t papers. Among these was a list of the English fleet furnished
by Dartmouth, who was in communication with some of his old companions
in arms, a minute of the resolutions which had been adopted at the
meeting of the conspirators, and the Heads of a Declaration which it
was thought desirable that James should publish at the moment of his
landing. There were also six or seven letters from persons of note in
the Jacobite party. Most of these letters were parables, but parables
which it was not difficult to unriddle. One plotter used the cant of the
law. There was hope that Mr. Jackson would soon recover his estate. The
new landlord was a hard man, and had set the freeholders against him. A
little matter would redeem the whole property. The opinions of the best
counsel were in Mr. Jackson's favour. All that was necessary was that he
should himself appear in Westminster Hall. The final hearing ought to be
before the close of Easter Term. Other writers affected the style of the
Royal Exchange. There was a great demand for a cargo of the right sort.
There was reason to hope that the old firm would soon form profitable
connections with houses with which it had hitherto had no dealings. This
was evidently an allusion to the discontented Whigs. But, it was added,
the shipments must not be delayed. Nothing was so dangerous as to
overstay the market. If the expected goods did not arrive by the tenth
of March, the whole profit of the year would be lost. As to details,
entire reliance might be placed on the excellent factor who was going
over. Clarendon assumed the character of a matchmaker. There was great
hope that the business which he had been negotiating would be brought
to bear, and that the marriage portion would be well secured. "Your
relations," he wrote, in allusion to his recent confinement, "have been
very hard on me this last summer. Yet, as soon as I could go safely
abroad, I pursued the business." Catharine Sedley entrusted Preston with
a letter in which, without allegory or circumlocution, she complained
that her lover had left her a daughter to support, and begged very
hard for money. But the two most important despatches were from Bishop
Turner. They were directed to Mr. and Mrs. Redding: but the language was
such as it would be thought abject in any gentleman to hold except to
royalty. The Bishop assured their Majesties that he was devoted to their
cause, that he earnestly wished for a great occasion to prove his zea