England; and was, therefore, under the necessity to crave some from thence for that purpose."

What pity it was, that such a man as this, should be placed at the head of a nation, without any other power but merely that of executing designs planned for its destruction in another. kingdom! To enforce ordinances, by which those who dared to profess the religion of their consciences, or had not manifested their constant good affections to the usurpation; and also the constant good affections of those ancestors from whom any estates descended to them, and had not already proved the same, and obtained judgment thereof, were adjudged rebel convicts, attainted of high treason, and to have forfeited all their honors, estates and preferments. With what regret must such a chief governor have beheld those numerous rapines, and murders,* that were daily committed by his soldiers on that

5 Hughes's Abridgment, p. 33.

In those days, the name of Irishman and rebel was thought to signify the same thing. For whenever the Cromwellians met any of the poor country people abroad, or discovered them lurking from their fury in dens and caverns, they killed them on the spot, if some unusual or whimsical circumstance did not happen to save them. Thus Ludlow tells us, "that being on his march, an advanced party found two of the rebels; one of whom, says he, was killed by the guard before I came up; the other was saved, and being brought before me, I asked him, if he had a mind to be hanged? And he only answered, if you please. So insensibly stupid, adds he, were many of these poor creatures." Mem. vol. i.—At another time he tells us, he found some poor people retired within a hollow rock; "which," he says, "was so thick that he thought it impossible to dig it down upon them, and therefore resolved to reduce them by smoak. After some of his men had spent most part of the day in endeavoring to smother those within by fire placed at the mouth of the cave, they withdrew the fire; and the next morning supposing the Irish to be made incapable of resistance by the smoak, some of them crawled into the rock; but one of the Irish, with a pistol, shot the first of his men, by which he found the smoak had not taken the designed effect; because though a great smoak went into the cavity of the rock, yet it came out again at other crevices; upon which he ordered those places to be closely stopped, and another smoak to be made; and the fire was continued till about midnight; then taken away, that the place might be cool enough for his men to enter the next morning; at which time they went in armed with back, breast, and head-piece, found the man, who had fired the pistol, dead; and put about fifteen to the sword; but brought four or five out alive, with priests' robes, a crucifix, chalice, and other furniture of that kind (but no

miserable people, not only with impunity, but even by his own constrained order, or connivance. But injustice and cruelty had then the faction of law; and, in so dismal a conjuncture, it is not, perhaps, less meritorious to employ power to prevent the increase of evil (as he often did his) than it is, in better and more equitable times, to exert its authority and influence for the promotion of actual good.

CHAP. V.

Contrivances of sir Charles Coote and lord Broghill. "THE king's' interest had been so totally extinguished in Ireland, for many years past, that there was no person of any consideration there, who pretended to revive it. At the death of Cromwell, and at the deposition of his son Richard, Henry Cromwell was invested with the full authority in Ireland; the two presidents of Munster and Connaught, were lord Broghill and sir Charles Coote, both equally depending on the lord lieutenant; and they the more depended upon him, and courted his protection, by their not loving one another, though still agreeing in a long aversion to the king, by multiplications of guilt. Amidst the many succeeding changes in the government, the two presidents remained in their several provinces, with full power; either because they had not deserved to be

1 Clarend. Life, vol. ii. p. 107.

arms.) Those, within," says he, "preserved themselves by laying their heads close to a water-fall, that ran through the rock. We found two rooms in the place, one of which was large enough to turn a pike." Such were the enemies whose lives these gallant regicides were incessantly hunting after. A score of despoiled people, lurking in caverns from the fury of their pursuers, and furnished but with one pistol to guard the entrance of their hiding place! From the character of these barbarians, we may well believe (though Ludlow does not mention it) that these four or five wretches, whom they brought alive out of the rock, soon after met with the fate of their companions.

• It is affirmed, that the duches of Ormond, after the restoration, begged the king on her knees, that Henry Cromwell might enjoy the estate given to him in Ireland by his father during his protectorship; which was granted, because Oliver had given her possession of three thousand pound. a-year for her jointure, out of her own estate.-Unkind Deserter, p. 129.

suspected, or because they could not be easily removed." Some suspicion, however, there was of lord Broghill, which he took uncommon pains to remove; for, but a few months before the king was restored, he wrote to secretary Thurloe, "that he had heard, he and his friends were misrepresented in England, as persons that intended to set up for themselves, and to make Ireland a back door to let Charles Stewart into England; and thereby at one blow, to cut up by the roots the precious rights they had been so long contending for. But he professed, that he knew nothing further from the thoughts of all his acquaintance and friends; for that interest, as well as duty, would keep them from so ruinous a wickedness."

In the confusion that now arose, from different revolutions in the state, sir Charles Coote took an opportunity to send an express to the king, with a tender of his obedience, and with great cautions as to the time of appearing; only desiring, & to have such commissions in his hands, as might be applied to his majesty's service in a proper conjuncture; which were sent him, and never made use of by him. He expressed great jea lousy of Broghill, and unwillingness that he should know of his engagement. Coote found assistance to seize upon the castle of Dublin, and the persons of those that were in authority, who were imprisoned by him; and the government was settled in such a manner as was thought most agreeable to the presbyterian humor; until, upon the king's restoration, gene. ral Monck was declared lord lieutenant of Ireland; soon after which, the king was proclaimed at Dublin, and in every other part of the kingdom."+

* Broghill's biographer, panegyrist and chaplain, tells us that at a council of the usurpers in the time of Richard Cromwell," he offered a test to purge the army, which was, that all should be turned out of it who would not swear to defend the government as it was then established under the protector and parliament.”—Morrice's Mem. prefixed to Orrery's State Letters, p. 56.

↑ But even after the king was proclaimed, "the pulpits, filled with Scots covenanters, rang with nothing but warm exhortations to stand by the covenant, even unto blood, virulent invectives against the bishops and vehement harangues against espiscopacy and liturgies. These were the only subjects of their preachings for four months together." Cart. Orm, vol. ii. fol. 208.-"It was by the underhand encouragement of some

CHAP. VI.

Commissioners sent from Ireland; their characters and designs.

AS soon as the king was proclaimed, sir Charles Coote and his associates sent' commissioners to his majesty, whom they called commissioners from the state; and a present of money from the same, accompanied with all those professions of duty, which could be expected from the best of subjects.

These commissioners were the lord Broghill, sir Audley Mervin, sir John Clotworthy, and several other persons of quality, much the greater number whereof "had been always notorious for the disservice they had done the king. All these commissioners from the state had instructions, to which they were to conform, in desiring nothing from the king, but the settling of his own authority among them, the ordering the army, the reviving the execution of the laws, and settling the courts of justice, and such other particulars, as purely related to the public; and their public addresses were to this, and no other purpose. But then, to their private friends, and such as they desired to make their friends, most of them had many pretences of merit, and many expedients by which the king might reward them, and out of which they might be able libe rally to gratify their patrons. And by these means, all who served the king were furnished with suits enough to make their fortunes, in which they presently engaged themselves, with very troublesome importunity to the king himself, and all others, who, they thought, had credit, or power to advance their desires."

Lord Broghill appeared so very generous, and to be with, out the least pretence to any advantage to himself, that he quickly got himself believed; and having free access to the king, by mingling appologies for what he had done, with promises of what he would do, he made himself so acceptable to 3 Id. ib.

Clarendon's Life.

2 Id. ib. 4 Ib. vol. ii.p. 110.

great men (who did not care to declare themselves openly) that the sectaries grew so bold at this time, as to petition against bishops, and so refrac, tory as to insult the laws, which obliged them to conformity."-Id. ib. f. 210.

his majesty, that he heard him willingly, because he made all things easy to be done and compassed; and gave such assurances to the bed-chamber men, to help them to good fortunes in Ireland, which they had reason to despair of in England, that he wanted not their testimony on all occasions, nor their defence and vindication, when any thing was reflected upon to his disadvantage or reproach."

The ground-work of the before-mentioned expedients, proposed by these commissioners for the public service of the kingdom, was the calling a new parliament, consisting only of protestant peers, and commoners; a general pardon, and indemnity to all the protestants; and that nothing should be done to the prejudice of the adventurers or soldiers; or towards qualifying the Irish for recovering possession of their estates.

CHAP. VII.

The Irish catholics excluded out of the general act of oblivion.

IT was apprehended that the act of oblivion, and general pardon, which the English parliament had been drawing up to be presented to the king at his landing, might be so extensive as to comprehend the Roman catholics of Ireland. To prevent this, other agents were sent over by persons concerned in the new purchases; all these attended the house of commons, suggesting continually, that they could never be secure in any parliament, that could be called in Ireland, if it did not exclude out of that act of general indemnity, all persons who had any hand in the rebellion; under which notion, they comprehended promiscuously all those of the Roman catholic religion, who had been sequestered or in arms.

2

Reports also were industriously spread by these agents that the Irish were ready to rise in a new rebellion. But this was a thing impossible to be conceived by any body that knew the miserable condition of these people. There were, indeed, some persons, who had been deprived of their estates, so transported with the thoughts of regaining them upon the king's