hn Carnegie of Ethie, co. Forfar, Lord Lour since 1639, and
created Earl of Ethie in 1647,--which title he exchanged, after the
Restoration, for that of Earl of Northesk.

_Vol. V. p. 227, in connexion with Vol. IV, pp._ 487-494:--A
paper found very recently by Mrs. Everett Green in the Record Office,
and kindly communicated by her to me, in continuation of those for
which I have already acknowledged my obligations to her, enables me
to throw some further light on Milton's friend and correspondent
Andrew Sandelands, and on that scheme of his for utilising the
fir-woods of Scotland in which he sought Milton's assistance. The
paper, which is in the handwriting of Sandelands, is dated "30 June,
1653," i.e. two months and ten days after Cromwell had dissolved the
Rump and begun his Interim Dictatorship; it is addressed "For the
Honor'ble. Sir Gilbert Pickering"--Pickering being then, it would
seem, President of Cromwell's Interim Council of Thirteen (see Vol.
IV. pp, 498-499); and it is headed "_A Brief Narration of my
Transactions concerning some Woods in Scotland_." From this
statement of Sandelands it appears that he had first broached his
scheme of obtaining masts and tar for the English navy from the woods
of Scotland to Cromwell himself in August 1652, and that it was in
consequence of Cromwell's recommendation of the scheme to the Council
of State then in power that the business had been referred to the
Commander-in-chief in Scotland and Sandelands had gone to Scotland
("at my own charge," he says) and had the conferences with
Major-General Dean and Colonel Lilburne described at pp. 490-491 of
Vol. IV. The result had been that detailed written explanation of his
scheme to Lilburne the substance of which has been quoted in the same
pages--"the copy whereof," adds Sandelands, "now remains in Mr.
Thurloe's hands." He means, of course, the copy he had enclosed to
Milton in his letter of Jan. 15, 1652-3, and which Milton had duly
delivered to the Council of State. More had come of the matter than
we knew at that date; for Sandelands proceeds thus in his
statement:--"The Council of State, having received this information
(recommended by the Commander-in-chief), gave order that Colonel
Lilburne should prosecute the design effectually. Upon receipt of
which order, Colonel Lilburne was pleased to employ me to try whether
the Earl of Tullibardine (who had an interest of the third part of
the woods of Abernethy and Glencalvie)