sensible into what condition they had brought themselves; and sent with all possible submission to the magistrates to excuse themselves, and to impute what had been done to the rashness of particular men, who had no order for what they did. The magistrates answered, "That they were glad they were sensible of their miscarriage; but they could say nothing upon the subject, till the king's pleasure should be known; to whom they had sent a full relation of all that had passed." The others very well knew what the king's pleasure would be, and forthwith sent an express, one Moulins, who had lived many years in that place, and in Montpelier, to Cromwell, to desire his protection and interposition. The express made so much haste, and found so good a reception the first hour he came, that Cromwell, after he had received the whole account, bade him "refresh himself after so long a journey, and he would take such care of his business that by the time he came to Paris he should find it dispatched;" and, that night, sent away another messenger to his ambassador Lockhart; who, by the time Moulins came thither, had so far prevailed with the cardinal, that orders were sent to stop the troops, which were upon their march towards Nismes; and, within a few days after, Moulins returned with a full pardon and amnesty from the king, under the great seal of France, so fully confirmed with all circumstances, that there was never further mention made of it; but all things passed as if there had never been any such thing. So that nobody can wonder that his memory remains still in those parts, and with those people, in great veneration.

He would never suffer himself to be denied any thing he ever asked of the cardinal, alleging, "that the people would not be otherwise satisfied;" which the cardinal bore very heavily, and complained of to those with whom he would be free. One day he visited Madam Turenne; and when he took his leave of her, she, according to her custom, besought him to continue gracious to the churches. Whereupon the cardinal told her, "That he knew not how to behave himself: if he advised the king to punish and suppress their insolence, Cromwell threatened him to join the Spaniards; and if he showed any favour to them, at Rome they accounted him a heretic."

To conclude his character, Cromwell was not so far a man of blood as to follow Machiavel's method; which prescribes, upon a total alteration of government, as a thing absolutely necessary, to cut off all the heads of those, and extirpate their families, who are friends to the old one. It was confidently reported that, in the council of officers, it was more than once proposed, "That there might be a general massacre of all the royal party, as the only expedient to secure the government;" but that Cromwell would never consent to it, it may be, out of too great a contempt of his enemies. In a word, as he was guilty of many crimes, against which damnation is denounced, and for which hell-fire is prepared, so he had some good qualities which have caused the memory of some men in all ages to be celebrated; and he will be looked upon by posterity as a brave wicked man.

CLARENDON.

CROMWELL AND FAIRFAX COMPARED. FAIRFAX was an admirable officer; but it will be decided by all posterity, as it was decided by their contemporaries, that it was impossible to name a man in the island of so consummate a military genius, so thoroughly qualified to conduct the war with a victorious event, as Cromwell. He was also, whatever some historians have said on the subject, of scarcely less weight in the senate than in the field. Cromwell was besides an accomplished statesman. There was in this respect a striking contrast between him and Fairfax. Fairfax, richly endowed with those qualities which make a successful commander, was in council as innocent and unsuspecting as a child. He had great coolness of temper, an eye to take in the whole disposition of a field, and to remark all the advantages which its position afforded; and a temper happily poised between the yielding and severe, so as to command the most ready obedience, and to preserve a perfect discipline. Fairfax was formed for the executive branch of the military in the largest sense of that term. But in all that related to government and a state, he seemed intuitively to feel a desire to be guided. He was not acquainted with the innermost folds of the human character, and was therefore perpetually liable to the chance of being led and misled. He was guided by Cromwell; he was guided by his wife; and, if he had fallen into hands less qualified for the office, he would have been guided by them. But Cromwell saw

into the hearts of men: he could adapt himself, in a degree at least exceeding every character of modern times, to the persons with whom he had dealings. He was most at home perhaps with the soldiers of his army: he could pray with them; he could jest with them: in every thing by which the heart of a man could in a manner be drawn out of his bosom to devote itself to the service of another, he was a consummate master. It was not because he was susceptible only of the rugged and the coarse, that he was so eminently a favourite with the private soldier. He was the friend of the mercurial and light-hearted Henry Marten. He gained for a time the entire ascendency over the gentle, the courteous, the well bred, and the manly earl of Manchester. He was the sworn brother of Sir Henry Vane. He deceived Fairfax; he deceived Milton.

GODWIN.

CHARLES II.

He was of a vigoand in all appear. He was a prince of

THUS died King Charles II. rous and robust constitution, ance promising a long life. many virtues, and many great imperfections; debonair, easy of access, not bloody or cruel; his countenance fierce, his voice great, proper of person, every motion became him; a lover of the sea, and skilful in shipping; not affecting other studies; yet he had a laboratory, and knew of many empirical medicines, and the easier mechanical mathematics; he loved planting and build

ing, and brought in a politer way of living, which passed to luxury and intolerable expense. He had a peculiar talent in telling a story and facetious passages, of which he had innumerable : this made some buffoons and vicious wretches too presumptuous and familiar, not worthy the favour they abused. He took delight in having a number of little spaniels follow him and lie in his bedchamber, where he often suffered the bitches to puppy and give suck, which rendered it very offensive, and indeed made the whole court nasty and stinking. He would doubtless have been an excellent prince had he been less addicted to women, who made him uneasy, and always in want to supply their unmeasurable profusion, to the detriment of many indigent persons, who had signally served both him and his father. He frequently and easily changed favourites, to his great prejudice. As to other public transactions and unhappy miscarriages, it is not here I intend to number them; but certainly never had king more glorious opportunities to have made himself, his people, and all Europe happy, and prevented innumerable mischiefs, had not his too easy nature resigned him to be managed by crafty men, and some abandoned and profane wretches, who corrupted his otherwise sufficient parts, disciplined as he had been by many afflictions during his banishment, which gave him much experience and knowledge of men and things; but those wicked creatures took him off from all application becoming so great a king. The history of his reign will certainly be wonderful for the variety of matter and accidents