a frightful rate per day; languish, for most part, astonished in their strange new sultry element; and cannot be brought to front with right manhood the deadly inextricable jungle of tropical confusions, outer and inner, in which they find themselves. Brave Governors, Fortescue, Sedgwick, Brayne, one after the other, die rapidly, of the climate and of broken heart; their life-fire all spent there, in that dark chaos, and as yet no result visible. It is painful to read what misbehavour there is, what difficulties there are.1 Almost the one steady light-point in the business is the Protector's own spirit of determination. If England have now a 'West-India Interest,' and Jamaica be an Island worth something, it is to this Protector mainly that we owe it. Here too, as in former darknesses, 'Hope shines in him, like a pillar of fire, when it has gone out in all the others.' Having put his hand to this work, he will not for any discouragement turn back. Jamaica shall yet be a colony; Spain and its dark Domdaniel shall yet be smitten to the heart, the enemies of God and His Gospel, by the soldiers and servants of God. It must, and it shall. We have failed in the West, but not wholly; in the West and in the East, by sea and by land, as occasion shall be ministered, we will try it again and again.

'On the 28th of November 1655, the Treaty with France is 'proclaimed by heralds and trumpets,' say the Old Newspapers.2 Alliance with France, and Declaration against Spain, within the tropics where there is never Peace, and without the tropics where Peace yet is, there shall now be War with Spain. Penn and Venables, cross-questioned till no light farther could be had from them, are dismissed; in Penn's stead, Montague is made Admiral.3 We will maintain Jamaica, send reinforcement after reinforcement to it; we will try yet for the Spanish Plate Fleets; we will hurl yet bolt after bolt into the dark Domdaniel, and have no Peace with Spain. In all which, as I understand, the spirit of England, mindful of Armadas, and wedded once for all to blessed Gospel Light and Progress, and not to accursed Papal Jesuitry and Stagnancy, coöperates well with this Protector of the Commonwealth of England. Land-fighting too we shall by and by come upon; in all

1 Thurloe, iii. iv.,-in very many places, all in a most unedited, confused condition. Luminous Notices too in Carte's Ormond Papers, ii. Long's History of Jamaica (London, 1774), i. 221 et seqq., gives in a vague but tolerably correct way some of the results of Thurloe; which Bryan Edwards has abridged. Godwin (iv. 192-200) is exact, so far as he goes.

2 In Cromwelliana, p. 134.

3 Jan. 1655-6 (Thurloe, iv. 338).

ways, a resolute prosecution of hostilities against Spain. Concerning the 'policy' of which, and real wisdom and unwisdom of which, no reader need consult the current Sceptical Red-tape Histories of that Period, for they are much misinformed on the

matter.

Here are Three Official Letters, or Draughts of Letters, concerning the business of Jamaica; which have come to us in a very obscure, unedited condition, Thomas Birch having been a little idle. Very obscure; and now likely to remain so, they and the others, unless indeed Jamaica should produce a Poet of its own, pious towards the Hero-Founder of Jamaica, and courageous to venture into the Stygian Quagmires of Thurloe and the others, and vanquish them on his and its behalf!

1

Apparently these Official Letters are First-draughts, in the hand of Thurloe or some underling of his; dictated to him, as is like, by the Protector: they would afterwards be copied-fair, dated, and duly despatched; and only the rough originals, unhappily without date, are now left us. Birch has put them down without much criticism; the arrangement of some is palpably wrong. By the spelling and punctuation we judge them to be of Thurloe's handwriting; but the sense is clearly Oliver's, and probably, with some superficial polishings, the composition. They cannot, after much inquiry, be dated except approximately; the originals are gone with Birch, who has not even told us in whose handwriting they were,2 much less has tried to make any sense of them for himself, the idle ineffectual Editor! In fact, Thurloe in regard to these Jamaica businesses has had to go without editing; lies widespread, dislocated, dark ; and, in this passage, read by Birch's light, is mere darkness visible. One of the Letters, we at length find, is even misaddressed, seemingly by idle Birch, at random. Happily it is with the sense alone that we are much concerned; and that is in good part legible. Fancy Penn and Venables dismissed, after some light got out of them by cross-questioning; fancy Vice'Admiral Goodson, Major-General Fortescue, Daniel Serle

1 [There are about sixty volumes of the originals of the Thurloe Papers at the Bodleian (Rawlinson MSS. A.). This magnificent collection was found in the reign of William and Mary, hidden in the false ceiling of a garret in the chambers which had once been Thurloe's, in Lincoln's Inn. It changed hands several times, but was finally bequeathed to the Bodleian by Richard Rawlinson in 1755. Birch's great work had appeared some twelve years earlier.]

2[The first two are fair copies, the third a draft, all in Thurloe's hand.]

'Governor of Barbadoes, and Major-General Sedgwick' new from England, made Commissioners, with Instructions,2 with full power over Jamaica,—and then read.

LETTER CCIV

VICE-ADMIRAL GOODSON, as his title indicates, went out as second under Penn; whose place he now fills as chief. Letters of his in Thurloe indicate a thick blunt stout-hearted sailor character, not nearly so stupid as he looks; whose rough piety, sense, stoicism, and general manfulness grow luminous to us at last. The Protector hopes the Lord may have blessed Goodson to have lighted upon some of the Enemy's vessels, and burnt them;'-which is a hope fulfilled for Goodson has already been at St. Martha on the Spanish Main, and burnt it; but got few ships, nor any right load of plunder either; the people having had him in sight for six hours before landing, and run away with everything to the woods. He got thirty brass guns and two bases,' whatever these are. The rest of the plunder, being accurately sold at the mast of each ship' by public auction, yielded just 4717. sterling, which was a very poor return. At the Rio de Hacha (‘Rio de hatch' as we here write it) 'the bay was so shoal' no great ships could get near; and our 'hoys' and small craft, on trying it, saw nothing feasible; wherefore we had drawn back again. Santa Martha, and plunder sold by auction to the amount above stated, was all we could get.3

SIR,

To Vice-Admiral Goodson, at Jamaica

Whitehall, October [30] 1655.'4

I have written to Major-General Fortescue

divers advertisements of our purpose and resolution, the Lord

1[In Serle's case, Commissioners.]

it was a re-appointment, as he had been one of the former

2 Given in Thurloe, iv. 634. 3 Goodson's Letter, in ibid., iv. 159 et seqq. [This letter is dated by Vice-Admiral Goodson's despatch of April 13 (Thurloe, iv. 694) which speaks of the Protector's letters of October 30, received by the Marston Moor. Compare also Goodson and Sedgwick's letter of Jan. 24 (Thurloe, iv. 455) in which they allude to Oliver's exhortation to the Sea and Land forces to prosecute their affairs with brotherly kindness. In this same letter they reply to the Protector's letter to Major-General Fortescue (now dead) as regards fortification, raising of horse, and a possible attempt upon Cuba.]

assisting, to prosecute this business; and you shall neither want bodies of men nor yet anything in our power for the carrying-on of your work. I have also given divers hints unto him of things which may probably be attempted, and should1 be very diligently looked after by you both, but are left to your better judgments upon the place; wherein I desire you would consult together how to prosecute your affairs with that brotherly kindness that upon no colour whatsoever any divisions and distractions should be amongst you, but that you may have one shoulder for the work; which will be very pleasing to the Lord, and not unnecessary, considering what an enemy you are like to have to deal withal.

We hope that you have, with 2 some of those ships which came last, near twenty men-of-war; which I desire you to keep equipt, and to make yourselves as strong as you can to beat the Spaniard, who will doubtless send a good force into the Indies. I hope, by this time the Lord may have blessed you to have light upon some of their vessels, whether by burning them in their harbours or otherwise. And it will be worthy of you to improve your strength, what you can, both to weaken them by parcels, and to engage them as you have opportunity, which, at such a distance I may probably guess, would be best 'managed' by not suffering, if you can help it, the new Fleet, which comes from Spain, to go unfought, before they join with the ships that are to the leeward of you.

3

We are sending to you, with all possible speed, seven more stout men-of-war, some of them of forty guns, and the rest none under thirty, for your assistance. This ship is sent before, with instructions, to encourage you to go on with the work; as also with instructions to Nevis, and the other Windward Islands, to bring so many of the Plantations off as are free to come, 'that they may settle with you at Jamaica.' And I desire you, with

1' would' in orig.

2[Carlyle here inserted "you" but the sense is good without it.] 3[i.e., the Marston Moor frigate.]

your lesser merchant-ships or such others as you can spare, to give them all possible assistance for their removal and transplantation, from time to time, as also all due encouragement

to remove.

own.

You will see by the enclosed what I have writ to MajorGeneral Fortescue. And I hope your counsels will centre in that which may be for the glory of God and good of this nation. It is not to be denied but the Lord hath greatly humbled us in that sad loss sustained at Hispaniola; no doubt but we have provoked the Lord, and it is good for us to know so, and to be abased for the same. But yet certainly His name is concerned in this work; and therefore though we should, and we hope we do, lay our mouths in the dust, yet He would not have us despond, but I trust gives us leave to make mention of His name and of His righteousness, when we cannot make mention of our You are left there; and I pray you set up your banners in the name of Christ, for undoubtedly it is His cause. And let the reproach and shame that hath been for our sins, and through (also may we say) the misguidance of some, work up your hearts to a confidence in the Lord, and for the redemption of His honour from the hands of men who attribute their successes to their Idols, the work of their own hands. And though He hath torn us, yet He will heal us; though He hath smitten us, yet He will bind us up; after two days He will revive1 us, in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight.2 The Lord Himself hath a controversy with your Enemies, even with that Roman Babylon, of which the Spaniard is the great underpropper. In that respect you fight the Lord's battles; and in this the Scriptures are most plain. The Lord therefore strengthen you with faith, and cleanse you from all evil: and doubt not but He is able, and I trust as willing, to give you as signal successes as He gave your enemies against you. Only the Covenant-fear of the Lord be upon you.3

[Mis-printed "ruin" in Thurloe.]

2 Hosea, vi. 1, 2.

3 No other fear; nor is there need of any other hope or strength!