Page:Diary of the times of Charles II Vol. I.djvu/63

Rh the event. Barnet says that "during the time of his credit, things had been carried on with more spirit and better success than before. He had gained such an ascendant over the king, that he brought him to agree to some things that few expected he would have yielded to, and managed the public affairs in both houses with so much steadiness and so good a conduct, that he had procured to himself a greater measure of esteem than he had in any former parts of his life; and the feebleness and disjointed state we fell into after he withdrew contributed not a little to establish the character which his administration had gained him."

Disappointed with the world, and indignant at what he deemed the ingratitude of his party, Lord