time in constitutional jangling, in vigilant contrivance of balances, checks, and that species of entities. With difficulty could, at rare intervals, a hasty stingy vote, not for the indispensable Supplies, but for some promise of them, be wrung. An unprofitable Parliament.

For the rest, they had Biddle the Socinian before them; a poor Gloucester Schoolmaster once, now a very conspicuous Heresiarch, apparently of mild but entirely obstinate manners,—poor devil: him they put into the Gatehouse; him and various others of that kidney. Especially Theauro John, who laid about him with a drawn sword at the door of the Parliament House one day,'*. a man clearly needing to be confined. "Theauro John:' his name had originally been John Davy, if I recollect; but the Spirit, in some preternatural hour, revealed to him that it ought to be as above. Poor Davy: his labors, life-adventures, financial arrangements, painful biography in general, are all unknown to us; till, on this ' Saturday, 30th December, 1654, he very clearly knocks loud at the door of the Parliament House,' as much as to say, "What is this you are upon ?" and 'lays about him with a drawn sword;'-after which all again becomes unknown. Seemingly a kind of Quaker. Does the reader know James Nayler, and the devout women worshipping him? George Fox, in his suit of leather, independent of mankind, looks down into the soft Vale of Belvoir, native Vale of Bever:' Do not the whispering winds and green fields, do not the still smokepillars from these poor cottages under the eternal firmaments, say in one's heart, "George, wilt thou not help us from the wrath to come?" George finds in the Vale of Bever'a very tender people.' In fact, most singular Quakerisms, frightful Socinianisms, and other portents are springing up rife in England.

Oliver objected, now and always, to any very harsh punishment of Biddle and Company, much as he abhorred their doctrines. Why burn, or brand, or otherwise torment them, poor souls? They, wandering as we all do seeking for a door of nope into the Eternities, have, being tempted of the Devil as we all likewise are, missed the door of hope; and gone tumbling into dan

* Whitlocke, p. 592. See Goddard (in Burton, i., Introd., cxxvi).

gerous gulfs, dangerous, but not yet beyond the mercy of God. Do not burn them. They meant, some of them, well; bear visibly to me the scars of stern true battle against the Enemy of Man. Do not burn them ;-lock them up, that they may not mislead others. On frugal wholesome diet in Pendennis Castle, or Elizabeth Castle in Jersey, or here in the Clink Prison at London, they will not cost you much, and may arrive at some composure. Branding and burning is an ugly business ;- -as little of that as you can.

Friday, 29th September, 1654. His Highness, say the old Lumber-Books, went into Hyde Park; made a small picnic dinner under the trees, with Secretary Thurloe, attended by a few servants;-was, in fact, making a small pleasure excursion, having in mind to try a fine new team of horses, which the Earl or Duke of Oldenburg had lately sent him. Dinner done, his Highness himself determined to drive,-two in hand, I think, with a postillion driving other two. The horses, beautiful animals, tasting of the whip, became unruly; galloped, would not be checked, but took to plunging; plunged the postillion down; plunged or shook his Highness down, 'dragging him by the foot for some time,' so that 'a pistol went off in his pocket,' to the amazement of men. Whereupon? Whereupon-his Highness got up again, little the worse; was let blood; and went about his affairs much as usual!* Small anecdote that figures, larger than life, in all the Books and Biographies. I have known men thrown from their horses on occasion, and less noise made about it, my erudite friend! But the essential point was, his Highness wore a pistol. Yes, his Highness is prepared to defend himself; has men, and also truculent-flunkeys, and devils and devil's-servants of various kinds, to defend himself against ;-and wears pistols, and what other furniture outward and inward may be necessary for the object. Such of you as have an eye that way can take notice of it!

Thursday, 16th November, 1654. On the other hand, what a glimpse into the interior domesticities of the Protector Household, have we in the following brief Note! Amid the darkness and buzzard dimness, one light-beam, clear, radiant, mournfully

*Thurloe, i., 652, 3; Ludlow, ii., 508.

beautiful, like the gleam of a sudden star, disclosing for a moment many things to us! On Friday, Secretary Thurloe writes incidentally: My Lord Protector's Mother, of Ninety-four years old, died last night. A little before her death she gave my Lord her blessing, in these words: "The Lord cause His face to shine upon you; and comfort you in all your adversities; and enable you to do great things for the glory of your Most High God, and to be a relief unto His people. My dear Son, I leave my heart with thee. A good night !" "*—and therewith sank into her long sleep. Even so. Words of ours are but idle. Thou brave one, Mother of a Hero, farewell!-Ninety-four years old: the royalties of Whitehall, says Ludlow very credibly, were of small moment to her: at the sound of a musket she would often be afraid her Son was shot; and could not be satisfied unless she saw him once a day at least.' She, old, weak, wearied one, she cannot help him with his refractory Pedant Parliaments, with his Anabaptist plotters, Royalist assassins, and world-wide confusions; but she bids him, Be strong, be comforted in God. And so Good night! And in the still Eternities and divine Silences -Well, are they not divine ?—

December 26th, 1654. The refractory Parliament and other dim confusions still going on, we mark as a public event of some significance, the sailing of his Highness's Sea-Armament. It has long been getting ready on the Southern Coast; sea-forces, landforces;-sails from Portsmouth on Christmas morrow, as above marked. None yet able to divine whither bound ; not even the Generals, Venables and Penn, till they reach a certain latitude. Many are much interested to divine! Our Brussels Correspondent writes long since, The Lord Protector's Government makes England more formidable and considerable to all Nations than ever it has been in my days.'§

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*Thurloe to Pell, 17 Nov., 1654: in Vaughan's Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell (London, 1839), i., 81.

† Ludlow, ii., 488.

Penn's Narrative, in Thurloe, iv., 28.

§ Thurloe, i., 160 (11 March, 1653-4).

LETTERS CXXXIV., CXXXV.

HERE are two small Letters, harmlessly reminding us of far interests and of near;-otherwise yielding no new light; but capable of being read without commentary. Read them; and let us hasten to dissolve the poor Constitutioning Parliament which ought not to linger on these pages, or on any page.

LETTER CXXXIV.

To Richard Bennet, Esq., Governor of Virginia: These.

Whitehall, 12th January, 1654.

SIR, Whereas the differences between the Lord Baltimore and the Inhabitants of Virginia, concerning the Bounds by them respectively claimed, are depending before our Council, and yet undetermined; and whereas we are credibly informed, you have notwithstanding gone into his Plantation in Maryland, and countenanced some people there in opposing the Lord Baltimore's Officers; whereby, and with other forces from Virginia, you have much disturbed that Colony and People, to the engendering of tumults and much bloodshed there, if not timely prevented:

We therefore, at the request of the Lord Baltimore, and 'of' divers other Persons of Quality here, who are engaged by great adventures in his interest, do, for preventing of disturbances or tumults there, will and require you, and all others deriving any authority from you, To forbear disturbing the Lord Baltimore, or his Officers or People in Maryland; and to permit all things to remain as they were before any disturbance or alteration made by you, or by any other upon pretence of authority from you, till the said Differences above mentioned be determined by us here, and we give farther order therein.

We rest,

Your loving friend,

OLIVER P.*

* Thurloe, i., 724. The signature only is Oliver's; signature, and sense.

Commissioners, it would appear, went out to settle the business; got it, we have no doubt, with due difficulty, settled. See Letter CXL.,-26th September, 1655, To the Commissioners of Maryland.'

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LETTER CXXXV.

HERE again, while the Pedant Parliament keeps arguing and constitutioning, are discontents in the Army that threaten to develope themselves. Dangerous fermentings of Fifth-Monarchy and other bad ingredients, in the Army and out of it; encouraged by the Parliamentary height of temperature. Charles Stuart, on the word of a Christian King, is extensively bestirring himself. Royalist preparations, provisions of arms; Anabaptist Petitions: abroad and at home very dangerous designs on foot: but we have our eye upon them.

The Scotch Army seems, at present, the questionablest. The pay of the men is thirty weeks in arrear,' for one thing; the Anabaptist humor needs not that addition ! Colonel Alured, we saw, had to be dismissed the Service, last year; Overton and others were questioned, and not dismissed. But now some desperate scheme has risen among the Forces in Scotland, of deposing General Monk, of making Republican Overton Commander, -and so marching off, all but the indispensable Garrison-troops, south into England, there to seek pay and other redress.* This Parliament, now in its Fourth Month, supplies no money; nothing but constitutional debatings. My Lord Protector had need be watchful! He again, in this December, summons Overton from Scotland; again questions him ;-sees good, this time, to commit him to the Tower,† and end his military services. The Army, in Scotland and elsewhere, with no settlement yet to its vague fermenting humors, and not even money to pay its arrears, is dangerous enough.

Thurloe has jotted on the back of this: A duplicate also hereof was writ, signed by his Highness.'

* Postea, Speech IV.; and Thurloe, iii., 110, &c.

† 16 January, 1654–5 (Overton's Letter, Thurloe, iii., 110).