By F. A. Carrington, Esq. 155 



have made it my humble request to your honor in private that you would please 

 to affoarde me a little time of consideration before I acted in this, for indeed I 

 cannot undertake any business of consequence till I have had some serious 

 thoughts about it, and have debated it with mine owne weak judgment, that soe 

 my conscience may be cleerly satisfide in what I doe. For the grounds of this 

 designe I can not be more fully satisfide than I am allready, viz., that the old 

 enimies have their old hearts and their old hatred still, and that they will be 

 ready upon all occasions to disturb the peace and quiett of this commonwealth, 

 and that it would be a very great happiness and blessing to all the godly and 

 quiet people of these nations to have them suppress'd or removed ; but there may 

 be some scruple in the manner of doing this. I shall not (upon hearing the 

 rules once read) entertain any exceptions, hartely wishing there may be none. 

 But if the Lord please to give me health, I shall with my best care and diligence 

 speedily peruse and examine the instructions, and then if it be cleer to me that 

 the way and manner be as righteous and warrantable as the thing is good and 

 desirable, I shall as cordially act in it as any man in England. And this is a 

 christian liberty which I cannot but be confident to obtain from General Dis- 

 browe. Soe humbly begging your lordshipp to pardon whatever you find amiss 

 in these lines which were -ssTitten in much haste and paine, and earnestly beg- 

 ging the blessing of God upon you in this and all other your great afi"aires, I rest 



" Your lordship's most humble servant, 



THO. GROVE. 

 " The White hart, the 8th of Dec, [1655]. 



" For the hououi'able generall Desbrow at the three swans in Sanim." 



No. V. Major-General Disbrowe to the Protector.^ 



*' May it please your highness. 



" I have received your letter in reference to the Lord Seymour, and have 

 purused his to your highness, wherein 1 find no more than any cavalier in the 

 West of England shall pretend for himself. I must confess I should be glad of 

 a real change, but I humbly conceive that without some publicque declaration to 

 the world by him of the alteration of his spirit and principles, and of his real in- 

 gagement to the present government, it will but open a door and give occasion to 

 the enemy to cry out of our partiality, especially if favour and respect shall be 

 Bhown to him and denyed to others, that will doe as much if not more than he 

 hath done. If his spirit bo such as he can cordially close with the people of God 

 (aa Capt. Burges seems to hold forth), ho will not be ashamed to disown that 

 intercbt wherein ho formerly engaged, and for satisfaction of friends manifest 

 biB integrity to the publique. However for the present the Commissioners un- 

 derstanding your highness pleasure, seem willing to let him alone until they 

 may be ascertained whether there be any diff"erence betwixt him and his former 

 practices. Yesterday wo proceeded upon taxing 7 or 8 of this county, amongst 

 wliom was Sir James Thynne, who was at the iirst a little averse and did plead as 

 much innocency as my Lord Seymour, but at last having no refuge was con- 

 strained t<j comply, and I think of them 8 which we have already dealt with, all 

 the sum will amount to 6 or £700 per ann. There are four more to appear 



' Thurloc's State PajwrK, vol. 4, p. 'A'li. 



