22.
This commission was granted in consequence of an understanding with the
deputies from the confederate Catholics, who were then at Oxford, and its
object is fully explained by Herbert himself in a letter to Clarendon, to
be laid before Charles II., and dated June 11, 1660. "For his majesty's
better information, through your favour, and by the channel of your
lordship's understanding things rightly, give me leave to acquaint you
with one chief key, wherewith to open the secret passages between his late
majesty and myself, in order to his service; which was no other than a
real exposing of myself to any expense or difficulty, rather than his just
design should not take place; or, in taking effect, that his honour should
suffer; an effect, you may justly say, relishing more of a passionate and
blind affection to his majesty's service, than of discretion and care of
myself. This made me take a resolution that he should have seemed angry
with me at my return out of Ireland, until I had brought him into a posture
and power to own his commands, to make good his instructions, and to reward
my faithfulness and zeal therein.
"Your lordship may well wonder, and the king too, at the amplitude of
my commission. But when you have understood the height of his majesty's
design, you will soon be satisfied that nothing less could have made me
capable to effect it; being that one army of ten thousand men was to have
come out of Ireland through North Wales; another of a like number, at
least, under my command in chief, have expected my return in South Wales,
which Sir Henry Gage was to have commanded as lieutenant-general; and a
third should have consisted of a matter of six thousand men, two thousand
of which were to have been Liegois, commanded by Sir Francis Edmonds, two
thousand Lorrainers, to have been commanded by Colonel Browne, and two
thousand of such French, English, Scots, and Irish, as could be drawn out
of Flanders and Holland.
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