parts and high pretenders would have gone forty or fifty miles to a noted communion. The crowds were far beyond the capacity of their churches, or the reach of their voices, [and the preaching beyond the capacities of the crowd:] so at the same time they had sermons in two or three different places: and all was performed with great shew of zeal. They had stories of many sequal (signal) conversions that were wrought on these occasions; [whereas others were better believed, who told as many stories of much lewdness among the multitudes that did then run together.] It is scarce credible what an effect this had among the people, to how great a measure of knowledge they were brought, and how readily they could pray 64 extempore, and talk of divine matters. All this tended to raise the credit of the protestors. The resolutioners tried to imitate them in these practices but they were not thought so spiritual, nor so ready at them: so the others had the chief following. Where the judicatories of the church were near an equality of the men of both sides, there were perpetual janglings among them: at last they proceeded to deprive men of both sides, as they were the majority in the judicatories: but because the possession of the church, and the benefice, was to depend on the orders of the temporal courts, both sides made their application to the privy council that Cromwell had set up in Scotland: and they were by them referred to Cromwell himself. So they sent deputies up to London. The protestors went in great numbers: they came nearer both to d I believe the church had as much capacity as the minister. S. the principles and to the temper that prevailed in the army so they were looked on as the better men, on whom, by reason of the first rise of the difference, the government might more certainly depend: whereas the others were considered as more in the king's interests. The resolutioners sent up one Sharp, who had been long in England, and was an active and eager man he had a very small proportion of learning, and was but an indifferent preacher: but having some acquaintance with the presbyterian ministers at London, whom Cromwell was then courting much, by reason of their credit in the city, he was, by an error that proved fatal to the whole party, sent up in their name to London; where he continued for some years soliciting their concerns, and making himself known to all sorts of people. He seemed more than ordinary zealous for presbytery. And, as Cromwell was then designing to make himself king, Dr. Wilkins told me he often said to him, no temporal government could have a sure support without a national church that adhered to it, and he thought England was capable of no constitution but episcopacy; to which, he told me, he did not doubt but Cromwell would have turned, as soon as the design of his kingship was settled. Upon this, Wilkins spoke to Sharp, that it was plain by their breach that presbytery could not be managed so as to maintain order among them, and that an episcopacy must be brought in to settle them: but Sharp could not bear the discourse, and rejected it with horror. I have dwelt longer on this matter, f Afterwards archbishop, and murdered. and opened it more fully, than was necessary, if I Cromwell's From these matters I go next to set down some Some of particulars that I knew concerning Cromwell, that I maxims. have not yet seen in books. Some of these I had from the earls of Carlisle and Orrery: the one had been the captain of his guards: and the other had been the president of his council in Scotland. But he from whom I learned the most was Stouppe, a Grison by birth, then minister of the French church in the Savoy, and afterwards a brigadier general in the French armies: a man of intrigue, but of no virtue : [but he was more a frantic deist, than either protestant or Christian.] He adhered to the protestant religion, as to outward appearance: he was much trusted by Cromwell in foreign affairs; in which Cromwell was oft at a loss, and having no foreign language, but the little Latin that stuck to him from his education, which he spoke very viciously and scantily, had not the necessary means of informing himself. When Cromwell first assumed the government, he had three great parties of the nation all against him, the episcopal, the presbyterian, and the republican party. The last was the most set on his ruin, looking on him as the person that had perfidiously broke the house of commons, and was setting up for himself. He had none to rely on but the army: yet that enthusiastic temper, that he had taken so much pains to raise among them, made them very intractable: many of the chief officers were broken, and imprisoned by him: and he flattered the rest the best he could. He went on in his old way of long and dark discourses, sermons, and prayers. As to the cavalier party, he was afraid both of assassination and other plottings from them. As to the former of these, he took a method that proved very effectual: he said often and openly, that in a war it was necessary to return upon any side all the violent things that any of the one side did to the other. This was done for preventing greater mischief, and for bringing men to fair war: therefore, he said, assassinations were such detestable things, that he would never begin them: but if any of the king's party should endeavour to assassinate him, and fail in it, he would make an assassinating war of it, and destroy the whole family: and he pretended he had instruments to execute it, whensoever he should give order for it. The terror of this was a better security to him than his guards. The other, as to their plottings, was the more dangerous. But he understood that one sir Richard Willis was chancellor Hide's chief confidant, to whom he wrote often, and to whom all the party submitted, looking on him as an able and wise man, 66 in whom they confided absolutely. So he found a way to talk with him: he said, he did not intend to hurt any of the party: his design was rather to save them from ruin: they were apt, after their cups, to run into foolish and ill concerted plots, which signified nothing but to ruin those who engaged in them: he knew they consulted him in every thing: all he desired of him was to know all their plots, that he might so disconcert them, that none might ever suffer for them: if he clapt any of them up in prison, it should only be for a little time and they should be interrogated only about some trifling discourse, but never about the business they had been engaged in. He offered Willis whatever he would accept of, and to give it when or as he pleased. He durst not ask or take above two hundred pounds a year. None was trusted with this but his secretary Thurlo, who was a very dexterous man at getting intelligence. Thus Cromwell had all the king's party in a net. He let them dance in it at pleasure: and upon occasions clapt them up for a short while: but nothing was ever discovered that hurt any of them. In conclusion, after Cromwell's death, Willis continued to give notice of every thing to Thurlo. At last, when the plot was laid among the cavaliers for a general insurrection, the king was desired to come over to that which was to be raised in Sussex: he was to have landed near Chichester, all by Willis's management: and a snare was laid for him, in which he would probably have been caught, if Morland, Thurlo's under secretary, who was a prying man, had not discovered the correspondence between his master and Willis, and warned the king of his danger. Yet it was not easy to persuade those who had trusted Willis so much, and who thought him faithful in all respects, to believe that he could be guilty of so black a treachery: so Morland's advertisement was looked on as an artifice to create jealousy. But he, to give a full conviction, |