in gold, would he accept of any single place in the State, as particularly
Secretary of State; which, he says, the world discourses Morrice is
willing to resign, and he thinks the King might have thought of him, but
he would not, by any means, now take it, if given him, nor anything, but
in commission with others, who may bear part of the blame; for now he
observes well, that whoever did do anything singly are now in danger,
however honest and painful they were, saying that he himself was the only
man, he thinks, at the council-board that spoke his mind clearly, as he
thought, to the good of the King; and the rest, who sat silent, have
nothing said to them, nor are taken notice of. That the first time the
King did take him so closely into his confidence and ministry of affairs
was upon the business of Chatham, when all the disturbances were there,
and in the kingdom; and then, while everybody was fancying for himself,
the King did find him to persuade him to call for the Parliament,
declaring that it was against his own proper interest, forasmuch as [it
was] likely they would find faults with him, as well as with others, but
that he would prefer the service of the King before his own: and,
thereupon, the King did take him into his special notice, and, from that
time to this, hath received him so; and that then he did see the folly and
mistakes of the Chancellor in the management of things, and saw that
matters were never likely to be done well in that sort of conduct, and did
persuade the King to think fit of the taking away the seals from the
Chancellor, which, when it was done, he told me that he himself, in his
own particular, was sorry for it; for, while he stood, there was he and my
Lord Arlington to stand between him and harm: whereas now there is only my
Lord Arlington, and he is now down, so that all their fury is placed upon
him but that he did tell the King, when he first moved it, that, if he
thought the laying of him, W. Coventry, aside, would at all facilitate the
removing of the Chancellor, he would most willingly submit to it,
whereupon the King did command him to try the Duke of York about it, and