ison
of St Ghislain to Spain in 1657. On the 1st of January 1657 he was
appointed by Charles II. secretary of state, but shortly afterwards, having
become a Roman Catholic--probably with the view of adapting himself better
to his new Spanish friends--he was compelled to resign office. Charles,
however, on account of his "jollity" and Spanish experience took him with
him to Spain in 1659, though his presence was especially deprecated by the
Spanish; but he succeeded in ingratiating himself, and was welcomed by the
king of Spain subsequently at Madrid.

By the death of his father Digby had succeeded in January 1659 to the
peerage as 2nd earl of Bristol, and had been made K.G. the same month. He
returned to England at the restoration, when he found himself excluded from
office on account of his religion, and relegated to only secondary
importance. His desire to make a brilliant figure induced a restless and
ambitious activity in parliament. He adopted an attitude of violent
hostility to Clarendon. In foreign affairs he inclined strongly to the side
of Spain, and opposed the king's marriage with Catherine of Portugal. He
persuaded Charles to despatch him to Italy to view the Medici princesses,
but the royal marriage and treaty with Portugal were settled in his
absence. In June 1663 he made an attempt to upset Clarendon's management of
the House of Commons, but his intrigue was exposed to the parliament by
Charles, and Bristol was obliged to attend the House to exonerate himself,
when he confessed that he had "taken the liberty of enlarging," and his
"comedian-like speech" excited general amusement. Exasperated by these
failures, in a violent scene with the king early in July, he broke out into
fierce and disrespectful reproaches, ending with a threat that unless
Charles granted his requests within twenty-four hours "he would do somewhat
that should awaken him out of his slumbers, and make him look better to his
own business." Accordingly on the 10th he impeached Clarendon in the Lords
of high treason, and on the charge being dismissed renewed [v.04 p.0577]
his accusation, and was expelled from the court, only avoiding the warrant
issued for his apprehension by a concealment of two years. In January 1664
he caused a new sensation by his appearance at his house at Wimbledon,
where he publicly renounced before witnesses his Roman Catholicism, and
declared himself a Protestant, his motive being probably to secure immunity
from t