Paes. fe. 
[June 1, 
ORIGINAL LETTERS. 
a 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE of DOC- 
TOR JOHN WALLIS, PROFESSOR of 
GEOMETRY im the UNIVERSITY of 
OXFORD, MEMBER @f the ROYAL SO- 
CIETY, and CHAPLAIN i” ordinary to 
KING CHARLES II. Exiracted from a 
Manufeript Volume in the Pofefhon of bis 
Family, containing a great Number of 
intercepted Letters, decyphered by theDoc- 
tor for the Britifh Government, and fome 
too for their Allies, and other Letters re- 
lating, for the moft Part, to that Subjeé?. 
When the Earl of Clarendon was difmiffed 
from his office, and banifhed from the king- 
dom, the Great Seal was given, in 1667, 
to Sir Orlando Bridgeman, under the title 
of Lord Keeper. It is to this Lord Keeper 
that the following Letter muft refer. It 
is without date; but there was no other 
Lord Keeper during the fix years that Cla- 
rendon, who retired to France, furvived 
his banifhment. 
SLEDE TO CLARENDON. 
HAVE received yoar’s of the 27th of 
July, and give you thanks for your 
kindnefs, and J hope you will be fo kind 
as to continue this friendfhip to me. L. 
Keeper is a poore and pitiful {pirited man; 
he is defpifed and publicly {miled at by 
every bodie. Iam told he will becharsed 
with bribery, through his lady’s hands, fhe 
being L. Keeper, and darke lanthorne to 
her -hufbande; in a word, few fpeak 
kindely or civilie of him, but very hear- 
tily with for E. Clarendon again. ‘There 
is acall off feaventeen ferjeants at law 
againft zear tearme (viz). In Gray’sInn: 
Math. Turner, Wm. Ellis, Mr. Willet, 
the Makards, Thomas Flint, Sir Wm. 
Scroggs; in Lyncclne’s Inn, Sir John 
Howell, Recorder, Mr. Gaddard, Mr. 
Powis, Mr. Jones; Mydd. Temple, Mr. 
‘Turner, Francis Bramitone, Mr. Barton, 
Sir Henry Pellham; Inner Temple, Sir 
Richard Hopkins, Mr. Goodfellow, Jam. 
Baldwin. Such of thefe as have not for- 
merly read, do it now, except Sir Wm. 
Scroggs, who is the laft in the lift, and 
who, h ving received his writ before the 
time, infifted epon his privilege of being 
now exempted from it, though otherwife 
he fhould have done it, as being his turn. 
Serjeant Brome and ‘uppiy two judges 
places for the fummer-circuit, a baron’s 
place being voide and Atkines too old to 
ride. Sir Robert Atkines bapely married 
his fone to Sir George Carteret’s daughter. 
Zam told by'a man of {kill, that the 
ferjeants pay L, Keeper well for their 
call. L. Keeper has promifed to them 
that they fhould not put themfelves to that 
great charge as formerly was done in Ike 
cafes; but only each of them to make a 
good dinner of twenty pounds; and the 
overplus of expences on like occafions to 
be {pent on the building their inn. L, 
Keeper is to be keeper of this money, 
and, as is beleaved, to his own accompt, 
nothing is more taiked of. 
The Gentleman to whom the following Let- 
ter is addreffed appears to have been Se~ 
cretary to Lord Nottingham, who was 
himfelf Principal Secretary of State to 
King William. 
Whitehall, Novem. firff, 1689. 
SIR, 
My Lord Nottingham commands me 
to fend you the inclofed Letters from the 
French minifters in Poland, lately inter- 
cepted: there are 2 of the 4 of September, 
2 of the sth and 12 of Odtober. My 
Lord defires that you will decipher them 
as foon as you can, being of great im- 
portance to his Majeftie and hisallics ; he 
defires that you will begin with the poft- 
{cript of Monf.DeVeil’s Letter of the sthaf 
Oétob. giving an account of a conference 
with the Great General of Lithuania. 
The Letters are of a frefh date, and 
therefore it is the more importante to 
have them foon deciphyred, in regard tome 
light may be gained by them as to what 
is at this time on foot. | 
I am Your moft humble fervant, 
R. WaR?E, 
SIR, Whitehall, Fuly 13th, 1690. 
I stnp you herewith fome Letiers from 
Monf. Louvois to Mon!. Lauzune, which 
I defire you will decypher as foon as pof- 
fibly you can; they feeming to containe 
matters of great importance for their Ma- 
jefties fervice, and that you will begin 
with the letter which is of the lateft date, 
and proceed te that which is of the next latett 
date, and fo on in that order, letting the 
letter of the oldeft date to be that which 
you laft decypher. As foon as you have 
done the letter of the frefheft date, I de- 
fire you will fend it back immediately by 
this meflenger, whom I have ordered ta’ 
flay till you difpatch him; and, as foon 
2s you have decyphered any of the other 
letters, I defire you will fend each of them — 
as faft as they are done bya meflenger, 
whom I will pay. Pray make what hafte ~ 
you can herein, fince it feems to be of 
very great importance to. their a 
i an 
