Characters from the Histories & Memoirs of the Seventeenth Century

by Unknown

By CLARENDON.

The Earle of Manchester, of the whole Caball, was in a thousand respects most unfitt for the company he kept. He was of a gentle and a generous nature, civilly bredd, had reverence and affection for the person of the Kinge, upon whome he had attended in Spayne, loved his Country with to unskilfull a tendernesse, and was of so excellent a temper and disposition, that the barbarous tymes, and the rough partes he was forced to acte in them, did not wype out or much deface those markes, insomuch as he was never guilty of any rudenesse towards those, he was oblieged to oppresse, but performed always as good offices towards his old frendes, and all other persons, as the iniquity of the tyme, and the nature of the imployment he was in, would permitt him to doe, which kinde of humanity could be imputed to very few; and he was at last dismissed, and remooved from any trust, for no other reason, but because he was not wicked enough.

He marryed first into the family of the Duke of Buckingham, and by his favour and interest was called to the house of Peeres in the life of his father, and made Barron of Kymolton, though he was commonly treated and knowne by the name of the L'd Mandevill: And was as much addicted to the service of the Courte as he ought to be. But the death of his Lady, and the murther of that greate Favorite, his secounde marriage with the daughter of the Earle of Warwicke, and the very narrow and restrayned maintenance which he receaved from his father and which would in no degree defray the exspences of the Courte, forced him to soone to retyre to a Country life, and totally to abandon both the Courte and London, whither he came very seldome in many yeeres; And in this retirement, the discountenance which his father underwent at Courte, the conversation of that family into which he was now marryed, the bewitchinge popularity which flowed upon him with a wounderfull Torrent, with the want of those guardes which a good education should have supplyed him with, by the cleere notion of the foundation of the Ecclesiasticall as well as the Civill goverment, made a greate impression upon his understandinge (for his nature was never corrupted but remayned still in its integrity) and made him believe, that the Courte was inclined to hurte and even to destroy the country, and from particular instances to make generall and daungerous conclusions. They who had bene alwayes enimyes to the Church, prævayled with him to lessen his reverence for it, and havinge not bene well instructed to defende it, [he] yeilded to easily to those who confidently assaulted it, and thought it had greate errors which were necessary to be reformed, and that all meanes are lawfull to compasse that which is necessary, wheras the true Logique is, that the thinge desyred is not necessary, if the wayes are unlawfull which are proposed to bringe it to passe. No man was courted with more application by persons of all conditions and qualityes, and his person was not lesse acceptable to those of steddy and uncorrupted principles, then to those of depraved inclinations; and in the end, even his piety administred some excuse to him, for his fathers infirmityes and transgressions had so farr exposed him to the inquisition of justice, that he found it necessary to procure the assistance and protection of those, who were stronge enough to violate justice itselfe, and so he adhered to those, who were best able to defende his fathers honour, and therby to secure his owne fortune, and concurred with them in ther most violent designes, and gave reputation to them; and the Courte as unskilfully, tooke an occasion to soone to make him desperate, by accusinge him of high Treason, when (though he might be guilty enough,) he was without doubte in his intentions at least as innocent, as any of the leadinge men; and it is some evidence that God Almighty saw his hearte was not so malicious as the rest, that he præserved him to the end of the confusion, when he appeared as gladd of the Kings restoration, and had heartily wished it longe before, and very few who had a hand in the contrivance of the rebellion gave so manifest tokens of repentance as he did; and havinge for many yeeres undergone the jealosy and hatred of Crumwell, as one who abominated the murther of the Kinge, and all the barbarous proceedings against the life of men in cold bloode, the Kinge upon his returne receaved him into grace and favour, which he never forfeited by any undutifull behaviour.

48.

THE LORD SAY.

William Fiennes, created Viscount Say and Sele 1624.

Born 1582. Died 1662.

By CLARENDON.

The last of those Councillours, which were made after the faction prævayled in Parliament, who were all made to advance an accommodation, and who adhered to the Parliament, was the L'd Say, a man who had the deepest hande in the originall contrivance of all the calamityes which befell that unhappy kingdome, though he had not the least thought of dissolvinge the Monarchy, and lesse of levellinge the rankes and distinctions of men, for no man valewed himselfe more upon his title, or had more ambition to make it greater, and to rayse his fortune, which was but moderate for his title. He was of a prowde, morose, and sullen nature, conversed much with bookes, havinge bene bredd a scholar, and (though nobly borne) a fellow of New-Colledge in Oxforde, to which he claymed a right, by the Allyance he prætended to have from William of Wickam the Founder, which he made good by such an unreasonable Pedigre through so many hundred yeeres, halfe the tyme wherof extinguishes all relation of kinred, however upon that pretence that Colledge hath bene seldome without one of that L'ds family. His parts were not quicke, but so much above those of his owne ranke, that he had alwayes greate creditt and authority in Parliament, and the more for takinge all opportunityes to oppose the Courte, and had with his milke sucked in an implacable malice against the goverment of the Church. When the Duke of Buckingham proposed to himselfe after his returne with the Prince from Spayne, to make himselfe popular, by breakinge that match, and to be gratious with the Parliament, as for a shorte tyme he was, he resolved to imbrace the frendshipp of the L'd Say, who was as sollicitous to climbe by that ladder, but the Duke quickly founde him of to imperious and pedanticall a spiritt, and to affecte to daungerous mutations, and so cast him off; and from that tyme, he gave over any pursuite in Courte, and lived narrowly and sordidly in the country, havinge conversation with very few, but such who had greate malignity against the church and State, and fomented ther inclinations and gave them instructions how to behave themselfes with caution and to do ther businesse with most security, and was in truth the Pylott that steered all those vessells which were fraighted with sedition to destroy the goverment. He founde alwayes some way to make professions of duty to the Kinge and made severall undertakings to do greate services, which he could not, or would not make good, and made hast to possesse himselfe of any præferment he could compasse, whilst his frends were content to attende a more proper conjuncture, so he gott the Mastershipp of the Wards shortly after the beginninge of the Parliament, and was as sollicitous to be Treasurer, after the death of the Earle of Bedforde, and if he could have satisfyed his rancour in any degree against the Church, he would have bene ready to have carryed the Prærogative as high as ever it was. When he thought ther was mischieve enough done, he would have stopped the current and have deverted farther fury, but he then founde he had only authority and creditt to do hurte, none to heale the wounds he had given; and fell into as much contempt with those whome he had ledde, as he was with those whome he had undone.

49.