sent by the Parliament to His Majesty, with offers of a treaty, upon condition that His Majesty, as a pledge of his future sincerity, would grant four preliminary bills, meaning the bills heretofore described, which they had brought with them: Sir John proceeds, many well-wishing persons were induced to believe, that, by all means, His Majesty ought to pass those bills, for many reasons; but especially, because his enemies would deliver him to the world, as obstinate to his own and the kingdom's ruin, if he should not accept this offer: that to avoid both the inconveniences of granting or refusing, he (Sir John) drew an answer of the treaty before it began: that if they would needs think it expedient to require so great hostages from His Majesty they would not be backward to give some token to him of their reality; and then desired, that at the same time that His Majesty should pass these four bills, the Houses would pass four of His Majesty's drawing, which were all most popular, and such as they durst not pass, nor would deny; at least, if they did, they could, with no colour of justice, accuse His Majesty for not granting what was most unjust and most unpopular: the first was a bill for payment of the army, which contained their disbanding, as soon as they were paid; the second, a period to the present Parliament; the third, for restoring the King, Queen, and royal family, to their revenues; the fourth, the settling of the church-government, without

any coercive power; and, in the mean time, till such a government were agreed on, the old one to stand, without coercive authority: that he (Sir John) showed this answer, first to Mr. Leg, then to Dr. Hammond, and Dr. Sheldon; who seemed to approve of the expedient, and desired Mr. Ashburnham would acquaint the King with it; but he (Sir John) never heard any thing from His Majesty; and was resolved never to have it obtruded, lest he should appear fond of his own conceptions; that by His Majesty's directions an answer was drawn, that gave a full denial; which was, in his (Sir John's) judgment, very well penned : but, adds he, I thought good penning did not signify much at that time, and therefore made this objection, that it was very possible, that upon His Majesty's giving an absolute negative, the commissioners might have orders to enjoin the governor to look more strictly to his person, and so his intended escape would be prevented. His Majesty replied immediately, that he had thought of a remedy, which was, to deliver his answer, sealed, to the commissioners; and so left us: that he (Sir John) could not hold from letting Mr. Ashburnham find his sense of this sorry 'expedient, by saying, that the commissioners would either open the answer, or conclude that, in effect, it was a denial, and proceed accordingly; but all was in vain: that some few days after, the English commissioners arrived,

and delivered their message, and desired an answer within three or four days: that, the next day, the Lords Loudon, Lanerick, Lauderdale, Chiesly, and others, commissioners for the kingdom of Scotland, delivered a protestation to the King, subscribed by them, against this message, as not according with their covenant: that, from that time, they began to treat seriously with His Majesty, but would not permit that either Mr. Ashburnham or him (Sir John) should assist at the treaty; for which, he says, he forgave them with all his heart; for that it would have been very insecure for them to have had any communication with them at that time: that, at last, they came to such a conclusion as they could get; not such an one as they desired, from the King, but much short of it; which gave an advantage to the Lord Argyle, and the clergy party in Scotland, to oppose it as not satisfactory; and thereby retarded the proceeding of Duke Hamilton, and that army, four months; which was consequently the ruin of Langharn in Wales, and of the forces in Kent and Essex, and of the Scots army also, which consisted of twenty-four thousand men: all which forces were the result of the treaty, which appeared to him (Sir John), if it had been sooner dispatched, to have been one of the most prudent acts of His Majesty's reign, however unprosperous: that when the time was come that the King was to deliver his answer to the English

before he delivered it, asked the Lord Denbigh (who was the chief commissioner) whether they had power to alter any substantial or circumstantial part of their message; and they replying they had not, His Majesty delivered his answer to the Lord Denbigh, sealed: that after they had withdrawn awhile, the Lord Denbigh returned with the rest, and seemed offended with His Majesty for delivering the message sealed, and expressed his indignation in harsher terms than one gentleman ought to use to another: that after long expostulations His Majesty was persuaded to open his answer; which was so far from allaying the storm, that it increased it, both in the commissioners and the governor, who, all together, retired from the castle of Carisbrooke to Newport, an English mile from the castle that as soon as they were gone, he (Sir John) went to Mr. Ashburnham, who told him, he had newly dispatched away a footman over the water, to order four or five horses to be removed from the place where they then stood, lest they should be found and seized by the soldiers that were coming into the island: that he (Sir John) conjured him by no means to do it, lest the winds or the Parliament's frigates might frustrate their escape, and they should want horses: that he (Ashburnham) thereupon sent a groom after him, and brought him back; but within a few hours after, sent him again with the first order, but upon what ground he (Sir John) knew not, unless that

of good husbandry: that, that night or the next morning, His Majesty resolved to endeavour his escape, but he met with two great obstacles, the wind in the very instant became cross, and the governor returned from Newport full of fury, and locked up the gates, and doubled his guards, and went not to bed that night: that in the morning he commanded all His Majesty's servants from him; but before they took their leaves, they acquainted him that they had left the captain of the frigate and two honest and trusty gentlemen of the island to assist his escape, and that all things would be in readiness on the other side of the water: that His Majesty commanded them to draw a declaration in his name that night, and send it to him in the morning, when they came to Newport: that Will. Leg and he (Sir John) left Mr. Ashburnham and the rest in the inn, and went to an acquaintance's house of theirs in the town; where, after they had staid an hour, they heard a drum beat confusedly, and, not long after that, one Captain Burley, with divers others, were risen to rescue the King; whereupon Mr. Leg and he (Sir John) went to the inn, where they found Mr. Ashburnham making speeches to those poor wellaffected people, advising them to desist from their vain enterprise. Sir John says, "I must confess I thought any communication of ours with them dangerous; and therefore advised Mr. Ashburnham