than attained, when
the culprit's voluntary confession follows the clear
conviction of his guilt. The cravings of injustice
are not so easily appeased. Thus it has not been
enough to arraign Ashburnham as the original
projector, and sole contriver of a measure, the

268 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
nefarious purpose of which could have been no
other than its fatal result ; so obviously and ine
vitably necessary ; " since nothing fell out, which
" was not to be reasonably foreseen and expected,"
insomuch that " most men did believe there was
" treason in the contrivance :" or else that it
sprung from a presumption, less flagitious indeed,
but not less unpardonable. Since with equal
reason it must " have been looked upon by all
" men as such a transcendant crime, as must
" have deprived him of all compassion for the
" worst that could befall him." Even this alter
native is not sufficient. To the atrocity of having
committed (from either motive) so transcendant
a crime must be superadded the meanness of
wishing, and the imbecility of attempting, to deny
it. He must be held out to all succeeding ages,
as an object. of scorn as well as of abhorrence.
He must for ever be both execrated, and despised.

XVII.
" If I were obliged to deliver my own opinion,
" I should declare that neither of them were, in
" any degree, corrupted in their loyalty or affec-
" tion to the king, or suborned to gratify any
" persons with a disservice to their master."
That a man, in the security which confidence
and privacy inspire, should venture to disclose of
.his own accord those, sentiments to an individual,
which he would be loath publicly to reveal, is

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 269
rational, intelligible, and of frequent occurrence.
But it is not so, that every body should be spon
taneously told that, which, but from necessity,
would be told to no one. Now what is the opi
nion which lord Clarendon would deliver, if he
were so obliged, but that, which without such
obligation, he has here declared? Surely this
partakes largely of the nature, if it be not a fair
specimen and happy illustration, of that figure of
speech commonly called a bull.
It would be most unseasonably and imperti
nently trifling with the reader's patience to enter
into a close examination of style, a careful dissec
tion of phrases, and a curious analysis of words.
It is therefore once more necessary to protest, that
these remarks are directed to no such objects ;
but that they have in view the probable motives,
and certain consequences, of an imaginary judge
ment pronounced on a real case. If in truth it
was lord Clarendon's opinion that Ashburnham
" was in no degree corrupted in his loyalty or
" affection" to his royal master, why should he
have recourse to hypothesis for declaring it : and
why should the hypothesis be that of compulsion ?
Whatever is forcibly extorted must be parted with
reluctantly. When through the scrupulous admi
nistration of humane laws some manifestly guilty
felon escapes condign punishment, his acquittal
may well be pronounced with reluctance, and
heard with regret. But who ever felt, or, if he
felt, avowed, reluctance or regret in declaring,
that man to be innocent, whom in his conscience
he believed to be so ? From the noble Historian's

270 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
not having plainly, directly, unequivocally, and
freely delivered his opinion in Ashburnham's
favour no other inference can be drawn than, that
not fully satisfied of his innocence, nor yet clearly
convinced df his guilt, he charitably concedes
the benefit of that doubt. But the sentiment,
which a man hesitates to avow, can have little
weight, when balanced against those which he
has not scrupled positively to affirm. The airy
phantasma of an hypothetical acquittal cannot
counterpoise the solid materiality of a specifick
charge. " No man can serve two masters." It is
equally impossible for the same man both to be
lieve lord Clarendon's statement, and to adopt his
opinion. And as (with the exception of occasional
parentheses, such as — " Most men thought," —
" As they say," — and — " As was reported," — )
nothing can be more oracularly propounded than
the criminating details of the former, an option is
here presented, which can perplex no man.
It is evident, that those, who must have read
the noble Historian's account with greater atten
tion, as it best behoved them, than ordinary
readers can be supposed to bestow on it, have
experienced no embarrassment or hesitation in
making their option. Hume, who unlike the
compilers, transcribers, and abridgers of earlier
histories, takes neither facts, nor .notions, upon
trust ; but assays the coin, before he sanctions its
currency, after having acknowledged lord Claren
don for his authority, is fully justified in deter
mining, that " Ashburnham imprudently, if not
" treacherously, brought Hammond to Titchfield."

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 27l
From such data a more favourable deduction is
not to be elicited.
Rapin, to whom lord Clarendon's History has
been the quarry, from whence alone he drew the
material for constructing his additions to the ori
ginal fabrication, thus terminates his exaggera
tions and aggravations. — " When a man considers
" all the circumstances of the king's flight, he can
" scarce forbear thinking, he was betrayed on
" this occasion"  " and yet lord Clarendon
" says very positively, he does not believe the king
" was betrayed by Ashburnham. All therefore
" that can be said in favour of this confidant of the
" king is what the lord Clarendon hints ; I mean,
" that he was outwitted by Cromwell ; who by
" some one of his emissaries persuaded him it
" should prove for his majesty's benefit, and his
" business be the sooner done, that he should
" withdraw to the Isle of Wight. If this were so,
" Ashburnham probably thinking himself more
"able than the king, had a mind to serve him,
" whether he would or no ; and not to be forced
" to answer the king's objections, believed to do
" him a sendee in ¦ concealing the secret, and
" putting him under an absolute necessity to take
" a course, which in his opinion was not the most
" proper. In that case, if it be not treachery, it is
" at least the greatest presumption and rashness a
" subject can possibly be guilty of to his prince,
" It is not easy to guess the reasons that could
" induce Ashburnham to imagine the king would
" be safe in the Isle of Wight. It is to be pre-
" sumed, that he was deceived himself ; and his

272 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" easiness abused to cause him to credit general
" promises, which signified nothing, and of which
" he durst not afterwards complain. Supposing
" no treachery in what he did, probably his easi-
" ness to be deceived procured him afterwards a
" very favourable, and much lower than usual, com-
" position ; which greatly contributed to increase
" the suspicions already conceived against him."
Among all the numerous items charged by
Rapin there is not one, whose voucher is not to be
found in lord Clarendon's accounts.
Already in more than one instance the remarks
on some of the personages, particularly noticed in
the History of the Rebellion, have been shewn to
be equally applicable to its illustrious author.
Here again a strong temptation occurs to venture
on a similar transfer. In his " Life," speaking of
the time when he first distinguished himself in
parliament by his zealous and able support of
government, much to the annoyance, and some
what to the disappointment, of Hampden, Pym
and the other leaders of the party in opposition to
VoLi. it, he says — " He was as much in their detestation
" as any man ; and the more, that they could
" take no advantage against him : and though
" they haa* a better opinion of his discretion than
" to believe he had any share in the advice of the
" late proceedings, yet they were very willing, that
" others should believe it ; and made all infusions
" they could to that purpose amongst those who
" took their opinions from them."
Here the " mutatis mutandis" are but few. If
for the' name of Mr. Hyde, that of Ashburnham

p. 103.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 273
be substituted ; and Mr. Hyde's for those of his
enemies; and that we read — any share in the
supposed guilt, instead of " any share in the advice
" of the late proceedings," the adaptation of the
whole passage will be found more than paraphras-
tically exact. For, that Ashburnham " was as
" much in the chancellors detestation as any man ;"
and that " no advantage against him could be
" taken" at least fairly, is evident from the many
unfair attempts, too unsuccessfully made with the
design of rendering that detestation universal.
Nor is it in a few instances, " a better opinion of
" his discretion" transpires, than the noble Histo
rian shews himself very willing that others should
believe him to have possessed. And as for all in
fusions, — the latest Pharmacopoeia sanctions not
the exhibition of any more certain of producing
desired effects, than those prepared by lord Cla
rendon; though, like other compounders, it ap
pears, that he was not in the habit of swallowing
them himself. That they have powerfully operated
on Rapin, and not slightly upon Hume, has been
already shewn ; but it is further curious to ob
serve, how differently, according to the difference
of constitution and temperament, they have
affected two historians of more recent date ;
though in both cases with equal efficacy.
M. Bertrand de Moleville, himself too a states
man as well as an historian, who has ingeniously
contrived to introduce in his " Chronological
" Abridgement of the History of Great Britain" as
much egotism as is anywhere to be found in the
wide range of autobiography, concludes his Nar-
VOL. I. T

274 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
rative of this event thus. — " By this account,
"faithfully extracted from Clarendon's History of
" the Rebellion, it evidently appears, that the
" king's escaping from Hampton Court, and his
" retreating to the Isle of Wight, was nothing
" but the complete execution of Cromwell's
" scheme : for which Ashburnham the king's most
" confidential secretary was his only employer,*
" either treacherously, as it might be easily evinced
"from all the circumstances of this fatal event, or
" innocently according to the king's opinion : who
" never entertained the least jealousy or suspicion
" of it, and was convinced that Ashburnham had
" been outwitted and grossly imposed upon by
" Cromwell and Ireton : who had persuaded him
" by great promises, that the scheme should prove
" very beneficial for his majesty : whose opinion
" in that respect is strongly supported by lord
" Clarendon." Here the world is told; that it
might be easily evinced from all the circumstances
of this fatal event, faithfully-^- extracted from Cla
rendon's History, that Ashburnham was guilty of
* There is here evidently an error either of the press Or of
the translator. The word was probably in the original French
" employ 6."
" The manner in which this account has been " faithfully
" extracted," and all the circumstances stated, from which Ash
burnham's guilt might be easily evinced, has been by com
mencing the quotation, duly distinguished by inverted commas,
with — " The king resolved, as it will further appear, to cross
"the sea; and one morning (November 11) he privately left
" Hampton Court." Of this exordium not one word is to be
found in Clarendon ; but others of a very different import. And
in the sequel every sentence, and in some instances parts of
sentences most calculated to excite suspicion, or rather to
remove all doubt of guilt, are printed in italics, a distinction not

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 275
treachery ; though the noble Author supports the
contrary opinion ; a plain proof that his Excel
lency, the chronological abridger, found it more
than difficult to discover the consistency between
the chancellor's summing up and his decree ; but
very easy to determine which of the two was to be
preferred. On the contrary M. Villemain in his very in
teresting " Histoire de Cromwell," not less deserv
edly than universally admired, says : — " Clarendon
" assure que Charles fut trahi par Ashburnham ;
" qui accompagnait sa fuite, et qui souvent avait
" eu de secrets entretiens avec Cromwell:" — which
shews that the matter-of-fact statement of the case
had so exclusively fixed this author's attention,
that the hypothetically delivered opinion escaped
his notice.
In their respective interpretations therefore of
Lord Clarendon's opinion the former of these
writers is correct, the latter in error. But this
error is more than redeemed by the annexed
reflection. — " Mais on h£site avant de croire a
" tant de bassesse ; et il est plus facile de supposer
" un zele aveugle, trompe" par ces fausses espe-
" ranees si naturelles aux confidens des Rois
" malheureux." Such is the observation with which this Com
mentary shall be closed : not because the subject is,
but lest the patience of every reader should be, if
to be found in any edition of the original. While on the con
trary all the facts and testimonies which lord Clarendon has
admitted in favour at least of Ashburnham's general character,
are wholly unnoticed.

276.' VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTERr
it already»be; not, exhausted. It has been an invi
dious and irksome task, imposed by the sense of.
an imperious, duty ; not less reluctantly, than
conscientiously, undertaken . and prosecuted; with
an unceasing regret. Since the justification of an
ancestor's misrepresented conduct, and the vindi
cation of his outraged character, could only be
effected, by, controverting, denying, refuting,, on
every material . point in which he is concerned,
this above all others most detailed relation, and
elaborate exposition, of a transaction, which in
importance yields to none comprized within the
eventful "History of the Rebellion."

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 277

PART III.

In the foregoing Commentary, Hammond, though
so prominent a figure in the group of conspira
tors, has. only been incidentally noticed ; and in
truth little more than named : all the passages in
lord Clarendon's History which bear any relation
to him having been collectively reserved, to form
the entire subject of a separate disquisition. For
now, " major rerum mihi nascitur ordo;" the
reader's attention will no longer be called to the
decision of questions interesting alone to the
descendants of John Ashburnham ; such as whe
ther the groom of the bedchamber was both
knave and fool; which of the two he was the
most ; or whether really he was either the one, or
-the other. But reasons will be submitted to his
judgment, to determine how far they may be
entitled to any weight in discrediting the authen
ticity of certain facts, and the correctness of cer
tain notions, which from an admission not less
inconsiderately and obsequiously conceded, than
rashly and imperatively exacted, have long since
been as firmly, as universally, established.
To announce that the present purpose is not
only to deny that there are any, so much as plau
sible, proofs or arguments, of Hammond's having
been employed by Cromwell to seize and imprison

278 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
the king ; but farther to contend, that there exists
sufficient cause for the reverse of such a conclu
sion, must appear so extravagant, as to require
from the Author a solemn protestation, that no
" historical doubts" of his would thus be obtruded
on the public, if he did not in his conscience be
lieve these to be not only well founded, but the
publication of them to be essential to the attain
ment of his only real, and only legitimate object-
the vindication of his ancestor's character and
conduct. The credibility of Hammond's having been em
ployed on the above mentioned commission rests
solely on a foundation constructed of materials so
loose and crumbling, as the following.
1. " Hammond was of nearest trust with Crom-
" well ; having by his advice been married to a
" daughter of John Hampden."
2. " Hammond left the army but two or three
" days before the king's remove, and went to the
" Isle of Wight at a season, when there was no
" visible occasion to draw him thither."
3. " Cromwell within two days informed the
" house of commons, ' that he had received letters
" 'from colonel Hammond, of all the manner of
" ' the king's coming to the Isle of Wight, and the
" 'company that came with him ; that he remained
there in the castle of Carisbrook, till the plea-
' sure of the parliament should be known.' He
assured them, ' that colonel Hammond was so
'honest a man, and so much devoted to their
' service, that they need have no jealousy that he
' might be corrupted by any body ;' and all this

a t

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 279
" relation he made with so unusual a gaiety, that
" all men concluded that the king was where he
" wished he should be."

I.
" Hammond was of nearest trust with Crom-
" well ; having by his advice been married to a
" daughter of John Hampden."
Surely in a case like this, above all others, it is
by the party who takes, and hot by the one who
gives the advice, that confidence in the other is
unequivocally evinced. Here there is ample proof
of Hammond's having been intimately and fami
liarly known to Cromwell ; but none at all of his
having been " of nearest trust" with him.
Were it however granted, that Hammond had
been " of nearest trust with Cromwell," the ad
mission would be of no avail in furthering our
progress towards the point proposed. A general
agency, however confidential, will not prove a
particular commission, any more than a man's
being charged with a special service will bespeak
him a regularly official retainer. Of all men,
whose characters have obtained notoriety, Crom
well best illustrates the truth of this observation.
No mechanic ever had a more extensive assort
ment of various tools ; better knew to what use
each might be most effectually applied ; or wielded
them all by turns with more dexterity than this
great master-artificer. His Fairfax and his Lam
bert, his Huntington and his Whalley, with Joyce

280 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
and Pride, Harrison and Ewer, were alike taken
up, or thrown aside, according to the nature of
the job in hand, and the exigency of the moment.
These were in truth " the arrows in the hand of
" a giant :" and of one,
" Who knew full well in time of need
" To aim those shafts aright."
It is very well known, that sir Hugh Evans and
Dr. Caius " were of nearest trust" (perhaps in
more senses than one) with their host of the
garter. But it is clear from his discriminating
panegyric on their respective merits, that his
" soul-curer" could never have been consulted by
him for the gout in his stomach, or his " body-
" curer" on a qualm of conscience.
Is it then probable, that of all his trusty satel
lites Cromwell should have thought Hammond
equally the most fit to be employed in both these
very dissimilar capacities : — to wed his fair ward,
and to guard his royal captive : — any more than
that his choice of the masked executioner, who so
dexterously cut off the king's head, should have
fallen on the same skilful artist heretofore com
missioned to engrave the counterfeit great-seal ?
Lord Clarendon has truly said of Cromwell
that " he must have had a wonderful understand-
" ing in the natures and humours of men, and as
" great experience in applying them." It is then
from a knowledge of the purposes to which their
services were applied, that the surest judgment of
the characters of his several agents may be formed,
and the fairest estimate of their talents.
Now it is to be observed, that the fact of his

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 281
having advised Hammond to marry the daughter
of John Hampden is affirmed as positively cer
tain : whereas that of his having employed him to
seize, or rather kidnap, the king, is intimated
only as plausibly conjectural.
Cromwell was in truth a most extraordinary
man. In his conduct therefore he is not to be
judged of by the same rules, to which ordinary
men are subjected. But when we find him whiling
away some idle moments of leisure and relaxation
in match-making, there is no very obvious reason
for supposing him to have proceeded differently
from any more regular practitioner,
 " cui vincla jugalia cura."
These for the most part have principally, if not
exclusively, in view the interests of one of the two
parties ; and it may be doubted, whether the
friendly advice, or kind suggestion, be invariably
addressed to that one, whose advantage it is most
intended to promote. Now when we consider by
how many ties Cromwell had been attached to
Hampden, while living ; and how devoutly (as we
are here assured) he still " adored his memory,"
must we not consider him, in bringing about this
" conjunction," to have been more anxious and
solicitous for the orphan daughter of his relation,
his friend, and his confederate, than for the nephew
of the king's favourite chaplain, and the grandson
of a court physician.
Notwithstanding Cromwell was any thing rather
than " guiltless of his country's blood," all histo
rians and biographers have agreed, that in the
relations of private life he was kind and affec-

282 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
tionate: at least when the indulgence of his
benevolent propensities interfered not with the
gratification of his ruling passion. Surely there
fore it is most improbable, that when the welfare
and happiness of one so justly dear to him was at
stake, he should divest himself of that " wonder-
" ful understanding in the natures and humours
" of men" and of that " as great experience in
" applying them :" and that he should through
carelessness, much more through design, " provi-
" dently cater" no better for his interesting charge,
than by presenting to her a suitor, endowed with
every accomplishment requisite to form not the
best of husbands, but the best of gaolers ! For
such we may be assured that Hammond must
have been, if ever entrusted by Cromwell with the
custody of his captive sovereign : especially when
it is universally believed, he
" had a mighty cause to wish him dead."
For these reasons it is, in conclusion submitted,
that Hammond's having been married to the
daughter of John Hampden by Cromwell's ad
vice, is a better argument for him who denies,
than for him who affirms, that he was afterwards
employed to apprehend, and confine the king in
Carisbrook castle.
It cannot however but be admitted, that Ham
mond's having followed this advice may be suc
cessfully urged in support of Rapin's assertions,
that he was " Cromwell's creature ;" and that he
was " entirely dependant on, and devoted to him."
But we should then have to argue thus : — If Ham*
mond could be prevailed upon by Cromwell to

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 283
marry Miss Hampden ; what might not Cromwell
have prevailed on Hammond to do ? Surely every
gentle reader will here unite with his author in
deprecating a mode of reasoning, which necessarily
implies so unfavourable a notion, either of the
young lady's character, or of her person.

II.
"" Hammond left the army but two or three
" days before the king's remove, and went to the
" Isle of Wight at a season, when there was no
" visible occasion to draw him thither."
" Admirable circumspection and sagacity" were,
according to lord Clarendon, among the distin
guishing qualities to which is to be attributed the
almost unparalleled success of Cromwell's career.
It is therefore the more strange, since Hammond's
repairing to the Isle of Wight was an essential
component part of this stratagem, that Cromwell
-should have provided no ostensible cause, had
such been wanted, for his agent's withdrawing
himself from the army. And the more so, since
he must have been conscious how much, and how
deservedly, he had by this time become an object
of very general jealousy and suspicion. But the
truth is, that so far from there being " no visible,"
there was a very palpable " occasion" for it.
Hammond had been then recently appointed, by
the two houses of parliament, governor of the
Isle of Wight. Was not the appointment in itself
alone, at that period, sufficient to account for his

284 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
leaving the army, and being irresistibly drawn, or
propelled, to his civil post ? Was it to be sup
posed,, that scrupulous, conscientious, puritanical
republicans, who had so lately passed their " self-
" denying ordinance," would countenance a job;
wink at a sinecure ; and suffer the honours and
emoluments of official situations to be enjoyed in
ease and affluence by inefficient principals ; while
the duties were discharged by needy hirelings and
drudging deputies ? Why, even now, in this de
generate age, bitted, and broken in, to bear with
rapacities, venalities, and all other monarchical
abominations, a governor is expected, once in his
life at least, to be seen at his government.
Moreover this appointment must at the time
have been kthe more notorious on account of the
attendant circumstances : to which now, and
hereafter, the reader's attention will be particu
larly solicited.
" Commons Journals, Sept. 3, 1647."
" The ordinance sent from the lords for ap-
" pointing and constituting colonel Robert Ham-
?' mond, captain and governor of the Isle of Wight,
" and of all ports, forts, towers, and places of
" strength therein, ' quamdiu se bene gesserit,' was
" read the first and second time, and committed."
" Sep. 6."
'' Mr. Bull reports the amendments to the ordi-
" nance sent from the lords for constituting colonel
" Robert Hammond, captain and governor, &c.
" The which were twice read, and upon the ques-
" tion assented unto." " Resolved, &c. — instead
"of the words. ' quamdiu se bene gesserit,' to

AND. CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM 285
"insert these words ' until the lords and commons
" ' in parliament assembled shall otherwise order.'"
— In these alterations the lords immediately
concurred. "Sep. 9."
" Ordered: that Mr. Bulkeley and Mr. Lisle,
" andthe rest of the gentlemen that serve for the
" Isle of Wight, do go down with the governor for
" the better settling him in the government of the
" said isle."
Surely there is in this amendment, and in the
subsequent order, the demonstration of a mis
giving inquietude and foreboding precaution,
which could not have eluded the vigilance of
Cromwell: but must have awakened his " saga-
" city," and set a less " admirable circumspection"
on the alert. How much the presbyterian party
was jealous of the power of the army, and suspi
cious of its leader's designs, is evident from the
enactment that nothing less than ah order -from
the lords and commons in parliament assembled
should remove Hammond (being only a colonel,
and- consequently subordinate to all. general offi
cers,) from his civil employment, as governor of
the Isle of Wight: in which a committee of the
house is purposely deputed to " settle him." Nor
is this all; for (almost as if it were with an
avowed design of directing the eyes of the world
to the very point, where all- their jealousies: and
suspicions were concentrated) in the " ordinance
" to pass a grant to' colonel Hammond under the
" great seal of England, constituting him gover
nor, &c." occurs the following clause?—" Be it

286 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" provided always, and it is hereby ordained, that
" the said colonel Robert Hammond be subject
" to the commands of sir Thomas Fairfax, knight,
" commander-in-chief of all the land forces in the
" kingdom of England, and in the pay of the par-
" liament." This single exception is not to be
solely attributed to Fairfax's being commander-
in-chief. For lord Clarendon, speaking of an
earlier time, when it had been resolved to seize
Cromwell in the house of commons, and to com
mit him to the tower, observes that " they had
" not the least jealousy of the general Fairfax :
" whom they knew to be a perfect presbyterian in
"his judgement :" and that Cromwell had " the
" ascendant over him purely by his dissimulation
" and pretence of conscience and sincerity."
So long as Hammond continued to be the colo
nel of a regiment, he could not be absolutely
independent, and exempt from the authority of
the commander-in-chief. But care had been taken
that it should be confined to matters strictly mili
tary, by the resolution, that nothing less than an
order of parliament should remove him from his
civil post of governor, to which he had been ap
pointed by parliament alone ; and from the Isle
of Wight, where by a committee of the house of
commons he had been " settled." Thus positively
a proof was given of confidence in Hammond, by
the appointment ; and of confidence in Fairfax,
by the clause of exception limited to him alone :
and thereby, negatively at least, of distrust in
Cromwell. But of this he needed no such proof.
For six months previously he had escaped the

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 287
being seized in the house, and committed to the
tower, by retiring to his army.
III.
" But all these doubts were quickly cleared,
" and within two days Cromwell informed the
" house of commons, that he had received letters
" from colonel Hammond, of all the manner of
" the king's coming to the Isle of Wight, and
" the company that came with him ; that he re-
" mained there in the castle of Carisbrook, till
" the pleasure of the parliament should be known.
" He assured them, ' that colonel Hammond was
" ' so honest a man, and so much devoted to their
" ' service, that they need have no jealousy that he
" ' might be corrupted by any body;' and all this
" relation he made with so unusual a gaiety, that
" all men concluded that the king was where he
" wished he should be."
At the time, when all men concluded from the
coarse lineaments of Cromwell's visage what were
the subtile workings of his mind ; and from the
gladness of his countenance inferred his heart's
content, " certain it is," that no man knew him.
It is not less certain, that, before the 15th Nov.
1647, the season of this delusion and dupery had
gone by ; and that Cromwell had ceased to be —
" A youth to fortune, and to fame, unknown."
The latter had already proclaimed him the
most consummate of hypocrites and impostors :
and the former had so frequently looked kindly

288 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
on him, that one smile more could hardly have
set him beside himself; absolutely intoxicated
with delight, even to the suspension of his " so
" admirable circumspection and sagacity." More
over it is, when emotions, whether of joy or grief,
are suddenly and unexpectedly roused, that to
suppress, cohtroul, or disguise them is most diffi
cult. Now if Cromwell had indeed, as we are
told, set his snare in the very path where he had
provided the king should pass, he could not have
been surprised at hearing that he had fallen into
it ; nor, having succeeded so far as to have scared
him away from Hampton Court, was he likely to
have been thrown off his guard, on learning that
the king was Hammond's prisoner in the Isle of
Wight. According to the testimonies of all his
torians and biographers, and to none more than
that of lord Clarendon, it may be reasonably
doubted, that Cromwell's imperturbable self-pos
session at any time forsook him ; or that a muscle
of his face ever betrayed a passion, which he
meant it not to divulge. On the contrary it may
be suspected, that with him the outward expres
sion was generally the very reverse of the inward
feeling. If therefore on this occasion Cromwell
displayed " unusual gaiety," (which that he did
there is no intention, or wish to question,) the
greater probability is, that it was assumed, in
order to conceal disappointment and vexation at
an issue, so contrary to the one which his machi
nations had been calculated to bring about. But
that " all men," or most men, (if indeed any man,)
were still imposed upon by the mummeries and

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 289
antics, which he continued to play off, may be
confidently and safely denied. There was at least
one member of the house who had escaped to be
his dupe.
Mrs. Hutchinson relates, that when Cromwell
came to Nottingham, being then " on his way to
" encounter Hamilton in the north, colonel Hutch-
" inson went to see him ; whom he embraced with
" all expressions of kindnesse, that one friend
" could make to another ; and then retiring with
" him pressed him to tell him, what thought his
" friends the levellers had of him. The colonel,
" who was the freest man in the world from con-
" cealing truth from his friends, not only told him
" what others thought of him, but what he him-
" self conceived ; and how much it would darken
" all his glories, if he should become a slave to
" his own ambition, and be guilty of what he gave
" the world just cause to suspect ; and therefore
" begged of him to wear his heart in his face, and
" to scorn to delude his enemies."
It is true, that this interview between the two
friends took place some months subsequently to
the scene in the house of commons, here described
by lord Clarendon ; but sir John Berkeley affirms,
that while the king was yet at Hampton Court, —
" Cromwell and Ireton had enough to do both in
" the parliament, and council of the army ; the
" one abounding with presbyterians ; the other
" with levellers ; and both really jealous, that
" Cromwell and Ireton had made a private com-
" pact and bargain with the king." And Mrs.
Hutchinson had before said, " Colonel Hutch-
vol. i. u

290 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" inson had a great intimacy with many of these
" levellers. These were they, who first began to
" discover the ambition of lieutenant general
" Cromwell, and his idolaters ; and to suspect
" and dislike it." Ludlow also might here be
quoted to the same effect. But it may be in
vain to oppose other authorities to that of lord
Clarendon. Wherefore, since—
" Ne quisquam Ajacem potcrit superare, nisi Ajax,"
an appeal shall be made from page 503 to page 435,
of the fifth volume of the History of the Rebellion ;
where may be found the following relation. " In
" these and the like discourses, when he (Cromwell)
" spake of the nation's being to be involved in new
" troubles, he would weep bitterly, and appear
" the most afflicted man in the world with the
" sense of the calamities which were likely to en-
" sue. But as many of the wiser sort had long
" discovered his wicked intentions^ so his hypocrisy
" could no longer be concealed.  So that it
" was privately resolved by the principal persons
" of the house of commons, that when he came
" the next day into the house, which he seldom
" omitted to do, they would send him to the Tower ;
" presuming, that, if they once severed his person
" from the army, they should easily reduce it to
" its former temper and obedience." Such was
the prevalent opinion, common to all parties, of
Cromwell previous to the seizure of the king at
Holmby by Joyce on the third of June, 1647. If
therefore at this earlier period Cromwell was in
vain shedding his crocodile tears,
 " as fast as the Arabian trees
" Their medicinal gums, '

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 291
and haranguing the house on his knees, while he
protested his fidelity and innocence ; is it proba-^
ble, — is it possible, — that " all men," six months
afterwards should be so imposed upon by his
" unusual gaiety, as to conclude from it, that the
" king was, where he wished he should be ?"
If, as lord Clarendon affirms, the king's evasion
from Hampton Court was discovered early in the
morning of the 11th of November, the intelligence
must have been received by parliament and gene
rally circulated throughout the metropolis before
the evening of the same day. If the " doubts,"
occasioned by it, were so " quickly cleared as
" within two days," this clearing must have been
effected on the 13th. And if public tranquillity
was then restored, in consequence of information
given on that day to the house of commons by
Cromwell, he must, however correct in his antici
pation of the future event, have been somewhat
premature in announcing it, as already past.
Since, even at the moment, when he was so cir
cumstantially relating " all the manner of the
" king's coming to the Isle of Wight, and the
" company, that came with him : and how he re-
" mained there in the castle of Carisbrook, till the
" pleasure of the parliament should be known,"
the royal fugitive had not so much as embarked
for the island.
" Lords Journals 15 Nov."
" A letter read from colonel R. Hammond,
" governor of the Isle of Wight, giving informa-
" tion of the king's being in the Isle of Wight.
" For the right honourable the earl of Man-

Xi

292 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" Chester speaker of the house of peers pro tem-
" pore; These." " Newport, Nov. 14, four in the
morning." " Commons Journals."
" Resolved ; that the sum of twenty pounds be
" bestowed upon captain Rolfe : that brought the
" letter from the governor of the Isle of Wight,
" directed to Mr. Speaker."
It is thus, on the highest possible authorities,
that three facts, in direct contradiction, and to
the total subversion, of the illustrious Author's un
hesitating and unqualified statement, are clearly,
fully, and incontrovertibly ascertained. The first
— ^that of the intelligence not having been received
till the 15th, is proved by the date of the two
entries. The second — that it was not, even then,
received by Cromwell's communication of a letter,
addressed to him by Hammond, is proved nega
tively, by not so much as the name of Cromwell
occurring on the pages of either journal ; and
positively, by both journals distinctly specifying,
that it was conveyed in the regular form, and
customary course of letters, directed to the respec
tive speakers of either house. And the third — that
earlier information could not have been brought,
is proved by the date of the letter. Which not
having been closed at four in the morning of the
14th, the bearers of them, subsequently starting
from Newport in the Isle of Wight, could not have
reached London on the same day, until after the
usual hour of the houses adjourning.
Parliament therefore, though not informed of
this important event till the 15th, had no reason

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 293
to be dissatisfied with the messengers for their
want of diligence and expedition. And that in
fact it was not, appears from the foregoing re
corded testimony of approbation. Had it been
otherwise, it is probable, that captain Rolfe would
have been greeted with a reprimand, instead of a
recompense. And, if the letter had been addressed
to lieutenant-general Cromwell, instead of being
" directed to Mr. Speaker," it is not less probable,
that Hammond would have been summoned to
the bar of the house, to account for his greater
alacrity in giving private information, respecting
a matter of such public interest, to an individual
member, (and above all to one so generally the
object of distrust, suspicion and apprehension,)
rather than to the house collectively, through the
long prescribed and well known usual channel.
It was impossible, that Cromwell could have ob
tained by earlier means of rapid conveyance, so
detailed and minute a knowledge ". of all the
" manner of the king's coming to the Isle of
" Wight, &c." than, (as lord Clarendon affirms,)
by that of " letters from colonel Hammond." For,
though beacons seem to have been in general use
in all ages and nations, they are but very matter-
of-fact and niggardly newsmongers. Nor have
the telegraphs of modern invention, or recent
improvement, however far more communicative
than their laconic prototypes, been as yet censured
for that prolix redundancy of narration, com
monly known by the familiar appellation of
rigmarole. He might indeed have received a letter by the

294 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
same hands, which brought the despatches for
parliament ; or he might have conversed, as it is
probable that he did, With the messengers, within
the interval between the time of their arrival in
London and that of the House's subsequent meet
ing. But what can be more incredible than that
Mr. Speaker should have remained in the chair,—
silently, patiently, and respectfully, — waiting to
take the pleasure of the house, whether he should
read the letter in his hand from the governor of
the Isle of Wight, until the honourable member
for Cambridge had finished the forestalling of all
its interesting and important contents ? This alone
can be more incredible ; that Cromwell, at his so
obviously imminent peril, should have given way
to the irresistible eagerness of an idle vanity to
display " priority of intelligence :" in which we
may rather recognize the jealous rivalry of a
modern journalist, than that " wonderful ci'rcum-
" spection and sagacity," for which he was so
eminently distinguished, and has been so justly
characterized. Hobbes, speaking of this very period, says : —
" Though Cromwell had a great party in the par-
" liament house, whilst they saw not his ambition
" to be their master, yet they would have been
" his enemies, as soon as that had appeared." It
is no disparagement of Hobbes to believe, that
Cromwell was not inferior to him in discernment
and foresight. If it be true, that
' Suspicion ever haunts the guilty mind,"
no man surely ever had more reason, than the

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 295
latter at this juncture, to suspect himself of being
suspected. That he was so by the presbyterians ;
we have the authority of lord Clarendon. That
he was so by the levellers ; we know from Mrs.
Hutchinson. And if there was yet a third party,
on whose support Cromwell might more particu
larly rely ; — but so long only as " they saw not
" his ambition," but who would have become
hostile to him " so soon as it appeared," he must
have been, according to the noble Historian, re
solved, that nothing should prevent it from appear
ing, and without delay. For, as he had no right
in virtue of any official, employment, civil or mili
tary, to be in correspondence, with the governor of
the Isle of Wight ; so neither was it, in the dis
charge of any public duty, incumbent on him to
divulge secret information, of which he individu
ally, and exclusively, had been put into possession
by a private letter from colonel Hammond. How
then could he more effectually consolidate into
one universal certainty all the several and scat
tered jealousies and misgivings, apprehensions
and surmises, of each distinct and discordant
party, than by this ostentatious, voluntary display
of an unauthorized, confidential communication :
— by such an uncalled for disclosure of an official
secret intercourse ?
Then, as if fearful that he had not thus suffi
ciently betrayed and exposed his hidden machina
tions ; as if apprehensive, that all the world might
not at that time know what it has since known,
how " by his advice" alone Hammond had mar
ried,: — or rather " had been married to a daughter

296 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" of John Hampden's :" or perhaps doubting (as
in truth well he might,) whether this fact, if known
would be deemed a sufficient proof, or indeed any
proof at all, of Hammond's being " of nearest
" trust with him," he
" makes assurance doubly sure,"
by superadding an eulogium, equally superfluous
and unseasonable, on Hammond's approved in
tegrity, and unassailable fidelity to the parliament.
Since, however antecedently little known to the
members of either house Hammond might have
been, he was no obscure individual subsequently
to their joint appointment of him to the govern
ment of the Isle of Wight. More especially in the
commons his merits must have been fully can
vassed, investigated and attested. Because it had
not been until after three days of debate, that the
bill was returned to the lords with that amend
ment, which has already been recommended to
the reader's particular notice; and which most
assuredly could not have escaped the " wonderful
" sagacity" of him, against whom it was directed.
It is thus that lord Clarendon's relation of this
imaginary and fictitious scene carries with it in
ternal evidence, singly and alone, sufficient for
its own refutation. Even if it had not been dis
proved by documentary testimonies transcendantly
unexceptionable, incontrovertible, and conclusive.
After having given his own account of the king's
flight from Hampton Court, it is observable that,
although lord Clarendon has enumerated the
various effects produced on the several parties by

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 297
that astounding intelligence ; their hopes and
fears, doubts and apprehensions, conjectures and
suspicions, he has omitted to mention, by whom,
and in what manner, it was announced to parlia
ment. Now at the very outset of these enquiries
there was occasion to give extracts from the
journals of both houses; by which it appears,
that the information was given by Cromwell ; not
indeed in person, but by a letter, dated " Novem-
" ber 11, twelve at night." Hence it may be
fairly concluded, that the noble Historian has
mistaken the one occasion for the other. But near
as these were in point of time, and the same scene
of action common to both, no two events can be
more dissimilar, or indeed as far as Cromwell
was personally concerned, more absolutely the re
verse of each other. To inform the house that
the king had fled from Hampton Court; was
gone, he knew not whither ; that he had eluded
the vigilance of his keepers, and outstripped the
speed of his pursuers, was a very different tale
from that, which he has here been made to tell of
the king : not merely to " prate of his where-
" about," but distinctly to point out the precise
spot, where he then was ; to certify further his
actual condition ; " with all the manner of his
" coming there, and the company, that came
" with him." The former intelligence, though it
might have failed to lull the vigilant, could not
have roused the dormant, suspicions. Whereas
the latter must not only have fostered and matured
those already in being ; but have given birth to
the non-existent.

298 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
A stronger contrast yet remains to be drawn.
It has been already remarked, that Cromwell had
no more, right Or business, pretence or excuse, for
being better informed of what was going forward
in the Isle of Wight, than any other member,
but on the contrary had much more reason to
conceal his being possessed of any such know
ledge,; if so he had really been. But from the
self-imposed charge, which he was well known to
have undertaken, of superintending the safe cus
tody of the royal captive at Hampton Court; he
must have, been naturally expected, to be cogni
zant of " the secrets" of that " prison house," and
early apprized of every passing or recently past
event. And in the absence of the general in chief,
Fairfax, either at Windsor, or St. Albans, the duty
of notifying the king's escape so necessarily and
obviously devolved on lieutenant general Crom
well, that, if he had omitted, or delayed, to make
the report; such omission, or delay, would have
been as reasonably and naturally confirmatory of
old surmises, and productive of new, as the infor
mation of the king's being in the Isle of Wight
must have been ; if in truth he had ever given it.
He therefore in either case acted, not only like
himself, who was gifted with " so wonderful a cir-
" cumspection and sagacity," but as every man
would have done in his situation ; to whom an
average share of the commonest faculties, and
most ordinary qualities, had not been denied.
Let it not then be said, that here a heavy stress
has been unduly laid on slight inaccuracies ; that
the exception taken to an incorrect date is capti-

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 299
ous j or. that the exposure made of a local mistake
is frivolous. For, if the " gods" were (as they
have been requested,) to " annihilate both time
" and space ;" and by so simple a process " to
"make two lovers happy," the beneficial effect
would not extend to our noble Historian : who
would not be made a whit more happy in this
his narration. Where all, that is not physically
impossible, is so morally improbable, that in rea
son it could not be credited, even if in point of
fact it were not untrue.
Having thus audited lord Clarendon's account,
the result is, that there is but one item alone,
bearing to the rest the same proportion, as Fal-
stafFs " one halfpennyworth of bread to this
" intolerable load of sack," which can be allowed.
This is Cromwell's " so unusual gaiety ;" not while
" making this relation to the house of commons,"
but on hearing it, in common with the other
members, made by the speaker. To whom alone
Hammond's letter had been addressed. Neither
was it because he then learnt, that " the king was
" where he wished he should be," but that his
majesty had thus frustrated his well digested stra
tagem and disappointed his well founded expecta
tion. Little desirable as it might be to raise, or
to strengthen, erroneous suspicions, that the king's
being in Carisbrook Castle under the custody of
Hammond was in consequence of his secret, unau
thorized, and unsanctioned machinations ; it was
to encounter a less evil, than to betray, by percep
tible chagrin and vexation, the failure of his real
design. The former could only have given addi-

300 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
tional umbrage to the presbyterians ; by whom
he had long since been detested: whereas the
latter would have alienated " that great party,"
which (according to Hobbes) " he had in the
" parliament ;" as well as exasperated the level
lers in the army. " These were they," as Mrs.
Hutchinson has been already quoted for saying,
" who first began to discover the ambition of the
" lieutenant general." Cromwell's unusual gaiety
therefore is good and indubitable proof of his
wishing to be thought pleased : but none at all of
his really being so.
There is much reason to conclude, that the
king's flight from Hampton Court was originally
projected, and designed by Cromwell ; but that it
was effected with his cognizance and connivance,
and even co-operation, there can be no doubt.
Lord Clarendon says : — " the king every day re-
" ceived little billets or letters secretly conveyed
" to him without any name ; which advertised
" him of wicked designs upon his life ; and some
" of them advised him to make an escape." But
the noble Historian is too intent on arguing the
possibility, that one of these " might have been
" the minutes of a discourse, which Mr. Ashburn-
"ham might have kept by him," to bestow his
pains on tracing any of them to the source, from
which it is probable, that they all derived; and
thus establishing a really important certainty. In
one instance the fact is clearly and incontroverti-
bly proved. Colonel Whalley in his letter to the
speaker, already quoted, writes :— " And whereas,
" Mr. Speaker, you demand of me what that letter

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 301
" was, that I shewed the king, the day before he
" went away. The letter I shall shew you : but
" with your leave I shall first acquaint you with
" the author ; and the ground of my shewing it
" to the king. The author is lieutenant-general
" Cromwell. The ground of my shewing it was
" this : the letter intimates some murderous de-
"*sign, or at least some fear of it, against his
" majesty." — For what other purpose could this
warning be given to the unarmed, defenceless, and
unprotected monarch, than to urge him to a pre
cipitate flight ?
That Cromwell in the mean time was receiving
repeated notices, that his machinations were pros
perously advancing, appears from other passages
of the same letter. — " But for some fifteen weeks
" I had Mr. Ashburnham's engagement for the
" king's safe abiding with me. And truly I must
" do him so much right as to declare, that he
" dealt honestly, and like a gentleman with me.
" For about three weeks ago, he came to me, and
" minded me of his engagement : which was to
" continue no longer, than he gave me warning:
" which he told me, he now did ; and would
" stand engaged no longer. I demanded of him
" the reason. He replied, the court was so much
" Scotified, that he feared there would be work-
" ings to get the king away.
" Whereupon I presently sent away a despatch
" to his excellency, sir Thomas Fairfax, acquaint-
" ing him with it. And not long after went myself
" to the head-quarters at Putney. I there again
" before the whole company acquainted his ex-

302 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
"cellency with Mr. Ashburnham's disengaging
" himself." This may be considered, as warning the first, of
the king's meditated escape. In consequence of
which orders were immediately given for doubling
the guards,; and for a more restricted admission
to the royal presence.
Whalley further writes, — " And whereas, Mr.
" Speaker, you demand of me to know, whether
" the king did take himself off from his engage-
" ment. I can tell you no other ways than thus.
" About a fortnight ago the king's children came
" to him, and stayed with him here three or four
" days. The princess Elizabeth was lodged in a
" chamber opening to the long gallery ; in which
" two sentinels stood for the safeguard of the
" king. The princess complained to his majesty
" that the soldiers disquieted her. The king spake
" to me, that it might be remedied. I told the
" king, if the soldiers made any noise, it was con-
" trary to my desire and command : that I would
" double my commands upon them, and give
" them as strict a charge, as I could, not to dis-
" quiet her highness. Which I did. Notwith-
" standing a second complaint was made. I told
" his majesty stricter commands I could not give.
" However I told his majesty, if he would be
" pleased to renew his engagement, I would place
" the sentinels at a more remote distance. The
" king answered ; to renew his engagement, was a
" point of honour : you had my engagement, I will
" not renew it : keep your guards."*
* In Ashburnham's Narrative may be seen how the king's

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 303
Here then was a second warning. And after
the third had been given, by Berkeley and Ash
burnham's going to the head-quarters three days
before, and applying for passports, Cromwell's
fore-knowledge of the intended flight can no
more be doubted, than his power to prevent its
being effected ; or, that effected it could have
been, without his connivance.
The measures for retaking the royal fugitive, to
which Whalley immediately had recourse, seem
sufficiently curious to be worth inserting. — " I
" presently sent out parties of horse and foot to
ingenuity was unconsciously exerted in playing his adversary's
game. " The king commanded me to find some good occasion
" to withdraw my word ; which was engaged for his majesty's
" not departing out of their hands without their privity. Which
" accordingly I did ; giving the reason, that the multiplicity of
" Scots about the court was such, and the agitators in the army
" so violently set against the king, as for ought I knew, either
" party might as well take him from Hampton Court, as some
" others did from Holmby : and that I was not obliged to hazard
" my life for either the one or the other. Though truly I appre-
" hended neither : but thought them the best pretences I could
" make in obeying his majesty in that point. I was the next
" day dismissed from my attendance upon the king : and the
" guards being placed that night so near his majesty's cham-
" ber, that they disturbed his repose, he complained to , colonel
" Whalley of that rudeness ; and told him, that his word
" should no longer oblige him to continue with them. For
" where his word was given, there ought to be no guards about
" him." It may be remembered, that the king escaped immediately
before the time of setting the guard for the night. Which had
been on that evening unusually delayed, in consequence of the
pretence, that the king was engaged in writing letters to be sent
abroad.

304 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" search the lodge in the park. I sent despatches
" immediately to the general : and to the lieute-
" nant-general : who sent me orders presently to
" send out parties of horse every way : but I had
" done it before. I sent to search Mr. Ashburn-
" ham's house at Ditton ; a mile from Hampton :
" but my soldiers when they came thither, found
" the house empty. Mr. Ashburnham was gone
" three or four days before ; and his horses the
" night before. I set guards round the house,
" and searched that. Which was as much as I
" could do."*
What more in furtherance of Cromwell's design,
that the king should not be overtaken, could have
been done, than by searching in the first instance,
the places where the king was least likely to be
found ; his majesty's lodge in the park, and Mr.
Ashburnham's house at Ditton.
If the underling so naturally played his secon
dary part, it is not to be presumed, that the great
Roscius of this drama sustained with less success
the principal character. Accordingly we find him
not till four hours after the event had been
announced to him, sitting down to communicate
the first intelligence to the house of commons in
a letter dated " 12 at night." This was making
* Peck in his Desiderata Curiosa observes in a note. " This
" account was not read in the house, because the speaker had a
" letter the same day from colonel Hammond, certifying the
" king's being safe in his hands in the Isle of Wight. — And the
" reason, why Rushworth did not afterwards publish this narra-
" tive, was perhaps, because it contained some things not much
" to the advantage of Cromwell and Whalley."

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 305
sure, that nothing, subsequent to colonel Whal-
ley's ingenious manoeuvres, could be done to im
pede, or molest the king in his flight, until the
meeting of the house, (in which the executive
power was then vested,) on the following day.
Hence no orders could be issued for the shutting
of the ports, till after the calculated time of his
majesty's embarkation ; nor received, till after he
had reached the French coast, Jersey, or whatever
might be the point of his destination. Ashburn
ham mentions, that the mayor of Southampton
received his orders, which he was to transmit to
the governor of the Isle of Wight, on the night of
the 13ih. That is full forty-eight hours after the
king had quitted Hampton Court.
But while all authorities are unanimous as to
Cromwell's having been the prime mover, and
chief instigator, of the king's evasion, various are
the conjectures, as to the motive, by which he was
then actuated ; and the object, which he had im
mediately in view. Hobbes's solution of this
mystery seems to be, of all others, the most plau
sible and satisfactory ; if indeed it be not incon
testable. He says : — " There was nothing better
" for his (Cromwell's) purpose, than to let him
" (the king) escape from Hampton Court, where
" he was too near the parliament, whither he
" pleased beyond sea." The reasons for giving the
preference to this exposition are, —
I. It was the best, if not the only expedient, by
which he could extricate himself from the diffix
culties, and even dangers, into which his multifa
rious and complicated intrigues had brought him.
vol. i. x

306 vindication of the character
2. It was most consonant with his systematic
policy, his universal practice, and his known
character. 3. It was one from which he could not fail to
derive directly, and remotely, the most important
advantages. 4. It could lead to no results injurious to him,
or to his party: — if indeed beyond, or distinct
from, self-interest and aggrandizement his cares
ever extended.

1. He had by this time fully ascertained that
his present scheme* was impracticable; that,
however he might still " ride in the whirlwind,"
he could not yet " direct the storm" of his own
raising. At Hampton Court the king was not
only surrounded by loyalists, but in correspond
ence with the queen. He was accessible alike to
the parliament; to the presbyterians of the city;
to the Scotch commissioners ; and to the officers
of the army ; " some of whom" (Mrs. Hutchinson
affirms that) " the king had gained over to him ;"
for instance major Huntington, particularly no
ticed by lord Clarendon ; who also says, that ;—
" Ashburnham and Berkeley received many adver-
" tisements from some, — who would have been glad,
" that the king might have been restored by the
* It has been very generally supposed that with the earldom
of Essex and the order of the garter for himself, and the lieute
nancy of Ireland for his son-in-law Ireton, Cromwell would
have been content, like Stephano, with being " Viceroy over the
" king of this island ¦" or, as he already was, lieutenant general
over the commander in chief, <;he lord general.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 307
" army, for the preferments, which might fall to
"their share." He knew further the king's avowed
conviction, that to each of the two contending
principal parties, the parliament and the army, he
was more necessary, than either of them were to
him.* But there was yet another sect far more formi
dable to Cromwell ; by whom it had been formed
for the subjection, or annihilation, of all the above-
mentioned factions ; whose jealousy and mistrust
he had most reason to dread ; and which he had
most incurred. The levellers, or agitators. Never
surely did " the heathen so furiously rage against"
the pretended prototypes of these ultra-puritanical
saints, as they did against the arch-hypocrite, on
finding themselves the dupes of his artifice, and
the tools of his ambition. Some threatening him
with impeachment; others with the forfeiture of
his life by a more summary process.
2. A situation so perilous required the applica
tion of all the talents, with which the versatile
and energetic character of Cromwell was so largely
gifted. Stubborn as the oak, yet flexible as the
reed, he knew how best to avail himself of either
quality ; when to maintain his ground, or when to
give way ; to advance, or to retreat ;
" Et properare loco, et cessare."

* This has been deemed infatuation in the king by some.
But these surely are not aware, that lord Clarendon entertained
the same opinion. — " For sure, they have as much, or more
" need of the king, than he of them." Clarendon Papers,
vol. ii. p. 379.

308 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
Hence there were three points, which it was
necessary for him to secure. The first, to remove
from him the suspicions already existing. The
second, to prevent all recurrence of them. And
the third ; to preclude the intrigues of his adver
saries from that success, which his own had failed
to obtain.
In the first instance he had recourse to his cus
tomary wiles : — " Concluding" (these are Ludlow's
expressions) " that, if he could not bring the army
" to his sense, it was best to comply with theirs :
" a schism being utterly destructive to both :
" Cromwell bent all his thoughts to make his
" peace with the party, that was most opposite to
" the king. Acknowledging, as he well knew how
" to do on such occasions, that the glory of this
" wOrld had so dazzled his eyes, that he could
"not discern clearly the great works that the
" Lord was doing."
The two latter points could only be gained by
getting rid of the king altogether. To accom
plish which this alternative alone presented itself.
Either assassination or expatriation. Of these, the
former was contrary certainly to his interest:
and, as there is reason to presume, to his nature.
For however it was one, in which " no compunc-
" tious yisitings"
Torbad to wade through slaughter to a throne,"
unless his only, or shortest, way to it lay across
such a ford ; he would not without a sufficient
cause, in his estimation, have stained so much as ,
the sole of his foot in human blood. The shed-

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 309
ding, of which, needlessly and wantonly, delighted
not him, as it has seemed to delight other
usurpers. But circumstanced as Cromwell then was, in
relation to the king, it is not improbable, that
" This murder had not come into (his) mind,"
further than as an enormity, meditated by otherSj
little less insensate, than atrocious. Could even
" one fell swoop" for ever have annihilated the
Stuart dynasty,

natumque, patremque"

" Cum genere" 
the blow would have been, for Cromwell's pur
pose, at this time prematurely struck. But the
prince of Wales, like Fleance, having escaped ;
the murder of the king, like that of Banquo,
would (as it afterwards did) but
" have scotch'd the snake, not kill'd it."
And however the blind fanaticism of besotted
levellers, and infuriated agitators, might be una
ble to perceive a distinction between the death of
the man, whom they had been taught to hate ;
and the destruction of the monarch, whom they
had been bred up to abhor, Cromwell was prac
tical philosopher enough to know, that the cutting
off this stem without eradicating the plant, could
serve but to insure a more luxuriant growth to
the substituted scion. He, and Ireton, and Vane,
were surely well entitled to that credit, which
some of the royalists (according to Clarendon) Hist.
- . , ¦ , Vol. vi.
thus gave them. " It might be some reason that p. 192.

310 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" they who wished the king very well did not
" wish his escape, because they believed impri-
" sonment was the worst his worst enemies in-
" tended towards him ; since they might that way
" more reasonably found and settle their repub-
" lican government ; which men could not so
" prudently propose to bring to pass by a murder ;
" which, in the instant, gave the just title to ano-
" ther who was at liberty to^ claim his right, and
" to dispute it."
But the fact is that Cromwell so far from having
" a mighty cause to wish him dead," had the most
powerful of all reasons to preserve his captive's
life. For universally suspected as his ambitious
designs then were by the independents, who were
his friends, and by the presbyterians, who were
his foes, he must have been sensible, that if the
king's death had, occurred, while at Hampton
Court, then in truth " all men would have con-
" eluded," not only " that his majesty was where
" he wished," — but also where he had taken good
care, that he should be.
With respect to the alternative. The removal
of the king to the Isle of Wight, whether or not
with the ulterior view of his quitting the kingdom,
could only be effected, as Hobbes has most cor
rectly specified, by " letting the king escape;"
having first applied the sufficient and most infal
lible stimulus to urge him to the attempt, and
removed all obstacles to the accomplishment
of it.
Hume observes ; " though it was always in the
" power of Cromwell, whenever he pleased, to

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 311
" have sent him thither, yet such a measure with^
" out the king's consent would have been very
" invidious, if not attended with some danger."
It is hoped, that neither inconsistently with respect
and deference, due to such superior judgement,
that the justice of this remark may be doubted, if
not denied. The scene so successfully performed
at Holmby was one not suited to every stage. On
the repetition of so violent a measure Cromwell,
under the very different circumstances now exist
ing, could not have ventured without the sanction
of parliament, or the authority of Fairfax. The
former of these there could be no hope of his ob
taining. As for the latter, however
" Nil desperandum Teucro duce, et auspice Teucro ;"
although with such a general at the head of the
army, and a general with such a head, the arch-
hypocrite needed not to despair of any thing,
which dupery could effect ; yet since, as lord Cla
rendon justly affirms, " Fairfax did not then, nor Hist.
" long after, believe, that the other had the least P. 435.'
" imagination of disobeying the parliament," it
may be safely concluded, that Cromwell was not
yet prepared to hazard a chance of undeceiving,
and rousing his " drowsy, dull, presbyterian hu- P. 504.
" mour ; who wished nothing that Cromwell did,
" and yet contributed to bring it all to pass."
But if he could have done this of himself singly ;
his power over the king at Hampton Court must
have been so complete and absolute, as not to re
quire, or even to admit of, its being strengthened
by any change of place. It would be difficult

312, VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
therefore to account for his having first encou
raged his deluded victim to attempt an escape,
and then for his having sprung upon him. at the
very moment of fancied security, otherwise, than
by supposing him for recreation to have adopted
the sportive refinements of a feline cruelty. More
over a step, which to have taken might have been
" dangerous," and must have been " invidious,"
was one, which surely without necessity it was
morally impossible for Cromwell to take.
Very different from that of Hobbes, and in truth
a " most lame and impotent conclusion" is the
one drawn from the same premises by the lord
Holies — " Cromwell and Ireton were sensible,
" that if the king continued at liberty at Hamp-
" ton Court, or any other place, where freedom of
" resort might be to him, there would be oppor-
" tunities taken and improved, to meet with and
" prevent all their attempts." — Then after men
tioning the means used to alarm the king for his
personal safety, (among others " Cromwell's letter
" to Whalley to be shewn to his majesty") he ends
with saying, that—" the king was advised" to go
" to the Isle of Wight ; where they had beforehand
" provided him a gaoler ; colonel Hammond."
To this statement it may be objected, First:
that as the authority of parliament extended over
the whole of the yet nominal kingdom ; so that of
the army was limited to the spot, where it was
stationed. If then Cromwell and Ireton, while
the king remained at Hampton Court, where he
was in their more immediate, and as far as it was
at that time possible, in their exclusive, custody,

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 313
'found, that they could not entirely prevent the
" freedom of resort to him ;" they must have been
sensible, that when removed to a distance " oppor-
" turtities" would be more frequently " taken,"
and more successfully " improved," to counteract
their designs. For so long as the place of his
confinement was contiguous to their head-quarters,
they could at least render difficult, and of little
avail, if not fruitless, that intercourse, which they
could not absolutely prevent.*
Secondly : if within the British dominions there
was a place which, more than all others exempt
from the power or influence of the army, could
best insure both to the parliament and to the
Scotch commission an unrestricted and uninter
rupted intercourse with the king, it was, as it has
been proved, the Isle of Wight. Accordingly we
read in Whitelock's Memorials,
" December 27, 1647. The next day after the
" four bills had been presented by the commis-
" sioners of the two houses of parliament to the
" king at the Isle of Wight, the Scots commis-
* We read in lord Clarendon, that at this time — " The Hist. vol..
" officers of those guards which were assigned to attend his p> 483'4-
" person,  begun now to murmur at so great resort to
" him,and to use many, who came, rudely ; and not to suffer them
" to go into the room where the king was ; or, which was worse,
" put them out when they were there  They affronted
" the Scottish commissioners very notably, and would not
" suffer them to speak with the king ; which caused an expos-
" tulation from the parliament, which removed the obstruction
" for the future, but procured not satisfaction for the injury they
" had received, nor made the same officers more civil towards
" their persons."

314 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" sioners came to him and presented him a decla-
" ration, &c. &c. Protesting against the said bills
" in the name of the kingdom of Scotland."*
The foresight of the afterwise has been so fre
quently depreciated in the course of these disqui
sitions, that it is incumbent to shew the judge
ment, here pronounced against the impolicy of
this supposed measure, not to have been formed
on that most unfair and fallacious criterion, its
consequent event.
Although sir John Berkeley confesses, or rather
boasts, that he knew nothing of the Isle of Wight,
or of its governor ; until he was (most unfortu
nately) sent there by the king; — Cromwell was
not ignorant of either. All, that the former sub
sequently learnt, must have been previously ascer
tained by the latter : namely ; that throughout
the whole island there was not a single soldier of
the army ; that the whole military force, at that
time stationed there, consisted of " twelve old
" men who had served under the earl of Portland,
" and were all well affected." Perhaps he also
knew, (for this remains to be proved) that " Ham-
" mond might be easily gained, if not more easily
* Dr. Lingard in a note to his History of this period (which
has been published since the completion of this Vindication)
after having exposed by contrast the extreme difference between
the four bills, such as they really were (according to the Journals
of Parliament, vol. ix. p. 575, and Charles's Works 590, 593),
and such as they are stated to have been by the noble Historian,
concludes with the following observation—" When this state-
" ment is compared with the real bills, it may be judged, how
" little credit is due to the assertions of Clarendon, unless 'they'
" are supported by other authorities."

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 315
" forced." He must also have known beforehand,
as well as lord Clarendon ever knew, that " the
" Isle of Wight was inhabited by a people always
" well affected to the crown :" * and " at that
" time under no such power, as could subdue
" them. That Carisbrook was near the sea, and
" a castle not strong in itself." Lastly, and con
sequently, he must have known as well as Ash
burnham, that " his majesty would there be close
" by the water side ; and might take boat, and
" dispose of his person into what part beyond the
" sea, he pleased."
When therefore, such being the state of the Isle
of Wight, and more especially of Carisbrook
Castle, the lord Holies gravely tells the world,
that Cromwell advised the king to go thither, be
cause " he had there provided him with a gaoler ;"
one is reminded of master Stephen in the play :
who, in like manner beginning at the wrong end,
tells his uncle, that he has " bought a hawk and a
* Lord Clarendon has accounted for Holmby being chosen
for the place of the king's confinement when delivered over by
the Scotch army to the commissioners of the two houses of
. parliament, because " it was at a small distance from North-
" ampton, a town and country of very eminent disaffection to
" the king throughout the war." It may be observed ; that
Cromwell was one of these commissioners ; — that it is not
likely that he should have acted a more subordinate part on this
than on other occasions : — that the choice of the place was
worthy of that " admirable circumspection" for which none Of
his colleagues have acquired equal celebrity : — and hence, that
he should have been more circumspect in the securing of the
parliament's prisoner than he afterwards was of his own, (if
such it had been his intention, that the king should remain,) is
absolutely incredible.

316 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" hood and bells ; and now lacks nothing but a
" book to keep him by." Surely it is reducing
the future lord protector in point of intellect to
the low level of this " country gull" to suppose,
that after having provided himself with a captive;
and his captive with a gaoler, he should still
" lack" a gaol to keep him in.
There yet remains to be illustrated two of the
reasons assigned for the conviction, that Hobbes's
view of Cromwell's policy in this measure is the
most correct : namely, that 3dly. he had much to
hope, and 4thly. nothing to fear, from " letting the
" king escape, whither he would" provided that it
was — " beyond sea."
The more immediate and important advantages
to be derived from it, have been anticipated in the
foregoing arguments; that of liberating himself
from the suspicions, which he had justly incurred
from his several competitors ; and that of frus
trating their projects ; of which he was not less
reasonably jealous and apprehensive. Another
proximate result on which Cromwell might confi
dently calculate, was the further depression of the
already dispirited royalists.* Who might naturally
conclude from the king's withdrawing himself
that he despaired of his own cause ; while their
* Among the reasons submitted by Ashburnham to dissuade
his majesty from quitting the kingdom, until all other expe
dients had failed, was — " that it would make desperate all his
" party, and leave the whole dominion to his enemies. Who
" in his absence might possibly find some more reasonable pre-
" tence to govern the kingdom by the parliament, (he had settled)
" than they could have, if he continued in it."

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 317
adversaries would not fail to construe it, an abdi
cation of his throne.
But when there exist " admirable circumspec-
" tion and sagacity" future possibilities, as well as
present probabilities, will not be overlooked. Un
likely as it might be, that Charles should ever
return at the head of a numerous army of foreign
auxiliaries, and, thus reviving the energies of his
loyal and faithful adherents, be able to reinstate
himself in his legitimate and constitutional ascen
dency ; far more unforeseen changes of fortunes
are not of rare occurrence. Cromwell therefore
might not be regardless of the beneficial result,
which in such a case might accrue from having
been the first to advise that escape, which he alone
could have facilitated and insured. And if for
services like these a claim to remuneration should
not be allowed ; the plea for amnesty and impu
nity of earlier offences could hardly be denied.
4. The unaffectionate, ungracious, and even
inhospitable reception, which the daughter and
grandson of Henry the Fourth of France had met
with from the French regency, was not calculated
to excite alarm in the breast of Cromwell as to the
welcome, the protection, and the assistance, which
might there await a' king of England : especially
one, who had commenced his reign by unprovoked
hostilities, of which religious zeal in support of the
Huguenots was evidently rather a pretext, than
the cause :— • by the unceremonious dismission of
most of the queen's household; and the forcible
expulsion of the ecclesiastics, who had been im-
providently permitted to attend her ;— and further

318 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
by the renewed persecution of his own Roman
catholic subjects ; for the mitigation of which, if
he had not formally engaged himself, he had at
least inconsiderately encouraged his most chris
tian brother-in-law to hope.
Equally, and almost simultaneously, Charles,
by the baleful fascinations of the infatuated and
infatuating Buckingham, had at his accession
found himself embroiled with his most catholic
majesty. So that the only feeling in common to
these great rival powers, then warring against
each other, was a remembrance of old national
humiliations and defeats, stimulated by recent per
sonal affronts and aggressions; which both had
experienced from the same sovereign ; now van
quished, dethroned, and imprisoned by his own
subjects. Moreover at this juncture warfare, foreign or
domestic, was prevalent throughout the whole
continent of Europe. Independently of which
Hist. lord Clarendon observes  " sure there was no
Vol. vi.
p. 192. " court in Christendom so honourably or gene-
" rously constituted, that it would have been glad
" to have seen him." And among the dissuasives
urged by Ashburnham against his majesty's quit
ting the kingdom until all other resources had
failed, was " that he would find all the powers so
" engaged in the preservation of what related to
" their own interests, as that there would be little,
" or no hope of his returning with any foreign
" supplies, as some of his predecessors had for-
" merry done."
From these considerations has arisen the pre-

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 319
ference, avowed, and contended for, as due to
Hobbes' conjecture above all others, with respect
to Cromwell's motive for forcing the king by inti
midation to quit Hampton Court ; and his object
in prevailing on him by advice to repair in the
first instance to the Isle of Wight. The former of
these facts seems to be established beyond all
doubt : and the latter to rest on the concurrence
of good authorities. And all the foregoing argu
ments are further strengthened by their intimate
congruity with the following anecdote extracted
from Berkeley's Memoir. In which, after having
related how he had been despatched by the king,
a few days after his arrival in the island, with
" colourable letters to the general; and with others,
" written with more confidence to Cromwell :" and
having delivered the former, he says — " The next
" morning I sent colonel Cook to Cromwell, to
" let him know that I had letters, and instructions
" to him from the king. He sent me word by the
" same messenger that he durst not see me ; it
" being very dangerous to us both : and bid me
" be assured, that he would serve his majesty, as
" long as he could do it without his own ruin : but
" desired, that I would not expect, that he should
" perish for his sake."
Surely if ever Cromwell designedly revealed, or
unadvisedly betrayed, a genuine sentiment, by
which his conduct was at any time actuated, or
guided, here is that, single and only instance.
Nor can the most inveterately prejudiced with
hold from him credit, to the extent here claimed,
for the sincerity of his assurances. Nothing in his

320 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
subsequent conduct has belied it; not even his
notoriously principal share in bringing to the
scaffold his martyred sovereign. For to what do
these assurances amount, but to an avowal, that
in his opinion, V melius suadet, qui ut rem facias, rem,"
" Si possis recte ; si non, quocunque modo, rem ;"
that upon this principle, so long as " there was
" nothing better for his own purpose, than that,
" which would also best serve his majesty," his
services might be relied on : but that, whenever
the king's destruction should better suit his pur
pose, no such consideration would divert him
from it ?
If Cromwell judged, that " there was nothing
" better for his own purpose, than to let the king
"escape, whither he would, beyond sea;" there
was at least as much reason for him to judge, that
he could also no how " serve his majesty better,
ct than by letting him so escape."
What made this an " unhappy peregrination,"
but that, so far from being carried beyond sea, it
was in its extreme length little more than equal
to a segment of the home circuit ? No one surely
would have advised, or wished the king to remain
at Hampton Court. For, though Lord Clarendon,
neither from deigning personally to " confer at
large" with our puzzle-headed groom of the bed
chamber, nor from reading his unintelligible nar
rative, could " discover any probable inducement,
" that prevailed with the king to undertake that
" journey, which led to so fatal an end," he has
providently removed from the readers of his His-

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 321
tory all such doubt, by informing them, that " the
" king did really believe, that the malice of his
" gaolers was at the height, and that they did
" design his murder."
" Est modus in rebus, sunt certi denique fines,
" Quos ultra citraque nequit consistere rectum."
In Cromwell's judicious observance of this wise
rule an additional proof may be found of his sin
cerity. Since for both purposes, or rather the
double purposes, of his own advantage, and of the
king's too, it was equally necessary, that he should
restrict himself, as it has been before observed, to
making the king anxious to quit Hampton Court,
and able to quit the kingdom: but so that his
majesty should deceive himself with the notion,
that the escape was effected by his own, or his
servant's contrivance : and then (having provided,
that the royal fugitive should reach in safety the
safest point of the whole coast of England,) to
trust to his availing himself of a success scarcely
to have been expected. But to have intimated to
the king, or to Hammond, that it was his inten
tion, or even wish, that the former should trans
port himself beyond sea, would have been the
surest way of frustrating them. Cromwell to have
advised the king to go abroad, would probably
alone have sufficed to keep him at home. On a
general principle the one of two adverse parties
may confidently deprecate, whatever the other
desires. Major Huntington, in his impeachment of Crom
well, denounced to the parliament his having by
letter apprized Hammond of the king's perilous
VOL. i. y

322 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
condition at Hampton Court. And what then?
" Cui bono," or " cui malo," the fact or the de
nunciation of it? It was of little importance,
after colonel Whalley had deposed, that " the
" letter shewn to the king, purporting a murder-
" ous design, came from lieutenant general Cfom-
" well," that the lieutenant general should/have
communicated as much to his correspondent and
cousin " dear Robin." But if the circumspect and
sagacious Oliver had given so much as a hint,
that, if the king should chance to land on the
Isle of Wight, he was to be suffered to transport
himself from thence " whither he would, beyond
" sea," by the civil governor, appointed, by the two
houses of parliament; and by them specially ex
empted from military subordination; and whom
he knew to be subject at times to very trouble
some qualms of conscience, .he would have de
servedly forfeited^ or rather never have acquired,
that distinction and celebrity for those wonderful
qualities, which his; character - now so. deservedly
enjoys. When therefore Cromwell had learnt from the
official despatches, addressed to the speakers of
the two houses, " all the manner of the king's
"coming to the Isle of Wight;" and how, " his
" majesty desiring it, he had been removed to
" Carisbrook castle, till the pleasure of the parlia-
" ment should be known ;" he knew, not only,
that he had utterly failed of doing that which he
had intended to do ; and even had reason to natter
himself, that he had done; but that he had actu
ally been the instrument of bringing to pass the

AND CONDUCT QF JQHN ASHBURNHAM. 323
very event, of which to preclude the possibility,
all his ingenuity and artifice had been so long ex
erted : and thus had forfeited back a stake won
by the boldest cast he had yet dared to hazard,
Under the pressure of a disappointment so unfore
seen, so mortifying, and, as it would have been to
any ordinary man, so astounding, was it not most
natural for Cromwell
(Illvic, unde abii, redeo,)
to display " an unusual gaiety ?"
In two recorded instances, when the great im
postor seemingly gave loose to the romping horse
play of practical facetiae, not even his heart could
have been at ease, or his spirits buoyant through
thoughtless levity: When he spirted in the face
of a fellow-regicide the ink remaining in that pen,
with which he had signed the death-rWarrant of his
king ; or when he broke up the conference, which
himself had contrived, by throwing a cushion at
Ludlow's head, and then running down the
stairs.*

* It was soon after the surrender of Oxford, and the duke of
York's escape from St; Jataes's, that Cromwell, after the failure
of a first attempt, contrived to bring together to a conference
those, called the grandees of the house and army, and the com
mon wealth's men ; under pretence of endeavouring a reconci
liation between the two parties : but in reality to dispover what
might be their several designs and inclinations ; professing himr
self to be unresolved — " when, having learnt what he could of
" the principles of those present, he took up a cushion, and flung
" it at my head ; and then ran down the stairs. But I overtook
" him with another : which made him hasten faster than he
'' desired," Ludlow's Memoirs.

324 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
Our great moral poet has justly said, that —
" celestial wisdom fires the mind,
"* And makes the happiness, she does not find."
But it is not so with worldly wisdom. She must
suit herself, the best way she may, with, or rather
to, those articles, which she finds ready made.
There is no bespeaking of them beforehand; either
according to measure, or to pattern.
As well might the traveller, who has ascended
half way up the side of Etna, be supposed already
to expatiate over the boundless and uninterrupted
scene, which from its summit will be spread out
beneath him,1 — as Cromwell in November 1647 to
have had within his ken those objects, which
twelve months afterwards were within his grasp.
That interval forms the most pregnant period of
his eventful life.
The seeds of anarchy had vegetated with all the
rapid luxuriancy to be expected from their having
been so lavishly sown in a soil by nature not un-
genial, nor unprepared by culture to receive them.
The mutiny in the army was already raging. The
danger braved and surmounted by Cromwell's
firmness and intrepidity will be greatly under
valued, if considered merely as that of an indivi
dual assailing hundreds. For if his disciples
militant, whose mind, as well as bodies, he had
trained to the use of arms, had rightly learnt the
lesson* which he had taught them, to have (as
* That zeal, in a cause like theirs admitted of no discriminat
ing respect of persons. That he himself, if chance should bring
them together in the battle would discharge his pistol at the

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 325
lord Clarendon says) " knocked on the head with
" his own hand, two or three of the ringleaders,"
would indeed have been to " set nothing by a
"bloody coxcomb:" the least return, which to a
certainty he would have met with.
The subsequent revolt of the fleet was however
an occurrence not less unforeseen, than appalling;
though its effect proved to be equally innocuous
and unhoped for. Since he could hardly have
flattered himself, that so powerful an engine of
destruction should become in his enemy's hand
productive of no other consequences than (in the
heretofore quoted words of the noble historian)
" a general murmur that the fleet had lain so Hist. vol.
" long idle at the mouth of the river, when it had T1" p' 80'
" been proposed that it might go to the Isle of
" Wight, where they might, in the consternation
" the whole kingdom was then in, probably have
" been able to have released the king  And
" why such anattempt,which,if unsuccessful, could
" have been attended with no damage consider-
" able, was not made, was never fully answered."
Gratuitously admitting Cromwell to have been
fore-warned of the risings in Kent, Essex, and
Surrey; and even to have been prescient, that
from an incongruent alliance between the too pre
cipitate English royalist, and the too dilatory
Scotch Presbyterians, there could be no cause to
dread those well combined and simultaneous
efforts, which alone could have restored to his
king, as he would against the meanest foe. " Arid if their con-
" science would not permit them to do the like, he advised them
" not to list themselves under his command."

326 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
thrones their common sovereign ; he wonld hardly
have himself undertaken the less important care
of suppressing the insurgents in Wales* if he had
not miscalculated the resistance, which he met
with there; and little expected (that the reduction
of Pembroke castle would alone have detained
him six weeks, and until the Scotch invaders had
penetrated far into Lancashire, before he could
hasten to arrest' their further progress.
Correct, as confident, in anticipating his " veni,
" vidi, vici" dispersion of the Scotch army, out
numbering by nearly two « thirds his own, but
without discipline* or subordination ; led on, but
not commanded*1 by a personally gallant chieftain,
but no efficient general ; . he seems to have been
unaware* that it had for its advanced guard the
last remnant of the brave and loyal cavaliers : or
else unmindful how far inferiority of number (in
this case by more than one half to that of its as
sailants) could he compensated by discipline in
the troops, skill in their commander, and valour
in both.*
Finally it may be doubted, whether after the
capture of Hamilton, and the annihilation of his
army, Cromwell would not have trusted to the
consequent ascendancy* as well as Beal, of his con
federate Argyle, that Scotland should trouble him
no more ; or at most would have detached Lam-
* According to l°r(l Clarendon " Cromwell himself acknow
Hist. vol. " ledged, that he never saw Foot fight so desperately as they
Vi. pp. » did." And " Sir Marmaduke Langdale told me often after»
" wards* that he verily believed, if one thousand foot had then
" been sent to him, he should have gained the dayi"

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 327
bert to his aid ; instead of repairing thither him
self, if he had foreseen that his epistolary* exhor
tations would not suffice to overawe the parliament
into an obstinate observance of the resolution, to
send no more addresses to the king. Still more
so if he had suspected, that the presbyterian party
there* emboldened by his absence, and having
regained their preponderancy, would not only
enter into a treaty, but that the result of it would
be to vote — " That the answer of the king to the
"proposition of both houses was a ground to pro-
" ceed upon for the settlement of the peace of the
"kingdom. — Which passed without a division:"
but in too tardy compliance, not so much with
the wishes and petitions of a great majority of the
whole population, as with the clamorous and
tumultuous manifestations of a regenerate and
predominating loyalty. It was in order to enforce
the rescinding of this vote, the passing of which
he was not in time to prevent, that Cromwell's
return with his victorious army, however trium
phant, was necessarily so far accelerated, as to
leave behind him the important fortress of Pom
fret Castle unreduced, and the lamented death of
his favourite Rainsborough unrevenged.
Such are the reasons for a conviction, that
Cromwell's policy with respect to the king's per-
* Lord Clarendon says " Cromwell had written to his friends Hist. vol.
— " What a perpetual ignominy it would be to the parliament, "' p'
" that nobody abroad or at home would ever give credit to
" them, if they should recede from their former vote and decla-
" ration of no farther addresses to the king, and conjured them
" to continue firm in that resolution."

328 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
son, at that earlier period, was such as Hobbes has
pronounced it to have been : and that his designs
and projects were then very different from those,
which under very different circumstances he sub
sequently formed and accomplished.
Such too are the reasons for submitting that
Ashburnham was not unwarranted in affirming,
that " the king, when in the Isle of Wight, had
" by the entrance of duke Hamilton's army, ac-
" cording to the agreement, made in the Isle of
'• Wight; by the insurrections in Kent, Essex,
" Wales, and Pomfret, far greater hopes of being
" restored, than ever he had, while in person
" in arms. Besides, that after all this he had a
" treaty* personally with the parliament ; a thing
" till then ever laboured by his majesty but still
" refused by them."
The foregoing attempted enquiry into Crom
well's policy at this juncture, with respect to the
king's person, has necessarily induced such length
of argument, and complexity of detail, as to occa
sion the expediency of reminding the reader, that,
at the outset of this disquisition, its purpose was
announced to be two-fold. First : to shew, that
no satisfactory, or even plausible, reason has been
advanced in support of the assumption, that Ham
mond's having become entrusted with the custody
* It is the noble historian's recorded opinion that the treaty
of Newport would have led to the king's restoration, if Vane had
not been of the Commission. All the other members of it being
sincerely, though from different motives, desirous of a reconci
liation with the crown.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 329
of his royal prisoner was the effect of Cromwell's
choice, or contrivance. Secondly: that the con
trary opinion may be maintained on the evidence
of incontrovertible facts, infallible documents,
and undeniable authorities.
If Cromwell was, as lord Clarendon has repre
sented him, (and that such he really was, his
almost unprecedented fortunes sufficiently attest,)
gifted with " a wonderful understanding in the
" natures and humours of men, and as great ex-
" perience in applying them :" besides an " admi-
" rable circumspection and sagacity," the problem
on which we are now engaged, may be at once
solved by first discovering, what in truth was the
character of this his supposed " creature." It is
indeed at a late hour now to enter upon this
field ; yet a diligent, exact, and curious gleaning
may collect a sufficient sample, from which not
only the nature of the grain may be correctly
ascertained, but its quality also fairly appreciated.
Dr. Hammond, physician to Henry prince of
Wales, left three sons. Of Roberta the eldest of
these, no more is known than that he lived at
Chertsey in Surrey; and that he was the father of
colonel Robert Hammond, the subject of the pre
sent research. But the two younger were on the
contrary conspicuous characters in the conflicting
parties, which they embraced. Thomas in the
command of a troop of horse, under the earl of
Bedford, at the battle of Edgehill distinguished
himself so much as to be immediately raised to
the rank of colonel : he was afterwards governor
of Exeter; lieutenant general of the ordnance,

330 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
and lastly a member of the regicidal tribunal j
"When"— as A. Wood says—" soon after being
" suddenly cut off from the face of the living by a
" natural death, he saved the hangman a labour."
Henry, so named after his royal sponsor* Was,
especially as a divine, among the most learned
scholars of his time. Distinguished for devoted
attachment to the constitutional establishments
in church, and state ; equally eminent for genuine
piety and unaffected morality, he alike invariably
experienced, as he merited, the, affectionate pa
tronage of a truly religious and gracious king,—
and the rancorous persecution of traitorous hypo
crites, intent on one common subversion of the
throne and altar.
Whether or not in consequence of this political
schism in his family, Hammond's principles seem
not to have been of any decided complexion; but
to have alternately imbibed the nearest reflected
hue with most camelion4ike> passiveness and ver
satility.
Athene Immediately on. quitting the University, he first
became a zealous proselyte to republicanism at
the instigation of his uncle,, the soldier: and next
a " penitent convert " to regenerated loyalty by the
exhortation of his uncle the divine. In either case,
" Avunculus excitat ;"
he never acts on his own free will, or uncontrolled
judgment. Nor was it in his political attach
ments alone, that he was guided by the choice of
others . We have already found, — as he himself
perhaps found, — " that he had been married to

Oxon
ienses

And conduct of john ashburnham. 331
"a daughter of John Hampden, by Cromwell's
" advice." It must have been soon after his presentation
to the king at Hampton Court, that " Hammond
" left the army" and (according to lord Claren
don) "went to the Isle of Wight at a season*
" when there was no visible, occasion' to draw him
" thither " It has been already shewn, that there
Was not only a visible, but a very palpable, occa
sion for his so withdrawing himself; namely-— on
account of his recent appointment to that govern
ment. A sufficient reason, not merely to obviate
enquiry, but to anticipate curiosity, and prevent
suspicion. But perhaps the truer, and more in
fluential motive will now for the first time be
divulged* It is John Ashburnham, who in his Narrative
relates the following occurrence. — " Colonel Ham-
" mond had said to me a few days before, meeting
" him on the road to London, that he was going
" down to his government ; because he found that
" the army was resolved to break all promises
" with the king ; and that he would have nothing
" to do with such perfidious actions."*
But before proceeding to point out, how much
the whole of Hammond's subsequent conduct
uniformly corresponds with this profession* it may
be meet to notice some antecedent circumstances*
* " By the way I asked Mr. Ashburnham, if he had any ac-
" qiiaintance with Hammond the governor. He replied not
" very much ; yet he had lately had some discourse with him
" Upon the highway near Kingston ; and found him not very
" averse to his majesty;" — Berkeley's Memoirs ¦.

332 vindication of the character
which argue strongly in favour of his sincerity ;
and in excuse of that credulity for which Ash
burnham complains of having been so severely
and unfairly censured.
Long previously to the king's quitting Hamp
ton Court, it is evident, that there were among
the officers of the army, and even among such, as
with far more reason than Hammond might be
considered as " of nearest trust with Cromwell — "
some in whom all sense of honour, good faith
and loyalty was not totally extinct. Of these,
major Huntington and colonel Cook have been
already noticed.
Mrs. Hutchinson further says in her Memoirs —
" The king by reason of his daily converse with
" the officers began to be trinkling with them ;
" and not only then, but before ; and had drawn
" in some of them to engage to corrupt others to
" fall in with him." She afterwards adds : —
" The king made use of this advantage" (that is
of Ashbumham and Berkeley's being permitted
to attend upon him) " to corrupt many of the
" officers to revolt ; which some time after they
" did, and paid the forfeiture with their lives."
When all this " trinkling" was going forward
so extensively, and so successfully too, as we are
here told, it would have been strange indeed if
the nephew of " the king's favourite and beloved
" chaplain" (for such are the epithets bestowed on
Dr. Hammond) should have been overlooked ; or
that there should have been more difficulty in
detaching him from Cromwell's influence ; or in
disgusting him with such base and perfidious

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 333
conduct, than Huntington, Cook and others.
Who had no uncles distinguished for pre-eminent
devotion to the royal cause, or for a more than
usual participation of the royal favour.
When we last saw colonel Hammond, it was
near Kingston on his way to the Isle of Wight,
and in conversation with Ashburnham. We next
find him between Carisbrook Castle and Newport
overtaken and accosted by sir John Berkeley.
The reader may possibly recollect, that sir John
on being requested " to open the matter" acqui
esced with much alacrity, and effect. But
instead of waiting " Rite maturos aperire partus,"
at once delivered himself of his message with a
precipitancy, which by sympathetic affection, had
well nigh proved fatal to the governor. " Ham-
" mond (says Berkeley) grew so pale, and fell
" into such a trembling, that I did really believe
" he would have fallen off his horse : which
" trembling continued with him at least an hour
" after." Ashburnham, (excepting in one instance) always
less circumstantially communicative than his col
league, only states that — "the governor at the
" first seemed very much discomposed." Now
whether Hammond trembled for at least an hour
after hearing Berkeley's communication; or only
at the first seemed very much discomposed ; either
the one or the other, differing only in degree,
must be allowed to tally with the declaration of
his resolution to withdraw himself from the army,

352

334 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" because he would have nothing to do with such
" perfidious actions." Since he now, on a sudden
found himself likely to be forced to take a part in
that very drama, of which he had wished to avoid
the being so much as a spectator.
It may perhaps be further remembered, that,
during this at least hour of trembling, Hammond
" broke out into passionate and distracted ex-
" pressions :" and among others, we are told that,
he exclaimed ; " what between my duty to his
" majesty, and gratitude for this fresh obligation
" of confidence ; and my observing my trust to the
" army, I shall be confounded."
see page That we should here read parliament, instead
of army, must at first appear an extravagant and
outrageous proposition. Yet upon reflection it
may be found not only warrantable ; but more
reasonably to be admitted, than rejected.
Nothing can be more clearly and decisively de^
monstrable (as it has in truth been already
demonstrated) than that the governor of the Isle
of Wight had no trust to be observed by him to
the army. From all military subjection and de^.
pendance he had been formally pronounced exempt
by that act of parliament which alone could have
invested him with the absolute and unlimited
authority appertaining to that civil appointment;
Even the clause, by which the dignity of the com
mander in chief individually had been reserved*
was rather a negative confirmation of the enact
ment, than a positive exception to it. First : by
the special and express declaration, that Ham
mond was removable only by a concurrent vote

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 335
of the two houses of parliament. And secondly
by the non-existence at that time of a pretence
for any intercourse between him and the army-
Since so far from a corporal's guard, there was
not even a single rank and file of soldiers (" be-
" longing to the army") within the precincts of
his government.*
But that, which is here of more importance
than the fact itself of Hammond's having no trust
from the army to observe is the proof of his having
so considered himself: This proof is, that to the
parliament alone he officially notified the king's
arrival : and at its sole disposal, will, and plea
sure, declared, that his majesty would be detained
in Carisbrook Castle. If therefore Berkeley be
correct in reporting Hammond's words, the-latter
must, like many a man in a state of less embarrass
ment and trepidation, have said one thing for
another : and must have already been what he
says he shall be, — " confounded."
It is however the other difficulty, of Hammond's
dilemma, which it is most of all material to con
siders his. " gratitude to the king for this fresh
"obligation of confidence." A fresh obligation
necessarily implies, at . least one; antecedent obli
gation. If then, as A. Wood states, Hammond
was only twenty-one years old, and had not long
* Such was the state of the Isle of Wjght at the time of
Hammond's appointment, and of the king's subsequent arrival.
And from Fairfax's letter to the parliament dated Nov. 21st,
eight days after the latter event, and in consequence of it, we
see that the commander-in-chief did not consider himself com
petent without its authority to send any troops thither.

336 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
quitted Magdalen Hall, when in the year 1642, by
the persuasion of his uncle Thomas, he joined the
parliament's army ; how, where, and when, ante
rior to that time, could this Oxonian son of the
Chertsey esquire have been in the way of experi
encing the " obligations of royal confidence ;" or
the son-in-law of Hampden and " creature of
" Cromwell " within the subsequently intervening
five years, until the date of the so often mentioned
presentation, and recommendation of him, " as a
" penitent convert," by his uncle Henry at Hamp
ton Court.
Surely then these words, or rather passionate
expressions, of Hammond accord well with, if
they do not prove— -first : Ant. Wood's anecdote
of the gracious reception and kissing of hands.
Secondly: sir John Bowling's relation of the
king's conversation with him in the gallery at
Sion House respecting the probability of his ma
jesty's soon being in the power of Mr. Lisle, of
the Isle of Wight, from whom Hammond, as a
stranger there, was said to receive his directions.
Thirdly : Ashburnham's deposition of Hammond's
avowed sentiments and reasons for withdrawing
from the army, on their casually meeting on the
road near Kingston. Surely too all these testi
monies collectively countenance the suggestion,
heretofore submitted, that it was the king, and
not Ashburnham, who so fatally relied on Ham
mond, because he was nephew to his majesty's
favourite chaplain.*
* " This man was entirely dependent on Cromwell ; yet be-
" cause he was nephew to Dr. Hammond the king's favourite

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 337
Had not therefore the most authentic of all
historians, by the unusual preface of his emphatic
— " Certain it is," — enhanced the usual peremp-
toriness of his authoritative averments, when
oracularly pronouncing, that " the king never
" thought of going to the Isle of Wight," a very
different conviction might be deduced from these
data. Since there is no cause to suspect sir J.
Bowring and A. Wood of having insidiously con
spired to mislead the world, For then it would
have been by some tale of a more obvidus con-
" chaplain, it was thought proper to have recourse tq him in
" the present exigence, when no other rational expedient could
" be thought of." Hume's History of England.
In an exigence so momentous and desperate when there was
no choice, nor even so much as an alternative, could it be
deemed improper to have recourse even to an irrational expe
dient, when "no other could be thought of?" But the case here
is, that, however unknown to Hume, there was another and .a
very different expedient : one, which had been originally sug
gested by Ashburnham, and for a time adopted by the king.
Until, when within twenty miles of the island he declared that
"his mind was changed" (very unfortunately ; but with .him
not very unusually.) An expedient, which no one bearing in
mind the well ascertained state of the Isle of Wight, and dispo
sition of its inhabitants, can deny to have been equally practica
ble, and far more " rational." Which was, that the king should
have secreted himself in sir John Oglander's house ; without in
the first instance having any recourse at all to the governor.
There his majesty would have been " close to the water-side,
" might have taken boat, and disposed of his person ^hither he
" pleased beyond sea." Whereas Titchfield house afforded np
such facilities ; while, on the contrary, its distance from Caris
brook Castle necessarily, for the interchange of message and
answer, incurred a delay hazardous in the extreme j since every
moment of it was pregnant with fatality.
VOL. I. Z

338 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
nection, and readier application, that the one
would have sought to accredit the fiction of the
other. While, on the contrary it has been ascer
tained on " confirmation strong as proof of holy
" writ," that while Berkeley and Ashburnham
were drawing up their respective " Narrations of
" all, that passed in that affair" it was " without
" any inclination, that one should see what the
" other had writ ; having contracted a very avowed
" animosity against each other." All these, in
themselves " trifles light as air," acquire weight,
when brought in contact with positive facts ; for
some of which lord Clarendon himself has perhaps
inadvertently vouched. Such as first ; that the
king " as soon as freed from the apprehension of
" the guards, and the horse quarters rode towards
" the south-west, and that part of Hampshire,
" which led to the New Forest ;" and consequently
to the Isle of Wight. Secondly : that in its im
mediate neighbourhood (at Titchfield house) the
king awaited Hammond's answer to that message,
which according to Berkeley (who swears, that he
" delivered it word for word,") commenced with
such gracious declarations of confidence, and reli
ance on his honour and loyalty, as fully justify
the already quoted passage from the Athense
Oxonienses— " His majesty, after he had been
" frighted from Hampton Court, did choose rather
" to put himself into his hands, rather than any
" other." Hume has justly observed, that " lord Claren-
" don is positive that the king, when he fled from
" Hampton Court, had no intention of going to

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 339
" this island : and indeed all the circumstances of
'• that Historian's narrative, which we have here
" followed, strongly favour this opinion." Strange
indeed it would be, if they did not.
Ludlow says—" Cromwell, as well as the king
" had a good opinion of Hammond." How highly
Hammond stood in Cromwell's opinion the fact
of his having been married by him to Hampden's
daughter is a proof, as incontestably decisive, as
the misapplication of it, with a view to superin
duce on nearness of trust indiscriminate reliance,
and unlimited confidence, is nugatory and futile.
But it becomes absurd, when further extended to
the implied, rather than expressed, assumption of
his having been employed, as Cromwell's chosen
agent to seize and imprison the king. This
assumption, already so often denied, as matter of
argument, is now at last, as matter of fact, dis
proved. For whether it was Cromwell's purpose
(as the lord Holies unwarrantably asserts) in
sending Hammond to the Isle of Wight, to pro
vide the king with a gaoler ; or whether it was
(as Hobbes more reasonably concludes,) in driv
ing the king thither, to prompt, and enable him
to effect his escape out of the kingdom, " certain
" it is," that this purpose, whatever it may have
been, was not the sort of secret, with which he
thought that Hammond might be advantageously,
prudently, or safely entrusted. Else, when Berke
ley so discreetly" opened the matter" by his
question to one, who so far from being an CEdi-
pus, was no Davus, of " who he thought was very
"near him "in order that he might answer it

340 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
himself with— " even the good king Charles," the
governor so far from having been nearly unhorsed
by the intelligence, and " trembling, for at least
" an hour after," (according to sir John,) would
not have so much as " seemed at first discon-
" certed" (according to Ashburnham) even for a
moment. It may be said, that this was but the " unreal
" mockery" of a counterfeit surprise ; in which is
to be recognised the well-lectured pupil of the
great professor of hypocrisy. Be it so : — if so it
be. Thus will a fresh proof, or argument be sup
plied, similar to one, by which this Vindication
has already been unwittingly strengthened.
That position may be safely ceded, which the
enemy must instantly find to be untenable, un
less by abandoning another of more importance.
The dilemma, to which lord Clarendon and " all"
his " men" are here reduced, is this. Either- Ham
mond's surprise was real or feigned. If real, he
himself could not have been cognizant , if feigned*
Ashburnham must have been ignorant, of Crom
well's supposed design, That 'either of these two
was engaged in the plot, has not been made to
appear: but that one of them could not have
been so engaged, has been, as above, demon
strated. Equally evident it is from the parts
respectively assigned to each, that both were alike
essentially necessary to the very existence of this
conspiracy. By the decoy-man without his duck,
or by the ' decoy-duck without her master, no
wild fowl can be taken. In Ashburnham's bring
ing of Hammond to Titchfield house there can

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 341
therefore have been no " treachery'' And when
ever a wiser man* fully and duly apprized of all
the perils, and fairly weighing all the difficulties,
of his situation shall have pointed out some more
" rational expedient ;" then and not till then, will
the charge of unpardonable " folly" be esta
blished.* Violent, in the extreme, as was Ash
burnham's ulterior " remedy ;" it was not more
so, than the imminent danger for which it was
" provided." And how was this danger incurred ?
Was it not the king's own message, which Berkeley
delivered word for word : and was it not Berkeley's
own preface, with which he " opened the matter ?"
For neither of these indiscretions can Ashburn
ham in any degree be held responsible.
As the criminating depositions, which force
extorts, or ingenuity elicits, from a reluctant
witness, go further towards a conviction of the
culprit's guilt, than the aceusatory allegation
spontaneously obtruded by a mercenary informer,
or vindictive prosecutor; so the unintentional
exculpation, which sparingly transpires from " a
* " If his political prudence was not sufficient to extricate
" him from so perilous a situation, he may be excused ; since
" even after the event, when it is commonly easy to correct all
¦" errors, one is at a loss to determine what conduct, in his cir-
" cumstances, could have maintained the authority of the crown,
" and preserved the fate of the. nation." Such is Hume's just
observation, when speaking generally of Charles's unhappy fate.
Would the same be less just, if applied particularly to Ashburn
ham's situation, and conduct, at this juncture ?
Hume has been already quoted for avowing that his judge
ment has been formed on Clarendon's narrative of this trans
action.

342 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER '
" very avowed animosity," is a better test of inno
cence, than the lavished warranty of an ill-dis
guised self-interest, or suspected fellow-feeling.
They, who read Berkeley's Memoirs, need not
Clarendon's averment, that it has been written in
the spirit of " a very avowed animosity" against
Ashburnham, and for the purpose of casting on
him the whole blame, of which the writer would
willingly exonerate himself. The feeling, and the
design betray themselves in every page. Yet not
superfluous alike is the noble Historian's declara
tion, that " in truth he believes" the right honour
able memorialist, (as of a certainty he knows the
king) to have quitted Hampton Court, without
any the least notion, surmise, or suspicion, that
the Isle of Wight was the place of their imme
diate destination. How, and whence the chan
cellor's strange knowledge of this the king's
strange ignorance was obtained, we are not told.
" Certain it is," that it could only have been from
a hearsay report ; which (not less " certain it is,"
nor less strange) seems never to have reached any
other ears. But what gave rise to his belief, that
Berkeley was no better informed on this point, no
more apprised of this resolution, than even the
king, is clearly ascertained. For this, as he says,
sir John took care to publish. Adding moreover
that he " knew nothing of the Isle of Wight, or of
" the governor :" and that from first to last he had
disapproved of the scheme.
It cannot therefore have been to serve himself;
for here he had no occasion for it : it cannot have
been to favour his colleague ; for he never had

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 343-
any inclination for it : it cannot have been to de
ceive the world ; for (as we are told of the lord
Langdale) " he had not any temptation to it,"
that in the sequel of Berkeley's most circumstan
tial narrative are found proofs of Hammond's utter
unfitness and incapacity to execute this supposed
commission, as undeniably convincing, as those
already afforded, that in point of fact, it never was
confided to him.
After having related, that Hammond, on being
told what engagement was required of him by the
king, expressed his " wish that his majesty had
" reposed himself absolutely upon him, because it
"would have been much the better for both;"
Berkeley proceeds to say, that he returned for
answer, that " since we desired it, he would say ;
" that, because he believed his majesty had made
" choice of him, as a person of honour and honesty,
" to lay this great trust upon ; therefore he would
" not deceive his majesty's expectation." Which
declaration not being deemed sufficiently explicit,
he added, that " he would further say that, which
" he was sure ought to content every reasonable
" man ; which was, that he did believe his majesty
" relied on him, as on a person of honour and
" honesty : and therefore he did engage himself
" to us to perform whatever could be expected
" from a person of honour and honesty."*
* " The message," from the king which Berkeley had " deli-
" vered word for word," after some introductory gracious ex
pressions, having been, that " his majesty not to surprise him,
" had thought fit to send us before to advertise him : and to
" desire his promise to protect his majesty and his servants to

344 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
Such was the answer, of which Hammond chose,
that, Ashburnham should be the bearer while
Berkeley should remain with him as a hostage.
This arrangement is no sooner agreed to, than it
is reversed. Berkeley is to go, and Ashburnham
is to stay. And at last the final determination is,
that both are to go, and Hammond himself with
them. Is it credible, is it possible, that with so " won-
" the best of his power : and if, it' should happen, that he might
" not be able to do it, then the governor should oblige himself
" ;to leave us in as good condition as he found us : that ia suffer
" us to make our escape."
Hume justly observes — " This promise, it is evident^ would
" have been a very slender security." For it was surely implied
in the engagement to which Hammond had pledged himself.
But not equally just is the subsequent remark — " Yet even with-
" out exacting it, Ashburnham imprudently if not treacherously
" brought Hammond to Titchfield : " Now admitting the possi
bility of Ashburnham's having been both the most treacherous
of knaves, and the most imprudent of fools, how could he have
had the power, when in Carisbrook Castle, to " exact"' a pro
mise from the governor?- Who certainly might have detained
both, as he insisted on detaining one, of the king's two mes
sengers. Or else, suffering them to depart, apprized as he was
by Berkeley, that " good King Charles was very near," he
might, as Ashburnham says, " by sending spies have easily dis-
" covered the place of the king's concealment." Nor is it more
correctly affirmed to have been a necessary consequence of
Hammond's having been brought to Titchfield, that " the king
" was obliged to put himself into his hands, and to attend him
"to Carisbrook Castle." The truth is, that his majesty's too
great confidence, not less fatal than if it had been unbounded,
had so far placed him in Hammond's power, as nothing could
extricate him, but a measure, which neither his sense of honour,
nor his humanity, would suffer him to adopt.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 345
^derful an. understanding in the natures and
"humours of, men, and so great an experience in
"applying them ;" with such " an admirable cir-
" cumspection and sagacity," that Cromwell from
among so many " of nearest trust with him," and
therefore best known to him, should have selected
for bis confidential and discretionary agent, on
a momentous and critical occasion, " a man of
" such a feeble temper;" so irresolute and vacil
lating; so absurdly, scrupulous, and conscienti
ously trifling. One, who for the paltry observance
of a quibbling distinction between the words, and
the sense, of an engagement ; and more influenced
by the letter, than the spirit of a pledge, would
thus risk the loss of that prize, which he had been
purposely sent to secure ; and hazard the failure
of an enterprize at the very moment of its successful
accomplishment? And moreover such a heedless,
confiding simpleton, as spontaneously and uncon
ditionally to surrender himself, the " provided
", gaoler," into the absolute power of his intended
prisoner? It was not thus, that Joyce had executed a for
mer similar commission : nor that Harrison and
Rainsborough, and Pride, and Ewer, and Cobbet,
(all, as they
should be, made of sterner stuff,")
have done credit to the choice of their employer ;
and to the accuracy, with which lord Clarendon
has delineated their employer's character.
In reason equally incredible, and morally speak
ing alike impossible it is, that Cromwell should
forcibly have despatched on such a service as this,

346 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
a more than reluctant agent. That such in truth
Hammond was, is ascertained on higher authori
ties than either Ashburnham's Narrative, wherein
we read of the former's declared disapprobation of
the king's treatment, when they casually met and
conversed on the highway ; or than that part of
Berkeley's Memoir now under consideration. It
Hist. is lord Clarendon himself who says " colonel Ham-
p.°203!' " mond had, before the expiration of the treaty, writ
" many letters to the parliament, to be discharged
" from that government, and from the care of
" the king's person; and the officers of the army
" seemed wonderfully offended with him for mak-
" ing the demand ; and he got himself looked
" upon as under a cloud."
Of these many letters to parliament it may suf
fice to subjoin the following extracts from those
of the earliest, and latest, dates, in order to show
how much Hammond detested, deprecated, and
deplored that office, which not Cromwell's choice,
but in the first instance the king's confidence, and
secondly that of the parliament had forced upon
him. So also will that required corroboration be
produced, without which Dr. Lingard declares
the most authentic of historians not to be safely
trusted. So too at least will be established one
exception to M. Villemain's generally just remark;
that " this portion of lord Clarendon's History is
throughout at variance with all public Registers."
" To the earl of Manchester, &c. &c.
" But my lord I most humbly beg it of you,
that I may be discharged from my employment :

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 347
" it being a burden insupportable for me. I have
" entreated my lord of Denbigh to report my hum-
" ble desires to your lordships at large concern-
" ing the same." Lords' Journals, 28th Dec. 1647.
From the date of this letter it must have been
written within six weeks from the time, when the
burden insupportable had been first laid upon
him by parliament.
Omitting several other letters, in which the
same request is earnestly repeated, the last dated
the 20th of November, (when he quitted his go- 1648.
vernment without having been formally released
from it) concludes in the following words.
" And if for a reward for my having faithfully
" and honestly discharged my trust, and for all
" other hazard, labour and blood, which I have
" undergone and spent in your service, I may now
" receive my discharge from a burden so much too
" heavy for me, I shall rest fully satisfied ; bless
" my God ; and thank your lordships."
As soon as it was known that Cromwell had
suppressed the mutiny of the agitators, Berkeley
says: " And now Mr. Ashburnham and the governor
" were frequent and fervent in private confe-
" rences : and, as I have heard,* came to particu-
* Berkeley not having mentioned from whom he heard this
result of the frequent and fervent conferences between the go
vernor of the island and the groom of the bedchamber, it may
be a fair surmise, that this informant was no other than the
same anonymous "gentleman of good worth and quality," with
whom he afterwards became acquainted in Holland. And from

348 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" lars of accommodation for him, in case of the
" king's recovery : insomuch that the governor
" seemed solicitous of nothing so much, as that
" the army should resume its wonted discipline,
" and clear themselves of their importunate and
" impertinent adjutators. And therefore sent his
" chaplain, -f- immediately to the army to conjure
" them to make use of their success upon the ad-
" jutators." " Two or three days after he moved earnestly,
" that his majesty would send one of us three to
" the army with colourable letters to the general;
" but that he should write with confidence to
" Cromwell and Ireton. To whom he would also
" write : and did : conjuring them by their en-
" gagement, by their interest, by their honour and
" their consciences, to come to a speedy close with
" the king : and not to expose themselves still
" to the fantastic giddiness of the adjutators."
When Berkeley arrived at the head-quarters,
" there being a general meeting of the officers at
" that moment" he says, — " After an hour's wait-
" ing I was admitted ; and after I had delivered
" my compliment and letters to the general, I was
" desired to withdraw : and having attended half
whom he learnt (that, which he never of himself could have sus
pected,) that Hammond had been induced contrary to his origi
nal decision to detain Ashburnham, from a notion that the king
would less readily dispense with his attendance, and services than
those of sir John.
t " To this end he sent one Mr. Troughton, his chaplain to
" the army." Ludlow's Memoirs, p. 96.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 349
" an hour I was called in. The general (Fairfax)
" looked very severely upon me ; and after his
" manner said, that they were the parliament's
" army : and therefore could not say any thing to
" his majesty's motion for peace : but must refer
" those matters to them, to whom they would send
•' his majesty's letter. I then looked about upon
" Cromwell and Ireton: who saluted me very
" coldly, and had their countenance quite chang-
" ed towards me ; and shewed me Hammond's
" letter, which I had deliyered to them ; and
" smiled with much disdain upon it."
As in truth well they might. For could aught
but disdain and derision be excited in their minds
by Hammond's thus obtesting the inviolable sanc
tity of their engagements ; adjuring them by their
sense of honour: and appealing to the dictates of
their Conscience? More especially with the con
comitant friendly hint, as to how they (Cromwell
and Ireton! !) might best promote their own inte
rests. Such having been the contents of this letter, it
may be fairly presumed, that the most unequi
vocal and convincing proof, ever given by Crom
well, of Hammond's being of "nearest trust" with
him, was, the one, recorded by our noble histo
rian, when he advised the colonel to marry Miss
Hampden. Numerous are the examples, which might be
adduced to shew, that those, whom the world
most thought, and who most thought themselves,
" of nearest trust with Cromwell" were only his
greatest dupes. If he and Fairfax had not been

350 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
contemporaries, it never would have been demon
strated, how far dupery between man and man
may be carried. We here find the sapient lord
general so late as at the close of November 1647,
still believing, that it is the parliament's army,
which he is commanding. And though Ham
mond more enlightened by that " trinkling," men
tioned by Mrs. Hutchinson to have been so suc
cessfully practised at Hampton-Court, could not
have been in the same error and ignorance as to
the army's incapacity to treat and to deliberate
and to have an opinion, and will of its . own, he
felt, that such as it had been, and as it yet; nomi
nally continued to be, such it ought, still to have
really been. For hitherto there had been no openly
avowed rupture between the two discordant, par
ties, however mutually jealous and distrustful of
each other. But so soon as he had found himself
in a situation to verify by his own experience, that
" no man can serve two masters," it is manifest
— that there was no hesitation on his part in .mak
ing the option ; and in deciding that his obedience
as a soldier, had, merged in his allegiance as a
subject. It is equally manifest, that this his pre
ference was soon known to each of the two rival
powers : and that he as entirely obtained the con
fidence and good opinion of the parliament : as
that he incurred the suspicion and ill-will of the
army.*
* Subsequently, and ere long, it was proved, that no ground
less jealousy had dictated that amendment, already noticed, to
the original- form of his appointment as governor of the Isle of
Wight : . namely ; that he ishould be continued in that . office,

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 351
To place beyond the reach of denial, cavil or
doubt, each of these three points, all materially,
if not equally, important, the evidences are so
superfluously abundant, as that (a selection of
them sufficing to convince) the reader's time and
patience may be spared without detriment or risk
to the cause here advocated.
1°. If Hammond's fidelity to the trust reposed
in him by the parliament be not as yet apparent
enough from his immediate announcement of the
king's unexpected presence in the Isle of Wight ;
and from the other transcribed contents of his
first letter; nor by the extracts already given
from two of those " many letters," said by lord
Clarendon to have been written in order to ob
tain his so much wished for dismissal and release,
at the hands of those, whom alone he acknow
ledged as of competent authority to cancel that
warrant, which they alone could have decreed;
the deficiency is thus easily supplied.
Sir Philip Warwick has given the following
account. — " I prayed his majesty's leave, that I
" might utter my thoughts concerning his present
" condition, in relation to his station in that
" place : and I told him, I understood the governor
" usually prided himself in saying, that the person
" of the king was put into his hands by the par-
" liament : and that he would obey no directions
" concerning the same but from the parliament."
" until the lords and commons in parliament assembled shall
" otherwise order :" instead of " quamdiu se bene gesserit :"
and that no superfluous precaution had expressly absolved him
from all military subordination saving to Fairfax alone.

352 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
Sir John Bowring, in confirmation of the above
testimony relates, that when Ewer came commis
sioned by Fairfax, at the instigation of Cromwell,
to supersede Hammond, that " he heard the latter
" say, that he had the charge and care of the
" king's person by order of both houses of parlia-
" ment." As to what he further said it may be
best known by his own detailed statement in a
letter, addressed to the speaker of the house of
peers, dated Carisbrook Castle, Nov. 28. " My
" lords. Colonel Ewer is come into this island.
" At his coming I demanded of him to know
" what instructions he had, and from whom:
" because, though I held myself obliged to obey
" the general's commands in going to him, yet /
see at page " hada trust upon me from the parliament, no way,
suggested " as I conceived, relating to the general, or army:
tions^of " which I must be faithful unto to the utmost Of
statement of" my power. And that I ought not to give obe-
"ruTesnds" dience to any, save to the parliament alone, that
respecting « fad entrusted me, and only had power so to do.
serving his" I further plainly told him, that, if he Or any
trust to the x J ' ' J
army." other should so proceed to violate my instruc
tions from the parliament, whilst I continued so
in trnst, I held myself bound in conscience,
" honour, and duty, to oppose them to the utmost :
" and accordingly, Cod assisting me, I was resolved
" to do:" Lords' Journals."
2°. When in the House of commons Cromwell
(as our noble Historian has affirmed) expatiating
on Hammond's honesty and integrity, more espe
cially vouched for his devotion to the will of par
liament, as being such as to preclude " all jealousy

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 353
" of his being corrupted by any one ;" (the party
then forming the majority, having six months
earlier, according to the same high authority, re
solved to commit this vouching eulogist to the
Tower ; as the sure and only means of laying the
refractory and contumacious spirit, which he had
raised in the army, and continued to foment :) it
is reasonable to expect, that some excitement
might have been produced on minds, " not easily
" jealous," or prone to suspicion. But when it is
further added that — " all this relation" (its pane
gyrical peroration of course included) was " made
" with so unusual a gaiety, that all men con-
" eluded, that the king was where he wished he
" should be :" how strange it is, that even " the
" drowsy dull presbyterian humour" of the fasci
nated and spell-bound Fairfax himself should not
have been roused from its baleful lethargy.* Yet
however strange, it is not less true, that from this
moment may be dated the apparent origin of that
unbounded trust, and reliance, which the parlia
ment placed in Hammond ; and which terminated
only in the extinction of its own functions and
power. The first proof was given in its continuing him in
his government, together with further entrusting
* " The agitators, who were first formed by him (Cromwell)
" to oppose the parliament, and to resist the destructive doom of
" their disbanding, and likewise to prevent any inconvenience,
" or mischief, that might result from the drowsy, dull presbyte-
" rian humour of Fairfax ; who wished nothing that Cromwell
" did, and yet contributed to bring it all to pass." Clarendon's
History, vol. v. p. 504.
VOL. I. A a

354 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
to him absolutely, the sole custody of the royal
prisoner. How gradually this confidence grew,
and this reliance strengthened, may be traced
through resolutions, orders, and votes, of discre
tionary powers, extended ; of stipendiary emolu
ments, augmented ; and of remunerative grants,
perpetuated. To all which may be added the
perhaps not less unequivocal, though certainly
less acceptable, testimony of satisfaction and ap
probation, in the persevering non-compliance with
his urgent solicitude, and reiterated supplications,
to be discharged from the "intolerable burden"
of his detested office.
When the commissioners were about to depart
on their return to the parliament, after having
presented the four bills, they required, that Ham
mond should be present at the reading of the
king's answer ; which the earl of Denbigh had
refused.to carry back unopened ; and persisted in
that requisition, notwithstanding his majesty's
" objections." — (Ludlow's Memoirs, p. 100.)
This was surely a mark of consideration, as well
as of confidence. It occurred at the end of De
cember 1647; that is about six weeks after the
king's arrival in the island. —
" Commons' Journals,
Feb. 18, 1648."
"Resolved — That it be wholly left to colonel
" Robert Hammond, governor of the Isle of Wight,
" to appoint such persons, as shall attend the king;
" not exceeding the number of thirty : and from
" time to time to place, or displace, such of them,
" as he shall think fit."

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 355
" Commons' Journals, 15 Nov. 1647."
" The hearty thanks of the house were ordered
" to be returned to the governor of the Isle of
" Wight for his faithful service, and his prudent
" management of these matters."
Having thus shewn that Hammond's attach
ment and devotion to the parliament were really
such, as in the house of commons Cromwell had
perhaps unconsciously pronounced them to be;
(that is, in probability not a little more than he
believed, and to a certainty incomparably more
than he wished ;) so as in truth " not to be cor-
" rupted by any body ;" — and how much the
parliament became more and more sensible, and
confident, of his fidelity and zeal ; there now re
mains only by a few instances to redeem the 3rd
pledge ; that of proving how far he incurred the
distrust and displeasure of the army.
3. That Hammond was not viewed as among
the brightest of his Jupiter's satellites long before
" he had got himself" (as lord Clarendon says)
" looked upon as under a cloud," is discoverable
once more in the following extract of a letter ad-,
dressed to him by Ireton — " We are earnest with
" Harrison to come over to thee for assistance in
" the way of advice ; and I hope he will come."
As in these few words is comprised the sufficient
proof, so in the comment on them will be found
the brief abstract, and epitomized aggregate, of
all the foregoing arguments. For what purpose
can our noble Historian's fact, or' rather assump
tion, of Hammond's having left the army, and

356 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
gone to the Isle of Wight a few days before the
king's escape, " when there was no visible occa-
" sion for it ;" have been coupled with that of his
being " of nearest trust with Cromwell ;" other
than that, which he has so successfully effected,, of
impressing the world with the same erroneous
^persuasion, entertained by the lord Holies, that
Cromwell prevailed on the king to repair to that
island, because he had there " provided him with
" a gaoler,"
Were this however to be, as it safely might, ad
mitted, it cannot be denied on the other hand,
that Cromwell must have despatched Hammond,
either with, or without, instruction, how to exe
cute his commission. Supposing the affirmative
of this proposition; it is not probable, that any
form, or circumstances, under which the case
might present itself, could, have been overlooked
by that " admirable circumspection and sagacity"
for which Cromwell was so much distinguished.
But supposing the negative, such omission could
only have proceeded from a thorough conviction,
formed on approved experience, of Hammond's
judgement, decision, and firmness; that all in
structions how to conduct himself, even in a situ
ation so difficult and critical, were superfluous
and inexpedient. Now here is proof, that Crom
well could neither have given him the requisite
instructions for his conduct; nor credit for the
possession of these requisite qualifications. If then
the one of these two courses was essential towards
his forming a hope of succeeding in this his pre
sumed enterprise, and it be demonstrable, that he

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 357
pursued neither ; the only natural conclusion is
that, which from other premises has already been
so often deduced ; namely, that it never was by
any contrivance, project, or wish of his, that the
king was detained a prisoner in Carisbrook Castle.
Else why this earnest desire, and anxious hope,
that Hammond might soon have Harrison's " as-
" sistance by way of advice ?"
Then let the date of the letter be observed in
which this earnest hope is expressed, Nov. 21st,
1647. That is eight days after the die had been
cast, and the main chance decided, by the king's
voluntary surrender of his person.
What was in Ireton's opinion the advice, with
which the governor stood most in need of being
assisted, must have been such as the chosen coad
jutor was best qualified to supply. And thus the
erroneous notions entertained of Hammond's less
conspicuous character may be rectified on the
more notorious infamy of Harrison's. Hume has
said of Ireton that " he was a man who had grafted
" the soldier on the lawyer." If it be allowable
here to draw a similar metaphor from the same
source, it may be said, that Harrison, by a more
complex horticultural process, had inarched the
soldier on the attorney's clerk ; previously budded
on the butcher. Lord Clarendon's account of
him is, that he " was the son of a butcher near Hist.
" Nantwich in Cheshire, and had been bred up p °2\H'
" under a lawyer of good account in those parts."
On which the lord chancellor, probably as being
by professional experience better able than others
to pronounce judgement on such causes and

358 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
effects, observes,—" which kind of education in-
" clines young men to more pride than any other
" kind of breeding ; and disposes them to be prag-
" matical and insolent."— But he has omitted, as
unnecessary, to indicate to what characteristics
his earlier education was likely to incline, and
his first breeding to dispose, amidst habitually
familiarizing scenes of ceaseless and remorseless
slaughter. Notwithstanding Ireton's earnestness, it is pro
bable, that for some cause or other, Harrison did
not go over to the governor-gaoler's assistance. At
least if he did, " certain it is," that it was of no
avail. Although heretofore Hammond had shewn
himself to be one, on whom good counsel was not
thrown away. From this letter alone may be
therefore sufficiently ascertained the light, in
which Hammond had been regarded by Crom
well, before he " got himself to be looked upon
" as under a cloud" by the army. And hence,
once more, may be appreciated the reasonableness
of the notion, that the former was the gaoler pro
vided for the king by the latter. Since here it is
evident, that no sooner had the governor been
further constituted and appointed by the parlia
ment to the custody of it's royal prisoner, than
Cromwell, unable to displace, or recall him,
attempts virtually to supersede him by an assistant
" in the way of advice."
Herbert relates that " lieutenant colonel Cobbet,
" an officer in colonel Fortescue's regiment, (Joyce-
" like) came unexpectedly to Newport with a com-
" manded party of horse ; and in the first place

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 359
" made enquiry for colonel Hammond's quarters
" in the town : having orders to secure him. The
" reason unknown : unless from an apprehension,
" the despotic agitators had, that he was too much
" a courtier : which they approved not of. How-
" beit, being premonished, he evaded him, though
" very narrowly."
The noble Historian having related, that " there Hist.Vol.yi.
" were many secret consults" among the officers of P. 224-6.
the army, how to be rid of the king ; and " what
" to do with him ;" concerning which three differ
ent opinions were stoutly maintained : one of which
was " for the taking away his life by poison ;
" which would make least noise ; or, if that could
" not be so easily contrived, by assassination ; for
" which there were hands enough ready to be
" employed," observes, " this party might proba
bly have carried it, if Hammond could have
" been wrought upon to have concurred ; but he
" had yet too much conscience to expose himself
" to that infamy ; and without his privity and
" connivance it could not be done."
In what manner was effected their necessarily
preliminary riddance of Hammond, after Gobbet's
failure, has been folly detailed by sir J. Bowring :
who concludes his Narrative thus: " As soon as
" Ewer had got over from Cowes to Titchfield
" with colonel Hammond, he dismounts him :
" puts him into a hackney coach, brought thither
" for that purpose ; and with a small guard sends
" this great governor to Windsor Castle, a pri-
" soner, and his horse back again into the island :
" where colonel Hammond never returned."

360 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
It appears indeed from this time, if not from
that of his having left the army and retiring to
his government, that Hammond bade farewell
" to all quality,
" Pride, pomp and circumstance of glorious war.'"
For Ludlow relates the conversation, which he
had with Cromwell ; who, with a view to the re
moval of that stern republican, was pressing him
to accept the command of the cavalry in Ireland j
and, when passing in review the several officers,
who might be thought competent, in order to find
some objection to each of them : (as for instance
to " colonel Algernon Sidney, by reason of his
" relation to some, who were in the king's in-
" terest ;") when he came to mention colonel
" Hammond, his objection, I remember, was that
" by his late deportment, with relation to the
" king, he had so disobliged the army, that he
" apprehended he would not be acceptable to
" them."* It is now more than time to enable the reader
to form his own judgement, as to the authenticity
of those letters, already so often referred to, and
quoted. Other passages of which it is become
* That Hammond was never more employed in any military
capacity is ascertained by the following notice of his death in
Whitelock's Memorials.
" Oct, 24, 1654. — Colonel Hammond, one of the parliament's
" commissioners, died at Dublin."
" Nov. 2.— Colonel Hammond's funeral solemnized at Dublin
" with much state."
This was surely a civil employment. So indeed was (as it
has been heretofore contended) hfs government of the Isle of
Wight.'

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 361
expedient more largely to transcribe. The docu
ment is of that importance, that, if sufficient proof
be adduced of its being such as it professes to be,
the results of its contents may be to establish a
case, to which the incredulous will hardly demur,
or the sceptical except.
In the year 1766 were published " Letters be-
" tween colonel Robert Hammond, governor of
" the Isle of Wight, and the committee of lords
" and commons at Derby House, general Fairfax,
" lieutenant-general Cromwell ; commissary-gene-
" ral Ireton," &c*
Of these letters the following account is given
in the preface to them — "The papers now offered
" to the public relate to so interesting an event in
" the English history, not hitherto understood,
" that no apology seems necessary for taking this
" method of preserving authentic copies of them
" from the like unfortunate accident, that con-
" sumed the originals in the fire, which proved
" fatal to a great number of other valuable manu-
" scripts in the chambers of the honourable Mr.
" Yorke in Lincoln's Inn, on the 27th of June
" 1754."
* To these inedited Letters is prefixed a reprint of John
Ashburnham's letter published in 1648, which will be given in
the Appendix. And also the king's letter to sir Henry Vane, the
younger, together with the king's engagement to carry with
him to the Scotch army none but his two nephews and Ash
burnham; which being among the papers of sir Edward
Nicholas has afforded to the venerable Editor of them so very
fair an opportunity of declaring his conviction, that it is with
great appearance of truth, that Ashburnham has been suspected
of treachery.

362 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
The lapse of more than sixty years may render
expedient for the satisfaction of most readers of
the present day that information, which at the
time of the publication would have been needless
and superfluous. Nothing was then more gene
rally known and admitted, than that, if there was
a man, whose sagacity, penetration and discern
ment no literary fraud or counterfeit, could elude,
such was the eminently distinguished personage
here named. Curious historical researches had
always been among the chief amusements of his
relaxation from the severer study, and of his lei
sure from the toilsome practice of that profession,
the highest honours of which he early attained.
It is morally impossible to suppose, that any
one could have presumed, unauthorized, to take
such a liberty with the name of Mr. Yorke, as
this advertisement would have been; and still
more so, if it had not been strictly correct : more
especially so, as at the time of the publication
Mr. Yorke was not only living, but the king's
attorney general.
Moreover it is well ascertained, that the editor,
though his name be not affixed to the work, was
the reverend Dr. Birch : deservedly, as advanta
geously, known for many valuable contributions
to English history and biography. He was a
director of the Society of Antiquaries : one of the
secretaries of the Royal Society, and a trustee of
the British Museum. To which may be added
(" though last not least" of importance in this
case,) that he had been patronized through life
by the lord chancellor, and his son, the late lord

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 363
Hardwicke ; with whom, as well as his brother,
Mr. Yorke, he was then living in habits of strict
intimacy. It is now for the reader to determine how far
this document may be considered as of sufficient
authority. The data from which the conclusion
is to be drawn, are the following, (as it is hoped,)
well attested facts : 1st, that the original letters
were in the possession of Mr. Yorke : Indly, that
he would not have retained them, if he had not
considered them to be genuine : 3rdly, that no
one was more competent to judge whether they
really were so, or not : 4thly, that he must have
authorized the publication of them t 5thly, that
from the introductory notice, suffered to be pre
fixed to them, (more especially, as notwithstand
ing the great respectability of the editor, the
publication was anonymous,) he must be deemed
to have taken upon himself all responsibility of
their having been among the collected manu
scripts, which he considered most valuable : and
to have pledged himself to the world, that they
were faithful transcripts of the original and
genuine letters ; on the authenticity of which he
entertained no doubt.
" Budge quoth the fiend, budge not quoth con
science ;" in a state of similar perplexity, and equal
embarrassment to that of Lancelot, was the gover
nor of the Isle of Wight, placed between mutually
contradictory commands of Fairfax, instantly to
repair to the head quarters ; and orders of the
parliament, on no account td stir from his ppst,
when he received the following letter from Ireton.

364 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
It will be given at length uninterrupted by notes ;
all observations being reserved for future consi
deration ; in order that the reader may exercise
his own unbiassed judgement, as to whether it
may be morally possible, that Ireton should have
thought it expedient thus to lecture Hammond,
if the latter had really been, as lord Clarendon
affirms, " of nearest trust with Cromwell :v or if
he had in truth been such, as Rapin and Hume,
both on the noble Historian's authority, have de
signated him to have been : the one, " as the
"mere creature of Cromwell ;" the other as "a
" man entirely dependent on Cromwell."
" Dear Robin,
" Thou wilt receive herewith a letter from the
" general : by which thou Wilt see what tenderness
" there is here towards thee, &c. &c. — Thou
" lookest on thyself as a servant under trust;
" and so both in honour and conscience obliged
" to discharge that faithfully. And thus far thou
" art in the right. But the only measure of that
" discharge, thou takest to be, the mere formal
" observance of commands : and those carrying
" but that name of power, from which thou appre-
" hendest it was committed to thee. As to the
"first part; the faithful discharge of the trust;
" the Lord forbid that I should tempt thee from
" it. Nay, I Will charge, and challenge it at thy
" hands ; that, with all faithfulness and singleness
" of heart, as before the Lord, thou perform thy
" trust to those persons, by whom, and to those
" public ends and interests, for which, it was

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 365
" committed to thee. But for these things, I shall
" appeal to the witness of God in thy conscience,
" as follows.
" 1. For the persons trusting; whether thou
" didst receive thy present place from the affections
" or trust of the formal parliament only ; even as
"then it stood; or whether of the general or
" army ? And whether, so far as thou seemest to
" have the formality by way of confirmation from
" the parliament, it were from any affection, or
" trust of that sort or generation of men, which
" noW, through accident, bear the sway and name ?
" Or whether from them, whose judgement and
" affections are most opposite to the present pro-
" ceedings there ?
" 2. For the ends ; whether thou receivedst thy
" trust in order to the ends now carried on by the
" prevaiUng party there ? Or whether in confidence
" of thy faithfulness, to some higher and more
" public ends ? Whether for the king's and the
" present prevailing factions ; or for the public
" interest, and the generality of honest men, that
" have engaged for the same.
"Upon the answer of thy conscience in these,
" I propound farther ; in case such persons as
" neither did, nor would have committed any
" such trust unto thee, but only gaining since the
" name of that power from which thou hadst the
" formal compliment of the trust, (and yet but
" partly that,) shall require things destructive to,
" or not for the best advantage of, those public
" ends, for which really thou receivedst thy trust :
" and at the same time those, from whose affec-

366 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" tibn and confidence in thee thou hadst the
" matter of thy power and trust, shall desire and
" expect from thee other things necessary for the
" security, but really for better advantage, of those
" public ends, for which thou wert trusted, and
" for the common benefit and interest of that
" people, for which all pretend their employments
" and interests ; in this case, I say I shall appeal
" farther to thy conscience, or best ingenuity, to
" determine to which of these several persons, and
" according to which commands and expectations,
"thou art to exhibit and approve thy faithfulness
" in the trust."
This very religious, moral, and edifying epistle
concludes with hoping, " that God hath better
" endued dear Robin with truth and judgment in
" the inner parts, and more sense of his righteous
"judgments appearing abroad in this age and
" nation :" and that he will not give him up to
" such delusion, as to follow an air of honour and
" mere form or shadow of faithfulness, to the re-
" jection or neglect of that, which is the reality
" and substance of both."
The same solicitude that " dear Robin" should
' rightly understand to whom his debt of gratitude
was due ; and the same apprehension, lest he
should misconceive himself under obligation to
" the present prevailing faction, which nowthrough
" accident bears the sway and name of the formal
" parliament," instead of to " those honest men,
" whose judgment and affections are most oppo-
" site to the present proceedings there," are per
ceptible, though less fully and pointedly expressed,

AND-CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 367
in a letter from Cromwell : bearing the much
earlier date of April 6th, 1648.
" Dear Robin
" Your business is done in the house : your ten
" pounds by the week is made twenty pounds :
" one thousand pounds given you, and an order to
" Mr. Lisle to draw up an ordinance for five hun-
" dred pounds per annum to be settled upon you
" and your heirs. This was done with smooth-
" ness : your friends were not wanting. J know
" thy burden : this is an addition to it. The Lord
" direct and sustain thee."
Yet honester men than Cromwell and Ireton
never affirmed a more unquestionable truth, than
they did, in assuming to themselves the credit of
Hammond's appointment. Most inadmissible, as
it ever must be contended, that the fact of Ham
mond's having been married to John Hampden's
daughter by Cromwell's advice is, even a pre
sumptive proof of his having become, by Crom
well's contrivance, entrusted also with the custody
of the king's person, there cannot be a more satis
factory reason for his having been, through Crom
well's influential recommendation, appointed to
the government of the Isle of Wight. The same
tutelary solicitude, which prompted him to con
sult the happiness of his orphan relative by pro
viding her with a good husband, was not likely to
overlook any of those secondary considerations,
which are generally thought to enhance domestic
comforts. Mrs. Hammond could not be made
governess of the Isle of Wight. But the next
thing to it, (perhaps indeed virtually, the self

368 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
same thing,) was the making of the colonel
governor. - !
Most fortunate it is, that the very letter of
Fairfax to Hammond, announced by Ireton, as
being despatched simultaneously with his own,
has been entered on the Journals: having been
communicated to the house, inclosed in one from
Hammond. The date of these two letters will be
found to agree ; that of Fairfax, as having been
first written, being the 21st of November, and
from St. Albans : that of Ireton on the following
day : the contents of both equally to tally ; and
the very first paragraph of the former to elucidate
the exordium of the latter ; shewing in what con
sisted the proof of that " tenderness," which there
was at the head quarters for the governor of the
Isle of Wight ; or rather for the king's gaoler.
" Sir " St. Albans, Nov. 21st.
" I received your letter of the 19th of this
" instant : whereby I apprehend your great dissa-
" tisfaction, trouble, and burden, both in relation
"to your present employment, and some other
" things, which . hath occasioned your address to
" the house. Therefore I desire you, before you
" resolve quitting your trust even with all possible
" speed to repair to me : because I have somewhat
'* to communicate to you of very public concern-
" ment, &c. &c. I have herewith sent colonel
" Ewer : the fittest person I could think of, to
" take care of the island, till you return."
On the contents of this letter it may be observed
1st. that Hammond could not fail to be gratefully
sensible of the tenderness of the general ; con-

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 369
trasted, as it was, with the obduracy of the parlia
ment. The latter still unmoved by his reiterated
supplications, while the former is no sooner ap-,
prized of his wishes to quit his trust, than he
" therefore" desires him to repair with all possible
speed to St. Albans. 2ndly. Though it would
now be as fruitless, as it is needless, to enquire or
conjecture what might have been that " somewhat
" of very public concernment" which the com
mander in chief had to communicate ; and which
was perhaps more than his excellency himself
knew : yet the motive for the dictated urgency of
the requisition, that he should appear at head
quarters, " before he had resolved to quit his
" trust" is sufficiently manifest and obvious.
If at the " many secret consults" among the
officers of the army how to be rid of the king
they were aware that the otherwise easy modes of
disposing of him, either by poison or assassina
tion, were impracticable without " Hammond's
" privity and connivance ;" which they could not
obtain: they must have been sensible also that
the gaoler's thus being " too much of courtier"
would be an equally insuperable obstacle to their
carrying off his prisoner ; when they had finally
resolved on the mockery of a public trial, and the
reality of a public execution ; " before all Israel,
" and before the sun." Nor was this obstacle to
their fell purpose to be removed by Hammond's
removal from his ever deplored and detested
office. For if" by laboursome petition" he should
" at last have wrung" from parliament " its slow
" leave" to resign it, there could be no doubt,
vol. i. b b

370 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
that before he had been suffered to quit his sta
tion, his successor would not only have been
appointed, but already on the spot, inducted and
installed : so that there would not have been one
hour of intervening vacancy. Neither could it
have been less certain, that this successor would
have been one, who needed not the plighted re
sponsibility of Cromwell to vouch for his devotion
to the parliament being such, as to preclude « all
"jealousy, that he might be corrupted by any
" body." As little too could Cromwell and Ireton
and the rest flatter themselves, that Hammond
would be like Francis* " so valiant as to play the
" coward with his indenture ; shew it a fair pair
" of heels, and run from it :" that until regularly
relieved, he would desert his post.
It was therefore necessary to have recourse to
some expedient, or pretence to draw the actual
governor from his government, for a few hours.
This was found in that clause of Hammond's
original appointment, in which the authority of
the commander in chief had been expressly re
served and confirmed. And to the successful
accomplishment of this scheme, the respective
characters of each were well calculated to afford
every facility. It was easy to make Fairfax be
lieve, notwithstanding his real dutiful subjection
to parliament, that the commander in chief had
the right to summon colonel Hammond to appear
at head quarters ; and consequently of appoint
ing ad interim a substitute. The same conscien
tious scrupulosity, by which we have heretofore
* Henry the Fourth, Part 1st.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 371
seen Hammond influenced in his preference of the
letter, to the spirit of a law ; and of the words, to
the sense, of an engagement, is perceptible in the
despatch which he addressed to the speaker of
the house of lords, enclosing that of Fairfax. In
which he writes as follows.
"The general having the authority of parlia-
" ment for the commanding of all the forces of
" the kingdom, and I having no positive instruc-
" tions from parliament for my constant abode
" here, &c. I resolved it my duty to give as speedy
" obedience to it, as the duty I owe to your com-
" mands and services would permit. The letter
" being positive for my speedy repair to the gene-
" ral, I resolved to take my journey to the head
" quarters. Where I shall be ready to receive
" your lordship's commands, if they come before
" my return, which I purpose God willing, shall
" be the next hour after his excellency shall please
" to dismiss me : if I do not before that time re-
" ceive your lordships' discharge of my unhappy
" employment ; which I again most humbly and
"heartily beg of you."
That lord Clarendon is correct in his averment
of Hammond's having been married to Hampden's
daughter by Cromwell's advice, the entire convic
tion has recently been declared: because the
fact, as a cause, so satisfactorily accounts for the
subsequent one which can hardly be doubted, that
in Cromwell's exertion of his influence in parlia
ment originated Hammond's appointment to be
governor of the Isle of Wight. Now those readers
who may still retain most inflexibly the opinion,

372 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
that this was but the preliminary measure to
Cromwell's contrivance to obtain exclusively pos
session of the king's person, must the more freely
acquit the presbyterian majority, (the lord Holies
included) of all suspicion, that when they thus
appointed to the Isle of Wight the governor, they
designedly " provided the king with a gaoler."
Between the two offices there was no natural con
nection or consequent relation. The one having
most fortuitously and casually led to the other.
When subsequently the two houses assigned to
Hammond the sole custody of the royal captive,
investing him with such extensively discretionary
powers, as by necessary implication virtually ab
solved him from all intermediate controul, it is
evident, that the clause in their former ordinance,
subjecting the civil governor, as an officer of the
army, to the military authority of the commander
in chief (of whom, as lord Clarendon informs
us, " the principal persons of the house of com-
" mons had not the least jealousy" ; knowing him
" to be a perfect presbyterian in his judgment,")
must have escaped their recollection. Else some
due precautionary enactments would have been
passed in order to frustrate all attempts to sepa
rate the keeper from his charge. It is equally
evident that this oversight had not eluded the
vigilance of Ireton.
In an early part of this Vindication for the pur
pose of shewing how absolutely destitute of any
military strength was the Isle of Wight, when the
king first landed on it, extracts were given from
two letters : the one addressed by Fairfax to the

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 373
parliament : the other by Ireton to Hammond. It
was then impossible to pass unnoticed not only
the similarity of sentiments, but such an identity
of expressions, as might excite suspicion, that but
one head, although two hands, had been employed
on both. Even if the well known contrasted cha
racters of the respective writers had not been
alone sufficient to warrant the surmise. The same
observation is equally applicable, or rather una
voidable, in considering the two letters, bearing
the same several signatures, now before us. And
if on these occasions Ireton was his father-in-law's
right hand, it is very clear, that in this last in
stance it did not forget its cunning.
In neither letter is mention made of captive, or
prisoner : nothing to recall the gaoler or the gaol.
On the contrary, it is distinctly specified, that
Ewer has been sent to take charge of " the island,"
during Hammond's absence, as the fittest person
that Fairfax (forsooth!) could think of.* Then
* It is probable that his excellency on this, as indeed on
most occasions, was saved the trouble of much thinking. Certain
it is, that colonel Ewer had been thought of by others as the
fittest person to present to the house of commons, only the day
before Nov. 20th, what lord Clarendon calls the large remon
strance of the council of officers held at St. Albans. In which it
was demanded, that " the person of the king might be pro-
" ceeded against in the way of justice : and the prince of Wales
" and duke of York to surrender themselves, or to be declared
" traitors." In this choice therefore of his excellency's may rather be re
cognised Cromwell's " wonderful understanding in the nature
" and humours of men," and his " as great experience in apply-
" ing them," than " the dull drowsy presbyterian humour of
" Fairfax."

374 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
notwithstanding all that tenderness at head quar
ters, for dear Robin, there is no apparent wish to
see him there ; no discoverable intention to sum
mon him thither ; which might have alarmed the
suspicion of the parliament's confidential agent,
until it was made known by his own letter how
anxiously he wished to be removed from his em
ployment ; and how fruitlessly he had long suppli
cated the parliament to grant that boon.
Then again the mysterious " somewhat of very
" public concernment to be communicated" was
as a pretext for the exercise of the commander in
chief's authority, and the colonel's obedience,
equally well calculated for its intended purpose :
whether Hammond should be aware of the sub
terfuge; or deceived by it. That he was suffi
ciently aware, and ready enough to avail himself
of it, and that he took his cue from the letter
written by Fairfax, but doubtless, dictated by
Ireton, is manifestly evident when in his own to
the speaker he cites the clause in the ordinance of
his original appointment, expressly subjecting
him to the general's commands : and further when
he very characteristically observes, that there is
none, by which " his constant abode" in the Isle
of Wight is enjoined:
" I cannot find it j 'tis not in the bond."
Thus was Hammond " such in those moments"
(the last of his public life) " as in all the past :"
without any well defined principles of his own, or
decided preference for those of others, desirous to
recommend himself, not by turns alone, but at

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 375
once, to all parties ; king, parliament, and army :
wishing to adopt discordant tenets, and endea
vouring to reconcile duties absolutely incompati
ble with each other. Scarcely seated in his
government; (even while as Berkeley relates
making* his bargain with Ashburnham in antici
pation of the king's being restored,) as he wrote
to the parliament, that he was holding at his sole
disposal the captured sovereign, — and in other
letters of nearly the same date, conjured Cromwell
and Ireton by their engagement, by their interest,
by their honour and by their conscience, to come
to a speedy close with the king, — so now, with like
consistency, he obeys the general's commands in
hastening to the head-quarters ; and at the same
time strives to frustrate the object of these com
mands, by refusing to surrender his charge to
Ewer, and on the other hand, while actually be
traying the trust reposed in him by the parliament
in quitting his post, he ostentatiously evinces his
devotion, by appointing before his departure three
commissioners of his own choice, " for the safety
" of the island and care of the king's person." The
second article of whose instructions being, that —
" If any person whatever, under what pretence
" soever, shall endeavour the removing the person
" of the king out of this island, unless by direct
" orders of parliament, that you resist, and to
" your utmost oppose any such persons."
Our first personal, as it may be considered, ac
quaintance with Hammond (subsequently to a few
introductory notices derived from lord Clarendon)
was the accidental " meeting on the high road

376 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
"near Kingston:" when he told Ashburnham
that " he was going down to his government, be-
" cause he found, that the army was resolved, to
" break all promises with the king ; and that he
" would have nothing to do with such perfidious
"actions." And we next find him shortly after
not less anxious to go from his government, be
cause of the " burden insupportable,"— by which
he was subjected to have much to do with similar
perfidious actions.
The same conscience too, which before shrink
ing from the required " engagement to leave the
" king in as good a condition as when he found
" him ; that is suffer him to make his escape, if it
" should so happen that he might not be able to
" protect his majesty ;" could volunteer the pledge
" of honour" to perform whatever could be ex
pected from a person of " honour and honesty" is
here recognizable in the solemn promise to the
king* (justly alarmed at Hammond's intended
absence) " to return the very next day." When
he must have known that to return at all (which
in fact he never did) depended not on his will or
power : nay when he must have known moreover
* Sir John Bowring whose facts notwithstanding the gossip
ing anility of his " says I" and " says he" may be more safely
relied on than certain others more magisterially and scholasti-
cally propounded, says — " the king advised Hammond not to
" go with this gentleman (colonel Ewer) for he might justly
" excuse himself having the guard of his majesty in the island.
*"¦ Says his majesty, if you are taken away from the command in
" the island but for an hour, I am absolved of my word to stay
" here an hour. Says his majesty I desire you not to go out of
." the island to the head quarters with this man."

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 377
this period, short as it was, to be no " tempus
" inane ;" but pregnant with the fatality of ages,
else why those particular and positive injunctions
to his commissioners not to suffer the king's
removal ?
But then " Thou canst not say, I did it."
The conscientious abhorrer of " perfidious
" actions" could " lay that flattering unction to
" his soul."* " 'Tis strange, 'tis passing strange,"
that the man whom it was necessary for Ireton
thus to reason with, and exhort: for the arch-
hypocrite himself thus to humour, and cajole :
and for both thus to trick and bamboozle, should
ever have been so authoritatively pronounced,
and so obsequiously believed, to have been " of
" nearest trust with Cromwell :" — to have been
" entirely dependant on Cromwell :" — to have been
" the mere creature of Cromwell."
It appears on the Journals, that on the receipt
of Hammond's letter enclosing the one from
Fairfax, the houses resolved — " That a letter be
" sent to colonel Hammond requiring him to stay
" in the Isle of Wight and attend to his charge
* Such was sir Phil. Warwick's opinion. Who says : —
" Fairfax had been wrought upon to give a warrant, whereby
" colonel Hammond was commanded to give up the king's
" person to col. Ewer ; and Hammond pretended to go up to the
" two houses about this command, that he might be absent,
" when the king was seized on."

378 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" there, till the house take further order." And
another letter to the general, acquainting him with'
the aforesaid order.
But when parliament had been informed of
Hammond's having set out for the head-quarters,
after having delegated to others his charge of the
king's person, it was " ordered" — " That a letter
" be written to the general to acquaint him, that
" his orders given to colonel Ewer are contrary to
" the resolutions of the house ; and the instruc-
" tions to colonel Hammond ; and to desire him
" to recall the said order, and to command
" colonel Hammond presently to return back to
" his charge."
It appears, that Hammond had already left the
Isle of Wight, before his receipt of the parlia
ment's commands ; which he acknowledges in! a
letter dated from Farnham : wherein he declares
his immediate obedience to them ; regretting, as
usual, the failure of his " earnest entreaties to be
" discharged from his unhappy employment."
Afterwards in a postscript to the same, dated
from Bagshot he notifies that he is " put under
" restraint."* * In this postscript there is somewhat to excite suspicion.
Sir John Bowring relates, that " no sooner had Ewer got Ham-
" mond across the water to Titchfield, than he dismounts him,
" and sends his horse back into the island : puts him into a
" hackney-coach brought for that purpose ; and sends this great
" governor with a small guard, a prisoner, to Windsor." Now
it must be admitted that, as it was not incumbent on the great
governor particularly to notice in his despatch this little indig
nity of the hackney coach, so it was natural that he should wish
to suppress it altogether. But that, after having been " put

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 379
It is one more extract from the same invalua
ble document, which has been selected and re
served for the key-stone, to close and consolidate
that arch, on the construction of which so much
time and labour have been bestowed.
The following passage is transcribed from a
letter addressed by Cromwell to Hammond, bear
ing the date of November 25th, 1648. Conse
quently three days before the commencement of
" dear Robin's" transmigration from the state of
gaoler at Carisbrook Castle to that of prisoner in
Windsor Castle.
" Because I find some trouble in your spirit
" occasioned first not only by the continuance of
" into it" at Titchfield, he should have travelled in it all the way
to Bagshot, before he discovered, that he also had been " put
" under restraint," is neither natural or credible.
On the occasion of Hammond's former trip to Titchfield, lord
Clarendon says that " he having the command of the country,
" could call in what help he would :" which was in Hammond's
own opinion even as Glendower could " call" in what ''spirits"
he would "from the vasty deep," and with like effect. For in his
letter addressed to the speaker (and not to Cromwell) he declares
himself to be so destitute of power, and of help too, that, on the
king's desiring to be conducted to the Isle of Wight, nothing
remained for him but submission to his majesty's commands.
So in the present emergency the colonel still continued to be
obstinately diffident and despairing as before of his powers,
though now infinitely extended : unless indeed " planet-struck
" and fascinated by Jupiter" like captain Bobadil, he had for
gotten that at his call the whole posse-comitatus might have
been instantly raised. Thus far certain, at least it seems to be,
that no hackney coach ever started from Bow-street with a less
clamorous fare for Newgate than the one, into which this great
governor was put at Titchfield, and with a small guard packed
off to Windsor.

380 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" your sad and heavy burden, as you call it, upon
" you; but by the dissatisfaction you take at the
" ways of some good men; whom you love with
"your heart, &c. &c< To the first, call not your
" burden sad, nor heavy. If your father laid it
" upon you he intended neither. He is the father
" of lights : from whom comes every good and
" perfect gift, who of his own will begot us and
" bade us count it all joy when such things befall
" us. They being for the exercise of faith and
" patience ; whereby in the end (James I.) we shall
" be made perfect."
" Dear Robin, our fleshly reasonings ensnare
" us. These make us say heavy, sad, pleasant,
" easy. Was there not a little of this when Robert
" Hammond, through dissatisfaction too, desired
" retirement from the army ; and thought of quiet
" in the Isle of Wight ? Did not God find him
" out there ? I believe he will never forget
" this." *
Thus are two great and important truths se
curely established beyond the reach of contradic
tion, cavil, or doubt. The first is the clear
convincing proof of Hammond's sincerity in the
reason assigned to Ashburnham for quitting the
army and going to his government. This is most
satisfactory indeed. For those readers, who may
have been so liberally candid as to give Ashburn
ham credit for veracity in his statement of their
meeting on the high road near Kingston, may
with good reason have suspected, that what ap-
* The entire letter, as being curious in itself and the volume
containing it scarce, is given in the Appendix.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 381
peared to him a casual and fortuitous accident,
was really one of many preconcerted artifices.
And surely, if the well known irony of
" Egregiam vero laudem et spolia ampla refertis,
" Tuque puerque tuus, magnum et memorabile nomen,
" Una dolo Divum si Foemina victa duorum est"—
be not less just, than sarcastic ; no great disgrace
would attach on Ashburnham for having singly
been outwitted by the combined deceptive talents
of Cromwell and Ireton.
But the second is even of still greater moment.
Inasmuch as it proves to a certainty, that Crom
well knew at the time of Hammond's leaving the
army and going to the Isle of Wight, " when there
" was no visible occasion to draw him thither,"
that it was the result of his disgust on finding,
that it " was resolved to break all promises with
" the king," and his determination " to have no-
" thing to do with such perfidious actions."
Admitting then, more than can in fairness be
required, even to the supposition, that Cromwell's
" wonderful understanding in the natures and
" humours of men" had been stultified in his esti
mate of an individual's, most intimately and fami
liarly known to him ; that his " as great experi-
" ence in applying them" had in this instance
been worse than of no avail ; that " his admirable
" circumspection" had for once nodded ; and that
his " sagacity" had been at fault ; the timely dis
covery of such error or inadvertency had here
been made. After which, is it possible to believe,
if his purpose had really been to insure to himself
exclusively still more entire and absolute power

382 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
over the king's person than he possessed at Hamp
ton Court, that he would not either have recom
mended to his royal victim some other asylum
than the Isle of Wight : or else have provided
him there with some other gaoler than colonel
Hammond ?
Hobbes's view therefore of Cromwell's policy is
like the fundamental note, on which the Whole
chord is harmonized ;
" untune that string ;
" And hark ! what discord follows ; each thing meets
" In mere oppugnancy."
Here all facts, in word or deed, of long esta
blished notoriety, or of recently acquired anec
dote, unite in reciprocal confirmation. While
there — in the hypothesis of Clarendon and Holies,
—every part is separately improbable, and the
whole collectively impossible.
Well then has the truly respectable: and reve
rend editor of these letters said, that " they relate
" to an interesting event in English history not
" hitherto fully understood." Well too may be
applied to it the observation of Fbntenelle, on a
sur ies very different subject : — " Non seulement nous
" n'avons pas de principes, qui menent au vrai;
" mais nous en avons d'autres, qui s'accommodent
" tres bien avec le faux." For here the certain
knowledge of well authenticated facts has not
led to a right understanding of the mysterious
transaction. On the contrary these, with most accommodat
ing pliancy and yielding ductility, have received
their " form and pressure" from the inventive

Oracles.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 383
fancy and plastic skill of envy, hatred, and malice ;
and all uncharitahleness.
Ashburnham in truth did that, which a traitor
might have done. Is Ashburnham therefore a
traitor ? The having advised the king to seek his
safety in the Isle of Wight, and the having brought
Hammond to Titchfield, might as links in a well
riveted concatenation of circumstantial evidence,
powerfully contribute towards fixing a charge of
grossest folly, or of vilest treachery. But, as mere
abstract and insulated facts, they cannot in. jus
tice, or in reason, be suffered to debase the intel
lectual, or to blast the moral character, of any
man. Much less that of one, acknowledged by
his enemy to have been, antecedently, and subse
quently, without reproach or suspicion.

" Custodienda sit brevitas, si causa permittat :
" alioquin praevaricatio est transire dicenda ;
" praevaricatio. etiam cursim et breviter attingere,
" quae sint inculcanda,infigenda, repetenda. Nam
" plerisque longiore tractu vis quaedam et pondus
" accedit."— Plin. Epist. 20, lib. 1. *
The belief, that in the above cited passage the
duty of an advocate has 'been correctly defined
and prescribed, is the plea, which the writer of
this Vindication submits in excuse for repetitions,
which have necessarily been introduced in the
several portions of this work ; and by which he
hopes to be pardoned, if he further trespasses on

384 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
his reader's patience, not by a recapitulation of
arguments, on which he has already too much
dilated, but by a summary recall of those facts,
on which the verdict of guilty, or not guilty, must
be determined.
If then it be true, as lord Clarendon avers, that
1. " The king having pretended some indisposi-
" tion" escaped from Hampton Court on the
evening of the 10th of Novr.— 2. That "Berkeley
"and Legge had only received orders to attend
" with their horses, and had not the least intima-.
"tion of his majesty's purpose what he intended
"to do."— 3. That "the king had not resolved
" whither to go." — 4. That " he never thought of
" going to the Isle of Wight."-— 5. That " Ash-
" burnham alone knew what they were to do." —
6. That " the king asked Ashburnham where the
" ship lay." — 7. That " Ashburnham after being
" absent some time on the coast returned without
" any news of the ship," and that "on this the
" king seemed troubled." — 8. That in consequence
of the disappointment " the king resolved to go
" to Titchfield house."— 9. That " he there con-
" suited with his three servants what he should
" next do, since there was no ship ready." — 10.
That " on this debate the Isle of Wight" (being
then in sight) " was for the first time recommended
" by Ashburnham." — If one half of these particu
lars be true, there is here more than abundant
proof, that Ashburnham " carried his royal master
" to the Isle of Wight without his privity, upon
" his own presumption :" which, " however well
" intended, must be looked upon by all men, as

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 385
" such a transcendant crime, as must deprive him
" of all compassion for the worst, that could have
" befallen him."
But if, in addition to all these decisively crimi
nating details, it be true that— 11. Ashburnham's
Narrative assigns " no probable inducement, that
"prevailed with the king to undertake that
"journey."— 12. That it offers no admissible ex
cuse for the motive of his bringing Hammond to
Titchfield house.— 13. That " Hammond left the
" army but two or three days before the king's
" remove, and went to the Isle of Wight, when
" there was no visible occasion to draw him thi-
" ther." — 14. That " Ashburnham was not after-
" wards called in question for being instrumental
" in the king's going away."— 15. That " he lived
" unquestioned long after in the sight of the par-
" liament, and in conversation with the officers of
" the army, who had most deceived him." — 16.
That " after the murder of the king, he com-
" pounded at an easy rate." — 17. That " he lived
" at ease, and grew rich, for many years together,
" without interruption." — 18. That " his remain-
" ing in England was upon his marriage." — If
further it be true, that — 19. On account of " his
" great detestation of the Scots, he very earnestly
" dissuaded the king" from the thought of enter
ing into any treaty with them. — And that, 20. " he
" did constantly deny, that he ever had any thought
" of the Isle of Wight, when the king left Hamp-
" ton Court" — Then indeed stands confessed, and
conspicuous, an enormity as complicated as any
in the foul pages of our English annals, or loath-
vol. i. c c

386 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
some registries of human depravity •:¦*— an ingrati
tude/peculiarly such as Cicero has defined; since
treachery, murder, treason itself are but ingre
dients in the monstrous compound.
On the contrary, if the whole of this statement
has been refuted ; if each particular fact, assumed,
has been disproved, and in some instances their
very reverse incontestibly established ;•- then of
him, who has promulgated a calumny of so ex
ceeding deep a dye, may be said, as by Vasari, in
describing the practice of the too fastidious, and
insatiate Leonardo da Vinci, " Che cercava neri,
" che ombrassero, e fossero piu scuri degli altri
" neri."

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 387

NEQUID FALSI DICERE AUDEAT, NEQUID VERI
NON AUDEAT,"

It was necessary to the vindication of John Ash
burnham to shew that lord Clarendon in his
History has sometimes " dared to say that, which
" is not true." For the same purpose it is not
necessary to point out other passages in his His
tory, where it is equally evident that he has " not
" dared to say that, which is true." Yet surely
there can be no very unwarrantable liberty in
animadverting on total suppressions, or partial
concealments of more or less important facts by
an historian, who strongly professes to communi
cate without reserve that information, of which he
is known to have been amply possessed.
It is in the seventh volume of the History of
the Rebellion and at page 357, where lord Cla
rendon speaking of the treaty of the Pyrenees, and
immediately after having represented cardinal
Mazarin as earnestly endeavouring to convince
don Lewis de Haro, prime minister of Spain, that
" it was rather time for all catholics to unite to the
" breaking the power and interest of the heretical
" party, wherever it was, than to strengthen it
" by restoring the king (of England) except he
" would become catholic," that he proceeds to say —

388 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" and it is believed by wise men, that, in that treaty,
" somewhat was agreed to the prejudice of the
" protestant interest ; and that, in a short time,
" there would have been much done against it
" both in France and Germany, if the measures
" they had there taken had not been shortly
" broken ; chiefly by the surprising revolution in
" England." On the above passage bishop Kennet has made
the following comment under the title of " Secret
" Intrigue in the Pyrenean treaty." — "The king's
" negotiation in this treaty was kept a secret, but
" there is too much suspicion of the intrigues of
" it. My lord Clarendon would let fall no other
" intimation of it, than what he gave in these
" words : ' It is believed by wise men, that in that
" ' treaty somewhat was agreed to the prejudice
" ' of the protestant interest.' Which could hardly
" be less than a promise of the king to establish,
" or at least to tolerate popery in England ; and
" to set the example of it in his own person ; upon
" condition he should be restored to his crowns
*c by the united powers of France and Spain. The
" way of my lord Clarendon's introducing and
" supporting this foresaid ' belief of wise men' is
" some key to understand the meaning of what he
" intended to conceal 
" It is matter of fact that upon this peace be-
" tween France and Spain both those crowns did
" immediately begin to encourage and assist the
" king with money and men, and advanced great
" promises to him, which seems to have been
" done upon the foot of secret articles. It is

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 389
further certain that the earl of Bristol, who was
' the king's companion and guide to the place of
' this treaty, and sir Harry Bennet, who was the
' prime agent for the king, did both of them turn
' papists about this time, as if they did it upon a
' compact then made. And there is a story to
' confirm all, which I have reason to think true.
' Sir Harry Bennet was soon after seen to wait
' upon the king from mass ; at which sight the
lord Culpeper had so much indignation, that he
' went up to Bennet and spoke to this effect, ' I
see what you are at. Is this the way to bring
our master home to his three kingdoms ? Well
sir, if ever you and I live to see England toge-
' ' ther, I will have your head, or you shall have
' mine.' Which words struck such a terror upon
sir Harry Bennet that he never dared to set
' foot in England till after the death of the lord
Culpeper ; who met with a very abrupt death
' within a few months of the king's return. When
he was taken out of the way, sir Harry Bennet
' came to court, and soon arose into honours
'and preferments, and was in disguise a-meer
creature of the papists, and had the dying cou
rage to take off that disguise."
It is added in a note that " sir Allan Brodrick,
who was with king Charles beyond sea at the
time of his first professing the popish religion,
has been often heard to lament the burning of
his journals ; where the very day and circum
stances of it were entered. And I am assured
that one of his present majesty's chaplains,
minister of the place where sir Allan died (Dr.

390 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" Resborough) can give an account of his death-
" bed declaration of what he had known in it.
" That it was done in the absence of the old lord
" Culpeper, who knowing of it at his return, fell
" into a great passion, and told the king he must
" never expect to see England again, if it should
" be known there."*
mst. Lord Clarendon says that his majesty on quit-
^ ting Fuentarabia was presented by don Lewis
" with seven thousand gold pistoles, to defray the
" expences of his journey," besides a " million of
" excuses" for not presenting him with more pis
toles: and assurances also, that " he should find in
" Flanders all necessary orders for his better ac-
" comodation and carrying on his business."
" So his majesty began his journey, and took
" Paris in his way to visit the queen his mother,
" with whom a good understanding was made upon
" removing all former mistakes."
" The very civil treatment he had received from
" don Lewis, with the good disposition he had left
" the queen his mother in, very much revived and
" refreshed the king's spirits."
Why the king was on his return to Flanders to
be better accommodated by the Spaniard than he
had been before he set out from thence, to be pre
sent, when this treaty was concluded ; and why
there was subsequently a good understanding and
* If this be true, and there are no very obvious reasons to
doubt it, John Ashburnham's old friend must have been less
indifferent to religion (at least as a politician) than king Charles
the first, according to his noble Historian, conceived him
to be.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 391
a good disposition established, which certainly had
not antecedently subsisted between his majesty
and his royal mother, lord Clarendon has not ex
plained ; vouching only for the facts. It is not
unlikely that a satisfactory, or at least a plausi
ble, solution might have been found in sir Allan
Brodrick's journals, if he had not burnt them :
still however, notwithstanding this loss, the mys
teries seem happily to be not quite impenetrable.
It is worthy of remark that among all the wise
men, who to a certainty entertained this belief,
the very one, whom the right reverend Historian
suspects of wishing to conceal the fact, should by
others have been accused of revealing it. When
the earl of Clarendon was impeached at the bar of
the house of lords by the commons of England,
the second article of the charge was: " that he Life,
" had, in the hearing of many of his majesty's sub-™*87-90.
" jects, falsely and maliciously said, that the king
" was in his heart a papist, popishly affected, or
" words to that effect."
In his answer to it having first " acknowledged
" and magnified the great goodness of God Al-
" mighty" in having " infused into the hearts of his
" enemies to lay such crimes to his charge as his
" nature is most known to abhor, and which cannot
" only not be believed, but must be contradicted
" by all men, who have been much in his company,"
he contends, that as " he might without vanity say,
" that he had more than an ordinary part in the
" framing and promoting that act of parliament,
" that hath made those seditious discourses, of
" the king's being a papist in his heart, or popishly

392 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" affected, so very penal as they are : and therefore
" there would be need of an undoubted and un-
" controulable evidence, that he had so soon run
" into that crime himself."
Surely if such a plea as this maybe admitted as
satisfactory and conclusive it can only be, when
advanced by one, not known to be in the habit of
liberally conceding to himself those privileges,
which he rigidly denies to others.*
The extreme improbability, or rather the utter
impossibility that he would ever have uttered
such words as those ascribed to him, is further
argued on the grounds that " there was no man
" then alive, who had had the honour to be so
* The recent mention of Culpeper may perhaps have re
called the censure passed upon him for intending to keep the
place of chancellor of the exchequer, until he should get into
quiet possession of the rolls ; although sir Edward Hyde retained
it during the two years passed in Jersey as being of the prince's
council ; the other two years of his extraordinary embassy to the
court of Spain, and further for three years more subsequent to
his having been appointed lord high chancellor. ¦ But it may be
necessary to remind the reader that aware of the king's reso-
Life.rol.ii. lution " to retain all the monies, which by forfeiture of lands in
p' " Ireland, or otherwise, might come into his majesty's power ;
" to the end that he might be able to gratify those of the Irish
" nation, who had any thing of merit towards him, whenever
"any of those grants' (at the recommendation of the earl of
Orrery) " had been brought to the great seal of England, the
" chancellor always stopped them.'' But that when he received
notice of sg25,000. payable to himself out of the same fund and
p. 94. by the same treasurer, he thought, that " there was nothing left
" for him to do, but to make his humble acknowledgement to
" his majesty for his royal bounty, and to take care for the re-
" ceiving and transmitting the money, and not to doubt that he
" might receive it very honestly."

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM- 393
" many years about or near the person of the
" king ;  or who had held so many discourses
" with his majesty concerning religion: no man,
" who knew so well, that when an almost total des-
" pair possessed the spirits of most men of his own
" religion, that he would recover his regality ; and
" when the hopes, promises and assurances were
" so pregnant, that he would suddenly recover it,
" if he would change it,* with what christian cou-
" rage his majesty repelled those assaults, and with
" what pious contempt and indignation he resisted
" and rejected these temptations." ! ! !
But if it be difficult to agree with Kennet in
his notion of Clarendon's intended concealment,
it is not easy to contend for his design to be intel
ligibly communicative on this subject. The fact
is that whether or not the most authentic, he is
beyond all question the most enigmatical, of all
historians. The occult designations, remote allu
sions, and mysterious hints, in which the hiero-
graphic pages of Clarendonian history abound,
must be of very limited avail to uninitiated readers
not previously familiarized with the more impor
tant events, and more eminent characters of the
period, in which its illustrious author flourished.
The foregoing passage is one, and the following is
another, of many instances which might here be
adduced. Speaking of the time of the king's imprisonment
in Carisbrook Castle lord Clarendon says — " It Hist.
"was believed that his majesty might have made p. 191.'
* N. B. It the first — "his regality :" it the second — " his
" religion."

394 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" his escape ; which most men who wished him
" well thought in all respects ought to have been
" attempted ; and before the treaty, he himself
" was inclined to it, thinking any liberty prefer-
" able to the restraint he had endured. But he
" did receive some discouragement from pursuing
" that purpose, which both diverted him from it,
" and gave him great trouble of mind. It cannot
" be imagined how wonderfully fearful some per-
" sons in France were that he should have made
" his escape, and the dread they had of his coming
" thither ; which, without doubt, was not from
" want of tenderness of his safety, but from the
" apprehension they had, that the little respect
" they would have shewn him there, would have
" been a greater mortification to him than all he
" could suffer from the closest imprisonment."
Of the many, whose curiosity has been satiated
by the reading of lord Clarendon's History alone,
it is probable that few have surmised, that by
some persons, who were wonderfully fearful that
the king should make his escape, and dreaded his
coming to France, is meant the queen.
In this last extract from the History of the
Rebellion may be seen that its noble author's
respectful good breeding was greatly undervalued
in her majesty's estimate, thus recorded in his
Life.
Life, vol. i. " There was a passage at that time, of which
"he (the chancellor) used to speak often, and
" looked upon as a great honour to him. The
" queen one day, amongst some of her ladies in
" whom she had most confidence, expressed some

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 395
" sharpness towards a lord of the king's council,
' whom she named not-; who, she said, always
" gave her the fairest words, and promised her
" every thing she desired, and had persuaded her
" to affect somewhat that she had before no mind
" to ; and yet she was well assured, that when the
" same was proposed to the king on her behalf,
' he was the only man who dissuaded the king
" from granting it. Some of the ladies seemed
" to have the curiosity to know who it was ;
" which the queen would not tell : one of them,
" who was known to have a friendship for him,
" said, she hoped it was not the chancellor ; to
" which her majesty replied with some quickness,
" that she might be sure it was not he, who was
" so far from making promises, or giving fair
" words, and flattering her, that she did verily
" believe, that if he thought her to be a whore, he
" would tell her of it ; which when that lady
" told him, he was not displeased with the tes-
" timony." If he had, it would have been a solitary excep
tion to a general rule. In four several instances
at least, it has been already evident that the
chancellor was never less displeased than when
he was thought to be very different from that,
which he really was. II.
All, who have read the Life of the earl of Cla
rendon written by himself, must remember how
he was " tortured e'en to madness" (for so he was

396 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
in the opinion of the king, and of his friends,
Ormond and Southampton) on being told of his
daughter's clandestine marriage with the duke of
Life. vol. i. York. He declared that " he had much rather
p-378. „ ^ (jaUghter should be the duke's whore than
" his wife :* in the former case nobody could
" blame him for the resolution he had taken, to
" turn her out of his house, as a strumpet, to shift
" for herself; for he was not obliged to keep a
" whore for the greatest prince alive ; and that
" the indignity to himself he would submit to the
" good pleasure of God. But if there were any
" reason to suspect the other, he was ready to give
" a positive judgement, in which he hoped their
" lordships would concur with him ; that the king
" should immediately cause the woman to be sent
" to the Tower, and to be cast into a dungeon,
" under so strict a guard, that no person living
" should be admitted to come to her ; and then
" that an act of parliament should be immediately
" passed for the cutting off her head, to which he
* Precisely the same mistake as poor Nan Hyde's was after
wards made by poor Polly Peachem; who, " alack and a well
a day" being in a similar awkward predicament, tells her papa,
When he kiss'd me so sweetly he press'd,
'Twas so sweet that I must have complied,
So I thought it both safest and best
To marry for fear you should chide.
When to her great surprize she finds that the very step, which
she had taken for fear of being chided, is the only one abso
lutely unpardonable ; while on the contrary that, which she
erroneously conceived to be the great offence of all, she further
finds Mr. Peachem prepared to treat with stoic apathy, and to
endure with christian resignation.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 397
" would not only give his consent, but would
"very willingly be the first man that should
"propose it."*
This was in truth out-bruting Brutus himself ;
for when the Roman patriot passed sentence of
death on his sons, they had been the first to violate
that oath, which he, as consul, had induced the
people to swear, never to restore the Tar quins.
Now poor mistress Anne Hyde had broken no
law ;— certainly none of nature ; nor, as it should
seem, of the land ; because an " ex post facto"
act of parliament was to be passed expressly for
the cutting off of her head. This the chancellor
himself could not do ; " sed quod potuit tamen,"
" he, as soon as he came to his house, sent his
" wife to command his daughter to keep her
" chamber, whereas before she had always been
" at dinner and supper. Which was all, that he
" thought fit to do upon this first assault ; until
" he had slept upon it, which he did" (but, as he
adds), " very unquietly." Yet, " though he had
" positively further commanded his daughter not
" to admit any visits, he discovered after, that
" even in that time the duke found ways to come
" to her, and stay whole nights with her,. by. the
" administration of those, who were not suspected
" by him, and who had the excuse that ' they knew
" ' that they were married.' "
It is difficult to imagine what can have been
lord Clarendon's inducement to publish this little
* The comment annexed by the noble auto-biographer to this
declaration is—" And whoever knew the man, will believe that
"he said all this very heartily."

398 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
family secret, unless it was by way of what the
French call a coup depatte, or, as we more eoarsely
term it, a fling at his venerable countess. Where
inuendo invites conjectures, civility forbids that
they should be withheld. The surmise here
hazarded may, at least as a rational possibility,
obtain some countenance from an antecedent fact
related by the noble auto-biographer with more
than usual openness and candour.
The question having been put on the motion of
the princess of Orange that Mrs. Anne Hyde
should be her royal highness's maid of honour, it
appears that lady Hyde, who was of that opinion,
said — content : the chancellor, who was of the
contrary opinion, said- — not content : when, with
out dividing the house, it was decided that the
contents had it.
The whole transaction, given much at length,
may be found at page 302 of the first volume of
lord Clarendon's Life. But the conclusion, as
being particularly curious, is here transcribed.
" The chancellor, not in any degree converted,
" but confounded with the gracious and frank
" discourse of the princess royal, knew not what
" more to say ; replied only, that he hoped her
" highness would think better of what she seemed
" to undervalue, and that he left his daughter to
" be disposed of by her mother, who he knew
" would be very unwilling to part with her ; upon
" which her highness answered, ' I'll warrant you,
" ' my lady and I will agree upon the matter.' To
" conclude this discourse, which, considering what
" fell out afterwards, is not impertinent to be re-

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 399
" membered ; he knew his wife had no inclination
" to have her daughter out of her own company :
" and when he had by letter informed her of all
" that had passed, he endeavoured to confirm her
" in that resolution : but when the princess, after
" her return into Holland, sent to , her, and re-
" newed her gracious offer, she, upon consultation
" with Dr. Morley, (who upon the old friendship
" between the chancellor and him, chose in his
" banishment, from the murder of the king, to
" make his residence for the most part in his
" family, and was always perfectly kind to all his
" interests,) believed it might prove for her daugh-
" ter's benefit, and writ to her husband her opinion,
" and that the doctor concurred in the same."
" The chancellor looked upon the matter itself,
" and all the circumstances thereof, as having
" some marks of divine Providence, which he
" would not resist, and so referred it wholly to his
" wife ; who when she had presented her daughter
" to the princess, came herself to reside with her
" husband, to his great comfort ; and which he
" could not have enjoyed if the other separation
" had not been made ; and possibly that consi-
" deration had the more easily disposed her to
" consent to the other. We have now set down
" all the passages and circumstances which accom-
" panied or attended that lady's first promotion to
" the service of the princess royal ; which the ex-
" treme averseness in her father and mother* from
* And Mother ! The princess royal little thought how rash
and hazardous was her warranty that my lady and she would
agree upon the rnatter.

400 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" embracing that opportunity, and the unusual
" grace and importunity from them who conferred
" the honour being considered, there may appear
" to many an extraordinary operation of Provi-
" dence in giving the first rise to what afterwards
" succeeded ; though of a nature so transcendent,
" as cannot be thought to have any relation
" to it."
Thus according to lord Clarendon his daughter
Mrs. Anne Hyde became a maid of honour as
much by divine permission, as his friend Dr. Morley
was afterwards made a bishop.
Nothing surely can be more satisfactory, as
well as edifying, than the whole of this clear and
unreserved exposition, save only in so far as the
result may leave readers in doubt whether most
to admire the chancellor's piety, or his politeness.
Since, no sooner had he recognised the tutelary
interposition of that divine providence, which, as
we are elsewhere told, never lost sight of him
*' even from his cradle," than he abstained from
all further resistance to it, — " and so referred it
" wholly to his wife." When she, on being so ap
pealed to, umpired the point, contested between
the chancellor and providence, in favor of the
latter : whose share in this operation tripartite, as
thus described, is indeed the only one, which to
many may appear extraordinary. Some indeed
may possibly think that the more influential pro
vidence here was rather human, than divine. To
those there will appear in the case itself nothing
extraordinary: but much, which is so, in the rela
tion of it, and which is more so in the inferences

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 401
and reflections, to which that relation is made to
lead. Next to the chancellor, but with a long interval,
the person the most violently incensed on the
occasion of the Duke of York's marriage was the
queen mother. " She had written a very sharp Life, vol. i
" letter to the duke full of indignation, that he if",. 'et
" should have so low thoughts as to marry such a
" woman : and she now sent the king word that she
" was on her way to England to prevent with her
" authority so great a stain and dishonour to the
" crown ; and used many threats and passionate
" expressions upon the subject. The chancellor
" sat unconcerned in all the rumours, which were
" spread, that the queen was coming with a pur-
" pose to complain to the parliament against the
" chancellor, and to apply the highest remedies to
" prevent so great a mischief. Her majesty ex-
" pressed her indignation to the king and duke
" with her natural passion from the time of their
" meeting ; and came to London with a full hope
" to prevail to the utter overthrow of the chancel-
" lor ; the king having without reply or debate
" heard all they said of the other affair, and his
" mother's bitterness against him. Afterwards
" having come to know that the duke had made
" a visit at the place she most abhorred, she brake
" into great passion, and publicly declared, that
" whenever that woman should be brought into
" Whitehall by one door, her majesty would go out
" of it by another, and never come into it again.
" And the day being appointed for beginning her
"journey, every body thought, that the duke's
vol. i. » d

402 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" affair was to be left in the state it was under the
" renunciation and interdiction of a mother."
" When on a sudden, of which nobody then
" knew the reason, her majesty's countenance and
" discourse was changed. She treated the duke
" with her usual kindness ; spake graciously of
" the chancellor ; and said, she would be good
"friends with him. The chancellor, very well
" acquainted with the arts of that court, whereof
" dissimulation was the soul, did not believe that
" those changes were real ; for which he saw no
" reasonable motive ; until abbot Mountague
" (who had so far complied with the fashion of
" that court as not to converse with an enemy)
"visited him with all openness; and told him,
" that this change in the queen had proceeded
" from a letter, she had newly received from the
" cardinal ; in which he had plainly told her,
" that she would not receive a good welcome in
" France, if she left her sons in her displeasure,
" and professed an animosity against those minis-
" ters, who were most trusted by the king. And
" this, he said, was the reason of the sudden
" change, that every body had observed ; and
" therefore that he (the chancellor) ought to be-
" lieve the sincerity of it, and to perform that
" part which might be expected from him, in
" compliance with the queen's inclinations to have
" a good intelligence with him."
" The chancellor had never looked upon the
" abbot as his enemy, and gave credit to all he
" said, though he did little understand from what
"fountain that good-will of the cardinal had pro-

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 403
" ceeded, who had never been propitious to him.
" He made all those professions of duty to the
" queen that became him, and how happy he
" should think himself in her protection, which he
" had need of, and did with all humility implore ;
" and that he would gladly cast himself at her
"majesty's feet, when she would vouchsafe to
" admit it."
Surely there were other circumstances as little
to be understood by the chancellor as the fact of
Mazarin's so suddenly and strangely becoming
propitious to him. The object of the queen mo
ther's journey, previously to her undertaking it,
was no secret at Paris, any more than in London ;
her majesty having "expressed her indignation
" with her natural passion'' Is it then credible,
that Mazarin should have suffered her majesty to
depart, ignorant of that, which only two months
afterwards (for such was the duration of her visit
to the English court) he " plainly told her," would
on her return infallibly deprive her of a good wel
come in France ? Evelyn has attributed to another
cause this sudden change in her majesty's coun
tenance and discourse. In his diary the following
entry occurs: — " 7th October, 1660. There dined
" with me a French count, with sir George Tuke,
" who came to take leave of me, being sent over*
" to the queen mother to break the marriage of
" the duke with the daughter of chancellor Hyde.
" The queen mother would fain have undone it,
* It appears on the same satisfactory authority, that the
queen arrived in England on the 3d of November, and set out on
her return on the Id of January following.

404 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" but it seems, matters were reconciled on great
" offers of the chancellor to befriend the queen, who
" was much in debt, and was now to have the
" settlement of her affairs go through his hands."
Of these two different solutions of one and the
same mystery, the Abbot Mountague's may have
been the true one; but in point of consistency
it is not so readily admissible. That of Evelyn on
the contrary may have been untrue ; but it cannot
be rejected as in any wise inconsistent ; and more
especially with the lord Chancellor's own account
of what passed at the audience, which he had of
the queen on the eve of her departure. When her
majesty was graciously pleased to assure him that
Life, vol. i. " she had resolved to make a friendship with him,
" and hereafter to expect all the offices from him,
" which her kindness should deserve. And he made
" those professions of duty, which were due to
" her ; and declared that he should always depend
" upon her protection, as his most gracious mistress,
" and pay all obedience to her commands. The
" queen appeared well pleased, and said, she
" should remain very confident of his affection ;
" and then opening a paper, that she had in her
" hand, she recommended the despatch of some
" things to him, which immediately related to her
" own service and interest." III.
So solemn an asseveration of veracity has seldom
been prefixed to so fallacious an abuse of autho
rity, as by lord Clarendon in the following passage
extracted from his History, containing the rela-

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 405
tion of an event, which he has more fully stated
in his Life with a similar grave and impressive in- Voi.ii.
troduction. p- 15-
" I have been the longer and the more particu- Hist.
" lar in this relation (of the interment of king J^m
" Charles I.) that I may from thence take occa-
" sion to mention what fell out long after, and
" which administered a subject of much discourse ;
" in which, according to the several humours and
" fancies of men, they who were in nearest credit
" and trust about the king underwent many very
" severe censures and reproaches, not without re-
" flection upon the king himself.
" Upon the return of king Charles the second
" with so much congratulation, and universal joy
" of the people, above ten years after the murder
" of his father, it was generally expected that the
" body should be removed from that obscure
" burial, and, with such ceremony as should be
" thought fit, should be solemnly deposited with
" his royal ancestors in king Harry the seventh's
" chapel in the collegiate church of Westminster.
" And the king himself intended nothing more,
" and spoke often of it, as if it were only deferred
" till some circumstances and ceremonies in the
" doing it might be adjusted. But by degrees the
" discourse of it was diminished, as if it were
" totally laid aside upon some reasons of state,
" the ground whereof several men guessed at
" according to their fancies, and thereupon cast
" those reproaches upon the statesmen as they
" thought reasonable, when the reasons, which
" were suggested by their own imaginations did

406 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER:
" not satisfy their understanding. For the saiis-
" faction and information of all men I choose in
" this place to explain that matter; which, it may
" be, is not known to many ; and at that time was
" not, for many reasons, thought fit to be published.
" The duke of Richmond was dead before the
" king returned ; the marquis of Hertford died
" in a short time after, and was seldom out of his
" lodging, after his majesty came to Whitehall :
" the earl of Southampton and the earl of Lindsey
" went to Windsor, and took with them such of
" their own servants as had attended them in that
" service, and as many others, as they remembered
" had been then present, and were still alive ; who
" all amounted to a small number ; there being,
" at the time of the interment, great strictness
" used in admitting any to be present, whose
" names were not included in the order, which
"the lords had brought. In a word the confe
ssion they at that time observed to be in that
"church, and the small alterations which were
" begun to be made towards decency, so totally
" perplexed their memories, that they could not
" satisfy themselves in what place or part of the
" church the royal body was interred : yet where
" any concurred upon this or that place, they
" caused the ground to be opened at a good dis-
" tance, and, upon such inquiries, found no cause
" to believe that they were near the place : and
" upon their giving this account to the king the
" thought of that remove was laid aside ; and the
" reason communicated to very few, for the better
" discountenancing farther inquiry."

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 407
On the concluding paragraph of this most
strange explanatory relation Warburton has made
the following observation—" the difficulty or im-
" possibility of finding the place, if the body were
• " there, is an idle story. The king who had re-
" ceived a large sum from the parliament for the
" solemnity of a public interment contented him-
" self with a very superficial search, and pocketed
" the money."
It is probable that the right reverend commen
tator formed the opinion, which he here pro
nounces, as he is well warranted, simply from the
internal evidence of the absurdity, which pervades
the nGble Historian's narrative, corroborated by
his knowledge of the king's character; since he
could not have seen those documents, which of
late years have entitled the whole "story" to a
stronger epithet than that of " idle."
Sir Thomas Herbert, the only one of the king's
servants permitted to attend him to the scaffold,
to whom with Mr. Mild may authority was given
to bury the royal corpse, expressly says in his
Memoirs, that it was deposited " in a vault, where
" two coffins were laid near one another, supposed
" to contain the bodies of king Henry VIII. and
" Queen Jane Seymour ; and that this vault was
" under the middle of the choir, over against the
" eleventh stall upon the sovereign's side." And
lord Clarendon himself says that " when the duke
"of Richmond, the marquis of Hertford, and the
" earls of Southampton and Lindsey," who had
been empowered to make choice of the place of
burial, could not discover " where our princes had-

408 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
" used to be interred. At last there was a fellow
" of the town, who undertook to tell them the
" place, where there was a vault, in which king
" Harry VIII. and Queen Jane Seymour were
" interred. And as near that place as could con-
" veniently be, they caused the grave to be."
It is well known that these indications were
sufficient to direct successfully the search made
in the year 1813 by order of his present majesty,
from Sir Henry Halford's very interesting account
of the result. But admitting this " fellow of the
" town" to have been the only inhabitant of
Windsor, who knew where our princes had used
to be interred, of which all the old officers, who
had belonged to the chapel, were more especially
ignorant : admitting too, that he, though alive in
1648-9, might, as well as the duke of Richmond,
have been dead before the restoration, there is
good and unquestionable evidence that with him
the secret was not lost. On the 26th February,
1665-6, Mr. and Mrs. Pepys being then at Wind
sor, were, " among other curiosities in St. George's
" chapel, shewn where the late king is buried :"
and that which proves that there was here none
of those tricks proverbially played on travellers,
or of those hoaxes, to which the curious are par
ticularly liable, it is added that " there also lie
" buried king Henry VIII. and my lady Seymour."
Echard in his history says — " It was thought
" that king Charles II. never sent to enquire after
" the body." If ever an enquiry was made, it
must have been much in the same way as lord
Clarendon describes the search to have been made

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 409
on the spot : which was, that " where any con-
" curred upon this or that place, they caused the
" ground to be opened at a good distance" and
then " found no cause to believe that they were
" near the place."
Thus the person incontestibly the best able to
answer such enquiries, sir Thomas Herbert, was
certainly never applied to. For he not only has
given in his Memoirs the above-quoted informa
tion, but in a letter dated 3d Novr. 1681, and
addressed to sir William Dugdale, writes —
" Honoured Sir,
" I shall now give you all the satisfaction I can
" as to the reality of his late majesty's burial in
" his royal chapel at Windsor : of which, as I
" perceive by your letter, his majesty is somewhat
" doubtful : which scruples probably arise from
" some misinformation." He afterwards says —
" upon the lords coming the next day king Henry
" VIHth's vault was opened by Nicholas Har-
" rison ; for which he had ten shillings : and five
" shillings and sixpence to the widow Puddifat
" and Isaac the sexton her man." And he con
cludes thus — " in this manuscript I now send you
" I have in the margin named the inferior atten-
" dants. I believe Mr. Firebrace, Mr. Dowset,
" and Mr. Levet* know most of them."
In Peck's Desiderata Curiosa p- 412 is given
" a report from the committee touching the me-
* The names of these three gentlemen frequently occur in the
histories and memoirs of that time as employed near the king's
person, and much in his majesty's confidence.

410 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER
"thod and attendance to be observed at the
" funeral of the late king : reported by colonel
" Harrison : dated Feb. 8th, 1648."
The 1st article is—" that the body of the king
" be buried at Windsor ; either in the quire, or
" rather in Henry VHIth's chapel, if it may be."
Art. 4. " That Mr. Herbert, Mildmay, Preston,
" and Ducket, have money paid into their hands
" upon account to be issued out for the charges of
" the burial."
Art. 8. " That three servants be allowed to each
" nobleman, and not above two to others."
Art. 9. " That the duke (of Richmond) be ac-
" quainted with the number allowed, and desired
" to give in a list of their names, and servants, on
" Wednesday morning next."
The items of this report agree in all particulars
with the passages above transcribed from Her
bert's letter ; and they further warrant lord
Clarendon's account, that " the royal corpse was
" committed to four of those servants,* who had
" been appointed to wait upon him during his
" imprisonment, that they should convey the body
" to Windsor. The duke of Richmond, the mar-
" quis of Hertford, and the earls of Southampton
" and Lindsey were not permitted to attend the
" corpse out of the town, but were told that they
* Of these four Herbert and Mildmay had been so appointed,
when Legge and Ashburnham had been driven away : and to
them are to be added, as having been present at the funeral,
Firebrace; Dowset and Levet, to each of whom, as not more
than two servants were allowed, so probably not fewer were in
attendance.

AND CONDUCT OF JOHN ASHBURNHAM. 411
" should have timely notice that if they pleased
" they might be at his interment." That " those
" great men were not suffered to have above three
" servants each ; that they had only obtained
" leave to be present for they had no power to
" prepare or do anything in it."
Here then enough, more than enough, of proofs
and arguments has been adduced to shew that
Burnet has given a very inadequate notion of
Clarendon's devotion to his ungrateful sovereign
(Charles the second) in saying, that " he had such
" a regard to the king, that when places were dis
posed of even otherwise than as he advised, yet
" he would justify what the king did, and disparage
" the pretensions of others, not without much
" scorn." For here we see that he could make
still greater sacrifices than those of opinion ; even
of that which some men have prized more than
life itself. He must have known, that his royal
master in such researches, however diligent and
persevering, was no Mezentius ; who, as we are
told, Mortua quin etiam jungebat corpora vivis:
and that in his majesty's opinion money was much
better spent on those, who were alive and merry,
than on those, who were dead and buried.
But when Warburton very truly says, that his
majesty put into his own pocket the large sum
from his parliament for a public re-interment, it
is just to observe that in this no blame attaches
on lord Clarendon, who died an exile in the year
1674. Whereas it appears in the journals of the
house of commons, that it was not until the 30th

412 VINDICATION OF THE CHARACTER, &C
of January 1678, that the house voted the sum of
70,000/. for " a solemn funeral of his late majesty,
" and for a monument to the said prince of glori-
" ous memory." * After this we have seen in
Herbert's letter to Dugdale, that his majesty even
in 1681 " still was somewhat doubtful of his
" father's burial in the royal chapel at Windsor,
" which scruples are thought to arise from misin-
" formation." Yet his majesty, three years before,
had no scruples as to pocketing this money ; but
(like his some time chancellor) " doubted not that
" he might receive it very honestly," although ex
pressly voted by parliament to be applied only to
other and specificated purposes.
* " Two months tax according to the present rate of taxes."

Note* Readers are once more entreated to ob
serve that lord Clarendon, in these comments on
his own text, is taxed with nothing, which he has
not himself laid to his own charge : to which his
friends alone have given publicity, and to which
his foes could never otherwise have had access.

END OF VOL. I.

Printed by W. Nicol, Cleveland-Row, St. James's.