2 ti. man can be imagined, patent to fee you than can which I hope will per marts, LETTER L. Lady Dorothy Sidney (afterwards Lefs of Sunderland) to her faiber 3ert Earl of Leicester. My Lord, AD not my intentions been diverted by the trouble of a distemper, which great cold produced; and fince that the expectation of Rochell's coming her, I would not have been thus flow prefenting your Lordship with my humble thanks for the many fine ings that you have beflowed on me, And though they will be my greatest ornaments, which is of much confideration by perfons no wifer than I am; they could not give me any contentment, but as I understand they are expreffions of your Lordship's favour; a bleffing that, above all others in this world, I do with most pallion defire: and my ambition is, that whatfoever your Lordhip doth procul pound to be in the perfe&teft good child upon the earth, yo. ma, nd accomplished dent in me, that will ever be your Lordship's Which most affection. e, moft humble, and exwent actly obedient. , and 1.0 re Penshurit, Dec. 29, 1638. LETTER LI. een. Robert Lord Spencer, to his Lady Dorothy, daughter of Robert Earl of Leicester, Moft of it in cypher, and decyphered. oum, as I Jung to him wt i believe Se in A live caufe imageous sang exceptions; ret any thing e multiplies he receives: you had not beft which you would of And, at this nure; but that I My dearest heart, THE King's condition is much improved of late; his force increafeth daily, which increafeth the infolency of the Papiits. How much I am unfatisfied with the proceedings here, I have at large expreffed in feveral letters. Neither is there wanting, daily, handfome occafion to retire, were it not for grinning honour. For let occafion be never to handiome, unless a man were refolved to fight on the Parliament fide, which, Sons of and which, for my part, I had rather be hanged, it will be faid without doubt, that a man is afraid to fight. If there could be an expedient found, to falve the punctilio of honour, I would not continue here an hour. The difcontent that I, and many other honeft men, receive daily, is beyond expreffion. People are much divided; the King is of late very much averfe to peace, by the perfuaIt is likewife conceived, that the King has taken a refolution not to do any thing in that way before the Queen comes; for people advising the King to agree with the Parliament, was the occafion of the Queen's return. Till that time no advice will be received; nevertheless, the honest men will take all occafions to procure an accommodation; which the King, when he fent thofe meffages, did heartily defire, and would ftill make of fers in that way, but for and and the expectation of the Queen, and the fear of the Papifts, who threaten people of- -: I fear the Papifts threats have a much greater influence upon the King than upon What the King's intentions are, to thofe that I converfe with, are altogether unknown; fome fay he will hazard a batthe very quickly; others fay he thinks of wintering; which as it is fufpected, fo if it were generally believed, Sunderland and many others would make no fcruple to retire; for I think it is far from gallant, either to starve with the King, or to do worse, as to avoid fighting. It is faid the King goes on Friday towards Chefter, for a day or two, leaving his forces here; which are, 6000 foot, 1500 dragoons, and above 2000 horfe. There are 4000 foot more raised, they fay 2000 by my Lord Strange, 1000 by Sir Thomas Salfbury, and 1200 by Sir Edward Stradling; all which will be here within a very few days. This is a light ning before death. I am yours, &c. Shrewsbury, the 21st Sept. 1642. a good while, though you mentioned two others in this. Since we have been upon our march, I have had neither time nor opportunity to write, but I fent Alibone yesterday to Althorpe, with a short letter to you, and a long one to my lady for which trouble I beseech you to make my excufe: above one more than this, I believe I fhall not have time to write, and opportunity to fend, before we come to London; which, by the grace of God, will be as foon as fo great an army can march fo many miles. For not only but most men believe, that the King's army will make its way, though Lord Effex's army is five times as many as we are. If the King, or rather prevail, we are in fad condition, for they will be infupportable to all, but most to us who have opposed them, fo that if the King prevails by force, I must not live at home, which is grievous to me, but more to you; but if I apprehend I fhall not be fuffered to live in England: and yet I cannot fancy any way to avoid both; for the King is fo awed by that he dares not propofe peace, or accept: I fear though by his laft meffage he is engaged. But if that be offered by the Parliament, I and others will speak their opinion, though by that, concerning the treaty, were threatened by who caufed to be commanded taken notice of it, ever fince the Duke's going away my Lord Southampton, who prefents to you his fervice has lain in the bedchamber: for all the King never speaks to I had above an hour's difcourfe with the King, about the treaty, which I would be glad you knew, but it is too long with cyphers and unfit without, elfe we have had no commerce fince we came from Nottingham: I thank you for your care to fupply me with money; I should be forry not to fee you till I wanted it, for yefterday I gave fix fcore pounds for a horie of my coufin Clumfey's, who kiifes your hands. This may appear an argument that I shall want the fooner, but if I had been in danger of that, I would have ventured my body upon a worse horfe. If I durft write thus freely of all things, you should have volumes, but by this conftraint, I fear I have writ too much nonfenfe; for I can truly fay of my writing in characters, as a great man of this kingdom faid of his fpeaking, that he never knew what he meant to fpeak, before he fpake, nor what he had faid, after he had spoken. Pray let my Lady Leicefter know, that to write news, without or with a cypher, is inconvenient; ill compliments I dare not, having heard her to often declaim against good ones, fo that out of my refpect I forbear writing often to her. I hear that Leicester has refufed to fhew his inftructions to the Parliament without the King's leave, which refolution I hope he will not alter, left it fhould be prejudicial to him; for the King is in fo good condition at this time, that if the Parliament would restore all his right, unless the Parliament will deliver up to a legal trial all thofe perfons named in his long and fome others, he will not hearken to peace. I hope Northumberland is in no danger, for befides the relation to him by you, I have been fo obliged to him, that I very often think of him. The Parliament's confidence which you fpake of in your letter is put on, for really they are in ill condition, and it is impoffible but they must know it. I never faw the King look better, he is very cheerful, and by the bawdy difcourie I thought I had been in the drawing room. Money comes in beyond expectation, the foot are reasonably well paid; the horfe have not been paid, but live upon the country. The King is very good of himself, and would be to fill, were it not for evil counsellors; for he gives very ftrict order, that as little fpoil be made as is poffible. To morrow we march to Birmingham, and fo on the road to London, from whence by the grace of God I will come to Penfhurft, where I October 14th, 1642, the King marched to Birmingham. hope to see you past all your pains. I wrote to you laft, to defire you to invite all my fifters to you, for I doubt London will be fhortly a very ill place. I am yours, and my Lady Carlile's humble fervant. You fee I have not spared my pains, but unless you have received a letter that I writ to you from you will not well understand the inclosed; pray keep it to yourself, for I fend it to you, to have your opinion, whether it be ridiculous or no. I am yours. LETTER LIII. From the fame to the fame. My dearest heart, THE King's fudden refolution of go ing before Gloucefler, hath extremely difappointed me; for when I went from Brittol, on Monday morning, he was refolved to come hither this day, and to that purpofe fent his troop before. Upon this, I, and two or three gentlemen agreed to meet his Majefty here this day, and to take the Bath in our way, which we did accordingly; by which means, we miffed his Majefty, being gone this morning towards Gloucester; and tomorrow morning he will be before it, where I intend to wait upon him. The King's going to Gloucester is in the opinion of mot very unadvised. I find the Queen is unfatisfied with it; fo is all the people of quality. I am not able to give you any account upon what grounds the King took this refolution; it may be you will think, that I am fparing of my pains, but really, had I any more to fay, I would set it down. You will receive two other letters from me by this meffenger, one of which I wrote before my going hence, the other at Briftol; they are of fo old a date that I should do you a great fervice to burn them; but because you often reproach me for failing in this kind of kindness, I will fend them, hoping that you will receive them kindly, according to the intention of him that wrote them, who is molt paffionately yours. Aug. 9th, at funfet, 1643. I do moft humbly kifs my Lady Lei cefter's hands, LETTER LIV. From the fame to the fame. My dearest heart, UST as I was coming out of the of a fmall bile, in fuch a place, that as I cannot ride without pain, so I cannot with modefty make a more particular description. find that we had only an alarm, which they gave to hinder our working, not daring to fally any more, being fo well J trenches, on Wednesday, I received beaten the last time; the night before they offered to make a fally, forty or fifty of them being without their fally port, but we inftantly beat them back. Our gallery will be finished within this day or two, and then we shall foon difpatch our mine, and them with it. Many of the foldiers are confident that we shall have the town within this four days, which I extremely long for, not that I am weary of the fiege; for really, though we fuffer many inconveniences, yet I am not ill pleafed at this variety, fo directly oppofite to one another, as the being in the trenches with fo much good company, together with the noife and tintamarre of guns and drums, the horrid fpectacles, and hideous cries, of dead and hurt men, is to the folitarinefs of my quarter; together with all the marks of peace, which often bring into my thoughts. (notwithstanding your mother's opinion of me) how infinitely more happy I fhould efteem myself, quietly to enjoy your company at Althrope, than to be troubled with the noises, and engaged in the factions of the court, which I fhalk ever endeavour to avoid; fhould that be compaffed, nothing on my part shall be omitted, he being, as he tells me, now contriving how to lay the bufinefs fo with and Lord Jermin, who pro your letter of the 20th of this inftant, A famous divine. feffeth much kindness that it may in pro notwithstanding I thought it would not be amifs to acquaint you with this, because it may interrupt your friend bufinefs; for it appears fo foul a bufinefs to my friend - his that he told me he would endeavour to do them both all the fervice he could, by keeping it off; but if that cannot be done; and that it is neceffary for to be engaged (which if it is flain. SINCE I wrote to you laft from Sulbey, we had fome hopes one day to when fight with my Lord of Effex's army, we receiving certain intelligence of his beLeaving in a field convenient enough, called arm Ripple Field, towards which we advanced with all poffible fpeed; upon im, na be deitie es of Bedford, nothing being rethem when I came n that they should but without doubt e better received than rect. When we were was there, but I ✔ately gone to Herehim, and all their own houfes; let me have Pet's, the thought ant, and paf which he retired with the body of his rance, army to Tewkesbury, where, by the advantage of the bridge, he was able to make good his quarter, with five hundred mit men, against twenty thoufand. So that was, though we were at fo near a distance, as we could have been with him in two hours; his quarter being so strong, it was refolved on Thursday, that we feeing for the prefent he would not fight with us, we should endeavour to force him to it by cutting off his provifions; for which purpofe, the best way was, for the body of our army to go back to Evefholme, and for our horfe to distress him: upon which I, and many others, refolved to come for a few days hither, there being no probability of fighting very fuddenly, where we arrived late on Thurfday night. As foon as I came, I went to your father's, where I found Alibone, with whofe face I was better pleafed than with any of the ladies here. This expreffion is fo much a bolder thing than charging my Lord Effex, that thould this letter mifcarry, and come to the knowledge of our dames, I should, by having my eyes fcratched out, be cleared from coming away from the army for fear; where if I had ftayed, it is odds I fhould not have lot more than one. Lag night very good news came to court, that we, yesterday morning, fell upon a horse quarter of the enemies, and cut off a regiment, and that my Lord of Newcastle hath killed, and taken prifoners, two whole regiments of horfe and foot that iffued out of Hull; which place he hath great hopes to take ere long. By the fame meffenger, last night, the King fent the Queen word that he would come hither on Monday or Tuesday; upon one we Gloucester. the King rem whence wither I un merefore SW |