CONTENTS OF VOL. I. PREFAC Geo. Fenwick-John Fowke-Geo. Francis Laffels--John Lenthall- John Lifle-Thos. Lister-Sir Mi- chael Livefey, Bart.-Nicolas Love Sir Thos. Mauleverer, Bart-Ro- Norton, Bart.-John Nutt-John frey Bofvile-John Brown--Abra- Peter Temple-Francis Thorp-Ro- ham Burrell-John Carew-William bert Tichborne--Matthew Thom- Cawley-Thos. Challoner-James linfon-John Trenchard - John Challoner-Gregory Clement-Sir Venn-Sir Hardrefs Waller, Knt. Wm. Conftable, Bart.-Miles Cor- -Robert Wallop-Valentine Wan- het-John Corbet-Oliver Crom- tou--Thos. Wayte-John Weaver well-Sir John D'Anvers, Knt.--Sir Peter Wentworth, Knt.---Ben- Rich. Darley-Rich. Deane-John jamin Wefton-Edward Whalley— Difborough-John Dixwell-John Edmond Wild-Rowland Wilfon- Dove-John Downes-Robt. Duck- Thos. Wogan-Sir Thomas Wroth, EXTRACT FROM THE PREFACE. "EUROPE, in the middle of the laft century, faw one of the most ancient and moft illuftrious thrones overturned, and the mighty monarch who fat upon it ignominioufly led from a prifon to a pretended tribunal, and from thence hurried to a premature grave. In thefe our days we have witnetled the fame deplorable tragedy, a catastrophe that has ftained the annals of France, and its effects crimfoned the Chriftian hemifphere; these two fad difafters will be deplored as long as the hiftoric page remains. In writing the memoirs of the Cromwells, I made many minutes of thofe men's lives, who dared to fteep their hands in their fovereign's blood: the prefent day demands of all men to hold up their crimes, and their punishment, to fhow the deferved deteftation their contemporaries and pofterity did, and ftill do, entertain for them and their memoirs. These characters now offered to the public, include, with thofe in the work just spoken of, most of the remarkable ones which occur amongst the republican party during the ufurpation." P. 1. OLIVER CROMWELL AND ROBESPIERRE COMPARED. upon the dying agonies of youth, beauty, manhood, and venerable age. Of the many who confpired against Cromwell, very few were put to death, and they by the clearest evidence, and with all the decorum of the moft regular government. There is no analogy between the English and the French ufurpers. One had not a fingle requi fite for a great prince, the other was deficient in fcarce any one to make him a moft exalted monarch. The one having cut the arteries of France, was, by univerfal confent, maffacred to fave expiring nature, in a few months after the commencement of his fanguinary triumph; the other died, after governing with reputation feveral years, Sept. 3d, 1660 (1658), admired by all. As few of King Charles the Firft's enemies had Cromwell's excuse for their conduct towards him, there was no one person who more fincerely defpifed him than himfelf; indeed none in general are fo defpicable as tools, and they must appear more particularly fo in the eyes of those whofe dupes they have been." Vol. I. p. 161. KING CHARLES'S PROJECTED ESCAPE DEFEATED. FROM THE LIFE OF COLONEL HARRISON. "WHEN the junto in the army determined publicly to deftroy the king, he (Col. Harrifon) was fixed upon by them to bring the victim up to Windfor, their head-quarters. He went to Hurft Cattle with a strong party of horfe, and fhowing his commission to Colonel Ewer, the governor, that gentleman delivered up the miferable fovereign into his hands; he received his majefty with outward refpect, and uncovered, fays Lord Clarendon; but others fay he kept his hat on; but it is of little confequence be that circumftance how it may; it was indeed very immaterial, when he was going to conduct his destined prey "IN fine, blot out the deep-engraven words Regicide and Ufurper, Öliver was a character that never more than once has been exceeded by the ancients, nor equalled by the moderns With these great blemishes he must be always recorded as a wicked man; but not like Robespierre; he can never be called a monster, which that moft infamous of wretches ever mult; like the tiger he feemed pleafed with flaughter; was unfatisfied if he could not roll and wallow in blood; carnage to him was pattime; oceans of human gore would not have fatisfied the thirst of this execrable tyrant. He had no other pleasure than feafting his eyes to a scaffold *. "He Sir Richard Worfley, in his Hiftory of the Isle of Wight, has, from an authentic MS. given all the tranfactions which happened at Hurft Caftle, when Harrison came to feize King Charles; it is too long for this work, or I should have given it. It would melt any heart but that of a stern republican to read. Charles could not be prevailed upon by the Duke of Lenox, his relation, and other devoted fervants, to attempt efcaping: No,' faid he, 'I have given my word. to the Parliament, and I will not break it,' but when he was taken from under their protection, he thought himself at liberty to fave his life if VOL. II.-No, I poffible. D "He was extremely strict in his attention to every thing that paffed, and was not to be approached by any addrefs, anfwering queftions in fhort and few words; and, when importuned, with rudeness.' "The king ftrove to make an effort to efcape from the deftruction he faw, by requesting permiflion to dine at Bagfhot, the little park of which had been the fpot where his majefty had ufed to fpend fome of his pleasantest hours. To get Harrifon to confent to his requeft, he told him that Lord Newburgh, the ranger, knew he defigned to take his dinner at a lodge there, and that he would lend a meffenger to let his lady know that he certainly would come, as the would be the better pleafed, as giving her an opportunity of providing a fuitable table for him; to which the colonel gave his affent the preceding night, This nobleman had always been extremely loyal, and his lady, the widow of Lord Aubigné, flain at Edge Hill in Charles's caufe, was eminently fo; fhe had been very near falling a victim to her fentiments: this dutiful pair had married with his majesty's approbation; and ever fince the king had been a prifoner at Hampton Court had contrived means to convey letters to and from Charles and his queen; and to crown their fidelity, had fent by the fame means this and other letters; one to Hurft Caffle, to requeft his majefty, if poflible, to contrive and dine at the lodge at Bagfhot, in his to way Windfor, and to take occafion, if he could, to lame the horse he rode upon, or to find fuch fault with the creature's going, that it might afford a plea to take one out of his lordship's flables to continue his journey upon. Lord Newburgh was a great admirer of horfes, and had one of the fleeteft in his ftud of any in the kingdom, and it was defigned that this thould be given to his majefty, that he might, if poffible, get an opportunity to fet fpurs to the animal's fides, and escape by its fwiftnefs from the company that furrounded him; and it was rendered the more feasible, because his majefty fo well knew all the intricacies of the moft obfcure parts of the foreft, and therefore might convey himself to places in view of fome of his lordship's attendants, who were to wait with three or four horfes, all famous for their speed. The colonel, who knew the importance of his commiflion to the army, and fearing fome scheme was intended to take the king out of his hands, fent fome horfe and an officer to search the house, and every part of the park, that he might be certain he had nothing to apprehend from a furprifal. His majesty in his way to Lord Newburgh's conftantly difcovered a pretended uneasiness at the movements of his horse, and faid he would change it and get a better.' All things proved unfortunate relative to the attempt meditated; for upon his majefty's arrival, dinner was prepared, and he was given to understand that this fine animal, by a kick of another horfe the preceding day, was rendered lame; and though other horfes were procured, yet, from the conftant vigilance of Harrison and those with him, all attempts must be impoffible, for he was furrounded by one hundred horfemen, all excellently mounted, and every one of his guard armed with a piftol, which they held with their finger upon the trigger, ready at an inftant's notice to fire; fo determined was this body of infamous mifcreants not to let their prifoner escape the ruin they fought. The king, after paffing three or four hours at Baghot with every caution that could be devifed, was obliged to purfue his journey; Harrifon never fuffering any one to be in the room where he was, unless in company with fix or seven foldiers, nor would he permit any thing to be fpoken unless fo loud that all might hear it. At quitting the lodge he permitted Lord Newburgh to ride with his majesty for fome miles in the foreft, and had given the king another horfe, as the other had been fo much complained of; but after his lordship had rode fome time, he was required by this ferocious colonel to retire. The king was conveyed by poffible. The night Harrifon came there was extremely dark and tempeftuous, the garrifon in the greatest diforder, and a veffel was ftationed for the king's ufe, fo that it is far from improbable that, had he put himself under the care of his Grace, he might have efcaped; but Charles never knew the precise moment to act in, without which no man can be a politician." him that night to Windfor, and the to the former, he faid, he left her only next morning to St. James's; though a bible!" Vol. I. p. 307, &c. he had been told what public difgrace was defigned, and that he was to be led to a mock trial, yet he could not diveft his mind of fome secret and premature tragedy; and wholly occupied with fuch melancholy ideas, he faid to the colonel, how odious and wicked fuch an affaffination and murder would render a man, and that the perfon who undertook it would never afterwards be fafe; to which he indignantly replied, You need not entertain fuch imaginations or apprehenfion, for the 'parliament had too much honour and juftice to cherish fo foul an intention; for whatever the parliament refolved to do would be very public, and in a way of justice to which the world would be witnefs; for they would never endure a thought of secret violence.' Yet this declaration, fignificant as it was, the king could not be prevailed upon to believe true; he ftill fuppofed his enemies would not dare to perform fo monftrous a deed in the open face of day. "Harrison, as one of the king's judges, fat every day upon the trial, except the 13th, 15th, 17th, and 24th of January, in the Painted chamber, and his hand and feal is to the infamous deed to put his majefty to death. He was executed at Charing Crofs, Oct. 13th, 1660; and proved his words at that time, that death was no more to him than a rush. Some feeing his hands and legs tremble very much, noticed it, when he affured them it was an infirmity which he had been fubject to for twelve years, owing to the vast quantity of blood he had loft by wounds in the battles he had fought; and that it had ever fince thus affected his nerves. No man in the kingdom was regarded with so much deteftation as this, by all parties, except the few remaining fanatics, who looked upon him as a faint and martyr, and firmly believed to fee him arife-to fee rather his mangled scattered remains reunite in glory amongst them: on this account it is that Mr. Cowley, in his Cutter of Coleman-ftreet, makes one of the characters fay, We fhall fee Major-general Harrifon come in 'green fleeves' (then worn by butchers) from the north, upon a fky-coloured mule,' which fignifies heavenly instruction. He had a wife and family, whom he left deftitute; EXTRACT FROM THE LIFE OF SIR HENRY MILDMAY. "HE (Sir Henry Mildmay) and Sir John D'Anvers, were the only perfons that fat as his judges, whom his majefty perfonally knew, except fuch who were officers in the parliament army, and they had both been confidential and highly favoured fervants; we may, therefore, give full credit to Lord Clarendon's affertion, that the party of mifcreants,' their fellow com. miffioners, looked upon no two men ' in the kingdom with that fcorn and deteftation as they did D'Anvers and Mildmay.' Yet they could not do lefs than give him a place in the new government, which he had fo greatly affifted to erect, at the risk of every poflible duty both divine and human. They, therefore, put his name in the council of ftate, in the years 1649-50 and 51; and when they removed the Princefs Elizabeth and the Duke of Gloucester from the care of the Countess of Leicester, they were committed to his, who fuperintended, or rather guarded them in Carifbrook caftle, which had been one of the prifons of their murdered father, and of which he was become governor. His inftructions were, that no perfon fhould be permitted to kifs their hands, and that they fhould not be treated with any other refpect than what was due to the children of a private gentleman, and which he very exactly observed. "The duke's tutor was fent, with which his royal highness was very well pleafed; he and all others gave him only the familiar style of Mr. Harry: here the unhappy princefs fell a victim to filial piety, or, to speak more properly, filial grief, never over. coming the fhock of the king's cataftrophe, dying at the age of fifteen, Sept. 8, 1650. She was buried at Newport in the Isle of Wight; and in November 1793, in digging a grave in the chancel of that church, to depofit the body of the brother of Lord Delawar, her leaden coffin was found. To difgrace royalty, the republicans meant to put this princefs apprentice to a button-maker, and her brother, D 2 the the Duke of Gloucester, to that of a fhoemaker!!! "Cromwell, who with: fuch facility dived into the characters of other men, could easily fathom Sir Henry's, and, I prefume, he held none of his Subjects in lefs eftimation than him; Sir Henry, indeed, was continued as one of the committee for the county of Effex, where feveral of his relations were also put in the fame obnoxious employment. It is, however, well known that he never was in the protector's confidence, and he obtained but little confequence in the revolutions which followed; indeed, to fuch contempt was he fallen, that in derifion, he was generally called Sir Wimfey Mildmay. At the reftoration, words were wanting to exprefs the public indignation against him. The parliament confidering his extreme wickednefs, though they would not put him to death, as he had neither fat the last day of the late king's trial, nor figned the warrant for execution, yet were determined to inflict an exemplary punishment upon him. He was brought to the bar of the house of commons, July 12, 1661, where, after confefling his crimes, he received this fentence, that he fhould be degraded from all titles of honour, dignities, and pre-eminences, or to ufe or bear the title of knight, efquire, or gentleman, or ufe any coat of arms; and he was ordered to be drawn upon a fledge, with a halter about his neck, from the Tower of London, to, and under the gallows at Tyburn; and thence conveyed back to the Tower, and there to remain during his life. Which fentence, as far as it related to his conveyance to Tyburn, was folemnly executed on January the 30th, in the following year, the day being the anniversary of the late king's murder. All the wealth he had been accumulating, from the reign of James I. until then, was totally loft to him; and this alone mult, to fo greedy a man, have been a very heavy affic tion. He had the meannefs to ask, and the parliament the fcandal to grant him, a pecuniary fatisfaction for the place he had loft of mafter of the jewel-houfe, when it was no longer neceffary, when his royal master had not even a jewel to entrust to any one's care. The fine seat of Wanstead, in Effex, which he had built, being forfeited with his other eftates, was granted by his majesty to the Duke of York. Some of his acquifitions he purchafed of the parliament, with their own money as it were; but thefle being part of the royal domains, reverted to their legal owner, the crown. Some eftates, which were fettled in jointure, however, defcended to his pofterity." Vol. II. p. 72, &c. |