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cold to a man's hearte, so turned as mine for so long past to the ease and leasure of this aire. All I see of good in the change is that my Ambassage being Ext, it looks not like a thing of very long breath; and, besides that, my imployment in it is a thing that all men and partys seeme to have conspir'd in except myself, and to presage no ill from or make ill reflections upon it, wch yr Lp would say were a great piece of luck if you saw our Scene.

When I come into Holland, if you desire it I shall furnish yr L with the current of what passes under my eye or in my reach there, and if I needed any body to answer for mee, yr brother should doe it, that wherever I am yr LP may reckon upon a person that is with all the truth, esteem, and affection you can wish,

My Lord, yr Excy's most faithful, humble servant,

W. TEMPLE.

CXLIV.-WILLIAM HARBORD TO THE EARL OF ESSEX.

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I am infinitely sorry to finde how hardly Monmouth presseth upon Essex in these 2 Letters, but I hope to put a stop to this before ye next post, & I despair not of getting ye futritures hired during y Government towards ye purchassing ye Hunting place you desire. I did Intend to have begun my Jurney on Monday next, but I will delay it for some dayes in Expectation of Doctor Gorges, as you are pleased to Command, & to finish all y' Commands before I leave this place. I am surprised to heare how ill Coll. Sandys payes his men, & shall acquaint his Maty wth it. Ranelagh is very well wth King, & Governs Treasurer absolutely, & I think yt It is Essex his Interest to keep up the dispute and Animosity between Ranelagh & Ormond; for though Ormond be more a man of Honour, yet he is

very Desirous to my knowledge to go into Essex his place, and did imploy Carlingford to Duke for yt purpose. Sr Henry wilbe here on Thursday in order to ye Settling a future Correspondence, in case Ld of Arlington leave his place, & to create a good understanding between Sec. Coventry & Esser. I finde yt Sr Rob' Southwell is very affectionate in the concerns of Essex. I would advise Essex to acknowledge it by ye next. My Lady Duchesse of Somerset is dead, but how she hath disposed of my Lady ye neece I can not yet learne. Lodderdale is expected either here or at Ham to-morrow night. I will endeavour to make him Essex his friend in regard yt Duke depends much on him. Lord Martiala is gonne to Brussels, and from thence to Rome, to sollicite a general peace. France is Lowe, and Germany growes united against France, to ye great satisfaction of England.

CXLV.-LORD CONWAY TO THE EARL OF ESSEX.

MAY IT PLEASE YOR EXCELCE,

Though I have had the honor to receave yo' Excelcies most obliging Letter of the 11th past, yet I did not thinke to have given yor Excelce the trouble of my acknowledgement till my arrival at London, wch will not be yet these ten days; but having bin acquainted with some affaires wherein yo' Excelce is concerned, my inclinations to yo1 service are to passionat to delay the presenting of my thoughts upon them to yo' Excelce.

I have seen the copy of yor Excelcies Letter to My Lord Arlington of the 17th of March, and my Lord Ranelagh's Answer to yo objections, as also an Account, by way of Estimat of his Under

a Marischall.

taking, presented to his Matie, and the copy of the King's Letter to yor Excelce bearing date 23rd Aprill.

I wish that those who importuned yor Excelce to this Representation had consulted yor Interest as much as their owne little advantages, For I thinke the Preservation of yor Excelce in that Government is infinitly more to be valued among us for the good of that kingdome then the payment of the 12 months Arreares to the Army, wch was the cheefe matter complained of. Yo' Excelce may observe upon the King's Letter that you have gained very little ground in this matter. The Letter was drawn by Keeper, and written every word with his owne hand.

In my opinion there could not be a more ready way taken to loose all those Arreares then by this way of proceeding, for if my Lord Ranelagh be prest and complained of, he will certainly place, by way of Defalcation upon those Arreares, all the Payments wch he hath made above his Contract, and all mony wch hath been stopt from him by reason of the War. So that that weh he would otherwise place upon the King's 80,000l., and other Particulars, because he thinks it for his Reputation to pay off the Arreares of the Army, he will cast it upon them if they prove uneasy to him. And if he brings the 80,000l. cleere to the King's Privy Purse, I assure yo Excelce it will sway more then the consideration of those Arreares, or a much greater matter. I have heard that it was only this money payd to the privy purse which made King so unwilling to part from the Alliance of France.

a Finch.

CXLVI. THE EARL OF ESSEX TO SIR HENRY CAPEL.

DEARE BROTHER, Dublin Castle, May 24, '74. I have recd y's of ye 18th of Aprill, wch gives me a full Acct of many things relating to my selfe. As for my owne particular, I confess I am not so ambitious of Employm', or so extremely delighted in it, that I could not at any Time wth much ease (& if it be more for his Majesties service) very cheerfully lay it downe. I am sure it is not my desire to continue in it to ye disadvantage of ye publick. I doe not at all wonder that every now & then there are discourses of my Removall, nor am I one whit startled at it, neither doe I in ye least believe, notwithstanding any Reports, it is intended, his Matie having bin graciously pleased at my taking leave of him to assure me that, whenever he found it necessary for his service to recall me, I should hear of it from himselfe, or his Order, wch I shall entirely depend upon, without regarding any blind discourses of ye Towne. I know very well that one in my station cannot but be envied by many, & ye design of getting themselves into ye place will encourage divers to doe me spightfull Offices. You instance yr apprehensions of my La Ranelagh upon ye acct of a Lre I writt to ye Earle of Arlington, & I know that my La Kingston, Coll. Dillon, Ld etc., who had procured Lies for Grants upon discoverys, & multitudes of others who were preparing to gaine Lões, cannot be without their ill will towards me, since their Agents doe informe them all that I am ye person who have given an Interruption to all their projects (of this business my Ld of Arlington knows ye bottom). There is also another party wch I am sure is inveterate towards me; they are such as for my owne part, upon ye principles I act, I glory to be in defyance with them, & that is Coll. Talbot & Father Patricke. If these men doe only designe that those of their owne persuasion (for religion I am confidt they have none) should live at ease & quiet in this country & enjoy ye equall benefitt of ye Laws now

La

a The chief part of this letter is in cypher.

established as others, I doe most heartily joyne wth them, & as I have hitherto bin, so shall ever bee carefull to doe impartiall justice to ye Papists as to ye Protestants; but if their aime be to introduce those of their owne persuasion & nation into powr & comand, & to make them superior to ye English & Protestants here, I am not a man for their turne, & I care not if it be published to all ye world that I would, by all ways & means consistent with my allegiance, oppose & obstruct them. These two men have from my first coming given me all ye disquiett they possibly could, by Lřes & severall Emissarys animating all ye disconted people here agt me, & fomenting all litle divisions & disorders wthin ye Kingdome. How this is consistent with ye duty of a good subject, I am yet to learne.

You see how many there are who take themselves to be engaged agt me, & none of them I am sure upon any other grounds then for ye exact performance of my Trust, from wch no consideration whatever shall divert me; and tho' (as I have said already) I have not ye least imagination that it is intended by his Matie I should be recalled, yet all late Lies are so filld wth it, & those dispersd to all parts of ye Kingdome, as ye noise of it is a reall disadvantage to his Majesties service. The people here are a rough kind of people, & very apt to contemne their superiors, so as unless they be governd wth a good strict hand there is no dealing wth them. I have I confess by this year's experience masterd my owne Temper, & am upon occasion now & then harsh enough to some of them, as I see cause, & I doe finde ye benefitt of it. I doe therefore conceive that, since it is so much grown ye Comon Talke of my removall, it may not be amiss my Lord of Arlington did move ye King. He would please upon some opportunity to say something to discourage ye beliefe of it in ye world, for I doe assure you, if men here have those imaginations in their heads, they will in a great measure withdraw ye reverence & respect for me wch is necessary to support his Majesties Authority here.

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This Lre you may, if you thinke fitt, comunicate it all to my Lord of Arlington.

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