^{page iii note a} Ogle was son-in-law to Peter Smart, former prebendary of Durham Cathedral (see No. 13, note). On Dec. 28 Smart petitioned the House of Lords that his son Ogle might be at liberty to go abroad with a keeper, as in consequence of his imprisonment he cannot prosecute or prepare for the hearing of his cause.—L. J. vol. vi. p. 355. On Jan. 6 is the further entry:— “That whereas this House ordered that Captain Ogle should have liberty to go abroad with a keeper to solicit for Mr. Smart in his business, the said Ogle is ran away.”—L. J. vol. vi. p. 367.

^{page iii note b} C. J. vol. iii. p. 378. The King also wrote a letter to Devenish, dated Jan. 12,—L. J. vol. vi. p. 394.

^{page iii note c} L. J. vol. vi. p. 394. C. J. vol. iii. p. 378.

^{page iv note a} See p. 5.

^{page iv note b} Referred to by Ogle, No. 23.

^{page v note a} Read, a Scotchman by birth, was a Roman Catholic, and had held the charge of lieutenant-general in Strafford's army in Ireland. The revolted Irish had employed him to negociate for them with the Lords Justices, but on his arrival at Dublin he was seized and racked. He was afterwards sent to London along with Lord Maguire and MacMahon (see No. 3, note).— History of the Irish Confederation and War in Ireland 1641–1643, edited by John T. Gilbert, vol. i. pp. 77, 78.Google Scholar

^{page v note b} Riley made use of his influence as scout-master of the city to obtain Read's release, representing him to have been a Captain Read, made prisoner in England, and getting him exchanged for a Parliamentarian prisoner at Oxford. Riley also effected the release of Violet.— “A Cunning Plot to Divide and Destroy the Par liament ana the City of London,” King's Pamphlets, E..

^{page vi note a} Sir John Wollaston, Pennington's successor. Violet, when examined, said that he was directed by Read “to tell my Lord Mayor the King had directed his letter to him, Lord Mayor of London, hearing he was a moderate man in his place.”— A Cunning Plot, &c., King's Pamphlets, E..

^{page viii note a} C. J. vol. iii. p. 358, Jan. 6.

^{page viii note b} “A cunning plot to divide and destroy the Parliament and the city of London, made known at a common hall,” &c. London, Jan. 16,1643.—King's Pamphlets, E..

^{page viii note c} The Parliament Scout, E.; The Kingdom's Weekly Intelligencer, E. .

^{page ix note a} “A sacred Panegyrick, or a sermon of Thanksgiving.”—King's Pamphlets E. . The italics are as in the original.

^{page ix note b} The True Informer, King's Pamphlets, E. .

^{page x note a} King's Pamphlets, Merourius, &c. E.; The Scottish Dove, E.; The True Informer, E..

^{page x note b} C. J. rol. iii. p. 370; L. J. vol. vi. p. 384.

^{page xi note a} Whitacre's Diary, Additional MSS. 31116, fol. 108b.

^{page xi note b} Whitacre's Diary, Additional MSS. 31116, fol. 109a; C. J. p. 369.

^{page xii note a} L. J. p. 381.

^{page xii note b} C. J. vol. iii. p. 369.

^{page xii note c} Whitacre's Diary, Additional MSS. 33116, fol. 110b.

^{page xii note d} C. J. vol. iii. p. 376.

^{page xii note e} Whitacre's Diary, Additional MSS. 31116, fol. 110b; King's Pamphlets, The Kingdom's Weekly Intelligencer, E..

^{page xii note f} Whitacre's Diary, Additional MSS. 31116, fol, 110b.

^{page xii note g} C. J. rol. iii. p. 375.

^{page xiii note a} L. J. vol. vi. p. 391.

^{page xiii note b} L. J. vol. iii. p. 376. Whitacre's Diary, Additional MSS. fol. 111a.

^{page xiii note c} The weekly papers only mention the affair slightly. Anti-Aulicus gives as follows the contents of Lovelace's letter to Vane:—“That the King having taken notice of him and of others of hia judgment, and conceiving them to be reall and hearts in their intentions, did promise unto them liberty of conscience, and that all those laws that have been made by the parliament, and all others, the rights and liberties of the people, should inviolably be preserved: of which hee would give what assurance could be devised; desiring likewise that either hee or some other by his appointment would upon safe convoy treat further of the business at Henley, or what other place he thought fit.”—King's Pamphlets, E. .

^{page xiii note d} Whitacre's Diary, Additional MSS. 31116, fol. 108b.

^{page xiv note a} (1) Ogle's letter to Bristol, dated Nov. 24 (No. 1). (2) The King's letter to Lieutenant-Colonel Mosely concerning the surrendering up to him the town of Aylesbury (missing). (3) The King's letter to Thos. Devenish, keeper of Winchester House, dated from Oxford, 12 Jan. 1643 (missing). (4) The. Propositions (No. 2).

^{page xiv note b} The Scottish Dove (E. ) gives the following account of Mosely's share in the business: “There having lately been some difference of discontent between Lieutenant-Colonel Mostley and some other commanders, the Lieutenant, coming to London upon his occasions, was closed with by some Oxford factors (for treachery), and, after much sifting, the Lieutenant-Colonell carrying the business smoothly, the bargain came to be confirmed, and 1,000 pound must be the reward to deliver up Alesbury; the place was appointed where and how to agree of the time and way, to which place, according to promise, Lieutenant Mostley sent his man. The time being appointed, he desired money in hand; 100 pound was sent him, a good horse and a sword; and on Monday they came to hare possession. But Lieutenant-Collonell Mostley, when he had the 100^li had all he looked for, and had made the business known to the governour.”

^{page xiv note 1} They marched Sunday night, Jan. 21–22.

^{page xiv note 2} Colonel Aldridge, The Weekly Account, E. .

^{page xv note a} Jan. 21.

^{page xv note b} The following is the list of documents entered in the Commons' Journals as being read to the House; several are not in the Tanner Collection, while several in the Tanner Collection are not entered in the Journals. The clerk does not appear to have had regard to order of date:—

(a.) A Letter from Captain Ogle, prisoner in Winchester House, to the Earl of Bristol.

(b.) Propositions of peace.

(c.) A Safe Conduct under the King's hand with a blank of three names.

(d.) The Earl of Bristol's letter to Lieutenant-Colonel Mosely.

(e.) Lieutenant-Colonel Mosely's Letter to the Earl.

(f.) Mr. Devenish's Letter to the Earl of Bristol.

(g.) The King's Warrant to Mr. Devenish to set Captain Ogle at liberty.

(h.) Mr. Devenish, his Letter by Captain Ogle to the Earl of Bristol, in figures.

(i.) The Earl's Answer to Mr. Devenish.

(k.) The King's Warrant to Mr. Devenish to raise two hundred men under his son's command, to be put into the garrison of Windsore.

(l.) The Earl of Bristol's letter, in figures, to Mr. Devenish.

(m.) Sir George Strode's Letter to Mr. Samuel Crispe to pay one hundred pounds to Captain Ogle.

(n.) The Bill of Exchange for the payment of the said hundred pounds.

(o.) Mr. Samuel Crispe's Letter to Sir George Strode.

(p.) Captain Ogle's Letter to Lieutenant-Colonel Mosely, about the time of delivering up of the town.

(q.) His Majesty's Instructions to Lieutenant-Colonel Mosely to blow up the magazine in case of sudden discovery.

The engines or fireworks delivered by his Majesty's own hands for the said service was presented likewise to the House.

^{page xvi note a} C. J. vol. iii. p. 378.

^{page xvi note b} King's Pamphlets: the Parliament's Scout, E. ; Anti-Aulicus, E.; The Kingdom's Weekly Intelligencer, E. .

^{page xvii note a} See No. 23 and note.

^{page xvii note b} The Royalists had a garrison at Towcester, from whence they made plundering excursions into the surrounding districts. A party of Cavaliers took Sir Alexander Denton's house, Hilsdon, within a few miles of Aylesbury, hut were driven away by a body of Parliamentarians coming from Banbury and Newport Pagnell about Jan. 17. On Jan. 18 the Royalist forces abandoned Towcester, after which the place was occupied by the Parliamentarians. The Kingdom's Weekly Post, E.; Mercurius Civicus, E.; The Scottish Dove, E.; Mercurius Civicus, E..

^{page xviii note a} “The enemy quartered at Ethrop House within two little miles of Alesbury, expecting the prize; but by the next morning by some scout or secret intelligence they had notice that their plot was blasted, so they returned back towards Oxford.” —The Scottish Dove, King's Pamphlets, E. .

^{page xviii note b} King's Pamphlets: The Kingdom's Weekly Intelligencer, E. . The weather was very inclement, and the operations of the forces on both sides impeded in all parts of the country.

A Secret Negociation with Charles the First. 1643–1644.

^{page 1 note a} Petre's.

^{page 1 note b} Sir Nicholas Crispe, a royalist, a former farmer of the customs, who had fled from London to Oxford in the beginning of the year. On Jan. 18,1643, several intercepted letters were read in the House of Commons; amongst others, one from Sir Robert Pye, an Exchequer officer, whose son Hampden's daughter had married. In this letter Sir Robert Pye “shewed that hee had paied 3700^li due to Sir Nicholas Crispe for secreti service done for his Ma^tie, and would take a course to convey his Ma^ties revenue to him.” The money lent by Crispe to the King, Whitaker, in his Diary, informs us, was part of the money due to the Commonwealth for customs. When questioned, Pye declared that he was entirely ignorant of the service for which the money was paid to Crispe, who was summoned before the House, “and ther answered, that this 3700^li was due to him from his Ma^tie for monies advanced when his Ma^tie went against the Scotts, which afterwards appeared to be a manifest lie by his often uncertaine and almost contradictorie answeares; soe as wee all concluded that this monie had been lent his Ma^tie since his departure from the cittie of London, though the said Sir Nicholas Crispe absolutelie denied, being asked the question by the Speaker; yet awhile after hee slipt away from the doore of the Commons honse and went to his Ma^tie to Oxford, which easilie cleared the scruple, when the saied monie had been lent for secrett service.” After this the Commons ordered all the goods of the offender to be seized, Jan. 20. The following day Colonel Manwaring, appointed to search the houses of Sir Nicholas Crispe at London and at Hammersmith, to see what money or plate could be found there, made his report, “but of 300” that was found in his house; but he found of gold of his in the Tower, and in other places of the city, to the value of neare about 5000^li; all which was seized, because he had slipt away out of the sergeant's custody, and was not to be found.”

^{page 1 note 1} D'Ewes' Diary, Harl. MSS. 164, fol. 277a.

^{page 1 note 2} Additional MSS. 31116, fol. 29b.

^{page 2 note a} Sincerely.

^{page 2 note 1} D'Ewes' Diary, Harl. MSS. 164, fol. 277a, b; C. J. vol. ii. 933.

^{page 2 note 2} C. J. vol ii. 936.

^{page 2 note 3} Whitacre's Diary, Additional MSS. 31116, fol. 21b.

^{page 4 note a} Sic. ? had.

^{page 5 note a} Sic. ? miscopied “writings.”

^{page 6 note a} Distressed.

^{page 6 note b} Sic.

^{page 6 note c} In September 1613, Captain Francis Sydenham, one of the captains of the garrison of Poole, agreed on a certain night, when he should be captain of the watch, to admit the royalist forces, under the Earl of Crawford, into the town. Crawford arrived at the appointed hour with 500 men, and found the gate, as had been promised, left open; but no sooner had some of his force passed through it than they were attacked by the enemy, who were lying in wait for them, and driven ont with loss of many arms, horses, and men.— Rushworth, part iii. vol. ii. p. 286.Google Scholar

^{page 7 note a} Strength.

^{page 7 note b} Sic. ? of.

^{page 7 note c} Lieutenant-Colonel Mosely. See No. 4 and notes.

^{page 7 note d} Thomas Devenish, who caused a copy to be made of Ogle's seal, opened his letters, and resealed them with the new seal.—C. J. vol. ii. p. 398.

^{page 8 note a} Information given by the copyist.

^{page 8 note b} Sic. ? injoyed.

^{page 8 note c} This may stand for “court” or “covert.”

^{page 9 note a} Sic.

^{page 10 note a} Sic. ? coming.

^{page 11 note a} Mosely was at Aylesbury at the time he wrote this letter, indorsed Dec. 6, which was a Wednesday. “This Thursday” would therefore mean the following day, Dec. 7. He went to London about the 9th, “taking with him Bristol's reply (No. 4) to his letter, and also other documents (Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) received from Oxford on the 8th or 9th, connected with the proposals made by Ogle in his letter of Nov. 24. See No. 14 and note.

^{page 11 note b} As appears from Bristol's reply (No. 4), the person on whom he had his eye was Thomas Ogle. But Mosely is either not aware of this, or affects not to be so.

^{page 11 note c} Devenish, the keeper of Winchester House, as appears from Bristol's reply (No. 4).

^{page 11 note d} The allusion is obscure. Lord Maguire and Hugh MacMahon, both of whom had taken part in the conspiracy to surprise Dublin in Oct. 1641, were at this time prisoners in London. In May 1643 they had been removed from the Tower to Newgate. On Oct. 13 there is the following notice in the Commons' Journals:

“Mr. Corbett reports the examination of the business concerning Colonel Read, Macquire, and MacMahun; the endeavour used to procure their escape.

“Resolved, &c. that the Lords Macquire and MacMahun shall be committed to the Tower, and kept close prisoners there.” MacMahon, one of the chiefs of the sept of the MacMahous in the county of Monaghan, may have been spoken of in London as Lord MacMahon. He was condemned of treason, and executed at Tyburn in 1644.”—C. J. vol. iii. p. 297. A Contemporary History of Affairs in Ireland, edited by J. T. Gilbert, vol. i. part. ii. p. 563.Google Scholar

^{page 12 note a} Bristol himself.

^{page 12 note b} Sic.

^{page 12 note c} The meaning of this passage is not clear and has probably been mis-copied. The “him” may perhaps have been originally followed by “to whom,” and so refer to Ogle. It can hardly refer to Bristol himself, because the words “both your desires” point to a third person.

^{page 13 note a} Ogle's letter of 24 Nov. and the Propositions reached Oxford Dec. 2. See No. 8.

^{page 13 note b} Ogle.

^{page 13 note c} This is the first of the documents to which Wharton, Gerard, and Clotworthy affixed their signatures. Mosely, no doubt, showed them a copy that he or some other made of his letter, written to Bristol from Aylesbnry (No. 3), but they could not attest its genuineness. The fact that their names do not appear on the copies of Ogle's letter to Bristol of Nov. 24, and the inclosed Propositions (Nos. 1 and 2), suggest the inference that they did not see the original documents but only copies of them.

^{page 14 note a} The name “William” was inserted in mistake for “Thomas.” See No. 12.

^{page 14 note b} i. e. 11th.

^{page 15 note a} Sir Nicholas Crispe.

^{page 15 note b} ? the wife of Sir Nicholas Crispe.

^{page 16 note a} Bristol.

^{page 16 note b} Sir Nicholas Crispe. See No. 1.

^{page 16 note c} Between Oxford and London.

^{page 16 note d} A word lost, the page being torn.

^{page 18 note a} No. 6.

^{page 18 note b} Sic.

^{page 18 note c} Sir Nicholas Crispe, Knight (the brother of Samuel Crispe), formerly a farmer of the customs, had been found by the committee of the navy to owe to the State more than 16,000l. On Feb. 18, 1643, the Parliament had ordered that “the stock and adventure in the Ginuy Company,” belonging to Sir Nicholas, should be sequestered in the hands of John Wood, treasurer to the company, towards payment of this debt. On the arrival of a vessel, “The Starre,” laden with gold ore, Wood and the other partners agreed to lend the half for the supply of the wants of the navy, until it should be shown what part belonged to Sir Nicholas. Accordingly, the two Houses ordered that whatever sums belonged to the said Wood and partners, over and above the said Sir Nicholas Crispe's part of the stock and adventure, should be repaid to them upon the following 25th of March, out of the customs collected in the port of London, with allowance of 8 per cent. interest. 2 Dec. 1643.—C. J. vol. ii. p. 326; L. J. vol. vi. p. 321.

^{page 18 note d} Coined.

^{page 19 note a} Dec. 13, the day this letter is dated, was Wednesday; Tuesday last would be Dec. 12.

^{page 20 note a} Presumably Mosely and Ogle. Mosely came to London about Dec. 9. Compare (No. 14) Mosely to Bristol.

^{page 20 note b} Ogle's.

^{page 20 note c} Dec. 15, the day on which this letter is dated, was Friday; Monday last, therefore, Dec. 11. All the letters, &c. written in Oxford Dec. 7 (Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) were examined by Wharton, Gerard, and Clotworthy on Dec. II. We have no letter of that date from Bristol to Ogle, and the word “despatch” does not necessarily imply a letter. Bristol may merely hare sent the other letters by a messenger of his own. Ogle probably refers to the opening words of Strode's letter to himself (No. 8).

^{page 21 note a} Peter Smart, a prebendary of Durham Cathedral, who, for preaching a sermon against the use of ceremonies, had heen degraded from the clerical office by the northern High Commission Court in 1629. In 1640 Smart brought his case before the notice of the Long Parliament, and Dr. Cosin, who had taken a leading part in his prosecution, was impeached. As Ogle was Smart's son-in-law it is probable that he came from Durham, where a branch of the Ogle family, of Causey Park, Northumberland, had long been seated.—Hodgson's History of Northumberland, vol. ii. part ii. p. 135.Google Scholar

^{page 21 note b} Bristol's eldest son.

^{page 21 note c} Dec. 12.

^{page 22 note a} Ogle, therefore, inclosed in this letter, dated Dec. 15 (1), Devenish's letter to Bristol (No. 12), dated Dec. 13, and (2) Crispe's letter to Strode (No. 10), dated Dec. 12, which contained his own acquittance for the 100l. Mosely was probably the bearer of all at least as far as Aylesbury.

^{page 22 note b} Here follow five words, which I was unable to read with certainty; but they look like “shell a Christenmas pye in it.”

^{page 23 note a} Mosely probably arrived at London from Aylesbury, Dec. 10 or 11. The papers that he brought with him (Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) were all read by Wharton, Gerard, and Clotworthy on Dec. 11. On Dec. 12 he visited Devenish. See No. 12.

^{page 23 note b} Mosely must have come to London with the double object of getting pay for the garrison at Aylesbury, and of showing the letters which he had received from Oxford. That the Commons were uneasy about the town is apparent from notices in their Journals. The soldiers were unpaid, and threatening to disband. On Dec. 9 there is the following order: “Mr. Browne, Reynolds, Dacres, Fountaine, Sir Jo. Clotworthy, Captain Wingate, Mr. Holland, are presently to go forth to receive informations from the gentleman that is come from Aylesbnry, and to consider of some speedy way for the security of that place.” Very probably this gentleman was Mosely himself. But, however that may be, it is evident that after his arrival in London the question of finding money for the garrison was recognised to be an urgent one, and that he was not so unsuccessful in his endeavour as he sought to represent.—C. J. Dec. 23, 25, Jan. 8; L. J. Jan. 10.

^{page 25 note a} This letter has no indorsement on it to the effect that it is a copy.

^{page 27 note a} The words in italics are in cipher, with a contemporary decipher written above them. The MS. is probably a holograph, as it is hardly likely that the copyisi would have taken the trouble to copy the cipher. The address on the outside of the MS. and the remains of a seal also suggest that the paper is that which Devenish received.

^{page 27 note a} Jan. 6, the day the letter is dated, was Saturday; Wednesday, Jan. 3.

^{page 28 note a} “They be” is the correct decipher, though in the MS. an unintelligible word is written.

^{page 28 note b} So by the cipher; the word written is “thom.”

^{page 28 note c} The handwriting is the same as in No. 17.

^{page 29 note a} Jan. 3.

^{page 29 note b} i.e. the Oxford Parliament.

^{page 29 note c} The cipher is the same as that used in the previous letter, but is not deciphered in the MS.

^{page 30 note a} No. 21.

^{page 30 note b} Devenish's letter to Bristol of Jan. 5 (No. 16).

^{page 30 note c} Mr. Goodwyn. See No. 22.

^{page 31 note 1} See No. 23.

^{page 31 note b} i.e. “rock.”

^{page 31 note c} There are two copies of the Earl's letter. The one partly in cipher, with a contemporary decipher, possibly the paper transmitted to Devenish from Oxford; the other a transcript of the whole, without any cipher. The opening words show that Bristol was writing to Devenish—“Yours of the 5 Jan.” (No. 16).

^{page 32 note a} Charles's Oxford Parliament.

^{page 33 note a} Nye.

^{page 34 note a} i.e. Peter Smart.

^{page 34 note b} This letter, and No. 25, are neither dated, signed, nor indorsed. The handwriting in both is the same, and both, as internal evidence shows, were written by Ogle, the one to Devenish, the other to Mosely. The handwriting is not the same as in Ogle's letters to Devenish and Nye (Nos. 16 and 17). If, therefore, these two last are holographs, Nos. 23 and 25 must be copies.

^{page 34 note c} As Ryley and Violet were committed to the Tower on Jan. 6, it seems most probable that this letter was written before Bristol's letter to Mosely of Jan. 15, and I have, therefore, reversed the order which the two hold in the Tanner MSS.

^{page 35 note a} In the list of documents in the Commons' Journals (iii. 378) is mentioned, “The King's warrant to Mr. Devenish to raise 200 men, under his son's command, to be put into the garrison of Windsor.” In the Lords' Journals (iv. 395) “The King's letter to Mr. Devenish, keeper of Winchester House, dated from Oxford, 12 Jan. 1643.” The Kingdom's Weekly Intelligencer, No. 41, tells the tale as follows: “Mr. Devenish, finding his addresses so acceptable, writ again in figures to the Earle of Bristoll and propounded unto him a design he had to betray Windsor Castle at the same time into his Majesties hands, by taking advantage of a fear that would possess them upon the surrender of Aylesbnry. His Majesty and the Earl of Bristoll well approved of the design, and both of them in severall letters, signed with their own hands, highly extolled his wisdome, promised great rewards, as by the letters appeares.” (King's Pamphlets, E. ). The only letter written by the King to Devenish, of which report is made in the Journals of either House, is the one mentioned aboye. We possess only two letters of Bristol's to Devenish, and in one of these (No. 21) there is no mention of a design upon Windsor.

^{page 36 note a} 15 Jan. the date of this lettter according to the indorsement, was Monday; the following Friday and Saturday would therefore be Jan. 19 and 20. On Sunday, the 21st, the royalist forces approached Aylesbury, and the allusion must relate to the design upon the town.

^{page 36 note b} These words are written in another hand to the letter.

^{page 36 note c} See Note to No. 23.

^{page 36 note d} His Majesty's instructions to Lieutenant-Colonel Mosely, to blow up the magazine, in case of sudden discovery, mentioned in the Commons' Journals, which may be identical with the document mentioned in the Lords' Journals: “The King's letter to Lieutenant-Colonel Mosely concerning the surrendering up to him of the town of Aylesbury.”

^{page 37 note a} Probably Friday, Jan. 19. The Royalist forces advanced towards Aylesbury on Sunday, Jan. 21. This letter is probably identical with “Captain Ogle's letter to Lientenant-Colonel Mosely about the time of delivery np of the town,” mentioned in the Commons' Journals, vol. iii. p. 378.Google Scholar

^{page 37 note b} The Prince of Harconrt, a special ambassador, came to England to mediate between the King and the Parliament. The two Houses, in answer to his overtures made through the Earl of Northampton, replied “that if the Prince D'Harcourt have anything to propose from the French King to the Lords and Commons assembled in the Parliament of England, the Houses have done nothing to bar or hinder the Prince D'Harcourt from the usual and fitting ways of address to them.” Dec. 6. (C. J. vol. iii. pp. 319, 330.) As Charles at this time refused to recognise the two Houses as the Parliament of England, Harcourt's efforts to bring about a negociation were necessarily unavailing.