self is to ruin one’s self. God keep me from ever seeking to guess what he aims at; I confine myself to watching what he does, and that is well enough. Now I believe — you observe the meaning of the word I believe? — I believe, with respect to Monk, ties one to nothing — I believe that he has a strong inclination to succeed Cromwell. Your Charles II. has already caused proposals to be made to him by ten persons; he has satisfied himself with driving these ten meddlers from his presence, without saying anything to them but, ‘Begone, or I will have you hung.’ That man is a sepulcher! At this moment Monk is affecting devotion to the Rump Parliament; of this devotion, I am not the dupe. Monk has no wish to be assassinated, — an assassination would stop him in the middle of his operations; and his work must be