hath this day impeached my Lord Chancellor in the House
of Lords of High Treason. The chief of the articles
are these: 1st. That he should be the occasion
of the peace made with Holland lately upon such disadvantageous
terms, and that he was bribed to it. 2d. That
Dunkirke was also sold by his advice chiefly, so much
to the damage of England. 3d. That he had L6000
given him for the drawing-up or promoting of the Irish
declaration lately, concerning the division of the
lands there. 4th. He did carry on the design
of the Portugall match, so much to the prejudice of
the Crown of England, notwithstanding that he knew
the Queen is not capable of bearing children. 5th.
That the Duke’s marrying of his daughter was
a practice of his, thereby to raise his family; and
that it was done by indirect courses. 6th.
That the breaking-off of the match with Parma, in
which he was employed at the very time when the match
with Portugall was made up here, which he took as
a great slur to him, and so it was; and that, indeed,
is the chief occasion of all this fewde. 7th.
That he hath endeavoured to bring in Popery, and wrote
to the Pope for a cap for a subject of the King of
England’s (my Lord Aubigny ); and some say that
he lays it to the Chancellor, that a good Protestant
Secretary (Sir Edward Nicholas) was laid aside, and
a Papist, Sir H. Bennet, put in his room: which
is very strange, when the last of these two is his
own creature, and such an enemy accounted to the Chancellor,
that they never did nor do agree; and all the world
did judge the Chancellor to be falling from the time
that Sir H. Bennet was brought in. Besides my
Lord Bristoll being a Catholique himself, all this
is very strange. These are the main of the Articles.
Upon which my Lord Chancellor desired that the noble
Lord that brought in these Articles, would sign to
them with his hand; which my Lord Bristoll did presently.
Then the House did order that the judges should,
against Monday next, bring in their opinion, Whether
these articles are treason, or no? and next, they
would know, Whether they were brought in regularly
or no, without leave of the Lords’ House?
After dinner I took boat (H. Russell) and down
to Gravesend in good time, and thence with a guide
post to Chatham, where I found Sir J. Minnes and Mr.
Wayth walking in the garden, whom I told all this day’s
news, which I left the town full of, and it is great
news, and will certainly be in the consequence of
it. By and by to supper, and after long discourse,
Sir J. Minnes and I, he saw me to my chamber, which
not pleasing me, I sent word so to Mrs. Bradford,
that I should be crowded into such a hole, while the
clerks and boarders of her own take up the best rooms.
However I lay there and slept well.