Colonial Williamsburg Digital Library

A Memorial Concerning my troubles and Conduct in Virg^a
w^th relacon to Gov^r Nicholson and y^e Causes of my Coming for
England—

being sensible how dificult it is to find yo^r Grace soe free from
Company and other weighly business y^t you can afford audience of y^t
Length as to hear me tell y^e storie of my troubles in virg^a and of
y^e disappointm^t of those good designes for y^e Carieing on of w^ch Gov^r
Nicholson had soe much of yo^r Graces assistance towards y^e procureing
him y^e Governm^t of y^t Country I have chosen to sett down y^e Cheife
of tho^ese things in a true and plaine Naritive in hopes your
Grace will find Some Leasure to preruse itt and will take those
Just Measures y^t y^e Circumstances of so Extraordinary a Case doe
require

^{ye Govrs
ingratitud
to me} I need not put yo^r Grace in mind how faithfully and diligently
I served G. N. in y^e business of his promocon to y^e Governm^t.
while I was Last in Engld. it was at his Earnest importunity and
upon his Charge I und^rtook y^t voyage and negotiation; and
perform'd itt w^th all y^e Zeal for his Service, and as Little burthen to his
purss as was possible, I may say itt w^thout vanity y^t Saved him at
least many hundred ^of pounds he must have been out in any other
way of procureing such a governm^t for tho he had given me a Ler^r.
of Creditt and full power to Launch out Money either to courtiers
to procure him an interest, or to lawyers and sollicit^rs to draw the
papers and Negotiate y^e. business I spent him not one farthing in any
of those things: yo^r Grace and other good Bishopps favour supplying y^e
place of a purchasd interest: and my own pains in drawing all papers
and Memorials and in attending y^e proper times and opportunityes—
for pressing on y^e affair supplying y^e part of Lawyers and Sollicit^rs
I Lost in y^t year Service one year's Salary of my parish w^ch was as
good as one hundred pounds besides all other Losses and inconveniances
by Leaving my family and business and I fairly hazarded my own
ruin from S^r Edm^d Andros by und^rtaking y^e affair, w^ch tho it was
managed w^th soe many Losses hazards and difficultyes and attended w^th.
y^e wish'd for Success attain'd in soe hon.^ble away, I Can't say I Ever had
soe much as thanks, farr less any other Consid^racons for that Service
he took an oppertunity not long after to tell me y^t what I sai did
was for my own Ends, and there is No Subject he has insisted on
more frequantly than to upbraid me w^th ingratitude, and some times
he makes his bo^ast to others and has bragg'd of it to my selfe
y^t he only made a tool of me—and both he and his frd C. Q.—
in their representacons for Engld have soe detracted from and
villified this service y^t all y^e part they assigne to me in it is
that I honestly delivered y^e Go.^rs Let.^rs, but
after some Experience of his temper I found
his behavior to me in point of gratitude was Not
singuler

^{and to ye
rest of
his old
frds—} and that he served all his old frds
in virginia who had been true to him in y^e worst
of times and had Enduered y^e frowns of S^r E. A.'s
goverm^t upon his acco^t after y^e very Same Manner
it being a true part of his Carecter y^t he is very
kind to all those from whome he has any Expectacon
but y^e most ingratefull man in y^e world when y^e
service is don: and he thinks has No more occacon
for them. Butt to goe on w^th my story

^{his finding
fault wth
ye advice
of mode-
racon} Hee began his Goverm^t w^th picking a quarrell w^th. me
upon y^e subject of Moderacon w^ch your Grace and severall
other of his frds had recomended to him in those very
Let^rs. w^ch. I Carried him in together w^th his Comission
for when he had perused y^e Let^rs. himselfe and shew'd
them to me he ask'd me what y^e Devil they ment to
recomend Moderacon to him, and when I answer'd
that his frds were all of oppinion y^t it was y^e best
advice Cou'd be Given him, for said I they have seen
y^e articles w^ch were Exhibited against yo^r Exc^cy from
Maryland and Judg'd y^t all those ill things they accuse
you oft proceeded from yo^r passion and they know y^t
in Virg.^a as you have many frds soe Llikewise y^ou have
diverse E^Enemyes of S^r. E. A's party and therefore
they are affraid of yo^r resentm^ts.; I Can't but be of
theyr oppinion y^t yo^r best way is to forgive and forgett
and to begin upon a New foot and to make yo^r Selfe
and Every boddy else: To this he reply'd very hotly God
I know better to govern virg^a. and Maryland then all y^e
bishopps in England, if I had Not hamper'd them in
Maryland and kept them und^r. I Shou'd Never have been
able to ^have Govern'd them S^r. said I don't pretent to und^rstand
Maryld. but if know any thing of virg^a they are a Good
Natur'd tractable people as any in y^e world and you
may doe what you will wth them by y^e way of
Civillity, but you will Never be able to manage them
in that way you speake oft by hampering and keeping
them und^r. my L^d this was y^e very day his Comission was
published, and at another Conference or two on y^e same
subject in Less then six weeks time when I told him y^e dang^r
of Loosing assemblyes he seem'd to make Nothing of itt
and said he Cou'd find away to Govern y^e Country w^thout
assemblyes but y^t way was a secret he thought not propp^r
to Entrust to me how much soever he was bent upon it
for fear I shou'd give him some trouble in his New designs
he Carried y^e argum^t to y^t height y^t in great passion he
Comanded me never to Speake to him more in any Mat-
ters relating to y^e Governm^t. but to lett him alone and
Meddle w^th my own business, wch I readily promised
perceiving y^t he was strongly bent upon violent Meth-
ods in wch I was Consirnd resolved Not to be consirn'd

^{his harsh-
ness and
violent Methods
not owning
to passion
or amour
but designe} I have had frequent occasions since to reflect on this
discourse and to observe from itt a vulgar Error Concerning
Gov^r. Nich^o. Imputing all y^e violences of his Governm^t.
both in Maryld and Virg^a to his passion or his amour
whereas it is Certaine they proceeded from designe and Int-
ention wch his passions were only made use of to Cover
and Conceale and I was y^e more Confirm'd in this when
I Consid^red w^t a quite deferent part he had acted while
he was L^t. G. of virg^a. and how mildly and Calmly I have
seen him behave himselfe towards strangers, and upon
severall other occasions when gentleness and Meekness would
serve a present turne, and y^t y^e Change began Not w^th his
amour but w^th his promotion to y^e Gov^mt: in Cheife of that
Country and was Continued uniformely w^thout interruption
Except on two severall occasions when his Interest (Not
his passion) obliged him for a little while to act an
another part. one was when he perswaded y^e assembly
to advance 5 or 600 £. towards y^e defraying y^e Charge of
y^e Imprisom^t. and tryal of some pyrats that had been
taken in y^e Country wch they allegd ought to have been
defry'd out of y^e Spoile of y^e Said pirats, y^e other was when he wanted addresses from y^e assembly in his fav^r
to support his tottering interest and reputacon in Engld
upon both wch occasions (notwithstanding his passion and amour)
he did admirably act a good Natur'd Curtious governour; thô
both in y^e interval between and all y^e time before and after
these two occasions he has acted y^e Quite Contrary; viz^t. the
abitrary insolent and abusive part in psuance of a maine
designe he is a Carrying on wch I shall by and by discov^r.

^{ye harsh
begining
of his
Governmt} Being thus laid asside from all opp^rtunity
of advice offering any [deleted] of advice I was Quickly
amazed w^th y^e strange stories I heard of his rudeness and
abusiveness mixt with terrible Curseing and Swearing to all
Sorts of people to y^t degree y^t No boddy went Near him but
in dread and terrour and y^t in y^e very Councills he was
soe furious Imperious and Menacing y^t it was observed
and distinctly heard in houses a great way off and all
people seem'd to be struck w^th his begining of his Governm^t at
soe strange a rate of arbitraryness insolence and profaness
And indeed my L^d these fitts of passion (whether real or
Counterfeit) are soe habitual to him and are acted w^th so
much rage and fury and doe soe Lively resemble those of a
Madman in his looks Gate and gesture y^t y^e greatest patience
is not able to Endure it nor no words can sufficiently describe
itt, one might as well pretend to describe an hurrycane to one
y^t never saw it, as to think to discribe y^e brutallity and savageness
of his passions and to make strangers sinsible what sort of things
they are: if they never were Eye and Eare wittnesses of them
such was Likewise his pride and Selfe-Conceite y^t he thought itt
below him to Consult wth any person w^tsoev^r. and was altogether
uncapable of advice reasoning or Contradiction; I was utterly
at a loss w^t Conjecture to make Concerning his designs, for itt
seem'd at first as if he had Laid down a resolution to dis-
oblige and abuse all mankind for he spoake in y^e most Contem-
ptable terms of all y^e best Gent wee had in y^e Country treating
them w^th y^e vile Names of rogues raskals villains and Cowards &
swearing y^t he valued them no more than y^e dirt und^r his feet
he did often hector bully and threaten to Cut their throats
and some times gave Challenges knowing y^e station he was in
secured him y^t they would Not be accepted, w^ch was y^e occasion
^{Coll Parke} y^t his former tameness when in other Circumstances he was
Challeng'd and insulted by a Gent of that Country was often
remembred and Compared w^th his hectoring and abusiveness L^eudeness all wch gave me y^e Carecter of a bad man, and on y^e
other hand recollecting his Charityes his Constancy in publicke
prayers his vigour and diligence in stiring about and driveing
on y^e business of his Governm^t. and his shewing some disting-
uishing respects at y^t time to y^e best men of our Cleargie tho
this is quite alter'd since) I was for a great while soe blinded
w^th. my former good oppinion of him and phapps w^thall
not a little biass'd by my own Interest and reputacon w^ch I
knew were firmely Link't w^th his y^t for a great while after
he was detected by others y^t were Near wittnesses of his Life &
Conversation I inclin'd to y^e Charitable side had still good hope
of him defended him on all occasions and took him to be
a good man at bottome only I thought he had been much
spoil'd in Maryld. his Temper Sowr'd there soe finding them
a people much wrought upon by terrour threatening y^t
he had Laid it down as an unhappy Maxim to himselfe
y^t y^e way of terrour was y^e best way to Manage those Countryes
and I Confess at that time I had observed Nothing of dishonesty.
nor of any down right imorallity more then I was willing
to ascribe partly to his great passion and ptly to his false
Maxims of pollicie and ptly to humane Frailty and In-
firmity

^{how my
Eyes were
oppen'd
by his
Leudness} But while I was in this uncertainty of oppinion ab^t him
it pleased God to open my Eyes after a very strange and un-
expected Manner y^e pticulars whereof are Not so proper to be
put in writing, in Gen^ll it was a scene of one of y^e vilest &
grossest Sorts of Leudness described to me w^th horror by such
Certaine proofe and Conviction y^t I Could no way answer Nor
resist it had almost broke my heart w^th Sorry and made
strange Impressions upon me Soe as to worke in me a total
alteracon of my former oppinion of y^t. Gent. for I Confess my
Lord I Could Never Induce my selfe after this to have any
good thoughts of his sincerity in religion but Look't upon
him from y^t hour as a great Monster of Imorality and my
oppinion rec^d daily Conformacon by y^e new discoveries I made
upon Inquirie into y^e ptiulers of his Life and Conversation.
I found great observacons had been made in Many Gent houses
in y^e Country of his Strang leudness to a degree of Impudence
and Brutality beyond that of most other men for Not Contented
w^th such vitious Companions as himselfe and Such men Cou'd
Easily find in all Countryes he made many base attempts upon
persons of hono^r. and virtue and those w^th such a-
bundance of rudeness and violence as looked more
Like a designe of perpetrating a rape than obtaining
a Consent

^{Enmity
&
revenge} Then for Mallice and revenge it is not Easily
Credible what abundance of Satisfacon he tooke in
itt how diligently he psu'd itt to y^e utter ruin Not only
of y^e pties whome he tooke to be his adversaries but
of all their acquaintance friends and relacons I Cou'd
give your Grace several Instances of this and of his
Cruelty and bloody Mindedness for he has talkd to me
for many M^os. together of Nothing else but designs to
Cutt y^e. throats of several pticuler psons and in y^e whole
story of his amours w^ch then brakeout he gave such Num-
erous, Instances of fury Jelosie and revenge &c threating
&c wth many other Extravagant things of this Nature that
I realy Came at last to Consid^r him as a Man of y^e
blackest Soul and Conscience y^t I had Ever known in
my life for I found when once he had affronted
any man to y^t height as to recon him his Enemy
he then thought himselfe absolved from all rules
of Justice hono^r and honesty to such a pson to y^t
degree y^t if he Cou'd ruin him in his good Name by
y^e falsest and grossest lyes and Callumnies or in his
Estate by y^e basest tricks lawsuits and Circumventons
or in his frds by all the seeds of Enmity and discord
y^t Could possibly be Sown or in his Corrispondence
by intercepting and breaking open his Let^rs or in
any thing else wherein he Could work his ruin
or prejudice he stuck at nothing for Compassing
his revenge and in Contriveing y^e wayes and means
thereof I found y^t of all other things he was by
much y^e most inventive and Ingenious

^{Memorial
agst
Govr Nicholson}