river, and sunk five ships in the channel before it. While he was thus engaged, the Dutch came on with wind and tide (11th), but the sunken ships impeded them so much, that they were obliged to fall back. Next morning having discovered a new channel, they came up, silenced the batteries, broke the boom, and burned the guard-ships. The following morning (13th) they advanced to Upnor, and having there burnt three first-rates, fell down the river with the ebb, and returned to the Nore. For six weeks De Ruyter continued to insult the English coast.

Meantime the progress of the French arms in Flanders alarmed the Dutch, and they hastened to terminate the war with England. Each party yielded something, and peace was concluded (July 21).

The influence of lord Clarendon had long been on the decline. He had made himself enemies in all classes, some by his faults, others by his virtues. The cavaliers hated him for his honourable adherence to the act of indemnity; the non-conformists for his intolerance; the catholics for his zealous protestantism; the courtiers for his opposition to their rapacity; above all, Castlemain hated him because he would not allow his wife to visit her. His high notions of prerogative disgusted the friends of liberty; his haughtiness and dictatorial manner offended the two houses. The king himself grew weary of his lectures and his opposition to his will. He found that he had too great a regard for the religion and liberties of the country to abet his projects for the overthrow of both, and he was therefore secretly desirous to get rid of him.

An attack had been already made on the chancellor. In 1663, the clever, but impetuous and unsteady, earl of Bristol (the lord Digby of the preceding pages), who was now become a catholic, had impeached him in the house of lords, but the charges were so frivolous that they were at once rejected, and a warrant being issued to take the accuser into custody, on account of his insolence to the king, he was obliged to conceal himself for some time. Bristol's

1667.]

FALL OF CLARENDON.

127

plan, however, only failed because the enemies of Clarendon were not yet sufficiently strong; but when the Dutch had burnt the ships in the Medway, and the nation was irritated against the obnoxious minister, and the king had become quite alienated from him, it was thought that the attack might be repeated with success. Charles was prevailed on to send his son-in-law, the duke of York, to him, to induce him to resign the seal. In a personal conference with the king (Aug. 26), Clarendon refused, as that, he said, would be a confession of guilt. A few days after (30th), he was ordered to surrender it, and it was transferred to sir Orlando Bridgeman. In the next session the commons (Nov. 6) exhibited seventeen articles of impeachment against the earl: but the bishops stood firmly by their friend; the duke of York faithfully adhered to his fatherin-law; several of the peers regarded the charges as false, or the course adopted by the commons as unconstitutional. The motion for committing him, therefore, was lost; conferences of the houses ensued; the king, in perplexity, expressed his desire that the accused would secretly retire to the continent; but this Clarendon was too proud, or too conscious of innocence, to do. At length (29th) the duke of York was the bearer to him of a positive command to quit the kingdom. To this he yielded a reluctant obedience; and having left a written vindication of himself, he retired to France. The commons (Dec. 9) voted this paper a libel, and ordered it to be burnt by the hangman. An act of banishment followed, subjecting him to the penalties of treason if he should return. He fixed his residence for some time at Montpellier, and he died at Rouen, in Normandy, in 1674.

Edward earl of Clarendon occupies a prominent station in our history both as a minister and as a writer. In the former character he was, viewing the times, honest; for though he would sell the favours of the crown*, as was the

* His own partial friend Evelyn said of him, that he "never did nor would do any thing but for money." Lord Dover, in his acute work on this subject,

usual practice, he was careful that his venality should not injure it. His notions of government were narrow and illiberal; he regarded the reigns of Elizabeth and James as the most perfect state of the constitution, and seemed not to be aware that in politics all is progression. He therefore required that parliament should be humbly submissive to the crown, yet he would not have the crown independent of it. He was a bigot in religion, and haughty, overbearing and pompous in manner. In private life he was strictly correct. His fall reflects disgrace on the worthless prince who abandoned him to the profligate band of courtiers who sought his ruin.

As a historian Clarendon is distinguished by his skill in the delineation of characters and by the air of dignity which pervades his narrative, though his style is involved and diffuse. His work is rather the apology for one party (as is indicated by the very title) than an impartial history: it everywhere exhibits the political feelings of the writer. Its worst fault is the disregard of truth, as we may perhaps best term it; for it appears in places where the author had no interest in disguising or misrepresenting the real facts. With all its faults it is however a noble performance, and is justly regarded as one of the classics of our language.

has collected from Pepys and others indubitable proofs of Clarendon's avarice and venality. Even Mr. D'Israeli seems to have no doubts on this subject.

CHAPTER XIV.

CHARLES II. (Continued).

1668-1678.

The Cabal.-Plot of the king against the protestant religion.-Royal mistresses. -Coventry act.-Attempts of Blood.-Second Dutch war.-Parties in parliament.-Pensions given by France.—Marriage of the prince of Orange.— Parliament.-Peace of Nimeguen.-Conduct of the country-party.

THE ministry which had hitherto regulated the public affairs was now at an end. Southampton was dead, Clarendon banished, Nicholas had resigned, Albemarle was infirm, and his mean avarice had deprived him of weight; Ormond resided in Ireland. A new ministry was formed, the most profligate that England had as yet seen; it was named the Cabal, a common term, but which curiously coincided with the initial letters of the names of its members, viz.-Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, and Lauderdale.

Clifford, the son of a clergyman, had been, as was suspected, secretly reconciled to the church of Rome; he was a man of great resolution, violent and impetuous. He was now a commissioner of the treasury, and was afterwards high-treasurer. The earl of Arlington (formerly sir Henry Bennet) was secretary of state, an office which he had held for some time, and he was at the head of the party in the cabinet opposed to Clarendon. He too was, perhaps, a secret papist. No man knew better than he how to manage the king's temper, and he never let principle stand in the way of his measures. Buckingham was the son of the favourite of Charles I., and was married to the daughter and heiress of lord Fairfax. He had wit, humour, a great talent for mimicry and ridicule, but was utterly devoid of reli

gion or morality. Ashley (afterwards earl of Shaftesbury) was chancellor of the exchequer. As sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, he had been first on the king's side in the civil wars; he then went over to the parliament; he was a strenuous supporter of Cromwell, and was finally active in the Restoration. He was accused of being equally devoid of religion and principle, but his talents were allowed to be of the highest order, and he was honourable inasmuch as he never betrayed the party which he quitted. Lauderdale was a man of talent, but of violent passions, rough and boisterous in manner, and at all times ready to surrender his judgement and his principles to the will of the court. Sir William Coventry, one of the ablest and honestest statesmen of the time, was made commissioner of the treasury.

The first measure of this ministry however was a laudable one. The rapid progress of the French arms in Flanders giving cause of general alarm, the able and upright sir William Temple was despatched to the Hague, to propose to the States a union with Spain to check the aggressions of France. In the short space of five days three treaties were concluded (Jan. 13, 1668): one was a defensive alliance; the second an engagement to oblige Spain to make peace on the terms Louis had offered; by the third (which was a secret one) the contracting parties bound themselves, in case of Louis' refusal, to join with Spain in compelling him to confirm the peace of the Pyrenees. Sweden joined in this league, and hence it was named the Triple Alliance. Louis, who had already in secret contracted an 'eventual treaty' for the partition of the Spanish monarchy with the emperor Leopold, in which he had bound himself to do the very thing now required of him, after making a little display of his usual theatric dignity, agreed to treat. Plenipotentiaries met at Aix-laChapelle (Apr. 22), and peace was concluded; the towns which he had conquered in Flanders being ceded to Louis, and the French frontier thus brought close to that of the