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so many sessions of parliament in discontent, the consequences of which cannot be unknown to him; that, now we have resisted to the utmost, and for such reasons as shall hereafter be showed, you cannot defer the speedy calling of our Parliament, where, if a peace be not made, we must expect all the pressures imaginable to relieve Flanders, by such ways as we would willingly avoid; and that yet our necessities, and the conjuncture of our affairs are such, that a longer living at a distance with our people cannot be continued without an apparent danger to our very being and crown, we cannot but hope that when you have seriously discussed this matter with our Good Brother, he will not think the parting with a town or two, for the sake of us who have so far hazarded our interest in our three kingdoms † to keep our friendship with him, (beyond our own most considerable interest,) an unreasonable demand.

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"If you shall be asked the reason why we have antidated the day for the meeting of the Parliament, you must plainly say, that the great preparations and present marches in Flanders, with the siege of St. Ghislain, joined to the answer given to my Lord Feversham, made it

* Visible.

↑ He does not give a thought to the interest of the three kingdoms.

seem necessary to us, lest Flanders should be lost before the meeting of our Parliament; which, besides many inconveniences as to the reputation of our conduct and prudence, would possibly have raised a storm too violent for us to allay.

"If the Most Christian King shall take notice to you of the good correspondence that hath still been between him and us, and object many late intrigues and miscarriages to our prejudice, you may, in our name, assure him, we have the same value for his person and friendship we ever had; neither hath the Spaniard changed the opinion we had of him by any fresh obligations. But the grounds of this our pressing him to a peace, proceedeth from a mature consideration of our own affairs at home, which, if Flanders should be lost in the interval of a Parliament, the disorder that would be in the minds of our subjects in general, and of our Parliament in particular, would, in all probability, occasion such confusions here, as would be of more damage to us than all the conquests the Most Christian King hath made, though prodigiously great, can be of advantage to him."

EXTRACTS FROM SECRETARY COVENTRY'S DISPATCHES AT LONGLEAT.

Secretary Coventry to the King.

To His Majesty, at Newmarket.

Whitehall, Oct. 4, 1678.

May it please Your Most Sacred Majesty; My indisposition having increased upon me since Your Majesty's departure, so far as to confine me most part of this time to my bed, I have not been able to give you any account of your affairs here only this evening I have made shift to creep to the council, where some of Mr. Coleman's papers have been read, which contain little as to the present question, but so much presumption in treating with the Most Christian King's confessor and ministers, for the altering the religion and government, with such characters upon Your Majesty's royal person, His Royal Highness, and all the ministers; nay, undertaking, for a sum of money, to govern Your Majesty as to the calling or not calling your Parliament; and in making a manifesto for Your Majesty to justify the dissolution of the Parliament: that I believe never any age produced a man placed in no higher a post than he is, nor of so indifferent quality, that had the confidence to venture on so many extravagant crimes at one

time, nor so little care as to leave such papers to be seized, after so fair a warning, Your Majesty knowing very well there was no order for seizing his papers till the night before your departure. The clerks of the council are busy in decyphering more of his letters: as any thing of consequence arriveth, I shall not fail to give Your Majesty an account, as being, &c.

(Signed) H. COVENTRY.

Burnet was correct in saying "Coleman had a whole day to make his escape, if he thought he was in any danger. And he had conveyed all his papers out of the way; only he forgot a drawer under the table, in which the papers re

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lating to 74, 75, and a part of 76, were left." But he is not equally accurate when he says, speaking of the King's going to Newmarket, "This was censured as very indecent levity in him, to go and see horse-races, when all people were possessed with this extraordinary discovery, to which Coleman's letters had given an universal credit." One would suppose he meant that Coleman's letters had come out before he went to Newmarket; but he probably means only that this discovery made people censure his levity in having gone.

A Council.

To the King.

March 1680.

Mr. Hyde speaks to an order for allowance of money to witnesses to be brought up from Ireland. Thinks the Duke of Ormond should be acquainted with it, and refuses money from the Treasury, without an order from the King. The Lord President (Shaftesbury), incensed that an order of the Council should be questioned, got up and left the Council; but nobody followed him.

Letters to Lord Essex.

Feb. 2, 1675.

His Majesty declared his resolution to suppress all sorts of recusants.-Enquiry to be made when any great persons left out of the presentment.-All priests to leave the kingdom by 1st of March.-Conventicles to be suppressed.-To be determined in council next day.

Feb. 1.

The King always speaks highly of Lord Essex.

March 7.

Mysterious letter.-Directs him to have letters

opened at the post.

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