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haps attend att two or three Assizes, and though the thiefe were convict receave noe consideration for his good or cost. All is forfited & taken up by the Shiriffe or Senescall, and who will have the confidence or zeale for the publick wealth to putt himselfe to such truble & cost, and how shall wee be able to persuade him soe to doe.

3. It being notorious the said fall upon the weaker and meaner sort of people, seems those of power & stocke finding theire owne secure doe not bestir themselves in suppressing those misdemenors requisit, the Comisioners in their Wisdome contrive a way whereby such persons may be engaged in the worke, & have correspondency with & countenance the prists in relation to theire proceedings hearin.

Proposall from ye Romish Priests, &c.

CCXII. THE EARL OF ESSEX TO SIR H. CAPEL.

DEARE BROTHER,

&

Dublin Castle, March 2, 74. Mr Harbord being arrived, I received ye severall Letters by him my Cousen Wisemen. As to ye matter of Essex House, I have discussed it fully wth Mr Harbord, & tho' I am satisfied that both of you doe advise me that wch you thinke for the best, yet I cannot imagine, all circumstances considered, why I should refuse it, unlesse 'twere proper for me to putt a notorious Affront upon his Majestie, & ye greatest disobligacon upon my Lord Treasurer imaginable. I doe believe that what y' selfe & Mr Harbord have done in this Affaire will encrease ye price at least one or two thousand pas, & I am sure I gave you early notice enough by a Lre in cypher, weh way this matter was moving, & desired that Mr Harbord might use his Industry in bringing downe ye price, & that was all He had to doe, instead of wch every one was told

that I was not like to accept it, wch has so bungled ye buisnesse as I fear it will not come so cheap as it otherwise might have done. Mr Harbord hath now undertaken to see ye purchase gone through wth, & by this post hath writt Lões to that purpose into England. Upon ye whole I would not have you imagine that I thinke you did other then what you presume best for me, tho' I doe not agree wth you in this particular.

I desire you would for ye present forbear paying any more debts. & reserve what money you have, & what I shall send in stocke for ye purchase of Essex House.

CCXIII. THE EARL OF BRISTOL TO THE EARL OF ESSEX.

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London, March the 7th, 167 .

MY LORD, Although I have not troubled you with unnecessary Letters, I I have been watchfull of all occasions wherein I might any kind bee serviceable to you, But none hath offered itself, worthy your receiving a particular account of, untill the other day, that Information was brought mee several wayes, and with such Circumstances as make it Credible, that you were to bee recall'd out of Ireland. Whereupon I demanded a private Audience of the King, And at it express'd my self unto him in your concerns, as I thought so faithful a friend and humble servant of yours as I am ought to do.

The King's Reply to mee was, That you had served him so eminently well in that Employment, That if you were not in Ireland alreadie, Hee would purchase you at any Rate to send you thither, And that hee did not know how his affaires in that Kingdome could subsist without you, you having had the good fortune not only to please himself, But even all opposite parties, And thus

much hee allowed mee to tell you, and bid you Rely on, which having done, I have nothing to adde, but a renewall of assurance that I am with the same fidelity that ever.

CCXIV. THE EARL OF ESSEX TO CHARLES II.

MAY IT PLEASE YR MAJESTIE,

I have recd yr Majesties gracious Lfe for ye Grant of thirteen thousand pås, wch favor I doe wth all humilite & gratitude acknowledge. The Mony was intended for ye purchase of Essex House, wch being a most Conspicuous marke of ye Maties bounty, & an honour permanent to my Family, would therefore many Times double y value of yo gift, & had those whom I Employ'd in England pursued my directions, ye purchase had bin made ere this; but they, causing a most unnecessary demurre, have given an opportunity to another person to contract for it, wch perhaps may prevent ye placing this favor on me in yo manner it was designed; yet if y1 Majestie please to refraine ye granting a Licence for building on new foundations there ye matter may be retrieved, & yr Majesties Liberality applied as was at first proposed, but if this this cannot be compassed, I shall reserve yr Majesties gracious intentions towards me for some other opportunity, assuring yr Majestie that yr favourable thoughts cannot be bestowed on any person who will owne them with a more gratefull mind, nor who wth more zeale doth endeavor to meritt ye Title of

The most faithfull & most obedient of yr Majesties Subjects & Servants,

ESSEX.

Dublin Castle, March 17.

To the King.

CCXV.-LORD RANELAGH TO THE EARL OF ESSEX.

MAY IT PLEASE YOR EXCY,

March the 30th, 1675.

The honour of Yor Excy of the 8th and 16th instant I have receaved, and am very sorry my endeavors to secure Essex House to Yor Exey have noo better suceeded. The Bargaine with Doctor Barebone is doubtless a reall one, att least as farre as articles interchangeably, signed and sealed, can make itt. But as yett he hath nether payd any of his money, nor receaved any conveyance. Howsoever, encouraged by Mr. Gregory, one of the Executors and some others, I feare of greater quality, he hath entred upon the garden, which he hath absolutely destroyed, and layd thoro it the foundation of that street which he designes; and this in defyance of the order of Councell, by which he was to show cause why the King might not comply with the Templers disyre. To morrow the Councell meets, and this insolent proceeding of his will be complayned off, and I daresay he will not onely then receive a cheque, but alsoe whatsoever obstruction the King by law can give him. Mr. Thinns, I must owne, hath all along been both civill and friendly to Yr Excys pretence, and will continue soe as long as there is the least hopes; and whilst there is soe Mr. Cratford and I will neglect nether means nor opportunities to recover itt, tho' we cannot finde any reason to hope that any of the price will be abated, for I may safely assure Yr Excy the bargaine att 13,000 is soe farr from an ill one that the Doctor will, without medling with any of the building himself, cleare att least two or three thousand pounds by itt. And this I am informed from severall hands.

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The famous building contractor, so well described in Roger North's autobiography.

CCXVI. THE EARL OF ESSEX TO LORD RANELAGH.

75.

MY LORD, Dublin Castle, Aprill 7, Yesterday I received yrs of ye 30th of March, being ye first Packet arrived here since ye Losse of ye Yacth, whereby we understand who perished & who were saved, which I conceive I need not repeat, for ye particulars you will have from ye Coast on that side. As to Essex House it will yr Lps Lře tells me depend on that point, whether yo King can prohibite ye building on new foundations. This hath in all former times bin taken for granted, yet, however, I am sorry that a concerne of mine should occasion a dispute of ye King's Prerogative; ye spoile of ye Garden cannot be much materiall, in regard a little mony will, I am confident, put it in order, so as that shall not hinder me from pursueing my intention, in case this bargain wth Dr. Barebone be vacated.

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The French Recruits have had ill fortune; for tho' ye officers did their parts perfectly well in bringing them to a remote corner of Kerry wthout noise, yet ye French Ships that were appointed to take them in, failing many days, and when they did come, which was 20 days after their Time, instead of coming to Dingle came to Kinsale, and there divulged in ye Towne that they came to fetch men for ye Service of France, so as ye Officers, finding ye Thing grew too publick, have themselves, I hear, dismissed most of ye men.a I gave them all connivance that possibly I could, seeming not to believe ye news for a Packett or two. But at last when it was too much ye publick discourse I was forced to send orders to dismisse any of them that should be found in that Country, and as those Orders will be Justification enough that these Levies were not permitted by Authority, so I am sure on ye other hand ye very Officers themselves will clear me to His Majestie, that I have allowed them all ye fair play in their businesse that wth decencie they could expect, and that ye disappointment proceeded purely from ye Errors comitted by ye Comanders of ye French ships.

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Charles was, at the time that he allowed France to recruit in Ireland, posing as mediator in the war.

CAMD. SOC.

2 s

VOL. I.

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