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will be found an excellent specimen of quiet rebuke to egotistical subordinate.

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Few of the letters will better repay careful reading than those of Sir William Temple, pp. 120, 131, &c.

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From page 139 onwards, the principal interest lies in the private letters from London, and there are few of them which do not contain some graphic touch. Every character with whom we are familiar gains additional individuality: Danby "laying about him and providing for his family; " Lauderdale "bragging like a madman; " the Keeper (Finch) "acting very fearfully and warily; Buckingham, after the disgraceful affair of Lady Shrewsbury, "become a great converte," giving "publique testimony thereof by going with his owne lady to St. Martin's to church," and giving God thanks before the House of Lords that the displeasure of the House had "opened his eyes and discovered to him the foulnesse of his past life; " Arlington, in full Council, calling Anglesey "a knave," "which is too true;" Louise de Kéroualle, giving her support to Danby on condition that he shall provide funds for the "Necklasse of Pearle, £8,000 price, of a Marchant, and a payre of diamond pendants, 3,000 guynyes, of elder Lady Northumberland," neither of whom will part with them without ready money; Lady Northumberland herself, "the Divell of a woeman;" Mary of Modena, who "knows not how to set one foot before another with any gracefulnesse," and upon whose entry, "when the King called

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for a chaire for her, all the ladies who were in the presencechamber ran out of the room, as thinking themselves of equal quality to the Dutchesse of Modena; the supper at Lady Shrewsbury's, with Nell Gwyn, the Duke of Buckingham, and Mr. Speaker, described by Conway, where they "were very merry, had good discourse, and drank smartly;" the King "fumbling in delivering his speech, and making it worse than in the print” -a most interesting notice, since it was the occasion of his first deliberate official lie to Parliament. These are a few of the lighter touches which are scattered throughout these pages. But they are merely incidental to the graver notices of the differing aims and actions of the various cabals and rival politicians, notices which enable us to look into the inmost recesess of one of the most intricate episodes in our history.

Birmingham, 17.3.90.

OSMUND AIRY.

ESSEX PAPERS.

I. THE EARL OF ORRERY TO THE EARL OF ESSEX.

[fo. 31.]

MY LORD,

Ballemartin, the 30th of Aprill, 1672.

*

Heere I mett with ye most welcom newse of His Majts haveinge declared yo LP, La Lt of Ireland, wh: I assure yor LP was most pleasinge to All the English of this Province, as well of the Tounes & Cuntry as of that Part of ye Army in it; for under yor Gont we assure our selves of much Happiness.

And because I more than hope yor LP will hasten over into Ireland, I shall Presume humbly to minde you of a Few Essentiall Particulars. First, yt yo1 LP may come fully Impowerd to settle ye Corporations of this Kingdom; For on yo' doeinge of yt good worke thereby, not only the Present safety & Trade of Ireland under God will depend but also ye Future well Beeinge of it. Yo L' will have but little Time left to doe this Great worke in, for ye seaven yeers granted for it, in y° Explanatory Act, are neere Expired.

2ly. That ye Punctuall Paymt of ye Civill & Military Lists is Absolutely necessory, & Their Paymt will much, if not most of all, Depend on ye Trade of ye merchangts; & therefore if yor LP does not soone Procure, not only a Good Garde of Ships for the Coast

a

Roger Boyle, Baron Broghill, and first Earl of Orrery, statesman, soldier, and dramatist, died Oct. 16, 1629.

b Essex had been declared Lord-Lieutenant in the middle of April.

c Passed Dec. 23, 1665. See Carte's Ormond, vol. iv.

CAMD. SOC.

B

VOL. I.

in Gen", but also som Particular Friggetts, whos only duty shalbe to convay y Merchant Ships in Fleets, I more then feare ye Farmers of ye Revenue will suddenly claime Great defalcations if they doe not Press to becom Accountants instead of Farmers.

31y. The Greatest Magazeen of Armes in this Kingdom was Burnt in Dublin last summer, wh: ought speedely to be supplyed by a new store of Armes from England; And I humbly beseech yor LP not to be unmindfull of gettinge as soone as you can a good Proportion of Gun-Powder, with Match & Ball Proportionable, sent for Ireland, for I am creddibly assured much of ye Powder keept neere Dublin is Greatly decayd; but I am sure tis kept in such unsafe Places, yt at any Time 40 desperat fellows may either ceese on it or blow it up. This I assure myself yo' Lps wisedom will perceive as soone as you land.

4ly. The sum for Concordatums to defray ye contingent charges of this kingdom ought in all Reason to be Inlarged in Time of War much above what it was alowed to be in ye last Establishmt in ye La Ꮮ Roberts his time. And unless this be done, his Majts Seruice may not a little suffer.

5ly. Our last letters from London tell us of a considerable Reduction of ye Troopes & Companyes of this Army, intended to be made by a new Establishment. Ther is noe man Liveinge does more earnestly desyre to ease His Majts Post then I doe. But, in my humble opinion, Safety is in ye First Place to be prefeerd. And I will therfore hope yt ye noyse of this Reduceinge at Present is but noyse, since tis not usuall in Time of Warb to make Armys less then they were in Times of Peace, especially in a kingdom wher yo Army is soe little alreddy yt many walled Tounes & Excellent Sea Ports haue not one Sold' in them. And in the Prouince (And I hear tis ye like in sum other parts of this kingdom) the Soldiery are constantly on Third Night duty throughout ye whole yeer, in thos Few Garrisons we man. Nor could I ye last Dutch War draw out soe

a Six troops and ten companies disbanded in July.

b War had been declared against the Dutch, March 17, 1672.

3

much as one foot Company, for y° defence of His Majts Fleet at Kinsale, when we dayly expected to be ther assaulted by them, but I was necassitated to draw thither seuerall Troops & Companys of ye Militia of this Prouence, to answer yt seruice; & yet we had then in this Prouince 400 effective foot more then now we haue, for want of wh: I have been alreddy necessitated to draw all ye Gards in the Three Chief Cittyes of Munster, viz. : Corke, Lymerick, & Waterford, into ye Cittadels & Gatehowses, & in effect to make yo Gate howses Cittadels, by lodginge Soldiers & Plantinge Cannon in them; for if any one of them should be surprised, Tis me Thince a bigger Army, Than now in His Majt's pay in Ireland, can soe much as beseidge one of them; Espectially Lymerick; Before wh: ye usurpers Lay, when ye Irish had it, with an Army of neere 28,000 men, with a Fleet, an Excellent Trayne of Artillery, Bridges of Boats, & all other necessaryes for a Seidge; yet in Seauen months Time they were not neerer takeinge it ye last day then yo First, & had been forced to Raise their seidge, had not ye Plague, ye famine, & (most of all) their owne diuision forced them to surrender.b

Soe yt if in yor LPs Gouernment any Rebellion or inuasion should be made, you will finde it hardly Possible to draw any foot out of ye Garrisons to suppress it or repell it; but you must, under God, depend on ye Few Horse of ye Army, and in ye militia of ye cuntry. And therefore to be well supplyed with Arms and Ammunition wilbe essentially Requisite, since in either of thos cases twilbe then too late to send into England for Supplyes.

6ly. In my humble opinion it wilbe very Requisite to haue a sum of mony to buy Bisquett & Cheese, both to be layd Inn inn ye chiefe. Cittadels & Remote Garrisons on yo Sea Coast, y', in case of any danger, thos Important Places may be in a condition to defend themselues till Releefe come, without wh: they wilbe soe much exposed. As also to haue in euery Prouince at least a Reasonable Quantity of

■ Sic.

The same thing happened in 1689, when William III. besieged Limerick after the battle of the Boyne.

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