BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES.

THE most valuable body of material for this study has been the Thurloe Papers, of which the originals are in the Bodleian Library. Comprising, as they do, letters and papers from all sources, representing, andsince they were not intended for the public eye-frankly expressing all shades of opinion, they shed a flood of light upon what the members of the two parties thought, and upon what others thought of them. Because of the suspicion with which Baptists and Fifth Monarchy men were regarded, an especially close watch was kept upon their correspondence, and a large number of their letters are to be found here, as well as numerous reports, from outsiders, of their assemblies and activities. Some of the most illuminating of these are among the papers not published by Birch when he edited the Thurloe Papers. A few have been published since, notably two in the preface to volume II of Professor Firth's edition of the Clarke Papers. Supplementing these are the papers of a similar nature, collected by Birch and probably originally in the same collection, which are now among the Additional MSS. in the British Museum.

The four volumes of the Clarke Papers, edited by Professor Firth for the Camden Society, and the volume from the same collection issued under the title of Scotland and the Protectorate, shed much light on the activities of Baptists and Fifth Monarchy men in the army, and furnish such news regarding their parties

as it was judged wise to put into newsletters for military perusal. Some useful letters are to be found. among the Carte, Tanner, and Clarendon MSS., and among the Nicholas Papers. Yet, since the Royalists seldom took the trouble to distinguish between the various kinds of Independency, these letters are of much less value for the present purpose. Similarly the French ambassador Bordeaux, though extremely well-informed as to events, was apt to make a most comprehensive application of the term Anabaptist. The letters of Thurloe to Pell, of which the most important were published by Vaughan, are much more exact in this respect. The correspondence of Henry Cromwell, which was probably preserved by his private secretary, Petty, and through him passed into the hands of the Shelbourne family, from whom the British Museum purchased it, is absolutely invaluable for the situation in Ireland, although unfortunately the letters for the most part represent only the side hostile to the Baptists. The letters of John Jones give some glimpse of the other side of the picture. The Baxter correspondence in the Dr. Williams Library sheds light on the attitude of the more liberal Presbyterians, and on their efforts at accommodation with the Baptists, Men of all sorts and conditions wrote to Baxter, and on every possible subject. The letters of William Allen, the Baptist minister and merchant, which are in this collection, make frequent references to the political situation. His point of view was that of the Baptist verging toward Presbyterianism. The Swarthmore Letters, among the manuscript collections of the Society of Friends in Devonshire House, show the Baptists as they appeared to the Quakers, and for this point of view the Journal

of Fox is useful. Cromwell's letters are of course indispensable, though few deal directly with the Baptist problem. The speeches, too, are most important, especially in exhibiting his change of opinion regarding the Fifth Monarchy.

The papers edited by John Nickolls from among Milton's State Papers include some letters, but are chiefly important for the addresses from Baptist churches, showing the positions definitely adopted by congregations at different times. In this connection should be mentioned the collections of addresses, confessions of faith, and similar documents brought conveniently together by the Hanserd Knollys Society, though all of them are available elsewhere. Useful also have been the volumes of documents issued by the Baptist Historical Society under the editorship of Dr. Whitley. Grey, in his Examination of Neale's Puritans, and Peck, in his Desiderata Curiosa, print some useful documents. From the Reports of the Historical Manuscripts Commission have been gleaned scattered references from widely differing collections, and for matters of fact the Calendars of State Papers and the Journals of the House of Commons are a mine of information.

The records of individual churches are extremely useful for tracing the spirit and interests of the Baptists, but with very few exceptions they contain no references to political affairs. The incompleteness of the records, and the prudence of omitting anything that might later get the church into trouble, weigh against the argument that since the records are silent the churches did not discuss these affairs. For instance, the manuscript records of the Baptist church that met

in Lothbury, which are for the most part in the handwriting of Dr. Peter Chamberlen, give only two halfpages of notes bearing on political affairs, and these refer to a single discussion; yet we know that this church took a definite stand in the Fifth Monarchy interest. The records in Somerset House throw light on the affiliations of individuals, and sometimes contain slight bits of information on other matters, but for the most part consist merely of statistics.

The great collection of pamphlets, broadsides, and newspapers in the British Museum, known as the Thomason Tracts, is singularly rich in material for our subject. We find there what the men we are studying chose to tell the world of themselves and their opinions, and what their opponents and apologists chose to publish about them. The principal Fifth Monarchy men who published over their own signatures were, for the early years, William Aspinwall and John Spittlehouse; throughout the period, John Rogers, and the Baptists John Canne and Christopher Feake. Of the moderate Baptists, Samuel Richardson wrote in defense of the government, Jeremiah Ives championed parliamentary government, Thomas Collier and Henry Denne religious toleration, while John Tombes confined himself to doctrinal matters. The Fifth Monarchy Baptist, William Allen, was well enough known as a critic of the government to have his name borrowed for the famous pamphlet, Killing No Murder. Thomason's aim was to preserve a copy of every pamphlet and newspaper that came from the press, and he added to the value of his collection by marking on each the date on which it came into his hands, which was, whenever possible, the date of publication. In the majority of cases where

Thomason's dates can be compared with the dates of publication, they have been proved correct; it has accordingly been thought advisable to give them in all cases where the exact date might be of value. The appearance of the excellent catalogue of the collection, edited by Mr. Fortescue, has made it no longer imperative to give the press numbers of these tracts; they are, however, included in the bibliography, though not in the foot-notes. The names of publishers are usually given when they appear, as they frequently supply a clue to the nature of the tract. Henry Hills, a prominent Baptist, usually brought out Baptist productions, and Francis Smith, a General Baptist, during the latter part of the period published General Baptist literature. John Streater's prosperous business was also begun in the latter days of our period, but he published republican rather than Baptist works. As might be expected, the collection is far richer in Fifth Monarchy than in Baptist productions, and these were usually brought out by one or other of the ultra-republican printers, Livewell Chapman and Giles Calvert; less frequently by Thomas Brewster, who was a great purveyor of Quaker literature. Hills and Field were the official printers of the Protectorate, and the works printed with the names of both men are usually of an official character. In the same way the newspapers reflected the prejudices of their editors. The Scout and Post, edited as they were by a Baptist, looked with a very favorable eye upon the sectaries, and the Perfect Diurnall was also of a liberal tone. Mercurius Politicus and the Publick Intelligencer were government organs, and anti-sectarian to a degree: from October, 1655, till the last days of the Protectorate they were the only news