between the Parliament and us, and we mean to be it between Your Majesty and the Parliament :” that two or three hours after his (Sir John's) arrival, Cromwell sent an officer to excuse him (Cromwell), that he could not wait on him till ten at night, by reason he was sitting with the committee of Parliament, and should not rise till then: that he came then, accompanied with Rainsborough and Sir Hardress Waller: that after general discourse, he (Sir John) told Cromwell the sum of his instructions from the Queen and Prince; which were to assure them, that Her Majesty and His Highness were not partial to the Presbyterians, nor any way averse to them: that he (Sir John) would endeavour to incline His Majesty to comply with them, as far as would stand with his honour and conscience, and to dispose them to press His Majesty no farther: that his (Cromwell's) answer was in these words, That whatever the world might judge of them, they would be found no seekers of themselves, farther than to have leave to live as subjects ought to do, and to preserve their consciences; and that they thought no men could enjoy their lives and estates quietly, without the King had his rights; which they had declared in general terms already to the world, and would more particularly very speedily, wherein they would comprise the several interests of the royal presbyterian and independent parties, as far as they were consisting with each other; which

he (Sir John) says, he understood afterwards to be meant of the proposals of the army: that he went the next day to the General (Fairfax) by Cromwell's direction, to ask his leave to see the King, which he was pleased to grant: that he delivered his letters and instructions to His Majesty: that he found that His Majesty discovered, not only to him, but to every one he was pleased to converse with, a total diffidence of all the army, except Huntington, and grounded it chiefly upon the officers' backwardness to treat of receiving any favour or advantage from His Majesty: that he (Sir John) was of His Majesty's sense, that men, whose hands were yet hot with the blood of his most faithful subjects, ought not entirely to be trusted, but thought they ought absolutely to be well dissembled with, whilst His Majesty was in their hands; at least, that he might the better get out of them; and that, to this end, he offered several expedients; as to suffer Hugh Peters to preach before His Majesty, of which he was very ambitious, and to converse with him and others of the army with freedom, and by all means to endeavour to gain the good opinion of the most active adjutators and the like: but that His Majesty concurred in none of them; which made him (Sir John) doubt that His Majesty valued his reasons something the worse on account of the author of them; and, therefore, that he (Sir John) medi

Mr. John Ashburnham, with whom he hoped he might prevail, and he with His Majesty; and which, within a few days after, he did obtain, and caused it to be delivered to his servant: that, however it was, upon some surmises of him (Sir John) being an engaged presbyterian, Cromwell came to expostulate the matter plainly with him; to which he (Sir John) replied, "That he was as much presbyterian as independent; that he (Sir John), as well as others, were inclined to think the better of them (the Independents), because they pretended to mind the King's restoration; but bid them be assured, that as soon as he should discover they were not real, he, and he thought all the King's party, would join with any that would but dissemble better than they; and concluded, that he thought nothing would separate the crown and the King's party:" that Cromwell seemed not unsatisfied with this plain dealing, and so left him : that the next day Huntington, who was sent to me by the King, made him acquainted with two general officers, whom he durst not name, because they were obnoxious to the then present power: that with these he had often and free communication; and, enquiring what opinion they had of the army in general, as to a conjunction with the King, they replied, "That they did believe, that it was universally desired, both by the officers and adjutators:" that if Cromwell was not real in it, he was a great dissembler, and so was Ireton: that,

for the present, the whole army was so bent upon it, that they durst not be otherwise; - that, if they should ever happen to change, they should easily discover it; and, because they had been, in great part, the cause that Sir Allen Apsley was sent to him (Sir John), they thought themselves obliged to give him all the light they could of things and persons; which to the best they performed, in his (Sir John's) opinion, most sincerely: that he (Sir John) informed them at their first meeting, that he doubted there would be three great difficulties which would obstruct the agreement; — first, that they would expect that the King should not only give them liberty of conscience, but alter the established ecclesiastical government, which His Majesty was persuaded he could not in conscience do; the second, that they would not be contented to separate some few men from the court, and from bearing great offices, unless they and their posterity were ruined, and that by the King's act, which His Majesty could not in honour permit; and, thirdly, that they would not be contented with a security of the militia, during His Majesty's life; and His Majesty could not grant it further, but infinitely to the prejudice of his posterity: that they assured him, that His Majesty would be pressed in none of these particulars, and that there was a draught of proposals, which Ireton had drawn, and

wherein there was nothing tending to any such purpose; and, that if His Majesty would consent to them, there would be an end of all difficulties; and they thought that the sooner His Majesty did it the better it would be; because there was no certainty in the temper of the army, which they had observed to have altered more than once already: that he (Sir John) asked whether he might not have a sight of these proposals; they answered, when he pleased: that they went with them to Ireton for that purpose, and remained with him almost till morning: that he (Ireton) permitted him (Sir John) to alter two of the articles, and that, in most material points, and that he would have done a third, which was, the excluding seven persons (that were not named) from pardon, and the admitting of the King's party to sit in the next Parliament; - to the first he answered, that being they had prevailed in the war, if they should not in the sight of the world make some distinction between themselves and those that were worsted, (who always bear the blame of public quarrels,) they had so many malicious enemies, both in the Parliament and army, that they should be censured of betraying their party, and to have sought their own ends by private and indirect means; to the second, he confessed that he should himself be afraid of a Parliament, wherein the King's party should have the major vote; but that after the agreement, if the King's party and they could piece kindly and