Note 108 — Chapter V

The charges against Russell and Sidney, of being engaged in negotiations with the French Court, and of the latter receiving pay from that quarter, belong to the political history of England. I must refer the reader to Hallam, Mackintosh, and especially to Earl Russell’s Life of Lord William Russell. Supposing that Sidney accepted money from France, I am not at all disposed to regard his conduct so leniently as do the first two of the above-named writers; but, after pondering what Earl Russell says, I feel some doubt respecting the truth of Barillon’s reports, and the accuracy of his accounts. As to Lord William Russell’s conduct, his biographer says it “was not criminal, but it would be difficult to acquit him of the charge of imprudence.”—p. 107.