OF THE MARQUIS OF WORCESTER. 319 



course was to submit a draft of his proposed discourse 

 to his Majesty, agreeable to an understanding at the 

 Hague, when his Majesty was in exile, that he should 

 so act, previous to consulting any of his ministers. 

 The document now at Badminton, is most likely his 

 Lordship s own copy of the one forwarded to the King, 

 who seems either to have discouraged its being brought 

 forward, or to have given it no further attention. It is 

 in every sense a remarkable production, whether as re 

 gards its matter, its style, or the extraordinary evidence 

 it affords of his Lordship s unbounded confidence in and 

 devotion to Charles the First. The MS. is endorsed 



u Statement of the Marquis of Worcester s expenses 

 for his King and country ;&quot; and is as follows : 



&quot; MAY IT PLEASE YOUR MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. 

 &quot; SIRE, 



u To ease your mind of a trouble incident to the 

 prolixity of speech, and a natural defect of utterance 

 which I accuse myself of, I have presumed here to set 

 down summarily in writing what I desire (if your Ma 

 jesty approve thereof) to speak in the House of Lords, 

 whereby your Majesty may gather how far (some things 

 being rectified) I am confident of myself to serve you, 

 praying your Majesty s favourable construction of 

 what I shall endeavour candidly to submit unto your 

 Majesty. 



&quot; In the first place, according to your most gracious 

 commands laid upon me at the Hague, when I offered to 

 make my Lord Chancellor privy to what I should at 

 any time presume to offer to your Majesty s trans 

 cendent judgment, having sufficiently suffered for 

 treating with the late King, of happy memory, alone 

 to which request of mine you were pleased to give this 

 most gracious and never-to-be-forgotten reply, that, 



