The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes (1907–21).
Volume VIII. The Age of Dryden.
§ 21. Letters and Memoirs of Sir Richard Bulstrode
Among the memoir- and letter-writers of this period should, also, be mentioned Sir Richard Bulstrode, though, born in 1630, he survived till 1711, when he is stated to have died “not of old age.” He served in arms in the civil war, and, as agent and envoy at the court of Brussels, under Charles II and James II, whom he followed to St. Germain. His prose-writings, all of which were published posthumously, include, besides Original Letters written to the Earl of Arlington, in 1674, which narrate the principal events in the Low Countries and the adjoining parts of France in that year, Memoirs and Reflections upon the Reign and Government of King Charles the 1st and King Charles the 2d, besides a Life of James II, stated to have been printed at Rome shortly after the author’s death. The earlier of these works, which announces itself as “a vindication of the characters of both Charles I and Charles II from Fanatical Aspersions,” displays judgment and insight, as well as loyalty. If Charles I is designated “the best of kings,” while of Oliver Cromwell it is asserted that “there was certainly never a more wicked man,” the former is shown to have erred in not depending on his own judgment, and the latter is credited not only with self-reliance, but with “prodigious Address.” The memoir of Charles II is badly constructed, and, after a long account of the popish plot agitation, ends with a series of diplomatic letters of secondary importance.