He let his wit run much on matters of religion: so that he passed for a bold and determined atheist; though he often protested to me, he was not one; and said, he believed there was not one in the world...--From History of his own Times--
At this time the court fell into much extravagance in masquerading; both king and queen, and all the court, went about masked, and came into houses unknown, and danced there with a great deal of wild frolic. In all this people were so disguised, that without being on the secret none could distinguish them. They were carried about in hackney chairs. Once the queen's chairmen, not knowing who she was, went from her: so she was alone, and was much disturbed, and came to Whitehall in a hackney coach: some say it was in a cart. The duke of Buckingham proposed to the king, that he would give him leave to steal her away, and send her to a plantation, where she should be well and carefully looked to, but never heard of any more; so it should be given out, that she had deserted; and upon that it would fall in with some principles to carry an act for a divorce, grounded upon the pretence of a wilful desertion. Sir Robert Murray told me, that the king himself rejected this with horror. He said, it was a wicked thing to make a poor lady miserable, only because she was his wife, and had no children by him, which was no fault of hers.--From History of his own Times--
This I read in a letter that sir Robert Murray writ down to Scotland: and it agrees with a conversation that the king was pleased to have with my self once, when I was alone with him in his closet.--From History of his own Times--
The parliament were upon their first opening set on to destroy lord Clarendon. Some of his friends went to him a few days before the parliament met; and told him, many were at work to find out matter of accusation against him. He best knew what could be brought against him with any truth; for falsehood was infinite, and could not be guessed at.--From History of his own Times--
When he heard of any that did not go to church, he did not trouble himself to set a fine upon him: but he set as many soldiers upon him, as should eat him up in a night. By this means all people were struck with such a terror, that they came regularly to church. And the clergy were so delighted with it, that they used to speak of that time, as the poets do of the golden age.--From History of his own Times--
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Above twelve thousand houses were burnt down, with the greatest part of the furniture and merchandise that was in them. All means used to stop it proved ineffectual; though the blowing up of houses was the most effectual of any.--From History of his own Times--
She began by degrees to slacken in her constant coming to prayers and to sacrament, in which she had been before that regular, almost to superstition. She put that on her ill health: for she fell into an ill habit of body, which some imputed to the effect of some of the duke's distempers communicated to her. A story was set about, and generally believed, that the earl of Southesk, that had married a daughter of duke Hamilton's, suspecting some familiarities between the duke and his wife, had taken a sure method to procure a disease to himself, which he communicated to his wife, and was by that means set round till it came to the duchess, who was so tainted with it, that it was the occasion of the death of all her children, except the two daughters, our two queens; and was believed the cause of an illness under which she languished long, and died so corrupted, that in dressing her body after her death, one of her breasts burst, being a mass of corruption. Lord Southesk was for some years not ill pleased to have this believed. It looked like a peculiar strain of revenge, with which he seemed much delighted.--From History of his own Times--
He continued in his private and ascetic course of life, and gave all his income, beyond the small expense of his own person, to the poor.--From History of his own Times--
And so his ministry came to an end, after a sort of a reign of much violence and injustice: for he was become very imperious. He and his company were delivered up to so much excess, and to such a madness of frolic and intemperance, that as Scotland had never seen any thing like it, so upon this disgrace there was a general joy over the kingdom: though that lasted not long; for those that came after him grew worse than ever he was like to be.--From History of his own Times--
The king was inclined to restore the lord Lorn; though much pains was taken to persuade him, that all the zeal he had expressed in his service was only an artifice between his father and him to preserve the family in all adventures: it was said, that had been an ordinary practice in Scotland for father and son to put themselves in different sides.--From History of his own Times--
The king had a very numerous issue, though none by his queen. The duke had by both his wives, and some irregular amours, a very numerous issue.--From History of his own Times--
The earl of Lauderdale was not sorry to see him commit errors; since the worse things were managed, his advices would be thereby the more justified.--From History of his own Times--
Yet he was a very vicious man: and that perhaps made him the more considered by the king, who loved and trusted him to a high degree. No man had more credit with the king; for he was on the secret as to his religion, and was more trusted with the whole design that was then managed in order to establish it, than any man whatsoever.--From History of his own Times--
The substance of his defence was, that during the late wars he was but one among a great many more: he had always acted by authority of parliament, and according to the instructions that were given him, as oft as he was sent on any expedition or negotiation.--From History of his own Times--
Primerose got an order from the king to put up all the public registers of Scotland...--From History of his own Times--
...They were now put up in fifty hogsheads: and a ship was ready to carry them down...
...But so much time was lost, that the summer was spent: so they were sent down in winter: and by some easterly gusts the ship was cast away near Berwick. So we lost all our records.
But when he talked freely, he could not help letting himself out against the liberty that under the reformation all men took of inquiring into matters of religion: for from their inquiring into matters of religion, they carried the humour farther, to inquire into matters of state. He said often, he thought government was a much safer and easier thing where the authority was believed infallible, and the faith and submission of the people was implicit...--From History of his own Times--
I answered, that foreigners were no other way concerned in the quarrels of their neighbours, than to see who could or would assist them...--From History of his own Times--
...observed where the secretary laid some letters of advice, on which he saw he relied most, and getting the key of that cabinet in his hand to seal a letter with a seal that hung to it, he took the impression of it in wax, and got a key to be made from it, by which he opened the cabinet, and sent over some of the most important of those letters.--From History of his own Times--
As to the cavalier party, he was afraid both of assassination and other plottings from them. As to the former of these, he took a method that proved very effectual: he said often and openly, that in a war it was necessary to return upon any side all the violent things that any of the one side did to the other. This was done for preventing greater mischief, and for bringing men to fair war: therefore, he said, assassinations were such detestable things, that he would never begin them: but if any of the king's party should endeavour to assassinate him, and fail in it, he would make an assassinating war of it, and destroy the whole family: and he pretended he had instruments to execute it, whensoever he should give order for it. The terror of this was a better security to him than his guards.--From History of his own Times--
